Making the most of 0.5 hr flight

[iWantWings]

I admit I do 0.5ish hour flights around the pattern to not totally atrophy my stick-and-rudder skills, etc.

It's not helping me become a better pilot "all around", but I do have a general plan to make the most of such a short flight around the pattern. And the different instructors that I've flown with at various times have all given me the "green light" after flying with them.

Here's what I normally do during the 4 to 5 takeoffs and landings

1. One short field takeoff and landing
2. One soft field takeoff and landing
3. One power-to-idle landing
4. One no-flaps landing without any forward slips.

If conditions allow I touch-and-go sometimes as well. I also like to keep the pattern tight so things happen faster and keep me on my toes.

I throw in the mix days when I fly the J-3 Cub as well and that has its own "excercise", typical to a tailwheel.

(Not the ideal way to fly and be better)

Here's a short video of such a flight (but only 2 landings in the video clip).

 

[mscard88]

Why just .5 when you fly? Are you already a PP, or a student? Staying in the pattern every time you fly for 30 minutes is very limiting and would get a little boring after a while I would think.

 

[frfly172]

Have to agree,is there a reason ,you only fly for .5 at a time? Doesn't give you much time to do some air work.

 

[Brad Z]

I used to only have the budget to fly about 15 hours a year. I maximized my proficiency with .7 hr flights every month or two. Generally I'd try to get out to the practice area and do some slow flight, stalls and then 2 or 3 TnG landings back in the pattern. I also did some night flights where I'd do a short 51nm XC to another airport to keep my night currency and do some stop and goes (that was usually closer to 1.4 hrs but I'd fly with another pilot and swap legs). Not ideal, but got me through my early years.

 

[eman1200]

are u a recent ppl?

 

[TK211X]

See, I completely see where OP is coming from. And before I realized I can rent a 152 for 85/Hour from a farther airport. I used to shell out $65 for half an hour in a 172R about every week. Flying is expensive. I hope to get my commercial in eventually.

BTW I'm sooooooo happy when someone asks me to be their safety pilot. I'm going to start diligently sticking notices in every airport within 50miles that I'm available.

 

[oregonboy109]

Landing practice is certainly beneficial but maybe save up for a longer XC flight. For me at least, those flights have been the most fun and best learning experiences. I try to fly a longer XC every few months (mostly PNP flights with friends or flights to visit family) and then only fly a few hours the next month or so since those long flights can be expensive but the positives certainly outweigh the cost.

 

[Turboz1r]

Go get a hamburger at an airport you have never been to before.

 

[eman1200]

see if u can find a pilot buddy who wants to split flights. then, fly somewhere .5 away, each flying one way. same $, better experience, me thinks. I"m still not sure if ur PPL'd or just doing pattern work.

 

[iWantWings]

Why just .5 when you fly? Are you already a PP, or a student? Staying in the pattern every time you fly for 30 minutes is very limiting and would get a little boring after a while I would think.

Have to agree,is there a reason ,you only fly for .5 at a time? Doesn't give you much time to do some sir work.

You're both totally right: no doubt that doing donuts in a pattern isn't the equivalent of a "full flight". But given a duration of 0.5-0.75 hrs, I prefer to practice the things I've mentioned vs. straight-and-level (okay, I'm simplifying things). Of all phases of flight, I actually prefer the up/downs, power-in, power-out and rudder dance compared to: "now trim and hands off".

 

[iWantWings]

I used to only have the budget to fly about 15 hours a year. I maximized my proficiency with .7 hr flights every month or two. Generally I'd try to get out to the practice area and do some slow flight, stalls and then 2 or 3 TnG landings back in the pattern. I also did some night flights where I'd do a short 51nm XC to another airport to keep my night currency and do some stop and goes (that was usually closer to 1.4 hrs but I'd fly with another pilot and swap legs). Not ideal, but got me through my early years.

That's a thoughtful, good plan and glad to read it kept you not only current, but learning through the early years.

