Lesson 14 -- Solo!

This is something I haven't done before ... taken a picture during a lesson. There's so much to concentrate on that messin' with a camera just seems silly. But today I really had the urge to bring my camera.

That's Denton Airport (KDTO) down there after just turning downwind for runway 35.



What's special about this photo is that the only person in the plane when I took it was me!



Last Sunday I did a ground session with my instructor, C. He gave me the pre-solo written test and we spent some time going over the couple of things I missed ... Special VFR and light gun signals. Then he briefed me on how the solo will be conducted ... three full-stop landings with taxi back to the beginning of the runway ... and on the things the controller might ask me to do if space is needed in the pattern. Things like performing a standard-rate 360-degree turn or s-turns on final. Since my last attempt at landings had been not so good we decided to schedule a three-hour block for the plane and go do some touch and goes. If C feels like I'm performing up to snuff then he'd bail out. Preferably when we're parked on the tarmac.

The weather gods are on my side today:

Addison - KADS 081247Z 32004KT 13SM SKC 06/02 A3009 (that's 0647 local time)
and
Denton - KDTO 081253Z AUTO 33004KT 10SM CLR 02/M01 A3009 (that's 0653 local time)

By the time we got to Denton around 7:30 am the tower controller was calling the wind as calm. =;-)

The lift-off at Addison and the climb to 2000' were right on the numbers an uneventful. I was paying special attention to my checklists today (since I forgot one last time) and so as soon as I reached 2000' and trimmed for level flight I went through the cruise checklist. It's only 22.9 nm to Denton so pretty quickly I was doing the approach checklist and calling up Denton Tower on the radio. We were asked to announce right downwind for runway 35 and we had to swing out over the town to get into position (because I slightly mis-stated our position ... "over Lake Lewisville" doesn't mean so much when the lake is that big).

We entered the pattern and set up for approach and dang if I wasn't coming in too fast again. But the landing was decent if a little long. I added in full power and we launched into the pattern. This time around I again came in too high and fast so C helped out with a slip to get us down.

This time, as we turned onto the downwind C told me ... "try this, get your speed established at 85 and when you turn base grab the trim wheel at the very top and turn it all the way down until you can't turn it any further. This will help get your speed under control. Don't not use back pressure but don't let the nose go up too far." Hmmm ok.

On the latter end of the downwind I pull power back and put in the first notch of flaps (all I'm allowed) and establish a nose-down pitch at 85 kias. Turning base I twirl the trim wheel and when the wings are level again I glance down and .... we're doing 75 kias.

So I turn final and twirl the trim wheel again and though the nose wants to rise I put pressure on the controls to keep it down and when we we're on final I glance down ... we're doing about 65 kias. Final is smooth, straight, just over the numbers I flare and gently we land, mains first.

Well I'll be damned!

So we did it again. And again I'm stabilized on final doing about 65 kias and the flare and touchdown are no problem at all. On the next one C pulls the power back just as we're abeam the numbers. So I put in the first notch of flaps and pause a beat or two before turning base. About halfway down I put in another notch of flaps and turn final. Then just as I'm about to reach for the flap lever C says "more flaps" ... Eureka, we're in sync. We easily make the runway and land, nose up, mains touch down first followed by the nose wheel.

On the next downwind C asks the tower for a full stop. We do a taxi back so I can see what's going on. We go around the pattern again. Another good landing and C asks me to pull up by the base of the control tower. I ask him if he'll be listening in on the radio and he tells me "naw, my batteries ran low. Ask the tower controller if you have any questions, he's pretty friendly. And don't hesitate to go around if you're not happy with the way things look on final." And with that I'm on my own.

I ask for clearance to taxi to the runway, which is given and I'm on my way. Denton is a pretty small airport so it doesn't take long. I go through my final check ... Lights, Trim, Flaps, Radios, GUMPS. Then the tower radios me, "are you ready?" Ha! This guy is friendly. "I'm ready. Request takeoff and would like to stay in the pattern for full-stop. Skyhawk 760." Like I'm going to ask for anything else.

He clears me and off I go. Now, C told me that the plane would fly different without him in it. And I'd read that in the various books and magazines I've been devouring lately. But that Skyhawk really flew differently without him there. I was at pattern altitude before I got to my crosswind turn! So of course, the first time around the pattern I didn't adjust quickly enough and it was hard to bleed off the speed at first. By the time I got on final it was ok and the landing was just fine.

The second time around I came in two high and I had to side slip it in. That went ok though my entry and exit from the slip need some work, but I managed to get lined up with the runway and do a decent nose up landing on the centerline.

The third time around I pulled out my camera and took the picture I posted at the beginning of this account and that was enough distraction that I came in too high again. I didn't want to do another slip so I went around. On the last pattern I really concentrated on getting my speed just right and everything looked great until short final. On runway 35 there's a wooded creek running just past the end of the runway. And all morning each passage over that creek was getting bumpier and bumpier. And so on short final I got to bouncing a little and yawing a little and it looked ugly, but in the flare everything got straightened out and the touchdown was on the mains first with the nose pointed forward and somewhat on the centerline.

