What did they say to me?

We got a lot accomplished in today’s flight.  We practiced stalls, slow flight, forward slips, and ground reference maneuvers.  The ground maneuvers (Rectangular Course, S-Turns, Turns Around a Point) is designed to practice turns in a crosswind environment.  It was fun practice and it forced me to spend more time looking outside of the cockpit.  I just wonder what the people in that barn below was thinking with a small Diamond aircraft circling over them for ten minutes.

Rectangular Course

S-Turns

Turns Around a Point



In addition, we spent some time in the traffic pattern, and I did a record breaking (well my personal record) of six take offs and landings.  It was very helpful to do so many in a row like that.  Overall I was very pleased with my performance.  Out of the six landings, there were about two that could have been smoother, so I’ll have to work on consistency.  I did notice that my CFI appeared relax and his hands spent very little time on the controls, which I take as a good sign.

Once again, my rudder work with taxiing on the ground still needs some fine tuning.

With all that we did, there will only be one thing I’ll remember from this flight.  My CFI saying: “Do you want to try talking to the tower?”  He did say “want to try”, which would imply that I had a choice, but to me it sounded like a challenge.  If he thought I was up for the challenge, then I couldn’t say no.

The pilot talks to “ground” pre-take off and post landing, and “tower” during while in their airspace during flight.

The main topics you should cover are:

1. Who you are calling

2. Who you are

3. Where you are

4. What you want

For example: “Smyrna Ground from Diamond 223 November Hotel ( the “N” number on the plane is N223NH) at the …  ready to taxi, departing to the east.”

At this point ATC will provide the pilot, at auctioneer speed, directions on what runway and the taxiway to use.  The pilot should then repeat the directions and re-state the plane’s “N” number.

This is where it gets hard.  Due to the busy schedule of the ATC, communications need to be clear, concise, and brief.  There isn’t a lot of time to ask for them to repeat it several times.  Luckily, my CFI was able to quickly interpret and repeat it to the ATC.

The rest of the flight I communicated with the tower, with the assistance of my CFI.  Once again, more practice is needed.  I guess that is why they don’t give you a pilot’s license within the first 6 hours of training…

Ground instruction: .3 hours   Flight time: 1.50 hours

Cost:  Plane rental - $141.00, Instructor Fee - $72.00

Stalls and Spins

I have written several posts where I discuss practicing a stall.  A stall is cause by the separation of airflow from the wing’s upper surface.   Level flight requires smooth airflow above and below the wings.  Of course you have to be able to ascend and descend smoothly so the wings are designed to take some movement up/down using the pitch of the plane.  Yet if the pilot increases the angle of the wing (called: angle of attach) too much the airflow will be broken.

The stall warning will go off and, since there is minimal wind going over the wing, the ailerons (the main flight controls) will have little effect on the plane making the plane difficult to control.  While both wings are being stalled, normally one wing will be stalled more than the other, thus cause the plane to dip to one side or the other.  The outcome is one wing then gets a lot of airflow over it while the other stalls even more.  If the pilot fails to recover from the stall at this point, the plane will likely continue into a spin.  It is the spin that I described as very dramatic in a prior post.

Spins are dangerous and may be one of the most complex of all flight maneuvers.  It can be very disorienting and difficult to recover from.  Plus, hopefully you are at a high altitude, as you can lose up to 6,000 feet per minute in a spin.  A private pilot is not required to demonstrate spins but should know how to recover from them.

The good news is that a stall is very easy to identify and recover from.  The quickest is solution is to decrease the nose of the plane (angle of attack of the wing) to regain proper airflow over the wing.  Adjustments with the rudders or additional thrust may help as well.



Recovery from a spin, on the other hand, is more complex.  The mnemonic technique is PARE.

·         P = Power off.  If the plane is pointed towards the ground.  You don’t want additional thrust getting to there sooner.

·         A = Ailerons should be natural.  You don’t want them to encourage the spin.  Also flaps up.

·         R = Full rudder in the opposite direction of the spin.  The turn coordinator can help you determine which way the plane is spinning.

·         E = Elevator to neutral

This would hopefully stop the spin and then the pilot can power up, rudder neutral and elevator up, being careful not to fall back into another stall/spin.

I spend a lot of time in the air simulating stalls and practicing recovery from them.  The reason is that unintentional stalls are most likely to happen upon take offs and landings.  With just a few hundred feet in the air, a pilot has to act quickly to recover from them.



How much does $1,095.80 get you?



As I mentioned before, one of the main questions I get asked when I tell people about becoming a pilot has to do with cost.  I stated I would be transparent with the costs…  Well I’m 17 days into this adventure and my total is at $1,095.80.

What have I gotten for that amount?

