27 Jun 2011 Warrior III - VH-TYD
Besides learning how to do climbing and descending turns this was a lesson full of "first".
Up until now I've been flying first thing on a Sunday morning while is nice at quite at Moorabbin, but due to my daughter's concert I was going to be flying midday on a week day. Flying Sunday morning has a number of advantages; 1) I can be back home again by 10:30 to spend the rest of the day with the family. 2) I rarely have to wait for other aircraft on the ground or in the circuit. 3) The weather has generally been better (winds lightly, less chance of rain). The only disadvantage has been the extended time in the run-up bay to bring the engine up to the correct operating temperature on cold winter mornings.
Up until now I've been flying first thing on a Sunday morning while is nice at quite at Moorabbin, but due to my daughter's concert I was going to be flying midday on a week day. Flying Sunday morning has a number of advantages; 1) I can be back home again by 10:30 to spend the rest of the day with the family. 2) I rarely have to wait for other aircraft on the ground or in the circuit. 3) The weather has generally been better (winds lightly, less chance of rain). The only disadvantage has been the extended time in the run-up bay to bring the engine up to the correct operating temperature on cold winter mornings.
The second "first", was a different instructor. Unfortunately my normal instructor was busy and I really wanted to fly, so I got him to suggest an alternative. Collin is the head of training for the school so I knew I'd be in good hands.
Collin hands me the keys and maintenance release to TYD and I do to pre-flight walk around as normal. This is where those "firsts" start to cause "differences" - the tanks aren't full. As I'm normally the first to fly the plane, the tanks are normally full. This means I need to remember how to set the fuel volumes on the Avidyne EX5000 MFD.
I started her up and taxi to the run-up bay. Time for the second difference - the engine is already warm. Instead of coming back to the engine checks (Mag, carb heat, & idle checks) after the oil temperature increases to 100C, I get to do the run-up checks in the normal order.
Time for the third difference - pre-flight safety brief and radio calls. Up until this point this is something Jason has always done for me. Collin seems a little surprised I haven't done them yet - something to follow-up Jason before my next lesson. So with Collin making the calls we taxi out and takeoff for the training area.
First up is Climbing turns. I've actually been doing these ever flight already when I turn from upwind onto crosswind. There are a couple of things to watch in addition to a level turn. As I'm already climbing lift needs to be greater then weight and turning is going to make this worse. So no more than a Rate 1 turn ie ~15 Deg bank. The plane wants to increase the angle of bank due to the higher angle of attack and speed of the outer wing so I just need to make sure I'm maintain that bank angle with the ailerons.
After a couple of goes we try out descending turns. As I'm now descending they is more lee way for generating the vertical components required to balance the weight of the aircraft and the therefore the bank angle can be high - up a medium (15-45 degree) turn. The tendency for the plane to increase it's angle of bank is also reduced. While the outer wing is going fast it has a lower angle of attack and therefore the difference between the amount of lift is reduced.
After a bit of practice we head back to Moorabbin via Carrum. Time for the last "difference" for the day - it's busy. As we approach the reporting point there is another plane also making it's inbound call. We are "Number 3" for 35L.
Another fun lesson. Really enjoyed the "differences" and feel like the previous lessons are starting to come together. I can now climb, descend, turn and fly straight and level. If I put them all together I can effectively fly to the training area and back. Once I've learnt how to land, make radio calls, and handle basic emergencies, I'll be able to go solo. Next lesson - Stalls!
After a couple of goes we try out descending turns. As I'm now descending they is more lee way for generating the vertical components required to balance the weight of the aircraft and the therefore the bank angle can be high - up a medium (15-45 degree) turn. The tendency for the plane to increase it's angle of bank is also reduced. While the outer wing is going fast it has a lower angle of attack and therefore the difference between the amount of lift is reduced.
After a bit of practice we head back to Moorabbin via Carrum. Time for the last "difference" for the day - it's busy. As we approach the reporting point there is another plane also making it's inbound call. We are "Number 3" for 35L.
Another fun lesson. Really enjoyed the "differences" and feel like the previous lessons are starting to come together. I can now climb, descend, turn and fly straight and level. If I put them all together I can effectively fly to the training area and back. Once I've learnt how to land, make radio calls, and handle basic emergencies, I'll be able to go solo. Next lesson - Stalls!
No comments:
Post a Comment