 

[James331]

I used to only have the budget to fly about 15 hours a year. I maximized my proficiency with .7 hr flights every month or two. Generally I'd try to get out to the practice area and do some slow flight, stalls and then 2 or 3 TnG landings back in the pattern. I also did some night flights where I'd do a short 51nm XC to another airport to keep my night currency and do some stop and goes (that was usually closer to 1.4 hrs but I'd fly with another pilot and swap legs). Not ideal, but got me through my early years.

This is when you look into something like a N3, fly for next to nothing, dirt simple systems, inexpensive parts, sips on auto fuel, fold the wings and truck it home to your garage, costs the same as a ATV or snowmobile.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preceptor_N3_Pup

 

[iWantWings]

are u a recent ppl?

2013, I think, is when I got my PP certificate.

 

[iWantWings]

See, I completely see where OP is coming from. And before I realized I can rent a 152 for 85/Hour from a farther airport. I used to shell out $65 for half an hour in a 172R about every week. Flying is expensive. I hope to get my commercial in eventually.

BTW I'm sooooooo happy when someone asks me to be their safety pilot. I'm going to start diligently sticking notices in every airport within 50miles that I'm available.

Right on. I've been trying to help my local flight school to promote and help the renters announce something like "hey, I've go N1234 scheduled at this time and if anyone wants to split the time practicing, let me know". I don't know if there are any legal implications to such a direct collaboration for a common purpose flight, but it's like unnecessarily hard to do and don't know why. Sharing a flight with other renters would help me out - and the other pilots as well, as yous write.

 

[iWantWings]

Landing practice is certainly beneficial but maybe save up for a longer XC flight. For me at least, those flights have been the most fun and best learning experiences. I try to fly a longer XC every few months (mostly PNP flights with friends or flights to visit family) and then only fly a few hours the next month or so since those long flights can be expensive but the positives certainly outweigh the cost.

You're right, there's not substitute for those longer flights - and I occasionally, but rarely do it. Just recently I had a 1.8 hr flight with a CFI (checkout to Catalina airport - an airport on an island whose both ends of the runway end at the edge of cliffs. Awesome flight, orbiting the island at 500 feet over the ocean and edging near vertical cliffs... then flying back home. But I have yet to save and do a long XC with some practical purpose.

 

[iWantWings]

Go get a hamburger at an airport you have never been to before.

i'm going to get fat (which I need to, anyways). Sounds like a plan

 

[iWantWings]

see if u can find a pilot buddy who wants to split flights. then, fly somewhere .5 away, each flying one way. same $, better experience, me thinks. I"m still not sure if ur PPL'd or just doing pattern work.

Yep, that's really the best plan of reducing the cost (the core of the problem for me at the moment). I'm going to post stuff on every wall of the flight school and nearby.

 

[iWantWings]

This is when you look into something like a N3, fly for next to nothing, dirt simple systems, inexpensive parts, sips on auto fuel, fold the wings and truck it home to your garage, costs the same as a ATV or snowmobile.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preceptor_N3_Pup

Very pretty, and cool. I thought about/dreamed about buying a Luscombe A, Taylorcraft, 120 or the like. Or maybe partnership with one other person - but most of these are fabric and I wouldn't like baking it in the sun, and getting a hangar isn't cheap. And so my "dreams" changed to a bare-bones C150? But could these be a money pitt and I'll be more comatose than I am now...

 

[James331]

Very pretty, and cool. I thought about/dreamed about buying a Luscombe A, Taylorcraft, 120 or the like. Or maybe partnership with one other person - but most of these are fabric and I wouldn't like baking it in the sun, and getting a hangar isn't cheap. And so my "dreams" changed to a bare-bones C150? But could these be a money pitt and I'll be more comatose than I am now...

Modern fabric doesn't care that much about the sun, plenty of fabric planes live outside.


That said, a N3 would be a better bang for the buck, just see about putting a cheap enclosed trailer on the airport, fold your wings and push it in, done and done. Better yet just trailer it home and bring it out to the airfield, or really any decent sized grass field, these guys stall at like 27mph, don't need much realestate.

Here's a sweet one.

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Just flying to fly, or for short hops, doesn't take paying much rental time before you are way better off with something like a N3.

