This post will do a few things. First off, I got the pictures of my first solo off the club’s camera, so I have updated the first solo post (on April 3, 2008). Secondly, I have done everything I had listed in my last post, namely:
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Flight test - everything was great, we flew to Carp and did one crosswind touch and go, not perfect, but acceptable. Then shortly after takeoff, around 800 feet above the ground, the check pilot pulled my power and told me to do a forced landing. Now believe me when I say I’ve done forced landings a dozen times, but always with enough altitude to do all the steps. In this case, I had to cut the procedure down to simply flying the right speed and lining up with a grass field. After we had added power and begun to climb, he confirmed that I had chosen the right steps, and not wasted time with non-essential things. Phew! We also did some steep turns and other random stuff. I passed, and was told I could go solo to the practice area.
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The two hours in the practice area went well, and actually turned into 2.4 hours. I was allowed to do a fair bit, including power-on and -off stalls.
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The flight with Unal went okay, and so I started to do another two hours in the practice area.
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I did these two hours on the same day. Tons of stalls, steep turns, and forward slips, and before I knew it, I was done.
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This is where I am now. After two false starts over the last two days, I got my dual short cross country done today, in spite of high winds. Unal and I flew to Smiths Falls and then to Carp before returning to Ottawa. Total time was about 1.5 hours. In addition, I flew an hour of instrument time today, which means flying in poor visibility. It is simulated by me wearing strange looking goggles that allow me to see the instrument panel, but not outside. Read: 100% guaranteed way to feel queasy after a flight!
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Next? Here’s what’s coming up:
- Dual long cross country - Ottawa, Kingston, Carp, Ottawa
- Solo cross countries (5 hours)
- Some instrument flying
- Some flight simulator time (yes, they still charge you for it!)
Lastly, I have gotten a full time summer job with a consulting firm…more later!