Day 19: The Checkride

     Today was the day I had been waiting on for several years. Today was the day of my private pilot checkride. This checkride was the final exam of flight school. I met with the examiner, Todd, and we did all the necessary paperwork. He then informed me that there would be three possible outcomes from the exam today - either I walk away with a pilot certificate, get a paper that says what I need to work on before trying again, or get a paper that says only part of the checkride was completed.

     After that we began the oral portion of the exam. It was almost identical to the stage check I had on Saturday. That and the paperwork took just under two hours, and immediately following was the flight portion. This too was very much like the stage check.

     We made a short field takeoff in N53417 and flew to Lunken airport, where he had me do a normal landing. After departing Lunken with a soft field takeoff, I set a course for Charleston, West Virginia. Just as on Saturday, a few checkpoints into the flight he diverted me to Snyder airport in Falmouth, Kentucky. This was actually much easier than the stage check because Todd said I was welcome to use the GPS at any time. Rather than fumbling with a map and a ruler, I simply dialed in K62, the Snyder airport, and the GPS gave me the distance and time enroute. From that information, it was simple arithmetic to compute how much fuel it would take to get there.

     As soon as I verified we had enough fuel, Todd was satisfied, and he had me determine my position using a VOR. That was a piece of cake, so we moved on to maneuvers. Slow flight was first on the list, followed by a power off stall, a power on stall, and two steep turns. These all went well except for one steep turn when I lost sight of the landmark where I was supposed to level the wings which caused me to overshoot the turn.

     The next few minutes were flown with the foggles. He told me to descend, then had me do a 180 degree turn while maintaining altitude, and finally we did one recovery from an unusual attitude.

     All that went well, so he pulled the throttle out to simulate an engine failure. I picked out a field to land in, and ended up a little high, but it was good enough for the examiner. We stayed low after that and did a turn around a point. I picked out a random barn and began to fly a circle around it, but I only made it through half the circle before he told me to head back to Clermont County airport.

     He had me do a soft field landing, which did not actually turn out very soft, but he gave me a tip on how to do it better next time. We then made a short field landing and taxied back to parking. After I shut the engine down, Todd congratulated me and shook my hand.

     We headed inside where Matt was waiting for us. He also shook my hand and congratulated me, and the three of us went to the examiner's office for debriefing. Todd told me a few of the things I could have done better, then had me sign my temporary private pilot certificate. I did so, and gave him his money, shook his hand again, and walked away as a new private pilot.

     As we walked out of the examiner's office, Matt asked, "So where are you going from here? Instrument rating?"

     "Probably," I replied. "Or maybe get my complex sign-off first."

     There really are many paths I could follow from here. I do not know exactly what lies ahead, but one thing I am sure of is that God is the One who brought me here, and I trust Him to lead me the rest of the way.

     22 days, 45.8 flight hours, and 134 landings are in the logbook, and today I have achieved my dream of becoming a pilot.

Austin Miller earned his Private pilot certificate on September 5, 2016. To obtain his Private certificate, Austin passed an oral and a flight exam with a Federal Aviation Administration designated flight examiner. Austin, a resident of Michigan, completed his flight training with Sporty's Academy, located at the Clermont County Airport in Batavia, Ohio. Austin is pictured with his instructor, Matt Safriet. #Congratulations #PrivatePilot

A photo posted by Sporty's Academy (@sportysacademy) on Sep 7, 2016 at 1:50pm PDT

Day 18: Stage Check

     I took the final stage check yesterday, which is the last lesson before the test. I met up with Sophie, the instructor who was conducting the stage check. We began with the oral portion, which consisted of a bunch of questions on anything from procedures to aeromedical factors and just about everything in between. This lasted about an hour and a half, and after completing it, Sophie sent me out to preflight the plane.
     Sporty's is usually pretty busy on Saturdays because they grill free hotdogs on the ramp. As I was walking around the aircraft, I heard a kid say, "But I don't want to."
     Another voice which must have been his mother replied, "Oh for crying out loud, just ask him!"
     I continued the walk-around, and soon these two approached the wing I was examining. I walked over toward them, and the mother said, "He wants to know if you're going to take off. We've been watching the planes land for a while, but he wants to see one take off."
     "Yup," I replied. "I'll be taking off in about ten minutes."
     "Thank you! We'll sit over here and watch."
     It reminded me of of my younger self, when I had a lot of questions about airplanes but was too shy to ask a pilot. I would have loved to tell him to hop in the back seat and ride along, but I do not have the certification to do that yet. I am really looking forward to the time when I will be able to take passengers.
     After starting up, we were taxiing to the runway when an airship made a low pass over the runway. It was really big and slow, and it was cool to see one up close like that.
     We made a short field takeoff and flew over to Lunken, where we made a soft field touch-and-go. Following that, we proceeded on the planned flight to Charleston, West Virginia. After passing several waypoints, Sophie said, "Ok the weather all of a sudden turned really bad. We've got weather ahead of us, weather over there, and weather behind us. We have to divert to Georgetown."
     I marked our location on the map and began plotting a course to Brown County airport in Georgetown. It was only 7 nautical miles away, and I was not even finished by the time I saw the field ahead. I asked if I needed to continue calculating the course if I already had the field in sight, and she said it was not necessary. I entered the traffic pattern and set up for a short field landing. As I got close to the runway, I realized I was too high to touch down in the touchdown zone, so I initiated a go-around. After a lap around the pattern, I managed to set it down in the touchdown zone. "Setting it down" might not be the best choice of words. I guess it was more like "slamming it down," but apparently it was good enough to pass. As Chuck Yeager put it, "If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing."
     We departed Brown County and did some slow flight, stalls, instrument flying, and steep turns in the practice area. As we completed the last maneuver, Sophie pulled the throttle to idle and told me we just lost the engine. I did just as I had practiced and set up for a landing in a nearby field. It was a hard decision to choose the field, because I could see Clermont County airport in the distance, and I might have been able to glide over there, but if I did not make it, there were many houses around the airport. I decided it would be better to make a safe landing in the field than to risk crashing into a house, if it was a real engine failure.
     Upon seeing we would be able to safely make the field, Sophie told me to climb back up to pattern altitude and land at Clermont County. It was still very busy, and I had to deviate from the pattern twice to avoid other traffic. We followed CAP3024, a Civil Air Patrol flight, and made a no-flap landing. After tying down the aircraft, we went inside for debriefing.
     Sophie thought I did very well, and I got a good score. I had to chuckle inside when she said I did well with using checklists, like I had been flying for the airlines. I blame that on Flight Simulator.
     Today's flying added 1.7 hours and 4 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 44.3 hours and 132 landings.

