Flight Journal: flight 20

[beaky]

Flight 20
08-19-95
1968 c-172K


N07-N63-N07
1.2 dual
2 landings

Sky clear; wind 060/07; warm and dry

"CATs, pwr-on stalls, emerg. proc., VOR orient., t.o. & lndng"

The airplane's engine sounds especially good today, and I can't help thinking J. has been giving it extra attention.
On takeoff, I am reminded again of one of the Great Paradoxes of Flying: the more fun you're having, the more likely you are to lose your edge...complacency equals danger! The beautiful weather, the purring engine, the pleasant, relaxed atmosphere in the cabin, and my growing camaraderie with my new instructor all conspire to screw up my takeoff. I feed in too much right rudder, causing the plane to crab way too much as we climb out. Terrible.

More slowflight and stalls north of the field... I perform a very nice power-on stall, but forget what I'm doing even as I do it. Steep 360s... not too bad.

J. tunes in the Sparta VOR next- we'll track direct to the station, then follow an outbound radial to Sussex Airport. Looks like we'll try some landings there.
This is something of a thrill for me, not only because it's a new airport to add to my logbook, but I have been there twice for The World's Biggest Little Airshow, where some of the greatest names in flying perform annually before huge crowds. Today I will actually have something in common with pilots like Tucker, Wagstaff, Franklin and Loudenschlager. I know that's a silly thought but one has to find inspiration wherever it is...

As I prepare to enter the pattern, still well above TPA, J. pulls the throttle all the way back.
"Okay, Sean," he says quite matter-of-factly, "your engine just quit. Let's see you land on the runway."
With a calm that surprises me, I circle down to a suitable point to enter the base leg. Smiling inwardly at this successful maneuver, I'm all set to make what could be a fine power-out approach when J. suddenly restores power and tells me to swing out and  re-enter the pattern on the downwind.

"Skydiver," he says.
 The canopy is about a mile away, dead ahead. It looks like a toy as it drifts down through the pattern altitude. We're going to crowd the jumper, so J. suggests a 360 to make room. As I turn back into the pattern, another 172 enters the downwind, in front of us. Good- I can follow that plane down, in a left-hand pattern for 03. Everything goes well at first, but I'm too hot approaching the threshold, and touch down too far to attempt a touch-and-go.
 Taxiing back, I notice that Sussex looks strangely deserted- never been here when there isn't a show in progress.
No tents, no crowds... only a few airplanes, and a small group of people gathered on the apron by the fuel pumps. I'm concerned about their assessment of my lousy landing, so I try extra-hard to make my departure perfect. The pressure does the trick: using the full length of the pavement before the threshold for a short-field takeoff, I gun 475's engine while briefly holding the brakes, roll quickly, and rotate at Vx before the numbers, getting airborne just before the nosewheel reaches the threshold line!
I focus intently on holding the centerline as we climb away steeply at 60 knots. Not bad.

Time is running out, so we depart Sussex and head for home. I feel lost out here, but I manage to pass right over the station as I track the radial back to the VOR.

My landing at N07 is.... fair.

More Things to Remember, as noted by me:

Ease up on the rudder on rotation- control effectiveness increases with airspeed!
Turn OBS until you get a "to" indication, then continue turning it until the needle is centered- this will tell you which radial you are on.
CDI needle deflects more as you get closer to the station.
FSS frequencies are noted on the chart near the VOR frequencies.
Watch your airspeed on final! Don't be afraid to throttle back- the power will still be there if you need it!
During steep turns, a need for more back pressue indicates a need for more bank angle.

Next: Flight 21