Getting the most out of Solo Practice

[Scien]

Well now that the holidays are over and most of the scary winter
weather is gone from this area I am getting back with my instructor to
continue working on my private. I am technically post-solo, and
wanted to get with him to knock some rust off, and see if he thinks I
good for a reendorsement of my student certificate.

I haven't really soloed without my instructor standing on the ground
observing mainly due to weather and timing conflicts, but I think that
I will be going for a real solo flight soon after I get my
instructor's go ahead again.

I guess my question for you guys is to try and get any general solo
advice from you guys and to ask if you have any tips to minimize
developing bad habits. I hear that us low time students like to lose
some discipline that then has to be buffed back into shape to polish
us off.

In any case I will be happy to be flying again after my longish break,
even if it will probably be bitter cold.

[Jim Stewart]

Post by Scien
Well now that the holidays are over and most of the scary winter
weather is gone from this area I am getting back with my instructor to
continue working on my private. I am technically post-solo, and
wanted to get with him to knock some rust off, and see if he thinks I
good for a reendorsement of my student certificate.
I haven't really soloed without my instructor standing on the ground
observing mainly due to weather and timing conflicts, but I think that
I will be going for a real solo flight soon after I get my
instructor's go ahead again.
I guess my question for you guys is to try and get any general solo
advice from you guys and to ask if you have any tips to minimize
developing bad habits. I hear that us low time students like to lose
some discipline that then has to be buffed back into shape to polish
us off.
In any case I will be happy to be flying again after my longish break,
even if it will probably be bitter cold.

Stuff I have to concentrate on...

Clearing turns
Proper pattern entry (both altitude and position)
Instrument scan
Keeping the nose up and the airplane aligned on landing

[Dudley Henriques]

Post by Scien
Well now that the holidays are over and most of the scary winter
weather is gone from this area I am getting back with my instructor to
continue working on my private.  I am technically post-solo, and
wanted to get with him to knock some rust off, and see if he thinks I
good for a reendorsement of my student certificate.
I haven't really soloed without my instructor standing on the ground
observing mainly due to weather and timing conflicts, but I think that
I will be going for a real solo flight soon after I get my
instructor's go ahead again.
I guess my question for you guys is to try and get any general solo
advice from you guys and to ask if you have any tips to minimize
developing bad habits.  I hear that us low time students like to lose
some discipline that then has to be buffed back into shape to polish
us off.
In any case I will be happy to be flying again after my longish break,
even if it will probably be bitter cold.

The main thing you want to concentrate on post solo is to begin to
focus on consistency. You will be working on specific goals with each
flight. The best way to handle this is to know up front exactly what
you want to accomplish. Then go fly the session with this in mind.
Don't allow yourself to wander from the goal for the flight.
The one thing you absolutely MUST do during this period is to develop
a constant and completely objective self appraisal of your performance
on each flight. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't try to be
perfect; just concentrate on being safe.
After each flight, you might want to jot down things that you
encountered during the flight that surprised you or you were not quite
sure you were doing correctly. Discuss these things openly with your
instructor.
Each flight you make will be increasing your confidence and skill
level. You will begin to develop that all important critical decision
making process that will remain with you all through your flying
career.
Golden rule; prepare, execute, evaluate, then execute again.
Best of luck to you. If I can help in any way, just let me know.
Dudley Henriques

[Scien]

Post by Dudley Henriques
The main thing you want to concentrate on post solo is to begin to
focus on consistency. You will be working on specific goals with each
flight. The best way to handle this is to know up front exactly what
you want to accomplish. Then go fly the session with this in mind.
Don't allow yourself to wander from the goal for the flight.
The one thing you absolutely MUST do during this period is to develop
a constant and completely objective self appraisal of your performance
on each flight. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't try to be
perfect; just concentrate on being safe.
After each flight, you might want to jot down things that you
encountered during the flight that surprised you or you were not quite
sure you were doing correctly. Discuss these things openly with your
instructor.
Each flight you make will be increasing your confidence and skill
level. You will begin to develop that all important critical decision
making process that will remain with you all through your flying
career.
Golden rule; prepare, execute, evaluate, then execute again.
Best of luck to you. If I can help in any way, just let me know.
Dudley Henriques

Thanks for the advice. It'll definitely come in handy over the next
few weeks and months.

