So, student pilots.. Who are we and where do we stand?

All done with my final solo xc! Man was I nervous. My route was kmev,kcxp,Krno,krts,O02,2O1,kcic. Crossing the Sierra Nevada's all alone is a different experience. I can't believe how much more feel the plane has at sea level. Let alone the power! It was like the engine finally woke up. I was climbing at 850fpm! I'm use to 300 to sometimes 500fpm at my home field.

Now it's time to study up on for the oral exam. My instructor wants me to do the check ride/ oral in 2 weeks, but I'm not sure if I'm ready. I do expect before the end of July I'll get my ticket punched!

A little encouragement for other student pilots, just keep at it! For me i had high highs and low lows. Moments where I thought what the heck am I doing this for, but now I'm so close to the end of my basic training it's beginning to make a lot of sense why I decided to continue flying!
 
My plane is currently on the ramp at O02. Good job!

mtnflyr said:
All done with my final solo xc! Man was I nervous. My route was kmev,kcxp,Krno,krts,O02,2O1,kcic. Crossing the Sierra Nevada's all alone is a different experience. I can't believe how much more feel the plane has at sea level. Let alone the power! It was like the engine finally woke up. I was climbing at 850fpm! I'm use to 300 to sometimes 500fpm at my home field.

Now it's time to study up on for the oral exam. My instructor wants me to do the check ride/ oral in 2 weeks, but I'm not sure if I'm ready. I do expect before the end of July I'll get my ticket punched!

A little encouragement for other student pilots, just keep at it! For me i had high highs and low lows. Moments where I thought what the heck am I doing this for, but now I'm so close to the end of my basic training it's beginning to make a lot of sense why I decided to continue flying!
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So after not flying since mid-October due to travel (personal and business), holidays, work projects and winter weather, started again at the end of April with a new CFI (old CFI is training with Piedmont) switching planes, (Warrior to a 172) finally got signed off to solo today after 5 lessons over 2 months.
 
It's been awhile since I posted here! Since then, I have completed my solo and a good amount of solo pattern work. Now we are on to the fun stuff- X-Countries! Unfortunately, I find these much harder to schedule with my instructor for some reason. They need a good chunk of time to schedule, and obviously weekend morning flying time is hard to come by since I work full-time (like most people on this forum). What a pain! We have a night x-country scheduled tonight- should be my first night flight as well. I will feel good if we actually get to complete this flight. After that, we will have dual day cross country and solo cross country- then on to practicing maneuvers for the checkride.
 
I had my second training flight today. 2.0 hours total. Did S-turns, flying around a point, and CFI said I did that very well even with the 13 kt winds. He then wanted me to land. All I can say is I didn't leave it up there. I did awful. My CFI didn't set me up for the landings hardly at all. I blame him a little but I was just way over correcting. I guess I had to start somewhere.
 
Apparently I need help on what should be the easiest part of flying...DRIVING the plane while on the ground.

It occurred to me yesterday that of my 80+ landings in my log (of which only maybe the last 20-30 a solely mine), MAYBE 8-9 of them are full stop where I was 100% on the controls with zero help. This is leading to me not being very confident or capable when it comes to slowing down and keeping the plane straight on the runway until time to turn off.

Anyone have any tips/advice? C172 if that plays a role in this.


Oh, and I solo'd yesterday...sorta. Did one full lap in the pattern with my CFI on the taxiway. Not the 3 like is normal. Can't explain at this time, but let's leave it at I did 1.
 
abqtj said:
Apparently I need help on what should be the easiest part of flying...DRIVING the plane while on the ground.

It occurred to me yesterday that of my 80+ landings in my log (of which only maybe the last 20-30 a solely mine), MAYBE 8-9 of them are full stop where I was 100% on the controls with zero help. This is leading to me not being very confident or capable when it comes to slowing down and keeping the plane straight on the runway until time to turn off.

Anyone have any tips/advice? C172 if that plays a role in this.