I taxied over and picked up C. He shook my hand and congratulated me and then told me to sit back and relax and he took the controls. He did a "victory lap" of sorts ... a soft-field lift off then stayed in ground effect until the end of the runway (and about 115 kias) and then nearly straight up and over to the right. Better than any rollercoaster in the world!

And then C flew us back to Addison. I got to sight see and look for traffic ... and there were a lot of heavies going into DFW above us this morning.

Next up is another prog check with a senior instructor and then I'll have to do a solo flight into the practice area. This is going to be fun!

This lesson: 2.3 hours
Solo time: 0.6 hours
Landings: 9
Total: 20.7 hours

Lesson 13

Hmmmm unlucky lesson 13? Maybe.

This one just didn't go well at all. Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. I met my instructor, C, to go and do more touch-and-goes in preparation for solo. I'll skip the preliminaries ... we headed over to Collin County Airport (KTKI) and everything went well until we actually started doing landings. There was no one else in the pattern and the controller in the tower was being super friendly and helpful (saying things like "make that next base turn inside of that last one and it'll be perfect").

The winds were calm at the surface, but just at pattern altitude the winds were about 9-10 knots from the NorthEast and it was pretty bumpy. I think it was the bumpiest day yet that I've been up. I don't want to blame my lack of skill on the weather but it was a factor.

I was just all over the place. The first approach was too low and the landing flat. Plus the wind pushed me and I overshot the turn to final. The next two or three were too high and I had to slip to get down to the runway. On the next one C took the controls and did one circuit for me to remind how it's suppose to look.

He said, "You saw what the wind did the first time around. Now keep that in mind and adjust for it."

So I would crab on downwind and my turns to base and final were ok as far as keeping the pattern rectangle a rectangle. But I was still coming in too high and too fast.

In the flare I seemed to be getting more of a feel for it, but since I was not getting my speed down on base and final I was either floating for a long time or touching down too fast.

We did about eleven landings or so and instead of getting into the groove it seemed like I was getting more and more rattled as we went along. The last three were engine out exercises. The first one we didn't make the runway, but the next two we did. However, I wasn't sure we would until we were on final. C would pull the throttle out and then say you can do whatever you feel is necessary, even use full flaps. Then he'd say, "why don't you go ahead and put in a notch of flaps." I did, but I was thinking to myself "you're crazy, we'll never make it. Flaps = drag." But, of course, he was right and we actually needed full flaps to slow down enough to make a decent landing.

Later I went and did some more reading about flaps and I read that (at least with the Skyhawk) 10 and 20-degrees of flap provide more lift than they do drag. It's only the 30-degree setting where you get more drag than you're getting lift.

Plus there were several times where I was concentrating so much on wrestling the plane that I didn't hear the tower talking. A couple of times they were calling me and once they were talking to another plane doing a straight-in approach and C had to remind me to extend my downwind leg to accomodate them. Sheesh, too much going on.

On the trip back to Addison, C covered the GPS to make look up our position on my chart before calling regional approach. That was easy enough but then approach was really busy and asked us to remain beyond 10 miles out from Addison so we circled. All this got me distracted again and I forgot to do the approach checklist.

Then once we're cleared to Addison and I'm turning final the winds decide to pick up and I ... well, the only thing I can say is ... I got flat out completely turned around about the wind. I was moving the controls to counter a left-quartering crosswind when we actually had a right-quarting crosswind and I let the plane get to slow. We were drifting off the centerline and everything I did just made it worse. I started to say "let's go around" when C took the controls and finished the landing. Sheesh! I wasn't shaking but I was close to it.

Mainly I was just mad at myself ... for getting confused, for letting us get slow, for not (how should I say this) "being" a pilot.

C didn't seem angry, but he did give me a stern talking-to. He suggested I write down the things I did wrong so that I can study how to change them and then review that before the next flight. So here goes. Things I was doing wrong:

1) Not paying attention to the wind ... know where it's coming from, watch how you're drifting and correct for it.
2) Not being aggressive with the power and controls ... if I'm too low then push in the throttle and get back to the glidepath. Don't second guess, just do it.
3) Not paying attention to the radio ... yeah, there's a lot to do, but you got to learn to deal with it all. And I have to respond quickly when the controller calls.
4) Coming in too high and too fast ... don't be afraid to pull the throttle out, you're not going to drop like a rock and you can always use power to regain altitude if you get too low.
5) Don't land flat ... pull that nose up during the flare, keep it coming so that you hear a definite delay between the mains and the nosewheel hitting the runway.
6) Don't ever push forward on the yoke during the flare ... I did this when I felt a balloon coming on and C pointed it out. I can release the backpressure, but never actually push the yoke forward. Instead release back pressure and use the throttle to catch the balloon and let the plane back down easy.

The thing is ... I know all of this in my head ... it's just hard turning it into action when I'm in the cockpit. I wish I could take a couple of days off from work and go do several lessons in a row because I think this would be easier if I was able to keep a regular schedule. Lately, with all the weather and my job keeping me busy and stressed to the gills I go 10 to 14 days or more between lessons.

Well, at the very least I now have my list and I can review it every day, several times a day, until my next lesson. And the next time in the left seat I'm going to do everything perfectly.

This lesson: 1.7 hours
Landings: 11
Total: 18.4 hours