Preflight 20081227 (20090104)

Flight briefing: 0830

Mission: Use VOR to fly to BGM, Greater Binghamton Airport
Talk to ATC
Touch & go at BGM
Use VOR or pilotage/de'd reckoning fo return trip to home airport

Mission Status: Scrubbed due to weather until later date
Update: Mission Status: COMPLETE 20090104

Debrief 20081226

Well today as stated, I went up. The weather held out and still is rather nice out. Calm, but enough wind to warrant a crab correction depending on the heading. Well I ascended to 3,000 feet and did some approach stalls. I worked with the trim some during slow flight trying to keep her at 65 knots. After working on approach stalls and glides for awhile I decided to pick a heading 150 which took me directly over my house. I did a couple turns and circled around the house. I did an ascending 180 degree turn to head back toward Towanda where I practice my turns, level, descending, and steep. I made the steep turns, steep. That was fun.
Then I decided to head back cause it was almost an hour since I took off, I had one tenth to go before it was an hour. There was one guy in the pattern, a Cessna 182 Skylane with passengers, including a dog. He entered the pattern on "left" base for runway 5, but went all the way around the pattern. Maybe he didn't like the way he had the pattern set up, it could've been any number of things including that the pilot just felt like taking a trip around. He called the left crosswind and then downwind. I could see him as he went by, that thing was bookin! Haha, but I fell in behind him and called out that I was entering the pattern downwind for 5. I did a lazy 360 to get some spacing between me and the skylane. As I exited the 360, he called out that he was on final. I called that I was on base. He cleared the runway and called that he was clear of the active, so I called out final as turned and headed toward the runway. (Little did I know someone was waiting for me to get done to go flying!) I taxied back to the end of runway 5, I wanted to do the last thing on my list for the day, a slip. I called out that I was taking off. Man did she climb well today!!!!!! Oh man she was working real well today. Skipping the xwind>>>> On downwind as I approached the end of the runway I pulled the throttle, the I called out that I was on base for runway 5 and put her into a nice slip. I held her at 65 knots for the duration and kept correcting the amount of aileron as was needed. As I closed in close to the runway, I recovered from the slip floated over the runway at about seventy-some knots and slowed her down to 65 by raising the nose a little. Then I pulled right into my flare as I felt the plane sink and touchdown. I got on the binders and taxied back to the FBO. As I shut the plane off and exited, I realized I forgot to fill her up. DAMN!!!!! I went in the briefing room where I met Lee. We talked for a bit while I filled out my logbook and such, then Jerry came in. They were going up to do dutch rolls, another fun thing I did earlier! So I was happy with today. 1.0 hours on the nose.
Preflight 20081227 coming later tonight... over and out

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas! Today was great. Family, Food, Friends. Three of the four "F's" in life that everyone enjoys...family, not all the time...everything in moderation. So here are some things I recieved for Christmas.

David Clark H10-76 Headset
Blue Angels T-Shirt
A mile ruler for sectional charts
REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT keychain
Alien Vs. Predator
The Outsiders
The X Files
Diary of the Dead
Naval Aviator Wings

Those were the ones I'm most happy about.

I hope everyone had a very good Christmas and has a great New Year! Still waiting on the ROTC, gettin nervous!!!!!!!!

Peace

Preflight 20081226

I'm starting a new thing. Everytime before I go flying, I'm going to write a preflight. It will be titled Preflight [Date of expected flight]. This is the first one. Tomorrow the 26th of December, I am hoping to go up at about 0900.
Mission: Do a couple trips around the pattern.
Leave the pattern, ascend 2,500 to 3,000 ft (depending on clouds). Fly to practice area.
Practice:
Approach stalls
Slow Flight
One final trip around the pattern, slip to land.

Mission Status: Complete (20081226)

Hopefully all goes well and I'll be able to get up in the air tomorrow morning! Saturday I'm hoping to go as well. But if the weather is going to be worse than crappy, I may ask Jerry to go up on Saturday. The more I wait for the Binghamton trip, the more nervous I get about it. I shouldn't be nervous, I've handled everything fine thus far!

