Flight Journal: flight 03- first "real" lesson

[beaky]

Flight #3
10-24-94

-FIRST ENROLLED FLIGHT SCHOOL LESSON-

1979 C-172N
TEB
Teterboro, NJ
Local

0.8 dual

"The 4 fundamentals, preflight procedures, intro"


I've finally decided to go for it!! Walking into the FAA building at Teterboro, I notice that all the lights are out. Inside the school's windowless office, I see a few annoyed instructors fumbling about with flashlights, and behind one such beam of light I spy E., who'd been the first instructor to pounce on me when I last walked through this door, shopping for a flight school. We're scheduled for a lesson today.

"Well", he says cheefully, "The main transformer blew- the entire airport has no power, not even tower radar.
"But we can fly anyway; it's VFR, and the tower radios are working. Let's go."

The 150 I'd been so attracted to last time (mostly for budgetary reasons) is grounded with radio trouble today, so my first "real" lesson will be provided with the help of a somewhat crusty Cessna 172.
E. takes care of the radio chores, clearing us for taxi and then takeoff. He tells me he'll also handle takeoff and climbout, then she'll be mine, all mine, rudder and all... until it's time to land!!

 Sure enough, in just a few minutes, I'm in full control, technically speaking, of my first Skyhawk, attempting my first proper maneuvers over a surreal map of my childhood stomping grounds, Bergen and Rockland counties. But sightseeing and looking for houses and places from my youth is out of the question right now; the whole experience of handling an airplane in flight again is a bit much as it is.
 Our headsets are on the floor in the back, as this airplane's comm jacks are not working; the engine seems loud enough to be a distraction.
The sun is very bright, also- and of course I've forgotten my sunglasses.

E. starts talking a mile a minute, explaining what seems to be far too much... he will later tell me that this is standard procedure; the student is not expected to grasp it all immediately, but sort of soak it in through repetition.

There are three small airports in the immediate vicinity, and on this fine day, all of them have sent up a swarm of other students, novices, and "weekend warriors" who happen to have Monday off.
And we're buzzing around up here  with everyone else, here underneath one of the busiest controlled airspaces in the world...

Lifting a wing to clear before turning, I see a twin streak past, close enough to make an impression that will linger.
I'm not sure I'll ever get the hang of spotting other traffic- they all seem so low...

"It's right there", says E. of another plane he's spotted.

"Uuuuhhhh.... no."
"Down there; right there. See it?"
"Oh, yeah... I though it was a truck!"

This is not so easy...I really have to pay attention to what's going on out there, as well as in here.

Despite all that, I do well. I discover that turning from heading to heading, without skidding or losing altitude, is something I can do fairly well. The only thing I botch is levelling off from a climb- but not too badly.
E. offers a good amount of encouragement, but when it's time to land, he insists on taking over.

We enter the Class D without a radar ident, but we're talking to Tower on the radio, and as E. enters the pattern, we see the VASI lights wink on-  power has been restored.
E. shoots a very nice approach and lands the Skyhawk deftly. I decide I can probably learn from him how to land an airplane, if I pay attention.

Before leaving, I buy the entire Jeppesen student kit, in preparation for groundschool: plotter, computer, syllabus, textbooks, FAR/AIM, etc. With a logbook and sump cup, the grand total is over $100. That's over an hour of dual time, but no matter. Gotta get this stuff sooner or later...

I'm in now, head-first. I decide to try to go up again next week, and at least once a week thereafter. It'd be cheaper in the long run to wait until I can buy a block of time at a discount, but I'm willing to sacrifice some savings for the sake of making some headway.


Next: Flight 04

[Brett_Henderson]

So you did take your training at a controlled field ? I'll bet getting right on that rudder, first time up impressed E.. Most people have to be "urged" to start using it and it takes forever to get them to stop "stepping on the ball" and just "feel" their way through turns. Not to mention how much more naturally cross-control will come.

The no headset flying brings back to mind the stories about trench mouth

[Mobius]

Nice story Sean, it reminds me of the first time I went flying.

I think everyone has some trouble spotting traffic when it's more than a couple of miles away, especially when it's below you, then it's just impossible.  I can hear someone make base-to-final call, and be a couple miles out, and not be able to see them at all.

[beaky]

So you did take your training at a controlled field ? I'll bet getting right on that rudder, first time up impressed E.. Most people have to be "urged" to start using it and it takes forever to get them to stop "stepping on the ball" and just "feel" their way through turns. Not to mention how much more naturally cross-control will come.

The no headset flying brings back to mind the stories about trench mouth    having to get pretty intimate with a mic used by every other pilot  ::)

Can't wait to keep reliving this all, vicariousy  


Edit:  I   S T I L L   have trouble spotting traffic...

First few lessons were at TEB...moved to N07, then back to TEB.
I'm pretty sure it's mentioned in the journal...

Got the hang of using the rudder pretty quickly- oddly enough, most of my instructors constantly reminded me to "step on the ball" even when I could feel it wasn't necessary. There's a bit of a lag sometimes with Cessnas; won't do to go chasing that ball all the time. Once I was on my own I was able to find a happy medium.

But I guess they wanted to make sure I understood what it was for, and not forget it when it was important.
Since I've been flying a newish SP, I have to remember to put it lots of right rudder on takeoff- my old "feel" isn't sufficient with a fresh airplane with a low-time engine.

I think I'm getting better and better at spotting traffic, but early on it seemed impossible...

[Brett_Henderson]

KMRT (Marysville, Oh)..  Noise abatement: When taking off on 27, turn crosswind before the housing developement..