·         Knee Board

·         Used Private Pilot Maneuvers Manual

·         New Pilot Log book

·         Used David Clark Headset

·         A physical from an AME

·         6.8 hours of instruction

·         5.0 hours of flight time logged

·         .4 hours if instrument (hood) training

·         8 take off and landings

Yes, this is absolutely expensive, but a lot of the major costs are in the beginning.  I don’t anticipate having to purchase any other equipment, and once I start to solo, I will not have the instructor fees as often.

To put it in perspective, the price of a Mizuno MP-58 3-PW iron set of golf clubs is $1,099.  This is the cost before you even set foot on the course, and who uses only 3 clubs?  Also, who would argue that golf is more fun than soaring through the air?

Aviation Headset

A quality headset makes all the difference when trying to understand ATC and your passengers.  Comfort, noise reduction, and durability are all factors when picking an aviation headset

During my last couple of flights, I have been using a spare set my CFI has, but I will not be able to do that forever.  This week I searched e-bay and Craigslist for a used set.  Brand new, they can range in price anywhere from $100 to $1,200.  The David Clark Company makes some good mid-priced headset.  DC is actually the brand I’m using from my CFI.

I bided on a couple pairs in e-bay and I won a set of H10-30 for $132.50.  They retail for about $270.00.  The set I bought are old, but in aviation, years of use can equate to only a handful of hours actually used. 

The typical outcome is the headset used as a student pilot becomes the passenger headset, while the pilot makes a more informed decision for his/her primary set.

Engine Failure Does Not Equal Pilot Failure

Today, my CFI and I spent about 30 minutes on ground school lessons.  Topics we covered were:

·         What to do in an engine failure

·         How to recover from a stall with a spin

·         FAA FAR 91.3 – regulations dealing with responsibilities of a pilot in command (PIC).

o   The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.

o   In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency.

o   Each pilot in command who deviates from a rule under paragraph (b) of this section shall, upon the request of the Administrator, send a written report of that deviation to the Administrator.

To paraphrase, the pilot in command main responsibility is flight safety, and in an emergency, can ignore any/all other FAA rules.  Of course, you may have to document the situation.

Next, I completed the pre-flight check on the 2000 Diamond Katana DA20-C1 (N223NH).  I am finding that the time doing my pre-flight check is decreasing as I become more familiar with the aircraft.

My taxiing has gotten better, but I still have little frustration in my struggle to keep the plane on the center line.  In the air, I find my rudder work is a bit awkward as well.  I think it will come with more practice.

In this flight, we practiced a lot of what we have done in the past (high speed and low speed stalls, hood work, slow flight, etc).  A couple of new maneuvers he introduced were high angle turns and mid-air engine failure procedures. 

The high angle turns are self explanatory, so I will not go into a lot of detail, but I will say it was really fun.

In the event of an engine failure, the pilot should follow the A, B & Cs.

A = Aviate & Maintain Airspeed

B = Locate the Best place to land

C = Checklist (trouble shoot) & Communicate

"A" is the most important because a pilot's first action should be to insure you have the maximum time in the air before an emergency landing. By setting the airspeed for best glide speed (Vg) the plane will cover the most distance over the ground, hopefully far enough to get to an airport, and the pilot will have the most time in the air to prepare for an emergency landing.  The glide speed (Vg) for the Diamond is about 73knots.  The obvious question: if the engine is off, how do you maintain air speed?  The pilot can adjust the air speed by adjusting the pitch of the aircraft.  Tilt the nose down slightly and the plane will speed up, raise the nose, and the plane will slow.

In an emergency "B" is not Best Airport or Best Huge Open Space, but rather Best Place to Land. After setting the plane for Vg, the pilot's next task is to identify the best place to land and fly toward it. As airlines flight attendants say during the passenger briefing, "Take a minute to locate the nearest exit, keeping in mind that the nearest exit may be behind you." The pilot should spend a few seconds evaluating all the available landing sites to determine the best one for landing. These may be airports, abandoned airstrips, open fields, roads, or any other long open space. Once a landing site has been picked the pilot should fly towards it and be mentally prepared to land there.

"C" is the last item, but hopefully the one that will change the situation from major disaster to a momentary panic.  After picking a landing site the next job is to run thought the engine failure and restart checklist.   This is also the step where the pilot should contact ATC for assistance.

When every step is complete, and the pilot is preparing to land, they should disconnect the fuel and electronics.  If the landing is a bit rough, you don’t want a spark igniting the fuel.  On a side note, engine failure and an emergency landing is not a death sentence.  For the most part, landing speed is about 42 knots (about 48 mph), which is a very survivable impact, especially if you can slow the plane down a bit by landing in soft soil or a pavement where you can utilize the brakes.

