CaptainHook
New Member
I'm currently wrapping up my flight training towards my PPL. Just as I thought that I was totally ready and confident about scheduling my check-ride, I flew today like if I was just starting to learn how to fly. I don't know if it was the heat wave up here in the NY/NJ area or what, but I was all over the place.
First of all, the point of my flight today was to just practice engine failures, soft and short-field takeoffs and landings, steep turns, deviations, and everything else that my DE might have me do during my check-ride. Let me just say that I don’t know what was happening inside my head today, but I'm actually feeling a little frustrated about my performance.
My bad day began when the control tower cleared me for takeoff on runway 27. My instructor asked me to do a soft-field takeoff. As I began my takeoff roll with nose up, the tower yelled "Cessna 4***D, Abort takeoff!!!" So I immediately hit the breaks. Since there are trees blocking my view between RW 27-09 and the crossing RW 22-04, a king-Air came out of nowhere and landed on RW 22, while another landing plane landing on 27 (same runway that I was taking off in) went for a Go-Around. Now I don’t know what the hell the controller was trying to do, but he almost caused an accident involving three planes.
After my second attempt for takeoff, everything seemed to go smooth until I got up about 1,200’ AGL on RW heading. While scanning for traffic, once again, the controller screwed up again. A Piper Cadet was turning on downwind for RW 22 just a few feet below me. At that time I was so close to hitting the talk button and curse the hell off the controller on duty. From that point on, the rest of my practice flight was a living hell.
While tracking a VOR, my instructor asked me to deviate to an airport southwest of my position at about 15 miles away. Because of the extremely hot weather today, I was being bounced around while trying to draw a straight like on my chart. I must have gained about 200’ in altitude while figuring out my approximate heading for my deviation destination.
As I approached the field, I was 500’ above pattern altitude and advised traffic on my 45 degree entrance for left downwind on RW 25. No other plane seemed to be in the pattern. All of a sudden, Wwweeeoooooooooiiiiinngggg!!!!!!!! A twin-something flew right by me on a modified base-leg without ever entering the pattern. He seemed to be off the radios and just cut in front of my path. I tried not to panic, but I couldn’t help it.
After taking a few breaths, my instructor asked me to perform a short-field landing (I had no choice since it was actually a short-field). While on short final, I threw in the remaining flaps but began to experience enormous updrafts and had a hard time trying to decent. Not even a slip helped me much. My speed was at 60 KTS and was trying to remain that speed for landing. But I was too high, so I went for a go-around. On my second attempt, I came a little lower than before just to try to compensate for the killer updrafts, but then had to add power and climb a little because of high electrical lines right before the RW threshold. Once cleared of the obstruction, I again had a hard time bringing the plane down, and went for another go-around. On my third attempt, I actually established a good approach and seemed to be doing well until I had a hard time trying to get out of ground-effect. Once again, I was running out of RW so my instructor asked me “What are you going to do at this point?” I answered “Go-Around”. I was so frustrated and hyper that instead of adding full power, I raised the flaps up all in one shot in which caused the plane to loose lift and slam against the RW. All I remember hearing was my instructor yell out something, but wasn’t sure what he said. After I cleared the obstacles and regained proper control of the plane, my instructor asked me to just relax and try again (If I was flying a jet, I would of ran out of fuel by then).
Finally, I landed the sucker and thought about abandoning my plane and instructor and take a cab 60 miles back home. While he lectured me on the reasons for my errors, I couldn’t even make up what he was saying because I was so distracted, upset and in shock. For a second there, I thought it was all a bad dream. Once again, my instructor asked me to just relax and take us back up with a short-field takeoff. While on the downwind, he pulled my throttle to idle to simulate an engine failure. I quickly pitched for 65 KTS and seemed to be doing well in controlling the plane all the way to short final. But there it was again. Updrafts pushing me back up while running out of runway causing me to go-around. To make the remaining of this long story short, I had to go-around about two more times after that. My instructor told me that it was OK and that I should not stress about it. He asked me to take us back home and we will practice the landings again on our next flight together.
While heading home, I did pretty well on the stalls, S-turns, and turn-around-a-point. As he asked me to perform a steep turn to the left followed by the right, I began my clearing turns. Then I began a steep turn to the right and it went well. When I established a steep turn to the left, there it was again!!!! A Seneca at my 9 o’clock flew right below be at about 50 feet below my position. And once again, it scared the hell out of me. At this point, I began to believe that I was destined to die today, but I kept cheating death (Just like the movie, Final Destination). The rest of the flight went OK. But as I landed on my home airport, It took me the entire RW to stop the plane (4000’ in length). I parked the plane, grabbed my bag, asked my instructor to just sign my logbook, and drove home. I didn’t even want to stay for another minute. So many things went through my mind while driving home, such as ending my flight training. But I got home, took an hour nap, woke up, and asked myself, “Who am I kidding?” I love flying. I’ve always wanted to be a pilot as far as I can remember. I even found baby photos of myself holding a different model of airplane in each picture.
