27 April 2008-Flight 40

Todays lesson was originally scheduled for 10am, however it was overcast. I was flying with Ted today and he called around 9am and we both agreed that 10am was not going to work. The weather was showing clear to the north of us, so we decided to wait until 11am and decide then. By 11am, the skies were clearing, but it was getting windy. Fortunately the winds were straight out of the north at 15 to 20 knots. So we decided to go up at noon.

Today we focused on stall practice and short and soft field takeoffs and landings.

We started off with a short field takeoff. With the winds at 20 knots, we were up in the air in no time. I did not hold Vx of 55knots , which is best climb for distance for the 152. I let it drift up to 70 knots instead of continuing to pull back on the yoke to maintain 55knots. So I need to work those a little more.

Next we went north of the field where the skies were a bit clearer. There were still a few clouds and it was somewhat turbulent. Ted wanted to get above the clouds where the air would be smoother and also higher for stalls and slow flight practice. We ultimately went up to 5000 feet which is the highest I had been so far.

We started off with slow flight. Ted had me reduce rpms to 2000 and then keep pulling back on the yoke until we had slowed to 45 knots. I practiced with adjusting the yoke and throttle to maintain that airspeed and a combination of climbs, turns and descents. I did a much better job of holding my altitude today.

After this we started practicing low power stalls. I still had a hard time getting a good drop of the nose when the plane stalled. Ted said the 152 is very stable and it can be tough to get a snap when the stall happens. We practiced these going straight ahead as well as when doing shallow turns. The goal is to recover with a minimum loss of altitude and not go into a spin. I could do a better job on minimizing altitude loss.

We next moved on to full power or departure stalls. In this case I slowed the plane to 60 knots and applied full power while pulling back on the yoke. Again it was hard to get a really good drop of the nose when the stall happened. Because of engine torque and P-factor you have to really make use of the rudders to keep the plane from yawing which could induce a spin. I felt more comfortable with these, but I will probably have to run through it one more time with Ted to make sure I have the technique down.

After this we returned to SNL. Since we were so high and did not want spend the several minutes descending at 500 fpm, we descended a little faster than usual to get down to pattern altitude. Around about 1000 fpm.

We did one short field landing and also a soft field takeoff and landing. With 20 knots headwind, it was not too difficult to do the short field landing. The soft field takeoff and landing was not so good. I am still not doing a good job of keeping the nose off the ground during landing and takeoff. I also need to be sure I level off a little sooner to make sure I am in ground effect until my speed builds up enough to climb. I will need to practice soft field landings a few times to get the technique down.

Since the winds were pretty strong and actually a little turbulent close to the ground, I did not get a chance to solo today. Bob looked over log earlier and I have a few more hours of solo time to complete. After I get a little more time in prepping for the checkride, I will take the plane up on my own to practice the various manuevers on my own.

Next lessons are scheduled for
3 May- 4pm
4 May-10am

26 April 2008-Flight 39

With all previous training requirements completed, we are now in checkride prep mode. Bob was not going to be available today, so I flew with Bob’s part time instructor Ted.

We reviewed several different areas today. We started off with a soft field takeoff. I had no problems doing this one well. Since we had a bit of a crosswind component today, that was all we did for special landings and takeoffs.

Afterward we went to the north to practice additional maneuvers. We started off with basic turns to the left and right. Ted wanted me to focus more on getting a site picture of the horizon for different amounts of bank without having to reference the instruments. We did this for 10,20, 30 and finally 45 degree turns. It was a nice build up to doing 45 degree turns, which still can feel a little funny for me. I managed to do a fair job, but I was still a little sloppy keeping my altitude steady.

We next practiced some slow flight. Today was the first time I had really had the plane so slow before. At one point we were down to 45 knots. We were also also operating in the reverse power zone. This is where it takes more power to actually go slower because of the increased drag due to the high angle of attack. It definitely felt very strange to have so little airspeed. It felt like I was balancing the airplane like some kind of broom stick on the end of my hand. It was very tricky trying to keep the plane flying straight. Ted then had me also perform some very shallow turns at slow speed. I will need more practice with this. I am supposed to maintain my altitude, but I kept finding myself losing altitude while doing this.

We also practiced turns around a point as well as S-turns. The turns around a point went pretty well, but the S turns were a little sloppy. I did not do a good job of compensating for crosswind.

After this we practiced stalls. It was actually hard to get the plane to stall today. I remember Bob mentioning a few weeks back that on cool days, like today, it is hard to get the 152 to develop a good stall. It tends to mush more than develop a good drop of the nose. I did get a couple of stalls, but they were not very good. We did both low power as well as departure stalls. One thing I did notice for the first time, was some vibration in the yoke just as we were approaching one stall. I think this is because the air starts to get turbulent over the wings and ailerons will bounce a little.

