Back in the Saddle again!

So today was the day I'd been waiting for. After a little over 4 months, I have started flying again. Before the lesson, I was very excited, and anxious to get back up. During the takeoff, and climb to 3500 feet, I looked around and enjoyed the view. I really missed flying. Once we got to the practice area, we started to shake my rust out. First thing on the agenda, stalls. We did both power on stalls and power off stalls. I was quite pleased with myself with my power on stalls. Sure, I had to be talked though the maneuver (You would too if you hadn't done it for a while), but all in all, I managed to control the airplane well. No unintentional spin entry, and only had to be told once or twice to put in more right rudder to keep the plane in coordinated flight. Power off stalls were pretty similar. Nothing major other then being told to stop lowering the nose so quickly.

The one thing that I had forgotten was my finesse. Little adjustments as opposed to big ones. I'll get that back, I'm sure.

After stalls, it was time to review slow flight. The first time I tried to do this, Heather wasn't happy with it at all. So she took over and showed me what to do. On the next time I tried it. It was much improved. Obviously, I need a little more practice which is what is on the agenda for the next lesson on Friday. I did feel overwhelmed and behind the plane. Which is normal for having the break that I did. It was nice too, to resume training and get back up. Total time for this lesson was 1.1 hours with 4 landings. Total time life time is 18.6 hours and 77 landings (67 day, 10 night)

Also, last week, I got caught up with my mentor, Kevin. We hadn't talked for some time but I got to sit in his brother's Cessna 340, which is a twin engine, 6 seater. Really cool.. Lots of instruments and switches. I was going to get a ride in it as well, but it had to have some work done on it which grounded it until the work was done. Hopefully, I get a ride in it soon.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

While I haven't done a lot of flying yet (I am still a student). I have seen my share of flying. Some good (nay excellent flying) I have seen come from the fine men and women in the employ of the United States Armed Forces. These men and women when they aren't risking their lives on the front line show us their prowess at air shows across the country. The maneuvers that they perform for our entertainment are simply outstanding, just like the planes they perform them in. Catch an air show, it's definitely entertaining.

I've only heard of some bad flying. One of those incidents was a previous entry about the pilot who called Pontiac Tower and told them that he was inbound for landing. When Pontiac Tower had him ident, to identify his position using radar, it turned out that he was no where near Pontiac. Even though the Tower was patient and helped him find his position, this should not have happened.

I have not been a witness to any ugly flying. With luck, I won't ever see any.

Long time, No post.

It has indeed been a long time since I've posted anything here. And that's because I haven't been flying lately. The start of winter was pretty warm and allowed me to fly as much as I could afford. However, because the snow's on the ground, my instructor's availability has gone down as well, and it has become difficult to book time with her. You have to schedule a month in advance because the time fills up so fast. So I have been not flying, and concentrating on cramming my head full of aviation knowledge. My goal is to take the written test sometime in late April or Early May and pass only missing 1 or 2 questions. I'm also going to try to fly more once it gets lighter in the evening. At least twice a week, once during the week after work and another on Saturday or Sunday. So that's my plan.