Jason and I wanted to get several flights in last week since we knew our schedules wouldn't align this week. Well, the weather didn't cooperate and kept us grounded. Instead we took advantage of the opportunity to do a little ground school on weather. When he first showed me a METAR, my honest thought was, "Oh great, another language to learn." But after a few minutes, I realized these are really fun to decipher and they aren't hard at all. In fact, today my wife and I drove across the country on our way to meet family for Thanksgiving and I thought it'd be fun to see what the weather was doing along our path. It was good practice and I'm already getting quicker at reading the METARs and TAFs, but the nice weather sure made me wish I was in the sky today. KOSH 251953Z 29008KT 10SM CLR 01/M06 A3004 RMK AO2 SLP187 T00111056KMSN 251953Z 30006KT 10SM FEW030 02/M06 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP192 T00171056KSTL 251951Z 00000KT 10SM FEW250 06/M06 A3017 RMK AO2 SLP222 T00611061KMEM 251953Z 30007KT 10SM FEW250 13/M03 A3021 RMK AO2 SLP228 T01331033 $KLIT 251953Z 17005KT 10SM CLR 17/M01 A3019 RMK AO2 SLP225 T01721011Hopefully the weather will be this nice when I return to OSH in a few days. I'm glad I've been practicing because Jason said from here on I would be responsible for checking the weather before each flight. http://adds.aviationweather.gov offers numerous tools and resources. After spending a couple hours on the site, I feel I've only scratched the surface.If there is a certain tool or resource you've found helpful, please share.
Posted by Paul Aseltine @ 08:43 AM, November 26 Weather is often a frustrating subject. I'm driving to Lexington KY this weekend to celebrate thanksgiving. Even though I'm driving, I still practice the weather forecast and look West to see what is coming. Doing this helps me plan and get ready for anything. Learning this will help you make correct decisions for flying. Be assured that there will be questions on this subject both on the written & oral exams. Thanksgiving is still my favorite even though my Mom passed away during this time a year ago. I thank God for the blessings he provided for our family. God bless you & your family during this weekend.
Posted by Pete Aarsvold @ 06:10 PM, November 26 http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KOSH&state=WISee above for a long time favorite weather website. The forecast for winds and temps is surprisingly accurate. The graphics make it easy to interpret. Cloud base and visibility forecasts help to estimate whether or not the flight can be made VFR. Know this site isn't an official FAA sponsored website but I do find the information to be very user friendly.
Posted by Xavier @ 01:32 AM, November 27 I use www.aviador.es for METAR, TAF and other things.The truth is that you don't know how, but you become addicted to watching the weather.Xavier
Posted by Steve Dixson @ 06:12 AM, November 27 Good Morning,The best two weather tools by far are:http://weather.aero/hemsandhttp:// weather.aero/jadeThese are java tools developed by noaa, so you have to down load some stuff first time. however, these give you the best picture of your weather and are automaticallt updated. give them a try i think they can really help you.Sincerely,Steve D.
Posted by Ron Miller @ 08:55 AM, November 27 Waiting for weather stinks. I started my training about the same time, except I got flying right away on Jul 1. In Septermber when my Sport Pilot exam got canceled due to weather, I decided to continue my training for Private Pilot which was completed by the end of October. I have had my FAA checkride postponed 3 times now due to weather, and I am praying for good weather here Tuesday which is my next scheduled date.
Posted by shane @ 03:18 PM, November 28 Your doing a terrific thing for GA with your efforts here! This is a great tool for the aviation community to use to recruit prospective pilots into the fold. Good Work!
Posted by Webdaddy @ 04:49 PM, December 01 I personally like www.navmonster.com as it does alot of neat things. Be sure to get an official weather briefing from wx brief however to cover the legalities. The more information you review the better. The better quality the information the quicker you can get weather out of the way and get in the air. However the best advice for you is to ensure that you always stay within your limits and that includes all aspects of weather gusty conditions, etc. Just because it's legal doesn't mean its the smartest thing to do.... happy flying and keep up the good work.
