DrewG
Pre-takeoff checklist
Well - it finally happened on Saturday, after 12 hours of training in just under two months' time.
It was a perfect, sunny Saturday afternoon, with winds variable, at about 5-10 kts. After about 0.8 hours of dual and 5 T&G's, I got the anticipated "Let's make this a full stop and just pull off the runway" statement.
I was instructed to make the standard 3 circuits around the pattern and it went well, for the most part. Aside from one of my landings being horrible and some long-winded pilots on the shared CTAF at another airport making it difficult for me to get my traffic calls in, I was darn happy.
My first landing was firm, but decent - if a bit off centerline. The second one was hardly worth mentioning. It was pretty much off from the flubbed traffic call on final (called "left base - I mean, left final..."
) and the subsequent "landing" was rough. There was a bounce that was just enough to where I thought it would be best to just apply power and give it another go. I might have been able to salvage it - but I don't think I made a bad decision at all. The third landing was my best, but between the nosewheel shimmy and a little speed, I missed my first turnoff. Other than that - the taxi back to the ramp and subsequent parking job were probably my best yet!
So - I've had much better landings, but I was more than satisfied overall with my first 0.4 hour of PIC time. To top it off, my entire family came out and surprised me, and my girlfriend's sister even donated her professional photography skills to capture the day for me in a great fashion. Definitely a day I won't soon forget!
Should anyone be bored and/or need a good laugh, I managed to throw together a hastily-edited video I put up on YouTube that runs just over 10 minutes. I also figured I'd share the gallery of some pics taken by my girlfriend's sister. I'd highly recommend her work!
It was a perfect, sunny Saturday afternoon, with winds variable, at about 5-10 kts. After about 0.8 hours of dual and 5 T&G's, I got the anticipated "Let's make this a full stop and just pull off the runway" statement.
I was instructed to make the standard 3 circuits around the pattern and it went well, for the most part. Aside from one of my landings being horrible and some long-winded pilots on the shared CTAF at another airport making it difficult for me to get my traffic calls in, I was darn happy.
My first landing was firm, but decent - if a bit off centerline. The second one was hardly worth mentioning. It was pretty much off from the flubbed traffic call on final (called "left base - I mean, left final..."
) and the subsequent "landing" was rough. There was a bounce that was just enough to where I thought it would be best to just apply power and give it another go. I might have been able to salvage it - but I don't think I made a bad decision at all. The third landing was my best, but between the nosewheel shimmy and a little speed, I missed my first turnoff. Other than that - the taxi back to the ramp and subsequent parking job were probably my best yet!So - I've had much better landings, but I was more than satisfied overall with my first 0.4 hour of PIC time. To top it off, my entire family came out and surprised me, and my girlfriend's sister even donated her professional photography skills to capture the day for me in a great fashion. Definitely a day I won't soon forget!
Should anyone be bored and/or need a good laugh, I managed to throw together a hastily-edited video I put up on YouTube that runs just over 10 minutes. I also figured I'd share the gallery of some pics taken by my girlfriend's sister. I'd highly recommend her work!