Oh, and I solo'd yesterday...sorta. Did one full lap in the pattern with my CFI on the taxiway. Not the 3 like is normal. Can't explain at this time, but let's leave it at I did 1.
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Only times I can recall having problems keeping straight on roll-out was in stronger crosswind situations. If you're having trouble before slowing down, maybe you're landing too fast or aren't staying active on the rudder till you slow. Possible brake problem?(one weak brake?) Braking too hard too soon?(give it time to stop flying before getting on the brakes).
 
exncsurfer said:
Only times I can recall having problems keeping straight on roll-out was in stronger crosswind situations. If you're having trouble before slowing down, maybe you're landing too fast or aren't staying active on the rudder till you slow. Possible brake problem?(one weak brake?) Braking too hard too soon?(give it time to stop flying before getting on the brakes).
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Minimal winds yesterday morning, don't think it was wind-related.

While talking it through multiple times yesterday, I was wondering if maybe I was leaving my left foot too high on the rudder and inadvertently holding down the left brake, which would make it difficult to overcome and go right.

Really do not know at this point.

I think my plan is to ask our next lesson be almost 100% full-stops instead of touch and go.
 
abqtj said:
Apparently I need help on what should be the easiest part of flying...DRIVING the plane while on the ground.

It occurred to me yesterday that of my 80+ landings in my log (of which only maybe the last 20-30 a solely mine), MAYBE 8-9 of them are full stop where I was 100% on the controls with zero help. This is leading to me not being very confident or capable when it comes to slowing down and keeping the plane straight on the runway until time to turn off.

Anyone have any tips/advice? C172 if that plays a role in this.


Oh, and I solo'd yesterday...sorta. Did one full lap in the pattern with my CFI on the taxiway. Not the 3 like is normal. Can't explain at this time, but let's leave it at I did 1.
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Taxiing is NOT the easiest part of flying. That's where most accidents and incidents take place. You're close to other airplanes and obstructions, and virtually no one has the discipline to keep eyes outside while moving.

The airplane is not really designed as a ground vehicle either, and can behave in unpleasant ways.

You check tire pressures in preflight, right?
 
Had my third flight lesson today. Did pre-flight, taxi, and tower comm which I'm becoming more comfortable with. We did power off and on stalls which I really enjoyed. It seems like it would be difficult to not recover in this 152 I've been learning in. This plane just wants to fly. Did a few landings with assistance. Up to 3.5 hours now and two more lessons scheduled next week.
 
Haven't been getting as much done this summer as I planned between CFI conflicts, weather, and personal stuff, but still making progress. We had to cancel my first xcountry a couple times because of late afternoon storms and some morning fog that lingered around for way too long. I did manage though to get some ATC experience at KGYH as well as some VOR navigation and 0.7 hrs of simulated instrument. Unusual attitude recovery was a blast. I really enjoyed being under the hood and gave me some more inspiration to make sure I continue with my IR after I complete my private. Also been studying for my written and plan to get that done in the next couple weeks.

25.1 total
24.3 dual
0.8 PIC
0.7 simulated instrument

Also side note, I am able to wash/clean our club planes for reimbursement with free hours. One of our 172s hasn't been washed in 3 years and has a caked on layer of grime/exhaust on the belly that is as thick as 1/8-1/4" in some places. Anyone have some good ideas for dealing with this? My current plan after some research online is a bunch of shop towels, a can of 100LL, gloves, a face shield, and a shop creeper to roll around under neath it and just go to town for a few hours.
 
Ronbonjovi said:
Haven't been getting as much done this summer as I planned between CFI conflicts, weather, and personal stuff, but still making progress. We had to cancel my first xcountry a couple times because of late afternoon storms and some morning fog that lingered around for way too long. I did manage though to get some ATC experience at KGYH as well as some VOR navigation and 0.7 hrs of simulated instrument. Unusual attitude recovery was a blast. I really enjoyed being under the hood and gave me some more inspiration to make sure I continue with my IR after I complete my private. Also been studying for my written and plan to get that done in the next couple weeks.