Has anyone in this thread have ever experienced a day such as mine? If so, please feel free to talk about it! Maybe It will make me feel much better knowing that I’m not the only one that experienced such a horrifying day.
First of all, the point of my flight today was to just practice engine failures, soft and short-field takeoffs and landings, steep turns, deviations, and everything else that my DE might have me do during my check-ride. Let me just say that I don’t know what was happening inside my head today, but I'm actually feeling a little frustrated about my performance.
My bad day began when the control tower cleared me for takeoff on runway 27. My instructor asked me to do a soft-field takeoff. As I began my takeoff roll with nose up, the tower yelled "Cessna 4***D, Abort takeoff!!!" So I immediately hit the breaks. Since there are trees blocking my view between RW 27-09 and the crossing RW 22-04, a king-Air came out of nowhere and landed on RW 22, while another landing plane landing on 27 (same runway that I was taking off in) went for a Go-Around. Now I don’t know what the hell the controller was trying to do, but he almost caused an accident involving three planes.
After my second attempt for takeoff, everything seemed to go smooth until I got up about 1,200’ AGL on RW heading. While scanning for traffic, once again, the controller screwed up again. A Piper Cadet was turning on downwind for RW 22 just a few feet below me. At that time I was so close to hitting the talk button and curse the hell off the controller on duty. From that point on, the rest of my practice flight was a living hell.
While tracking a VOR, my instructor asked me to deviate to an airport southwest of my position at about 15 miles away. Because of the extremely hot weather today, I was being bounced around while trying to draw a straight like on my chart. I must have gained about 200’ in altitude while figuring out my approximate heading for my deviation destination.
As I approached the field, I was 500’ above pattern altitude and advised traffic on my 45 degree entrance for left downwind on RW 25. No other plane seemed to be in the pattern. All of a sudden, Wwweeeoooooooooiiiiinngggg!!!!!!!! A twin-something flew right by me on a modified base-leg without ever entering the pattern. He seemed to be off the radios and just cut in front of my path. I tried not to panic, but I couldn’t help it.
After taking a few breaths, my instructor asked me to perform a short-field landing (I had no choice since it was actually a short-field). While on short final, I threw in the remaining flaps but began to experience enormous updrafts and had a hard time trying to decent. Not even a slip helped me much. My speed was at 60 KTS and was trying to remain that speed for landing. But I was too high, so I went for a go-around. On my second attempt, I came a little lower than before just to try to compensate for the killer updrafts, but then had to add power and climb a little because of high electrical lines right before the RW threshold. Once cleared of the obstruction, I again had a hard time bringing the plane down, and went for another go-around. On my third attempt, I actually established a good approach and seemed to be doing well until I had a hard time trying to get out of ground-effect. Once again, I was running out of RW so my instructor asked me “What are you going to do at this point?” I answered “Go-Around”. I was so frustrated and hyper that instead of adding full power, I raised the flaps up all in one shot in which caused the plane to loose lift and slam against the RW. All I remember hearing was my instructor yell out something, but wasn’t sure what he said. After I cleared the obstacles and regained proper control of the plane, my instructor asked me to just relax and try again (If I was flying a jet, I would of ran out of fuel by then).
Finally, I landed the sucker and thought about abandoning my plane and instructor and take a cab 60 miles back home. While he lectured me on the reasons for my errors, I couldn’t even make up what he was saying because I was so distracted, upset and in shock. For a second there, I thought it was all a bad dream. Once again, my instructor asked me to just relax and take us back up with a short-field takeoff. While on the downwind, he pulled my throttle to idle to simulate an engine failure. I quickly pitched for 65 KTS and seemed to be doing well in controlling the plane all the way to short final. But there it was again. Updrafts pushing me back up while running out of runway causing me to go-around. To make the remaining of this long story short, I had to go-around about two more times after that. My instructor told me that it was OK and that I should not stress about it. He asked me to take us back home and we will practice the landings again on our next flight together.
While heading home, I did pretty well on the stalls, S-turns, and turn-around-a-point. As he asked me to perform a steep turn to the left followed by the right, I began my clearing turns. Then I began a steep turn to the right and it went well. When I established a steep turn to the left, there it was again!!!! A Seneca at my 9 o’clock flew right below be at about 50 feet below my position. And once again, it scared the hell out of me. At this point, I began to believe that I was destined to die today, but I kept cheating death (Just like the movie, Final Destination). The rest of the flight went OK. But as I landed on my home airport, It took me the entire RW to stop the plane (4000’ in length). I parked the plane, grabbed my bag, asked my instructor to just sign my logbook, and drove home. I didn’t even want to stay for another minute. So many things went through my mind while driving home, such as ending my flight training. But I got home, took an hour nap, woke up, and asked myself, “Who am I kidding?” I love flying. I’ve always wanted to be a pilot as far as I can remember. I even found baby photos of myself holding a different model of airplane in each picture.
Has anyone in this thread have ever experienced a day such as mine? If so, please feel free to talk about it! Maybe It will make me feel much better knowing that I’m not the only one that experienced such a horrifying day.
