back pressure

[bamair]

Today we practiced lesson eight, just basically going over everything, with an introduction to IR flying straight and level and turns....thats easy & fine like everyone said it would be. Well I never seemed to ever have a problem making steep turns and rolling out but today it seems like i couldnt apply enough back pressure to keep my altitude, is there a reason for this, my flight instructor also said I always do steep turns well, i mean, there not that hard, but i lost altitude badly today about 300ft, i read online to trim just before entering your steep turn and at 30degrees of bank to increase rpm to 2400rpm...my flight instructor says yes increase rpm but do not trim????...i don't know if its because we went up at 7am and i wasnt that awake yet, but has anyone ever experienced this?????

ALSO...my pattern work is okay however it seems like I get myself worked up in the pattern, when I watch my flight instructor do touch and go's talk to the ATC and land its so smooth and easy and when It's my turn, it feels like 1,2,3....on top of that all communications with ATC was suppose to, key word here SUPPOSE too be handed over to me, I did fairly well, except in the pattern I missed some calls or I was too slow responding and my CFI had to make the call...so NEEDLESS to say todays lesson was incomplete, I'm not upset about the lesson being incomplete cause I do need to work on my traffic pattern and airspeed well in the pattern on final, i always seem to be a little too fast or a little to slow.....this is just hurting my pocket cause its not cheap to have to repeat a lesson also everyone that was in my ground school is scheduled to take there dual check ride today for there first solo, and i'm 2 lessons behind now, my instructor insisted i'm moving at a average pace. It just sucks when your in the WX room and your talking to everyone hearing how well there chk ride went and i'm the only one still on lesson eight....

[beefhole]

Everything sounds ship-shape bam.  Normal growing pains.  They go away as the hours rise, plain and simple.  I bet every single one of us has the stories of our early PPL troubles, without exception.  Just stick with it-it really starts to feel great once all that stuff begins to come natural-and believe me, it will

[Mobius]

Like Beefhole said, it all starts to come naturally.  I remember the first time I tried to call ATC (I learned at an uncontrolled airport, so that was after my first solo), I made the initial call-up after listening to ATIS, and after that, went completely blank, I could not remember what was going to happen next, I was supposed to get a transponder code, and I completely missed it, and my CFI had to put it in so I could do the read back with the right number.  But over the course of the next couple of lessons, I learned how to talk to ATC and what I had to do to do everything right.  Now, I can go though an entire ATC conversation in my head, from initial call-up, to landing, to final frequency change, without missing a word, and it all seems natural.  Moral of the story, don't worry, everything will be fine, it just sometimes takes some people longer than others, and those are usually the people who have a better grasp on it in the end.  Just make sure you don't take any short cuts that you'll regret later.  The fact that you have started training means you are commited to learning to flying and you should be able to "roll with the punches" so you can handle any situation that could arise during your flying career.

[chomp_rock]

Sounds like normal trouble to me, you're going to get better as the hours go up, you just aren't 'at home' in the cockpit yet.

I bet every single one of us has the stories of our early PPL troubles, without exception.

Oh yes, don't we all!

I used to have an annoying tendancy to cause the aircraft to float before I landed it, sometimes I'd float for half the runway before touching down (coming in too fast does it).  On my first solo I set the freq on my radio wrong and since I was at an uncontrolled airport nobody knew I was coming in. Someone in a '182 pulled right out into the runway in front of me as I was coming down and started his takeoff roll.  I made a go-around but not after almost landing on top of him as he rolled along at about 75kts.

[beaky]

Don't see anything wrong there, except maybe you're worrying too much.

And I know you're in a very regimented program,  but try not to think of it in terms of completing things. That pressure might be distracting you. Forget the time goals and focus on the flying goals.
  When they turn you loose with an airplane, you're expected to keep learning (especially about the basics)... the lesson is never complete.

[bamair]

thanks rotty and everyone else, makes me feel a whole lot better. It just stinks because I hate being the last person and flying is everything but cheap  

i'll think about all this advice tomorrow when its me vs. steep turns and atc.

[beaky]

thanks rotty and everyone else, makes me feel a whole lot better. It just stinks because I hate being the last person and flying is everything but cheap  

No problem. I'm no flight instructor, but i know it's important to keep the focus on the right things, with confidence.
As for the money: this ain't nothin'. If you really get into flying, you're going to start to forget what a hundred-dollar bill looks like.
But if I can keep flying, anybody can manage it, if they really want it.

i'll think about all this advice tomorrow when its me vs. steep turns and atc.

Again, sort of negative: it's more like dancing lessons than boxing lessons. Grab that plane and work with it.

[Mobius]

As for the money: this ain't nothin'. If you really get into flying, you're going to start to forget what a hundred-dollar bill looks like.

Oh man, isn't that the truth.

.....is it bad that I spend more money flying every month than I do on food?  Good thing I still live close to home, and good ol' Mom doesn't mind cooking for me every now and then.

Remember: "A good pilot is always learning" - front of AOPA flight training magazine

[Boss_BlueAngels]

Bamair-

I've got 207 hours TT and yesterday I went up in a new plane... we did pattern work and I felt like I hadn't ever flown a plane before at moments! haha   It would have been very difficult for me to make all my radio calls while concentrating on the completely different airplane, views, numbers, and procedures.  Just the same feeling as when it was my first few times flying at a towered airport.

So don't worry.  Every one of us HAS felt that way.... MORE THAN ONCE!


Your instructor is correct regarding that steep turn... make sure your trim is set for LEVEL flight.  If you trim it in the turn you're really going to have to muscle that puppy down when you level off!  And if you think it's bad in a 152 just wait till you get into something like an Arrow or Cardinal!  You'll get a feel for things as your experience grows and you'll know just how much power to add without even thinking, right as you roll those wings in.  

Another thing to kind of keep somewhere stored in the back of your mind is not only the numbers (RPM, airspeed, etc) but the SOUND.  If a "situation" comes up in the future this is something relatively easy to pick up on that you may have problems.  


Ummm... and yeah, everyone's given you tons of insight as to what to think before/after each flight and how to mentally prepare... but we're all different and this is something you have to just come up with on your own also.  

I say this because frankly, I happen to look at each upcoming fight with the boxer's perspective that 'daddy wrote! haha  After each and every flight (whether it's part of a lesson or just for fun) I write down about 2 full pages of notes on things I liked and disliked.  And then another page on how to change the things I didn't like and how to improve the things I did like... then try to do that for the next one.  I am so obsessed with it I even write down my "goals" for every flight right before it.  If it's been a while between flights I'll just sit down at the computer and write them down for fun.  

I look at every lesson as a list of things I need to achieve and work on.  Now I have trained myself (notice I said, "TRAINED" myself) to not get cought up on the mistakes.  Something you will soon learn also.

Anyway, keep having fun and asking your questions!  We all love talkin' about this stuff!

[beaky]

Don't get me wrong about the boxing/dancing analogy- dancing well isn't easy either, you can get hurt, and you have to approach problems aggressively and confidently (maybe downhill skiing or something like that makes my point clearer), but I've found it more useful to not consider it a battle. The only potential enemy up there is yourself. The plane is ready to do whatever you want, and even the sky isn't out to get you- it's just doing its thing.
But very true- my approach is not necessarily right for everyone.

[ryan2005]

Did you add power before entering the turn, you lose a  lot of airspeed in steep turns.

[C]

[quote]Your instructor is correct regarding that steep turn... make sure your trim is set for LEVEL flight.