Posted by Mickey Dee @ 11:39 AM, December 02 I know weather can be a stumbling block for new pilots. And there’s no avoiding studying and learning about weather theory and interpreting weather reports. But I love the advice from “the original weekend pilot,” Frank Kingston Smith, who had a personal philosophy about weather flying: if it’s wasn’t a perfect weather day, he simply wouldn’t go up. Maybe not entirely practical, but certainly less stressful. Here’s a clever “weather” website that seems to support that keep-it-simple philosophy.http://goingtorain.com/
Posted by Ron H @ 04:29 PM, December 02 Make sure you discuss with Jason one of the most difficult maneuvers a VFR pilot will make: the 180 degree turn. Continuing a VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions is never a good thing to do. Even had a briefer thank me once for canceling a return flight due to bad weather because she had been (as a CAP member) out on searches for missing aircraft in bright sunshine the day after IMC conditions were prevalent. Sure enough, the next day was bright and sunny and I had a great flight home. It's a whole lot easier to spend an unplanned extra night on a trip rather than find yourself in the soup with few options. Keep up the good work on both this blog and your training Brady.
Posted by Mark from Detroit @ 12:23 AM, December 10 I enjoy your videos. That is such a cool idea. Please make more as you progress through CFII. How is that for encouragement?
Posted by Tammy @ 09:52 PM, December 18 A weather reference...AC 00-45F Revision 1 Aviation Weather Services July 2008http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/90620AAC739B37D8862574890057B8FE?OpenDocument&Highlight=ac%2000-45f30 Hour TAF Aviation Code Format that commenced November 5, 2008http://www.aviationweather.gov/general/pubs/front/docs/jun-08.pdfhttp://www.weather.gov/os/aviation/pdfs/30-hr_taf-examples.pdf
Today's flight was a bit overwhelming. I navigated to another airport and communicated on the radio for the first time. The radio alone wouldn't be overwhelming, but doing that while also still learning to fly the plane in a traffic pattern was a handful.I found if I'm concentrating too much on the radio communications, my flying suffers and vice versa. Radio communication is simple if you know the language. As the video shows, I'm still learning it. When we got back on the ground in Oshkosh, Jason told me most people feel overwhelmed when they first try to do all these tasks simultaneously. It seems like a simple thing, talking on the radio, but it's amazing how much it distracted me from flying. I'm hoping the more we practice the better I'll get at it. Next flight: emergencies and more landings
Posted by Paul Aseltine @ 06:01 PM, November 19 Hi Brady, you are doing just fine. I told you in a previous email that frustration can set in but this is normal. Pretty soon with practice, things will become automatic. If learning to fly was easy, more people would be pilots. You are becoming part of the elite (?) group. Thanks for sharing all your experience.
Posted by Jim Heffelfinger @ 06:50 PM, November 19 AIM calls for the recipient of radio call (ie Osh Ground) to be first, followed by type and N# of aircraft. Example: Oshkosh Ground, Light sport 430RA, This deviation is a bit unusual from the Who you want to talk to, who you are and what do you want format called out in the AIM.No doubt the pucker factor kicks in strong while communicating and in the pattern for landing.
Posted by Ron @ 10:10 AM, November 20 Brady,Don't be so hard on yourself. I was totally impressed with how you handled yourself managing all of your tasks. It's obvious to me that you are figuring all of this stuff out and the fact that you are able to do so much after only a few hours in the air is very encouraging. By the way, I came across the term "helmet fire" the other day on wikipedia. Look it up!
Posted by JIm Heffelfinger @ 11:34 AM, November 20 "When we got back on the ground in Oshkosh, Jason told me most people feel overwhelmed when they first try to do all these tasks simultaneously." - Truthfully you are overwhelmed and will be for many more hours. I am surprised Jason has you talking while landing at this early stage of training. My CFI had me say the words out loud over the intercom initially after his actual calls and them before his actual calls. After I got more relaxed he would key the radio as I was "calling" - sneaky ! Then I was on my own, occasionally he would do the radio as we were in high stress situations and I was plenty busy. Aviate - navigate - communicate - in that order.
