Finally restarted my flying lessons.

I've flown a few times since my last post. My most recent flight went very well. Except for maybe rolling out of the steep turn to the left a little late, I nailed my air work and ground reference maneuvers. Some I got off the bat, the rest I needed a little practice, especially S-turns. That was with Derrick. He doesn't let the student land the plane on his first flight with him, and he told me about it before we launched. He also said he'd take over at 50 feet at the latest, and earlier if I wasn't stabilized. He took over with no more than 50 feet.

A previous flight I flew with Michel, a Frenchman. We spent a lot of time trying to get the plane to have a stall break with no power and holding it at altitude, but it would only do a falling leaf, or dead leaf as Michel calls it.
My first landing attempt was really a bounce and go; I made the wrong decision as to whether to try to save the landing or go-a-round. ( learned about flying from that, and as far as I know, no parts fell off the plane.)
The next landing attempt was a 5 or 6 knot cross-wind landing, after a forward slip to lose altitude. As far as I could tell, I felt each wheel touch down by itself. The final landing attempt was straight in, with the wind down the centerline. I greased it.

Things are slowing down in the cockpit. I had plenty of time to talk to Derrick when I was doing ground reference maneuvers and keeping them to ACS.

I had 4-1/2 hours of ground school review over the weekend instead of flying. It was too overcast to fly Friday AM, and a previous student had done a tail strike on the plane I had reserved for us. I need to memorize Class D cloud clearances and have a comprehensive medical exam, then do the Basic Medical paperwork.

I've noticed on my simulator that when I'm flying slow during landing, I can significantly turn the yoke and not over control the plane. I'm too busy in the real plane to notice that, but anymore my landings are on, and straight down the center line. Cross my fingers that continues.
 
Crashnburn said:
TLDR: I took my first flying lesson in 13 years, not counting a familiarization flight 11 years ago. I don’t seem to have lost much ground.

We flew out of AeroDynamic Aviation at Reid-Hillview Airport. Ironically, it’s the same building where I took my first flying lesson, but it was Amelia Reid Aviation. I never got a chance to meet her, but she essentially put KRHV on the map.

My instructor flew an Evektor Sportstar Max. Actually, I did almost all of the flying. He managed the cockpit and radios, and took over on short final for the landing. I forgot to do the GUMPS check list.

We did medium turns, steep turns, slow flight, and stalls, both approach and departure. I guess I did pretty well because next week will be ground reference maneuvers. He says I’ll be ready to land next week, too. I’ll be happy if that happens, but I’m trying to take that with a grain of salt.

He said overall I did pretty well for any student, and extremely well for how long it’s been since my last lessons. And he said it probably wouldn’t be long before I solo.

A problem I see with moving so fast is I’m going to have to really cram to be ready for the knowledge test before I’m ready for the check ride. Still, I’m sure there’s a plateau out there with my name on it.

I noticed on landing the runway didn’t bloom nearly as much in real life as it does on my flight simulator. At first I spent too much time chasing the ASI, but after he reminded me, I flew pitch attitude and kept airspeed a lot easier.

Trim worked very well. Of all the planes I’ve flown, this was the easiest plane to trim. My flight simulator’s HoneyComb Alpha yoke really taught me the value of trimming.

When we did departure stalls, I couldn’t see over the nose, but I remembered someone on POA mentioning looking at the wing root- fuselage intersection when landing a tail dragger, and that worked for stalls, too. Thanks to whoever mentioned that.

The plane was a lot bumpier than a Skyhawks in Kansas, but it didn’t bother me. The instructor didn’t say anything about over controlling, so I guess I was fine.

I’m flying again, Saturday. I’m sure I have a lot of work to do before I’m check ride ready, but I’m very hopeful.

Apologies for the long post, but I’m really excited!
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Your lucky man. At my place, the first 20 hours are dedicated to circuit work . I feel like I'll go insane if I'm stuck in the pattern again, but I will have to be for another 4 hours or so.

However we did do 2 flights to introduce to ground reference maneuvers. In that category I did really well, steep turns and stalls and slow flights are easy. Landings I remmeber were tough at first, I was ground shy, until I remember that if things get unstable I can always go around and B, the aim is to try NOT to land as hard as you can a few feet off the ground. Idk you might nail it on your first and second attempt and just get it, but some people including me had some though time getting it. I felt like it I didn't flare Immeadiately we would crash and id get yelled at or sued or kicked out. Just let ground effect work it out and keep it flying straight. When you touchdown you want to be at your Vy sight picture.

