Ground Reference

Today's flight was much more uneventful than last time, due to the cooler morning air, the lack of thermals, the lack of any big winds, and a nice overcast to keep things generally cooler in the cockpit as well.

That made it a nice introduction to ground reference maneuvers, although it didn't really provide a good environment to prepare for the tested skills. So, we didn't spend too much time on them, and as you can see from the tracks, it was pretty easy to turn around a point, although the timing on my S-turns could be a bit better. (I didn't quite get perpendicular to the road by the time I had to roll from one direction to the other). We will be coming back to these when there is enough wind to keep it interesting.

So instead, we concentrated on pattern work, low approaches, a couple of touch and go's, and a landing. In the midst of all that (a total of 7 approaches), we had other traffic, a right-hand pattern, a wind (and runway) change, a right 360 for spacing, and a quick turnaround and short base. Oh, and a near-collision with two small birds on one of the climb-outs, just for good measure.

All in all, the hardest part of this is the low approach. This is a "maneuver" where you come down to the runway as if to land, but then add just enough power to float about 10 feet over the runway at minimum speed. It's an exercise designed to accustom the student to low altitudes, looking all the way down the runway at landing, correct for crosswinds while tracking down the centerline. Suffice to say, it's hard to do, but worth it. It doesn't feel right to be that low and not be on the ground, and the cross-control required for a crosswind is a challenge as well.

The next lesson introduces emergency procedures, so it will be even more of a challenge to start making the past lessons second-nature while dealing with engine failures and such.