Archive for August, 2006
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006
I was pretty excited to get going again. I had been watching the Private Pilot Ground School DVDs, so I was very motivated to put all of my new knowledge to use.
It’s funny, when you sit at a computer and watch a video on how to do something, you really think you can do it. The videos explained a lot on ground work, like the pre-flight inspection, taxiing and all that, but I am not sure it prepared me for what was to come during this lesson.
I showed up at Freedom Air at about 7:55. The flight instructor, Yigal, arrived a few minutes later. He and another person pulled a Piper Cherokee out of the hangar and we went over some basics for about an hour. Yigal covered some things like aerodynamics of an airplane wing, dispatch procedures, the use of checklists (which I now have laminated), certificates and documents, the aircraft preflight, decision making and judgement, engine controls, flight controls and fuel grades.
After all this, we got in the plane and it was suggested that I taxi to the runway. I did so, only after zig zagging all over the place. A little note, you steer an airplane with your feet. You also brake with your feet. Each pedel has two sections. This took a while to get used to. I also used the radio to make a few calls. I thought to myself that Yigal was really having me do a lot right off the bat. Well, right after I had that though, he instructed me to pull the airplane onto the runway, give it full throttle, and when we reach 65MPH, pull back on the control yoke (sort of like a steering wheel). I was wondering why he wanted me to do that, and then it struck me…he wanted me to takeoff! Ok, I was fine. I pulled out from the waiting area, made a right onto the runway, stopped, gave the plane full throttle and began to accelerate. For some reason, the plane kept trying to go to the left. Yigal kept saying, “Keep it in the center, keep it in the center.” Easier said than done when you are trying to steer with your feet and you keep thinking and any sudden move is going to tip the plane over. The reason planes pull to the left during takeoff is because of the torque of the engine, propeller slipstream and gyroscopic precession. So we hit 65MPH before I knew it and I began to pull back on the yoke. Strangest thing happened…we began to rise. We climbed at 85MPH until we hit 3000ft. Now that was pretty cool.
Now that we were up in the practice area, I controlled the airplane for about a half hour. Yigal had me practice left and right turns at a 20 degree bank as well as turns to specific headings. This gave me good experience feeling the turns, using the instruments and using the horizon as a guide. After this was done, Yigal took back the controls and landed the plane.
Next lesson, Sept. 1, 8:00AM.
Related posts
Sunday, August 20th, 2006
So I think I have been biten by the bug. When you actually sit in a small aircraft staring down a 5000 foot runway, you tend to lose your nerve a little. You wonder what you are doing and why the heck you are paying this much to put your life in the control of this small airplane.
With this said, the fear of takeoffs, flying and landings wears off very quickly. You soon have an addiction. This addiction has kept me up at night in half-sleeps dreaming of being up there looking at all my neighboring towns. Needless to say, I way very excited about today’s lesson.
The weather was a little iffy and I kept looking at the sky the whole drive over. I was very excited. I had to get this one in because I really want to start building up the minimum 40 hours it takes to take the practical private pilot’s exam. About a week ago, I purchased the Sporty’s Private Pilot Ground School, because the other half of flying is the education behind it. You will be facing a written exam before you know it. I learned a little about weather, but not much. The extent of my education at this point was, “Hey, it doesn’t look that windy at this particular moment, so let’s get up there.” The sky was cloudy and there was a strong breeze.
I showed up and Gary was standing outside with a friend. They were fixing his Coke machine right outside the hangar. I walked toward them and raised both arms like I was gliding. He looked at me and said it was way too windy and the visibility was only two miles. He said that we couldn’t go up. I accepted the instructor’s recommendation.
For the rest of the day, I had a very strong sense of “Cognitive Dissonance.” That’s basically the feeling you get when you made a choice and later on think that you made the wrong choice. I thought that since I would be taking these lessons on the weekends, and since he is closed on Saturdays and not open after 5:30PM during the week, it would take me about 4 years to get this license (really a certificate).
Now, overwhelmed by the feeling of my addiction and the new sense of urgency, I call the neighboring hangar, Freedom Air Flight School. They have 4 instructors, stay open until 8PM, while the season permits and are open both Saturdays and Sundays. I set up a lesson for August 23 at 8:30AM after calling and politely informing Gary of my choice.
Related posts
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
I have been holding onto a gift certificate that Laura gave me for almost two years now. It is from 1-800-SKY-RIDE. The gift certificate was for tandem Hang Gliding with an instructor. How I ended up with this certificate escapes me. I am assuming that about two years ago, I was probably running my mouth about how awesome it would be to soar like a bird and how I would love, just love to go hang gliding one day. Low and behold, Christmas rolls around and a hang gliding gift certificate finds it’s way into my hand.
I though about switching it up with the company and adding a few bucks so we could both go on a balloon ride or something nice like that. Then a year passed. After that, the next year’s summer was coming to an end and I began to think that it would be a terrible waste to let this very expensive gift expire. Ah, what to do.
Today, the car drove me to Randall Airport in Middletown, NY. There was a guy there who accepted these gift certificates. 1-800-SKY-RIDE is a national company that works with local places. They charge a premium to purchase the gift certificate through them, because it is much easier. Then, you just have to redeem it at a local company that accepts them.
