3rd Lesson

Had my 3rd lesson today. I was at the airport close to 4 hours. I did the pre-flight checks by myself - pretty easy. Probably took me about 20 minutes or so. I imagine that will become faster as it becomes more of a routine. When I was done, I headed inside and met up with Jim. I had a short list of questions from my reading material, and we spent roughly an hour reviewing what I had read about (airplanes and aerodynamics), and Jim drew various diagrams on a small whiteboard throughout this discussion. We covered basic concepts, and a few interesting things like the Region of Reversed Command, Ground Effect, and V_A (maximum Design Maneuvering Speed), and the somewhat counter-intuitive concept that V_A INCREASES when you add weight (i.e. passengers or cargo) to the plane. We also reviewed Induced Drag vs Parasitic Drag, and the "sweet spot" where these forces are equal, L/D_MAX (best glide speed, least power required for level flight, etc). We also talked a great deal about stalls, which was a good segue to our flight. I almost fell on my butt again slipping on the ice taking the plane our of the hangar. We got the plane rolling, with me at the front controlling the nose gear, and the plane pushed me over the sheer ice about 10-15 feet as I kept my feet rigid beneath me sliding on the ice, trying not to fall down. Again, I did the procedures "Starting Engine Cold", "Taxi", "Before Takeoff Run Up", and "Pre Takeoff". Steering during the taxi today was a bit easier for me - I think my brain compiled a bit from the previous experience. I also did most of the takeoff procedure again, and climbed to 3500 feet. First we practiced 45 degree steep turns. He demonstrated a couple, and I was a bit nervous about doing it myself, but it was really quite easy. No prob. After practicing a few steep turns in each direction, we practiced straight and level flight at different airspeeds. He would ask me to change the speed to say, 75mph (the airspeed indicator in this plane is in statute MPH, not nautical miles), and I would adjust the pitch, power, and trim accordingly. He also used this part of the lesson to demonstrate the region of reversed command. Next, we practiced power-off stall recovery. This was pretty easy too, just gotta remember to control the direction and roll with the rudder when nearing stall speed. Recovery is no prob, just nose down and add power. I noticed at some point after this, that Jim's instruction style changed a bit. He was no longer telling me HOW to control the airplane during the flight, but rather, just telling me to fly the plane to specific headings and altitudes at specific airspeeds or power settings. After this, we practiced a couple of power loss emergency simulations. First one, we picked Big Marine Lake (frozen, not landing in the water) as our landing site. This was really cool, because we came in descending over the lake with power at idle and probably went as low as 20ft over the surface of the lake. There were a bunch of ice fisherman out on the lake, and they were all staring at the plane cruising by just above the lake surface, and we smiled and waved at them. Jim grabbed the controls briefly and did what he called a "wing wave" at them, and then we powered away back up into the sky.

It sounds like Jim was happy with my performance and the way the lesson went, so I believe things are progressing well. Next lesson is Monday afternoon - can't wait! Time to hit the books...

Mathias