Flying for Fun

Today was another opportunity for some solo practice. The wind was calm, but there was about a 10,000 foot ceiling of mostly overcast, with bit of sprinkles. It was a great day for just flying around, which is what I ended up doing. It's good to just get out and fly, practicing the mental checklists, engine management, and basic procedures....without the instructor fiddling with the airplane and its controls.

I had made a plan to experiment a bit with some power/pitch exercises, but the close clouds and rain shafts made it a bit uncomfortable. So I stuck with some ground reference and slow flight...even a power-on stall. And I practiced going through the GPS screens and adjusting the mixture for cruise flight.

It was really just fun to be flying without many distractions, and experimenting with different configurations of the plane. I have come to the conclusion that there is one main difference between a flight instructor and a four-year-old: The four-year-old can be instructed not to touch anything in flight and be quiet at appropriate times. The instructor is constantly asking, "What happens if the engine quits?" "What does this do?" "What happens if it gets dark?" "How much gas do we have?" Etc., Etc. And, of course, pulling the throttle, pulling circuit breakers, making us do crazy maneuvers, and generally making the student think, "Don't make me come over there!" Not that it should really be any other way....


I suppose that if it turns out I have any advantage in my flight training, it will be less because of past experience with airplanes and more due to the fact that I have driven down the freeway with three kids in the back seat. Flight lessons are a lot more like that than I would have thought.