Posted by Tammy @ 02:58 PM, November 20 You've accomplished so much already! You indicate hours flown so far, but how many landings so far and will you indicate landings logged for each next flight?
Posted by Adam Smith @ 05:49 PM, November 20 Brady you have just brought the memories flooding back of the single biggest problem that I had in learning to fly, using the radio! Your video made me chuckle because I was EXACTLY like that. It can be intimidating even if you're normally confident and fluent in communications. I think this is one of those things that just comes with practice, slowly but surely. I found it helpful to have an airband radio tuned to the local airport, exposure to the "lingo" helps you pick it up, subliminally. You can listen to any number of live ATC feeds at www.liveatc.net
Posted by Richard Judy @ 09:09 PM, November 20 Hi Brady,I'm coming into your training a little behind the power curve, so please bear with me while I give a couple of suggestions...__ Keep your hand on the throttle from takeoff through the climb and from the devcent until you are back at the hangar. My examiner almost failed me because of this...__ As others have said, the accepted way to talk on the radio is "OSH Ground, Remos N430RA"...most instructors will say not to break up your radio transmissions, but I do simply because if the controller is busy, I want his/her attention before I try to tell them what I want. __ Landings get better with practice...so practice, practice, practice :-)I know that it really seemed overwhelming until one day I went out to the airplane and everything just "clicked"...and I'm sure it will with you as well...just DO NOT GIVE UP...you CAN do this.As one CFI said to a class I want attending... "If you can count to 4, then you can learn to fly"I'm excited to see the rest of your video blog.
Posted by Eddie Seve @ 10:43 PM, November 20 What a fantastic idea, for anyone wondering what is involved, this is an excellent way to convey the experience.
Posted by Phil Solomon @ 07:26 AM, November 21 Very informative. I am interested in what your equipment set up is to get the video in the plane as I would like to do something similar.ThanksPhil
Posted by Brian @ 08:14 AM, November 21 You're a brave man Brady, not for learning to fly, but for showing the world every detail ,-) I applaud you! I just logged my 15th hour yesterday. It's good to watch another 'fledgling aviator' earn his wings. My co-workers just don't get my flight stories, glad that I can share yours! see you in the air,Brian
Posted by Douglas @ 10:06 AM, November 21 Sounds like you're doing just fine. It's a pretty steep learning curve at first, but as they say, practice makes perfect.I did my PP training at a towered airport (KHLG), so I learned the aviating and communicating simultaneously (every flight started and ended communication with the tower). I think this is one thing that makes me much more comfortable communicating with ATC than many other pilots are.I found that using a radio scanner to monitor ATC communication in my spare time also helped. It's easy to hear what you need to hear when you know what to listen for.Best of luck to you!
Posted by Randy Epstein @ 02:19 PM, November 21 I'm hoping to take my PPL checkride in the next few weeks. I've been a student for 38 years. I started in 1970 and took a great many years off and then picked it up again. Like some other I've been training at a controlled field so I've had to use the radio.One thing I've found helpful is to use resources like liveatc.net jfktower.com and atcmonitor.com I just sit in the evenings sometimes and listen to the chatter and learn the lingo and the flow.Another thing I've used for navigating to new airports is to look at it using Google Earth to get an idea of what I'll see from the sky.Good Luck to youRandy Epstein
Posted by Janet Davidson @ 05:01 PM, November 21 You're doing a great job, Brady. When I learnt to fly, prior to my lesson, I had to write every little thing down that would be spoken on the radio throughout the flight, from start up to shutdown, including the ATIS, and the responses from ATC, with blanks for the variables. As I went through the flight, I would fill in the blanks, and then 'read' the sentence out over the radio, such as "G-BVFX, at the North Tees, with "Alpha", requesting taxi for a VFR flight to the "west" etc, etc. Everyone handles things in different ways, and that was what worked for me. I needed a lot of paper and a spacious kneeboard tho' ,)Good luck with the flying!
