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kwc98

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kwc98
Greetings,

This is my introduction post. I have been lurking of course. I have been training for the last month, looks like I have 5-6 hours of flight time. Things have been going pretty well. I am flying out of John Tune (JWN) in Nashville. Progress seems slow, but steady.

On vacation currently, so I took the chance to fly out of Hilton Head (HXD). That was this morning and my first time flying out of class D. Had to make a few 360's while a larger plane came in. Interesting difference in instructors, but I figured I learned something and got in some more landings, which seems to be my area of trouble.

In the event of actual progress or news, I will post here.

thanks for all of the helpful info and posts,

Ken
 
Welcome...and congrats on getting started on your training. We landed at Tune back in March on our way back from spring break. Great airport with some really nice folks. Made our Nashville visit extra special!
 
Troll!!!


Sorry, that is a habit. :)
Welcome to POA!

What are you flying?
 
Welcome to PoA.

Periodically flying with a different instructor can be beneficial. You might uncover a key item that the other instructor hasn't discovered yet and can work on it.

Schedule your lessons as frequently as possible (weather and money permitting) and you'll progress rapidly to your milestones of solo, XC, and check ride.

Best of luck to ya!!!!
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Troll!!!

What are you flying?
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I am flying a 172K in Nashville and I also happened to fly the same thing here at Hilton Head, made things a little simpler for me, which is what I need right now.
 
kwc98 said:
I am flying a 172K in Nashville and I also happened to fly the same thing here at Hilton Head, made things a little simpler for me, which is what I need right now.
Click to expand...

You'll find that the differences between 172s are so minor that you can often make the transition in one landing.

For instance, the differences for a 172N are that the flap switch is point-and-forget instead of momentary, and the max gross weight is higher (performance, however, is about the same, as is the sight picture).

The exception is the really out-there 172s -- XP and RG models. But they still land the same (as long as you put the gear down :) ).

The biggest differences are in the panel, but that's also true for two different 172Ks. Virtually no one has the original 40 year old avionics.

It doesn't hurt to use the same model, but you really do have a lot more available to you.

The latest (SP) models have more differences, but they still fly and land pretty much the same. Got a whole helluva lot of fuel sumps, though (5 on each wing, 3 under the nose).

Flying around on vacation is a lot of fun. Sometimes, it's hard to convince the SO, though.
 
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Oh, and welcome Ken! You'll find lots of helpful knowledge here, and lots of perhaps not-so-helpful opinions, too. Good luck with your training!
 
Welcome Ken! I fly into John Tune occasionally when I have to go to Nashville for business. I like the airport and the people.

Only hitch is, last time I was there, when I got ready to leave, the wind was blowing out of the west at 25 knots or more, and the big hill to the west was making for an exciting time during takeoff. I talked to a guy who landed a C-210 just before I left the terminal. He said he was headed to the restroom to clean out his pants :). I will go back to Tune next time I need to go to Nashville.
 
Update:

Weather was terrible when I was scheduled to fly on Sun, so instead I bought the ASA ground training lessons and spent the day working through a few of the lessons. I am finding them pretty good and easy to sit through.

Since I was cancelled on Sun, I decided to sneak out of work a little early yesterday and go flying. Glad I did, I finally nailed a few landings. After I had a bad time landing on previous lessons, I bought the Sportys Takeoff and Landings app. It explained how to use an aiming point so that I understood it. My instructor used the term 'aiming point', but as far as I can remember he never told me how to actually use it. The Sportys app does a great job on that point.

Yesterday was the first time I heard 'good flight'. So that was nice. Progress is being made. Just gotta keep sneaking out of work!

-Ken
 
kwc98 said:
My instructor used the term 'aiming point', but as far as I can remember he never told me how to actually use it. The Sportys app does a great job on that point.

-Ken
Click to expand...

Good point here. Be sure and ask questions, Instructors a lot of the time don't know how much we know and use terms assuming we are familiar.

Example: "give me a level turn to the left"
So I tried holding the wings perfect level and turning with the rudder.

There were a lot of little things like that early on especially. If you are confused about something, ask what it means.

And keep us posted
 
I'm in Nashville too, training out of KMQY. I'm assuming your school is wings of eagles as well? Who's your instructor?

