Finally restarted my flying lessons.

A student is studying to hopefully learn something. A learner is actually learning. I submit student covers learners, but many students do not learn. Therefore learner is less accurate.
 
You might be surprised at how much respect you get when you use the word "flight deck" in your pilot stories! Of course when they find out that you are a mere "learner" then all that dignity evaporates! :)

Have you called the Feds about updating the card in your wallet? :dunno:

Seriously: not trying to give you grief but rather trying to point out this absurdity discussed here previously ...

Students are "Learners" now...........

...............And, evidently, this has been going on for a few years. Why does the FAA continue to change the name or acronym for something EVERY day it seems? There must be an office of "maintaining confusion" in the FAA. They sure are good at it!
www.pilotsofamerica.com
www.pilotsofamerica.com

Well, they say the FAA isn't happy until you aren't happy. Guess the department of confusion is part of that.
 
A lot of his story is a good example of what NOT to do. Sometimes that's one's purpose in life.
If you are talking about using a flight simulator, you are full of it. It's not the same as flying, but I learned a lot and got the routine for air work and ground reference maneuvers down using it. I even started mastering crosswind landings with it.

Even my instructors recommended I use it and I pay them a lot more than I pay you.

BTW, today's home flight simulators are just a tad more realistic than the simulator that Micro$oft originally bought and provided to the general public. You might want to try a modern one for yourself, someday.

And, yes, one of my instructors probably milked me, but my time and money weren't entirely wasted.
 
Wow, I just skimmed over the 9 pages of your story. I just decided the other day to reengage with PoA since I'm about to get started again, and your thread title sounded interesting. I read with anxious anticipation the first page, until the end of the page when your wife went into the hospital. Then later yous started flying again and then your wife died. I'm so sorry about that. I know it was over a year ago at this point, but it touched me. And now, moving to CO to get to an aviation community, and now with the blood clots. I'm in awe of what you've already overcome and continuing your flying, but I'm sure you'll get there. Your story is an encouragement.

Thank you. Aviation has been a life-long passion, but family and other life came first.
 
I'm moving it. It's not all that elaborate. I have rudder pedals, 2 Saitek radio boxes, an auto-pilot box, and a switch box, along with a yoke*, and throttle quadrant. I also have a Track IR Pro and have Remote Flight set up so I don't have to squint to see the instruments. All this hooks up to my desk top computer, which has way more computing power than I need, but I figured it was better to buy a little more performance than what I needed than to by twice because I didn't get as much performance as I needed.

I have my bucket-list monitor: A curved 38" Alienware monitor. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it before I used it. As soon as I used it I knew there was no going back!

*I have a CH Products yoke that I currently use. I wore my Honeycomb Alpha yoke out before 5 years were up, but the invoice is in my late wife's Amazon account and I'm working on getting access to it. I wasted most of yesterday getting access to her email so I could get the One Time Password they sent to the email. Then they sent another OTP to her phone, and it's been disconnected for a year. Now, I'm trying to go through Amazon's bereavement department.

If I can't get the yoke repaired under warranty, I'll probably go to M$F$2020 (which I have) and the Turtle Beach yoke, which uses Hall-Effect sensors.
Well, after numerous tries, I finally got access to Tammy's Amazon account. Unfortunately, she didn't buy it through Amazon.
I have already gone through all of her papers, and as far as I can tell, the only receipt she didn't keep was for this yoke.
 
Oh, brother. Can we just leave the language alone? I don't have the energy to keep up.
The card in my wallet still says "Student Pilot".
Even discussing the topic got another thread locked. Samizdat, straight up.
 
Sad, isn't it?
At the risk of getting my own thread locked, it is sad.

I'm not quite ready to buy another control yoke, but I read the Turtle Beach yoke reviews, and I think I'll just get another Honeycomb Alpha yoke. It looks like the manufacturing issue has been resolved and they seem to be in ample supply on Amazon.

I have a follow visit with my Dr. today. My leg feels much better and I'm not winded walking up a flight of stairs anymore.