My CFI put the engine to idle and we practiced the A, B, Cs.  Of course, I didn’t actually land in someone’s cornfield, but I was surprised at how quickly I was able to identify a suitable to landing area and set myself up for a landing.  This technique that had a big impact (no pun intended) on me and I’m going to make it a regular practice of indentifying emergency landing areas.

Finally, we spent some time in the flight pattern, and I executed three addition take offs and landings.

Ground instruction: .5 hours   Flight time: 1.50 hours

Cost:  Plane rental - $141.00, Instructor Fee - $80.00

The Rain in Spain (or Nashville) Doesn’t Falls Mainly on The Plane

Today, my CFI and I spent about 30 minutes on ground school lessons.  Topics we covered were:

·         Carburetor icing

·         Using a lean fuel mixture

·         Wind shear

·         Wake Turbulence

Next, I completed the pre-flight check on the 2007 Diamond Eclipse DA20-C1 (N362DC).  Everything went smoothly and we climbed into the cockpit.  My CFI requested permission from air traffic control to take off and for a runway assignment.

My take off was smooth, and we flew to a practice area and I preformed the basic maneuvers of turning, ascending and descending.  Next we practiced a power off stall, and power on (or high speed) stall, low speed flight.

Today the wind was a bit stronger then I have flown in the past, but it was manageable.  It did require me to actively fly the plane, constantly making corrections for heading changes and altitude fluctuations.  I did fine, but I was prone to a typical student pilot error, which is over correcting for the adjustment.  Thus causing more corrections the other way.  My forearm was sore at the end of the flight from “death gripping” the flight stick.

One new introduction this flight was the use of IFR hood.  They are basically goggles that block out your view of everything but the instrument panel.  This is to simulate the effects of flying in low visibility.  At the end of my training, I will not be instrument rated, nor will I be allowed to fly in low visibility conditions.  Yet, I’m required to have a few hours with the hood on, so I’ll know what to do if I inadvertently find myself in a low visibility condition.  I didn’t find this lesson to be challenging, since I have noticed I have been looking inside the cockpit more then I should be.  Today I wore the hood for about 20 mins.

Next, we were ready to land.  My CFI sought permission to land.  I put the plane into position and lightly touched down and slowed the plane to idle.  This time we didn’t come to a complete stop, and at my CFI’s instruction, I opened up the throttle and down the runway we went for another takeoff. 

Off in the distance, we could see a storm with rain.  I have never seen weather from that perspective before (maybe in the mountains), and it was absolutely beautiful.  I can understand how a pilot could anticipate flying into bad weather and diverting the flight path to avoid it.

We flew in the traffic pattern once and made our final landing of the day.  Just as we landed, we started to see lightning.  Made it to the ground in just the right time.  It was pouring as we were wrapping up and setting the training schedule for the following week.

Ground instruction: .5 hours   Flight time: 1.20 hours

Cost:  Plane rental - $138.00, Instructor Fee - $68.00

How High Am I Really?

While I have been confused often while learning new aviation skills, one item I have a hard time wrapping my head around is altitude.  Yes, I understood altitude meant how high the aircraft was, but what troubled me the most is there are several types of altitude. 

Indicated altitude is the altitude measured by the aircraft’s altimeter, the one most used during flight.

Absolute Altitude is the difference between the aircraft and the surface you are flying above.  While this is important information, it is not as practical to be used.  During level flight, the altitude would change based upon the terrain over which the plane is flying.  To maintain a consistent altitude, the pilot would have to consistently adjust.  Also, it is not as easy to measure as other types of altitude.  Absolute altitude is also referred to as the height above ground level (AGL).

True Altitude is the actual height above mean sea level (MSL).  On aviation charts, heights of ground obstacles will be displayed as true altitude.  During level flight, true altitude would not change based upon what you are flying over.  Also called actual altitude.

Pressure altitude is the altitude indicated when set to 29.92 in Hg.  This is the altitude above the standard datum plane, which is a theoretical plane when air pressure (corrected to 15 degrees C) equals 29.92 in.  Pressure altitude is used to compute density altitude, true altitude, true airspeed and other performance data.

Density Altitude is pressure altitude corrected for non-standard temperature.  It is where the aircraft “feels” like it’s flying.  If the density altitude is at 2,000 feet on the ground, then the aircraft feels like it is at 2,000 feet already and this will have an impact on it performance.  If density altitude is too high for the plane’s requirements, it could prevent flight.

My explanation may not of provided a clear understanding of the differences, but the different types of altitude have a greater impact when flying cross country.  As you fly from one region to another the barometric and temperature may change.  This has an effect on the closeness of the air molecules which can impact the altimeter readings. 

I’m sure there will be more to come. I found the below video which may help.