25.1 total
24.3 dual
0.8 PIC
0.7 simulated instrument

Also side note, I am able to wash/clean our club planes for reimbursement with free hours. One of our 172s hasn't been washed in 3 years and has a caked on layer of grime/exhaust on the belly that is as thick as 1/8-1/4" in some places. Anyone have some good ideas for dealing with this? My current plan after some research online is a bunch of shop towels, a can of 100LL, gloves, a face shield, and a shop creeper to roll around under neath it and just go to town for a few hours.
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Ask for more credit-hours for the initial cleaning than the subsequent ones. Otherwise, get crackin in ur PPl so u can meet us in Asheville or something like that.
 
wd-40 has worked well for me, but there are many things from simple green to designer products. If using 100ll do it very carefully, you don't want to go up in smoke..
 
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Ronbonjovi said:
Also side note, I am able to wash/clean our club planes for reimbursement with free hours. One of our 172s hasn't been washed in 3 years and has a caked on layer of grime/exhaust on the belly that is as thick as 1/8-1/4" in some places. Anyone have some good ideas for dealing with this? My current plan after some research online is a bunch of shop towels, a can of 100LL, gloves, a face shield, and a shop creeper to roll around under neath it and just go to town for a few hours.
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There's multiple threads here on aircraft cleaning. Definitely search and read.

100LL isn't advised. There's stuff that'll do the job as well without the risk of setting yourself and the aircraft on fire. The gloves, face shield, and creeper are all good though.

If you can find an Army/Navy type store, a full body jumpsuit like a mechanic's non-zoom bag works well for zipping over whatever you have on and catching most of the crap that falls on you. Drenching such a garment in 100LL would probably also not be advisable though. LOL.

(We have one of those jumpsuits in the hangar for crawling around on the floor which is dirt and asphalt and pretty much a mess.)

I suppose those tyvek suits that are disposable would also work. The jumpsuit isn't perfect. Stuff will leach through it. But it's easy and washes clean for another session.

If you search the other threads, the non-pumice "Goop" brand cleaner works well to remove grease and then has to be cleaned off. There's everything from dish soap and water to aircraft specific cleaners, all probably smarter choices than 100LL.
 
1RTK1 said:
wd-40 has worked well for me, but there are many things from simple green to designer products. If using 100ll do it very carefully, you don't want to go up in smoke..
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denverpilot said:
There's multiple threads here on aircraft cleaning. Definitely search and read.

100LL isn't advised. There's stuff that'll do the job as well without the risk of setting yourself and the aircraft on fire. The gloves, face shield, and creeper are all good though.

If you can find an Army/Navy type store, a full body jumpsuit like a mechanic's non-zoom bag works well for zipping over whatever you have on and catching most of the crap that falls on you. Drenching such a garment in 100LL would probably also not be advisable though. LOL.

(We have one of those jumpsuits in the hangar for crawling around on the floor which is dirt and asphalt and pretty much a mess.)

I suppose those tyvek suits that are disposable would also work. The jumpsuit isn't perfect. Stuff will leach through it. But it's easy and washes clean for another session.

If you search the other threads, the non-pumice "Goop" brand cleaner works well to remove grease and then has to be cleaned off. There's everything from dish soap and water to aircraft specific cleaners, all probably smarter choices than 100LL.
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Cool thanks guys. I had a couple older guys at the airport recommend the 100LL to me, but will probably try some other stuff now. Saw simple green has a specific product for aircraft so will probably just get the club to order a gallon of that.
 
Ronbonjovi said:
Cool thanks guys. I had a couple older guys at the airport recommend the 100LL to me, but will probably try some other stuff now. Saw simple green has a specific product for aircraft so will probably just get the club to order a gallon of that.
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Only only only the aviation one, and it still needs to be well rinsed. Not a fan. Overpriced.

The aviation stuff came about after that company was embarrassed by someone posting video of their original product eating a strip of aluminum away over a short period of time back when the world was enthralled by their "green" name.

That stuff isn't green in the way they hope people will think. Marketing.

Still better stuff than that out there. Soap is soap. Soap is cheap. Elbow grease usually gets the majority of it off.

