Practice the Basics
After reading through a fellow bloggers post about Back to Basics I found myself raising my hand and bowing in shame for I was guilty. Yes, guilty of not working on the basics! Chris had the laundry list there, I had to confess, I haven't done much basic work in ages.
Chris mentioned the following, "trips around the pattern, performing a mixture of take-offs and landings that
included: normal, short field, and soft field. Some of the landings were done
with full forward slips, with simulated engine failures, or without flaps." My plan for today was simply to get some air time but as I sat and waited for oil temps Chris's post was running through my head.
With temps in the green I made my call and taxied out. I was going to head to Millville and maybe Cape May and along the way work on some slow flight maneuvers. This was fun with the tail wind pushing me along and with careful turns back into the winds I could almost slow to a hover. Well, ok, not that slow but darn near pretty close.
I should have done a few steep turns but I passed, instead working on engine out procedures. It was good practice and actually fun. I cut short my plan for Cape May and pointed to KMIV. I knocked out a few touch and go's with an approval over the CTAF from fellow workers in Op's. Thanks guys!
On the flight home I just looked out the window, taking in all the view. It's so much fun to be up here in the air flying, no street noise, honking horns or screaming kids. No crazy drivers trying to cut you off or people trying to beat the lights through an intersection, just me and my machine covering the ground below heading home.
I greased the last one for the day back into Wilmington and taxied for my tie down. It was only an hour in the log book but it felt so perfect.
12 comments:
Hi Gary! I was wondering if you would ever consider answering a few "back channel" questions from a guy who's strongly considered getting his license but has a few quesitons/concerns. If so, I'll send you my email address. Many thanks!
Tom
Good for you Gary! Glad I was able to provide some inspiration. Looks like it was a great day, too. Hope the battery issues are resolved.
We've all been on a roll with practice this year. Glad you joined the club! :)
Tom,
Drop me a line, my email link is on the bottom right of my main page. I'll try to answer anything I can.
Battery issue resolved! It looks like the solar charger for each battery made the difference.
Next up power on and off stalls! I've also been thinking about starting commercial maneuvers, time for a new rating.
Glad you have the battery issues under control, Gary!
Stalls are great to practice. My thinking is this: any basic maneuver that is rusty or makes you at all nervous, those are the ones to practice (maybe with a CFI if they REALLY make you nervous). For clarity, I'm not accusing you of being timid about stalls, but speaking in general. A couple of years ago, I was poorly coordinated during a stall in a turn and the airplane started to spin. I was amazed and delighted that I stomped on opposite rudder completely without thinking about it, but I was nervous about these types of stalls for a time after that. The only cure for that nervousness is to master them.
A new rating is a great idea! Personally, I think you're afraid that Steve and I are finally about to catch up with you! :-P
I suppose we should stand strong on the intimidation/motivation front, huh Chris?
As to stalls - you hit it on the head. I even feel nervous about practicing them sometimes (this from someone who's done many intentional spins in a Cub, Champ, and 150!) and that's when I force myself to practice 'em. Not only do I need to feel proficient, but there's no way in hell I should consider getting my CFI if I'm not able to do one on command whenever I feel like it! At least that's how I see it.
Agreed, Steve. That incipient spin I mentioned earlier remains the closest I've ever been to one. My airplane is placarded against intentional spins, which makes me regret that my primary instructor did not spin us in the Cessna 150 back when I was flying one regularly. Hmmm...perhaps this is another goal for the near term...
Really, Gary, we're not trying to hijack your blog! :-)
Ha... also, FWIW, the 150 is also placarded against spins now unless an AD is performed on the rudder stops. That came out after I did mine at Stewart; at least one of their 150s has the placard now.
So what I'm really saying is... come down here and do them in a Champ, Cub, Citabria, or Stearman! :)
"A new rating is a great idea! Personally, I think you're afraid that Steve and I are finally about to catch up with you!"
"I suppose we should stand strong on the intimidation/motivation front, huh Chris?"
You guys are forcing me to pick up the pace :) Just got my commercial books (ASA study prep) so time to hit the books. I may purchase the King Commercial package.....OMG Martha again...
"Black Square, You're There!"
"Granite Rain!"
I may or may not have tried to use that first one to teach Gina something about taxiway signage in Evansville last weekend...
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