9th Lesson

Well, I had another lesson yesterday. The field was soggy, and Jim wanted to practice landings, so we planned to head down to Anoka to practice landings on the paved runways. Anoka has two strips (18/36 and 09/27) and it's a towered airport in class D airspace. The takeoff in forest lake went well, and after climbing to a safe altitude, Jim had me do a power off stall, and some steep turns, both of which were probably my best to date. Then we headed down towards Anoka. Jim had me do the communication with the tower. They had us turn on ident, and as we neared the airport, there was other conflicting traffic. Initially they asked us to enter straight in on base for runway 27, but then they realized there was a guy practicing IFR on an extended final for 27, so they had us turn southeast and obtain a visual of the traffic inbound for 27. During this time, there was also another conflicting plane in the pattern for runway 36 (I think). Needless to say, there was a lot of chatter on the radio, and I had a hard time following what was going on. Once we confirmed we had a visual with the guy practicing IFR, they had us follow behind him for our landing. We were dealing with a north/northwest crosswind, and there are trees on the north side of the runway at the beginning that initially create turbulence across the runway, and then once you pass them, you are back in a crosswind. The landing was a bit wobbly. Then, we taxied clear of the runway, and contacted ground control, and requested taxi to Cirrus FBO. You have to write down your taxi instructions, read them back to GC to confirm that you understand them, and then follow them. I had a map of the airport on my lap. It's not a terribly complex airport, but there are six or seven main taxiways, and many numbered legs off of these. We had to cross runway 36 on the way to the FBO, and when we arrived, a couple of guys guided us in for parking, chocked the nosewheel, and put out a red carpet. Apparently they want to sell you gas, but we were just stopping by for pilot supplies. We went inside and I bought a couple of sectionals, and a couple Airport and Facilities Directories. Then we got back in the plane, started it up, and contacted ground requesting taxi for takeoff on runway 27 to remain in the pattern with the option to land. Before takeoff, we contact the tower and get clearance for takeoff, and then take off. I flew the pattern and landed on 27 again, but I had had enough at this point, and was overwhelmed between dealing with the communications, traffic, and crosswind landings, and I told Jim I was done. He flew the pattern one more time, and then I flew back to Forest Lake and landed. The landing at Forest Lake was probably my best yet, smooth but slightly fast at touchdown. I found the whole experience at Anoka extremely stressful and not fun. After the lesson I was seriously questioning if this is something I want to continue with. I think I can do it, but I'm not sure it's something I'm really going to enjoy. I think it was just too much too soon - unfamiliar airport, first time at a towered airport, conflicting traffic, and crosswind landings with partial wind obstructions when I haven't mastered regular landings. I was seriously considering it, but I'm not going to quit yet. Next lesson is Wednesday.