Day 17: Dear Old 417

     It was windy again today. The winds were out of the northeast at 9 knots gusting to 16 knots. I got to Sporty's Cafe and said hello to another student who had just gotten back from a flight.
     "It's bumpy up there!" he said with a southern drawl. "I was doing this number the whole time," he said as he grasped imaginary controls and jerked them back and forth like he was fighting turbulence. We talked about the wind and the resulting rough landings for a little bit, then he had to go downstairs to take his written exam. I wished him good luck and sat down at a table to wait for Matt.
     "What do you want to do today?" he asked when he walked over.
     "I think I'd like to practice some landings in this wind," I replied.
     "Sounds good. Go ahead and start the preflight, and I'll meet you out there."
     I headed out to the flight line and got N53417 ready for the flight. 417 is what we call her for short, and she's been around for quite a while. Matt said she was already being used back when he was doing his primary training. 417 is a good-looking aircraft, with wheel pants that give her a streamlined look and a white, green, and gold paint scheme. None of the other Cessna 172s at Sporty's have either of those features, and she looks quite glamorous sitting on the flight line. She is equipped with a Garmin GNS430 GPS as well, so she would be my favorite plane out of the fleet if it was not for one tiny little problem. It is a very small problem when you first hear of it, but it gets really annoying really fast. There is always a hissing sound in the pilot's headset. It sounds like the crackling, hissing sound that an old vinyl record makes during the silence between songs. When it first started making the irritating noise, I just shrugged it off. But after a two hour flight, I was millimeters away from going insane. Dear old 417, if it weren't for such a small flaw, she could be my favorite.

The instrument panel of N53417

     We practiced landings and takeoffs in the slight crosswind. Well, it was a crosswind most of the time. The direction of the wind kept shifting, sometimes very rapidly. Once I was lined up with the runway, maybe half a mile from the threshold when the wind direction changed very abruptly, causing the plane to roll to the right. I immediately jerked the yoke to the left to counteract the force, but the wind held us in a right bank, and I could not roll the wings back to level for a second or two. When the wind stabilized and I was able to level the wings, we were above the glideslope and off to the right of the centerline.
     "I'm just going to go around," I said.
     I applied full throttle, retracted a notch of flaps, and started climbing. After I made the radio call, Matt said, "I'll never argue with the decision to go around."
     We made a total of eight landings, then tied down dear old 417 in her parking spot, ending what is most likely the last flight with Matt.
     Later in the day, we called off the next flight, choosing instead to review ground knowledge. Matt asked me all kinds of questions the examiner might ask, and I either gave an answer, or he explained the correct answer if I was unsure. There is so much information to take in that many days after completing a flight or ground lesson, I return to the hotel where I sit down and stare at nothing for a while, giving my brain time to process all the information it has taken in.
     It definitely has been seventeen days of drinking from a fire hose. Matt said I finished training faster than any of his previous students, except for the guy from Wisconsin who just came down to finish up night and solo flying.
     Matt is confident that I will pass both the stage check and the exam, and I am pretty confident of it as well. I know I will not be able to answer all the questions perfectly, but I believe I will be able to pass the exam.
     Today's flying added 1.5 hours and 8 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 42.6 hours and 128 landings.

Day 16: The End is Nigh

     It was a beautiful day that greeted my eyes when I opened the curtains morning. A few puffs of cloud material were floating high in the sky, and a cool breeze was a welcome change from the heat and humidity of the past few days.
     Once airborne on a solo flight, I began to like the breeze a little less as it kicked my aircraft around. At pattern altitude, which is a thousand feet above the ground, the wind was blowing at least 25 knots by my rough calculations. It made the flight quite bumpy, but it did make the takeoffs and landings much shorter. All the takeoffs and landings, except one, used less than half of the available runway. For the two hour block, all I did was practice takeoffs and landings. By the end of the flight, I had all the solo time I needed before taking the test.
     The next block was dual time with Matt. We practiced basic instrument flying while wearing the foggles, which included recovery from unusual attitudes. I wrote some about unusual attitudes in an earlier post, but simply put, I close my eyes, and Matt does some maneuvers to disorient me and puts the plane at an angle that would be dangerous if left there too long. Then I open my eyes and recover from the situation using only the instruments. Today I do not know what maneuvers Matt did, but with my eyes closed, it felt like we had to be upside down at one point. I know we were not, because that aircraft is not capable of inverted flight, but my senses were telling me different.
     After we got the 0.3 hours of instrument time I needed, we practiced a few stalls and steep turns, as well as a simulated engine failure. Matt was satisfied with how well I did, and so was I, so we returned to the airport. After debriefing, Matt signed my logbook for the instruction he gave, then turned to the back pages of the logbook. As I watched, he signed the part that gives me permission to take the practical test, which means that by his judgment, I have all the training I need. So tomorrow or Saturday, I will fly with Tim, a Master Instructor, for a stage check. If I pass his examination, then Monday or Tuesday I will take the practical and oral exams with an FAA Examiner. Upon passing that, Lord willing I will drive home as a newly certified private pilot.
     Today's flying added 3.2 hours and 13 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 41.1 hours and 120 landings - enough to take the exam.

Day 15: Another Cross-Country

     Lately I have not been learning anything new, but I have been practicing what I already know, and chipping away at the hours I need. If the weather cooperates, I should have all the required hours completed tomorrow. After that I will have to pass a stage check with another instructor and a checkride with an FAA examiner, and if I pass both of those, I will be a private pilot.
     This morning I flew around the practice area for a little over an hour to get some more solo time. The sky was clear, and the air was smooth, which made it quite an enjoyable flight. A low fog was hanging over the Ohio River below, and it would have made a beautiful picture in the sunrise.
     In the afternoon I flew down to Morehead-Rowan County airport in Morehead, Kentucky to get the last solo cross-country hours I needed. Some growing cumulus clouds kept me below my planned altitude for the first 15 minutes, then I flew out from under them to a mostly clear sky. There were some thunderstorms beginning to build in the vicinity, so there was moderate turbulence most of the way down and back.
     The aircraft I flew was equipped with a Garmin GNS430 GPS. I have always been fascinated with the 430, so I really enjoyed getting to use it and explore all its functions. For such a small unit, it can do a lot of things. Not only is it used for navigation, but it also contains the aircraft's primary radio.

     When I completed the round trip, I still had some time to burn, so I practiced a few landings at Clermont County before parking the plane. The lineman directed me to an open parking spot, and as soon as the propeller was stopped, he pushed the aircraft back into the spot before I even had a chance to get out. 
     Today's flying added 3.4 hours and 6 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 37.9 hours and 107 landings.

Day 14: Cross-Country Solo

     I was only scheduled for one four-hour block today, and none of that was instruction time. I spent the morning finishing up the flight plan for a flight to Fleming-Mason to Huntington, West Virginia and back to Clermont. At 2 pm, I was at the airport. Matt double-checked the fuel and oil, then sent me off. Unfortunately, I could not get the engine to start, so Matt hopped in and somehow got it running.
     The flight to Fleming-Mason is only about half an hour, and after landing, I taxied back around to take off again, admiring an old F-4 on the ramp as I passed. Huntington was farther away, and once in level flight, I began setting up the radios with their ATC frequencies.
     About 20 nm out, I contacted Huntington Approach control and requested permission to land. The controller gave me a transponder code so he could see me on his screen, then handed me off to the tower controller. Huntington is apparently not very busy, because he cleared me to land when I was still 13 miles away in the opposite direction of landing. After landing, I requested two more full stop landings and then a departure back to Clermont. He cleared me for two more landings, and on one landing, I had to wait to land so a small airliner could depart. The final landing at Huntington marked my 100th landing.
     When I was ready to leave the area, the controller gave me another squawk code for the transponder, and cleared me for takeoff. It was the longest leg of the trip back to Clermont, and Huntington Departure control gave me flight following, as well as Indianapolis Center and Cincinnati Approach. Flight following is when ATC stays in contact with you and tells you when other traffic is close by. I flew northwest alongside the Buckeye Military Operations Area back to Clermont, where I landed and parked the plane after nearly three hours of flight time.
     Today's flying added 2.9 hours and 5 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 34.5 hours and 101 landings.