Posted by Phil @ 08:39 PM, November 21 I am really enjoying your videos! They bring back memories of my similiar problems with the radio! What helped me was to make a pattern diagram with the typical radio tranmissions written at each appropriate position. Then I used to practice while driving a car. Keep up the posts!
Posted by Larry Stone @ 09:01 PM, November 23 Brady,You can be a great insperation to someone thinking about taking flying lessons. I am impressed with the way you are putting this program all together. The realizum of it not being edited out. I make sure I check every week to see how you are doing. Larry
Posted by Jim Heffelfinger @ 09:04 AM, November 24 Watching Brady's learning curve has brought up a question. In the case of light sport aircraft. During radio communications - what do we call ourselves? ELSA is easy as Experimental but what about SLSA? Osh tower - Light Sport - XYZ or Remos XYZ, or just XYZ. To me "light sport" makes more sense but what are we officially? I have a friend who used (note past tense) "Challenger" in his radio calls - created quite a moment when he was working with ATC in class C. - couldn't understand how he was able to fly at 55 knots in a corporate jet.jim
Posted by Brady Lane @ 02:11 PM, November 24 Tammy: Currently, I have logged seven landings (one per lesson and two on this last one). We didn’t include landings in the logbook data up top, so every now and then I’ll mention where I’m at.Adam: Thanks for your comment. It’s good to know others have gone through the same learning curve and came out successful in the end. Thanks also for sharing the link to liveatc.netRon: “Helmet fire” should’ve been the title of this post. Thanks for sharing the term. And again, it’s nice knowing I’m not the only one that struggled with this at first.Phil Solomon: In the future, I may do a post about how we are recording the flights because I’ve received several questions. For now though, here are the basics: we’re using two cams from raceoptics.com then synching them together with the audio recorded on an Edirol R-09. Using final cut pro, I edit it the video/audio together and toss in my narration (recorded on an iMac’s built-in webcam). Brian: Thanks for your comment. Keep in touch and give us updates on your training. Have you soloed yet?Douglas & Randy: I’ve listened to my handheld several times this week for those exact reasons. Thanks for the suggestion. Hopefully it will help.Paul and Richard: Thanks for checking in and for your encouraging comments.Janet & Phil: I really like your suggestions. Since I’m a visual learner, I think it will help seeing the pattern with the appropriate calls at each spot. I think it will also help to see that it’s always the same message with different blanks to fill in. I’m going to try this next time. Thanks for the tips!Larry: Thanks for checking in on me. As long as the weather cooperates we should have at least one video a week - and most weeks hopefully more.Jim: I’ve enjoyed your comments, and good question. Hopefully somebody will have an answer. Is it appropriate to use the manufacturer name in most calls - i.e. “Remos” ?
Posted by Heath @ 06:04 PM, November 24 You did fine. If you find a pilot that says that he/she has never been where you are now, they are full of it. There will be more flights where you will be happy to be on the ground. Your solo flight will be one. I was never so happy when that plane was on the ground. Best of luck and keep up the good work, it will all come together soon.
Posted by Jim Wiehoff @ 01:47 PM, November 25 Brady...very inspiring to watch your progress. I hope to be a student pilot myself next year if all goes well. Your experience with the radio is very similar to my experience working in mission control at NASA. Its not "normal" communication in the sense that the protocol is very precise and takes some practice. I found that rehearsing these conversations (by myself) could be done as many times as I wished and really helped me to get comfortable talking with flight controllers on a headset. After a while, you'll be as comfortable as talking on the phone. Great videos...looking forward to seeing more!!!
Posted by Glen Kowalchuk @ 08:02 AM, November 27 Keep up the video reports! I totally relate with your experiance. Entering control space and making those decisions while listening and communicating with the tower is truely multi-tasking. Can't wait to see your video on IFR through the same. Now that winter is here we will surely have some IFR weather to contend with.