Weekend Update, amongst other things

Well this weekend got really really snowy and icy. The runway was much too slippery to fly. It was supposed to be real bad on Sunday, the day I was going to fly with Jerry. The weather, was a bit chilly but really nice. Not much wind, blue sky, the only thing was, the runway and taxiways were still too slippery. It only made me more disappointed as the day kept getting nicer and nicer until about 1730 when the sun set. So no flying took place this weekend. I got my present (The David Clark Headset) all wrapped up. Even though I know what I got for Christmas, it still excites me because I know it's a gift I'm going to use a lot. I plan on keeping this headset even in the military (if they let me, which they should considering it's a military issue headset!).
SO yes, I have some good news though! Other than my awesome headset. I was accepted into Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at Daytona. So now I have been accepted to my top choices...in a way, I'm glad, but I'm also upset. Both Westminster and ERAU are very well known, and have good educational quality. I haven't recieved scholarship information yet, but that may decide where I go to college. Hmm..$27,000 a year with a $6,000 a year scholarship (Actual scholarship from Westminster) vs. $48000 at ERAU? I think I'll take the money over location convenience! I don't know yet though. All I got to wait on is the NROTC. I'm hoping I get the scholarship. Lady Luck, don't run out on me now!

VOR Flight 20081214

So I was wrong, today we just went up and did VOR stuff. We flew around while tracking VORs, intercepting VORs and Direct to VORs. It was bumpy below 3500 feet, but 3500 and above was oddly smooth. Overall I did real well today. I was kind of nervous about doing the VOR at first but now I think I got the hang of it. It's pretty nifty. We were headed back and he told me to fly over the airport at 3300 feet. While I kept the plane at a level attitude, I kept losing altitude. It was getting increasingly more turbulent. I nosed up to climb attitude, but lost another 50 feet by the time we reached the airport. He pulled the engine and called, "Bradford County Traffic, Cessna 94609 spiralling down to runway two three." He asked me what I'd do if this were to happen to me. Although I'd heard him say "Spiral," I knew that's what I'd have to do, so that's what I answered. It was a perfect spiral, Third time around, I was lined perfect with the runway comin out of the spiral and landed. Didn't even need the flaps. Jerry said, "Man, you're makin me look good!" It was a good day today. Definately happy with how this weekend went, I even got to spend a bit of time with my girl. Great weekend. Hope to have a few more like it.
Next week's mission: Follow VOR to Greater Binghamton (BGM), touch and go, VOR back to N27.
Jerry thinks that if all is well and I'm comfortable, he hopes to kick me out on a solo cross country over Christmas break.

Pictures from today

Note* I was not looking through the camera during these. I was scanning for traffic and obstacles while also scanning my instruments. Multitasking: it's a beautiful thing.

20081213 Flight

I woke up bright and early today at 0730. I showered ate and got dressed. I got to the airport at about 0845. There was still a light coating of snow on the runway and taxiways. This did not present a problem however. Jerry came in, he was going to Pittsburgh today. He told me I should wait until the sun melts some of the snow off the runway. I was content in doing so but Niel, another flight instructor offered to ride around with me. I said sure. I wanted to build some solo time(and I did), but there was no harm in learning a thing or two about soft field operations. He went around two times with and since he was goin with me for free, he went around once. The Hobbs meter said .8 hours but Niel thinks that the meter messed up. After we got done with our bull session, he signed my logbook. The guy who was supposed to come in after me cancelled, so the plane was free for the rest of the day. So I went back out and had some fun. I flew up an down the river again. I'm getting braver. I went over the Golden Mile that leads to the Towanda bridge. Also, I snapped some great pictures. It was such a beautiful day. Winds at 0knots, hardly any clouds, smooth as glass. Loved every moment of it. I spent a total of .7 hours by myself. I decided I was in need of fuel, so I went back to the airport and set her down. I was way high on final, but that was no problem. I just pulled the power and full flaps, slowed her to 60. It was a nice landing. I filled her up at the fuel farm and took her back to the hangar. I was very happy with today. It couldn't have gone any better. (I can't upload the pics yet, my computer is freaking out right now, but rest assured, they will be up sooner or later.) Tomorrow's flight is at noon with Jerry. We're working on VOR stuff. Fun Fun fun. Can't wait, peace!