First Solo Video

Day 13: First Solo

 

     I woke up this morning to a text message from Matt asking if I had my student pilot certificate. I said yes, and he told me not to wear my best shirt today. I put on my dear old blue shirt that has been with me through thick and thin over the past few years and drove to the airport.

     We boarded N9545F and took off. We made two landings and after the second one Matt told me to park on the ramp. I shut down the engine, and Matt mounted a camera in the cockpit. 

     When he finished, he said, "Give me three takeoffs and three landings," and began walking away.

     "Roger that!" I replied, and hopped in.

     "If you need anything, I'll be inside on the handheld radio."

     I started up and taxiied to runway 4. After completing the run-up, I took off, flew a circle around the traffic pattern, and landed. After taxiing back to the runway, I did another 2 takeoffs and landings, then parked the plane. Matt and a lineman were waiting on the ramp, and they pushed me back into the parking spot while I took off the seatbelt and put away my headset.

     I hopped out, and Matt said, "Congrats, man!"

     "Thanks!" I replied.

     The lineman took a picture of us in front of the plane, then we walked inside the terminal. As I stepped through the automatic door, I was greeted by a round of applause from a crowd of people from Sporty's. One by one they all shook my hand and congratulated me. Then Matt; Paul Jurgens, Vice President of Sporty's Academy and Chief Instructor; Charlie Masters, Flight School Manager; and I went into the Eastern Cincinnati Aviation office where Matt cut off my shirt tail and presented me with a solo certificate. Paul Jurgens gave me a challenge coin and explained the story behind the traditional cutting of the shirt tail.

     Years ago, before the days of headsets and cockpit intercoms, many pilots learned to fly in tandem cockpit airplanes, with the instructor sitting behind the student. The instructor would have to yell to communicate with his student, and to get his attention, the instructor would yank on the student's shirt tail. Upon completion of the student's first solo, the instructor would cut off the student's shirt tail as a symbol showing that he no longer needed to be pulling on it. Even though we now wear headsets and can hear each other in the cockpit, the tradition is still practiced to this day.

     Then Mr. Jurgens gave me a Sporty's Academy T-shirt to wear instead of the one that was cut and welcomed me to the Pilot in Command club.

     At 4 pm, Matt had the plane scheduled again, and he said I could go by myself and knock out some solo hours. I asked if I was supposed to practice any maneuvers, and he replied, "You can do whatever you want! You can go out to the practice area, you can stay in the pattern, you can fly down to Fleming-Mason. Or you can just fly around. Whatever you want to do."

     That was cool to hear! I decided to fly down to Morehead, Kentucky again, but some thunderstorms popped up on the route at the last minute, so I just flew around the practice area for a little over an hour. Then I came back to the airport and made a several landings before parking again.

     The third and final flight of the day was with Matt again. We got all but 0.3 hours of the required simulated instrument time done and also finished all the night hours.

     Today's flying added 4.2 hours and 13 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 31.6 hours and 96 landings.

Austin Miller soloed in a single-engine aircraft on August 29, 2016. This was Austin's first flight as a student pilot without his instructor in the aircraft. Austin, a resident of Michigan, is studying to obtain his Private pilot certificate with Sporty's Academy at the Clermont County Airport in Batavia, Ohio. A video of his flight is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgjRQ1tPYYA. Austin is pictured with his instructor, Matt Safriet. #Congratulations #FirstSolo

A photo posted by Sporty's Academy (@sportysacademy) on Aug 30, 2016 at 7:17am PDT

Day 12: Stage Check

     As I was getting ready to leave the hotel for the first block today, I suddenly remembered I had forgotten to check the weather. I no longer had time to do a complete and thorough self-briefing, so I just listened to the airport weather broadcast to see what the current conditions were. They looked just good enough to go out to the practice area.
     I met up with Matt in Sporty's Cafe as usual, and we watched a nice looking TBM depart before deciding what to do.
     "What do you think about the weather?" Matt asked.
     "I forgot to check the weather, so I just listened to the AWOS. The clouds are scattered at 4,000, so we could go out to the practice area."
     "What else?"
     "Well, the air appears to be unstable," I said, noting the towering cumulus clouds.
     "I agree with that statement. What else can you tell me?"
     "That means we could expect some thunderstorms later on."
     "I agree with that statement. Anything else?"
     "Ummm..."
     Matt grinned. "You're not catching on to my hints, are you?
     I shook my head. He pulled out his iPhone and showed me the weather radar. There was a decently large thunderstorm system headed our way, and not very far out.
     "Oh! I see," I said.
     "So, we can either stay in the pattern and practice landings or we can go out to the practice area and do a few maneuvers and hightail it back here before it rains."
     "Yeah, let's do that."
     We took off and practiced some stalls and slow flight in the practice area. Soon we could see an area of rainfall in the distance, slowly creeping toward the airport.
     "Let's head to the airport, and maybe we'll have time for one more stall on the way back," Matt said.
     I nodded and keyed the radio, "Clermont practice area, one uniform charlie is over East Fork Lake at three thousand feet, northbound back to india six niner."
     It quickly became obvious that we did not have enough time for another stall, so we headed straight for the airport at 135 mph. We landed and just as we were parking it began to rain. We tied down the aircraft and went inside to wait it out. It continued to rain for several hours, right up to the time of my stage check.
     A stage check is when a different instructor goes up with you and instead of teaching, grades you on how well you learned the maneuvers and how safe you are. Since there was still rain in the area, Tim, the other instructor, said to skip the maneuvers and just do three landings.
     "I'm not looking at how smoothly you land or how your traffic pattern looks, I'm just looking to see if you're safe enough to send out on a solo," he said. "You just fly the plane and pretend I'm not here, because that's how it will be when you're flying solo."
     I did just that, and made two of the smoothest landings I have ever done. On the third time around, we were up in the pattern, and he pulled the throttle out to simulate an engine failure. I got the plane set up for the best glide distance and asked if he wanted me to go through the engine restart procedure. He declined, so I glided to another relatively smooth landing. Tim was impressed, and I got a good score on the stage check. With that passed, now I just need to get my student pilot certificate in my hands, and I can knock out the 10 hours of solo flight I need.
     Today's flying added 1.4 hours and 4 greased landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 27.4 hours and 83 landings.