It's cool a club wants clean airplanes though. Usually they just let the bellies stay black as night on rentals. Nasty.

Just be careful. Also ask if the airplane is a leaseback and only use what the OWNER wants used. Word to the wise on that one. Club hurts an owner's airplane they're going to be mad at you along with the club. Maybe not as mad at you as them, but ... be forewarned.

Have "fun". It's a dirty dirty job but it's nice to have a clean belly.
 
Ronbonjovi said:
One of our 172s hasn't been washed in 3 years and has a caked on layer of grime/exhaust on the belly that is as thick as 1/8-1/4" in some places. Anyone have some good ideas for dealing with this? My current plan after some research online is a bunch of shop towels, a can of 100LL, gloves, a face shield, and a shop creeper to roll around under neath it and just go to town for a few hours.
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Non-pumice Goop. Rub it in, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse. Stay away from the 100LL for that large of area. Not worth the dangers.


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
denverpilot said:
Only only only the aviation one, and it still needs to be well rinsed. Not a fan. Overpriced.

The aviation stuff came about after that company was embarrassed by someone posting video of their original product eating a strip of aluminum away over a short period of time back when the world was enthralled by their "green" name.

That stuff isn't green in the way they hope people will think. Marketing.

Still better stuff than that out there. Soap is soap. Soap is cheap. Elbow grease usually gets the majority of it off.

It's cool a club wants clean airplanes though. Usually they just let the bellies stay black as night on rentals. Nasty.

Just be careful. Also ask if the airplane is a leaseback and only use what the OWNER wants used. Word to the wise on that one. Club hurts an owner's airplane they're going to be mad at you along with the club. Maybe not as mad at you as them, but ... be forewarned.

Have "fun". It's a dirty dirty job but it's nice to have a clean belly.
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Our club owns the airplanes so not worried about that aspect. Good point though to think about. Good to hear the input though on the simple green. With what you and Greenhead said I will go ahead and get the non pumice goop and give that a try first. Would be a good cheap option and definitely worth a try. I don't mind getting dirty underneath these birds for some free flight time. This thing is gross, I will take some before and after pics and share them when I am done.
 
Ronbonjovi said:
Our club owns the airplanes so not worried about that aspect. Good point though to think about. Good to hear the input though on the simple green. With what you and Greenhead said I will go ahead and get the non pumice goop and give that a try first. Would be a good cheap option and definitely worth a try. I don't mind getting dirty underneath these birds for some free flight time. This thing is gross, I will take some before and after pics and share them when I am done.
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Last time I did it on a really dirty one I ended up covered in black and the airplane ended up clean. LOL.
 
Had two lessons since my little hiccup with my solo landing.

Last week I went up with a different CFI, newer guy to the school. Went back to the same airport and did 5 landings, all to full stop so I could get some practice with that. Did OK for the most part. His speeds were a little different and he likes to come in steeper than I was used to. It was nice to learn a different perspective though.

This week (today) went up with my usual CFI and we stayed at our home airport in the pattern. Did 9 landings, 2 to full-stop, and they were all pretty good. One was excellent, it felt SOOOO good to control the plane perfectly the whole way in. Touched down very gently, too. Now if I could get all of them to be that good!

Next couple of lessons going to do some instrument work and navigation training.

All in all, today was a good boost of confidence and I needed it.
 
My training bird.

MyTrainer2.jpg
 
Had my 4th lesson today of 1.4 hours. Total of 4.8 hours. Spent almost the whole time taking off and landing and staying in the pattern. It's going to take me quite a while to get the hang of it. But, have to start somewhere right.
 
hockeyrcks9901 said:
Lastly did a flight today to get my 0.2 hours of simulated instrument I needed and practice some turning stalls. Those are much different than straight ahead and I struggled with fighting the natural urge too use aileron to lift the low wing. I highly encourage anyone who hasn't done turning stalls to grab an instructor and go do some. Everything went okay with my landings and the chief instructor is going to schedule my practical with the DPE! Woohoo!

