Flight Journal: flight 19

[beaky]

Flight 19
08-13-95
1968 C-172K

N07
Local

Sky clear; wind 178/05-10; warm

1.0 dual
2 landings

"MCA & recovery, const. alt. turns, p-off stalls, t.o. & lndng"

M. has been sent bac to TEB, but I have decided to stay here. I've grown attached to this place, and I'm eager to work on polishing up my landings without having to put up with delays, jet traffic, and landing fees.

Of course, this means changing instructors again.

But after I spend some time with J., I realize I have lucked out...

J. is a quiet, calm individual who seems to lack the slight impatience and resentment I've seen so far in most of the other CFIs, who fly with green students just so they can build hours before heading off to an airline career. This may have something to do with his goals: doing missionary or relief work in the Third World, as opposed to the sterile glamour of the airlines. I tell him I'm not too sure yet which path I might take, and he gently advises me to keep my options open: just upgrade my ratings and be ready for any good opportunity that comes along.

I like his style... and I also like the fact that not only is he a CFI, he is one of the mechanics who tends to the Lincoln Park fleet. This is inspiring, as I've considered turning wrenches as well as instructing- and it's also reassuring. I'll feel safer in a plane that has been serviced by the same guy who sits next to me on each flight!
J. wants to review stalls and MCA- I'm a little disappointed, but realize it can't hurt to brush up on that stuff.

I perform startup and runup with checklist in hand, calling out each item aloud. J. is pleased. I get 475 airborne reasonably well (within two minutes of starting the engine- I love this airport!).

Once clear of the pattern, we fly over towards Greenwood Lake. The air is smooth, the visibilty is awesome, and at 3000 feet, the air is cool and smooth. Yesss...

J. asks me to transition to MCA,and I do so with no trouble, remembering my hours with E. in the 150.
Next: a power-off stall. Not much of a break in this plane; real easy. It's all coming back now, although I see that I"m not holding altitude in MCA very well. Eh- just need more power, that's all.

J. coaches me through a few medium-bank 360s, then it's time to return to N07 for landing. I'm a tad confused entering the pattern from the north... too high at the top of final again... then I find myself diving for 01 with everything hanging out. Some wag on the Unicom frequency notes, after I announce final, that it looks like "a strafing run"... ha ha, very funny, wiseguy...

But he's right. It's a lousy approach. So I goose the throttle and go around.

Next attempt is better. I'm ahead of the machine and on top of the checklist all the way around. But I am unsure of things as we round out, and 475 porpoises a bit. J. calmly takes over as we drift left, dangerously close to the runway's edge.

I'm feeling discouraged again, but it's okay... I've got time to try it one more time.
Make it good! Good takeoff, noce square pattern, good airspeed control... on final I have it dropping at 500 fpm at just under 70 knots... I float a tiny bit in the flare, but touch down nicely.

After a pleasant, leisurely debrief in the restaurant over a much-needed soda, we schedule the next lesson. J. tells me we'll go over the same stuff as today.

All told, this has been a productive morning, although that solo doesn't seem much closer. Got to do some more studying and chair-flying this week!

Next: Flight 20

[FridayChild]

You sure changed a lot of instructors.
In your shoes, I think I would have been a bit upset by that.

[beaky]

You sure changed a lot of instructors.
In your shoes, I think I would have been a bit upset by that.

I was.

 But that's the way it goes. The business has a high turnover rate.  I could have decided to change schools, but that would not have helped, necessarily.

And I realize now, reading this old journal, that over half of my primary training hours were logged with one instructor (except for stage checks), so it might have been worse.