Exam #1

January 26, 2011

This morning I went to a testing center at Spirit Airport and took my FAA Knowledge Exam. I PASSED!!! One test down, one to go!

Flight 19

January 24, 2011

I flew solo again today. I have nothing exciting to report on that though. I just practiced steep turns, S-turns, and turns around a point. I wanted to practice slow flight and stalls, but I didn't feel comfortable enough yet to do it by myself since there was a little wind. My landing today went great. I did a short field landing and hardly felt the touchdown. It was one of my best yet.


Some other news: I met with an instructor on the 21st and we did a mock oral exam. I will have to do one of these during my checkride, The checkride is the final test, if I pass, then I will earn my certificate! The mock exam went well. He basically quizzed me on different requirements, airplane aerodynamics, weight and balance, and weather. The other news I have is that I scheduled to take my FAA Knowledge Exam for this week. I'm nervous, but I feel confident that I will pass.

Flight Log to Date
Hours flown: 24.2

Solo Practice

January 19, 2011

I flew solo today. I arrived at the airport at 9am and checked the weather with one of the instructors on staff. The cloud deck was around 4000ft but there were reports of clouds also being broken at 1800ft. My plan for the day was to fly out to the practice area and review maneuvers. But some maneuvers, such as stalls, require me to be at a higher altitude in case of an emergency. With clouds hanging out at 1800ft, that wouldn't be possible. So instead I stayed at the airport and practiced normal takeoffs and landings, short field takeoffs and landings, soft field takeoffs and landings, and since there was some crosswind, I practiced crosswind takeoffs and landings as well. I did ok, but definitely not as good as when the instructor is with me. Not having the extra weight really takes some getting used to!

I was up for an hour, and have now legally met the requirements of pilot-in-command time needed for the Sport Pilot Certificate (5 hours). I will still do more solo practice though. In fact, later this week I will fly solo again, and try to get out to the practice area to review the things I wasn't able to do today. I'm also meeting with one of the instructors for two hours to do oral exam preparation.

On another note, I have successfully completed my online ground school! I earned an "A" on the End-of-course test and now have authorization to take the FAA Knowledge Exam at a testing center. Before I go, I'm choosing to take a bunch of practice tests, just to be sure that I'll pass. My plan right now is to take the Exam during the last week of January.

Flight Log to Date
Hours flown: 23.3

Flight 17

January 13, 2011

My CFI (instructor) and I flew together today to review maneuvers. We started off doing a soft field takeoff, then headed out to our practice area. He first taught me how to do steep turns. This was something I apparently was supposed to learn before soloing, but didn't. It's alright, mistakes happen. Matt showed one to me, then let me do it. The first time you do a steep turn (at least for me), it kind-of messes with you. It made me a little dizzy. You basically do a 360 degree turn while banking (turning) the airplane at a 45 degree angle. Once you complete one turn, you immediately go into a turn in the opposite direction. After getting used to it a little, it becomes somewhat fun!

After the steep turns, we reviewed "S-turns", power on stalls, power off stalls, then simulated an engine failure. The "S-turns" went well. It was somewhat unproductive simply because we didn't have any wind to work with, but it was still a review I needed. The power on stall was also a little different than I originally learned. Matt had me go much steeper with my pitch attitude (airplane nose up), than my last instructor. Stalls always make a little nervous, because if you don't react immediately and correctly, the airplane will go into a spin, which is not something you want to happen. The simulated engine failure was nothing special. We found a private grass runway to use, but didn't land.

At this point, we were over Jerseyville, IL., so he told me that I needed to navigate us back to the airport. Once we arrived, we came in and did a short field landing. The was interesting because he told me that I had to land within a very short, specific part of the runway. I was surprised that I was able to do it! Afterward, he told me to stop in the middle of the runway, then do a short field takeoff. So I applied full power, but also full brakes, then immediately released the brakes and took off. We flew back around then finished the day with a soft field landing.

My next couple lessons will be doing some solo practice of maneuvers. I will also meet with Matt next week and do some ground school to prepare me for the Oral Exam. I am also almost finished with my online ground school. Once I complete that, I will need to go take the computerized Knowledge Exam at a testing center. Believe me, I am nervous!

Flight Log to Date
Hours flown: 22.3

Solo Cross Country

January 9, 2011

Today I flew my solo cross country!! My day started at 7:00am as I got up and went online to get all the weather forecasts. I then spent an hour and a half doing all my calculations for my flight plan. At 9:30am I arrived at the airport and reviewed my flight plan and calculations with Matt. Once he approved everything, I called the Flight Service Station (FSS) to get a weather briefing and schedule my Flight Plan. Afterwards, I went outside and did the pre-flight inspection on my airplane.

It was roughly 10:45am when I departed the airport. I headed to my first destination, Jacksonville, IL which is about 50 miles north. This was an easy leg to navigate because Matt and I flew this during my dual cross country. The only issue I had was that I could not contact the FSS on my radio to open my flight plan. Without opening my flight plan, they cannot keep track of my flight. I was a bit freaked about this. I tried over and over again on two separate frequencies and got no response from them. There was nothing else that I could do that I knew of, so I let it go because it wasn’t required.

About a half hour after leaving my airport, I reached Jacksonville. I landed on Runway 13, then pulled off to the side and got ready for my next leg of the trip. This part of the flight wasn’t as pleasant. I couldn’t find my first checkpoint on the ground so I was a little off course. I was definitely worried that I was getting lost, but I could see Springfield, so I knew I should be ok. Half way to the next airport which was Taylorville, IL, I found my second checkpoint. From there I felt much better. I arrived at Taylorville, but came in way too high on my landing, so I did a go-around. My second attempt was a success. I landed on Runway 18, then again pulled off to the side and got prepared for my final leg of the flight. After departing Taylorville, I quickly got on the correct course and headed home.

I landed back at my airport at 1:30pm. I logged 2.6 hours of cross country and pilot-in-command time. The total distance was about 160NM (nautical miles).

Next up, I’ll need to fly with my instructor a couple of times to review maneuvers and polish my landings. Then I’ll do a couple of solo flights to practice maneuvers and landings alone. We will also need to do some ground school to prepare me for the FAA Oral Exam. I’m in the final stage of training, and it’s so exciting!

Flight Log to Date
Hours flown: 21.1

Jacksonville, IL airport

Taylorville, IL airport

Me at Taylorville

Dual Cross Country

January 2, 2011

Today was my dual cross country trip. To prepare, I met with Matt on December 30^th for a couple of hours. We decided to fly 50 miles north to Jacksonville, IL. As part of the preparation, we picked out several checkpoints along the way, so that we would know if we were on track or not. We then made several calculations in regards to the wind, course directions, altitude, fuel, speed and time. Along the flight, we would note the time it took us to reach each checkpoint, then compared it to the calculations that we made on the ground. We also used the sectional chart to help us identify and verify that each checkpoint was correct.

Once we reached Jacksonville, we landed at their airport, then turned around and headed back home. This time, I was on my own as to get us back. He was there only if I had questions, but it was my responsibility to navigate us back correctly. I feel pretty good about how I did, and he also said that I did a good job.

Once we got back to our airport, Matt told me that he’s approving me to do my solo cross country. I must say, I’m pretty excited! I’ve never flown solo outside of the airport area, so this will be a huge step for me.

Since I’ve decided to meet the requirements of the Private Pilot instead of the Sport, this trip requires that I fly a total of 150NM (Nautical Miles), land at two additional airports, and one leg of the trip must be a minimum of 50NM. I’m hoping to do this within the next week or so, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Flight Log to Date
Hours flown: 18.5