I've flown several times since the last post so instead of writing about just one day, I'll just talk about what it's like to fly a plane that left my arm sore after the first lesson.
One requirement of commercial pilot training is to learn complex airplanes. I have been so excited to take that next step and learn to fly something that feels more like what a professional pilot would fly. So what exactly makes a plane complex? First, it needs flaps. Nothing new for me here. All of the planes that I fly have flaps. In fact, we have to do special training to learn how to land without flaps! Secondly, it needs to have retractable landing gear. This to me feels like the coolest upgrade from what I've been flying, but it also makes you a little bit nervous seeing those wheels disappear from your sight after takeoff. Lastly, it needs to have a controllable pitch propeller, and in my case the constant speed propeller counts. A constant speed propeller is "a type of propeller that can change its blade pitch to take better advantage of the power supplied by an engine in much the same way that a transmission in a car takes better advantage of its power source. The mechanism varies depending on the aircraft, but the effect is to change the angle of attack of the propeller blades to take a smaller or larger "bite" of air as it rotates." - Wikipedia. That's it! Doesn't sound too difficult does it? Not so fast... I will need to learn all about manifold pressure as well.
"An airplane equipped with a fixed pitch propeller (what I have been flying for the last two years) has only one main power control - the throttle. In that case, the setting of the throttle will control both the amount of power and the propeller or engine RPM.
On the other hand, an airplane equipped with a constant speed propeller (what I'm now flying) has two main power controls - a throttle and a propeller control. The throttle controls the engine's power output which is indirectly indicated on the manifold pressure gauge. The propeller control changes the pitch of the propeller blades and governs the RPM which is indicated on the tachometer (Fig. 2-18). As the throttle setting (manifold pressure) is increased, the pitch angle of the propeller blades is automatically increased through the action of the propeller governor system." - Avstop.com
Ok now we're finished. Sound just a little more complicated? It is! But with a little ground school and a great instructor, you can get your complex airplane endorsement in just 2-4 hours of flight time.
The airplane that I'll be using is a Cessna 182RG. Not only is it a bigger heavier plane, it will get me my complex airplane endorsement and my high performance airplane endorsement. It's high performance because it has over 200hp which is almost 100hp more than what I'm used to. It's a fast one; cruises around 130-140 kts vs. the 100-110 that I've become accustomed to.
My first day... on preflight, my instructor walks me through all the extra things that I have to check. Inspecting the landing gear is probably the most important addition to the checklist. Once inside and buckled, I immediately feel as if I'm the size of a middle school child. I turn on the plane and the engine igniting made a sound that was very pleasant to my ears; a powerful roar, eager to fly. On takeoff, I felt the power instantaneously. I was thrown back in my seat and before I could even blink twice, we were already at climb-out speed. I pull the yoke back and my arm muscles are now questioning my sanity. Once clear of the runway, I raise the landing gear up. I avoided looking down for probably five minutes because the concept of being without gear down was a bit intimidating.
My instructor teaches me how to use the throttle to control manifold pressure and the propeller control to change the RPM. The RPM should always be higher than the manifold pressure, otherwise you risk engine detonation. Not good. Over the first two lessons, we practice maneuvers such as stalls, slow flight, and emergency procedures. On the second flight, he threw a curveball my way that I don't think I will ever forget. After performing two power-off stalls, he asks me to one more before we call it a day. I start setting up the airplane, and after lowering the landing gear lever, I noticed nothing happened. The gear was not down. I had a mild freak out, "Uh, my landing gear is not down, do you have a wheel?" My brain is racing simultaneously, thinking, "Oh my god, my husband is going to kill me for having to make a gear up landing." Talk about jumping the gun, huh? My instructor replies saying that everything is ok and shows me how to use the manual hand pump on the floor. About 20 pumps should do, and as soon as the green light comes on, the gear will be down and locked. Sure enough it works. "What the hell did you do??" I ask him. He laughs and says he just pulled the circuit breaker when I wasn't looking. Figures. He pushes the circuit breaker back in and everything goes back to normal. Phew!
On our third flight, it was a day of just landing practice. The tricky part this time was that it was raining and I had next to no experience in the rain. Not only that, it was only marginal VFR with visibility at 4 miles. We take off, and the pay careful attention to keep the airport in sight. The first landing wasn't bad. On the second takeoff, the visibility had gone down to 2 miles and the rain had slightly picked up. If we weren't in class G airspace, this would be IFR flying and would need clearance from ATC. The plane is so fast that you have minimal time to run though your landing checklist and prepare the plane for landing. The second landing was unfortunately a bounce. By our third takeoff, visibility went down again to 1 1/2 miles. We quickly made our way around the traffic pattern and the landing was better, but certainly not a typical Sara landing. I think the rain affected my perception of the runway. We stopped there, as my landings weren't great and if the visibility dropped any more, we'd be in trouble.
On our third flight, it was a day of just landing practice. The tricky part this time was that it was raining and I had next to no experience in the rain. Not only that, it was only marginal VFR with visibility at 4 miles. We take off, and the pay careful attention to keep the airport in sight. The first landing wasn't bad. On the second takeoff, the visibility had gone down to 2 miles and the rain had slightly picked up. If we weren't in class G airspace, this would be IFR flying and would need clearance from ATC. The plane is so fast that you have minimal time to run though your landing checklist and prepare the plane for landing. The second landing was unfortunately a bounce. By our third takeoff, visibility went down again to 1 1/2 miles. We quickly made our way around the traffic pattern and the landing was better, but certainly not a typical Sara landing. I think the rain affected my perception of the runway. We stopped there, as my landings weren't great and if the visibility dropped any more, we'd be in trouble.
After 3 flights, which came in to about 3 hours logged, my CFI signed my logbook and gave me my high performance and complex airplane endorsements. That felt good, real good.
Now I just need to get that time up to at least 10 hours to qualify for commercial, therefore more flights will follow!