We next did foggle and unusual attitude recovery practice. I did good on the foggle practice. I kept up a good instrument scan and kept the airplane steady straight and level flight as well as turns. I did make a mistake on the unusual attitude in the nose down configuration. I briefly brought the throttle forward instead of back. I quickly realized my mistake and pulled back on the throttle to reduce my airspeed.

We finally did an engine out practice. I did make a mistake of not immediately reducing my airspeed to 60 knots to get best glideslope. I picked an area to land, but I picked too far away again. If it had been for real I would have landed in the trees instead of the field just beyond. More practice is needed for this.

The next lesson is scheduled for 10am tomorrow, but the TAF is saying high winds and low ceilings. So I do not think it will happen, but I will know for sure in the morning.

19 April 2008-Flight 38

I got a call from Bob Friday afternoon saying that he thought the conditions were going to be excellent for my cross country solo on Saturday and I should do it then. Considering how long I have been waiting for the weather to cut me a break I was not about to say no.

My second cross country solo was from Shawnee(SNL) to Ardmore(ADM) to McAlester(MLC) and back to SNL. This cross country is considered the long cross country flight and is my last required item to complete before starting checkride prep and finally my checkride.

Bob looked over my flight plan while I preflighted the plane and everything looked good. Since out of the last 6 weeks I had only gotten up once, I asked Bob to do one touch and go with me to make sure I had not forgotten anything as far as landing procedures. That went very smoothly. After stopping on the runway, Bob got out and I took off for ADM.

I wish I could say everything went perfectly with the cross country, but I did run into a few problems. First for some reason after I had gotten at altitude I got it into my head to fly a course of 170. After about 10 minutes I realized my checkpoints weren’t where they were supposed to be. I double checked my flight plan and sure enough I was supposed to be flying 180. So I started checking the sectional for additional landmarks. I found some lakes, roads and powerlines that I was able to match up against to figure out where I was. I adjusted my course to the nearest town that was on my flight plan and got back on 180.

Landing at Ardmore was actually a little intimidating. Final approach passes between two hills and in front of the runway was nothing was gullies and ditches. I also started picking up quite a bit turbulence as I descended on final. I decided to keep my approach a little high to stay above the hills. Once I was clear of them, I managed to drop altitude without gaining excess airspeed and had a very good landing.

After taxing to the parking area, I had the plane refueled and my log book signed by the person filling up the plane. When I got the log book, he commented he knew what that was for and was happy to sign the log book. After going to the restroom and paying for the fuel, I headed back out to the plane again.

I called ground control and said I was ready to taxi. I was given clearance to taxi to 17. I stopped at the end of the taxiway to do my runup checks. As I was checking my flight controls, I looked back to check for movement of the rudder and the elevator and saw something buzzing in the back that looked like a bee. I called the tower and told them I thought I had a bee in the cockpit and I needed to taxi back. They said I could get out right where I was if I wanted to. I said okay, shutdown the plane and got out. Once I had a good look I realized it was a lady bug, not a bee. It was good enough to land on a cushion so I could carry it out and let it go. Needless to say I am glad it did not start buzzing around me on takeoff or during a landing.

After that little distraction, I completed my runup checks and told the tower I was ready to depart. The takeoff can look a little intimidating as well because there are also hills just beyond the end of runway. Still I had no problem gaining altitude and clearing them.

Part of the solo cross country requirement is to do a total of three full stops at a towered airport. I had done one at Stillwater and just finished one. So I had to again fly around the pattern and deal with the hills, gullies and turbulence on final. I think I got a little far away on my downwind, because the tower asked if I was departing the pattern. I said no and tower said I was clear to land. The second landing went very well. After I cleared the runway, the tower said I was clear to taxi out and take off again. So again I cleared the hills at the end of the runway and turned towards McAlester.

Because of my error on the heading on the first leg, I made very sure of what heading I needed to take to get to McAlester. However, I was gong to find myself having to go off course again. About 10 minutes out I saw smoke on the horizon. There was a pretty good brush fire going and lots of smoke right in my flight path. You never want to fly through smoke. Not only is it a visibility problem, but also there could be reduced oxygen and increased amounts of carbon monoxide. Neither is good for planes or pilots.

I had a choice of going to the left or the right of the smoke. Because of the wind though, there was no clear choice of one or the other. I decided to go to the left which would take me north of the smoke. Once I got even with the brushfire, but clear of the smoke, I realized the wind was actually blowing the smoke more to the north than the south. So I had to deviate even further from my planned course to stay clear of the drifting smoke. Once I got clear of the smoke I started trying to track back to my intended flight plan. Once I finished checking the sectionals, finding landmarks and using the VOR, I had McAlester airport in sight. It was also getting more turbulent as I got to McAlester. I even hit one updraft that set of the stall horn whistling.

The landing at McAlester went well and I had good touchdown. I stopped long enough to get my logbook signed and got back up in the air.

The ride back to Shawnee, was bumpy but pretty uneventful. I flew at 3500 hoping I could get above the turbulence, but it did not help much. Bob had not given me permission to fly any higher, so I decided to keep it there. I think the winds had changed direction a bit, because I kept finding myself left of my landmarks.

