Today was to be a quick flight with two goals: a checkout with the instructor, good for renting solo for the next 30 days, and a bit of local solo flying to keep the skills sharp.
Whether you fly often or sporadically, keeping skills up and making good use of the available time means flying with some purpose. But, like almost every other plan, mine was virtually moot by the time I arrived at the field.
Though I had anticipated a quick flight as before, this time was more like a lesson or even a basic flight review. First, the school now has a policy of filling out a written weight and balance sheet as well as a risk assessment for every solo flight. Personally, I think this is a good idea, and don't mind the extra time. It's good practice anyway. Pilots who own and fly their own planes often forgo these steps, citing familiarity with the airplane, the load, the airport, and any number of other things that can yield complacency just when you might need critical thinking.
 |
| Example VFR Pilot Risk Assessment |
 |
| Diamond DA20 Weight and Balance Worksheet |
Having checked the weather and planned on a nice, smooth day, I figured on flying with the instructor for maybe a half-hour and then doing another hour or so on my own. Instead, we did a mini-checkride with some stalls and general flying practice. After the paperwork was done, I preflighted the plane and we were off.
Not only do skills atrophy with time, but the flying environment can change significantly as well. Several years ago, the airport installed radar that allowed better ATC services from the tower and handoffs for IFR traffic. Gradually, the Class E airspace around the field has also changed to accommodate this activity. More recently however, an approach/departure controller position has also been added. This affects local training flights by using this frequency for traffic advisories rather than a common air-to-air channel. Regardless of the details, it's a good reminder of why biennial checkrides are required. Regulations and airspace can and do change and it's the pilot's responsibility to stay informed.
Once we were in the air, the instructor wanted to see how my stalls held up. The first, a power-off, went very well. Knowing that the Diamond is difficult to actually stall (it just sort of mushes rather than suddenly dropping the nose) I kept the nose high and got it to "break" - impressing the instructor that I was able to do so. Like so many other things, it's as much a reflection of my original instructor (who no longer teaches) as any personal skill.
Then a power-on stall.
These can be quite difficult to obtain the right result. It's a simple enough concept: mimic a too-steep takeoff at full power and partial flaps. Problem is, the Diamond really wants to fly. Give it nose up at full power and you are recreating Maverick's trick in "Top Gun" - "I'll hit the brakes and he'll fly right by."
After we settled down, the instructor went through it to demonstrate how slowly you have to raise the nose so as not to rocket up at 45 degrees. Then it was easy, and just needed to focus on the rudder work. Contrary to my primary instructor, who made sure I knew how to keep my feet active on the rudder, this instructor kept movements to a minimum.
Nevertheless, when all was said and done, the instructor was happy that I could keep the plane going where we needed it to go and could handle the ATC radio calls. So it was back in for touch and goes.
Interestingly, it was a single question from the instructor that helped me achieve the best approaches I've had in a long time. A typical approach starts parallel to the runway, off to one side. Then, the descent and turns are done at certain points, with a rule-of-thumb of 80-70-60 knots on the initial, base, and final legs. I had somehow forgotten this little nugget of wisdom, and his simple question of "what speed are you looking for" got me back on track.
This, combined with his tip to not deploy landing flaps until within gliding distance of the runway threshold led to some of the best overall patterns and approaches ever. If you can time the flare properly, a good approach will almost always lead to a nice landing - and that's just what we had. He was again duly impressed, as before, and decided that I was good to go for an hour on my own.
Since we did so much during the "checkride" I just took it easy and had a nice cruise around the valley before heading in for a few more landings just for good measure. This solo work - rather than focusing on any particular flying skills - was more just a reminder that despite all the hard work, flying is fun.
