(no subject)
Well, I decided to check out the 1 hour introductory flight/lesson at one of my local flight schools - one I'd checked out last week.
My instructor was going to start us our in a Piper Cherokee (my instructor likes the Cherokee because of its speed and power). We did the preflight, went through the checklist, and taxied out to the runway after getting clearance from the tower.
So, at the runway, with one aircraft ahead of us, then two aircraft behind us, we continue going through the checklist, reaching the spot where we run the engine up to 100% power. Only problem, though, was that it was having trouble reaching 2000 RPMs, and needed closer to 2500 RPMs for takeoff. Not so good.
OK, then, get clearance from the tower to taxi back to the hangar, and switch planes. Preflight the Cessna 172, which had just had its FAA-mandated 100-hour inspection. Cherokee goes into the hangar for them to check out what the hell is up with the engine.
Taxi back out after the preflight, get to the end of the runway, continue through the checklist, run the engine up to 100%. Everything checks out fine, we get clearance from the tower, and....
AIRBORNE
We cut west towards the ocean, heading up to around 1500 ft. Once we reached the beach around Pacific Beach, we turn north, flying up the coast. The best part? Guess who was at the controls.
So my instructor has me keep the plane under 1800 feet as we head north, since we're approaching Class B airspace around MCAS Miramar. I'm at around 1600 ft, and roughly 500-700 yards to my left, I see a Marine Sea Stallion on approach toward Miramar, probably around 300-500 ft higher altitude than us. He passes behind and above us as we proceed north, flying over the Del Mar race track. At this point, we're around the Interstate 5, and need to head up to 3500 feet, to stay clear of a traffic reporting helicopter, after my instructor and the pilot work out airspace over the radio.
After that, we turn east back inland, until we're south of the Lake Hodges reservoir. Yep, I've still got the controls for the most part, with the instructor taking over when he wants to show me something. He has me "waggle" the wings, banking up to 30 degrees in each direction at one point. Eventually, we have to turn back, and head back for the coast, then cut south again.
This time, we pass over Miramar's airspace, instead of under, essentially retracing our path at a higher altitude. We bank the plane again, turning back towards the airfield. After passing the airfield with me at the controls, my instructor takes the controls and brings us in for a landing.
All together, we were airborne for around an hour, with me at the controls for around 40 minutes of that time.
I've gotta say, it was both a lot like I thought it would be, and also pretty different. Not surprisingly, I've played around with a lot of flight simulators, and sitting in the cockpit of the 172 was...well, very familiar - sitting there, I thought, "Hey, I've seen all these instruments before!" It handled a lot like the simulator aircraft, as well.
On the other hand, it's really, really different when you can actually feel the aircraft respond to your control input, or to a 10 knot wind. That was just....wow. I mean, wow. It's almost like driving a car crossed with a roller coaster. Just absolutely frellin' amazing, and I'm kicking myself in the ass for not doing this ten years ago.
So, next step, I get paid on Friday, and get my instructional materials then, which also includes my logbook. OTOH, I've already flown the first hour that's going to go into it.
BTW, I've posted three pics and one short movie I snapepd with my cell phone camera while my instructor had the stick.
Short mp4 movie
My instructor was going to start us our in a Piper Cherokee (my instructor likes the Cherokee because of its speed and power). We did the preflight, went through the checklist, and taxied out to the runway after getting clearance from the tower.
So, at the runway, with one aircraft ahead of us, then two aircraft behind us, we continue going through the checklist, reaching the spot where we run the engine up to 100% power. Only problem, though, was that it was having trouble reaching 2000 RPMs, and needed closer to 2500 RPMs for takeoff. Not so good.
OK, then, get clearance from the tower to taxi back to the hangar, and switch planes. Preflight the Cessna 172, which had just had its FAA-mandated 100-hour inspection. Cherokee goes into the hangar for them to check out what the hell is up with the engine.
Taxi back out after the preflight, get to the end of the runway, continue through the checklist, run the engine up to 100%. Everything checks out fine, we get clearance from the tower, and....
AIRBORNE
We cut west towards the ocean, heading up to around 1500 ft. Once we reached the beach around Pacific Beach, we turn north, flying up the coast. The best part? Guess who was at the controls.
So my instructor has me keep the plane under 1800 feet as we head north, since we're approaching Class B airspace around MCAS Miramar. I'm at around 1600 ft, and roughly 500-700 yards to my left, I see a Marine Sea Stallion on approach toward Miramar, probably around 300-500 ft higher altitude than us. He passes behind and above us as we proceed north, flying over the Del Mar race track. At this point, we're around the Interstate 5, and need to head up to 3500 feet, to stay clear of a traffic reporting helicopter, after my instructor and the pilot work out airspace over the radio.
After that, we turn east back inland, until we're south of the Lake Hodges reservoir. Yep, I've still got the controls for the most part, with the instructor taking over when he wants to show me something. He has me "waggle" the wings, banking up to 30 degrees in each direction at one point. Eventually, we have to turn back, and head back for the coast, then cut south again.
This time, we pass over Miramar's airspace, instead of under, essentially retracing our path at a higher altitude. We bank the plane again, turning back towards the airfield. After passing the airfield with me at the controls, my instructor takes the controls and brings us in for a landing.
All together, we were airborne for around an hour, with me at the controls for around 40 minutes of that time.
I've gotta say, it was both a lot like I thought it would be, and also pretty different. Not surprisingly, I've played around with a lot of flight simulators, and sitting in the cockpit of the 172 was...well, very familiar - sitting there, I thought, "Hey, I've seen all these instruments before!" It handled a lot like the simulator aircraft, as well.
On the other hand, it's really, really different when you can actually feel the aircraft respond to your control input, or to a 10 knot wind. That was just....wow. I mean, wow. It's almost like driving a car crossed with a roller coaster. Just absolutely frellin' amazing, and I'm kicking myself in the ass for not doing this ten years ago.
So, next step, I get paid on Friday, and get my instructional materials then, which also includes my logbook. OTOH, I've already flown the first hour that's going to go into it.
BTW, I've posted three pics and one short movie I snapepd with my cell phone camera while my instructor had the stick.
Short mp4 movie