1.3 hours for a total of 43


Probably will need to do a solo or two while waiting for my appointment but I'm feeling pretty awesome right now!
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hockeyrcks9901 said:
So my checkride is officially scheduled for July 11th!

Time to break out the books again and re-refresh on the material...
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Well let me start this off with saying I did 3 flights before my checkride.

First was .3 hours because the weather was reported 10,000 overcast but the ASOS wasn't picking up the SCT to BKN 1,000 foot layer and I couldn't see it from the ground either because it blended into the overcast layer above it. I got up to pattern altitude and immediately noticed that I was having trouble seeing and immediately decided to put it back on the ground and cancel the flight.

.3 hours for a total of 43.3


Next flight was some stall practice. I did a power off "falling leaf" stall and practiced raising the wings with the rudder. I was not comfortable doing turning stalls without the instructor but I wanted to work on re-enforcing the use of the rudder at low speed and not ailerons. Did some maneuvers as well and generally had a great day.

.9 hours for a total of 44.2


The final flight before my checkride was another solo flight but I decided to go back to the airport the DPE was based at, Winter Haven KGIF. I flew over my house on the way. Once at KGIF I made a mistake that I'm not proud of: There were two others in the pattern and I was tracking them quite well. I was on the start of my downwind when I heard one guy say he was turning final. By the time I got to my base turn I hadn't heard anything else from him or seen him so I announced my base turn. He then said "Bugsmasher 1234 is getting out of the way of the guy on base". I then saw him a little ahead of me on final. I'm assuming he had made a really long downwind and that's how we ended up so close. I quickly apologized and told him that I thought he was already on the ground since I hadn't heard him in a while. What I should have done was ask for an update on his location. Lesson learned.

Otherwise, I bounced my first landing attempt and did a go around but the second and third were great including a short field which I have struggled with in the past.

After those I left back to Peter O Knight (KTPF) and did three awesome landings. It was busy at both airports which I appreciated for the experience.

1.5 hours for a total of 45.7
 
The next flight I did was to get from Peter O Knight (KTPF) to Winter Haven (KGIF) for my checkride. My school doesn't let students take the maintenance records when solo so I had the instructor along for the flight. We REALLY struggled with IACRA and the application that morning and I also forgot my original written test result form so my wife brought it to me, she's awesome!

We flew over and I again had a very good landing (great confidence booster before the checkride)!

.7 hours for a total of 46.4





Now for the checkride! I won't go into a lot of details here but I will say that the DPE was awesome! She instantly made me feel comfortable and she made the entire experience super awesome. I was nervous about the process until I met her and started chatting.

Overall we spent 1.5-2 hours on the oral discussing how I prepare for a flight, what resources I used for weather and flight planning. I was told that she is a big supporter of utilizing the methods that you plan to use including EFBs. So I planned my flight using Foreflight and walked through how I use the briefing feature and how I chose my route. I also showed her the paper plan I did as well, she didn't ask for it but I wanted to demonstrate that I knew how to do it the old fashioned way. The oral was very much a discussion about the flight and was in no way a "test". She asked questions but the new ACS really seems to work for dismissing rote memorization and focusing on understanding.

After that we walked out to do the pre-flight. She watched me perform my preflight routine and ask a couple of questions here and there about the pre-flight inspection and some systems questions about the airplane. Then we went flying. She reminded me before we went out that I was PIC on this flight and she was the passenger. (Don't forget a pre-flight briefing!)

The flight was un-eventful as a whole. I made some mistakes and I was NOT happy with my performance on steep turns but it was within the ACS standards.

Overall she said I did excellent and wanted to know when I was coming back for an instrument and commercial checkride.

1.1 hours for a total of 47.5



WOOHOO!!!



Following the checkride, the instructor and I got back in the plane to fly back to Peter O Knight (KTPF) but a storm cell opened up over top of the airport as we were about 10 miles away so we diverted to Plant City (KPCM) and waited it out. Finished the flight back about an hour later and had a rough landing. Oh well.

Tied the plane down and chatted with the instructor for a little bit before heading home as a PPL!