[Dudley Henriques]

Post by Dudley Henriques
The main thing you want to concentrate on post solo is to begin to
focus on consistency. You will be working on specific goals with each
flight. The best way to handle this is to know up front exactly what
you want to accomplish. Then go fly the session with this in mind.
Don't allow yourself to wander from the goal for the flight.
The one thing you absolutely MUST do during this period is to develop
a constant and completely objective self appraisal of your performance
on each flight. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't try to be
perfect; just concentrate on being safe.
After each flight, you might want to jot down things that you
encountered during the flight that surprised you or you were not quite
sure you were doing correctly. Discuss these things openly with your
instructor.
Each flight you make will be increasing your confidence and skill
level. You will begin to develop that all important critical decision
making process that will remain with you all through your flying
career.
Golden rule; prepare, execute, evaluate, then execute again.
Best of luck to you. If I can help in any way, just let me know.
Dudley Henriques

Thanks for the advice.  It'll definitely come in handy over the next
few weeks and months.

Any time. Best of luck with your flying.
DH

[Terry]

Nice to see your still around Dudley... :)

Terry N6401F

[Dudley Henriques]

Post by Terry
Nice to see your still around Dudley... :)
Terry N6401F

Thank you. I still drop by once in a while.
DH

[Roger (K8RI)]

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:30:37 -0800 (PST), Dudley Henriques

Post by Dudley Henriques

Post by Terry
Nice to see your still around Dudley... :)
Terry N6401F

Thank you. I still drop by once in a while.

Hi There Dudley.
Good to see you still on.

When I took my primary training which IIRC was some where around the
Early Cretaceous period, the rules were a little different, but before
my instructors let me solo they had to be satisfied I could do every
maneuver in the PTS. So after my three consecutive solo flights with
the airplane still reusable, they basically said go have fun for a
while and DON'T GET LOST as you aren't cleared for cross countries
yet.

So from then on I'd just stop by, tell them I was going out to
practice and they'd tell me to have fun. Every trip out was
practicing everything we'd done to that point and my goal was
not just consistency to the proper execution of each maneuver.
I had no wind limitations so flying S-turns and turns around a point
on windy days were a real challenge, but fun.

After a couple of weeks they said it's time to get back to work and
were a bit surprised at my performance. Even more so at the fact I'd
been practicing instead of just flying around having fun. OTOH to me
working on the maneuvers was fun.

Post by Dudley Henriques
DH

[Dudley Henriques]

Post by Roger (K8RI)
On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:30:37 -0800 (PST), Dudley Henriques

Post by Dudley Henriques

Post by Terry
Nice to see your still around Dudley... :)
Terry N6401F

Thank you. I still drop by once in a while.

Hi There Dudley.
Good to see you still on.
When I took my primary training which IIRC was some where around the
Early Cretaceous period, the rules were a little different, but before
my instructors let me solo they had to be satisfied I could do every
maneuver in the PTS.  So after my three consecutive solo flights with
the airplane still reusable, they basically said go have fun for a
while and DON'T GET LOST as you aren't cleared for cross countries
yet.
So from then on I'd just stop by, tell them I was going out to
practice and they'd tell me to have fun.  Every trip out was
practicing everything we'd done to that point and my goal was
not just consistency to the proper execution of each maneuver.
I had no wind limitations so flying S-turns and turns around a point
on windy days were a real challenge, but fun.
After a couple of weeks they said it's time to get back to work and
were a bit surprised at my performance. Even more so at the fact I'd
been practicing instead of just flying around having fun. OTOH to me
working on the maneuvers was fun.

Post by Dudley Henriques
DH

Good to hear from you Roger. Miss your back channel emails every once
in a while.
Hope all's been well with you. Sounds like you've healed well and are
getting back into fighting trim.
I take it Streak and the new cat are getting on well. They should be
real buddies by now.

FUN is something I always kept in the student's equation. My approach
to it was to put it right out there for the student from day one along
with the caveat that it was the WORK and PRACTICE that made the fun
possible :-))
Dudley

[Scien]

..snip..
I had no wind limitations so flying S-turns and turns around a point
on windy days were a real challenge, but fun.
After a couple of weeks they said it's time to get back to work and
were a bit surprised at my performance. Even more so at the fact I'd
been practicing instead of just flying around having fun. OTOH to me
working on the maneuvers was fun.

DH

Funny you should mention that, on one of my familiarization flights to
get reendorsed for solo we went out and practiced turns around a
point. Before we had done them in around 10 knot winds (I estimate)
and I think I had performed them pretty well. He seemed impressed at
least. However on this recent flight the winds at that altitude were
a bit higher than that. I might estimate 20 knots or so. The
difference was night and day. I just couldn't hold my distance. I
think it was a combination of not wanting to increase my bank beyond
20 degrees and having a slightly incorrect idea of where downwind
was. I always enjoyed our ground reference maneuvers before, so
practicing solo will be fun, and apparently pretty needed.

Although all that said, my instructor is not comfortable with me in
winds that high yet so I will just be able to practice in the easier
stuff. Still fun and useful in any case though.

