I went up, and it was a beautiful day. Gusty winds, again, but a cloud of snow that Mike had me go into just a little, which was beautiful. But I barely noticed that, because I was so busy torturing that little airplane trying to keep it steady and such.
A number of useful things happened. At one point, Mike complimented me on how I handled a big bump of wind. I told him I didn't do it, the plane did it herself, which was worth noticing.
He had me flying straight-and-level and making turns. At one point he told me it was like we were in a "big parking lot."
That helped. And MIke ran the throttle the whole time, which was better than me doing it. I think I need to get a better sense of what is normal, how the plane sounds and feels when it is right instead of all the individual details and instruments and stuff inside the cockpit being separate and confusing input.
After the lesson, I asked for homework and Mike assigned me to read the FAA chapter on straight-and-level flight and turns, and as soon as I turned to the page, I saw the piece that I've been missing. It's under "Integrated Flight Instruction" on pg. 3-3.
This means the use of outside references and flight instruments to establish and maintain desired flight attitudes and airplane performance...
The airplane's attitude is established and maintained by positioning the airplane in relation to the natural horizon. At least 90 percent of the pilot's attention should be devoted to this end, along with scanning for other airplanes.
90% of the time, the pilot's attention should be outside the cockpit. No more than 10% of the pilot's attention should be inside the cockpit...
If the airplane's performance, as indicated by flight instruments, indicates a need for correction, a specific amount of correction must be determined, then applied WITH REFERENCE TO THE NATURAL HORIZON. The airplane's attitude and performance are then rechecked by referring to the flight instruments. THE PILOT THEN MAINTAINS THE CORRECTED ATTITUDE BY REFERENCE TO THE NATURAL HORIZON.
The pilot should monitor the airplane's performance by making numerous quick glances at the flight instruments. No more than 10 percent of the pilot's attention should be inside the cockpit. The pilot must develop the skill to instantly focus on the appropriate flight instrument, and then immediately return to outside reference to control the airplane's attitude.
Level flight, at first, is a matter of consciously fixing the relationship of the positions of some portion of the airplane, used as a reference point, with the horizon ... maintain a light grip on the flight controls ... learn to associate the apparent movement of the references with the forces which produce it. ... develop the ability to regulate the change desired in the plane's attitude by the amount and direction of forces applied to the controls without the necessity of
To establish the desired angle of bank,the pilot should use outside visual reference points, as well as the bank indicator on the attitude indicator.
The best outside reference for establishing the degree of bank is the angle formed by ... the lowered wing of high-wing airplanes.
This sounds like what I WANT to be doing, anyway. I'll read and visualize this chapter as much as possible, and then show it to Mike and ask if he'll work on it with me Monday.
I 'm going to go to Google Earth and look at Bowman Field and at the area between there and Shelbyville. I think I'll print a copy and ask Mike to help me mark on it where it is we fly. He told me, but I want to be a lot more clear and set myself things to look for.
Barry sent me an article on how to taxi. I'll read it next. I'm not even going to go into how badly I move that airplane on the ground. It's really humbling.
It's probably good for me as a teacher. We have a story that we sometimes snicker about--when Beth was driving, but hadn't been doing it very long, and she got into the car and said "Gas on the right, brake on the left." Whoever was riding with her about had a cow. Well, that's where I am with these controls. I'm saying aloud: Push in, go forward. Pull back, stop. I'm looking at a directional indicator and asking myself, do I go right or left to get to (whatever heading)? I might see all my piano students in a different light when we start up after spring break.
I'm also determined that if I can make a cranky old pipe organ behave with finesse and class, I can do this, too. Ha!
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