By the way I got a report that everything was safe with my Eval, including crosswind landings with higher winds (around 12-13 kts), and was praised for it. Unfortunately thr only negative I had was that I zoned out in the circuit. I'd explain why and what had happened the day before, but I just don't want to think about it or mention it.

Good luck to you. I took my first flight in 2008, and couldn't go through, was young. Then again in 2012. Then again in 2015 I had money to do it but slipped my mind. And again in 2020 but married life made difficult, and finally now I started. I wish I had started sooner
 
I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger with an itch.
I have a new job, full-time with benefits. It's hybrid and a reasonable commute, against traffic. I start Monday,
I passed my comprehensive medical exam and got a 95 on my MedExpress quiz so I'm good for a while.

We stopped doing dive and drive approaches. Now, we figure out how far I have to start my descent at a ground speed of 90 knots, a descent rate of 500 FPM, and how much altitude we need to lose to get to traffic pattern altitude about 3 miles out. That makes a big difference. Temperature and altitude make a big difference in Indicated Airspeed.

We've been mostly working on navigating and communicating. We flew up to Rio Vista using pilotage and I did a simulated emergency landing one lesson, and did a couple sets of steep turns on the way back.
My most recent flight we used flight following and flew to Firebaugh and I made two landings there.

Here's where the simulator really paid off. When I started flying I was afraid of overcontrolling the airplane, and wasn't putting in enough control movement when I was low. With the simulator, I started using more control movements when landing in crosswinds where I could crash without a big repair bill. Surprisingly, I didn't crash, and go used to putting in a lot more control than when cruising.

Anyway, on the second landing, on short final, a wind gust blew us over the canal. I immediately did a coordinated turn back to the runway, straightened out, and landed on the centerline, pointing down the centerline. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Frank reaching for the controls just as I was turning back to the runway, but he didn't touch them.

On the landing back at KRHV, I was in the flare and noticed my nose was yawed left and added just enough right rudder to straighten it out, and again landed on, and straight down the center line. Two years ago, I would have literally been flat footed.
I know the simulator isn't real life, but it is amazingly close, even though Real-Life flying is orders of magnitude more fun than simulation.

I'm starting to make noises about getting my own plane. I have the model picked out, and have flown in one, and taxied in another. It's a Glasair GlaStar. Preferably with folding wings and convertible between trike and taildragger. If the airport is OK with it, I can get a storage trailer it will fit in with wings folded and park the trailer on my tiedown. I'll definitely need a tug, too. There's a float GlaStar on Trade-A-Plane, and it and a couple others are on Barnstormers. I've done a lot of research on buying and owning planes, and am continuing my research. I'm also an EAA338 Chapter member and they know of a mechanic who'll work on Experimentals, and recommend him. I also have an A&P but am sadly out of currency on it. (Just because I can, doesn't mean I should!)

I asked Frank to tell me when he thought I was ready for my own plane. He said when I can land w/o him saying anything. My most recent landing, he said he'd let me land w/o saying anything, and except for reminding me to keep my speed up, and straighten up my yawed nose, he was quiet.
I think I'm just about there.

I've been flying Fridays and Sundays, but now I'll mostly be flying Saturdays and Sundays. I'm also scheduled for Labor Day. One of the reasons I want my own plane is it's really hard to schedule a plane at short notice. Instructors are about as hard to schedule as planes, but once I solo, I won't need an instructor to fly.

I have a really good framed 5 X 7 picture of Tammy. I plan to bring it along when I solo the first time. Breakfast In Brugge.JPG
 
Half Fast said:
EXCELLENT! You're getting close!
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Thanks. I'm booking a 3 hour slot for each flight, even though each lesson is almost half a modern AMU. I figure that extra hour gives me a full 80 minutes of practice time, vs. the 20 minutes a two-hour block would net, especially if we have to refuel the plane.
 
I fly again tomorrow. I almost didn't fly last weekend. At first, no planes were available, but one opened up. Frank was busy already, but I made an appointment with Sergey. We did flight following to Byron, then ded (deduced reckoning) to New Jerusalem airport in Tracy. I had no problem identifying Tracy Municipal Airport. I started looking for the New Jerusalem airport about 30 seconds too soon.

I landed at the Byron and New Jerusalem airports. It was gusty around Byron and Sergey wanted to know if I was OK landing in gusty winds. I said I'd give it a try. Except for him coaching me to keep the nose down, it was easier than landing at Firebaugh 3 weekends before. He wanted me to float, and I did until the plane gave up. I floated about 3 feet higher than optimum, but much better than 10 feet too high.

I landed almost w/o coaching at New Jerusalem. He said the strip was rough and I'd need to make a soft field landing. He had to tell me full flaps 3 times before I understood him, but no problems otherwise. And, because it was rough, I made a soft field takeoff.

