Discovery flight today in 172S... | FerrariChat
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Discovery flight today in 172S...

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by rob lay, Feb 27, 2007.

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  1. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
    Staff Member Admin Miami 2018 Owner Social Subscribed

    Dec 1, 2000
    63,960
    Southlake, TX
    Full Name:
    Rob Lay
    #1 rob lay, Feb 27, 2007
    I took a discovery flight today with the school I'm most interested. After reviewing the resumes and hours of all the instructors, I hand picked this guy. He is the school's assistant chief instructor. 4,500 hours flying Apache's and now corporate jets. He says instructing is for fun and extra money, doesn't plan on going anywhere, so should be stable through the training. I like his personality, knowledge, and how he explained everything.

    Plane was a brand new 2006 172S with G1000. Had a decent wind today at 11 with 19 gusts.

    Let me taxi a little, I was surprised how stiff and how much force required just to get a little input. He took off S, patterned E then N, and then headed straight W. He gave me the stick, but I left the rudder up to him. Again, surprised how much force and input required just to get a little response. The air was bumping us around and although he said I was flying it very smooth like I had done it before, I couldn't believe how much we were moving side to side and up and down. I would get us back centered, but it was taking constant inputs. We tower cleared a touch & go at Alliance airport (very large commercial airport) and passed over Texas Motor Speedway heading there. While he did rudder and throttle I did most of the stick work for the approach. I wasn't mentally ready for him to allow me the stick for a touch & go. I trusted him and knew he would step in, but 50 feet over the runway I look over and he's not touching his stick at all! I really wanted him to just take over, but couldn't speak at that point. He took over a little for the flare and touch down, then gave it back to me for the take off. Although in the air seemed like it took much input for anything to happen, on take off I just barely applied some back pressure and we took flight. Came back around and headed back NE to our home airport. The G1000 is really cool, but I think it will take me forever to learn everything and get comfortable with it. This flight area is right in a DFW approach. We have to stay below 2,000 and the jets are 3,000-4,000 I think. He made a great landing with a cross wind and day was done.

    I really like this school and I like this instructor. I will talk it over with the wife and Mia the next few days before committing. Jennie should be an easy sell as she wants to get her license too. If I get mine, she will probably get hers within a year. I felt completely safe and even think I can be safe solo, but I need to talk that over with Mia. :)

    It is 80 degrees here and sunny. The plane was pretty hot inside. What is the deal with the heat, AC's, and won't it only get worse in Texas when 100 degrees?

    If this gets the go ahead, I will signup starting my ground school and getting medical during March. I will start scheduling air time for April. My March is too busy for air time anyway, but April-June my schedule is clear enough to get the consistent hours I need.

    He already approved me for 0.5 hours! :)
     
  2. MY355

    MY355 Formula Junior

    Feb 4, 2004
    258
    NYC and AZ
    #2 MY355, Feb 28, 2007
    I remember my first flight .I was pretty nervous and they let me take off. (HOLY S$%^) .

    The 1st logged .5 hour is something I was SOOO proud of I called EVERYONE
    TOLD THEM I was going to be a licenced pilot!!!

    It took me a while to "feel" like I was in sync with the plane (very strange surreal feeling) Now that feeling returns as a "flag" to let me know how current I feel.
    If this happens I tell the person I'm with (instructors or pilot buddy) COVER ME UNTIL IT PASSES and it does within a couple minutes.

    PS....Its hot as hell in AZ the answer for the heat is ALTITUDE .
    3 DEGREES PER THOUSAND FEET THE TEMPS WILL DROP.
    Touch and go's in the am (early!!) is the answer to heat.

    Theres a ton of info that you'll get from flight in controlled uncomfitorable conditions w/ a qualified instructor at least the 1st time until your confident to solo.

    MY355
     
  3. MooneyPilot

    MooneyPilot Rookie

    Jul 8, 2005
    37
    Napa, CA
    Full Name:
    N Dennis
    #3 MooneyPilot, Mar 1, 2007
    Rob Lay:
    You are going in the right direction. You seriously looked over the instructors resumes and took a flight with one you thought you might like. You have one that appears to be satisfied with what he is doing and not likely to go to the majors. Liking the instructor is important. His/her ability to instruct/teach the concepts of flight handling is very important. Some instructors are better teachers than others. A good instructor will be able to critique you in a way that you learn from mistakes without feeling like an idiot and without feeling discouraged. From the beginning, instructors are going let you control the plane from takeoff to landing. Do not be afraid to tell the instructor if you feel uncomfortable in any phase of training. They will work with you on that untill you are comfortable.
    With the winds being 11 gusting 19 on the ground, the turbulence you felt in flight is normal. It moves you up and down and left and right. Typically, the higher the surface winds the more turbulence you will encounter close to ground. You will overcome that in time.
    The heavy feeling of the controls is normal for the Cessna line. It makes them very stable about all three axis and makes it a good instrument trainer. Heavy controls in flight are influenced by aircraft design, aircraft weight, trim settings and the speed at which you are maneuvering.
    Mooneys(of which I own) handle like a big truck. Controls are heavy(especially at higher speeds) and when doing steep turns at high speed(say 130-140), I have to adjust elevator trim as it requires a lot of backpressure on the control yolk to maintain altitude. My Grumman Cheetah had much lighter controls and steep turns at higher speeds were easier to maintain without trim adjustments.
    As far as cabin temps go and especially during summer time, early morning lessons would be a way to avoid the heat. Most small aircraft do not have air conditioning, as it is extremely expensive($10,000-$20,000 option) and it is very heavy (60-80 pounds or more). I don't think Cessna offers that as an option for the 172.
    Once you start your training, you may find times that you question your abilities, but stick with it and you will overcome those questions. At the end of your sessions, you will deplane feeling totally exhausted and overwhelmed, that is normal and don't let it discourage you. I found that 1.5 hours of flight time for training sessions was my limit. Any more, and I would suffer brain overload.
    Keep us posted.
    N Dennis
     

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