Lesson Number 2, Climbing and Descent
Little slow in filling out this report so two posts today covering my last two lessons.
Lesson two went ahead as scheduled, albeit my arrival an hour before my instructor, which gave me time to think about the subject of my lesson, climbing and descending. Eventually we got going, After a briefing on the flying mechanics of ascent and descent we visited the katana and Antonio ran through the pre-flight sequence and determined we needed some more avgas so we topped up and then taxied to the runway. I am still finding it very hard to taxi, more practice is needed!
I carry out the rotation at 50knts with Antonio managing the rudder and she climbs into the air with a little back pressure on the stick. We fly out to the training area (above the old Greenham common airbase (now dis-used) and practice climbing and descending to specified altitudes at the correct airspeed (Vy) for the katana of 70knts. I find this not too challenging and am quickly able to remember to apply carb heat when starting the descent and reducing carb heat to cold when recovering, although too often when descending in particular I get too fixated on the intruments and not the visual horizon, this is a bad habit to get into so I will make more concious effort to judge the airspeed from the visual horizon.
We return to Blackbushe (EGLK) and are instructed to join the circuit on downwind and informed we have a cessna in front of us, I can see the Cessna 152 to the right flying some distance ahead so Antonio asks me to turn right to the correct heading to join the downwind leg. As I am about to turn I notice straight ahead something not much bigger than a razorblade coming rapidly towards us at the same altitude just to the right of our position, so I don't turn and point the traffic out to Antonio. The other aircraft (a Mooney) turns inside us and jumps in front of the downwind leg, apparently the flyer is a private owner who always tends to do what the hell he pleases. We join downwind behind the Mooney and I find this is good practice at straight and level flight, maintaining our 800ft altitude. I set us up for the final approach with Antonios instructions and then he takes over and guides us to a very soft straight landing.
All in all, fun, I didn't feel particularly stretched today but I am sure it won't always be as easy!
Lesson two went ahead as scheduled, albeit my arrival an hour before my instructor, which gave me time to think about the subject of my lesson, climbing and descending. Eventually we got going, After a briefing on the flying mechanics of ascent and descent we visited the katana and Antonio ran through the pre-flight sequence and determined we needed some more avgas so we topped up and then taxied to the runway. I am still finding it very hard to taxi, more practice is needed!
I carry out the rotation at 50knts with Antonio managing the rudder and she climbs into the air with a little back pressure on the stick. We fly out to the training area (above the old Greenham common airbase (now dis-used) and practice climbing and descending to specified altitudes at the correct airspeed (Vy) for the katana of 70knts. I find this not too challenging and am quickly able to remember to apply carb heat when starting the descent and reducing carb heat to cold when recovering, although too often when descending in particular I get too fixated on the intruments and not the visual horizon, this is a bad habit to get into so I will make more concious effort to judge the airspeed from the visual horizon.
We return to Blackbushe (EGLK) and are instructed to join the circuit on downwind and informed we have a cessna in front of us, I can see the Cessna 152 to the right flying some distance ahead so Antonio asks me to turn right to the correct heading to join the downwind leg. As I am about to turn I notice straight ahead something not much bigger than a razorblade coming rapidly towards us at the same altitude just to the right of our position, so I don't turn and point the traffic out to Antonio. The other aircraft (a Mooney) turns inside us and jumps in front of the downwind leg, apparently the flyer is a private owner who always tends to do what the hell he pleases. We join downwind behind the Mooney and I find this is good practice at straight and level flight, maintaining our 800ft altitude. I set us up for the final approach with Antonios instructions and then he takes over and guides us to a very soft straight landing.
All in all, fun, I didn't feel particularly stretched today but I am sure it won't always be as easy!
posted by Chris @ Tuesday, June 14, 2005
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