The weekend of December 12th

I decided I'm going to go up on my own tomorrow. I have the plane from 9 to 11. I figure two hours is good enough for the day. I'm really excited about it. I finally got that mic for my headset. I can't remember if I've told this story already, but all well. I bought a David Clark H10-76 headset from ebay for $122. The thing with this headset is, it's military issue and is supposed to be used for helicopters. It came with "the" adapter I needed to make it work in the Cessna, or so the guy who sold it to me said. So the Saturday I was going up that I had the headset, I took it up with me and tested it out. The earphones worked great. Crystal clear. The mic however, did not work at all. I went hom and check some stuff out. Apparently, I needed a 133 dollar adapter to change the impedence of the whole thing. Well I don't have 133 dollars so I looked for an alternative. Thankfully, another person on ebay had my solution. A new mic that should work with the headset and the adapter. She sent it to me for free to test out, and if it worked, I could pay for it. She gave me free shipping cause of me being the Navy DEP. I really hope it works. The mic is only $40 though. So that's good. Much cheaper than the david clark adapter. It's a really nice headset though, and I'm really happy with it. It's been a stormy, snowy, icy week thus far and thankfully it ended today. After 1800Z was a real nice time to fly, the runway was cleared, the sky was over 10sm visibility, winds were from 350 but were so low that they showed up at 0knots, and was lightly snowing. I can't wait to see what it all looks like snowcovered. I'll definately be reporting this one tomorrow afterward. Sunday, I am going up with Jerry. We're doing another XC flight. I think this time we're going to Tri-Cities again to work on the VOR. This should be fun. Two updates in two days! Lucky me! Peace.

Blog for last flight

It's about time I update this thing about last Sunday. Beautiful day...sort of. It was overcast, but it was smooth as glass up there. The winds were about 4 knots when I took off, and died to zero after I landed. I had what Jerry called my Graduation Solo. After three trips around the pattern, two landings and a go around, he got out of the airplane told me to do land once more and then after i took off again to go fly around. I asked him what he wanted me to do and he said, "Whatever you want, this is unstructured play. Just don't get lost." I told him I wouldn't. So I took off from 23 again, called my crosswind and downwind. On the downwind I had climbed to about 2900 feet MSL. As I reached the end of the downwind I turned to a Northerly heading and called, "Bradford County Traffic, Cessna 94609 exiting the pattern Northbound, Bradford County." So I flew up the Susquehanna river aways until I was pretty much on top the Ulster Bridge. It was my first time leaving the pattern alone. I liked it. A lot. Not that I don't have fun with Jerry in there, I definately do, it was just really cool. Different. That's the best way to describe it. In a good way though. So I put the 152 into a slip, listened to the air flow over the non-aerodynamic edges of the plane. About 2500 feet I returned to normal flight. I kept an eye on the river, sylvania & asraam and the Ulster bridge. I banked the plane roughly 70 degrees and pulled back on the wheel to do a steep turn. I wanted to test out something I'd read. I read that if you flex your abdominal muscles while in combat with G-forces, it keeps the blood from pooling. It worked. I did it a couple more times. I think I got her to pull her max g-rate. Haha, I don't think so, probably not, if so I won't do that again, I don't want to overstress her and have her get bent. Not run-up my own prop, but I'm not too shabby at this aviation stuff. If my eyes are healthy enough, i just might have a chance a Naval Aviator. The Hobbs meter was getting close to the time Jerry had wanted me back, so I headed back toward the airport. I kept my nose on Sylvania, it's a group of green buildings. Flying toward sylvania & asraam along the river puts you in perfect pattern entrance position, 45 degrees to the middle of the runway, upwind for today. I descended to 1800 feet, pattern altitude, and called out, "Bradford County Traffic, Cessna 94609 entering the pattern upwind runway two three, Bradford County." I called out the other legs of the pattern and landed perfectly. Jerry made the comment, "I think goin out the past couple weeks and gettin the shit beat out of ya helped, you've become master of the airplane." Ah man that felt good to hear. To be quite honest, I'm not worried about the cross countries, the solo ones will be weird at first, but I know that feeling will leave soon. Anyway, I topped the 152 off with fuel and taxied her back to the FBO. It was a good day. 1.3 hours.

20081206-New York

My father, a friend of mine, and I went to New York last weekend. While in New York, it was my idea to visit the Intrepid, a retired aircraft carrier turned into a museum. It was not a very good day to be on the flight deck but we'll get to that later. There are a bunch of exhibits, like a mock helm, and the bunks that the sailors slept in. I figure I better get used to it if I'm going to be in the Navy, so I laid down for a bit.



There were a couple planes in the museum part of the carrier called "Hangar 1." There was an old WWII torpedo plane, a Devastator maybe? anyway, I couldn't believe the size of the prop on that thing! Holy! An A-4 Skyhawk was also amidst the

airplanes inside. That jet is very compact. Very pretty plane. I would've loved to fly one.