[Dudley Henriques]

Post by Scien

..snip..
I had no wind limitations so flying S-turns and turns around a point
on windy days were a real challenge, but fun.
After a couple of weeks they said it's time to get back to work and
were a bit surprised at my performance. Even more so at the fact I'd
been practicing instead of just flying around having fun. OTOH to me
working on the maneuvers was fun.

DH

Funny you should mention that, on one of my familiarization flights to
get reendorsed for solo we went out and practiced turns around a
point.  Before we had done them in around 10 knot winds (I estimate)
and I think I had performed them pretty well.  He seemed impressed at
least.  However on this recent flight the winds at that altitude were
a bit higher than that.  I might estimate 20 knots or so.  The
difference was night and day.  I just couldn't hold my distance.  I
think it was a combination of not wanting to increase my bank beyond
20 degrees and having a slightly incorrect idea of where downwind
was.  I always enjoyed our ground reference maneuvers before, so
practicing solo will be fun, and apparently pretty needed.
Although all that said, my instructor is not comfortable with me in
winds that high yet so I will just be able to practice in the easier
stuff.  Still fun and useful in any case though.

About wind; just remember this; the airplane is the best instructor
you will ever have. It's telling you every second you are in it what
you need to do. All you have to do is pay attention to what the
airplane is telling you and act on that input. It's a constant battle
between you and the wind as to where the airplane is going. You know
where you want the airplane to be and what you want it to be doing.
The wind might have other ideas :-)
All you have to do at any moment you are in flight is determine if its
you or the wind flying the airplane. If it's the wind, (and the
airplane isn't where you want it to be) CORRECT IT!!
When you parse it all down to its lowest common denominator, flying an
airplane is nothing more or less than YOU acting on what the airplane
is telling you it needs NOW, and where the airplane needs to be five
seconds from now.
Dudley Henriques

[Roger (K8RI)]

Post by Scien

..snip..
I had no wind limitations so flying S-turns and turns around a point
on windy days were a real challenge, but fun.
After a couple of weeks they said it's time to get back to work and
were a bit surprised at my performance. Even more so at the fact I'd
been practicing instead of just flying around having fun. OTOH to me
working on the maneuvers was fun.

DH

Funny you should mention that, on one of my familiarization flights to
get reendorsed for solo we went out and practiced turns around a
point. Before we had done them in around 10 knot winds (I estimate)
and I think I had performed them pretty well. He seemed impressed at
least. However on this recent flight the winds at that altitude were

A bit off topic but on an instrument training flight the winds were
far in excess of what was forecast as well as what they were reading
on the ground. I would normally intercept the localizer at 120 MPH,
but this time the winds were so high that I was already past the
localizer before I had a chance to start making my turn. IIRC our
ground speed was something like 180 to 200 MPH. That meant the winds
"up there" were 60 to 80 MPH. To say I was behind the airplane would
be an understatement <:-))

Post by Scien
a bit higher than that. I might estimate 20 knots or so. The
difference was night and day. I just couldn't hold my distance. I
think it was a combination of not wanting to increase my bank beyond
20 degrees and having a slightly incorrect idea of where downwind
was. I always enjoyed our ground reference maneuvers before, so
practicing solo will be fun, and apparently pretty needed.

One thing to remember is they are "ground reference maneuvers" so for
turns around a point, I pick a point on the ground (a road
intersection is good for this) and then draw an imaginary circle
around that point. Then I pick where the circle crosses each of the
roads and then concentrate of flying that track while making the
circle as round as possible. That means the bank will be steepest on
the down wind side and shallowest on the upwind side. It takes a bit
of practice/experience to pick the proper distance and as the wind
picks up you have to be conscious of not banking beyond your limits
and of course staying conscious of the airspeed as well. On a windy
day that down wind bank can be really steep and sometimes you have to
make a larger circle. <:-))

I don't think you have to worry about flying solo in 20 knot winds as
you will most likely have wind limits well less than that. However as
you gain experience it's great to push those limits as far as you can
handle (with an instructor along).

Post by Scien
Although all that said, my instructor is not comfortable with me in
winds that high yet so I will just be able to practice in the easier
stuff. Still fun and useful in any case though.

It sounds as if you have a good attitude and a sound approach to
flying.

Good luck,

[Robert M. Gary]

Search for CAP 60-1. In the attachments there is a very good solo
proficiency syllibus.

-Robert

[Scien]

Post by Robert M. Gary
Search for CAP 60-1. In the attachments there is a very good solo
proficiency syllibus.
-Robert

Thanks for the pointer, seems like a nice list. I think I would add a
bit to it, but for the most part most of the maneuvers I would feel
comfortable doing without my instructor are on there.