Last week I flew with David, a client of mine, and had him try stalls. This flight was to be his second attempt at entering and recovering from a stall. On his first flight I did a couple of demonstrations and then let him try and he did them quite well and even enjoyed it. He was quite nervous before the flight and was pleasantly surprised how uneventful stalling was. This second flight was a bit different. Instead of doing another demonstration I just let him try a power off stall. He set up correctly and began to pitch up, the stall broke, and then he pushed down. He pushed kind of hard. I wasn't expecting that since he had done so well just a few days before. I thought it was funny. He thought it was scary. Scaring him was not my intention and it never helps a person get excited for more. After recovering I did a demonstration and then he tried again and it went as expected. Good.
Lesson: a second demonstration should be done no matter how well it went the first time. It may have been luck.
David and I flew again today and we did some more stalls. Today I was sure to do another demonstration before he tried. As I raised the nose I pointed out where I had the yoke and what I would do to recover. The stall broke and I held the yoke exactly where it was. I did not push nor pull. The nose came down, we gained speed, I added full power, the nose came up and only then did I need to push a bit (to prevent a second stall). Then he tried. His first attempt was almost perfect. The trick? Don't force the recovery. Just let it happen. Cessna aircraft will mostly recover on their own and today was no exception (most light aircraft will).
David had fun today which is always a win in my book. Flying should always be fun!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Turning Stalls
Today I had the pleasure of flying with a new client. It was his first flight after a nine month break in his training. He was quite close to earning his Private Pilot certificate and after our flight today I am confident that he will be prepared quickly and earn his much awaited certificate.
During the flight he was practicing stalls and I had him do a couple of power on stalls while turning to the right with a 15-20 degree bank. He did a really good job and then commented that he had never before done a stall while in a turn. Many clients have said this same thing to me during the past few months. I am not quite sure why this training is left out. Stalls while turning is not only important but also quite fun! I always enjoy it.
The Practical Test Standards mention turning while executing stalls and I highly recommend the experience. Not only will you be prepared when you appear for the checkride, you will learn a valuable skill along the way. If you haven't yet done turning stalls then ask your instructor to teach you how to do them on your next flight. You will have a great time!
Safe flying!
During the flight he was practicing stalls and I had him do a couple of power on stalls while turning to the right with a 15-20 degree bank. He did a really good job and then commented that he had never before done a stall while in a turn. Many clients have said this same thing to me during the past few months. I am not quite sure why this training is left out. Stalls while turning is not only important but also quite fun! I always enjoy it.
The Practical Test Standards mention turning while executing stalls and I highly recommend the experience. Not only will you be prepared when you appear for the checkride, you will learn a valuable skill along the way. If you haven't yet done turning stalls then ask your instructor to teach you how to do them on your next flight. You will have a great time!
Safe flying!
Congratulations Michael
Congratulations to Michael Groll on passing his Commercial Multiengine checkride today! It has been a pleasure working with Michael and I look forward to continuing to work with him in preparation for his Multiengine Instructor rating.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Next Generation
Congratulations to my good friend Eric Lenk on passing his initial Flight Instructor check ride today! Eric is an excellent pilot and is going to be a great instructor!
Eric passing his check ride is also a big day for me. Eric is the first person that I taught to fly. And now he is passing on the joy of aviation to others!
Eric passing his check ride is also a big day for me. Eric is the first person that I taught to fly. And now he is passing on the joy of aviation to others!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Above, Below , and Rain
The trip to Phoenix for Mother's Day was warm and bumpy. The trip back was quite a bit different. The temperature was much lower and the clouds were everywhere. I departed from KGYR rather early in the morning and climbing through 7000 feet I was dodging clouds. By the time I got to Prescott I was over a scattered layer that was getting thicker and thicker. North of Flagstaff the layer was broken and getting higher and at the Grand Canyon I was barely on top at 14000 and it was a solid overcast. About 15 miles south of Bryce Canyon it had turned back into a broken layer with tops around 11000 and then I hit a wall. There was a wall of clouds up into the flight levels stretching west to east across Utah.
With the reports of ice I had no choice but to drop below the layer and turn West to St. George and hope for an opening to the North. The bases got rather low nearing Cedar City and North of there it was solid IMC so I landed at KCDC to wait it out. It didn't take long for the storm to come in force. It rained most of the afternoon and snowed for about an hour and a half. Yep, early May and stuck in a snow storm. Lame!
After about six hours on the ground it finally cleared enough for me to get to Milford and then it was easy riding all the way into Salt Lake. Of course it started pouring again right when I shut down so I got soaked pushing the plane into the hangar. It was a great adventure! At least the trip back was smooth and turbulence free. Enjoy the pictures!
