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Thread: 90% Done, 50% to go...

  1. #81

    Join Date
    Jan 2012
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    302
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood View Post
    ..........2, Expect an engine out forced landing, maybe when you least expect it. .......For this, and everything else, relax, they are looking for safe..........
    Engine out may be high or low altitude or one of each. Different proceedures for high or low due to time available. Low altitude engine failure may occure after ground reference maneuvers. Have a engine failure plan whenever operating below 2,000 feet. In fact have a plan at higher altitudes also although the plans may be more general.

  2. #82

    Join Date
    May 2013
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    "you don't have to be Bob Hoover"

    Is *anyone* Bob Hoover? ;-)

    I feel much more relaxed having completed the oral. I had a good rapport with the examiner, she was very clear on what she is looking for and I know I can show her that I can do it competently.

    On Tuesday, my instructor and I were scheduled to do the final pre-exam flight. That happened because I had a bad day on Sunday (our first try at it). It started with me making a poor (but safe) landing while doing a little solo practice and it rattled me so much that the rest of the session was largely a write-off. Tuesday started with the scheduled airplane being returned by another instructor with its seat broken. So we had to drive to the other airport to get the second club airplane. What sounds like a chore was a relaxed and fun day of flying. We enlisted the help of another club member with a 172 and my instructor ferried the stricken 150 to the repair shop about 20 nm away. I got a nice ride in the 172, we picked up my instructor and on the way back it was just three pilots flying together and having a nice time. Once back in the other 150 in training mode, I performed well and my instructor signed me off.

    I'm so glad I joined the flying club. I've made some new friends and had some great experiences. Even after I acquire my own airplane, I'll remain a member if only for the sense of community.

  3. #83

    Join Date
    May 2013
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    New York City
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    Well, the weather got in the way again. The winds were gusting to 24kts, so we had to postpone the exam until September 13th.

    Hopefully, the third time will be the charm.

  4. #84
    Banned
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    Nov 2011
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    1,718
    Too bad, but you've waited this long so 2+ more weeks is nothing. Hope you get no to very light winds to show off your skills. Once again, all the best.

  5. #85

    Join Date
    May 2013
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    New York City
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    Sigh...

    Saturday was an LIFR day, so we've postponed, yet again, to this Thursday.

    My wife offered to get me an award for perseverance!

  6. #86

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    2,575
    Nah, never gonna happen. We don't believe there is a pilot named "Bunkie", after all this time. Bunkie is just a myth, that one hears about but never sees, like Bigfoot, "Nessie", or an honest politician, or white men who can actually jump.

    Just on the chance I am mistaken, good luck, but don't think you are going to need it.

  7. #87

    Join Date
    May 2013
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    New York City
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    The thought for the day relates to Zeno's Paradox.

    Why bring that up? Well...

    It was going quite well. The DPE was about 2 hours late, so I spent that munching on donuts and trying to compose myself. We got started completing the paperwork and then I did a thorough pre-flight. The first takeoff (normal) was almost perfect. We started directly into the cross-country, so I made the crosswind and downwind turns (this was to avoid KAVP airspace). I then turned to course for KBMG but something in my brain conflated 330 with my actual TC of 360. After about a minute, I realized my mistake, did some quick work with the chart, got re-oriented and flew to my first checkpoint and then came back on course. The examiner was satisfied with this saying "you made a mistake, but you recognized it quickly and corrected using good procedure". She then asked me to divert to a nearby airport which I had no trouble finding by calculating the MC and distance from the chart. We then did ground reference maneuvers which went pretty well, not a well as I would have liked (and have done in the past), but enough to meet the standard. We then did stalls which went perfectly. Hood work and unusual attitudes also went well.

    And now we come to the issue. Wyoming Valley airport is, as the name suggests, in a valley. There's a high ridge to the north of the field. We were doing pattern work landing on 07 with the wind at 330, 7-8 knots. My mistake was that I wasn't compensating enough for the drift and, as a result, the base and final didn't have enough distance or time. Worse, I let my "I'll fix this" voice have control. The result was a poor landing. It was safe, but not good at all. I had too much altitude, and the track looked like a J rather than a nice square-cornered pattern. We then tried again and even after a picture-perfect soft-field takeoff (the DPE complimented me on executing it perfectly), I made the same mistakes.