On downwind at KRHV, he said "Land the plane". So I did. I dropped 10 degrees of flaps and pitched to 65 - 70 knots on downwind, and pulled throttle a bit about the decision point. I managed to be almost aligned with the runway when I turned base to final. I put another 10 degrees of flaps in past the shopping center, and followed the PAPI lights down. Actually, I started out a bit high and the lights slowly went from all white to all red about the time it was time to round out. There were about 4 knots of cross wind then. I used aileron and rudder to stay over and aligned with the centerline and kept pulling the nose up trying to keep the plane off the runway. About the time the plane gave up flying, I felt each individual wheel touch down, and I think Sergey said good landing.

I'd say it's definitely time to start looking for a plane. Of course, owning a plane is an expensive way to save money, but as I'm on a ~200 hr. per year pace, it's easy to justify one. And, as long as I'm a member of Aerodynamic Aviation, I can always rent a plane in case my plane is down for maintenance.

I put a trial subscription of iFly on my phone. The first 30 days are free. It has sectionals as well as Chart Supplement Data, and lots more features.

Edit:
I passed my comprehensive medical exam July 11, this year, and wasted 15 points on the Basic Med Exam. I already have renter's insurance so two more boxes checked for stage one.
 
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Someone, somewhere, once said "Pride goeth before a fall". I found out that's true.

Well, I wasn't at all happy with my second landing attempt on Sunday.
I'd use the accident where I rear-ended a van and totaled my SUV the Friday before as an excuse, but I made a good landing in Napa before I forgot to use my rudder to get my nose lined up with the runway on my landing back at Reid-Hillview. Frank had to takeover. I would have been OK with going around and trying again, but we were close to the end of the lesson time.

Geico was really fast. They towed the car on Tuesday and had the reimbursement amount by Wednesday. It was way more than I could have expected from a private sale. No one was physically hurt, just my pride.

I'm driving the Firebird in the meantime. Ginger has my Lexus, and is shopping for her own car. Once she buys one, I'll get the Lexus back and make it my daily driver. As it is, I get lots of compliments wherever I go. I wish it was more fuel-efficient, but gas is a lot cheaper than a rental car.

Some bright spots. Napa was the first towered airport I'd landed at besides KRHV. I didn't really notice, nor need a VASI or PAPI, for my approach. I'm getting the idea that if I trim for speed and use power to adjust descent rate, I can let my hand relax on the yoke and I won't slow down until it's time to start the round-out. We flew the original IFR - I Follow Roads - to Napa and back. I have a sectional, but am getting a SFO TAC that will be a little easier to read.

Flight Following here takes a much more active role in VFR traffic than it seems in other areas. They wanted me to stay below 4000 feet to let other traffic clear and on the way back we had to ask permission to pop up from 3500 to 5500. I'm not complaining. I need as much ATC practice as possible, and this gives me a chance to do it live. And, I'll be more used to it than otherwise once I start my IFR training, whenever that will be.

I practiced some landings on my simulator to get back to using the rudder to align the nose down the runway this week. I seemed to do OK.

Frank says I'm getting close to being ready for my phase 1 check ride. We'll probably do air work Sunday; it's been a while since I've done steep turns. Need to practice them at home before the lesson.
 
I got more incentive to buy a plane yesterday. Earlier in the week a plane (54102) opened up and I found a new to me instructor for the lesson. I was on my way there and I got a call from the FBO. Some FBO employees took it on a rescue mission and wouldn't be back in time for the lesson. I had the option of doing ground instruction with the CFI for an hour, then flying for two hours. I passed. The CFI doesn't know where I am on my aviation knowledge, and two hours rental is barely enough time to practice on thing in the practice area before heading back. This isn't the first time 54102 has been pulled out from under me.

I had spent some time prepping for the lesson. I wanted to do airwork, especially steep turns, so I practiced them a lot on my simulator. I was surprised how much rust had accumulated since the last time I practiced.

I also practiced touch and goes on the simulator in a light cross wind. I caught myself trying to keep the nose straight down the runway with just ailerons, so that alone was worth the setup time.

I can easily justify owning a plane just because I'm on a 200 hour per year schedule. Having planes pulled out from under me is just additional justification.
 
I’m thinking about not just owning my plane, but putting it on lease-back at the FBO. At the very least I need to talk to the owners if they would want to add another Skyhawk to their fleet. If so, and I find a local plane, I can have the FBO do the pre-purchase inspection.

At the very least I’d want a provision in the contract that my reservation for that plane cannot be preempted. I’ve flown about every Skyhawk there and they all seem to be in pretty good shape.

