First Lesson

Ecl!pse

Ecl!pse

Well-Known Member
Well, today was the big day. Had my first lesson in the DA-20 Eclipse! It has been off and on stormy here, but luckily I got a pocket of nice weather to fly in. I got there, and waited for my instructor for about 10 minutes. We then went and checked the weather. Most of the bad weather was already past, but a cell had just brewed up along the OH and PA border that was supposed to arrive at the end of our flight. So, after that my instructor grabbed me a headset, and we went off for the preflight.

Flight: 1 Hour long, and was a TON of fun! We took off, and climbed to 3000 ft to begin. It was a windy day, so this lil guy was gettin blown around pretty good, but honestly, that made it all the more fun!
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We went to the practice area and did 3 manuevers today. We did some steep turns first, and it wasnt too bad, but I definitley need practice. Then we did 2 power-off stalls. He did 1 to demonstrate, and then it was my turn. This wasnt too bad, after the nose goes down just add full power, and suck the flaps up once you recover attitude and airspeed. Lastly, we practice some engine out procedures. We sucked the power back to idle, maintained (or at least I tried to) 70 knots glide, and circled around an area that we picked to land on. After circling the field, it was time to head back, and we had an uneventful landing. All in all, it was a very fun first lesson and cant wait til next week for lesson #2! Maybe, if its alright with the big guy, I'll keep ya'll informed on what a student pilot nowadays is doing. Thanks for all the help everyone!!
 
Geez, I almost forgot one of the best parts! He let me do the ATC, just telling me what to say and I'd say it! By the end of the flight I felt pretty comfortable, but we'll see about that once he stops telling me what to say
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Awesome! I just started also and before you know it, it will be time to solo! How much are you paying for the DA-20?
 
Making radio calls already!?! I made my first the other day (7th lesson), and not even to ATC! Listen to this..

I was making a landing call the other day, and totally forgot what to say lol, just blanked out.

Me: "Mansfield traffic cessna 757 Hotel November....
John, What do I say next! (John is my CFI)

He finished for me. Lol. Luckily, this isn't a controlled airport so I didn't feel foolish, but it was a great laugh when we walked into the FBO after the flight
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Wow...steep turns, power on and power off stalls, and engine out demos on the first lesson! What ever happened to straight and level, climbs, descents, and basic turns on the first lesson!
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Wow...steep turns, power on and power off stalls, and engine out demos on the first lesson! What ever happened to straight and level, climbs, descents, and basic turns on the first lesson!
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I know...congrats on the first lesson!! Next time you fly, ask your instructor if he has a game-plan, or if he's just out flying around.....
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Wow...steep turns, power on and power off stalls, and engine out demos on the first lesson! What ever happened to straight and level, climbs, descents, and basic turns on the first lesson!
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Yea same here? I think i did one turn, a climb, a descent and 5 mins of straight and level,
 
We didnt do power on stalls today. We did the engine out procedure where you just simply circle the field. Yeah Lloyd, but I had already done an intro flight with him and we covered the basic turns, climbs, descents, and today we worked on achieving straight and level flight. Its a bit tricky in a real light plane with an electric trim, but practice will help!
 
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We didnt do power on stalls today. We did the engine out procedure where you just simply circle the field. Yeah Lloyd, but I had already done an intro flight with him and we covered the basic turns, climbs, descents, and today we worked on achieving straight and level flight. Its a bit tricky in a real light plane with an electric trim, but practice will help!

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Memorize those engine out procedures quickly, pretty soon those pesky CFI's will start pulling the engine when you least expect it
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Good Job! The DA-20 is pretty cool, i really liked the canopy and sitck thing it has going on. I have about 40 hrs. in it. After a couple flights maybe you should look into doing your training in a 152, it is cheaper and has much more favorable flight characteristics. Good luck! keep up the good work.
 
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Good Job! The DA-20 is pretty cool, i really liked the canopy and sitck thing it has going on. I have about 40 hrs. in it. After a couple flights maybe you should look into doing your training in a 152, it is cheaper and has much more favorable flight characteristics. Good luck! keep up the good work.

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The flight characteristics of the DA20-C1 are great for training. It is so clean, it will force the student to fly the numbers, or it will glide forever. In fact, I soloed my first student today in a DA20.
 
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Good Job! The DA-20 is pretty cool, i really liked the canopy and sitck thing it has going on. I have about 40 hrs. in it. After a couple flights maybe you should look into doing your training in a 152, it is cheaper and has much more favorable flight characteristics. Good luck! keep up the good work.

[/ QUOTE ]

The flight characteristics of the DA20-C1 are great for training. It is so clean, it will force the student to fly the numbers, or it will glide forever. In fact, I soloed my first student today in a DA20.

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I did my private in a DA-20, and couldn't think of a more fun airplane to do it in... If I could fly only Diamond in the future I wouldn't regret it at all...

Congrats on the first lesson!
 
Had my second lesson today, and we practice what we went over last week, except this time we added a power on stall and a touch n go! Everything went well, I still need practice on holding altitude for steep turns and keeping centerline on landing. Once again, mucho fun! However, I have one question related to IR and PPL training. As we deplaned, my mom and the front desk person (an older pilot, very cool guy) were talking about cross country flying and other things I would do down the road. He said that on my 17th birthday I would take the Instrument Checkride (I would get training for it as well as the private manuevers), and if I passed it then I would also get my Private ticket..Is this true? It sounds cool, and I definitley wouldnt mind doubling up on the studying!
 
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