I agree with my sister. I probably got the initial DVT and PE from driving the U-Haul truck over the mountains in Truckee. My leg hurt after that and even though I babied it a lot, it took a long time to feel better. I didn't check for any swelling.

My sister said when I first showed up with the truck, I was talking really softly, and she could barely hear me. As soon as I got started on EliQuis, my voice got a lot stronger. That's why I think I got the clots driving the truck.
 
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So, according to the doctor, I'm OK to fly as long as I'm on EliQuis. After that, either massive doses of aspirin or compression socks. Too many bad things can happen with massive doses of aspirin, so I'll use compression socks.

Luckily, all my blood work is back to normal - i.e. a teenager's. If the clot is still there, it's not affecting anything.

I'm currently working on my aviation knowledge, using Rod Machado's Private/Commercial Pilot Handbook and Workbook. I'm finishing up the weather chapter.
 
I want to reiterate that deep venous thromboses- blood clots in big veins, usually in a calf, can easily kill when dislodged and travel to the pulmonary vasculature (pulmonary emboli)

Glad you’re ok, crash.
 
I want to reiterate that deep venous thromboses- blood clots in big veins, usually in a calf, can easily kill when dislodged and travel to the pulmonary vasculature (pulmonary emboli)

Glad you’re ok, crash.
Thank you. Looks like I dodged a bullet.
 
I resumed my flying lessons, again! I had my first lesson in 3 months at Vector Flight at the Erie Municipal Airport (KEIK) yesterday.
Their operation is not nearly as rigorous as Aerodynamic Aviation's.

I logged 0.8 hours of time in a Cessna 172N N733XB if you want to track it on flight aware.
I did S-Turns, steep turns, slow flight, and power on, and power off stalls. I finished off by landing.
The airport is non-towered, and I made the calls. I felt shaky but got the right words out.

It was hot, 95 before we launched and 88 or so when we landed. There was no wind, and the air seemed smooth.

Whenever I landed on 31 at KRHV, almost every time it was bumpy going over the Hillview shopping center but then smoothing out before the runway threshold. The entire pattern for 34 was smooth as glass. I don't know if it was dumb luck or skill, but I landed on the center line, the wheels chirped, and we didn't bounce. After the nose came down after the flare so I could see the runway, I was still on the center line. I'm sure I'll have to work at it when there's a crosswind.

My CFI is teaching the full-stall landing. From what I understand, the FAA is getting away from that because you have minimal airspeed and thus control when you are close to the ground, and you are subject to unexpected gusts.

I couldn't find my Basic Med nor Express Med paperwork when I got entered into their system, but I have a Basic Med exam Wednesday next week and will have it for them long before I solo.

I changed my picture to Tuffy and me wearing out aviator helmets. His dog walker took that picture of us last Halloween
 
I resumed my flying lessons, again! I had my first lesson in 3 months at Vector Flight at the Erie Municipal Airport (KEIK) yesterday.
Their operation is not nearly as rigorous as Aerodynamic Aviation's.

I logged 0.8 hours of time in a Cessna 172N N733XB if you want to track it on flight aware.
I did S-Turns, steep turns, slow flight, and power on, and power off stalls. I finished off by landing.
The airport is non-towered, and I made the calls. I felt shaky but got the right words out.

It was hot, 95 before we launched and 88 or so when we landed. There was no wind, and the air seemed smooth.

Whenever I landed on 31 at KRHV, almost every time it was bumpy going over the Hillview shopping center but then smoothing out before the runway threshold. The entire pattern for 34 was smooth as glass. I don't know if it was dumb luck or skill, but I landed on the center line, the wheels chirped, and we didn't bounce. After the nose came down after the flare so I could see the runway, I was still on the center line. I'm sure I'll have to work at it when there's a crosswind.

My CFI is teaching the full-stall landing. From what I understand, the FAA is getting away from that because you have minimal airspeed and thus control when you are close to the ground, and you are subject to unexpected gusts.