Day 11: VORs and Visitors

     This morning Matt said it was time to learn how to do a diversion so when something happens that keeps us from making it to the destination, such as bad weather or a passenger having a medical emergency, I'll know what to do.
     We started off using the same flight plan we flew earlier down to Fleming Mason. Part way there, Matt told me I needed to divert to Wilmington. He showed me how to go through several steps to find the proper direction to the airport, make sure we had enough fuel, et cetera. After everything was under control, and we were established on course to Wilmington, the time was almost up for our flight, so we returned to Clermont County.
     The next flight was at 2 pm, and we started off with more hood time. After several turns, climbs, and descents, he had me track to a VOR at the same time, which added another instrument to watch. We tracked several different VORs, then Matt said, "Take off your foggles."
     When I did, he pulled the throttle to idle, and said, "You know what time it is."
     I began looking for a suitable emergency landing site. Matt gave me a hint, "Check your seven-o-clock."
     I did, and there was Brown County airport. Turning the plane around, I began going through the checklist to restart the engine. Since the engine "didn't start," I set up to land at Brown County. I tried to judge my descent so that I would glide right to the runway. I did not want to be too high, or we would go off the end of the runway, and I did not want to be too low, or we would end up in the trees just before the runway. Of course, Matt would push the throttle in if it appeared we were going to do something like that. I lined up with the runway and glided about 40 feet above the tree tops before the runway, and set the wheels on the ground about half way down the runway, which left plenty of room for stopping. We took off again and made three short field landings before returning to Clermont.
     I was hoping debriefing would not take too long, because Galen, Dad, and Alex were already in the air in Galen's Mooney, on their way down from Sturgis to have supper with me in Batavia. I executed a soft field landing on runway 22, and rolled clear of the runway.
     "Clermont traffic, Skyhawk seven echo sierra is clear of two two, Clermont," I announced on the radio.
     I continued taxiing toward the ramp, and I heard a familiar voice on the radio.
     "What are the winds like there at Clermont, Austin?" It was Galen.
     "Winds are calm," I replied.
     "Alright, we're diverting around this storm. We'll be there soon."
     "Roger."
     We parked and secured the aircraft and began debriefing, and I kept watching out the window. Soon I saw the gray and blue Mooney taxi up to the ramp. As soon as debriefing was over, I walked out on the ramp to meet them. The linemen parked the plane, and we hopped in my car and went to a restaurant for supper. They were not able to stay very long, because some storms were encroaching on their planned route home, but I really appreciated the visit while it lasted.

     Today's flying added 2.7 hours and 7 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 26.0 hours and 79 landings.

Day 10: Landings

     I was scheduled for two two-hour blocks today, but we cancelled one because Matt says it's not worth going out to practice things I already can do well enough to pass the stage check. On the drive to the airport, I listened to the weather broadcast which reported an overcast layer of clouds at 1,900 feet. That is too low to fly out to the practice area, but still high enough to stay in the traffic pattern at the airport and practice landings. So that is what we did for a little over an hour.
     The wind was straight down the runway at 10 knots, at times gusting to 14 knots, so it was a challenge to bring the plane down smoothly. Out of 10 landings, only 2 were what I would call a smooth landing. One of the approaches was going well considering the windiness, until we descended below the tree tops. Then the wind suddenly almost stopped, and we sank like a rock toward the runway.
     "Add power!" Matt said.
     I pushed the throttle in part way, then decided not to salvage the landing, so I jammed the throttle all the way in and climbed out.
     On another approach we encountered some wind shear as we passed through an area where the winds were blowing different directions. The approach was proceeding normally, when suddenly we appeared to be lower than necessary. I added power to compensate; however we began sinking even faster. I kept adding more and more power until we reached a normal descent rate. It was a bit disconcerting to sink that fast, and now I was using way more power than normal. After a few seconds of flying like this, we must have left that area of sinking air because we began climbing. I pulled the throttle back out, and ended up leaving it on idle for the rest of the landing.
     It was a very challenging day to fly, but it was good to get experience in those conditions. If flying in challenging conditions has taught me one thing, it is that sticking my hand out the window will dry the sweat off my palm.
     Today's flying added 1.3 hours and 10 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 22.3 hours and 72 landings.

Day 9: Hood Time

     This morning I flew with a different instructor, Nathan. He was very easy to get along with, and it was a very relaxed atmosphere during the flight. The objective for this lesson was to learn basic instrument flying. With the license I am training for, I will not be certified to fly solely by reference to the instruments, but students are taught the basics so we can fly out of any bad weather we my inadvertently enter.
     Obviously to practice flying by the instruments I should not be able to see outside the aircraft, or that could become my focus instead of the instruments. The solution to this is to wear "foggles." Foggles are glasses that are not transparent except for a small area on the bottom of the lens. That way all I can see are the instruments in front of me. Flying while wearing these is sometimes called flying under the hood.
     Nathan had me do some climbs, descents, and turns. These were actually easier than I expected which I assume is due to the the time I spent on the flight simulator at home. On the flight simulator, you are getting most of your information from your vision. In other words, you cannot feel what the aircraft is doing; you can only see it on the screen. When it came to instrument flying, I approached it in the same way, trusting what my eyes were seeing on the gauges and mostly ignoring the movement I could feel.
     The next flight was with Matt, and I chose to put the foggles on again. After some more climbs, turns, and descents, it was time to learn how to recover from unusual attitudes. Matt took control of the aircraft, and I looked down and closed my eyes. He flew some maneuvers do get me disoriented, then put the plane in a deteriorating situation. Then he would tell me to look up, and I had to get the plane back to straight and level flight using only the instruments. Once the nose was pointed up, the engine was idling, and the aircraft was turning. Another time, the wings were banked way to the left, the nose was pointed down, the engine was at full power, and the airspeed was rapidly approaching the maximum speed the airframe could handle. We did several of these recoveries, and it became almost like a game, trying to get the airplane back under control as quickly as possible.
     Today's flying added 2.5 hours and 6 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 22.0 hours and 62 landings. 40 hours are required before taking the test, which means that today I passed the halfway point.

Day 8: Talking to ATC

     "Do you want to fly over to Lunken today?" Matt asked me when I arrived for the first lesson today.
     "Sure!" I replied.
     Lunken airport is a mid-size airport on the east side of Cincinnati. It has 3 runways and handles many private jets and smaller aircraft. The thing that makes this airport different from Clermont County airport where I normally fly, is that it has a control tower. Rather than announcing our position on the radio, we have to ask the air traffic controller for instructions.
     We took off in N377ES and headed direct to Lunken. Once clear of the Clermont County airport area, I switched the radio over to the tower frequency. Matt and I had practiced what to say to the controller earlier, so I keyed the mic and went for it.
     "Lunken tower, Skyhawk three-seven-seven echo sierra is just off Clermont County inbound for landing, information Bravo."
     ATC replied, "November three-seven-seven echo sierra, Lunken tower, report a left base runway two-one left."
     "Report a left base two-one left, seven echo sierra."
     We entered the traffic pattern and set up for landing. Once we began the turn toward the runway, I gave tower a call, "Seven echo sierra is on a left base for two-one left."
     "November three-seven-seven echo sierra, runway two-one left cleared to land."
     "Cleared to land two-one left, seven echo sierra."
     We landed and with ATC's permission, taxied around the airport to take off again. We took off and did one more touch and go before flying back to Clermont County. Clermont was the busiest I've ever seen it with about 4 other planes lining up to land. In fact, one plane had to go around the pattern three times, because the aircraft ahead of them was still on the runway each time they tried to land.
     Matt told me to do a short field landing, so I set up for it. About a half a mile from the runway, we were still quite high, and I could tell I would have a hard time touching down in time. I asked Matt if it was ok if I aborted the landing.
     "A go-around is always fine with me," he replied.
     I applied full power and started climbing. After going around the traffic pattern again, I managed to execute a short field landing.
     That concluded the first lesson, and the afternoon was spent making a flight plan for a night cross-country flight. Then at 8 pm, we got in N121UC and took off into the twilight. The plan was to use landmarks to guide us to Richmond, IN. Once airborne, I called Dayton Flight Service Station on the radio to open the flight plan I filed with them earlier over the phone. Once our flight plan was activated, I called Cincinnati Approach control for permission to fly through their airspace on the way. They cleared us in, and I started looking for the first landmark I had written down. We were over eastern Cincinnati, and below us was a sea of lights. I scanned all over looking for the airport beacon that was supposed to be off the left wing. For several minutes I was unable to locate it among the thousands of other lights glimmering on the ground.
     Matt asked, "At what point do you want to abandon your landmarks and use the navaids?"
     "Right about now," I said.
     Matt dialed the proper numbers into the navigation radio, and I began following the indicator. We used the navaids for the rest of the trip, and I learned that finding landmarks is much more difficult at night than in daylight. However, as Matt told me, "We are never lost, we're just unsure of our position."
     After landing at Richmond and taking off again, we headed back south toward Clermont. I gave Columbus Approach a call.

