Steep turns, power on stalls and pattern work

A rare scowl as I climb further up my Everest after school today. I was actually happy, but maybe a full day of teaching teens in May does this to me!! We had rain coming in today and kept one eye on the clouds and wx while we flew across the Mississippi and practiced steep turns and power on stalls over the practice field. The weather started to look a little worse and my instructor decided we better stick to pattern work in case conditions suddenly deteriorated...which they didn't but, I appreciate his constant vigilance to safety. We did some pattern work and with the xwind and then I did one solo to finish the lesson. I hadn't flown solo for in a few weeks and I was really happy to be alone in the air again. My next step is my short solo xc to Perryville next good chance I get.

IFR WX=Ground School for Student Pilot

Phone buzzed with a text at 0800..."WX too bad for flying...ground school today". I went down to KFES and spent a couple of hours learning about filing flight plans, flight following, the E6-B flight computer, how to use my plotter, VOR's, to and from VOR's (triangulation), FSS, Duats, Metars, Sigmets....I don't think any part of the alphabet was safe by the end.
When the wx clears the lessons will go something like this: a few more lessons 50/50 practicing maneuvers and me flying solo. A pilotage xc down to Perryville, a practice xc with my instructor to Rolla and then my big xc to SGF to visit my cousin and uncle. Only 10 more days of school for me this year and then I am going to really accelerate my training!

Ground Reference Maneuvers

Last Wednesday I had a challenging lesson. For starters, I hadn't flown because of weather and schedule conflicts for 2 weeks. Then the perfectly calm winds turned into a crosswind as I approached KFES. Then there is the fact that I am always dead tired after teaching all day when I do weekday evening lessons. But, all that being said we did accomplish a lot of new things. First we reviewed power on stalls, then we reviewed power off stalls followed by some slow flight. After the review we dropped down to 1500 MSL or about 1000 ft AGL and performed my first ground reference maneuvers. First we did left, then right turns around a point. The first point I picked turned out to be a town, Fults, Illinois (see picture) and even though it only has 28 people according to wikepedia, my instructor said it is better not to bother them, so we found a barn across from Rush Island that was caught in the flood. I liked the maneuver, even though it was for sure challenging. Then it was time to try S turns, which we did using the tracks north of Fults as our reference. But, we hadn't done this very long, when we noticed that the cropduster that we had been keeping our eye on was doing a lot of spraying, with their associated and wild flying in this whole area, so Paul wisely said to go back to KFES and do some pattern work. It was my first time landing on 18 instead of 36 since I came back to flying in December. So all of my references were a little off, but it was OK. We did a go-around and then landed. I was having a lot of trouble both on the go around and the recovery from the power on stall of climbing too steeply, while trying to raise the flaps simultaneously and was struggling on the edge both times to stay above stall speed. So, I was really hard on myself, as I always am and was a little down. But, in retrospect, I feel it was a good lesson and I am ready to stay in better practice. Luckily, I only have 3 more weeks of school. I can't wait to see what it is like to fly with more mental focus and physical energy.

Meeting my mentor!

A few days ago I finally met my mentor. Diana, as you know, is an acrobatic pilot and has been distance mentoring me since last winter. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate for my acrobatic ride, but we will try again soon! Without people like Diana on my support team I probably wouldn't still be flying. She has already helped me through a couple of challenges and I am sure there will be more!
I am scheduled to fly again Wednesday afternoon. I hope the wx cooperates...it has been REALLY rainy here for the last few weeks. On a brighter note, I have been working on my written materials again. I scored a 78% the first time I put the first 8 Gleim's chapter together a week ago. Tonight I scored an 89% on those same chapters. I was especially happy that I am starting to get some of the takeoff and landing distance graphs and especially the weight and balance physics problems...those really had me rattled for awhile, but I figured them out tonight and made my own little formula which works well for me. So, I am still climbing my Everest!!!

High Flight

Flew again last Wednesday. I flew one hour 50/50 dual/solo time. I really love the solo time now. I flew over the Mississippi again and did some turns about 10 miles south of the airport. I did two crosswind (x-wind) landings when I returned. The second landing was a little tough, a 10 mph straight crosswind, I bounced and twisted a little on the landing, but it wasn't a hard landing at all. My approach was a little high and hot and I had to bleed off some speed when I flared, but I have thought through the whole set up I made in the pattern and I think I know how I would fix it next time.
I'm up to 27 hours now, I've flown 4 times now solo. I really feel I am on my way now...but, of course, I still have a lot of work in front of me. I am doing better and have done more than I ever really thought I could do. My confidence is increasing all of the time and not just in flying. Nothing seems as impossible as it once did. During my flight, I kept thinking of the fighter jet that would come on TV at midnight when TV stations used to go off air for the night. I have always had trouble sleeping and remember seeing this in the mid-70's...it is called High Flight...really cool. I guess I thought of it, because when I was a kid it was never a question of whether or not I would become a pilot...but it is easy to dream when you are young. Now at age 42, with 4 failures behind me it wasn't so easy, but I am making it happen...my destiny.

WX in Festus

Friday after school Ted and I made our way to KFES. We picked up some McDonald's on the way and just barely arrived before the Severe Thunderstorm! We decided to take cover in the airport itself and had the whole place to ourselves. The storm didn't turn out to be quite as bad as it looked. Teddy was especially happy that the airport now has a North Star ice cream freezer from which you can serve yourself (payment on the honor system). Too windy to fly today...hoping to get in another flight tomorrow or early in the week after school.

Crossing the Mississippi...alone!

Today marked another milestone in my quest to Climb my Everest. Today we took off for the practice field, which is across the Mississippi on the Illinois side. We did some steep turns (45 degrees) and then we did a couple of power on stalls. Then we flew back to KFES. My instructor hopped out and then it was my turn to leave the pattern for the first time by myself! It was a great feeling as I crossed the Mississippi and cruised at 2500 feet above the farm fields in Illinois. I did a couple of turns near Rush Island (a large power plant along the river and 10 miles south of the airport). Then I headed back. I worked my way down to 1300 feet and entered the pattern. The winds were about 8-10 mph and I had a pretty good angle of crosswind as I landed...I crabbed into the wind a little and used the rudder to straighten out the plane right before I touched down...not my best landing...I came in a little hot and a little fast, but it was acceptable and not at all a hard landing. This was the best time I have had yet on a lesson. It was really good for my confidence and the first time I have been able to relax a little during a solo flight.