Not sure what part of town you're in, but Im in franklin and periodically hang out with a couple of pilots I met here on POA. You should join us for a beer sometime!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Sounds like we are on about the same level. I am in about 8 hrs flight time. I did five touch and goes day before yesterday. That was a blast and the most fun I have had in a plane so far. I am really confident at the controls and flying. The ground work and studying is harder. I am 52. It's been awhile since I have had homework. My instructor has just started letting me talk on the comm. Lot of knobs and numbers! I am training at the Birmingham airport by the way.
 
hyphen81 said:
I'm in Nashville too, training out of KMQY. I'm assuming your school is wings of eagles as well? Who's your instructor?

Not sure what part of town you're in, but Im in franklin and periodically hang out with a couple of pilots I met here on POA. You should join us for a beer sometime!
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I am also a wings of eagle student. Let me know about the beer gathering, sounds like a good time. I think that the 2 schools have just parted ways, not sure what that is going to do to the planes and instructors though. My instructor is Jesse.

-Ken
 
Loveair said:
Sounds like we are on about the same level. I am in about 8 hrs flight time. I did five touch and goes day before yesterday. That was a blast and the most fun I have had in a plane so far. I am really confident at the controls and flying. The ground work and studying is harder. I am 52. It's been awhile since I have had homework. My instructor has just started letting me talk on the comm. Lot of knobs and numbers! I am training at the Birmingham airport by the way.
Click to expand...

Ha, I am the same age. I just finished a masters degree though, that took my 5 years to complete.:) So I am ready for the studying. I was looking at a doctorate, then got the flying bug. Enough school already!

-Ken
 
kwc98 said:
Greetings,

... Interesting difference in instructors, but I figured I learned something and got in some more landings, which seems to be my area of trouble.
...
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Welcome to PoA. Great people here, and lots of knowledge to learn from. Ignore the few who are always looking for an argument.

I'll second (or third) a couple of others and say that flying with more than one instructor can be very beneficial. Each brings a slightly different approach to flying and a different teaching style. I, for example, have benefitted from instructors who take a very qualitative (seat of the pants) approach to flying, and others who take a quantitative (numbers based) approach. Both have value, and understanding both will make you a better pilot in the long run.
 
Loveair said:
Sounds like we are on about the same level. I am in about 8 hrs flight time. I did five touch and goes day before yesterday. That was a blast and the most fun I have had in a plane so far. I am really confident at the controls and flying. The ground work and studying is harder. I am 52. It's been awhile since I have had homework. My instructor has just started letting me talk on the comm. Lot of knobs and numbers! I am training at the Birmingham airport by the way.
Click to expand...

Who is your instructor? That's who did my training and Mooney Transition training. I still fly with those guys if I go more than a month without flying. I'm based over on the east ramp.
 
Made my first trip to a different airport today. That was good. Made all of the radio calls, that kept me busy. I also was able to use my new headset. Using ANR was a huge relief to say the least.

Making pretty good progress I am thinking. Fun and challenging. Next flight Tues after work, off to another local airport for a few touch and goes.

-Ken
 
Sounds like you are doing well, Ken. Keep at it and most of all, keep it fun!
 
Went for another after work flight. I told everyone at work that I have an 'appointment' to go to after work, so I left a little early.

The temp was a little cooler than it had been, but we still flew with the windows open, very nice. Except that we were flying to the west, made for a one big squint-fest. I wear glasses, so I think I might have to find a non-polarized clip-on for just such trips.

One big lesson learned on this flight: When you extend the flaps on pre-flight, you really need to duck very low to get under the wing. I grab a paper towel from the storage compartment, crack head on flap, continue with inspection. I think that the aviation oil on the paper towel help staunch the bleeding a bit. I will have to explain to everyone at work how I got hurt at my 'appointment'. :)

Better on the landings, except I am not the best with the flair. I ask the CFI to land once, so that I look down the runway. I am so caught up on the aiming point, that I am reluctant to look away, even after the aiming point is useless. So I watched the aiming point while not flying and then took my first look down the runway during a landing. After that I tried a few myself, something to work on.

As we were flying back the CFI tells me I am 'close', like close to flying solo...crap, that can't be right! I am thinking I need plenty of more practice on pretty much everything! If today was the first day I looked down the runway during a landing, I am thinking I am not that 'close'.

I did get a 'good flight' after we landed and he mentioned a test and getting my medical, so I think he must be serious. Progress being made.

-Ken
 
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