Posted by Mickey Dee @ 09:10 AM, December 01 Brady, you're doing great. Keep it up! One thing that really helped me with radio communications was to use the PC software program Aviation Radio Communications Made Easy, VFR Edition, from Comm1. You're right- it CAN be intimidating. But the Comm1 exercises really helped.
I've said before that turns are fun. Well, doing them low to the ground is even more fun!Today I was introduced to ground reference maneuvers. We flew these patterns just 600-1000 ft. above the ground, which makes for an incredible view! We brought along a GPS data logger so you can see exactly what we did and how good/bad we did them (they're animated in the video above)...
My task was to fly these patterns, adjust for the wind (which is trickier than it sounds), while holding altitude. The high wing and big windows make the Remos an incredible plane for these maneuvers. I'd be interested to hear from some of you what it's like to do these in a low wing plane. How much does a low wing limit your view?
Posted by Adam Smith @ 06:17 PM, November 13 Brady I LOVE the output from your GPS datalogger... I want one! What datalogger did you buy, how much was it, and how easy was it to use? Are you importing the data into Google Earth? Your S turn track is very impressive, by the way!
Posted by Mike Porter @ 06:52 PM, November 13 I really like your instructor. He has a great personality and manner for teaching!
Posted by Charles @ 08:05 PM, November 13 Jason tell us what video equipment you are using that has such good image stabilization and how to audio hookup to the headphones. I, like others, am in training too and want to capture some of my cockpit time to replay later. Thanks.
Posted by Michael @ 10:48 PM, November 13 This is great! I'm also learning how to fly right now (in Wisconsin no less) and watching Brady's videos is like re-doing my lessons ... for free! Awesome! The GPS tracking is an excellent additon. Really drives home the points.
Posted by Scott Zastoupil @ 12:21 AM, November 14 Very neat GPS data output. I'll be watching for your comments on how you did this and the camera setup you have. I'm guessing any ol' GPS with route data and Google Earth as one way of doing it. I'm enjoying your series and can't wait to complete my airplane project so I can learn how to fly the darned thing.
Posted by Kraig N. @ 09:09 AM, November 14 Remember, the wind does NOT push the airplane! EVER,,,,,,,,,, once it is in stable flight. (excepting GUSTS, or large changes, etc). Consider a balloon flying at 50 mph over the ground,,, in the basket of the balloon, there is NO wind, it is completely calm. You are flying in a BLOCK of moving air, it is the same for an airplane,,,,, the wind is not pushing the airplane etc, you are as one! Yes, you will need to compensate for the effects of this when doing circles around a point etc, but when you bank into a headwind it does not push up on the exposed undersides of the wing etc, you are flying in a calm..... moving block......... of air. Upwind, downwind, crosswind, as far as the wing is concerned, it is the same,,,,,,,,,,,, considering your track over the ground,,,,,,,,, well, that is another matter. A GREAT book to read and understand these concepts in depth,,,,,, "Stick & Rudder" by Wolfgang. printed in the 40's and still applies today. Great job on flying, I am sending your links to friends, some are in training, others are still dreaming,,,,,,,,,. Thank you for sharing,Respectfully,Kraig :)
Posted by Jim Thomas @ 09:20 AM, November 14 Pretty much any handheld GPS unit will perform as a GPS data logger. I only have experience with Garmin’s, but basically you download the GPS data (NMEA) to your computer, then upload the information to Google Earth. Older Garmin’s like mine use serial output which newer laptops don’t have. You can buy a Serial <-> USB adapter, but the cheaper ones won’t work. The MCT U232-P9 with the Philips chipset work perfectly. DISCLAIMER: I sell these adapters as well as cables for Garmin GPS at www.MisterGPS.com. Google for the cable, or buy one from a fellow EAA member (351620). I'm President of the Orlando Chapter 74.