The idea is to not make a ton of money but to have a plane available and defray some of the expenses of owning it.
 
Crashnburn said:
I’m thinking about not just owning my plane, but putting it on lease-back at the FBO.
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Are any of the planes you're using leasebacks? If so, talk with the owners and see what their experience has been.

Personally, I wouldn't do a leaseback. School planes get the snot beat out of them, and renters won't take care of the plane the way you will. The only reason I see for a leaseback is financial, and having a dedicated partner or two can be as good financially and a lot less of a problem when it comes to taking care of the plane.

After renting for years, I really enjoy getting into my own plane knowing no one has flown it since my last flight. I know the plane hasn't been slammed onto the runway (unless I did it myself! :) ), it hasn't been over Vne, the engine hasn't been run while low on oil, no one has tracked muddy or oily shoes onto the carpet, there's no trash left in the plane, the radios and GPS still have my preferred settings, the checklist is where I left it, etc., etc. I can leave my personal headset, seat cushion, RON bag, and other things in the plane without worry. And so on....
 
Half Fast said:
Are any of the planes you're using leasebacks? If so, talk with the owners and see what their experience has been.

Personally, I wouldn't do a leaseback. School planes get the snot beat out of them, and renters won't take care of the plane the way you will. The only reason I see for a leaseback is financial, and having a dedicated partner or two can be as good financially and a lot less of a problem when it comes to taking care of the plane.

After renting for years, I really enjoy getting into my own plane knowing no one has flown it since my last flight. I know the plane hasn't been slammed onto the runway (unless I did it myself! :) ), it hasn't been over Vne, the engine hasn't been run while low on oil, no one has tracked muddy or oily shoes onto the carpet, there's no trash left in the plane, the radios and GPS still have my preferred settings, the checklist is where I left it, etc., etc. I can leave my personal headset, seat cushion, RON bag, and other things in the plane without worry. And so on....
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About 75% are lease backs.

The economy must be getting soft. There are a lot more Glstars coming to not just be market.

Agreed. And if someone does something stupid in your plane and you own it outright, the heirs could be coming after you.
 
Crashnburn said:
I’m thinking about not just owning my plane, but putting it on lease-back at the FBO.
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My previous partner did this and it was a nightmare. Renters damaged the airplane and erased the record of their reservation. The FBO would not help cover the expense of the repairs. Do some research.
 
There’s several threads about this on poa. IIRC the cost of commercial insurance (7-10k for a nice 50 year old trainer) and the 20% fee to the school makes ownership tough for anything other than an always busy 172.
 
Randomskylane said:
There’s several threads about this on poa. IIRC the cost of commercial insurance (7-10k for a nice 50 year old trainer) and the 20% fee to the school makes ownership tough for anything other than an always busy 172.
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Thanks for the insight. At this FBO, the planes are always booked.

Aerodynamic Aviation uses Paperless FBO. I don't know if anyone can erase a reservation.

Regardless, I'm in the process of purchasing a replacement for my Highlander. I'm currently interested in a 2019 Corolla XSE Hatchback, but it's only 5K less than a basic Corolla Cross Hybrid (with no options). I'm planning a trip to the dealership on Sunday, I think I'll see if he can price out a Cross Hybrid ordered with just the options I want. The Cross Hybrids are new for 2023, so there are no used ones. They use the same powertrain as the Prius, so that should be bulletproof. They also have 0.3 inches more headroom than the Hatchback. When you're tall, 0.3" can make a difference.
 
I ended up with a 2020 RAV4 XLE. According to CarBuzz, it’s the only trim level with enough headroom for me.

I only had one flight weekend. I changed planes to a180 HP Skyhawk and flew round trip from KRHV to the Santa Rosa airport and back at about 2400 RPM and 2700 feet, mostly +/- 50 feet. I found the airports along the way. I need a lot more communication practice. I just picked up a different yoke for my flight simulator I hope will work better with PilotEdge and VatSim than my Honeycomb Alpha works with them. If it cuts even one hour off my RL comm trading, it’ll be more than worth it. I have two flights this weekend.
 
I bought a 2020 Rav4 XLE Hybrid last Sunday. I'd been driving my Trans Am, but my rear main seal is leaking like a sieve and I couldn't wait for Ginger to give me my Lexus back before the seal went completely. Ironically, Ginger showed up on Monday with a brand-new Subaru Forester AWD. The Rav4 hybrid uses the Prius drive train so I figured they had the bugs ironed out already. The XLE (and Hybrid) is the only trim with enough headroom for me.