The Intrepid had a couple of "modern" attractions, one was some sort of ride that took you on a flight or something of that nature. It may have been a flight simulator but I don't think so. The one I went on (I made my friend come with me. His name is Dan. He's been my best friend since I can remember) was a G-Force simulator. It was some weird cockpit that had a screen inside. You couldn't see outside the pit. There was a vent that made it seem like you in an airplane and had the vent to outside open. Anyway, it was very realistic I felt. I took me and Dan all over the place, We went up and did a barrel roll or two. It was a WWII simulator type. There was a bunch of Japanese Zeros to shoot at, but I wasn't in long enough to get a kill. I was trying my ass of though, until Dan hit the SWITCH PILOT button and drove us into the ground. That was funny. He hit the switch again and I resumed control. That was a blast.
Up on the Flight Deck:

It was a rainy cloudy, crappy day. The deck had pools of rainwater on it that I constantly stepped in. My feet were friggin cold afterward, but it was worth it.

The plane I'd wanted to fly since I was a little kid called the bow of the carrier home. The F-14 Tomcat sat on the deck. It wanted to fly. But they'd taken her engines, her afterburners were empty, stripped. The afterburners would never again blast out 20 foot fire cones. Her wings would never fully extend and sweep back again. It made me sad to see this beautiful fighter grounded. There were a bunch of other planes as well. An SR-71 Blackbird was directly
across from the majestic F-14. Along with these two planes were the MiG-17, MiG-19, F-86 Sabre, F-16 Falcon, A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder, and a bunch more I can't think of at the moment.
The F-14's tandem seating cockpit. The Tomcat had one Hell of a run. I hope I get to fly one someday. That would be the ultimate.

I'll report on my flight later. I have an 3 page english paper to work one. Peace.

First Xcountry Flight

Man that felt GOOD! Working with the map and visually looking for checkpoints was a real challenge. Just keeping the correct heading at times was at times was a little difficult. It was the first time I'd been outside the pattern in awhile. Our cross-country flight took us over Blue Swan airport where we caught 0-8-6 degrees and headed up the river toward Tri-Cities. It was interesting and fun to use the sectional and check to see where everything was. Landing at Tri-Cities was different. It was only 400 ft shorter than my home runway but it sure seemed like it was half the size. The width was definately smaller than at N27. Comin' down was easy, everything pretty much was easy aside from actually getting there. But that's the thing about aviation. There's always something new to learn. And just when you think you got everything down, another thing comes up and hits you the face. Also, aviation is all about keeping sharp on EVERYTHING you know and everything don't know...yet. That's partly why I love flying. The ever-present challenges. Everything is different and you always have to be on the lookout and be on alert in case something new comes up. In the words of Eddie Rickenbacker, "Courage is doing the things you're afraid to do. You cannot have courage if you're not scared."
Peace.

Everything Worked out

Ahaha ahahaha, I am now flying after my scrimmage! Instead of 8 I am flying at 1. If the weather's good, we're going to do d'ed reckoning but if it's less suitable he wants me to get some solo time in. I'm stoked I get to try out my new headset.

Good News Bad News

The bad news first...
I was supposed to have a basketball scrimmage at 11 on Saturday. So I moved my flight time from 9 to 8. Go figure, my coach changed the time of the damn game to 10. Lot a damn good that f*ckin did. Pisses me off. Worst of all my coach doesn't seem to give a damn that I had previous plans. I 'm supposed to put the team ahead of myself. Partly I agree. On the other side I think it's total bullshit. It ties in to the last time I had to miss practice. I had to miss for a Navy DEP meeting and my coach got all pissy, but my friend had to miss the day before for National Honor Society and he was fine with it. Makes me angry that coach will make an exception for someone who's "Smart" and not for someone who is willing to fight to keep his way of life untouched. Total bull. Flying may very well be different, but the bottom line is, I'm leaving soon. I want my private rating. I hate missing flights. I found something I'm good at. Is it wrong of me to want to stay good? Is it wrong of me to want to fly rather than play ball? Most of the time I'd rather fly than do anything else in the world. Flying for me is the ultimate rush, the pinnacle of excitement. It makes me feel exhilerated, out of reach, untouchable, almost a higher form of human being. It may sound arrogant (I know it is) but I feel this every time I climb into the cockpit. It wouldn't matter if it was the 152 or an F-18. I live for this, and I love every moment of it.

