Happy December! The holiday season is now in full-swing, and this aviator is certainly feeling the cheer. Despite the crummy weather, this past week, I maintained my regimen of "chair flying" the Commercial Pilot maneuvers. My persistence paid off, today, as I was rewarded by mother nature with flying weather...
Sunday 12/4:
Today, I flew with RAC instructor, and good personal-friend, Mike K. A very experienced pilot, Michael knows the Commercial maneuvers quite well. He is a good role-model to have in the right seat, as a Commercial Pilot candidate. Today, we tried a little bit of everything...
In addition to the maneuvers, I got to meet up with my good buddy Pete C. @ D38. Pete had some spare B-17 model parts for me, so I could repair the "Fuddy Duddy" model I have (*future blog post alert*.) While waiting for me, he was able to snap some pics of our arrival and departure. Thanks again, Pete!
Thanks, Pete!
12/4/16: Arrival/Departute @ D38
1.) Power-Off 180 Landing (Go-Around)
2.) Power-Off 180 Landing (Land Full-Stop)
3.) Soft-Field Takeoff
"Here I am...(rock you like a hurricane?") - Pic, Pete Contario
Me after landing - Pic, Pete Contario
Pic, Pete Contario
Mike and I pulling-in. Pic, Pete Contario
And, off we go! Pic, Pete Contario
Now, back to the maneuvers...
Overall, I did pretty good. However, I really need to focus on slowing myself down. Also, I need to really be on-top of my altitude. I find that, when I get impatient on a maneuver, I tend to force/rush it. From there, my attention turns to the maneuver, and I lose sight of my altitude...thus ballooning. I have remedied this issue, before, and as I mentioned, it always appears after doing something new or unfamiliar in a lesson. So, the takeaway is, I just need more practice! This is also exactly what my pilot buddy Patrick C. said last week, as we did some Arrow "ground school."
12/4/16: CPL Flight Lesson Summary
1.) Depart KROC (Soft-Field Takeoff)
2.) Arrive D38 (Power-Off 180 Landings)
3.) CPL Maneuvers (Accelerated Stalls, Steep Turns, Lazy 8s)
4.) Arrive @ KROC (Short-Field Landing)
- Soft-Field Takeoffs: Overall, I am finally getting a feel for doing soft-field takeoffs in the Arrow. It is much different that in the Cessna, because the Arrow is so nose-heavy. I am beginning to gain the ability to remain in ground-effect longer, without trying to "force" the Arrow off too soon. With a bit more practice, I will have this "down."
- Power-Off 180 Landings: Michael had me do my 1st 180 landing @ D38 without any input/help from him. The result? I put down the gear too early (drag), and also added flaps too early (more drag.) I needed to add power to make the runway. That's not the intent for a power-off landing! So, the second time around, I followed Mike's wisdom, and waited on the gear/flaps. Boy, did that make the difference. I am now confident that I can fly right to the runway, without gear/flaps, until they are warranted with power-off flight characteristics. Why? Well, like I said, the Arrow likes to sink (nose-heavy.) At this point, when power is off, the gear and flaps are just supplements for slowing down (well, ya still kinda need gear for landing, ya know... ;-)
- CPL Maneuvers: My steep turns went well, as did my accelerated stalls (once Mike grilled me on the correct recovery procedure!) My Lazy-8s, once again, showed that they need work. I was "forcing" the maneuver too much, thus making the Lazy-8s...Crazy-8s. Mike re-enforced that I just need to relax, and slow down while flying the 8s. At this point, I think the best thing I can do to improve is "chair fly" the maneuver, as slowww as possible. I will get this, somehow!
- Short-Field Landing: For the first time, I nailed a short-field landing in the Arrow. I was so excited. I managed to find just the right power setting, and settled down right on the touchdown zone markings. I used aerodynamic braking to slow as soon as possible, to simulate short-field conditions. All went well, I just have to keep it up.
Thanks, once again, Mike, Pete, and Pat for your assistance! Until next time, "Keep 'Em Flying," and "Never, Never, Never Give Up."
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