| Lesson 10: Date: Sunday 1/20/2008 Where: UZA Aircraft: Cessna 172 N517DL Instruction: 1.2/1.6 hours (air/ground) Dual Instruction with Derek Alter Damn, it�s cold: So today it�s just above freezing and it snowed Wednesday. Not enough to stick, but it�s still cold. The planes are frosty when I arrive and they move them to the hangar to thaw. In the meantime, I do a weather ground lesson with Derek and another instructor and his student. This is a very in depth chapter. We cover all three sections. We discuss and review weather for over and hour, from the atmosphere to wind patterns and clouds to volcanic ash. If it happens in the troposphere, we discussed it. After the lesson, Derek and I walk over to the hangar and preflight Delta Lima together so that we can get in and get some heat going as soon as possible. Once airborne we proceeded to the practice area. Today was basically a review. We did climbing and descending turns both VR and IR (hooded). We also did some turns to headings both VR and IR. Next Derek introduced steep turns. These are cool. When doing a steep turn which is usually 30-45 degrees, the plane wants to descend. Derek showed me an easy way to complete these turns and he demonstrated this by performing a steep left and right 360. OK, my turn. Once initiated, I simply bump the power up slightly and roll the trim tab back two full turns then concentrate on keeping the bank even and the ball in the center. These turns are fun for two reasons. When you turn you actually see sky out of one window and ground out of the other. The other cool thing, is you lose your stomach a little bit. I love it! After a few steep turns, Derek takes over for a brief spin awareness demonstration. This is not something I�ll be tested on, but the demonstration helps me learn how to recognize, prevent, and if necessary, recover before the stall develops into a spin. This was very cool. It was like a roller coaster ride without the loops. I can see that recovery isn�t difficult in the C172 and I know that I shouldn�t fear the airplane at any time. As we head back, there seems to be a lot of traffic in the area. Derek takes over and once we enter the pattern he gives the controls back to me to land. I line up great and get ready for the flare. I am looking at the end of the runway, as taught, and I level out�.flare and we touchdown. Derek takes over and pulls back on the yoke because the nose wheel travel is gone and the plane shimmies badly until we are slowed to 10kts ground speed. Conclusion: We need to get that nose wheel looked at The C172 is tough to get into a spin What I learned: In order to spin you must be fully stalled and uncoordinated. Steep turns are fun, but you have a lot to stay aware of I want more practice |