Anyway, the good news. I got me headset. Oh, man is it nice. It's a David Clark H10-76 military issue headset. It came with an adapter for General Aviation. Unfortunately I don't get them until Christmas but I get to try 'em out Saturday which by the way will happen one way or the other. I'm giong to fly. That's all for now. Peace.

20081122

The flight today was absolutely awesome. We worked on more crosswind stuff, most of it is like second nature to me now. Taking off was easy, one time I forgot the cockpit cleanup and had the carb heat on so I had lost about 1000 RPMs, but other than that all went well today. We did a slip today, and the wind took me way off to the right so I cranked in more aileron and brought her to the centerline and slipped the other way into a fairly decent Xwind landing. Jerry was proud of that one.
The only other landing worth mentioning was the last one. The last landing was as close to perfect as a Xwind landing can get. The put in the right aileron, and left rudder. she went straight the whole time and descended smooth as a turtle shell. There was no thud, no squeaking from the tires. It was a complete greaser. The only noise was Jerry telling me that if anyone asked, he was gonna say he did it. It was a good day. More character for me. Man, this flying stuff justs gets better and better. (Knock on wood) Until next time, over and out.

Tomorrow's Flight

I was supposed to fly on Sunday but Jerry called me earlier and asked if I could fly Saturday. So naturally, I said yeah. :) Stoked. Maybe I'll go solo Sunday.

Navy update

I know this is becoming more of a personal blog but I promise you everything is related to flying. Well I found out, that the cut-off for ACT scores for math is 21, and that's what I got. It's all good now, I just have to have an officer interview and wait a little while. Sweetness.

This Weekend's flight

Jerry said a spot was open on Saturday so I was thinking that if no one took the spot, I'd go up with him and then go up again on Sunday. My mother is not too happy that I'll be missing her best friend's daughter's birthday, but what's that old saying? Oh yeah, I'd rather be flying. I'm torn. I really liked the challenge of the crosswinds, but I kind of want to get my third supervised solo out of the way. I either want nasty nasty winds or dead calm. Near winter it gets to be both, sometimes on the same day, or in the same hour! Let's just hope if it's dead calm and I solo that the winds don't pick up a whole lot. We were working in 17Knot winds gusting to 20. I don't think I could do it alone. Actually no, I could. I just don't want to. If there is one thing I've learned about this pilot business, it's that you have to go in thinking you can do it. You've got to be headstrong and have a pair cause if you lack confidence, only bad things will happen. I don't know if it is good or not, but I'm a very confident person now. Sometimes I think I'm too confident and my friends get annoyed with it. Half the time I talk to them about flying they sit there with blank expressions and say, "I have no idea what you just said." I feel bad for a couple of them. They have no clue what they're going to do after high school. I find it sad that so many people are going to stay around here. I shouldn't worry about it considering I know what I'm doing. Or what I want to do. My SAT scores should be back soon. I got my ACT scores and my math section was scored a 21. I'm pissed. The NROTC cutoff is 22. GAR!!! I'm banking on my SAT scores. Who knows, maybe they'll take me anyway. Keep your fingers crossed.

