Stars In My Eyes
I have my third flight lesson tonight. We'll probably take off between 8:30 and 9:00, so it'll be my first night flight. As an NFO (Naval Flight Officer) I loved night flights. The first two lessons moved along faster than I expected. I had hands on the controls for the takeoff and landing for the first lesson, and did most of the flying in between. I flew the takeoff yesterday and did the landing too, though my instructor, Zach, helped a touch when I was about 15 feet off the ground. I was surprised that was all he did, as it seemed so smooth. What he did was add a little more back pressure to pull us up slightly as we got into wing in ground effect. This is simply a point where the aircraft has more lift, about your wingspan in altitude. It's not the official aerodynamic description, but I think of it as the point where the ground is close enough to create a compressed cushion of air. It is typically used to allow the aircraft to settle more gently onto the ground.
On that first flight I was a little surprised to be flying the plane so down the approach. Turns out I have a pretty decent touch on the controls. I didn't expect to be advanced for a newbie, but all that time around aircraft in naval aviation, and the flight instructors who gave us lowly navigators stick time helped. Also, I became an informal PIC (Pilot In Command) for the full motion Blackhawk trainer at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. I took the midshipmen there quite a lot, and got quite a few hours myself.
I think all the theatre training and experience the last 6 years helped a lot. Hold on, I'll explain. I know from my flight training in the Navy that the takeoff and landing are the diciest parts of a flight. More critical things happening concurrently and the ground is very close. I would have been very tentative with this in the past. Wanting to only do one thing during landing, and not adding another aspect until I got that down solid. Partly by nature, and partly as a result of military aviation training. Going from someone with debilitating stage fright to an emerging professional actor (that is what ETI was all about) got me in the habit of facing fears with enthusiasm. The ones I want to face. I have no desire to get over my fear of heights and climb mountains. The approach, and departure to a much lesser degree, are nerve wracking for me. Even so, I found myself becoming more comfortable with it yesterday. If I'd had these skills in the Navy I'd have gone far, and looking at where I am now (and where my old peers are now) I'm glad I didn't.
We go out over Kitsap County, west of Seattle across Puget Sound. It is pretty fun as that is where I grew up, and haven't flown over the area much before. Holding straight and level flight is fairly easy, and doing so in turns up to 30 degrees of bank is not too hard. Add more bank, and it gets a little tougher as I tended to pull back a little too much causing me to climb a bit. Now I'm working to find the physical and visual cues that will make for better steep turns.
After the steep turns we worked on slow flight. Bringing down the power, and the flaps in three increments (10, 20, and 30 degrees) then using the power to maintain 40 knots. It took a few minutes but eventually I was able to control the plane without overcorrecting into a weaving situation, and we took the plane in to several stalls. I don't like them when I am flying, which is a good thing. Then the same exercise into a 65 knot descent instead of level flight. Zach talked me through it several times, then when we were on approach he did again. That was the point of the exercise. We came down lined up at the numbers. It was a good approach -- I can recognize that much from my Navy days. Of course the trick will be getting the procedure down to the point where I have good muscle memory and habit, then knowing how to set up for the approach without being talked through it. All doable.
While I was aware of how much there is to learn, I also got a feel of what it could be like to do it myself. Like an early rehearsal when you're first on your feet, and you see how much more work is needed but have a feeling where the play can go. I'm looking forward to tech week (flying solo and tests), then opening (flying my first time as a licensed pilot). Flying on my own when and where I want. It will make taking trips a lot of fun. I hope flying into Canada isn't too much of a pain. It would be terrific to visit my old roommates that way. Also my relatives at different corners of Washington state will be more fun to visit. No fighting interstate traffic. Getting ahead of myself. Got to get the license first.
Well it's time to start reviewing yesterday's lessons in my head, so there's less to go over again this evening.
On that first flight I was a little surprised to be flying the plane so down the approach. Turns out I have a pretty decent touch on the controls. I didn't expect to be advanced for a newbie, but all that time around aircraft in naval aviation, and the flight instructors who gave us lowly navigators stick time helped. Also, I became an informal PIC (Pilot In Command) for the full motion Blackhawk trainer at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. I took the midshipmen there quite a lot, and got quite a few hours myself.
I think all the theatre training and experience the last 6 years helped a lot. Hold on, I'll explain. I know from my flight training in the Navy that the takeoff and landing are the diciest parts of a flight. More critical things happening concurrently and the ground is very close. I would have been very tentative with this in the past. Wanting to only do one thing during landing, and not adding another aspect until I got that down solid. Partly by nature, and partly as a result of military aviation training. Going from someone with debilitating stage fright to an emerging professional actor (that is what ETI was all about) got me in the habit of facing fears with enthusiasm. The ones I want to face. I have no desire to get over my fear of heights and climb mountains. The approach, and departure to a much lesser degree, are nerve wracking for me. Even so, I found myself becoming more comfortable with it yesterday. If I'd had these skills in the Navy I'd have gone far, and looking at where I am now (and where my old peers are now) I'm glad I didn't.
We go out over Kitsap County, west of Seattle across Puget Sound. It is pretty fun as that is where I grew up, and haven't flown over the area much before. Holding straight and level flight is fairly easy, and doing so in turns up to 30 degrees of bank is not too hard. Add more bank, and it gets a little tougher as I tended to pull back a little too much causing me to climb a bit. Now I'm working to find the physical and visual cues that will make for better steep turns.
After the steep turns we worked on slow flight. Bringing down the power, and the flaps in three increments (10, 20, and 30 degrees) then using the power to maintain 40 knots. It took a few minutes but eventually I was able to control the plane without overcorrecting into a weaving situation, and we took the plane in to several stalls. I don't like them when I am flying, which is a good thing. Then the same exercise into a 65 knot descent instead of level flight. Zach talked me through it several times, then when we were on approach he did again. That was the point of the exercise. We came down lined up at the numbers. It was a good approach -- I can recognize that much from my Navy days. Of course the trick will be getting the procedure down to the point where I have good muscle memory and habit, then knowing how to set up for the approach without being talked through it. All doable.
While I was aware of how much there is to learn, I also got a feel of what it could be like to do it myself. Like an early rehearsal when you're first on your feet, and you see how much more work is needed but have a feeling where the play can go. I'm looking forward to tech week (flying solo and tests), then opening (flying my first time as a licensed pilot). Flying on my own when and where I want. It will make taking trips a lot of fun. I hope flying into Canada isn't too much of a pain. It would be terrific to visit my old roommates that way. Also my relatives at different corners of Washington state will be more fun to visit. No fighting interstate traffic. Getting ahead of myself. Got to get the license first.
Well it's time to start reviewing yesterday's lessons in my head, so there's less to go over again this evening.
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