Private Pilot

April 13, 2011

I officially started working towards my Private Pilot certificate today. Matt recommended that I learn in a Cessna 152. He started the lesson off by walking me through the pre-flight inspection and explaining the cockpit. The winds were light so we used what we call "the no wind runway" which is Runway 18. The takeoff is different than the Sportstar because it's a heavier, bigger plane, so it takes longer to get off the ground.

We headed out north to the practice area and started off just doing some turns and power adjustments to get used to the feel of the plane. He then had me do steep turns to the degree that I was most comfortable with. I did much better controlling the Cessna than I did when I was learning the Remos.

After doing turns, he told me to put on the foggles, which are large glasses that you can only see from a small portion of the bottom of the lens. It blocks out everything else so that you cannot see outside the airplane, forcing you to only look at the instruments. We do this type of training so that in case you get yourself into a situation (like getting into clouds where you can't see), you can safely get yourself out. He then told me different sets of instructions, such as keep this altitude but make a turn to the left to a heading of 120 while maintaining coordination and speed. We worked on the simulated instrument procedures for 15-20 minutes then quit. Going into today's lesson, I was most nervous about doing that. However, I ended up doing great and I really enjoyed the challenge.

On our way back to the airport, he wanted me to hear what the stall warning horn sounded like. We basically did a power-off stall until the horn came on, then went back to normal cruise. We ended up doing three landings. None were perfect, but they were good for a first day in a new airplane. The two biggest differences are that you come in to land at a higher speed, and when you flare the plane right before touchdown, you basically can't see the runway. In my light sport airplanes, you could always see it over the nose.

I had a fantastic time flying today. I think the Cessna is my new favorite airplane to fly. It's comfortable, easy to control and it's very forgiving. I would love to do a cross country in it someday. Until then, I really look forward to my next lesson with Matt.

Cessna 152