    So, I have to re-test on x-wind landings. I know what I'm doing wrong: I don't give myself enough lateral distance on downwind. This compresses the approach which makes it almost impossible to get stabilized. I also need to really use ground references to make sure I'm consistently at the correct distance laterally, and to automatically correct for drift. The DPE was very supportive, encouraging me to work on the landings and saying that she saw a lot of good flying.

    The flight back to my home airport was difficult. The flight itself went very, very well. I was processing what I had learned but the feeling wasn't all that good. My approach and landing at N53 (a somewhat difficult field with a displaced threshold and a width of only 50 feet) was almost perfect. I kept my distance on downwind, flew a nice, square base and final and put the airplane down right past the numbers.

    Not much sleep last night, I was going over and over it in my mind. So, I'm 90% there. Again.

    I *will* get this right. I console myself with having done well on the other parts of the test and knowing how to fix my issues. I'll get the required training, lock in the good habits and get past this.

    Zeno's Paradox:

    1 +1/2 + 1/4 +1/8 + 1/16 + 1/32 and on and on... will never get to 2.
    Last edited by Bunkie; 09-19-2014 at 08:04 AM.

  8. #88
    MEdwards's Avatar
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    Jul 2011
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    Las Cruces, NM
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bunkie View Post
    ...will never get to 2.
    Ah, next time you'll add a whole count and jump over the threshold with margin to spare.

    Crosswind landings are one of the most challenging things we do regularly. And I think probably the most satisfying when we do them right, even after many years of experience. They're never a sure thing. My last landing was a stiff crosswind and the landing happened to be so good I was congratulating myself for a long time afterward. Unfortunately, when you do that there's never anybody around. When you mess one up, as happens all the time, there's an examiner in the right seat or a row of old cronies sitting in front of the FBO watching the airplanes land!

    With only one thing to concentrate on and one thing to demonstrate, I'll bet you have no problem at all next time. Hope it's easier to schedule than it was this time!

    Mike E
    Last edited by MEdwards; 09-19-2014 at 08:43 PM.

  9. #89

    Join Date
    May 2013
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    New York City
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    I had a session with my instructor this past weekend. My first landing was, as he put it, ugly. But each one got better as I worked on the issues, one by one. The last two landings ware actually pretty good, certainly good enough to meet the standards. I'm not really sure why this happened. I had this down and it all seemed to go pear-shaped. The most likely explanation is that I was overconfident and I started to let the small mistakes pile up, with a resulting decline in the quality of my landings. The answer, of course, is to think it all through, have the plan and decision points ordered and the standards in place. Am I in a good position on downwind? Do I have the right attitude for the first notch of flaps? At the turn to base, am I in good position? And so on. When I execute this plan, I do well.

    I'm working through some scheduling conflicts with my instructor and the DPE to get the required dual practice, signoff and retest. That may take a few weeks.

    On a personal note, I've been offered a position in my firm's office in Dublin, Ireland which I'm almost certainly going to accept. That certainly throws a wrench into the immediate future. I may end up getting my PPL and then only being able to fly on periodic trips back to the US. Alternately, I may pursue a Eurozone license, which sends me almost back to square one again. Such is life, full of surprises!

  10. #90

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    If you do the retest, and pass the landing part, as I think you will, then you are a pilot. And you are a legal and certified pilot forever. You may get rusty if you lay off, but you don't have to redo all you have done. You are 95% there now.
    As for the technique, you come into the pattern, probably on a 45, level at the pattern alt, probably 1000 ft agl. You should know the power setting for the speed you want, ( just a guess, 1900 rpm and 75 knots in a 172) and trim for that speed. Make any heading correction for any crosswind as needed. Just use flaps as you have learned and fly the pattern. Don't pinch it too tight. Carb heat on if you have that. Fly down final, full flaps, reduce throttle as needed, close it by the threshold and just hold the nose off til it lands itself.

    You may be overconfident and not doing each step , but a 172 moves so slowly that you have plenty of time to get each step. OR GO AROUND IF NEEDED.
    You may also just be too nervous and not flying as well as you can.

    Go get it.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 09-25-2014 at 04:23 PM.

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