Posted by Brady Lane @ 09:59 AM, November 14 Adam: In my research for purchasing a GPS data logger, I narrowed it down to two options—the AMOD AGL3080 and the Columbus V-900. I went with the later because it has some additional features, like bluetooth capabilities. However, after using it for this flight, I'll be returning it for the AMOD because the Columbus is not as compatible with my Mac operating system as their marketing made it sound. (I had to use a friend's PC to download the data). If I was on a PC, I'd probably keep it. I'll be testing the AMOD on future flights, and will let you know how it works. Mike: I like Jason's teaching style as well. Now I know why selecting a good instructor is so important.Charles: We are using two lipstick cams, one mounted on the dash in front and one on the window just behind us. There are many manufactories, but ours are from raceoptics.com. To record audio, I'm using a Y-cable to split the intercom audio so I can feed one line to my headset and the other to a digital audio recorder (Edirol R-09). After each lesson, I synch the two video feeds with the audio and edit away. Michael and Scott: Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the videos. Scott, what are you building?Kraig: Thanks for your feedback and for sharing this blog with others who are interested in learning to fly. Hopefully it will get them excited to begin and introduce them to some of the things they'll be doing. Thanks also for your explanation of wind.Jim: Thanks for chiming in and sharing the link to your site. Thanks also for leading a local EAA chapter - do you have any sport pilot students in your chapter?
Posted by Kelly Nelson @ 10:46 AM, November 14 Stick with what works for you - if it helps you visualize (and execute) the maneuver to think of the wind as pushing you, that's all that matters. I’m enjoying following your experience as well - stirs up warm fuzzy memories of my own flight training, and REALLY makes me want to get in the left seat again. Glad you’re having fun!
Posted by john wrycza @ 10:58 AM, November 14 I use GPSVisualizer.com & my bicycle GPS, which has a barometric alitimeter. I you want to tie video/GPS together. VeoGeo.com both are free www sites the best part of Google Earth is the 3D, tip the track on its side & watch your approach to landings- GPSvisualizer.com has that option - choose 'attached by a wall' vs. clamped to the ground
Posted by Ron H @ 11:47 AM, November 14 Great idea Brady, to document your flight training for all to see.I'm a 400+ hour private pilot who loves to fly and I work at an FBO in Arizona where we are a Remos dealer and also conduct flight training in the Remos G3 and in Cessnas.I was just today sent a link to your blog and have watched everything you've posted to date. Will keep up with your progress and have already begun sending out links to people who share your passion for flying and want to learn.Sounds like you've made a great choice in Jason as your instructor. It's so important to have one that knows his stuff and that you have a good relationship with. Where he'll really shine is when he helps you get through the parts that are causing you frustration. It'll happen. My biggest challenge was S turns.And remember this: There are three secrets to perfect landings. The problem is, no one knows what they are.Keep up the good work and good luck with your flight training.
Posted by KB @ 04:33 PM, November 14 This is a great idea and i'm enjoying following your progress. Im currently just coming to the end of my Private pilots licence except in Scotland. I was interested in your mentioning 1000ft as low!! Normaly the highest I can get over here whilst flying is about 3000ft and thats only on the really good days! Funny how different it all is over there, keep up the good videos.
Posted by Paul Aseltine @ 11:27 PM, November 14 Hi Brady.It was nice to see you got to fly again. Here in Michigan, we have had quite a few days that were not VFR. Rectangular patterns help practicing airport patterns. Slow flights are good for two reasons #1 is helping you practice landings, #2 is when you are in the airport pattern you can delay your time without going around the whole airport if you have to wait for some one ahead of you. You are doing a great job. Paul Aseltine
Posted by Joyce A Shopinsky @ 01:10 PM, November 15 I have 500+ hrs and still find it easier to do maneuvers in a high wing rather than a low wing. The wing blocks your view in a low wing, especially with turns around a point.