Today Rocked

I woke up this morning and thought to myself, I get to fly today. Ah and yes I did and it was awesome. Well Jerry said I'd be building some character today and well...I did. At first I was skeptical. I took two steps out my front door and saw snow, hail, and rain. I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to, but I went anyway figuring he'd call my cell if we had to cancel. Thankfully Jerry never called while I was on my way. I went inside and saw Jerry. Carl, Jerry, and I talked for a little bit and ended with Jerry saying he couldn't finish off the pot of coffee because it was the sabbath.
So yes, we were in fact gonna fly today. "I told you we're gonna build some character day, of course we're goin up!" He said. We went in the briefing room where he made a call to a student who was going to have his first lesson today; unfortunately for him they had to bag the lesson. After going up I'd say it was a good move. It was quite bumpy, although not as bumpy as I expected. We looked at the weather then we talked about the day's mission: Takeoffs, landings, taxiing, and flying the pattern in a Xwind. We tried to start the plane after the preflight or "Prefright" as me and Jerry call it. But the battery was shot so we jumped it. That was an experience. I actually had a reason to call "Clear!" for the prop area. So anyway, we taxied and he did the first takeoff and landing. Then it was my turn. I figured I'd be nervous, but the truth is, I get more nervous at home watching the Price is Right.
So I kept in my ailerons and kept her straight down centerline. Airspeed came up so I rolled out the ailerons a bit and jumped into the air in a right bank, nosed over, and put in my crab angle. That was cool. I find the Xwind landing is difficult, it's quite the challenge, but even though it was my first time, I felt just as comfortable doing it as I do a landing on a no wind day. I like the idea of comin' in hot. Xwind landings serve a dual purpose in training. They teach you the Xwind landing procedures and it makes you keep one hand on the throttle at all times during the approach and landing all the way to the end even while you're on the binders. That one hand on the throttle, if you're not used to it, is a chore until you do it so much that it's second nature. It serves the purpose not only on Xwind landings, but also an a no wind landing. Things can wrong at any time. Maybe you need and extra boost of power if you bounce off the runway or just to get to the runway. I did well today for not having flown in three weeks, and considering the weather.
In conclusion, the day rocked. I'm flying next Sunday again and I can't wait. I want to meet the first timer after his lesson see what he thinks. Basketball starts this week and I'm almost kinda bummed. I wanted to go flying after school one day. I guess that won't happen for awhile! Today has come and gone, and it was a great, challenging day. I love a good challenge.

Flying This Weekend

WOOOHOOO!!!! I'm flyin this Sunday. I'm stoked. Jerry said there oughta be a stiff crosswind for us! Good time to build up some character. WOO! I'm excited. '609 is back in the clouds once again!!

No flying again this week

I was supposed to fly today but as luck would have it, the weather is fair but the plane is still out! They ordered a new prop for t he bird. I guess it's better safe than sorrry. For the past few preflights I've noticed ths smoothness of the prop's edges was becoming increasingly rough. Anyway, I'm headed up there to volunteer some. I haven'tbeen up there in awhile.

No flying this weekend

!@&$#@% I am angry. I got out of SATs hoping Jerry would call my cell phone and see if I could go up today. Well Jerry did call. he left a voicemail saying that the plane was still being inspected and it would be back the middle of this week!!! I'm going to ask him if sometime this week we can go up and then go up again on sunday. I just want to fly! It's been two weeks now and I'm gonna freak out! Not cool.

19.5 hour recap

My instructor's name is Jerry Smith. He is the most patient person I've ever met and is one of the best CFIs in the biz. Here is a recap of everything we've gone over since the first time. I'll go by each flight and put down what is written in my logbook.

Flight Numero Uno- March 22
The ground part took about an hour as we did a very very thorough preflight. I wore an Aeropostale T-shirt over a thin hoodie and jeans. The cockpit felt like a pressure cooker before I even started the engine! Anyway, we went over starting the plane, the run up, and taxiing. Oh my how I hated taxiing at first. Now it's just a prelude of what is to come. We did climbing and descending turns. I was up for a total of 0.8 hours. I was the pilot for most of the flight except take off and landing and I couldn't have been happier. At least that's what I thought.

Flight # Two- March 29
The ground portion of this lesson was considerably shorter than the first. We basically reviewed the first lesson and that was that. When I got us lined up on the centerline of Runway 5, I asked, "So are you gonna takeoff?" and he replied, "Nope, you are. Pick out a point on the horizon and fly straight for it." I looked at him in surprise, "Okay," I said. Just out in front of the runway are two mountains that seem to form a "V" on the horizon. I opened the throttle all the way and we began our roll. Another 0.8 hours. Things were lookin up(no pun intended).

Flight 3- May 10
It had been awhile but my skills(however limited) were still rather sharp. The plane had gone in for inspection and my training was put on hold. We reviewed the preflight run up and taxiing. after taking off, we flew over our practice area, above Ulster. There are a lot of farms and such. We went over steep turns (my favorite along with 720 degree turns about a point, but that's later) and he gave me an intro to approach stalls and recovery techniques. Between the first and second lesson, Jerry had me correct my bank from being too steep to being 'normal' about 3 or 4 times. I just like rush of being damn near on your side and feeling the blood rush to my head while pulling G's. Trying to G-condition myself early! :P Things keep getting better. 1.1 hours today.