I arrived at about 9AM. It was quite breezy and cold. There were a few people hanging around talking the talk. No one was walking the walk yet. Everyone kept looking at the tops of the trees move in the wind. I think they all agreed that it was just too breezy to go up at that moment. I had to be home by noon because I had to meet a wood stove guy at my house. We were going to go over an install (another post). I asked the hang gliding instructor about just taking a ride up in the ultralight. I always wanted one of them and dreamed about cruising above the treetops around the neighborhood to friend’s houses. They agreed and we started walking towards the ultralight.
I thought to myself that this was going to be a snap. After this I would hop in my car and get back home. That’s when things got interesting. The pilot and I jumped in the seats and buckled up. He started the engine and we began to taxi up and down the grass runway looking for the best spot to take off from. In such a light aircraft, you have to find where the wind is coming right towards you. I yelled out a question…”How much runway do we need to get airborn?” He yelled back, “Not much at all.” Just then, he nailed the throttle. We jolted forward at about…I would say…400MPH. After about 10 feet of my chest collapsing, we were in the air. The ultralight was bouncing around in the wind and we were going straight up. I have never in my life felt such a sensation. It was not a good one. The air began to get colder as we rose higher. I could now see Middletown below me and the airport getting smaller. Just then, I looked between my legs, down past my sneakers at the ground. THE GROUND!!!! Wait, we were now at 2500 feet and rising and I was looking down past my sneakers at the ground??? Oh crap. I decided to really try to relax and enjoy the ride. I couldn’t do it. There was so much adreneline running through my veins, my legs started to shake. I was freaking out and it was freezing. All I was wearing was a fleece.
I took a quick glance at the altimeter to see how high we were. We were now at 3000 feet and still rising. Apparently, the wind was sucking us up. With something so light and wings so big, the lift is incredible. We kept getting pulled up. After about 20 minutes of sitting in the same spot flying into the wind, I waved to the pilot, motioning politely and thinking, “Ok, you crazy bastard, let’s get the hell out of this sky and off this flying bicycle.”
He banked hard left and began to decend. We were having a tough time getting down because the wind kept pulling us up. We finally made it so the runway was straight ahead. We started decending quite rapidly. A little too fast for my taste. I swear we were going right towards the ground. I pretty much admitted to myself that we were dead. I honestly thought we were going to die. As we made our way down, down, down, the ground got closer fast. When we were about 5 feet from the ground, my arms now fully braced on the pipes on either side of me, the pilot pulled up fast. We landed quickly and smoothly. We taxied back to our place of origination and turned off the death machine. The pilot was all grins. He asked how I liked it. I mumbled out, “Great. I really had a great time.” At the same time I tried very hard to conceal the fact that my knees were almost clacking together.
Everyone on the ground who watched us go up agreed that they saw a lot of turbulence on our way up and a complete nosedive on our way down. They thought it was too windy.
I hung out for a few minutes and then got in my car to leave. I called a few friends and after about a half hour, began to relax.
If you are reading this and in any way, shape or form think that I may be exaggerating, please, be my guest and reserve your spot on the next ultralight ride out of Randall Airport in Middletown. Heh, heh. Then, give me a call and we’ll talk about it.
Related posts
Friday, August 11th, 2006
Life is way too short. There are many reasons why someone would like to take flying lessons…for the thrill, the advantages of getting from one place to another in a shorter amount of time than driving, enjoyment, etc… Many reasons.
For me, the driving force is to get places fast. I really need to start visiting my family in North Carolina more. I need to see my nieces and nephews. I don’t want to be that uncle who never visits, or the one who the kids hear alot about but never really got to know.
My dream is to have my family waiting for me at the Wilmington International Airport (KILM) and for them to watch me land in my own plane. I really think that would be something.
My father has talked about getting his pilot’s license and getting a plane, but never got around to it. Maybe some day. Until then, he will have to sit in the passenger’s seat. Maybe I will let him fly…a little.
I looked around the area for a small airport and bumped into the Orange County Airport (KMGJ). It’s about a half hour from where I live. I called Quade’s Flight School. Gary answered the phone. He seemed like a very nice guy who has been around planes for a very long time. I set up the “Intro” flight lesson for $60. Basically, it is a half hour flight to get the tip of your toe wet. When you land, you say, “Sign me up, I am taking out a loan” or “Get me the hell out of this thing.” I said “Sign me up, but I will pay by check.”
We went up in his trainer…a Piper Cherokee. The intro flight consisted of learning about the pre-flight inspection of the plane, going over the checklist, taxiing to the runway, takeoff, some maneuvers and landing. The instructor, Gary let me perform some turns at about 2500 msl (mean sea level). That was pretty cool. I have never controlled an airplane before, so that was a thrill. I flew by myself for about 15 minutes. When we were approaching the airport for landing, Gary cut the throttle. He said he liked to do this for the new students to show that if an airplane of this size loses the engine in mid-air for some reason, you won’t spiral out of control and plummet to the earth. We landed very smoothly with no power.
After we landed and taxied to the hangar, Gary asked me if I was in. I said I was and set up my next lesson for Sunday, August 20 and 10:30AM.
Related posts