Posted by Tammy @ 07:14 PM, November 16 Looks like your reading assignment for this flight in FAA-H-8083-3A "Airplane Flying Handbook" was: Chapter 6: pages 6-1 to 6-9Available for download from the web, allowing for key word searches and for others to follow along with your reading assignments!http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aircraft/airplane_handbook/Suggestion: Perhaps, for each flight, post the weather conditions (METAR).They can be obtained from:http://adds.aviationweather.gov/metars/and choosing from the popup menu up to 36 past hours to get the reports from during your flight.The home page for this weather resource is:http://www.aviationweather.gov
Posted by Jason Blair @ 07:38 AM, November 17 Tammy, great idea about posting the weather for the flights....and it ties into Brady's next ground lesson...Weather! The time for Brady to start learning about how to make the go, no go flight decisions based on his own analysis is coming soon.
Posted by patrick mooney @ 10:08 PM, November 17 awesome....can't wait till your next flight. I have been "weathered out" the last few trips I have booked, but still enjoy watching your flights. However you what they say, much better to be on the ground wishing you were flying then in the air wishing you were on the ground.Enjoy the process and have fun!
Posted by alex massey @ 01:36 PM, November 18 Thanks tons for uploading these videos. Cant wait till next week. I am 18 and hoping to get my PPL soon, and so I can only hope I find an instructor as good as yours!Best with the flying,Alex
Posted by Tammy @ 03:01 PM, November 20 The ground training sessions are integral to flight training. Will you be continuing to indicate each one and the topic(s) covered in your excellent "Earning My Wings" blog? ...looking forward to the weather ground lesson post, for example.
There were several things that made today’s flight feel a little different. It was warmer, more humid and visibility wasn’t as clear as our previous lessons. None of these posed a problem, just made for a different flying experience. You’ll notice in the video the horizon isn’t as clearly defined.
Jason quizzed me to see what I remembered about slow flight, then we went at it. I’m glad we are practicing these maneuvers over several different lessons, because the same exact maneuver on different days in different conditions feels quite a bit different.
We spent the majority of the lesson practicing stalls—power on and power off. I still think these are a blast! They aren’t as scary* as their reputation has them out to be and they are easy to recover from. (*having a couple thousand ft. of altitude beneath us may be one reason I don’t think they’re that scary.)
Our landing today was also different than previous lessons. We entered the pattern on right base and therefore made right turns instead of left ones. I also didn’t get to fly the whole pattern. I’ve found flying the whole pattern gives me time to setup and think everything through in my head before actually doing it. But, I know it’s good for me to learn various ways of entering the pattern.
It was a good landing, but I was a little bummed that I wasn’t able to do it all myself. In time...in time.
Jason gave me some homework before next time — read about ground reference maneuvers.
Posted by Ron @ 05:09 PM, November 04 Hi Brady,Your instructor seems to be expecting more from you now. He's praising you less and correcting/testing you more (at least that's how it seemed in the clips). How do you feel about the added pressure?Also, do you still practice flying on your computer, or have you given it up for the real thing?
Posted by Brady Lane @ 05:48 PM, November 04 Ron, I do appreciate Jason’s corrections and the pressure he is beginning to add. I feel Jason has a nice balance. If he were hard-nosed all the time and never offered a compliment, it probably wouldn’t be as effective. You are fairly observant to see this change so early in our training. I didn’t even pick up on it, but you’re right. The fact that he’s getting a little harder on me must mean that I’m growing. That’s a good thing!And yes, I’m still “flying” at home. I find that after a lesson, I’ll practice the same approach several times using x-plane. It’s obviously not the same, but I do think it is helping me understand the stick/speed, throttle/altitude relationships.Thanks for your comments and questions Ron.
Posted by Paul Aseltine @ 05:58 PM, November 04 I'm proud of you. I tend to try to be perfect every time, that's good and some times bad. Strive for perfection but don't beat yourself if it doesn't feel quite right. Remenber that you are learning and perfection will happen after a few "failures". GOOD JOB!!!! Paul Aseltine
Posted by Chris P @ 08:17 PM, November 04 Brady , Where did you find the Remos for x plane ?