.8 hours for a total of 48.3




I just wanted to add that I did this over 13 months or an average of less than an hour a week of flying. I understand the people that state that you should try to accomplish the training quickly as it can help to prevent you from having to repeat things but I think spreading them out really helped me personally. I was able to put more effort into understanding the concepts and material as well as have enough time between lessons to reflect about what I needed to work on. It also helped me with avoiding feeling burnt out. Lastly I was still able to do other things with family and friends. So for those people who think they can't afford to fly two-three times a week, I still think you should do what you can and go for it!

Now it's time to really learn!
 
hockeyrcks9901 said:
The next flight I did was to get from Peter O Knight (KTPF) to Winter Haven (KGIF) for my checkride. My school doesn't let students take the maintenance records when solo so I had the instructor along for the flight. We REALLY struggled with IACRA and the application that morning and I also forgot my original written test result form so my wife brought it to me, she's awesome!

We flew over and I again had a very good landing (great confidence booster before the checkride)!

.7 hours for a total of 46.4
............
1.1 hours for a total of 47.5


WOOHOO!!!

Following the checkride, the instructor and I got back in the plane to fly back to Peter O Knight (KTPF) but a storm cell opened up over top of the airport as we were about 10 miles away so we diverted to Plant City (KPCM) and waited it out. Finished the flight back about an hour later and had a rough landing. Oh well.

Tied the plane down and chatted with the instructor for a little bit before heading home as a PPL!

.8 hours for a total of 48.3




I just wanted to add that I did this over 13 months or an average of less than an hour a week of flying. I understand the people that state that you should try to accomplish the training quickly as it can help to prevent you from having to repeat things but I think spreading them out really helped me personally. I was able to put more effort into understanding the concepts and material as well as have enough time between lessons to reflect about what I needed to work on. It also helped me with avoiding feeling burnt out. Lastly I was still able to do other things with family and friends. So for those people who think they can't afford to fly two-three times a week, I still think you should do what you can and go for it!

Now it's time to really learn!
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Congratulations!!! It sounds as if you did a great job and are going to be a good pilot. What kind of plane have you been flying?
Andy
 
ACG said:
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Congratulations!!! It sounds as if you did a great job and are going to be a good pilot. What kind of plane have you been flying?
Andy
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Cessna 172 round gauge. They have a Cardinal that they have lower daily minimums on that I might get my complex in and use for trips too. Lots of things to think about now.
 
Completed my first dual cross country from KCEU direct to KFQD and had lunch at the 57 Alpha Cafe. 2.1 hours total, used pilotage and dead reckoning on the trip there. I learned a valuable lesson on using checkpoints that are easily identified from a higher altitude like a lake, versus an intersection of roads I am unfamiliar with. I used google maps and Foreflight to check them out from above and felt comfortable but was not able to easily distinguish some of them in the air. On the flight back we used Foreflight and in combo with checking landmarks and man does that app make life easier. I won't be using it much as a student but my CFI wanted me to get familiar with it while hes in the plane since I will be using it all the time after I finish up.

Also side note, if you are in the southeast I highly recommend you check out 57A cafe. I had the best chile verde burrito in my life and the banana pudding was to die for. They also have burgers and what not. Ron, the owner, said the traffic coming through has slowed down and he might not be able to keep the place going. Help a fellow pilot out and go eat some of his delicious food!

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5th lesson today of 1.6 hours. 6.4 hours total now. Stayed in the pattern and did about 12 landings. By the time we were done it was about 50@11. Not comfortable yet. I've still got a long way to go...
 
After a long hiatus, back in the seat today, weather should be clear. Im going to try to sneak in a few pic's. It's going to be a great day!
 
What a Fantastic Day!!! So good infact, I'm going up tomorrow!!! Flying over Palomar/Carlsbad airspace. Getting to know my new CFI and learning the area. Knocking off the rust and feeling pretty darn good.

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6th lesson today of .9 hours. 7.3 hours total now. Stayed in the pattern as we were right on the edge of thunderstorms. Did 6 landings that were much better than last lesson. I think it was because I didn't have near the crosswind to deal with.
 
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