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.