Recently, two good pilot-pals of mine generously shared some "goodies," to help in my commercial training. Darryl Y., a regional airline captain, has been a friend of mine since his children and my little brother went to Pre-K together. In addition to offering to meet with me to discuss my training progress and aviation-job prospects, Darryl has "donated" manuals to me in the past. This past week, he handed me a "Flow" diagram for the Embraer 170 (which he currently flies.) Remember me mentioning "Flows" once or twice, before? Thanks, Darryl!
Another fellow-aviator, Jeff G., noticed that in my videos of flight-simming, my rudder controls were giving me "fits." So, what does he do? Well, he offers to loan me his very own set of rudder-pedals (and a yoke to boot!) Thanks, Jeff. I will be putting them to good use shortly, and they should help quite a bit. Stay tuned!
Again, I have so many reasons to be thankful!
Thursday - 11/17:
In the past week, the Rochester Air Center (where I train) gained their newest CFI. Congrats to Sarah D! I jumped at the chance to fly with Sarah, and we flew both Thursday and Friday last week. Since she has just taken the CFI checkride, she is fresh on all the commercial pilot maneuvers, which is just what I need for my training. Last Thursday, we practiced and little bit of everything...
CPL Training Flight Summary - 11/17/16
CPL Training Flight Summary - 11/17/16
1.) "Lazy 8s"
2.) Chandelles
3.) Steep-Spiral Descent
Flying with Sarah has been great for me, so far. She is a great instructor, calm and informative. I had a good flight on Thursday, but I found that I needed to get more precise on my Chandelles and Lazy-8s. So, that was my focus for Friday!
A successful Thursday AM flight lesson complete!
Friday 11/18:
On Friday, we decided to focus more on my Lazy-8s and Chandelles, trying to make them more precise. The key, here, is relaxing and really getting a "feel" for the Arrow/Airplane. We did a lot of maneuvers in a short time (slow-flight, power-on/off stalls, accelerated stalls, steep turns, Lazy-8s, Chandelles, short/soft field takeoffs and landings.) Overall, I flew pretty good! I got my Chandelles down, finally. Lazy-8s still need a bit of work, but with Sarah's help, I will improve with practice. On Friday, we decided to put the FAA Commercial Pilot Test standards aside for the Lazy-8s, and just follow the maneuver for "fun." Basically, we just flew a "rough draft" of the maneuver, to get a feel for it. This helped me a lot!
CPL Training Flight Summary - 11/18/16
CPL Training Flight Summary - 11/17/16
1.) Slow Flight
2.) Stalls, Lazy-8s
3.) Chandelles
In addition to my Lazy-8s, my soft-field takeoff and short-field landing needs "work." Again, something that can be improved with practice! I am optimistic, and will keep at it. Thanks for the help, Sarah!
Soon.
Saturday 11/19:
The WNY weather decided not to agree with hopeful flyers, last weekend. So, I took the opportunity of being "grounded" to learn the fine-art of knot-tying, with my Grandpa! You see, tying a good knot is critical for pilots, when it comes to "tying down" and airplane after flight. For Commercial Pilots, this skill is useful, due to the wide-array of destinations and airport ramps they find themselves needing to tie-down at. With some experimentation, and input from my pilot-buddy Charlie, the "Locking Half-Hitch" knot won-out as the best one for the tie-down application.
Sunday 11/20:
The sour weather continued, so I did what any bored pilot would do, made a model of the plane I fly! I recently bought a "Hot Wings" die-cast Piper PA28 toy, with plans to repaint it as the Arrow I fly (N827RA.) While still grounded, I did just that. I think it came out looking pretty close!
A bored pilot's gotta do what he's gotta do, right? Anyhow, again, from the bottom of my heart, I am thankful for you all. I would not be where I am, and going where I am heading, without your help and support along the way. Until next time "Keep 'Em Flying," and "Never, Never, Never Give Up."
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