 

[Coloradokevin]

Those Pups look like fun little aircraft… a quick Google search shows that they make a two-seat version, but I bet those are hard to find (I'd want a second seat, personally). Looks cheap to fly though!

As for the idea of 0.5 hour hops, I see nothing wrong with that. Personally, I find that some of my landing skills are the first to erode if I'm away from flying for a while, so if I don't have much time to fly I'll often practice takeoffs and landings.

 

[petrolero]

I would do 0.5 hr hops on my lunch break if I lived closer to the 'drome.

T/L practice is immensely beneficial. Just take a look at the loss of control stats!

But for further proficiency, maybe head out to the practice area and run through steep turns and slow flight/stalls once in a while if you can fit that into the time slot.

 

[Brad Z]

This is when you look into something like a N3, fly for next to nothing, dirt simple systems, inexpensive parts, sips on auto fuel, fold the wings and truck it home to your garage, costs the same as a ATV or snowmobile.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preceptor_N3_Pup

I can't speak to the OP, but I was most certainly not in the position to own anything at the time. In college, with barely a place to park my car, and a flying budget that wasn't much more than what monthly tie-downs go for. Even if someone gave me a bare-bones airplane for free I'd still have to maintain it. The reality is, the best way to keep flying on a shoestring is to make friends with an airplane.

 

[Twin_Flyer]

I would do 0.5 hr hops on my lunch break if I lived closer to the 'drome.

T/L practice is immensely beneficial. Just take a look at the loss of control stats!

But for further proficiency, maybe head out to the practice area and run through steep turns and slow flight/stalls once in a while if you can fit that into the time slot.

, Every third flight would be to the practice area instead of doing the T/ L practice.

 

[jkaduk]

I assume you are referring to just flight time. Start up and taxi, plus taxi back to parking would put nearly 0.5 on the hobbs at my airport.

 

[Brad Z]

I assume you are referring to just flight time. Start up and taxi, plus taxi back to parking would put nearly 0.5 on the hobbs at my airport.

I wasn't in my post, but some airports are easier than others for getting from the tie-down to the air and back. That said, I see plenty of planes sitting in the runup area for 15 minutes or more. Good cockpit preparation should have the before take-off checklist completed in just a couple minutes or so.

 

[iWantWings]

I would do 0.5 hr hops on my lunch break if I lived closer to the 'drome.

T/L practice is immensely beneficial. Just take a look at the loss of control stats!

But for further proficiency, maybe head out to the practice area and run through steep turns and slow flight/stalls once in a while if you can fit that into the time slot.

I totally agree.

While flying a seemingly mundane pattern and practicing the different takeoffs and landings, I get to do slow flight, forward slips, coordinated stalls (but no recovery, obviously, on touchdown), energy management, and so on, with all the diligence required at low altitude and managing traffic flow (uncontrolled airport). So there is a quite a bit going on.

Naturally, flying patterns alone isn't sufficient to keep proficient in other basic areas, no doubt.

The original post was my plan for maximizing the practice value of a 0.5ish hour of flight and it works for me.

 

[iWantWings]

I can't speak to the OP, but I was most certainly not in the position to own anything at the time. In college, with barely a place to park my car, and a flying budget that wasn't much more than what monthly tie-downs go for. Even if someone gave me a bare-bones airplane for free I'd still have to maintain it. The reality is, the best way to keep flying on a shoestring is to make friends with an airplane.

So true. I also had a few flights as a safety pilot for an IFR student, it was great while it lasted.

(I need to help the flight school configure a system whereby renters can set a flag in the scheduling system that they are looking for other pilots to share time in flight; then, other renters can get an automated notification with the scheduled flight and consider sharing the flight for a common purpose. Something like that)

 

[iWantWings]

I assume you are referring to just flight time. Start up and taxi, plus taxi back to parking would put nearly 0.5 on the hobbs at my airport.

Right.

Nonetheless, at my local uncontrolled airport, when conditions are right, i can get a good number of takeoff and landings (trafffic does not interfere; flying the 180hp Skyhawk; safely managing touch-and-goes).

Either way, I don't push it just to get "x" landings in some nominal time.