This entry will have two parts because we did two lessons today.
I arrived at 0830 and had no problems getting in this time. Bob was just taxiing up in the 152, so I walked out to meet him.
Bob had a bit of a bad day yesterday. The student that came after me yesterday accidentally dropped the tank gauge into one of the wing tanks. Bob said that he had to drain the fuel from the tanks and spend the rest of the day trying to fish the fuel gauge out.
When flying you do not trust what the fuel gauge says. Actually the gauges are only required to be accurate when empty! So to verify fuel levels, you dip a clear tube that is calibrated in gallons into the tank. Bob says he is going to add a wooden stick onto the gauge so that an accident like that does not happen again.
So after hearing that story, Bob asks me to preflight the plane on my own and goes inside. There is a check list you go through that tells you all the items to inspect. Basically you start at the cockpit and work your way around counterclockwise around the aircraft. Bob comes back out in a few minutes with the tank gauge and demonstrates its use. He then watches me as I do it. I am sure Bob is praying that I do not drop the gauge! I have no problem, but I can see how a brief bit of butterfingers could ruin your day.
After that we go through the rest of the preflight in the cockpit and begin to taxi out to the run up area. I manage to go through all the check lists and clearing turn with little input from Bob. There is one other plane up doing touch and go’s. So we are listening for his callouts on CTAF and visually monitoring his progress. He is on his downwind leg, so we taxi out onto the runway, call out our departure on CTAF and takeoff. I am still a little weak on the rudder control, but I think I did a better job than yesterday.
As we climb out to 1500MSL, I try to tell Bob what I am going to do next. Bob says what he is looking for is for me to perform all procedures from preflight to landing without any guidance from him. When I get to that point, then I will be ready to solo. I am sure it will be a while longer before I am to that point, but I need to demonstrate I can handle the additional responsibilities as the lessons progress.
After arriving at the practice area, which is to the west of the airport, we repeat the shallow and steep turns from yesterday.
We also practice a few power off stalls. I still need more practice on those. Bob points out the need to give the plane time to build up more airspeed before I pull out of the stall. You want about 70 knots. I also need to remember to apply power when pulling out. I was also not keeping a proper eye on the vertical speed indicator to make sure I was actually gaining altitude again. I practice one more of these, then Bob demonstrates a power on stall.
In a power on stall you apply full power, while inducing a stall. This one was actually a little scary because when you stall the plane you will start to roll because of the torque from the engine. However at the low an airspeed the control surfaces do not have a lot of effectiveness. Bob has no problem recovering, but it happens so fast I do not see what all he did. He only demonstrated the maneuver today, but I know I will have to do those as well. This is to practice for a situation where you might stall during takeoff.
After this we practice emergency procedures. Bob pulls back the throttle and we go into a glide. Bob has me use the elevator to adjust the airspeed to 60 knots. We start reviewing possible landing areas and pick a field. Bob has me turn towards the field while maintaining airspeed. When we get to within a few hundred feet of the field, Bob tells me to apply power and we pull out of simulated engine out situation.
After this we do a few touch and goes. I have a ways to go before I will be ready for those on my own. Bob still has to prompt me as we go through downwind, base and final, but I am starting to remember to call out our intentions on CTAF.
After a few touch and goes, we do a full stop landing and taxing over to fuel up the plane. The fuel pump takes credit cards. It is surprising how fast those pumps can pump out the gas. I was watching the gauge on the pump and it put out 4 gallons of fuel in a very few seconds. We did put in more fuel than that, but it was a very quick process. After Bob finishes, I double check the position of the gas caps. I do this in part because of it is a safety issue and also try to demonstrate I am paying attention.
Making sure the fuel caps are on correctly is very important for an airplane. If you forget on a car, you may get a little sloshing out. If you forget on a plane where the gas cap is on top of the wing, the fuel will get sucked out by the flow of the air over the wing. I am not sure of the percentages, but fuel related issues are the cause of many aircraft accidents. This can be due to running out, having contaminants such as water or dirt and not making sure the gas cap is on tight.
After refueling, I taxi the plane back to Bobs office. This time Bob lets me take it all the way in. Before Bob handled the taxi for the last 50 feet or so. The reason he is cautious is that if you get off the taxiway, you will find your self going down a hill. I am sure if that happens there would be a prop strike and possible engine damage. So Bob allowing me take the plane all the way in, means he is putting a lot of trust in my ability to not mess up his plane.
After shutting down, we go inside for a break.
The second lesson follows in a separate entry.
