Back At It!

Well, after a nearly six month layoff, I went back up Thursday to get my lesson plan back on track. I have now logged a total of 17 hours . I was nervous for several days before the lesson, but once I pre-flighted the plane I felt really good... it didn't seem that I had been away for so long. I was definitely rusty, but really enjoyed the flight... I used to get pretty stressed about -- and during -- the lessons, but I just "let it flow". I seemed to have a disconnect between my brain and mouth a few times on the radio, (I fly out of a Class D airport) but the controllers are great at our field, very patient and understand what I'm "trying" to say. We worked on the basics... my turns around a point were a little egg shaped even though the winds weren't that bad, but I'll get the hang of it again with practice. My landing was "ok", a little rough as I let the C172 drop a little too quickly after I began my flare, but not too bad. I couldn't have asked for a better day... for the first time in weeks the sun was out and temps were in the 20's (decent for this time of year in Upstate NY). It was neat seeing all the planes out on the ramp... a C150, Cardinal, a Beechcraft, a Columbia and one of the resident corporate jets along with the commercial carriers over in the distance at the passenger terminal... seemed that everyone wanted to go up today (usually there's just one or at the most 2 other aircraft on the General Aviation ramp, so it was neat to see so much activity).

Glad to be back at it... makes me envious of all of you who have earned your PPASELs... it really is hard work, but I finally feel like, "hey, I CAN do this!"