Prelude to Phase II

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Getting close to phase II which means - solo!

I feel like my flying skills are coming along nicely. Since my last entry I flew out to a small airport in San Jose, Reid – Hillview, that required me to transition through San Jose International Airport airspace, Class C (Charlie). I realized that when I pushed the button to talk I was in the company of professional pilots with A LOT more experience depressing that talk button. These are men and women on tight schedules with a plane load of passengers needing to get wherever they are going ASAP. I spoke a little fast and probably sounded like a rookie but what the hell, I am. I also transitioned through Moffett Airfield airspace which was interesting. Moffett Airfield is a NASA facility and operated by the Feds. This is the airport where Air Force 1 usually arrives and departs out of the SF Bay Area. These controllers, all of them, were really patient and pretty nice to the f.l.a.p. (!#$%ing little airplane pilot) flying through their airspace.

I have been flying quite a bit and working on the basic maneuvers required to safely fly by myself. We flew out to Half Moon Bay a week a go and practiced more landings there as they have a niiiice long runway for me to take my time and get all of my control inputs set before my landing flair. I think it was at this time I really got the whole landing process and what that looks and feels like. I was relaxed and had a blast working on perfecting my landings. Kissing that asphalt runway with my mains after a perfect approach is the BEST!

This last week I had one flight that looked great on the maneuvers like power off and power on stalls, emergency landing procedures and slow flight. Stan said my steep turns were some of the best he has seen with a student pilot. These require a 45 degree bank angle turning 360 degrees right then left. It’s pretty interesting because you are pulling a couple g’s when doing them. I didn’t go above or below fifty feet of my assigned altitude which I was pleased with. When we got back to the airport however my pattern work looked really crappy. I was landing pretty well but fiddling with my power settings and having to adjust too much. To borrow a clichéd infomercial line, you want to ‘set it & forget it’, making small corrections as you travel down the glide slope.

I went flying yesterday and we just worked the pattern. Stan mentioned he wanted to see a tight pattern and pilot in command decisions being executed without him having to prompt me. It was also raining yesterday and provided a good training opportunity. The Cessna 172SP does not have wiper blades for the windscreen. You gotta look past the water drops to see what’s happening. The runway conditions are going to be different with diminished braking and the possibility of hydroplaning. I am feeling relaxed and really ready to nail my pattern work and am interested to see what flying in the rain looks like. I am doing pretty well and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I mentioned to Stan these would not be conditions I would voluntarily go up in. It stopped raining midway through and so we cruised around the airport for about 9 touch – n – gos.

On the ground and in the post-flight briefing Stan tells me that I am ready to get a pre-solo check-ride. Actually it will be two check-rides, one with Stan and one with another instructor who will provide another set of eyes to confirm I am ready to go it alone. Stan mentions to me I did a good job today. I feel pretty good about that as he is stingy with the compliments.

If all goes well (and weather holds up) I will solo this next week and move on to Phase II, cross - country work and other maneuvers like short-field landings, etc. Phase III is getting ready for the final FAA check-ride.