| Lesson 14 & 15: Date: 02/09/2008 & 2/10/2008 Where: UZA Aircraft: Cessna 172 N517DL Instruction: 2.1/.5 hours (air/ground) Dual Instruction with Derek Alter Left Leg Workout: So the weather was absolutely beautiful for flying this weekend, except for the 12 - 15 knot winds, gusting to 22 knots. When I arrived on Saturday, Derek mentioned that the winds were high, but he wanted to fly. I was cool with that. I am up for flying anytime. I did my preflight in Sierra Papa, because I was given keys to that plane. When Derek was finished with another of his students, he joined me. He and I both thought I was going to be in Delta Lima, so I explained that I had keys for Sierra Papa. Derek checked with Dave and sure enough, we were in Delta Lima. So, I completed my 2nd preflight of the day, this time on Delta Lima. Derek joined me and we began our taxi to runway 20. Derek showed me how to taxi in the steady crosswind by either diving in or turning away depending on the wind direction. We took off in the crosswind and Derek gave me instruction on keeping the plane straight down the runway during both takeoff and right after lift off. The winds were bad, I must admit. We headed east and Derek asked for some steep turns. I did two sets, turning left then right each time. I pulled those off well. The trick is to pay attention to the horizon outside the plane. I have problems with that because I tend to keep my eyes inside, watching the instruments. It's OK to do that, but I have to remember to look back outside after a quick scan of the instruments. It's easier said than done. After the steep turns we moved to slow flight, since the wind was so intense Derek wanted to see how slow we could fly. We actually slowed to 16 knots (ground speed). Not too bad, considering that Derek has slowed us to 9 or 10 before. After slow flight, Derek asked me to do a stall. My favorite. Not really. He said I could do either power on or power off. I wanted to do power on, because I always seem to have trouble with those. I slowed the plane and began the maneuver. Flawless. I did it. Twice!! This was big to me. I always have issues with that maneuver and usually lose altitude and my heading, but not this time. I think I may have this one down. As windy as it was, we decided to head back to the airport. I entered the pattern and started to come in for landing. Once we were on final, the wind hit us. I told Derek that this landing was going to be 80% him and maybe 20% me. He laughed as we continued to descend. About 5 - 9 feet off the runway a sudden gust of wind hit us and we hit the runway with a solid thump. It wasn't a pretty landing, but we walked away from it. Sunday was going to be different, right? Nope. The winds were still blowing at 12 knots on average. According to the weather the winds were gusting one minute and not gusting the next. Derek was eating lunch when I got there and he said we were going to fly. Not only that, but we were going to do takeoffs and landings in this crap. Grand!! OK, I know, I have to learn how to do it sometime, so why not now. I walked out to the ramp and was immediately hit with a stiff wind. At that point I questioned how well flying was going to be today. Once I completed the preflight Derek joined me and we headed to runway 20. I did well with taxiing in the wind and we got ready to takeoff. Derek gave me a quick briefing, reiterating what he explained the day before about taking off in the crosswind and staying in line with the runway both during and after the takeoff. I rolled out began my takeoff run. Once I rotated I could feel the wind, Derek gave me excellent instruction on what to do, even showing me, by using the pedals, how easily I could steer the plane in the wind. We were staying the pattern today, so I made my crosswind turn. With the wind blowing so hard, we had to keep the pattern tight and do some crabbing to keep parallel with the runway. The first landing was OK. We taxiied back around and took off again. This time on final I was really high. I tried to put the plane into a slip. I had some trouble with it, and Derek took over and showed me what I was doing wrong. We quickly lost altitude and made a pretty good landing. The key here was to keep the ailerons up on the side that the wind is hitting. If you don't do this the plane could be easily flipped and the next thing you know you're upside down in a heap by the runway. On the next go around I started off too fast (100 knots) and that mistake put me behind the rest of my pattern. I was trying to do too much to correct my speed. This put me high and fast on final so I decided to go-around. The next pattern I flew was flawless. While we were in the air, Derek and I had a discussion on how one thing can put you behind and you spend too much time trying to catch up. You really have to make decisions on how to correct yourself. He also explained how I should be using my left rudder to point the nose and not to adjust with too much aileron. On the next landing I did just that. I kept the nose straight using the rudder and trying not to use the ailerons to much. My landings were OK. I had a few issues, but I got the plane on ground each time. Crosswind landings aren't tough so much as they are different each and every time. The best way to learn is to do them. I got a great workout using the left rudder. It was the only time Derek allowed me to keep the plane uncoordinated. I did OK with my pattern work. My last 2 or 3 patterns were great. I keep my speeds and altitudes where they should be and I kept the plane straight down the runway. After an hour of takeoffs and landings we called it a day. We taxiied back to the ramp and shut down and secured the plane. Back inside, it was time for me to take the Stage II Exam. While Derek completed my student chart (check out the Flying Photos link) and filled out my logbook, I went to the classroom to take my test. The test was OK. It was on interpreting the weather and the FAR/AIM. I did well, only missing 3 out of 25 for an 88%. I passed!! I was pleased and headed home for the day. Derek will be out of pocket for the next few weeks because he is doing some Multi Engine time, trying to build 100 hours so that he can take the next step in his aviation career. I wish him luck as I move on to other instructors in the coming weeks. Conclusions: Crosswind landings aren't too bad. Left rudder is important. Don't over correct with the ailerons. What I learned: Flying should become routine. When things go wrong you should be able to react based on how you know the airplane flys and how it will react to your inputs. It's OK to be uncoordinated while doing crosswind landings. |