Learning to fly again
May. 9th, 2018 11:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pandora_parrotLearning to fly this new plane has me feeling a little bit like I'm all the way back at PPL training again. Part of it is that my instructor, Sasha, is absolutely fantastic and super knowledgeable. I'm learning a lot of *information* from her that I never learned from past instructors, or that I've forgotten in the 5 years since I last studied this stuff intensely. I think what makes it great is that she connects the information from those textbooks directly to things that are going on in the airplane in a way that makes perfect sense to me.
Another part of it is that I'm feeling like I'm struggling with my landings again, like I was feeling when I was working on my PPL. Landings were frustratingly difficult for me, and to be honest, I never really fully understood what I was doing with them until several flights after I actually got my license. Like, I could do it *by rote,* but I didn't understand what was happening on a more fundamental level.
With the new plane, there's a lot more room to get into trouble. Going from exclusively flying the Cessna 172 to flying the PA-32-300... it's a lot more airplane. And as a result, it gives me more options for things to do, and more trouble I can get myself into. As much as I want to, I'm still struggling with it a bit.
But that's why I'm doing the training!
Sasha says that the thing I'm struggling with is the "last 5-10 feet" of the landing. I definitely feel it. It feels like right before I start flaring, I start losing some control of the airplane, and I'm struggling to keep it on the centerline and all that. I'm going too fast, balloon, and bounce and it's all awful. I'm sure I'll get it in another flight or two.
To fly my friends and family, I need to meet 3 requirements:
1) FAA legal requirements.
2) Insurance requirements
3) Personal requirements.
1) The FAA legal requirements to fly my plane are pretty basic. It's just "Have a PPL and a high performacne endorsement." As of my flight last night, I now have the High Perf endorsement, so I am now legal to fly, yaaaaayyyy! (There's also a requirement to be "competent" in the airplane, but that one is fuzzy, so I'll ignore it for this discussion...)
2) Insurance requires me to have at least 10 hours in the plane before they'll cover me. So even though I'm now technically legal to fly the plane, if I got into an accident of any sort, insurance would laugh and smile and thank me for paying premiums that they'll never have to cover anything for! And I'd have to cough up the payments and cash myself. I'm at 5.6 hours in the plane, so I need 4.4 more before I'm clear.
3) The final, most strict, and most important requirement on this list are my personal requirements. For me, that means feeling really in control of the landings more than anything else, because that's always been my weakness. Also, I want my instructor to give me her blessing as well before I'm cool about it. Technically, she doesn't *have* to, but I'd be very foolish to fly without her saying I'm good to go.
Another part of it is that I'm feeling like I'm struggling with my landings again, like I was feeling when I was working on my PPL. Landings were frustratingly difficult for me, and to be honest, I never really fully understood what I was doing with them until several flights after I actually got my license. Like, I could do it *by rote,* but I didn't understand what was happening on a more fundamental level.
With the new plane, there's a lot more room to get into trouble. Going from exclusively flying the Cessna 172 to flying the PA-32-300... it's a lot more airplane. And as a result, it gives me more options for things to do, and more trouble I can get myself into. As much as I want to, I'm still struggling with it a bit.
But that's why I'm doing the training!
Sasha says that the thing I'm struggling with is the "last 5-10 feet" of the landing. I definitely feel it. It feels like right before I start flaring, I start losing some control of the airplane, and I'm struggling to keep it on the centerline and all that. I'm going too fast, balloon, and bounce and it's all awful. I'm sure I'll get it in another flight or two.
To fly my friends and family, I need to meet 3 requirements:
1) FAA legal requirements.
2) Insurance requirements
3) Personal requirements.
1) The FAA legal requirements to fly my plane are pretty basic. It's just "Have a PPL and a high performacne endorsement." As of my flight last night, I now have the High Perf endorsement, so I am now legal to fly, yaaaaayyyy! (There's also a requirement to be "competent" in the airplane, but that one is fuzzy, so I'll ignore it for this discussion...)
2) Insurance requires me to have at least 10 hours in the plane before they'll cover me. So even though I'm now technically legal to fly the plane, if I got into an accident of any sort, insurance would laugh and smile and thank me for paying premiums that they'll never have to cover anything for! And I'd have to cough up the payments and cash myself. I'm at 5.6 hours in the plane, so I need 4.4 more before I'm clear.
3) The final, most strict, and most important requirement on this list are my personal requirements. For me, that means feeling really in control of the landings more than anything else, because that's always been my weakness. Also, I want my instructor to give me her blessing as well before I'm cool about it. Technically, she doesn't *have* to, but I'd be very foolish to fly without her saying I'm good to go.
