Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down

Another great day in the air. The 2007 Diamond Eclipse DA20-C1 (N362DC) had a new tire and was ready for flight.  After the pre-check, I taxied it out to runway 1.  We were in the plane for 1.6 hours, and spent the entire time in the traffic pattern above the Smyrna Airport. 

We took off, flew to the runway 32 and then landed.  Without stopping completely we took off again.  17 take offs and landings in total.  It was great to get so much practice.  I wouldn’t go as far to say that landed perfectly any of those landings, but I felt much more comfortable than I ever have.

We tried landing with several different scenarios such as, landing without flaps, short runway landings, forward slips, and turning without the use of ailerons.

I also spoke with the tower more than I ever have.  I didn’t sound like a professional pilot, but the ATC was able to at least understand me.

I mentioned in my last post about the precision approach path indicator (PAPI).  The PAPI are a very helpful and simple device that enables the pilot establish a glide slope to the runway that will avoid any obstacles such as buildings, trees, or telephone poles.  It is especially critical at night when ground obstacles are difficult to see.

The pilot see four lights near the runway and will be on the best possible glide slope when they see an equal number (2 of each) of red and white lights.  The more red lights the pilot see, the lower the plane is and the greater likelihood of hitting an obstacle.  The more white lights the pilot sees, the higher the plane is, which will require a steeper decline to reach the same point on the runway.

It is a great safety net for pilots, but I tried not to focus too much on the PAPI today.  As noted by the Lebanon airport, not every airport will have them.  I don’t want to become too reliant on them that I struggle to land smoothly without them.

As of today, I have logged 11.2 hours of flight time and completed 51 landings and take offs.

Flight time: 1.60 hours

Cost:  Plane rental - $184.00, Instructor Fee - $68.00