Thread: Started Flight Training

This morning, after yet another long-ish break of more than one week, I got to do my first full session of solo circuits. It was good to get back up there on my own and prove that last week was no fluke. In fact, after a few T&Gs with the instructor onboard drilling me on various simulated engine failures etc, it was nice to have some time alone up there to just focus on technique.

After I took off solo, things actually got a bit bumpy with 8kts of crosswind and the occasional gust downwind. Fortunately they were still only reporting 6kts crosswind before the instructor got out so I was still allowed to go. It was especially good to have some variable winds to practice in.

I realised on my way out to the airport that I don't have a watch at the moment (getting a new battery). So I had a hard time keeping track of my time up there. The little airswitch is hard to read with polarising sunglasses on and is conveniently placed on the far RH side of the panel. In the end I didn't want to come down. It was just nice going through the procedures and being entirely in command of the flight from ramp out to ramp in. At one point turning onto base and seeing the world at 30 degrees through the screen and all these familiar places 900ft below I thought "hells bells, I'm flying a ****ing plane!"

The circuit filled up with traffic which made things interesting. Someone was actually refused permission to join the circuit because there were too many of us already in it. I started out following a nice Cirrus expecting to run up the back of it with my still new engine and lack of dead weight, but no chance. They can shift.

I got an inconvenient puff of crosswind on my second last landing and even though I had plenty pf runway and was still reasonably well configured for touchdown I thought "bugger it" and did a go around. I have to practice them whenever there is half a chance and better that than bouncing down the runway looking like a complete goose.

Final landing was a bit messy but again the winds were starting to get up. It wasn't so much a bounce as an unexpected resumption of flight after touchdown. I just gave the throttle a jab to re-stabilise everything and let it settle back down on the runway - all good.

The first thing my instructor said when I walked back in was "oh well, looks like I lost my bet." ... How rude. I told him that I left the bits on the runway and he could pick them up and fill in the report.

Sounds like a good workout.
Go Arounds are a great thing to do.
When the times comes for real and you have that second of doubt about pushing a ****ty situation, you wont hesitate to crack that throttle and live to fight another day.
I've done circuits in tricky conditions or playing with different speeds/ROD where I've done more go arounds than landings.
You said there were a lot of aircraft in the CCT.
Have you had to go round due to someone on the runway and you on finals..Have a think bout where you would go and what you would say on the radio..
one thing I would recommend for you to learn is low level circuits. they are a blast..

ab

Originally Posted by rumman43

...You said there were a lot of aircraft in the CCT.
Have you had to go round due to someone on the runway and you on finals..

I haven't had to go around, but this morning, still with the instructor in the plane, the tower gave takeoff clearance to another plane whilst we were turning final. They weren't even lined up, they were off the runway at the holding point and still had to roll out. I could hear the tower getting a bit nervous telling the plane to "keep rolling as there is traffic behind" and the instructor & I just looked at each other. He said something like "that's cutting it a bit fine".

I held off until I got landing clearance almost over the piano keys!

Fortunately the other plane was departing the circuit or we would have run up the back of them.

That's the second time this has happened to me. They sometimes make a balls-up of the separation when there's a lot of traffic and the tower can't tell if the plane lining up is going to be quick off the mark or not.

I thought I might give an update on progress for those interested...

Well after a few weeks off whilst I was away on holidays, I am now working towards my first area solo. Since we are now into spring, the weather has started to give some trouble with inconvenient periods of rain and thunderstoms stuffing up my last few attempts to do solo circuits. Last week I couldn't go solo at all due to crosswinds and on Tuesday I was up there for three circuits and again the crosswind started so I had to come down. Policy dictates that I am not allowed to fly in greater than 8kts of crosswind and on Tuesday it went from nothing to 10kts in the space of a single circuit.

So tomorrow I will try to complete the last of me pre-requisite 2hrs solo flying before we head back out to the training area to prepare me for my first area solo. Fingers crossed the wind stays down.

And here are a few photos of the kite I'm flying...
VH-YRQ - a C172 that is a lot older than it looks. In fact the average age of the club fleet is about 30 years! YRQ is actually the best in the fleet I reckon. I have had to write up myriad defects in nearly all the others - but then I am a bit picky.







And my instructor Steve. As dry as they come.

have you done the area solo?

if yes hown did it go?

going back a few posts, Do myou have Go-Around criteria? (criterria that if not met means an automatic go around)

i.e not landed by 1/3 of the way down the runway
or
Not lined up on the runway by 300ft AGL

vh yrq,
172n
first reg aus. mar 1991,
being a 172n this makes it about a 1978 aircraft, s/n 17273375
i can look up the s/n production date, or you can look at the plate in the door frame to find the year of manufacture, the first number is the year of manufacture.

it really doesn't matter when it was born, it is the continuing maintenance that keeps these aircraft safe for you and i.
the maintenance release will tell you how many hours it has flown.

keep up your flying, it's worth the effort.

oh, just another little observation from an old, sometimes crabby, engineer-

carpenters use 'planes'

'planes' do not fly..

Originally Posted by solmanic

Read the first 150 pages of the flight training manual (one of three). Now I just have to try and remember it. 2hr briefing next Sat followed by 1hr 20min in the air. The syllabus says 13-15hrs to first solo but I wonder if it can be done in 10?

Don Mitchell is still instructing at RQAC, ask him about a girl (lady) who hadnt soloed in 50 hrs when he was CFI in Darwin. Her name was Iris, she would flare at 50' and the old ( actually then very new)PA28's(they were Piper warrior 11's) would wallow through the air until ATC would call her up and tell her to do a go round. But 10 hrs is a little ambitious I think. I just looked at my logbook and I soloed in 11.9 hrs and I liked to muck around a bit so 10 hrs would be achieveable.

I lost this thread for a while...

Two area solos done to date and (weather permitting) I expect to go for my GFPT in the next two or three weeks.

Go around criteria is simply if I don't have a stabilized approach (4deg approach angle and 65KIAS) by 300ft. In the case of a high bounce after touchdown it's just common sense to punch the throttle and save trashing the undercarriage or risk a prop strike. I actually had one of these coming in from an area solo the other week. The wind gusted up just as I was touching down and away she went. I had already called for circuits on approach so I just jammed the throttle back in and kept on going. I called going around to the tower although I might have been able to disguise it as a very quick touch and go ;-)