     We leveled off at 3,500 ft. and continued on our route. Soon the Columbus controller handed us off to Cincinnati Approach.

     Clermont County airport was deserted, except for the security guard who drives around in his little patrol car all night and shines his headlights in our eyes while we are landing. We set it down uneventfully at 10:10 pm, tied down the aircraft, and called it a day.
     I know I've already said it, but flying at night is incredibly beautiful. Tonight it was especially so. Because tonight while buzzing along over southwestern Ohio, it suddenly hit me, that this is all reality, that I am finally earning a pilot's license, chasing after a dream God planted in me when I was younger. As I gazed out at the city lights reflecting off the cowl of the plane, ATC talking in my headset, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that I am doing God's will.
     Today's flying added 2.5 hours and 6 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 19.5 hours and 56 landings.

Day 7: Night Flight

The sun begins to set on a ramp full of sleepy aluminum birds.

A photo posted by Austin (@mraustin03) on Aug 22, 2016 at 4:19pm PDT

     I was able to have Sunday off from flying due to the way the flights are scheduled, which was very nice. I dropped by a local church, and I was very blessed by their warm welcome and the pastor's sermon.
     Today's first lesson was at 4 pm. After preflighting 45F, Matt and I headed out to the practice area. We began by practicing steep turns. Before I began training, I was afraid I would never be able to master the steep turn, because no matter how many times I tried, I could not fly one properly in the simulator. Today I proved myself wrong, and both of the turns I did, left and right, were within standards. Following the steep turns, Matt had me do several power-on and power-off stalls. Most of them turned out alright, but a little more practice definitely wouldn't hurt.
     After the stalls, we were in level flight when Matt pulled the throttle all the way out and said, "Your engine just died. What are you going to do?"
     I immediately tried to recall the procedure for an engine failure in flight, which he had me memorize earlier, and at the same time began scanning the ground for a suitable landing site. "First I'm going to establish a glide at 65 knots." I began pulling the nose of the aircraft back to keep from losing altitude. "Now I'm looking for a place to land. Since there are no airports close by, I'm going to look for an open field."
     "Are there?
     "Well let me look again. Oh, that's Georgetown over there," I said, looking off the right wing. "They have an airport." In a few seconds I saw the runway. I pointed the nose directly at it as we began to descend to keep the air flowing over the wings. "So I've got my landing site picked out, and I'm flying toward it. Fuel selector is on both, fuel shutoff is in, mixture is rich -"
     "You don't need to turn on the fuel pump."
     "Ok, fuel pump would be on, magnetos on both."
     "The engine's still dead."
     "Ok, I would squawk 7700 and make a call on 121.5, and I'm pulling out the checklist," I said as I grabbed the paper to verify that I had done everything and to go through the procedure of shutting down the dead engine. Since it was just a simulated emergency, we wanted the engine to stay running, so I just pointed out what to do to shut down the engine.
     By this time, we were about 2 or 3 miles from the airfield flying perpendicular to the runway.
     "Do you remember what the winds were?" Matt asked.
     "Two-four-zero, so that means we'll use runway 36... Actually runway 18."
     "There you go."
     "That's the one that goes this way," I said, pointing to the right.
     "Does it?
     I glanced at the heading indicator. "Nope. This way." I said, pointing in the opposite direction. Matt nodded.
     We set up to fly parallel to the runway in the opposite direction of landing, then make a 180 degree turn to land. As we were about a mile away from the runway, I asked, "Do I turn my base now?"
     "You tell me."
     "Yeah I'm turning now."
     As I completed the turn lined up with the runway, I realized we were higher than we should be. I lowered full flaps, but we still were not coming down fast enough.
     "I'm going to slip it," I said.
     "Go ahead," Matt replied.
     I swung the nose of the airplane to the right and rolled the wings to the left. This causes the airplane to fly sort of sideways. Instead of flowing smoothly around the streamlined body of the plane, now the air hits the side of the body which creates more air resistance, helping the plane come down faster. Even in a full slip, it was obvious we were not going to land until we were near the far end of the runway.
     "Were never going to get it down on this runway," I said.
     "Are we?"
     "If we do, we'll roll off the end of it."
     "Come out of the slip." I did. Now we were over top of the runway. "Full throttle, go around." I retracted the flaps and began climbing out.
     "You're right." Matt explained. "We could have landed, but we probably would have gone off the end of the runway. But we would have survived. Now, show me a short field landing."
     We made a few short field landings at Brown County, then we returned to Clermont County where we made a soft field landing and parked the plane. The time was now 6 pm, and most of the airport employees and linemen were leaving. But not us. We still had the airplane rented from 8 pm to midnight. We had supper together at the cafe inside the terminal while I did my pre-solo written exam. After he graded it and we went over the incorrect answers, we still had some time before the next flight. Matt was going to fly some instrument approaches in the simulator, and he said I could join him.
     The simulator is very realistic. So realistic, in fact, that you can log time in it. It has a real Garmin G1000 cockpit in it, the same system that is used in many light aircraft, but instead of getting information from sensors on the aircraft, it gets its information from a computer. Matt flew several approaches into Lunken airport, and soon it was time to get in the real plane again. After preflighting, we had to wait for some time, because night landings can only be logged 1 hour after sunset. When it was time, we took off and circled around to land again.
     Night flying is incredibly beautiful. The darkness makes it feel like you are closer to the ground, so when you fly over a lighted area, the objects on the ground look like they are miniature models of the real thing. Toward the west we could see the lights of Cincinnati glimmering in the distance, and below us the small town of Batavia. Out in front of us flashing lights indicated the presence of another airplane that was landing ahead of us.
     We landed, turned off the runway, and taxied back to do it over again. We took off and landed 7 more times before parking the plane for the night. With that experience in the logbook, tomorrow night the plans are to fly a night cross-country to an airport about 55 nautical miles away.
     Today's flying added 2.8 hours and 12 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 17.0 hours and 50 landings.