On a warm day with full fuel in a 172, in order to be anywhere NEAR 500agl requires a climbing, left turn right at Vx. Stepping on the ball makes for an interesting.. umm.. well .. try it  

[Brett_Henderson]

Since I've been flying a newish SP, I have to remember to put it lots of right rudder on takeoff- my old "feel" isn't sufficient with a fresh airplane with a low-time engine.

I got to fly a sheriff's dept.

[beaky]

KMRT (Marysville, Oh)..  Noise abatement: When taking off on 27, turn crosswind before the housing developement..

On a warm day with full fuel in a 172, in order to be anywhere NEAR 500agl requires a climbing, left turn right at Vx. Stepping on the ball makes for an interesting.. umm.. well .. try it  

I guess I've been lucky- haven't had to deal with procedures quite that interesting.  I'm personally not very interested in turning a 172 while climbing at Vx. Not below 3000 feet AGL, anyway.  

If those people in those houses only knew...
"Would you like noise, or the occasional airplane falling on your roof?"

[Brett_Henderson]

I'm personally not very interested in turning a 172 while climbing at Vx. Not below 3000 feet AGL, anyway.    

It's not my favorite thing either. But it does teach you to feel the turn. Trying to keep a ball centered in that situation is a dangerous distraction. The delay is not only amplified, your corrections are exagerated (as indicated by the ball).

A few hours drilling for your commercial maneuvers and you'll be more comfy doing it. It's kind of like an abbreviated, less aggressive chandelle; and a lot less un-nerving than 90 degree turns with the stall horn blaring.

[beaky]

I'm personally not very interested in turning a 172 while climbing at Vx. Not below 3000 feet AGL, anyway.    

It's not my favorite thing either. But it does teach you to feel the turn. Trying to keep a ball centered in that situation is a dangerous distraction. The delay is not only amplified, your corrections are exagerated (as indicated by the ball).

A few hours drilling for your commercial maneuvers and you'll be more comfy doing it. It's kind of like an abbreviated, less aggressive chandelle; and a lot less un-nerving than 90 degree turns with the stall horn blaring.

I can turn just fine in that situation; just don't like to do it if it's not necessary. The irony of it is that at such airspeeds and A of A you really must coordinate rudder properly... I find that if I work the rudder by feel rather than watching the ball, I generally do better turning while climbing.

Haven't done any chandelles in a while, not even by accident. I should do a couple next time I go up.

And I love turning with the stall horn blaring- at altitude.
 MCA maneuvering just isn't MCA to me if I don't hear that horn. That's what it's for, right?

[Brett_Henderson]

[quote]I find that if I work the rudder by feel rather than watching the ball, I generally do better turning while climbing.

[beaky]

I find that if I work the rudder by feel rather than watching the ball, I generally do better turning while climbing.  

That's what I mean. If you fixate on the ball, you end up behind the (8)ball (sorry, couldn't resist).

Yep. It was hard at first, after always being told "step on the ball" during every other phase of flight... so if the CFI said "rudder" I"d look at that damn ball...

You're braver than I, when it comes to MCA turns. Never did like'em. It's like tempting a spin  :o ..  Not so bad in a 172, but in a Tomahawk, you're a wind shift away from going through that drill..

I'm not brave, just not very bright. I even enjoy upset recovery under the hood. Always enjoy practicing stall recovery  in Cessnas- again, provided I have a nice safe margin of altitude. Haven't spun yet, and have never inadvertently stalled- not even jinking at the top of final after a bad base leg.

I think the key for me is simply thinking ahead. If the horn and the break take you by surprise, you're doing something wrong. And of course the recovery inputs must begin as soon as you recognize a stall condition.
And whenever the full stall vs "R&R" debate begins, I'm always in the full-stall camp... I really believe going all the way through stall and recovery produces better R &R habits from most pilots.
It seems like some pilots think of the stall as some sort of magic barrier, through which they cannot escape alive... so when they get an inadvertent buffet that first time... they may learn to avoid it to some extent, but I wonder how they'll do if they inadvertently and suddenly stall the airplane some day, due to wake turbulence or whatever.
Reminds me- I could use some proper spin training... didn't get much of that during my PP lessons, and didn't even get to do any spins during my one aerobatics lesson.


The 150s are probably not as bad asTomahawks, but some of the ones I've flown got a litle squirrely in a stall- really have to stay ahead of them. But up to that point, they behave well in MCA as long as you take it easy.

[Brett_Henderson]

I've totally highjacked this thread, but it's good discussion, I think.

The main reason a 172 is so stable and forgiving, is that the CG is well below the center of lift. It's like a pendulum that wants to "right" itself. And in a nose-high, stall, that CG is even in front of the center of lift. Relaxing back pressure lets gravity help bring the nose back down. It's pretty hard for a stall to sneak up on even a low-time pilot in a 172. Even the dreaded, accelerated stall (like when you're trying to recover from a base-leg gone long) takes some deliberate, ill-advised action on the pilot's part.

Low-wing planes are a little different (though for some reason, PA-28s are nearly as stable as 172s). I've never researched the stats; but I'd be willing to bet that per-landing (172s way outnumber PA-28s), accelerated stalls are much more common in low-wing planes.

Anyway..

[beaky]

Where you ever taught; "pitch and power for the top of the white arc" if you ABSOLUTELY have to make unusual maneuvers, base to final ?

Not in quite those terms, as I recall.. although that makes good sense. .. an excellent thumbnail rule, instead of sweating square roots when you really should be concentrating on flying.

I was taght how to S-turn on final with a healthy airpeed margin: not only excellent for maintaining traffic spacing, but also good coordination exercise... and a lot of fun.