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

First lesson in a month today. Went and practiced short and softs. My first approach was atrocious, to put it nicely. Turned late and wide on base-to-final, then late and wide trying to correct. Still a clean landing, but the set up was horrendous.

All my landings were nice, though. My shorts were spot-on and smooth.

Next lesson Sunday to review maneuvers, then a stage check will be scheduled so I can move on to the solo x-country flights. SO CLOSE!
 
Hello All,

After some initial GS last week with the training center, it was back in the airplane this morning. What a great lesson, it started with my CFI reviewing my log book. I was able to get 15.8 hours back from my old CFI from 1997 who was willing to review his logbook, and re do our dual time. Someone on this board recommended to me that I ask him since he is still a current CFI and he gladly did it for me. Sadly I lost out on the other hours, but thats ok. I took off from KISM and out to the practice area, we did some slow flight, and some basic turns. Then did a full stop landing in Winter Haven, and then back to KISM. What a great day!
 
Skyking517 said:
Hello All,

After some initial GS last week with the training center, it was back in the airplane this morning. What a great lesson, it started with my CFI reviewing my log book. I was able to get 15.8 hours back from my old CFI from 1997 who was willing to review his logbook, and re do our dual time. Someone on this board recommended to me that I ask him since he is still a current CFI and he gladly did it for me. Sadly I lost out on the other hours, but thats ok. I took off from KISM and out to the practice area, we did some slow flight, and some basic turns. Then did a full stop landing in Winter Haven, and then back to KISM. What a great day!
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Excellent!! Glad you got your hours back, and it sounds like you had a good flight. Try a lunch stop next time you go into KGIF and let us know whether the café is any good. How often are you flying?

Be sure to ask your CFI to let you do a few T&Gs at Apopka so you can experience an uphill runway (rwy 33) with interesting winds. :devil:
 
CGChief said:
Good luck on the written. I'm still studying for mine. I feel your pain with the CFI. I just lost mine to a regional airline job as well. I am happy with the replacement CFI so far (he's young enough to be my son, though).
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My CFI just turned 21! He's great though. He said he has a bunch of job offers, but is going to finish his students out first. I'd really hate to change at this point.
 
Half Fast said:
Excellent!! Glad you got your hours back, and it sounds like you had a good flight. Try a lunch stop next time you go into KGIF and let us know whether the café is any good. How often are you flying?

Be sure to ask your CFI to let you do a few T&Gs at Apopka so you can experience an uphill runway (rwy 33) with interesting winds. :devil:
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I had 44 hours or so in my lost log book, including solo, and solo cross countries. OH well, I am going to be grateful for what I got back, and my CFI said it will help, and counts. I will be flying two days a week I hope, until April when I go back to work, I will make the best I can out of being home right now. Apopka will be my home airport eventually, since it's 3 miles from my house, but I am very happy with this flight school in KISM. I will for sure keep updated as I go.
 
Here is a quick video from my flight today!

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" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
denverpilot said:
Looks better than some of mine recently! Nice job.
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Thank you so much, I am looking forward to getting back up on Sunday to work on stalls, and pattern work. I got the cable to add audio to my videos, I will use it on Sunday, and get those videos up in the evening.
 
Skyking517 said:
Thank you so much, I am looking forward to getting back up on Sunday to work on stalls, and pattern work. I got the cable to add audio to my videos, I will use it on Sunday, and get those videos up in the evening.
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I considered recording audio during my lessons, but I decided the terrified screams of my CFI would be too distracting...
 
Skyking517 said:
Here is a quick video from my flight today!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Two questions. Y'all are in FL so why jackets? o_O:)

Two hands on the yoke when you touched down? Hmm I'd might be wanting you to keep your right hand on the throttle.
 
mscard88 said:
Two questions. Y'all are in FL so why jackets? o_O:)

Two hands on the yoke when you touched down? Hmm I'd might be wanting you to keep your right hand on the throttle.
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It was 44 when we got to the plane in the morning, but warmed up nicely. As a matter of fact I took the jacket off right after the video ended. Thanks for the advice on two hands, I will work on it, don't want to get any bad habits early on thats for sure.
 
Skyking517 said:
It was 44 when we got to the plane in the morning, but warmed up nicely. As a matter of fact I took the jacket off right after the video ended. Thanks for the advice on two hands, I will work on it, don't want to get any bad habits early on thats for sure.
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Ya never know when you may have to go-around, or need a touch of power to "cushion" the landing.
 
denverpilot said:
Do they sound like this

“Right rudder... right rudder.... RIGHT RUDDER.... RIGHT RUDDER!!!!”

LOL. :)
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Sorta. It's been a few months since I finished, but as best I recall it was something like, "Throttle. Throttle. More thro...right rudder right rudder right rudder! Our Father, who art in heaven,..."
 
Half Fast said:
Sorta. It's been a few months since I finished, but as best I recall it was something like, "Throttle. Throttle. More thro...right rudder right rudder right rudder! Our Father, who art in heaven,..."
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If they had time for an Our Father it must not have been too bad.

True story, even made the club newsletter although without attribution: My boss was learning to fly with the same instructor and aircraft that I was working on my IR with. We all flew a C-172C with the old style yokes. My boss was landing the airplane (post solo) and surprised the instructor with an abrupt nose down attitude. The instructor saved the landing at the cost of his yoke. He broke it pulling on it so hard. No time for an Our Father with that one...

Mine primary instructor just yelled "You scare the **** out of me when you do that!" Which pretty much had the same effect on me.