I'd planned on getting a blue Corolla Hatchback XSE manual but before I could get to the dealership, it had already been sold. The plan for the Rav4 was it to be a backup car, but I fell in love with the Ruby Pearl color.
Now, I get to sell the Lexus. It's a low mileage cream puff, and I've seen the same model and year for almost as much as we paid for it 2 years ago, and it has a lot more miles on it.

I had a lesson today with a substitute CFI. I haven't passed my stage one check, but a different CFI I flew with a few months ago said I was flying well enough to pass it. This CFI wasn't aware I hadn't passed, so I spent the lesson in the pattern at St. Martin, and made 9 landings, while practicing my non-towered airfield communications. The original plan was to do air work, but I guess it's boring for the CFI, too. I have another substitute instructor tomorrow, so I'll definitely practice air work. (My current FBO doesn't allow pattern work until you've passed the stage 1 check ride.

He thinks I can learn faster practicing on my simulator with either PilotEdge or VatSim. I have a Honeycomb Alpha yoke, but neither of those add-ons seem to work with it, probably because of the drivers. I just got an Eclipse yoke. It doesn't need drivers so I hope that will work. There are a couple reasons I stopped using it. 1) It's plastic on plastic, so sort of sticky, and because it's sticky, turning the yoke changes the trim even when you go back straight. I can deal with those issues.
 
Crashnburn said:
He thinks I can learn faster practicing on my simulator with either PilotEdge or VatSim.
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I have to disagree. Neither of those are going to help you with communication or air work. I wouldn’t even waste your money, as it’s better spent on flying the real airplane.

Listen to LiveATC, it’ll help a lot more.
 
RyanB said:
I have to disagree. Neither of those are going to help you with communication or air work. I wouldn’t even waste your money, as it’s better spent on flying the real airplane.

Listen to LiveATC, it’ll help a lot more.
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Does LiveATC have an option for Flight Following?
 
Crashnburn said:
Does LiveATC have an option for Flight Following?
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As far as I know, LiveATC is basically just a tower or center "livestreaming". If someone is using flight following, it will be in there. If no one is, it won't. I just used youtube videos and studied the proper phraseology. Once I knew how it was supposed to go, I practiced in my car on my daily commute. It worked so well, my CFI complained I was better on the radios than she was. And the best part was, it was all completely free.
 
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I flew to Napa and landed the back to Reid Hillview and landed. My Napa landing was much better than my KRHV landing. I was on the center line, in the flare and my nose is pointing left of center line. I add a little right rudder and it goes to far right so I let off a bit and it’s pointing straight down the runway. Frank said the landing wasn’t bad at all. I was amazed, later, that things were slow enough in the cockpit that I had time to recognize, correct, and do it all again while in the flare.

I porpoised the second landing. I was afraid of over controlling and didn’t get my nose up at all. This led to a conversation about light planes and flaring. He says they don’t flare, they transition. He’s the very first I’ve heard say that. I’ll take my Rod Machado book in to support my position next week.

I’m still challenged by Flight Following. I’m ok if I hear the call but right now it takes me a while to realize they’re talking to me. It’s almost like I’m in my own little world. I need to find a way to stay in the real world.

Frank’s going to give me a little more time to respond and we’ll do some chair flight following. I know IFR is a lot more intense than FF but I figure being able to do FF is a step towards being able to do IFR.
 
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Rgbeard said:
How about you give your CFI a break, and let Rod M be your CFI? He's done you the whole blooming-runway thing, and now this.
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TLDR: Snotty remarks are not constructive.

I’m trying really hard not to get into a flame war with you. You might not have heard but different people learn in different ways. Simulators help steepen my learning curve.

My first instructor after a 15 year layoff, couldn’t believe how well I flew my first flight with him. It was the simulator keeping my skills relatively fresh.

I struggled mightily with keeping the plane on the runway, much less on the center line until I made a breakthrough on my simulator. I was under controlling near the runway at slow speeds. Machado says you need to use bigger control movements the slower you go. I don’t remember hearing that from any of my myriad of instructors but I tried it out on the simulator and suddenly, after a gagillion simulated landings I was on, or close to the center line on those landings, and Real Life landings, too.

Another example. It had been a long time since I’d practiced steep turns so I practiced them on my simulator and I sucked at first. I kept at it and got them within PPL check ride tolerances. Two weeks later I did them in real life. I knocked out the first steep turn to the left the first try, and needed two tries going to the right because I wasn’t banked quite steeply enough.

I didn’t quite get the power off stall developed quite enough before I recovered, but slow flight, all variations, were fine, and I nailed the ground reference maneuvers. Also, the power on stall was fine, too. The power off stalls are giving me the confidence to do full stall landings.