Day 6: The Lamentable Anxiety of the Clouds

     Low-level clouds stared down at me from the sky this morning as I pulled back the curtains and gazed out the window. Behind them I could see the deep blue of the open sky, but it was obvious that these clouds were afraid of heights and could not bring themselves to rise up into the atmosphere where they belonged. I drove my car down the highway, and all the while the puffy piles of condensation skimmed the peaks of the dark green hills, sadly drifting toward the rising sun as if he could cure their fear of heights.
     I turned in to the driveway at the academy where the rows of airplanes sat waiting quietly for a pilot to guide them aloft so they could show the clouds how amazing it is to glide high above the earth. But unfortunately the clouds themselves were preventing this student pilot from flying, so the planes continued to rest patiently on the ramp as Matt and I went through a ground lesson on communicating with air traffic control.
     By the end of the two hour lesson, the gray clouds still were moping along, a mere 200 feet above the airport. Because of that, the next two hour segment, which was to be the last lesson for the weekend, was called off by Ken and myself. This left the rest of the day open open to whatever I wished to do, and I decided to make the 40 minute drive to Covington, Kentucky, where the Cincinnati airport (CVG) lies.
     During the drive, the anxious clouds began to grow taller, their tops stretching thousands of feet into the troposphere. However, they soon realized that growing taller had neither made them any farther from the ground, nor cured their phobia of heights, but instead had only caused gloom and darkness for the earthbound civilizations they passed over. Upon realizing their mistake, their anxiety was joined by deep feelings of remorse and sadness for their effect on the creatures below them. These emotions grew stronger and stronger until, no longer able to contain them, the clouds began to weep. Their tears fell bitterly to the ground, watering the earth and its inhabitants, and the sadness of the clouds was turned into a blessing.
     I parked my car in the observation area at CVG amidst the shower of tears, where I remained for several hours, watching the airliners arrive and depart and listening to their communications with the control tower. Unlike the clouds, I thoroughly enjoyed the day. As they wept, I smiled, knowing that someday they will overcome their fear and rise high above the ground, and the sunny days will return once again.

Day 5: Remember to Check the NOTAMs

     Day 3 began with a cloudy morning once again, so the 8 am session became a ground lesson on flight planning. We planned a theoretical flight to Fleming Mason airport (FGX) in Flemingsburg, Kentucky. We went through calculating weight and balance, cruise performance, and compass headings. This took up a good part of the first session, and the rest was spent checking the weather.
     The second session was at noon, and this time I was flying with a different instructor, Ken. Our mission was to learn how to take off and land on soft runways and short runways. Ken's teaching style is much different than Matt's and it took some time to learn what he expected from me. It was more stressful trying to learn with a new instructor, but at the same time, it was a good thing. Learning the same thing from two different teachers gives you two different perspectives, which can lead to a better understanding of the subject. One teacher's explanation may make more sense to you than the other's. We didn't have much time, so we only got in 3 landings, but I fly with him again tomorrow, so it's likely that we will practice more.
     The final flight of the day was at 4 pm with Matt. He gave me a choice on what to practice. We could fly out to the practice area and practice stalls, slow flight, and ground reference maneuvers; we could stay at the airport and practice landings; or we could fly that theoretical flight we had planned earlier. I chose the last option, because I had not yet flown to another airport. After preflighting the aircraft, we took off and headed south. We navigated using pilotage, determining our location by using landmarks on the ground. Everything went well, and we passed each checkpoint right on time.
     Once we were about 10 miles out from Fleming Mason, we tuned the radio in to the weather broadcast at the airport. As we switched on the speaker, we caught the tail end of the broadcast, "...closed for construction from Thursday, August 18 at 8 am until Friday, August 19 at 7 pm."
     "What was closed?" Matt asked.
     "I didn't catch it," I replied.
     The broadcast started again, beginning with the weather information and continuing with an announcement. "The Fleming Mason airport is closed for construction from Thursday, August 18 at 8 am until Friday, August 19 at 7 pm."
     "It's the whole airport," I said.
     "We probably should have checked the NOTAMs."
     Matt pulled out his phone and checked the latest NOTAMs, which are the Notices to Airmen. "Yup. There it is."
     "We have to land somewhere for it to be a cross-country flight, don't we?
     "Well this wasn't technically supposed to be a cross-country, because the destination has to be at least 50 nautical miles away. Want to make it a cross country?"
     "Let's do it!"
     "Alright. How much fuel do we have?"
     "Let's see. 15 gallons in each tank, so 30 gallons total, 7 gallons per hour, so we have a little over 4 hours of fuel left."
     "I like it. Put KSYM in the GPS."
     I dialed in KSYM, the Morehead-Rowan County Thomas Regional Airport in Morehead, Kentucky, and we continued south. The GPS not surprisingly led us right to the airport, where we landed, turned around, and took off again. We simply retraced our path back to Clermont County airport (I69) where we started. It was about a 45 minute flight one way, and soon we were back on the ground at Clermont County.
     A few things about this flight really stuck out to me. First, I'm pretty sure I'll remember to check NOTAMs before I fly somewhere now. Second, I learned how lowered visibility can affect navigation, since the visibility was only 5 miles or so. Third, and lastly, I learned just how busy the pilot can be on a cross country flight. Navigating, scanning for other traffic, managing the radios, and most importantly, flying the plane does not leave much time for anything else.
     Today's flying added 2.4 hours and 5 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 14.2 hours and 38 landings.
    
    

Day 4: The Written Exam and Radio Calls

     This morning was a little more relaxed than the past few mornings, because I didn't have any flights until 4 pm. At 10 am, though, was my written exam. As I was getting ready in my hotel room, my mind was going over different things about the exam - what time I had to leave to be there, what all I could take with me, and what I could have studied more. I also decided to come up with a target score. I needed at least 70% to pass, and I wanted to get a 100%, but being realistic, I set my goal at 85%.
     The written exam consists of 60 questions, and the examinee is given 150 minutes to complete them. To pass, the examinee must have a score of 70% or better. The test is taken on a computer in a small room with no one else in it. I was only allowed to take my E6B flight computer, a calculator, and a sectional plotter into the room with me. No phones or written material were allowed, and I even had to leave my watch outside. After all the studying I had done beforehand, most of the questions were pretty familiar. I completed the test in a little more than an hour and finished with a score of 85%, right on target. With that out of the way, now I have to pass the oral exam and the practical exam, which will happen at the very end of my training.
     The rest of the morning and early afternoon were spent studying, until it was time for flight training at 4 pm. Today Matt said we were going to work on landings, so after preflighting N9545F, one of the many Cessna 172s used for training, we taxied out to runway 22, did the run-up, and were ready for takeoff.
     "Final's clear, base is clear, downwind's clear, here we go," I said, scanning the traffic pattern to make sure we didn't pull out in front of any other aircraft.
     "The radio call is 'Clermont traffic, november niner-five-four-five foxtrot departing runway two-two, remaining in the pattern, Clermont,'" said Matt.
     "You want me to make the call?"
     "Yup, if you want."
     "Ok." I keyed the mic, "Clermont traffic, niner-five-four-five foxtrot is departing runway two-two, remaining in the pattern, Clermont" I said as we rolled onto the runway. I pushed the throttle all the way forward, and we accelerated down the runway. When the airspeed indicator hit 55 knots, I pulled back on the yoke, and we were off. The aircraft began climbing like a homesick angel... well, actually it was a hot day, so it was more like an airsick angel.
     "Am I making all the radio calls?" I asked.
     "Suuure."
     I started a left turn to fly the next leg of the traffic pattern.
     "Clermont traffic, niner-five-four-five foxtrot turning a climbing left crosswind for runway two-two, Clermont."
     After a few seconds I made the next left turn and keyed the mic again.
     "Clermont traffic, niner-five-four-five foxtrot on downwind runway two-two, Clermont."
     "Your uncle let you do the radios too?"
     "Yup."
     "Why were you were withholding information? You should have been on the radios from day 1."
     "How about day 4?"
     "What other information are you withholding? Did he teach you short and soft field landings?"
     "Nope. Clermont traffic, niner-five-four-five foxtrot left base runway two-two, Clermont."
     This was the last flight for the day for both of us, and Matt told me that by the end of the day, he gets to be a smart [expletive]. It definitely made for an interesting flight, and especially funny were some of the comments he made about other pilots in the traffic pattern when they flew too close to us or flew nonstandard traffic patterns. A lighthearted atmosphere makes what could be a stressful flight enjoyable.
     An instructor in one of the school's other planes announced his position on the radio while we were landing, "Clermont County traffic, Skyhawk seven golf sierra is on a five mile final straight in for two-two, if traffic allows, Clermont County." This meant that he was skipping the traffic pattern and just flying straight to the runway.
     Matt immediately keyed his mic, "Not happening, ghost rider. The pattern's full." We were the only plane in the pattern at the time.
     "Ok then. Seven golf sierra will circle to land, runway two-two."
     "I'm just messing with ya man."
     Today was the most enjoyable day of training so far. That is probably partly because it was a relief to have the written exam finished and out of the way.
     Today's flying added 1.3 hours and 11 landings to the logbook. This brings the totals to 11.8 hours and 33 landings.
    