I couldn't find my Basic Med nor Express Med paperwork when I got entered into their system, but I have a Basic Med exam Wednesday next week and will have it for them long before I solo.

I changed my picture to Tuffy and me wearing out aviator helmets. His dog walker took that picture of us last Halloween
So glad you're flying!

If you stay in the 172, just a slight blip of the throttle before touchdown = the greasiest landings ever.

Thanks for sharing your story and journey, CnB its really inspirational.
 
You need to join Colorado Pilots….coloradopilots.org
 
I had my second lesson at KEIK yesterday. I had a more than a 2-week break after the first lesson. There was stormy weather, it was too hot, the plane was down for its 100-hour inspection, and there was a plain crazy guy wandering around the airport when my intervening lessons were scheduled.

David isn't available very often, as he's off flying a Pilatus a lot. Can't say as I blame him. I flew with Nicholas today. I told him what I'd done with David and that David was planning on doing some rectangular course work. Nicholas wanted to know if I wanted to do closed pattern work. Of course, I said yes.

I made 7 landings. They were all full stop. The density Altitude was about 7680' on a 5100' elevation field. I flew a 180 HP 172P and it had plenty of horses. The only thing was ground speed after I landed. I figure about 3.33% reduction in power and the same increase in ground speed for every 1000 feet of altitude.

My best landing by far was the 6th. The main gear went chirp, chirp when the nose was over the centerline. The seventh was a lot worse, and Nicholas was ready to call it a day, after 1.2 hours. When I first started in the pattern, I was lucky to be able to go 45 minutes.

I made sure when I sat in the plane after doing the preflight that I could see the cowl with the seat all the way down, so I left it that way.

My next flight is scheduled for Monday afternoon. Friday was a great day to fly. Today it was hot, hitting around 100, and then we had a major windstorm blow in. I'm scheduled well into September, when I can get 10 AM flights and probably skip the heat and weather.

My aviation knowledge studying is coming along. I'm finishing up the second to last chapter in Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook. Too bad they didn't edit the workbook as well as they did the handbook.
 
The only thing was ground speed after I landed.
You’re at a much higher density altitude than RHV. Fly the plane using indicated airspeeds, but understand that true airspeed and commensurate groundspeed (of course depending on the wind) will be higher. The rule of thumb is a 2% increase per 1000’ of DA (it’s actually a bit less), but you can use your E6B to figure out the exact conversion for navigational purposes. Consider how the increased TAS alone affects your takeoff and landing roll distance, climb and descent angles, and other lateral geometry. And that’s before considering all the performance hits.

Bottom line, you’re going to be going 10-20% faster through the air and possibly over the ground than any given IAS.
 
You’re at a much higher density altitude than RHV. Fly the plane using indicated airspeeds, but understand that true airspeed and commensurate groundspeed (of course depending on the wind) will be higher. The rule of thumb is a 2% increase per 1000’ of DA (it’s actually a bit less), but you can use your E6B to figure out the exact conversion for navigational purposes. Consider how the increased TAS alone affects your takeoff and landing roll distance, climb and descent angles, and other lateral geometry. And that’s before considering all the performance hits.

Bottom line, you’re going to be going 10-20% faster through the air and possibly over the ground than any given IAS.
Actually, I figure about 25% at DA of around 7700 feet.
 
I had my third lesson with my third CFI yesterday. I worked on my roundout and flare. The last 3 three landings were my best. The third from last he helped quite a bit, the second from last, just a touch, and the third was all on my own, and it was the best of the 5 landings I made. We called it a day after that because the landing was so good, and more importantly, there was a nasty cloud bank moving in from the Rockies.

We timed it just right. Just after we got the plane tied down and buttoned up, the wind from the front came through. Talk about great timing.

Guaran wasn't sure where I was in my training, and I didn't blame him. He told me he'd be helping me out by talking to me, and that his initial students had problems with speed control. I surprised myself. I rotated at 54 knots (VR), and somehow was able to hit 74 knots (VY) without hunting for it.