And, I believe you round out, transition to a flare, and flare when you land, even light planes. Machado isn’t the only one who talks about “the landing flare”.
 
Crashnburn said:
TLDR: Snotty remarks are not constructive.

I’m trying really hard not to get into a flame war with you. You might not have heard but different people learn in different ways. Simulators help steepen my learning curve.

My first instructor after a 15 year layoff, couldn’t believe how well I flew my first flight with him. It was the simulator keeping my skills relatively fresh.

I struggled mightily with keeping the plane on the runway, much less on the center line until I made a breakthrough on my simulator. I was under controlling near the runway at slow speeds. Machado says you need to use bigger control movements the slower you go. I don’t remember hearing that from any of my myriad of instructors but I tried it out on the simulator and suddenly, after a gagillion simulated landings I was on, or close to the center line on those landings, and Real Life landings, too.

Another example. It had been a long time since I’d practiced steep turns so I practiced them on my simulator and I sucked at first. I kept at it and got them within PPL check ride tolerances. Two weeks later I did them in real life. I knocked out the first steep turn to the left the first try, and needed two tries going to the right because I wasn’t banked quite steeply enough.

I didn’t quite get the power off stall developed quite enough before I recovered, but slow flight, all variations, were fine, and I nailed the ground reference maneuvers. Also, the power on stall was fine, too. The power off stalls are giving me the confidence to do full stall landings.

And, I believe you round out, transition to a flare, and flare when you land, even light planes. Machado isn’t the only one who talks about “the landing flare”.
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Don’t know why you’re trying so hard. Oh and I agree, on the steepening of the curve.
 
4RNB said:
Some snotty remarks might actually be insightful, the potential wisdom in them ought be considered.
This novel is difficult to read, where is the evolution or development of skills over time? Non flying matters seem to dominate. Why?
I think simulators have a place in PPL training, albeit very limited. Gain awareness of what does what, understand gauges, but then stay the F off the computer and get legit muscle memory.
Is there a POA or CFI checklist to indicate when folks ought give up flying?
When I started developing opinions different than my instructors, I flew more with a camera in cabin to review after flights and then learned about cloud ahoy. I highly suggest cloud ahoy for objective feedback during flight training. The benefit of this increased during instrument training.

How many years of flight training at this point?
How many hours in a plane?
How many hours in a sim?
How many landings real and sim?
Why are landings still being discussed?
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Good questions all. I had a clunker of a landing. For the most part my landings for the last several months have been up to par. My air work and ground reference are all good. My towered and non/towered comms are good. I just need to get better at Flight Following.

If simulators didn’t work, airlines, Flight Safety Inc, and even NASA wouldn’t use them. If I can get my simulated Flight Following to be more intense, that would help a lot.

I was raised in a big family and had to learn to shut out distractions when I was trying to study, and work in open cubicles where I also need to shut out distractions, and now I need to listen for distractions. That isn’t happening overnight.
 
Crashnburn said:
Good questions all. I had a clunker of a landing. For the most part my landings for the last several months have been up to par. My air work and ground reference are all good. My towered and non/towered comms are good. I just need to get better at Flight Following.

If simulators didn’t work, airlines, Flight Safety Inc, and even NASA wouldn’t use them. If I can get my simulated Flight Following to be more intense, that would help a lot.

I was raised in a big family and had to learn to shut out distractions when I was trying to study, and work in open cubicles where I also need to shut out distractions, and now I need to listen for distractions. That isn’t happening overnight.
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Question about "being in your own little world". Are you struggling with tuning everything out or recognizing your own callsign?

If you're struggling with tuning out Flight Following, I would recommend two things. They both will look and sound weird, but they work/worked for me very well. Maybe they could help you? First one, try pulling up LiveATC, finding a busy airspace, and picking the callsign of someone who is using flight following (or use a youtube video of someone on flight following). Now, go get an activity to do and a pen and paper. Read a book, fold laundry, whatever. Pretend like you're that plane, though, and respond to ATC's calls. Every time you hear "your" callsign, make a mark on the paper. Afterwards, play back the audio and see if you missed any calls. The second thing I did was basically memorize common questions and the necessary responses and then "roleplayed" while driving (but you could do this during any other activity as well).

If you're struggling with recognizing your own callsign, and you're always in the same plane, just practice some non-towered comms for thirty or forty minutes. Pretend you're flying the pattern, and make all the leg calls. You'll get used to your callsign pretty quick, and will be much more likely to recognize that it's "yours" when you're on flight following.

