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- El Fiji Grande (#3446)
5/9/2020. C172. N75706. C29 > local. Slow flight, power off stalls, XW landing. 1 T/O; 1 LDG. 1.2 Single-Engine Land.
Had a flight lesson today. Takeoff, departed to the west, practiced slow flight, stalls. Felt pretty rusty on procedures for both. Sky was very bumpy, I'd call it moderate-high turbulence for the C172. Not an enjoyable flight, tons of thermals and downdrafts... not so bad that we couldn't fly, but nearly to the point where it wasn't worth practicing the maneuvers too much. I got a bit nauseous in the stalls, and quickly felt dehydrated, and the turbulence wasn't helping. Decided to fly back to Morey. I got a bit hung up on radio procedures and let the aircraft catch up with me. I wanted to call Morey at 10NM and 5NM west to let pattern know I was coming, but wasn't sure how to do that while I was still on Madison's frequency and wanted to keep flight following. I was glad for that, because just a minute before, I had gotten a traffic alert for a plane I would never have otherwise seen, about 2k ft above, against a background of broken clouds. I saw the traffic about a full minute before Sara did. We briefed a bit about how we were planning on entering the pattern. I decided to fly north of the field, get weather, transfer frequency, turn at the highway, and enter the downwind for 10 at a 45. That's what happened, except I was a bit low on the 45, so I added power to climb back up, turned to enter downwind. I didn't give myself enough space, and at that point, I was already past the point where I'd start a normal setup for landing.
So in quick succession, I pulled carb heat out, went power idle, extended my downwind a little, and once airspeed was in the white arc, pulled flaps to 10 degrees, then 20. Wind was out of the north, giving me a solid crosswind of about 12 kts, which I didn't factor in to my base>final turn, so I overshot a bit. I was high, fast, and offcenter, but with space to fix that because I'd extended my downwind a touch. With power still at idle, I realized I'd make it, and maybe even have to add a touch of power before the runway. I aileroned into the wind, applied opposite rudder, and flew a straight course for the centerline. Everything was happening uncomfortably quickly, but it was otherwise a perfect, stable approach. I added some power right at the end to make the runway, then took it out again when I realized I was a bit fast. I leveled out, bleeding off the excess speed, left wheel down in the upwind position. Time seemed to slow down, hanging in that position as we bled off speed down the runway. I pulled back just a little too hard, which ballooned the plane a few feet, and then it came down harder than I had wanted. I gently applied breaks, taxied to the end of the runway, and made my call that I was clear of the runway. Sara was impressed with the approach, but berated me for the setup and the error right at the end. I decided to call it a day there. Still felt a bit queasy from earlier, still a bit dehydrated.
I do feel a bit more rusty than I should. I suppose that's in part to it having been sixteen days since I've last flown. I think I'll need to review all of the maneuver procedures, and probably make notecards to help me keep track of everything. I also need to study for my written exam, which I decided to reschedule for May 19th. And the backdrop to all this is that last week was a really rough week at work. I'm feeling kind of scared for my job, and have decided I'll need to start applying for other positions. My first priority is working hard to keep the job I have. My second priority is looking for a new job. My third priority is getting my private pilots license. I don't want to stop now, since I feel so close. I've got all the money budgeted, and have substantial savings... but there's also a much higher level of baseline anxiety related to work, and it's not helped by the feeling that I may be regressing slightly in my piloting skills.
Had a flight lesson today. Takeoff, departed to the west, practiced slow flight, stalls. Felt pretty rusty on procedures for both. Sky was very bumpy, I'd call it moderate-high turbulence for the C172. Not an enjoyable flight, tons of thermals and downdrafts... not so bad that we couldn't fly, but nearly to the point where it wasn't worth practicing the maneuvers too much. I got a bit nauseous in the stalls, and quickly felt dehydrated, and the turbulence wasn't helping. Decided to fly back to Morey. I got a bit hung up on radio procedures and let the aircraft catch up with me. I wanted to call Morey at 10NM and 5NM west to let pattern know I was coming, but wasn't sure how to do that while I was still on Madison's frequency and wanted to keep flight following. I was glad for that, because just a minute before, I had gotten a traffic alert for a plane I would never have otherwise seen, about 2k ft above, against a background of broken clouds. I saw the traffic about a full minute before Sara did. We briefed a bit about how we were planning on entering the pattern. I decided to fly north of the field, get weather, transfer frequency, turn at the highway, and enter the downwind for 10 at a 45. That's what happened, except I was a bit low on the 45, so I added power to climb back up, turned to enter downwind. I didn't give myself enough space, and at that point, I was already past the point where I'd start a normal setup for landing.
So in quick succession, I pulled carb heat out, went power idle, extended my downwind a little, and once airspeed was in the white arc, pulled flaps to 10 degrees, then 20. Wind was out of the north, giving me a solid crosswind of about 12 kts, which I didn't factor in to my base>final turn, so I overshot a bit. I was high, fast, and offcenter, but with space to fix that because I'd extended my downwind a touch. With power still at idle, I realized I'd make it, and maybe even have to add a touch of power before the runway. I aileroned into the wind, applied opposite rudder, and flew a straight course for the centerline. Everything was happening uncomfortably quickly, but it was otherwise a perfect, stable approach. I added some power right at the end to make the runway, then took it out again when I realized I was a bit fast. I leveled out, bleeding off the excess speed, left wheel down in the upwind position. Time seemed to slow down, hanging in that position as we bled off speed down the runway. I pulled back just a little too hard, which ballooned the plane a few feet, and then it came down harder than I had wanted. I gently applied breaks, taxied to the end of the runway, and made my call that I was clear of the runway. Sara was impressed with the approach, but berated me for the setup and the error right at the end. I decided to call it a day there. Still felt a bit queasy from earlier, still a bit dehydrated.
I do feel a bit more rusty than I should. I suppose that's in part to it having been sixteen days since I've last flown. I think I'll need to review all of the maneuver procedures, and probably make notecards to help me keep track of everything. I also need to study for my written exam, which I decided to reschedule for May 19th. And the backdrop to all this is that last week was a really rough week at work. I'm feeling kind of scared for my job, and have decided I'll need to start applying for other positions. My first priority is working hard to keep the job I have. My second priority is looking for a new job. My third priority is getting my private pilots license. I don't want to stop now, since I feel so close. I've got all the money budgeted, and have substantial savings... but there's also a much higher level of baseline anxiety related to work, and it's not helped by the feeling that I may be regressing slightly in my piloting skills.
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