Got flying sched. for this month...

[Boss_BlueAngels]

Well I FINALLY get to start finishing my commercial license! After two meetings with the person in charge of flight training the DE and my instructor I finally have a schedule.  I fly every Monday, Thursday and every other Saturday.  (I just may change it to every saturday since the weather around here is--less than perfect).

Anyway, my instructor will go over my Cessna 177RG Cardinal check out sheet (about 4 pages of questions) and on Thursday we will go flying!  It'll be my first time in the Cardinal, and any Cessna other than a 150/152! haha  I've got about 2 hours in a 2005 Piper Arrow and the instructor said both planes (Cardinal and Arrow) feel very similar so that'll be nice.

I have only 44 hours to go TT which includes 8 hours complex, my long XC, night XC, another dual XC, and night currency. lol  Other than that I'll be done! haha  Oh yeah, and I just got the ASA prepware for my com written.  And man, I had totally forgotten that the com. written was 100 questions! haha  

Anyway, hopefully that can be taken care of pretty quickly and THEN I can finally start to work on my CFI!!!  I'm very excited for that.  

Anyway, I'll let you guys know how everything goes with the Cardinal on Thurs.  

Anyone in here have experience in them?

[beaky]

Good going... enjoy the Cardinal! Never flew one, but I've heard they're sweet... yet still very Cessna-like; shouldn't be too weird for you. MarcoAviator has some time in the 182RG; not quite the same, but he may have some useful advice.

[beefhole]

Glad to hear you're getting back on track, boss.

*sigh* haven't flown in three months... God knows how long it'll take before I'm proficient again...

[Brett_Henderson]

I have to jump in here. I've been Flying a C177RG quite a bit lately. Just took one to Nashville (photo). Be careful.. it's an easy plane to fall in love with. Fast (for 200hp) efficient and realtively inexpensive (for travel.. not just flying for fun) at $120/hour. I made the 295nm trip from KOSU to KJWN in just over two hours each way.



At 8000 feet and 75% power (25" - 2500rpm) it will do a legitimate 140 knots true,  burning about 9.5gph. No wing-struts and retracted gear make a BIG difference. What you'll notice first is that it feels really sluggish climbing and even calls for 10 degrees flaps for a normal takeoff. With full fuel and two people (two 200lb people and bags) you'll even wonder if it's getting full power climbing out. I was told the wing loading is more for speed than climbing. You "can" take off with no flaps but you gotta stay in ground-effect until 85kias. If you try to do a soft-field take off like in a C172, get on the rigt rudder early (more than you think you need) and get the gear up quickly.

The only other thing I'd want to tell a new C177RG pilot is that it's got a stabilator, like Piper PA-28 and the yoke feels pretty heavy rounding out and flaring. You can't float it in like a 172.. if you fall below 70kias, it starts coming down whether you flare or not..

Your gonna get that "surprise" during your checkout (instructor will pull the gear fuse (keep an eye on him.. it's right by the mixture knob)).. but the emergency gear deployment is pretty straight forward.

One last thing.. Tap the brakes before retracting the gear.. they're spinning at 70knots when you take off  ;)

[Boss_BlueAngels]

Hey Brett, thanks for the advice!!

The last plane I flew was a Piper Arrow.  I couldn't believe how nose heavy that beast was compared to the Warrior's!  haha  

My instructor said that the Arrow and Cardinal are very similar in that respect, as you mentioned.  I cannot wait to start doin' some landings.  I always enjoy the challenge of learning each airplanes quirks and the feeling of that first greaser!!  Which, btw, I got 6 times in a row after my 3rd try in the Arrow!  8)