I, too, grew up in a large family (fourth of nine kids) and have superbly developed selective listening skills. Basically what you need to train your brain to do is recognize what is distraction and what isn't. Familiarity with what you're trying to listen for will help a lot, as well as just mentally earmarking ATC/flight following as important. As you get more comfortable in the minutia of flying, it will also get easier as when you just automatically keep the airplane flying level and on course, you will have more brain power to listen for and respond to flight following requests.
 
SkyChaser said:
Question about "being in your own little world". Are you struggling with tuning everything out or recognizing your own callsign?

If you're struggling with tuning out Flight Following, I would recommend two things. They both will look and sound weird, but they work/worked for me very well. Maybe they could help you? First one, try pulling up LiveATC, finding a busy airspace, and picking the callsign of someone who is using flight following (or use a youtube video of someone on flight following). Now, go get an activity to do and a pen and paper. Read a book, fold laundry, whatever. Pretend like you're that plane, though, and respond to ATC's calls. Every time you hear "your" callsign, make a mark on the paper. Afterwards, play back the audio and see if you missed any calls. The second thing I did was basically memorize common questions and the necessary responses and then "roleplayed" while driving (but you could do this during any other activity as well).

If you're struggling with recognizing your own callsign, and you're always in the same plane, just practice some non-towered comms for thirty or forty minutes. Pretend you're flying the pattern, and make all the leg calls. You'll get used to your callsign pretty quick, and will be much more likely to recognize that it's "yours" when you're on flight following.

I, too, grew up in a large family (fourth of nine kids) and have superbly developed selective listening skills. Basically what you need to train your brain to do is recognize what is distraction and what isn't. Familiarity with what you're trying to listen for will help a lot, as well as just mentally earmarking ATC/flight following as important. As you get more comfortable in the minutia of flying, it will also get easier as when you just automatically keep the airplane flying level and on course, you will have more brain power to listen for and respond to flight following requests.
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Thank you for the constructive comments. I had started down your recommended path but hadn’t gotten very far. I canceled Saturday’s lesson last night so I could spend some quality time with LiveATC and your comments will help me make it more productive. I generally schedule a different airplane for every flight so
I have to listen for different tail numbers.

I’m going to try doing some non-towered calls on Saturday using the tail number of the plane I’ll be flying Sunday. Along with practicing listening to ATC while I’m doing something else. Thanks again.

I had an “aha” moment. I can make things a little more realistic by listening to LiveATC while flight simming a cross-country trip using VOR navigation.
 
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4RNB said:
If the questions are good and you are not answering them, perhaps POA needs to start a journal forum? A place for folks that just want to write but not get feedback?
Kind of like this bike forum: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doctype=journal
People get to just tell their story, not really searching for answers.
It also respects the time of those willing to help to recognize the intention of the writer.
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I’m answering most questions but I don’t have time to repeat what I’ve already posted. Besides, it seems a lot of people here don’t realize how much personal flight simulators have progressed. All of the CFIs I’ve flown with lately have commented that except for comms, I’m ready for the Stage 1 check ride. I guess you’ve never had a clunker of a landing, even as a student pilot. Congratulations.
 
Quick question if you don't mind. I'm not familar with what is entailed in the Stage 1 check ride. Can you clarify for me what this is?
 
Daleandee said:
Quick question if you don't mind. I'm not familar with what is entailed in the Stage 1 check ride. Can you clarify for me what this is?
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Stage 1: +/- 150 feet and +/- 10 degrees on Steep turns. Proficient in Slow Flight - turns, stalls, climbs, descents, turning climbs and descents. Same tolerances for ground reference maneuvers. Able to maintain straigt and level flight. Also, I guess decent comms. (Where I have a challenge).
 
There’s Part 141 stage checks then there are Part 61 where the flight school,and/or the CFI decide what goes into a stage check. Many of the popular syllabi have recommended stage checks built in.
 
Redbird time with the CFI acting as ATC/flight following?
 
murphey said:
There’s Part 141 stage checks then there are Part 61 where the flight school,and/or the CFI decide what goes into a stage check. Many of the popular syllabi have recommended stage checks built in.
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Understood, and the term "stage checks" is familar but he used the term "stage 1 checkride" and that brought to mind the DPE being in the other seat ...

Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake! :eek:
 
Daleandee said:
Understood, and the term "stage checks" is familar but he used the term "stage 1 checkride" and that brought to mind the DPE being in the other seat ...

Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake! :eek:
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Sorry about the confusion. I called it a check ride because another CFI will be riding with me.
 
Crashnburn said:
Thank you for the constructive comments. I had started down your recommended path but hadn’t gotten very far. I canceled Saturday’s lesson last night so I could spend some quality time with LiveATC and your comments will help me make it more productive. I generally schedule a different airplane for every flight so
I have to listen for different tail numbers.

