Lesson One. Again. But in a good way.

[Scott]

[n.b. posting with a new email address and an experimental spam trap, my
previous address (9b7cf559) has been spammed to death and is gone.]

Today I flew my first full lesson with the flight school I think I'll stick
with. I already flew this lesson once, in another airplane, at another
airport, with another instructor -- but it's just money, and hours are
hours, right?

This school is a part 61 outfit flying from an uncontrolled field under the
KSLC bravo, with the main practice area starting roughly 30 feet away from
the pattern. Rates are a little lower than at KSLC. I already tried paying
$130-some-odd per hour for sitting on the ramp at SLC waiting for a taxi
clearance. Didn't care for it. With this new FBO I'll be paying $112/hr
for a '78 Cessna 172N. Not bad, certainly not great. They have a slightly
newer 152 that stays busy and rents for $11 less, but I'm too fat to make
the weight (and cabin width) work out acceptably. I should try spending my
lunch money on flying.

Unlike my previous flights, today I flew without my artificial leg. This
brought a definite improvement to my taxiing skills, although I can see that
it will complicate the pre- and post-flight processes. I'll never be the
fastest thing on the taxiway, but I can keep it out of the weeds, make my
turns, and come to a stop with no worries. In the air, shifting from one
pedal to the other is no problem -- and why didn't anyone TELL me that turns
are so much easier when coordinated? Sheesh. What I did *not* do was steer
during the takeoff and landing rolls -- I'll have to ask my instructor how
much he was helping during our T&Gs, or if we were going straight for no
reason at all. That can't be good.

In the air, today's new-to-me maneuver was medium (45deg) banked turns. I
was a little better with the ball, but my altimeter was all over the place,
mostly down. I'm not sure why I'm having trouble with adding elevator. Am
I subconsciously trying to keep my speed and avoid a stall? I can't even
remember if we were adding power for those turns. Definitely need to do
more work in that area.

Next, I apparently landed the airplane. Twice. Didn't expect to be doing
that so soon. The first one was terrible, sloppy as hell, crabbed
(unforgivable: runway 34, wind 340 at 6) and two bounces. The second time I
made an almost-decent approach, but then I got spooked and ballooned the
flare. My CFI salvaged it without a go-around.

Here's the frustrating part: My first landing approach was terrible, speed
and altitude all over the place. On the second, I got praised for
maintaining TPA and nailing my approach speeds. But I don't remember doing
anything different!

Part of me wants to blame the air. Each of my flights has been in clear sky
with plenty of midday heating, always bumping and pushing the airplane
around, making me constantly chase my attitude. Part of me wants to stop
this flying-during-lunch stuff and stick to early mornings or after sunset,
when the air settles down and the airplane will do what I tell it to do, no
more and no less. And part of me knows that this is bullshit, that flying
in thin bumpy air will always be part of flying here in the high desert, and
mastering this environment will make me a better pilot.

After we got parked, tied down and walked back to the terminal, started the
billing paperwork -- *that* was when I got the adrenaline shakes. I might
not have known my own name, and I don't think I had any intention of ever
coming back to the airport. No wonder they ask for a credit card imprint in
advance.

Next up: Another lesson, preferably before the week is out. And I *gotta*
get my own headset - the FBO's rental sets are garbage.

[Mike Ash]

Post by Scott
In the air, today's new-to-me maneuver was medium (45deg) banked turns. I
was a little better with the ball, but my altimeter was all over the place,
mostly down. I'm not sure why I'm having trouble with adding elevator. Am
I subconsciously trying to keep my speed and avoid a stall? I can't even
remember if we were adding power for those turns. Definitely need to do
more work in that area.

This is very common from what I've seen. Knowing when and how much to
add back pressure takes practice. You're likely to be flipping between
under- and over-compensating a lot in these early stages.

Post by Scott
Next, I apparently landed the airplane. Twice. Didn't expect to be doing
that so soon. The first one was terrible, sloppy as hell, crabbed
(unforgivable: runway 34, wind 340 at 6) and two bounces. The second time I
made an almost-decent approach, but then I got spooked and ballooned the
flare. My CFI salvaged it without a go-around.
Here's the frustrating part: My first landing approach was terrible, speed
and altitude all over the place. On the second, I got praised for
maintaining TPA and nailing my approach speeds. But I don't remember doing
anything different!

Similar comment here. You have a lot to learn, and much of it is simply
reactions and other subtle things. Many times, doing something right
isn't going to come as a "perform action X to achieve result Y" but
simply better acquiring these subconscious skills. Maybe you got lucky,
maybe you slid into doing the right thing. Either way, don't expect to
replicate this success immediately, but just keep in mind that you'll
achieve consistency as you gain experience.

Post by Scott
Part of me wants to blame the air. Each of my flights has been in clear sky
with plenty of midday heating, always bumping and pushing the airplane
around, making me constantly chase my attitude. Part of me wants to stop
this flying-during-lunch stuff and stick to early mornings or after sunset,
when the air settles down and the airplane will do what I tell it to do, no
more and no less. And part of me knows that this is bullshit, that flying
in thin bumpy air will always be part of flying here in the high desert, and
mastering this environment will make me a better pilot.

The instructors in my club usually try to make the first few flights
(where "few" depends on the student, of course) in calm air in order to
remove that factor from the learning process. You're absolutely right
that mastering this environment will make you a better pilot, however it
may be better to do that *after* you've already come to grips with
things in calm air. On the other hand, if you start out in turbulence,
then you'll find smooth air to be a piece of cake by the time you're
done.

Post by Scott
Next up: Another lesson, preferably before the week is out. And I *gotta*
get my own headset - the FBO's rental sets are garbage.

I'm looking forward to reading your next installment. Thanks very much
for posting these, and please do keep it up!