Tailwinds to both. They both flew west last spring. As a tribute to them, I've never bent an airplane.

John
 
Another day of lessons in the books. Just pattern work with some interesting winds.
I don't know why, but I just cannot get really comfortable. I feel like I'm more reactive than I should be. I guess it's just a matter of flying more and starting to anticipate what the plane will do.
 
CGChief said:
Another day of lessons in the books. Just pattern work with some interesting winds.
I don't know why, but I just cannot get really comfortable. I feel like I'm more reactive than I should be. I guess it's just a matter of flying more and starting to anticipate what the plane will do.
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Probably not good to ever get TOO comfortable in squirrelly winds. :) You can always go around, as the song says...
 
denverpilot said:
Probably not good to ever get TOO comfortable in squirrelly winds. :) You can always go around, as the song says...
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Yep, went around a few times today too. Last landing was looking really good, lined up over the center line, nice easy descent, good crosswind correction and then at about 25' AGL a nice gust that threw us up and to the right. Luckily my approach speed was a bit faster than normal due to the winds and I was able to recover and have a decent landing, but I almost crammed the throttle and went around again.

I think the best thing I did there was to not panic.
 
First post! I started flying in 2005 and have started and stopped on and off since then for various reason. I have all the requirements completed (per my logbook), but hopefully, I will be able to complete my PPL this spring (fingers crossed)! I plan on resuming training in about a week while time permits.
 
Cas Hoefman said:
Passed my private pilot ground school today with 93%. Weather permitting, I hope to solo next Tuesday!
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Vince Smith said:
First post! I started flying in 2005 and have started and stopped on and off since then for various reason. I have all the requirements completed (per my logbook), but hopefully, I will be able to complete my PPL this spring (fingers crossed)! I plan on resuming training in about a week while time permits.
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Welcome to POA Madness fellas!
 
Congrats @mascard88! That is great news! I hope the weather holds up so that you can solo soon. It's a great feeling to experience.

- Vince
 
First disappointing morning. Got to the airport at 7:50am and it was clear and beautiful, by the time I finished the pre flight it socked in with fog, rolled in quick. So today was a NO GO, and now it's beautiful. Now I am down in the dumps since no flying until next Sunday since spring break is this week, and I am home with my oldest hanging out.
 
Skyking517 said:
First disappointing morning. Got to the airport at 7:50am and it was clear and beautiful, by the time I finished the pre flight it socked in with fog, rolled in quick. So today was a NO GO, and now it's beautiful. Now I am down in the dumps since no flying until next Sunday since spring break is this week, and I am home with my oldest hanging out.
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much more to come. start using https://www.aviationweather.gov/gfa. they are fairly accurate from my experience
 
Finally a weekend with two (or any) flyable days in a row in the ATL area. Getting my new plane dialed in at about 8 hours. Looking a re-soloing next weekend. (soloed in a 172, then went and bought an Archer). Nice weather and getting the Piper vs Cessna drill down (changing tanks and using fuel pump for landing and take off).
 
Got 1.4 in today solo. 5 touch n go's at a delta. 13 landings overall. I think I've plateaued a little with my landings. It's frustrating. I'll stick a good one, then have 2 or 3 not so good ones. I know I'm overthinking it. Have to keep plugging away. I'm at 41 hrs. Written test is Tuesday.
 
Had our 152 available all day and great weather so knocked out the rest of my solo cross country time. First trip was the 150 nm requirement from CEU - GRD - AHN - CEU. Used flight following on all the legs. Finished the 3 takeoffs and full stop landings in a traffic pattern at a controlled airport requirement while I was at AHN. 2.7 total time, logged 2.3 of it as cross country. Got home and ate lunch. Decided I should get the rest of my cross country time done while the weather was nice and the plane was available. Went to Gainesville, GA (GVL) and logged 1.6 on that trip. I had a great time and really enjoyed the day. I have 1.8 hours of simulated instrument left and my checkride prep.
 
I think @mscard88 should do the old Bob Hoover gag, go to an airport and act like he’s a student... ;)

I shouldn’t give him ideas. I know I shouldn’t. :)
 
Reporting from a good weekend in the Houston area.
Saturday ended after ~4 hours of flying with one sacrificed shirt :-D
In the morning flight (no winds, no turbulence) landings where going well and my CFI noted he might solo me today, he was planning on Sunday, but since it was going well.
This is when my landings got worse (subconscious effort, i guess).
So we took the scheduled break.

As we got closer to the afternoon session, he grabbed my logbook. I knew what that meant...
So we go up for about 1.5 hours and winds and turbulence picked up from the morning, I end up a bit high wings parallel over the ground.
At this point I figured, the solo will be another day (somewhat relieved, it;s not a race).
We take a 30min break and go up again.
Things just clicked and landings are better.
At some point, he's like, "Hey do a full on taxiway Bravo" ... "Just drop me off over there", Final words of encouragement "Don't f**** up" which I comment, as in skydiving "Don't Suck".
That was the moment when I got nervous, I was happy to not have eaten lunch, not sure if it would have stayed down.
And as many before me state, the moment you roll in the plane and the right seat is empty is just very unsettling at first.

Off I go... 3 touch-n-go's

First landing was OK, but the relieve was amazing. I counted in my head "2 more to go".
Hair on my body was standing up.
Second landing bouncy, I was not happy. The self talk, which was constant, turned into a self insult with the firm order to make it up in landing 3.
3rd landing, was my best landing ever, wheels touched the ground, you could barely feel it...

And then ti was time to pick up my CFI and taxi to the hangar for the celebratory shirt sacrifice...
 
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