EPT
- I'm getting better at navigating, in that I can generally tell where I am and where other things are while flying. I got new glasses recently which also helped. It's easier to see other airplanes as well as landmarks on the ground.
- I still suck at landing. I think I'm on the cusp of getting the hang of it though. Controlling your speed and angle of descent by using the control stick and the throttle is much less intuitive than controlling the plane while cruising at a higher altitude. Also you need to multitask in that you are trying to control speed and angle of descent while counteracting the plane's random perturbations in all directions.
- I'm getting better at flying in the airport pattern. I still struggle a bit with keeping my altitude constant and speed where it needs to be, but it's much better than it was. I need to work on making 45 degree entrances to the airport pattern.
- I'm doing about 50% of all radio communications now. Where I struggle is when I'm trying to operate the plane in a difficult environment and listen to people over the radio at the same time. For example, when I land on the runway, I'm trying to keep the plane on the centerline of the runway as the plane decelerates, but at the same time air traffic control is providing instructions for taxing that I need to memorize or write down and read back over the radio. Keeping the plane on the centerline of the runway is not trivial even without radio communication.
- Flying when it's really cold out is kind of a pain. You need to de-ice the wings, and all the pre-flight inspecting you do outside the plane makes your hands pretty cold! Once you get the plane started though the cabin gets pretty warm.
- After a couple of more flights I hope to prepare for my first solo flight which will be a big deal. Once I successfully do a solo flight I can fly at my home airport without my instructor as much as I want.
- After soloing, the next step will be to prepare to solo to other airports in the vicinity of my airport. I've already done this a bunch with the instructor.
- I don't get to fly very often due to holidays, weather (can't fly if it's too windy etc), and simply the fact that I only schedule one flight per weekend with no flights during the week. I would probably be improving faster and almost ready to solo after 10 hours of flight if not for the long delays I have in between each flight, forcing me to relearn things when I get back in the plane.
Hopefully my next blog on the topic will be once I've had the chance to solo!