Day 3: Those Pesky Rain Clouds

     A cold front has been slowly making its way through the area, bringing low clouds and rain along with it. The skies were overcast when I arrived at the airport this morning, and it was obvious that getting in the airplane was not an option, at least not for the 8 am to 10 am session. Instead of flying, Matt let me take a practice test for the written exam. After completing that with a score of 80%, we did a ground lesson on weather planning. He showed me what FAA-approved sources a pilot can use to obtain weather conditions and forecasts on the ground as well as ways to get this information in flight. He then showed me how to interpret it all. This lesson lasted until 10:30, and all the while the clouds kept getting lower. By the end of that lesson we could see from the forecasts that we would not be able to fly for any of the 10 am to noon segment, so I returned to my hotel room to study for the written exam until the 2 pm session.

Me: Yay! I get to spend all day flying! Weather: Lol nope

A photo posted by Austin (@mraustin03) on Aug 17, 2016 at 7:56am PDT

     Around 1:30, I received a text message from Matt, in which he said that the weather wasn't going to get any better. We agreed to call off the last lesson of the day altogether. The forecasts were accurate, and the weather didn't improve until later than the lesson would have lasted.
     I didn't fly at all today, but I did get some valuable study time, which I hope will help me get a better score on the written exam, which is tomorrow at 10 am. I have no doubts that I will pass, but I would like to get the best score that I can.
     Today's lack of flying added 0.0 hours and 0 landings to the logbook, which keeps the totals at 10.5 hours and 22 landings.

Day 2: Pilot-Induced Turbulence

     Today's first lesson was at 8 am again, and Matt let me do the preflight. We took off into partly cloudy sky, and I expected a smooth flight since it was a relatively cool morning. But that was not the case. We were bumped around most of the way up to our planned altitude of 3,500 ft. At that point it was a little smoother.
     Steep turns were the first maneuver we practiced. The first 360 degree turn went well, but on the second turn, I let the nose get too low, and we came out of the turn 150 ft. too low and about 5 knots too slow. We practiced a few more, then did a few power-on and power-off stalls. Matt showed me a new one - power-off stalls in the landing configuration with a 20 degree bank.
     This type of stall is done by slowing the aircraft to 55 knots in a descent and setting full flaps for landing. Then the throttle is pulled back to idle, the wings are banked 20 degrees to the left, and the nose is pulled up above the horizon. This is to simulate a scenario where someone pulls out onto the runway while I am landing, so I abandon the landing and try to climb, but I forget to push the throttle forward. The plane begins to climb, but with the engine still idling, it obviously won't go very far before the wings stop producing lift. At that point, the nose drops, and I push the throttle forward, which increases our speed, and we resume the climb. Since I had already practiced stalls, this was fairly easy to learn.
     That concluded our first flight. We returned to the airport and took a break for a few minutes, then once again took to the skies. This time the primary focus was on ground reference maneuvers, the first of which was a turn about a point. We picked out an area of weeds in the center of a field and flew circles around it, correcting for the wind to stay about 1/2 mile away. By this time the wind had picked up, so it was a challenge to keep the proper distance away from the point. After 3 circles, we broke off and flew several S-turns over a power line until Matt said, "Enough of this nonsense. Break off and find a big rectangular field." We began looking, and instead of a field, we found an area of houses that was rectangular-shaped. Using it as a reference, we flew around the edges of this populated area in a rectangular pattern.
     Then it was back to the airport to practice landings. Matt switched on the COM2 radio to listen to the weather broadcast at the airport. "Winds two-two-zero at one-zero gusts one-six," the automated voice said calmly. This meant that a gusty wind was blowing right down the runway. It was a bit bumpy while coming in, but most of that was probably pilot-induced turbulence, and my relative lack of experience made the touchdown bumpy as well. We made a total of 6 more landings, and once we had to go around because I leveled off too high above the runway, which would have resulted in a hard landing had we tried to salvage it. After parking and securing the aircraft, it was time for lunch and a 2 hour break before our next scheduled flight at 2 pm.
     A line of storms decided to keep us on the ground by moving over the airfield a little before 2 pm, so we used a flight simulator to practice emergency procedures and crosswind landings. This simulator had 3 huge screens, and a Garmin G1000 instrument panel with the controls laid out much like the Cessna 172s I had been flying. I did some steep turns to get a feel for the controls, and as I rolled into the turn and pulled back on the yoke, I waited for the G-forces to build up to confirm I was doing it right. When the Gs stayed the same as in level flight, I was somewhat confused until I remembered that I was still sitting inside the airport building. We did several takeoffs with Matt killing the engine at different times. Then he had me do several landings with different crosswind directions and speeds. These went pretty well except for one when I let the speed get too low. Because of the way the controls are manipulated for a crosswind landing, this caused the airplane to veer off to the right and make a hard landing in the grass beside the runway. Thank goodness it was just a simulator.
     Matt says he is impressed with the progress I'm making, but he thinks I will be done with all the training I can do without a student pilot certificate before the certificate arrives. So all the logistics of that will have to be figured out.
     Today's flying added 2.8 hours and 8 landings to the logbook, as well as 1.2 hours of simulator time, which brings the totals to 10.5 hours and 22 landings.

