9 WHOLE hours of experience so far...advice welcome

[TXaviator]

i hope this guy never touches a tailwheel.

If your not doing one of these... your all right.

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[JulietBravo]

It looks like your getting great advice. I just wanted to add to the discussion that we had a student here who has flown 45 hours and finally soloed. It takes time, it really does. And like everyone else said, when it clicks... you'll know! Good luck on your future training!

 

[ozone]

Well, I did 11 landings today and it did feel a bit better. All the advice was helpful. It was especially helpful to know that i am not the only one who has had trouble out there in the wild blue yonder. The most ironic moment arrived when my instructor had me set up for a low pass. I was going about seventy (in a cessna 172) when the plane very gently....landed.

We had a good laugh about the fact that I was trying NOT to land and landed rather well. Of course, after that landing he pointed out that the cessna, being so forgiving an airplane, was able to land in the conditions we encountered but that i really should try to fly a low pass when it is asked for next time.

The whole 2 hours was actually rather cool. I felt like each pass around the airfield that I was getting closer to figuring it all out. I got better and better at planning for each part of the traffic pattern...when to reduce power, when to add flaps, when to make the base turn...etc, etc. I cant remember who mentioned earlier about things slowing down as you go, but today definitely felt that way as I progressed through the landings.

Also, I dont know how many ATC folks out there participate on this site, but i want to give the ATC people at KBJC a big THANK YOU for being so patient with my occasional messy calls as I went around and around today.

 

[scooter2525]

Ozone, another thing I found helpful during training was visiting the tower that I praticed at. When I talked to the guys, I explained my concerns of sucking on the radio and they were kind enough to point out they are just as human as we are. There job that they have plenty of hours of doing is talking on the radio. They didn't just wake up one day and sound like the voice of God. They worked at it just as you are working on your landings, radio calls, etc. You'll get it. It took me tons and tons of pratice landings to where I would feel I had good landings. I can remeber when I was at about 350 hours before I hit a landing that you couldn't tell I was on the ground. It comes quick for some, and longer for others. If your getting frustrated with flying, take an hour or two and go play. Head to the pratice area, do a couple zero g's, have some fun with your flying, and that will clear your head.

done rant. wow. thats my longest post ever. I'll shut up now.

 

[mrivc211]

So, here's my situation: I am brand new to this flying thing. So far, things have gone relatively well in the air. It's not too bad to do those 45 deg banks, staying at (mostly) the correct altitude, etc. It's this darn landing stuff that's getting to me.

I go again with my instructor on tuesday (9/16) afternoon. He's consistently been telling me to "hold it off" as we get very close to the ground. At that point, the yoke always feels really stiff to pull back against and it feels like I am all the way back on the elevators, but i am consistently not, because he has to help me at that point. I know I need to trim for speed and attitude, but as we get close to the ground, I find that I am sweating a wee bit and just focusing on the yoke as well as the throttle....and not much else. Also, as I come in close i need to pull back so hard I get "gripped" and then the plane starts to do interesting things right near the ground.

I am not despairing, but I have to say, this learning-to-fly thing is the most frustrating/difficult and at the same time FUN thing i have done in a long time. Most other physical activities I have done in the past like rock climbing, mountain biking, etc have been hard but not what i would consider difficult. I can easily see why so many people get hooked on being in the air.

So, any advice, ideas thoughts etc would be most welcome...

The best advice I can give you is spend about 20-30 minutes a night reading these forums. There are extreme views of both sides of an opinion, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

 

[Matt13C]

Well, I did 11 landings today and it did feel a bit better. All the advice was helpful. It was especially helpful to know that i am not the only one who has had trouble out there in the wild blue yonder. The most ironic moment arrived when my instructor had me set up for a low pass. I was going about seventy (in a cessna 172) when the plane very gently....landed.

We had a good laugh about the fact that I was trying NOT to land and landed rather well. Of course, after that landing he pointed out that the cessna, being so forgiving an airplane, was able to land in the conditions we encountered but that i really should try to fly a low pass when it is asked for next time.

The whole 2 hours was actually rather cool. I felt like each pass around the airfield that I was getting closer to figuring it all out. I got better and better at planning for each part of the traffic pattern...when to reduce power, when to add flaps, when to make the base turn...etc, etc. I cant remember who mentioned earlier about things slowing down as you go, but today definitely felt that way as I progressed through the landings.

Also, I dont know how many ATC folks out there participate on this site, but i want to give the ATC people at KBJC a big THANK YOU for being so patient with my occasional messy calls as I went around and around today.

Good stuff!!:rawk:

As long as you are enjoying yourself and learning something every flight all is good. To second Scooters recomendation, sometimes it is good to get outside of the airport environment. Go out, fly around, get used to the airplane, do some stalls, turns around a point, and power off descents with a constant airspeed. Each is an aspect of the pattern and landing but makes the learning a bit more focused. For fun, on the way back do a bit of steering with the doors and some negative g maneuvers, that is always fun.

For help with your communication you can always listen to liveatc.net. Pick a tower or approach/departure frequncy and practice responding to calls. It helps to learn the cadence that controllers use and you can learn what needs to be included in your reply and what can be left out.

Have fun up there!

 

[ozone]

.....For fun, on the way back do a bit of steering with the doors and some negative g maneuvers, that is always fun.

Steering with the doors? What exactly do you mean by that?

....For help with your communication you can always listen to liveatc.net.

That is a totally cool website! Thanks for the recommendation!

I know I said this before, but I will say it again: Y'all are very helpful and I appreciate all the advice so far....keep it coming!

 

[Matt13C]

Steering with the doors? What exactly do you mean by that?

I need to give credit to KillBilly as he was the one who brought this method to my attention in a previous post.

Anyway, you let go of the yoke, open the doors and steer that way. Push the left door open and the plane will yaw to the left and roll to the left, push the right door out and it will yaw to the right and roll to the right. It is just like kicking rudder, just more fun.

The doors will not want to open on their own, you will have to put some force behind getting them open, but it only takes a couple inch opening and the plane will react. :nana2:

 

[ozone]

I need to give credit to KillBilly as he was the one who brought this method to my attention in a previous post.

Anyway, you let go of the yoke, open the doors and steer that way. Push the left door open and the plane will yaw to the left and roll to the left, push the right door out and it will yaw to the right and roll to the right. It is just like kicking rudder, just more fun.

The doors will not want to open on their own, you will have to put some force behind getting them open, but it only takes a couple inch opening and the plane will react. :nana2:

I gather this is a two-person operation?

 

[fly6785]

Anyway, you let go of the yoke, open the doors and steer that way. Push the left door open and the plane will yaw to the left and roll to the left, push the right door out and it will yaw to the right and roll to the right. It is just like kicking rudder, just more fun.

The doors will not want to open on their own, you will have to put some force behind getting them open, but it only takes a couple inch opening and the plane will react. :nana2:

Before you do the part in red please... Make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened... If its not I'm sure we will read about you in the paper the following day... Other than that... HAVE FUN!!!!!! wear a parachute just in case...:rawk:

 

[Matt13C]

Before you do the part in red please... Make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened... If its not I'm sure we will read about you in the paper the following day... Other than that... HAVE FUN!!!!!! wear a parachute just in case...:rawk:

Yes, absolutely! I never take mine off while flying, too annoying to put it back on in that cramped cabin of a cessna.

Really could not get the door open more than 6 -10 inches though. The pressure of the air stops it after that.