I’m going to try doing some non-towered calls on Saturday using the tail number of the plane I’ll be flying Sunday. Along with practicing listening to ATC while I’m doing something else. Thanks again.

I had an “aha” moment. I can make things a little more realistic by listening to LiveATC while flight simming a cross-country trip using VOR navigation.
Click to expand...
Hi SkyChaser. Your suggestion, plus volume where I can hear ATC helped a lot.

Saturday evening I fired up the simulator and shot 8 touch and goes at San Martin using Sunday’s tail number for each phase. I was going to do flight following after that but I didn’t think very many people would be flying then.

I caught my tail number each time, just had to have them repeat the frequency on the way to Firebaugh F34. I had all the frequencies written down for the way home so was ready when it was time to charge controllers.

I had a good landing at F34, and about as good at the home drome but I got a little slow on short final before the round out. I kept it going down the center line and nose high as long as I could on each landing. Being tall helps me see over the nose when I’m in the flare.
 
I'm not going to quote a bunch of different things said above so I'll paraphrase a couple and give you my perspective.

I, too stepped away from flying for 20 years (pretty sure I've mentioned that in this same thread previously). MS Flight Simulator, when used properly can be a huge help so long as you stick to your checklist procedures and treat the simulation as real as possible. Even if you don't want to use VATSIM, you can state what you would say out loud in front of your computer. This will get you comfortable with actually speaking the words. Trust me, it's simple and it works. Now to address some of the comments above...

Yes, VATSIM absolutely can help. Often times the folks on VATSIM are real pilots and real ATCs. As such, once you get to know who's who you can generally ask questions/ask for help or even get some one-on-one instruction with a real-life ATC ESPECIALLY if they know you're a student in their real-life airspace. For example, I fly in the Boston ARTCC and there are a few Boston controllers in the VATSIM group here. They're more than happy to take tower control at a lesser-used airport like HYA to help you out. What VATSIM will NOT do for you is get you used to hearing your call among the massive number of others out there because at any given time, VATSIM is working a small fraction of what the real-world operators do. On the flip-side, the VATSIM controllers are working multiple positions that would be divided up among dozens of controllers in real-life. Sometimes you'll hear one controller operating BOS ground, Clearance, Tower, and the whole ARTCC and that controller is also giving clearances and instructions for all airports in the airspace. LiveATC will help to some extent as well. I really like the suggestion above to pick a call and follow it. If you do this in conjunction with watching ADSBexchange for FlightAware it's actually quite fun. Sort of like plane spotting from your office chair. Keep a notepad, or better yet your EFB if you use one nearby and take notes as if you were the pilot. For example, when you hear the call to switch frequencies, write it down or say your reply aloud as if you were responding for the pilot.

When I completed my private checkride a few months ago, my DPE and CFI both commented on how well I managed the plane for having such low time. I attribute this directly to the use of Flight Simulator. It has helped me to learn how to manage my cockpit, the use of EFB, and ATC communications. The best part, I can fly all the hours I want and it doesn't cost me a dime. Best part? No 8-hour bottle-to-throttle rule. ;) That all being said, I've definitely had a couple hard landings specifically due to the disparity between the lack of "feel" in the sim and the butt-in-seat.

Also, for Flight Following specifically I learned from an ATC recently that there is a format that they have to type into their computers and when you know and use this format as a VFR pilot, it makes them really happy. That format is Call, Departing airfield, VFR to Arrival airfield, Type, and altitude. For example, Boston Approach, N737GR, departing Chatham VFR to Groton, Golf-Oscar-November, we are type Skyhawk, 4 thousand 5 hundred request flight following. I'm sure someone will disagree with this but this is what was said by two controllers (the same two guys that do the Opposing Bases podcast) on a FAAST training last week. Nobody had ever told me this and I wish they had. Now I practice it on VATSIM. :ihih:
 
Thank you for that post.

I tried mightily to get VatSim and PilotEdge to work with my HoneyComb Alpha yoke, but both seemed to be incompatible because the yoke requires a driver. I have a CH Products Eclipse yoke to set up and try. As I’m THE cook, cleaner, bottle washer, and dog walker now, I use my spare time to use the bathroom. :)

I held off on flying lessons for a long time because I had a lot of things on my HoneyDew list and I knew lessons would take a lot of time.

I finally finished the list and started lessons. They are taking more time than I expected. I’m glad I waited as I got to spend more time with Tammy than I would’ve if I’d been taking lessons.

I have an excellent framed picture of her I plan on carrying with me on my lessons, especially when I solo. As it is, I’m sure she’s watching over me, always, especially when I’m flying.
 
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