Day 1: Soggy Socks and Foolish Hawks

     This morning I woke up up at 6 AM to the sounds of a thunderstorm. "Great," I thought, "I probably wont be able to fly on my first day of flight school." Nevertheless, I got ready and drove to the airport. By the time I left, the storm had passed and the sky remained overcast. Upon arriving, I went inside the FBO and found the place where I was supposed to meet my instructor, Matt. After making one another's acquaintances, we went out to the aircraft and completed the preflight items. Since it had been raining, the grass around the aircraft was wet, and there were numerous puddles, but I was able to keep my feet dry... well, at least for the first 30 seconds. After that I manged to step in approximately every puddle.
     We boarded the aircraft, a Cessna 172R, and taxied out to runway 22. He asked if I wanted to do the takeoff, and I agreed to. I advanced the throttle to full power, and we began to accelerate down the runway. As we picked up speed, the airspeed indicator came alive and jumped up to 45 knots. Our speed continued rising, and when it hit 55 knots, liftoff speed, I pulled back on the yoke. The aircraft became light on its wheels, and we were lifting off, when suddenly a large bird, probably a hawk, decided to also take off from the middle of runway 22. A hawk's liftoff speed is much less than 55 knots, so with a thump, he collided with our aircraft. We continued the takeoff, and after we were stabilized in a climb, Matt said, "Well, there's your first birdstrike."
     "Did we actually hit him?" I asked.
     "Yep, there's his guts on the windshield. Poor guy," he said, pointing to the right side of the windscreen. Sure enough, some sort of transparent liquid was splattered on the side of the windscreen, flowing along with the wind as we continued accelerating.
     We continued out to the practice area and practiced some climbs, descents, and turns. These were a piece of cake, so we did a few steep turns, banking the wings to 45 degrees from the horizon, and making a complete circle. Those were more of a challenge.
     Then it was on to slow flight. We slowed the aircraft down and extended the flaps. Maintaining altitude, we decreased our speed until the stall horn began sounding. We stayed at this speed, doing turns, climbs, and descents with the stall horn buzzing until Matt said, "Enough of this nonsense, lets do some stalls."
     I wasn't particularly looking forward to stalls because of the sharp drop off when the wing stops holding us up. Matt demonstrated the first one, and the drop off was not as bad as I had expected. So he handed the controls over to me, and had me do a few.
     By the time we had practiced a few of those, it was nearly time to return the aircraft, so we headed back to the airport. We landed and taxied off the active runway, but since we had a few extra minutes, we turned around and taxied back to the end of the runway and took off again. We made one circuit around the traffic pattern and one more landing before taxiing back to the parking area and securing the aircraft.
     Back inside the FBO, we completed the debriefing, and went through a bunch of paperwork. This included signing the aircraft rental papers and insurance forms, filling out the front page of the lesson plan book with my info, scheduling the next few flights, and applying for a student pilot certificate.
     With all that out of the way, we took a break for lunch, and took off again, heading toward the practice area. This flight was much the same as the last, and soon the nose of the aircraft was pointing back to the airport again. We made a total of 3 landings, then parked and debriefed, and Matt gave me a tour of the facility.
     After this, we switched to another aircraft, a Cessna 172S, for our final flight for the day. This time, the focus was on steep turns to begin with. After practicing those, we did a couple power-off stalls before moving on to ground reference maneuvers. We began this by picking out a small barn on the ground and flying circles around it. The wind was calm, so it was not too difficult. Next we practiced S-turns, making turns left and right across a highway. We were going to fly a rectangular pattern around a field, but the S-turns had messed with my equilibrium, and I was feeling a bit of motion sickness, so instead we returned to the airport and landed a few minutes early.
     I really enjoyed the first day of training, and my instructor was impressed with how well I handled the aircraft. After the first flight, he jokingly said that I'm ready to take the checkride. I think I could complete the training relatively quickly, but I will have to wait to solo until I have my student pilot certificate, which could take 2-3 weeks.
     Today's flying added 3.7 hours of flight time and 5 landings to my logbook, which brings the total to 7.7 hours and 14 landings.

The Background

The Adventure
     Life is a pathway which splits into many other paths, each leading to a different place. Many times we pass a fork in the road, and we must choose which direction to walk. If we were to walk some distance on each path, we would discover that although each pathway is different, with different hills, valleys, and rough spots, they all share one similarity. They are all an adventure. Although we are not able to walk on each other's pathways, sometimes our pathways merge, and we walk through the same area where someone else has walked before. In these instances, we often wish the person ahead of us had left a map or a note of some sort, telling the conditions of the road ahead.
     This is my what I hope to accomplish here. No one may have exactly the same adventure as I am having, but I will write down a "map," a note showing the path I walked, so that someone may someday find it, and it will help them on their adventure. And I will write not only for the sake of those walking my same path, but also simply for the enjoyment of anyone who would like to read it. I will also write so that God's work may be seen as I follow His leading.
     The adventure I am on is one many have had before, and doubtless many will have in the future. I am learning to fly. Since I was a child I have dreamed of soaring above the clouds as the pilot of an airplane, with four gold stripes on my sleeve, carrying passengers and cargo to far away places. Although I have grown up a bit since then and learned that being a pilot is not quite as glamorous as I envisioned it, I still feel drawn to the cockpit, and I believe God has called me to pursue this passion he placed within me.
     As with any adventure, there was a beginning. However, my love for aviation began at a young enough age that I cannot pinpoint the exact day, or even year for that matter. I do remember around the age of 12 hanging out at my friend's house one afternoon, and he showed me the best thing I had ever seen - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. We took turns flying all kinds of airplanes, from Cessnas to Boeings, using his computer's keyboard. From that time on, I was hooked. I began saving up my money to buy my own copy, which took a while. When I finally had enough money, I purchased the brand new Microsoft Flight Simulator X and a joystick. In the following years, I spent many hours flying and modding the simulator. Sometime in those years I decided I wanted to fly for real, and that became one of my main goals.
     As I thought of learning to fly, I started to feel that God was leading me in the direction of missionary aviation. With that in mind, missionary flying is now my end goal, but this is something that will take a few years to accomplish. Before going into the field I will most likely have to train for an instrument rating, a multi-engine rating, and a commercial pilot license, as well as build several hundred hours of flight time.
     Galen, my uncle, is a pilot, and he has taken my flying in his airplane quite a few times, as has John, a powered-parachute pilot. This has been a big part of keeping me motivated to press on toward earning my pilot certificate, and I have also flown a little with a flight instructor I know, which put a total of 4 hours in my logbook.
     Now, after much anticipation and planning, the time has come to begin training. I researched many flight schools and many ways of earning my certificate, and I decided on Sporty's Academy in Batavia, OH. They have an accelerated training program, which consists of devoting all day to training for two to three weeks. I will come out of the program with a Private Pilot License, which allows me to fly small, single-engine airplanes, with or without passengers, but not for hire. Before beginning training there, however, I needed to either pass the written exam ahead of time, or be prepared to take it when I get there.
   
Ground School
     I am using the online version of Sporty's Learn to Fly Course, which is a combination of video lessons and interactive material, to prepare for the written exam. The videos make things easy to understand, but there is a lot of information presented, which can be somewhat overwhelming at times. I have really enjoyed going through all of them. This took about eight weeks of studying in my spare time. I was working a full-time job during this time, as well as managing of several other responsibilities, so this consisted of one to two hours of study per day on average.

Medical Certificate
     Before I can fly solo, I had to be examined by an FAA-approved Aviation Medical Examiner. I set up an appointment with the closest one to home, and after a simple physical examination, he signed my third-class medical certificate. It was actually faster than I had expected; I was assuming he would have to send in the results, and I would have to wait several days or weeks to be approved. I was pleasantly surprised to walk out of the exam room with my medical certificate in my hand.

It Begins
     With all that taken care of, I am ready to begin the flight portion of my training which takes place at Sporty's in Ohio. I had called in early June to schedule the training, and the earliest date they had available begins on August 15. This was later than I had anticipated, but it ended up working out nicely, because ground school has taken longer than I planned.
     Today I leave home to drive down to Batavia and get a good night's rest at the hotel before my first day of training. Then I am supposed to meet my instructor at the airport at 08:00 the next morning. Needless to say, I am quite excited to finally be doing this, and I am looking forward to seeing how God will use it for His glory.