Cessna 172

August 27, 2011

Now that I'm a Private Pilot, I have a very wide variety of airplanes that I can fly. However, in order to fly something new, the school requires that you fly with an instructor and do some maneuvers and practice landings until the CFI (instructor) feels comfortable that you can fly it solo. Today my CFI, Matt took me up in a Cessna 172.

I did the preflight inspection to the best of my knowledge, then Matt came out and answered my questions about the remaining things on the checklist. After taxiing out to Runway 36, we did the engine run-up and got prepared for takeoff. The winds were from the northwest around 12 knots and gusting to about 20 knots. Not too great of a day to learn a new plane but we made do.

After departing to the north, we climbed up to 4000ft. I had asked him if he could show me how to lean the fuel mixture. ehow.com explains this better than I could, "Most propeller driven airplanes with internal combustion engines have a manual fuel mixture control. The control is used to adjust the amount of air which is mixed with the fuel as it is burned in the engine. In order for the fuel to burn well, a steady supply of oxygen is necessary. However, since airplanes change altitude regularly, and since the density of air changes with altitude, adjustments to the mixture must be made as it climbs and descends." (Dad- that explanation was for you, I know you like the technical stuff) Anyways, I've never really had to worry about this before now, so Matt walked me through the steps and taught me how to use my hearing to tell when and how much adjustment I needed to make instead of solely relying on the tachometer instrument.

We then moved on to slow flight; 90 degree turn to the east, then a 180 degree turn to west. Once completed, we returned to normal cruise flight and set up for a power-on stall. I was quite surprised at how much differently the Cessna 152 and 172 stall. The one today definitely got my heart racing...

We then headed back to the airport and practiced landings. They were definitely a challenge because of the varying wind and thermals. A good amount of crosswind correction was needed for each takeoff and landing. After seven times around, we called it a day.

Once back inside, he signed off for me to fly the C-172 solo. I can now carry up to three passengers! With a little practice, I think I'm going to be quite comfortable in this plane. Good thing too because it's what I need to use for my instrument training. I bought my books today!

Cessna 172

Private Checkride

August 21, 2011

I PASSED MY CHECKRIDE TODAY!!

I have officially advanced from a Sport Pilot to a Private Pilot. What's the advantage of the new certificate?
* I can now fly at night
* I can fly into tower controlled airports
* I can carry more than just one passenger
* I can fly higher than 10,000ft, but no higher than 17,999ft.
* I can fly larger single engine land airplanes

Some stats (including today):
* Total hours: 76.5
* Pilot in Command time: 26.7
* Solo (only soul on board): 18.1
* Actual & simulated instrument time: 3.5
* Cross country flights (dual & solo time): 11.0
* Total number of landings: 225

After today I have become a little superstitious...
~ The 21st is apparently my lucky day:
* 10/21/2010 - My very first lesson
* 12/21/2010 - My very first solo flight
* 8/21/2011 - Became a Private Pilot

Me and Bob Vasquez, my FAA examiner after the checkride

So what's next?

I plan on getting checked out to fly a Cessna 172. It is a  four-seat, single-engine, high-wing aircraft. I've only been flying two-seat airplanes.

I will finally start flying more friends and family around the city; they have been so patient and excited!

Then when I'm ready to hit the books again, I will continue on my journey to earn an instrument rating. During this period I will have the privilege of working with a different instructor, Eric. Instrument training is apparently the hardest and the least fun to learn. It will be a true challenge but will hopefully make me a very talented and much safer pilot.

Family Visit

August 8, 2011

I have an older brother, Jason, who lives in Wisconsin. I haven't seen him in over five years, and this weekend he came with friends to visit. We thought it would be a lot of fun to rent a plane and have me fly him to the Arch. Since he wanted to bring his friend Todd along, I needed to take a plane that could hold more than one passenger, which also meant that I needed to take my instructor Matt. I chose N73855 which is a Cessna 172 with 180hp.

Jason and his friends watched me do the preflight inspection, then we went inside to greet Matt. After introductions, we went out to the plane and prepared for flight. We departed from runway 18 and headed south.

We flew directly over my place of employment, then over my house. After turning east, we flew over Creve Coeur Park, then found Hwy 40 and followed it downtown. We cruised by Forest Park at 120kts (140mph).

Once at Forest Park, I contacted St. Louis Downtown airport to get a clearance to enter their airspace, which allows us to circle the Arch. It was a beautiful day for the tour; it wasn't hazy, not too hot or humid, and it was partly cloudy. We did two laps around the Arch before heading home.

We followed the Mississippi River west, checked the weather report, then listened for any other traffic in the area. It was relatively quite, so we decided to enter the pattern a little differently. There was going to be some crosswind from any of the runways, so I decided to land on runway 18, which gave us a crosswind from the right (west). The touchdown was smoother than I had expected.

We had an absolute blast and I feel so fortunate that we were able to do this. Afterward, I parked the plane and it became picture time.

 

My brother Jason, and I

Jason, Me, and Todd

Matt and I

Flight Log to Date
Hours flown: 74.1