He said he liked how well I had my rudder and ailerons coordinated, and how well I handled the turbulence. It was bumpy, but not any worse than a lot of flights I had out of KRHV. In fact, final for 31L and 31R was almost always bumpy because of the wind blowing over the Hillview shopping center. Final at was a lot smoother.

He also liked how smooth I was with the elevator, and how I kept the plane over the center line and headed down the runway in a crosswind. It was only about 6 knots, but about 90 degrees to runway 34. Ironically, the so-called crosswind runway, which has been NOTAMed out of service, was almost perfectly aligned with the wind. One of my neighbors said one time the wind was so strong he landed on it and maybe rolled 30 or 40 feet.

Things to work on include banking less than 30 degrees in the pattern and reducing the RPM to no less than 1700 RPM (to start) when even with the end of the runway. Those are easy fixes.

After the flight, Guaran said that if I could fly that well in bumpy weather, I was flying well enough to solo in calm conditions. Of course, I'll have more lessons until he and I are comfortable, and either the FBO owner or chief pilot will give me a pre-solo check ride. And, several ground school lessons, and a written test. Par for the course.

I'll be comfortable when I can make 5 good landings in a row w/o any help from my CFI.
 
Actually, I figure about 25% at DA of around 7700 feet.
Sigh. You know this isn’t a guess, right? You can actually calculate the change (it’s about half of what you figure at that DA). In fact, it’s a basic private pilot task.
 
Crash

There are enough of us along the Front Range that if you just want to come along for a fun flight (breakfast or lunch or sightseeing) just post here and someone will offer. I'll start - I'm usually available Friday/Sat/Sun and will happily pick you up for a trip over the hills to Leadville (local diner with fantastic breakfasts and if you do the landing, the certificate stating you landed at the highest paved runway in CONUS) or Salida (lunch on the riverside). Weather permitting, of course. Otherwise, Pueblo for the sights of the USAF cathedral, Schreiver USAF/USSP (I dunno who they belong to anymore-home of GPS), the antenna on top of Cheyenne Mtn and of course, Pikes Peak.

Even better, you'll have the opportunity to travel in a variety of aircraft we own/fly.

Just checked, it's USSB now.
 
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Crash

There are enough of us along the Front Range that if you just want to come along for a fun flight (breakfast or lunch or sightseeing) just post here and someone will offer. I'll start - I'm usually available Friday/Sat/Sun and will happily pick you up for a trip over the hills to Leadville (local diner with fantastic breakfasts and if you do the landing, the certificate stating you landed at the highest paved runway in CONUS) or Salida (lunch on the riverside). Weather permitting, of course. Otherwise, Pueblo for the sights of the USAF cathedral, Schreiver USAF/USSP (I dunno who they belong to anymore-home of GPS), the antenna on top of Cheyenne Mtn and of course, Pikes Peak.

Even better, you'll have the opportunity to travel in a variety of aircraft we own/fly.

Just checked, it's USSB now.
Hi Murphey,
Thanks for the offer. Are you around Labor Day weekend? There's no instructing going on then. All the destinations sound great.
I'm not so good flying right seat. Just so you know,

Crash
 
Hi Murphey,
Thanks for the offer. Are you around Labor Day weekend? There's no instructing going on then. All the destinations sound great.
I'm not so good flying right seat. Just so you know,

Crash
I'm in a class Saturday morning but Sunday & Monday are open.
 
I'm in a class Saturday morning but Sunday & Monday are open.
Monday works for me. What time is convenient for you?

Forgot to mention that Saturday I'll be recovering from a late night of Texas Hold'em poker.
 
Monday works for me. What time is convenient for you?

Forgot to mention that Saturday I'll be recovering from a late night of Texas Hold'em poker.
Welcome to Colorado. Until October, we fly mornings. As you've discovered. We could make this a CO-POA get-together. We haven't had one of those in a very long time.
 
Welcome to Colorado. Until October, we fly mornings. As you've discovered. We could make this a CO-POA get-together. We haven't had one of those in a very long time.
Does 9:30 AM at Vector Air at KEIK work for you?

Thanks
 
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