Posted by Brady Lane @ 09:01 AM, November 05 http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=4681You have to login to be able to download it. (creating a login is free).
Posted by Pete B. @ 04:21 PM, November 05 Your instructor sounds decent ! What are you flying ? It doesn't look like the typical 150 I learned in ! As far as right traffic, I also had a hard time with that until I had to make RH traffic at a towered field without my instructor !! It's amazing how good you do with no one else there to rely on !!!!!!
Posted by Carol de Solla Atkin @ 05:02 PM, November 05 I'm very impressed with your flying.There is one thing that I am curious about. How come, some of the time your hand is not on the throttle? I was taught to keep my hand on the throttle at ALL times. Now I don't know the aircraft type, so I don't know if that is pertinent? Even still it seems strange. Please do educate me!!
Posted by Adam Smith @ 06:02 PM, November 05 Great to see you making good progress in your first few lessons, Brady. I am really enjoying following you and Jason on this journey and will be with you all the way to the end - - keep it up!!
Posted by Carol de Solla Atkin @ 04:28 AM, November 06 I love the idea of keeping statistics.Would it be possible to see a breakdown of your 'cost to date'? Say, splitting it into 'flying', 'study materials', 'equipment' or anything else which you think is relevant.Thank you.
Posted by Sierra Nair @ 04:10 PM, November 06 Hey, I just recently came upon this site and it's a phenomenal idea that you have come up with. I'm a senior in high school and my checkride is on Monday (hopefully). This sure does bring back fond memories, LOL. I remember thinking to myself how much hard landings was (crosswind landings were the death of me), and now they're a cinch! I hope you have an awesome time with all the flying that you get to do, and good luck!
Posted by Brady Lane @ 04:29 PM, November 06 Pete: we're using a Remos G3 and I bet you're right—once I'm alone up there, a lot of things will change. That's still a nerve-racking thought.Carol: thanks for your comment. It's interesting you say this because a co-worker made this same comment to me. I will definitely ask Jason about when my hand should be on the throttle. Looking at this last lesson, I bet that would've helped me make the adjustments necessary on landing. A hand on my lap is not doing me much good. I've also been keeping an itemized cost list going and will try to find a way to post that to the blog.Sierra: Good luck on your checkride! Be sure to let us all know how it goes.
Posted by Tom Schuyler @ 07:47 PM, November 07 I'm enjoying your videos. Brings back memories of learning to fly. I met you when you did a video of our Young Eagles Rally in Racine. I hope you'll be flying Young Eagles, soon.
Posted by Kevin O'Donnell @ 07:51 PM, December 04 HI Brady,I am hooked on your blog! I am looking to complete my Sport Pilot training in January. So I follow along with you every week. I can see that you are getting close the the very big moment. Solo flying!I am just curious, have you given any thoughts on how you will interact on video when your by yourself? You might want to prepare. It's going to be way different and very exciting at the same time. It is such an aviation milestone it will be important to document your feelings. Can't wait to see it.Regards,Kevin O'Donnell
Posted by Clay @ 03:51 PM, December 22 Great blog Brady.This is very interesting.I just bought my wife an hour flying lesson for Christmas.I always wanted to learn to fly,but have an awful fear of heights.Flying sorta scares me too,but trying to get over it.Any suggestions?Keep up the good work.
Posted by Dr. Gross @ 05:13 PM, January 09 I've been dreaming of getting my pilots certificate for several years now, and this blog has really made the itch even stronger! I really appreciate you letting us fly with you in the cockpit. It also takes away so much of the unknown of starting actual flying lessons. Now that I see what lessons are like, it makes me less worried. Thanks again for the blog. I know it takes a lot of extra time and effort to document the entire process. Will you be at EAA with your own booth? You're getting very famous now, maybe you can sign autographs for your fans! :)Clay: You mentioned fear of flying. We use a technique called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) in our practice to help eliminate those kinds of barriers. We work with Marla at LifeMapCoaching.net. She can work over the phone, and it works wonders!
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