09-30-95
1968 C-172K
N07
Local
Sky clear; wind light NE. Temp 65F. Doggone beautiful day to go flying.
0.9 dual
1 landing
"CATs, MCA, R&R poweron/off, norm. t.o. & lndg"
475 is looking good today; she's been cleaned properly with a pressure washer. I'm starting to think A. will no longer be paying me to wipe his airplanes down... frankly, I'm relieved. That was almost more trouble than it was worth for me.
But there is today's lesson...
I feel prepared, but it turns out I am not. But it's okay.
I'm introduced to J., a "flight instructor applicant", who would like to ride along and make this a "fam flight". I agree, wanting to see if having a passenger in the back will make a difference, physically or psychologically. Looking back, I will wish I hadn't. He will be no trouble, but it is a bad idea that day. Here's why...
J. explained the whole lesson beforehand: We'd fly north, climbing to 4000, do a constant-altitude turn, then fly a traffic pattern at altitude, decending to a power-off stall to simulate a flare, then climb as if going around and do a power-on stall. Simple enough, and I get why we're practicing this.
First mistake comes right away: I'm not playing the game right. I'm supposed to imagine J. is A., and it's my stage check. I don't work directly from the checklist, and I'm sure both instructors notice this. Indirectly, I'm making J. look bad in front of this new guy.
I'm about to start the engine when I see a young lady wandering between us and the plane to the left. I consider for a moment whether or not she'll know what "clear prop!" means, then open the window.
"Excuse me..."
She is startled; probably didn't notice anyone in the plane.
"Ummm... I"m going to start her up now..."
She hightails it back towards the fence, and I get started. Chuckling, I taxi well, call for a radio check, etc... very smooth.
The takeoff? Lousy!
For some reason I don't take out the extra aileron needed for crosswind takeoff quickly enough, and the 172 starts heading straight for the office as it begins to climb. Hooboy; I hope A. isn't in there right now...
Still thinking of A., I make sure to level off for a traffic check every 500 feet- supposedly he is a stickler for that.
Off to the practice area we go. 475 seems happy to be all clean and shiny, and I feel relaxed and confident as well.
Maybe a little too much.
Constant-altitude turn: not easy holding 45 degrees of bank, but I manage. The weight in back makes little difference that I can tell. I'm still nursing a bit of stomach flu, but instead of nausea, I get an unexpected treat: a rush of pure flying enjoyment! For a brief moment, I'm lost in a daydream of flying aerobatics.
But it's no time to daydream... focusing, I roll out of the turn perfectly. The new guy will later comment that my altitude control was "excellent". I'm inclined to agree.
But this was a turn to the left. To the right, as expected, I tend to climb. It's going to look different turning right; mustn't try to set up the same sight picture with the horizon... bad boy. Must remember that.
We do both again, then it's time to turn around for the simulated downwind leg. My steep 180 goes well, but the downwind leg is terrible. I'm not visualizing it right. But the stall goes well enough, then I climb back up to 4000, levelling off a bit for some slow flight, then I ease into a power-on stall. I'm getting better at MCA work, because I enjoy it.
No simulated engine failure this time, but J. asks me "Where's the airport?". Hmmm... I think I can see what I should: the ridge and the hangars beyond.
I'm wrong. We're way to the west. I turn left, and shortly we're over the Sparta VOR. Still a ways to go. But I'm happy that I spotted the VOR station itself, and knew which one it was.
John tells me to overfly N07 at TPA plus 500. Pattern work is fair: checklist, scan, nice turns (except the turn to final), landing is not bad, if floaty.
Not bad, right? Why be depressed about such a performance? Well... J. tells me afterwards that he wants to do one more review before the stage check. I'm bruised by this... but he's right. I haven't made either of us look very good today.
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