[Mark Hansen]

Post by Scott
[n.b. posting with a new email address and an experimental spam trap, my
previous address (9b7cf559) has been spammed to death and is gone.]
Today I flew my first full lesson with the flight school I think I'll stick
with. I already flew this lesson once, in another airplane, at another
airport, with another instructor -- but it's just money, and hours are
hours, right?
This school is a part 61 outfit flying from an uncontrolled field under the

Actually, they are called non-towered fields now :-) This is to make
the uninformed public (passengers) feel better...

Post by Scott
KSLC bravo, with the main practice area starting roughly 30 feet away from
the pattern. Rates are a little lower than at KSLC. I already tried paying
$130-some-odd per hour for sitting on the ramp at SLC waiting for a taxi
clearance. Didn't care for it. With this new FBO I'll be paying $112/hr
for a '78 Cessna 172N. Not bad, certainly not great. They have a slightly
newer 152 that stays busy and rents for $11 less, but I'm too fat to make
the weight (and cabin width) work out acceptably. I should try spending my
lunch money on flying.
Unlike my previous flights, today I flew without my artificial leg. This
brought a definite improvement to my taxiing skills, although I can see that
it will complicate the pre- and post-flight processes. I'll never be the
fastest thing on the taxiway, but I can keep it out of the weeds, make my
turns, and come to a stop with no worries. In the air, shifting from one
pedal to the other is no problem -- and why didn't anyone TELL me that turns
are so much easier when coordinated? Sheesh. What I did *not* do was steer
during the takeoff and landing rolls -- I'll have to ask my instructor how
much he was helping during our T&Gs, or if we were going straight for no
reason at all. That can't be good.

Yes, ask your instructor. He is probably helping as much as he thinks you
need. The more you start doing it yourself, the less he'll help. Of course,
he may be over-compensating as a result of your leg. You may want to tell
him what you want to do (that you want to control it yourself).

During my instrument training, my instructor was always trying to help. I
remember on more than a few occasions I had to tell him (with a grin) to
back off and let me do it or I was never going to learn :-)

Post by Scott
In the air, today's new-to-me maneuver was medium (45deg) banked turns. I

Actually, I think the 45deg is called a steep turn (for private pilots
anyway).

Post by Scott
was a little better with the ball, but my altimeter was all over the place,
mostly down. I'm not sure why I'm having trouble with adding elevator. Am
I subconsciously trying to keep my speed and avoid a stall? I can't even
remember if we were adding power for those turns. Definitely need to do
more work in that area.

The reason this maneuver is practiced is because it requires a lot of
accurate and quick control of the aircraft. It's no mystery that it will
be challenging at first. With practice (and time) it will get easier.

Post by Scott
Next, I apparently landed the airplane. Twice. Didn't expect to be doing
that so soon. The first one was terrible, sloppy as hell, crabbed
(unforgivable: runway 34, wind 340 at 6) and two bounces. The second time I
made an almost-decent approach, but then I got spooked and ballooned the
flare. My CFI salvaged it without a go-around.

Hey - any landing you can walk away from... :-)


Seriously though, the ballooning is (usually) just a result of not looking
down to the far end of the runway when flaring. I've always had a real
problem with this too - and still work hard to do it today.

In any event, the landing is probably the busiest time you'll have in an
airplane (until you begin training for your instrument rating that is :-) ),
so don't expect great landings right away. With time and practice, they
will come.

Post by Scott
Here's the frustrating part: My first landing approach was terrible, speed
and altitude all over the place. On the second, I got praised for
maintaining TPA and nailing my approach speeds. But I don't remember doing
anything different!

Don't be frustrated. Early in flight training, as you are, you don't really
have all the muscle memory required for accurate control of the aircraft.
As a result, things will seem to work one time and not another. This too
is normal. After a while, as you gain more experience, things will start
to click and you'll feel more like you're in control of the craft and it
is doing exactly what *you* want it to do.

How long this take is different for everyone. It took me about 20-30
hours.

Post by Scott
Part of me wants to blame the air. Each of my flights has been in clear sky
with plenty of midday heating, always bumping and pushing the airplane
around, making me constantly chase my attitude. Part of me wants to stop
this flying-during-lunch stuff and stick to early mornings or after sunset,
when the air settles down and the airplane will do what I tell it to do, no
more and no less. And part of me knows that this is bullshit, that flying
in thin bumpy air will always be part of flying here in the high desert, and
mastering this environment will make me a better pilot.

Yes, I felt the same way when I was learning to fly ultralights. They are
affected much more than the heavier GA airplanes by winds, updrafts, etc.

However, keep in mind that part of your goal is to just do it enough that
you begin to build up the muscle memory. You don't really need "difficult"
conditions all the time to make this work. That will just make it take
longer.

During my training, I had two lessons per week; one in the morning and one
in the afternoon. The idea was to get the best of both. This worked out
well for me. Your mileage may vary.

Post by Scott
After we got parked, tied down and walked back to the terminal, started the
billing paperwork -- *that* was when I got the adrenaline shakes. I might
not have known my own name, and I don't think I had any intention of ever
coming back to the airport. No wonder they ask for a credit card imprint in
advance.
Next up: Another lesson, preferably before the week is out. And I *gotta*
get my own headset - the FBO's rental sets are garbage.

Best of luck, Scott. I hope you'll keep up posted on how things are going
for you.

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Post by Scott
[n.b. posting with a new email address and an experimental spam trap, my
previous address (9b7cf559) has been spammed to death and is gone.]
Today I flew my first full lesson with the flight school I think I'll stick
with. I already flew this lesson once, in another airplane, at another
airport, with another instructor -- but it's just money, and hours are
hours, right?

Sounds like you are doing OK given your total hours.

(This Email account is remarkably spam free for me - nothing real
elaborate)