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.