With the reports of ice I had no choice but to drop below the layer and turn West to St. George and hope for an opening to the North. The bases got rather low nearing Cedar City and North of there it was solid IMC so I landed at KCDC to wait it out. It didn't take long for the storm to come in force. It rained most of the afternoon and snowed for about an hour and a half. Yep, early May and stuck in a snow storm. Lame!
After about six hours on the ground it finally cleared enough for me to get to Milford and then it was easy riding all the way into Salt Lake. Of course it started pouring again right when I shut down so I got soaked pushing the plane into the hangar. It was a great adventure! At least the trip back was smooth and turbulence free. Enjoy the pictures!
Over Prescott (KPRC)
Near Flagstaff (KFLG)
Over the Grand Canyon
West of Lake Powell
Near Bryce Canyon (KBCE). See the wall ahead?
Passing Kanab
After the snow storm in KCDC
Somewhere between KMLF and KFOM
Nearing KFOM
Central Utah
More Central Utah
Near Nephi (U14)
South end of Utah Lake
Drunk Pilot
My siblings decided it would be fun to surprise our mom for Mother's Day. They asked if I could find a way to get from Salt Lake City down to Goodyear near Phoenix, AZ. It was a rather last minute idea and I didn't want to pay last minute airfare. A few months back a friend offered to lend me his plane and I decided to take him up on the offer. I borrowed his Diamond Star DA40 and flew down. It was a rather bumpy day with unstable air and lots of thermals.
I don't often get the chance to fly solo on long trips so I took the opportunity to learn the KAP 140 autopilot better. I understand some of its functions much better now. Probably the biggest thing that I learned is that it has a rather hard time keeping up with a bumpy summer afternoon. I sat there laughing at the plane. It felt like I was along for the ride with a drunk pilot. It wallowed all over the place trying to keep up. I switched back and forth from autopilot to hand flying because I could only handle the drunk pilot for so long.
Enjoy the pictures!
I don't often get the chance to fly solo on long trips so I took the opportunity to learn the KAP 140 autopilot better. I understand some of its functions much better now. Probably the biggest thing that I learned is that it has a rather hard time keeping up with a bumpy summer afternoon. I sat there laughing at the plane. It felt like I was along for the ride with a drunk pilot. It wallowed all over the place trying to keep up. I switched back and forth from autopilot to hand flying because I could only handle the drunk pilot for so long.
Enjoy the pictures!
Southern Utah
The Pilot
Grand Canyon from the Tuckup Corridor looking East
Grand Canyon from the Tuckup Corridor looking East
Saturday, March 26, 2011
MEI
Today I completed a long held aviation goal by passing the check ride and adding a multiengine rating to my Flight Instructor certificate. The oral exam was rather straight forward. I taught the examiner engine out principles, single engine flying, VMC, systems of the piper Seminole and a few other random things. We then strapped into the airplane for a rather short flight. We started out with some landings and they mostly went well. On one lap around the pattern I got a bit low on base and announced to the examiner that I would hold my altitude until back on glideslope. He didn't like that too much apparently because right when I turned final he failed an engine. I barely would have made the runway and may have come up short. He quickly gave me the engine back and mostly just wanted to prove a point. He said that if I ever get low in the pattern that I should not hesitate at all and just climb back up to glide path or pattern altitude. We did a couple more circuits with a failed engine once or twice.
The upper air work was all straight forward. I just marched right through all of the maneuvers teaching as I went. After I shut down and secured the engine I went through my flow procedure to start it back up. I was using the checklist but apparently skipped a step because I was a bit nervous. I managed to start the engine with the propeller still feathered. It is an awesome plane because it started right up no problem. I quickly felt that it didn't feel right noticed the problem and shoved the prop lever forward. The examiner just chuckled, said he was surprised it started so easy and we moved on. I taught him how to do an emergency descent and then a short field landing and we were done.
Flight Instructor
CFI - CFII - MEI
The upper air work was all straight forward. I just marched right through all of the maneuvers teaching as I went. After I shut down and secured the engine I went through my flow procedure to start it back up. I was using the checklist but apparently skipped a step because I was a bit nervous. I managed to start the engine with the propeller still feathered. It is an awesome plane because it started right up no problem. I quickly felt that it didn't feel right noticed the problem and shoved the prop lever forward. The examiner just chuckled, said he was surprised it started so easy and we moved on. I taught him how to do an emergency descent and then a short field landing and we were done.
Flight Instructor
CFI - CFII - MEI
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