When I got back to Shawnee, there were two other aircraft in the pattern, but I had no problems getting into the pattern properly. I crossed at midfield at about 2800 feet and then entered a right downwind at pattern altitude to another good landing.

At this point all the required training tasks have been completed. Bob said he would call me later in the week to figure out a schedule for my checkride prep and the the checkride itself.

There are no lessons scheduled for tomorrow because of expected high winds.

13 Apr 2008-Flight Cancelled

Todays flight is canceled. Winds are expected to pickup too much. So no cross country or pattern work.

Next flights-
19 Apr- 0930
20 Apr- 1000

12 Apr 2008-Short Lesson

The winds were very strong today. Around 20 gusting up 30 knots. I had talked to Bob a few hours before the flight to move the lesson time to 1pm. I asked Bob then if he thought it would be too windy, but he said he was not sure.

I arrived at the airport at the scheduled time and the winds still had not let up and were coming as much as 45 degrees off the runway which would be a 14 knot crosswind component. It turns out I was going to fly with Bobs other instructor Ted today. I asked him what he thought of the winds and he said we can see once we get out to the runup area.

So I went ahead and preflighted the plane. As we were taxing to the runup area, I was having difficulty keeping the plane taxing straight and frequently had to add in some brake because the rudder pedal was at its limit. I also got some good practice with positioning the yoke properly for windy conditions. After we got to the runup area, I started running through the pretakeoff check list and pointed out that the tetrahedron was pointing almost straight across the runway. Finally Ted agreed that it just was not going to work today and to taxi back.

So the flight ended with me taxiing back to the office and shutting it down for the day. Even though the lesson was cut short, it was still good experience to get a feel for how the plane handles on the ground in very windy conditions.

The cross country solo is still planned for tomorrow if the winds cooperate. I did point out to Bob I had only done one full lesson in five weeks. He said we could do a couple of touch and goes before I head out. Just to make sure I am having a good day.

6 Apr 2008-Flight Canceled

Todays flight is canceled. The winds started picking up again. The winds at the surface are around 15 knots, but the winds aloft are 45 knots from 170 at 3000ft. The field elevation of SNL is about 1100 feet. That means winds increase by 30 knots in 1900 feet. That would probably mean a slow bumpy ride down to Ardmore on the cross country and or to even do any dual time today.

Next scheduled times are
13 Apr-12:30
14 Apr-10:00 Cross country if the weather permits.

5 Apr 2008-Flight 37

After four weeks, the weather has finally cut me a break. Today would not have been a good day to do a cross country. It was very hazy out. Also since it had been so long since I had flown, I needed some stick time just to get the feel for flying.

Except for cross country number 2, all required training has been completed. It is just check ride prep now.

We started out with some 45 degree turns. I did those pretty decently today. I managed to hold my altitude pretty well. I still need to practice more on those, but they were much better.

We next went into some foggle practice. I did much better on that as well. I kept up my instrument scan and managed to do some good turns, climbs and straight and level flight.

Next up was full power stall recovery. The reason to practice this is in case of a stall on take off. Since the engine is at full power, if you stall there will be a tendency for the plane to roll. Also the high angle of attack will cause the plane to want to yaw because of P-Factor. If you do not handle this situation properly you would get into a spin a low altitude.

We covered full power stalls several months back, but only for demonstration. Now I have to do them myself. I almost felt like the plane was standing on its tail before the stall would happen. Bob would keep saying get that nose up higher. I would finally get a stall, the nose would drop, I ease up on the yoke to allow the airspeed to recover and then begin to climb out. It is the most of extreme position I have had an aircraft in. I will definitely need more practice to get used to it.

After this we returned to SNL to practice normal, short field and soft field takeoffs and landings. For the first landing, Bob had me practice an engine out back to the airport. I turned on carb heat and brought the engine back to idle. Bob had me keep a little higher airspeed than you normally would for a safety factory. Unfortunately I would not have made it to the runway. I was trying to do a standard base, final leg, but I should have been just heading straight for the runway. In the end I had to add power to make the runway. I am sure we will practice those more.

Next we did soft field takeoffs and landings next. I did not do those very well. The biggest problem was keeping the nose up. What I thought was high enough, was not high enough for Bob. We did one short field landing, but again it was lacking. More practice is needed.

We had enough time left over for me to go solo around the pattern a few times. My first landing was good, but my second landing had some side drift so when the plane landed it was with a bit of jolt. On roll out I did not get my feet up on the pedals evenly and I swerved a little bit on the runway. I have to be more careful. It is a good way to wind up off the runway.

If the weather cooperates, we will try for the cross country solo. It is hard to say if it will. The surface winds are supposed to be out of the south at about 10 to 15 knots, but at 3000 feet the winds are predicted to be 30 to 40 knots. That is a lot if wind shear and probably means turbulence.

Next flight is 6 Apr at 10 am.