FlItE No. Four- May 17
Today we reviewed my steep turns. Judging by remark made by Jerry later in training, I don't think he has many students do dutch rolls at this point. He made it sound like many students had problems with Dutch Rolls; I thought they were easy. We also did 720 degree Turns About a Point. The first one wasn't the greatest but the second was good(he was coaching) and the third, I had watered(a saying of Jerry's) He told me that I'd pretty much mastered the hardest maneuver in the Private Pilot Curriculum. I was happy with that needless to say. We went over the traffic pattern for N27. Another 1.1 hours today.

Flight 5- June 7
We went over slow flight today. Approach stalls and recovery techniques. Then we did simulated landings at altitude and after a trip in the traffic pattern, landed on runway 23. Steppin it up to 1.2 hours today! Haha

Flight Sics- June 15
Slips are one of the coolest parts of flying. The nose of the plane is facing close to perpendicular of the direction your flying in. SO FUN! We did slip recoveries and he started basic instrument flying with me for 0.4 hours. Then we did Climbing and descending turns & timed turns. I was off by about 30 seconds. At first I overapplied elevator then I underapplied and slowed down too much.

Flight Number SevN- June 22
I've noticed my dates of flying are quite sporadic. Today we went up for 1.3 hours. And from the time we left the pattern to the time we decided to go back to the airport, I had the instrument goggles on. They make me tired! I had to talk to myself about the instruments (Thankfully it worked) to keep my heading and altitude. Then we went back to the airport and landed on 23.

Flight Ate- July 27
We did 0.8 hours of instrument flying again, I'm getting to be pretty proficient with my scan of the avionics panel. We did some more simulated landings at altitude and pattern orientation. We landed on 23. 1.4 hours total flight time.

Flight # 9er- August 3
Today we practiced taking off and landings on runway 5. I got some good radio practice, which once you get the hang of it, it's secondary. Half the time I don't even think about what I'm saying. It's like my mind and body know where I'm at and what I'm doing. Obviously got some good practice on the traffic pattern. We were up for 2.1 hours. I had 2.1 hours I had to use before the end of the month and thankfully Jerry took me up for that amount of time. I had my first lesson in fueling the plane too!

Flight No. 10- August 24
Damned vacation! Cuttin into my flight time! Today we did more practice on landings and takeoffs(I have the takeoffs pretty much mastered). We did simulated engine failures on T.O. and on the downwind leg of the pattern. He switched up the take off a bit and had me do a soft field takeoff. That was fun! We flew for 1.0 hour exactly!

Flight 11- August 31
More practice on landings and takeoffs. Today he had me do a full flap go 'round. That is an interesting procedure. As I progress I realize that being a pilot is much much much more than just getting the plane airborne and puttin it on the ground. Not as easy as the movies make it look. It would've been much harder if I had expected a movie like experience! Not being too lofty has its benefits(again, no pun intended). 1.2 hours today.

Flight Numero Doce!- September 14
Runway 23 was the target of my practicing of landings and takeoffs today. It doesn't matter that all I've done for the past 4 hours of nothing but landing and taking off. They ar ethe most exhilerating parts of the flight! They challenge me and I openly take those challenges. I say BRING IT ON!!!!!!! God I love this!! 1.3 hours and we did short and soft field take offs. Jerry told me after we were on the ground and filling out the logbook that my soft field take off was perfect. He said he wished he had someone videotaping it cause he would've put it in an instructional video. I make this sh*t look easy. :P Haha, gettin just a bit cocky. haha.

Flight of the 13th- September 21(Totally wish it was the 13th, then the title would've been better)
"Cessna 94609 Taking off runway 5, bradford county." My voice comes back to its normal pitch as I open the throttle all the way and read my instruments aloud, "RPMS, Oil Pressure, DG's good, Airspeed comin alive, here we go!" And the plane lifts off. Jerry laughs and hits the top of the avionics panel(dash?) and says, "They don't get much smoother than that mister!" I can't help but chuckle at my success. "I always knew I had to be good at something." We both shared a chuckle at that. Some more practice on landings take offs and emergencies. We did my first SLIP TO LAND today. That is the SH*T!!!!!!!! That is a rush. Okay, actually the rush I'm looking for is landing in less than 500 ft with nothing but arresting cables to stop me at full afterburn, but I'm gonna have to wait awhile for that! I think at the moment the slips are going to be my highest level of excitement! Another 1.3 hours.

FLIGHT 4TEEN- October 5
We did quite a bit in the 2.3 hours we were up. About five trips in the pattern and one less landing due to a go around. He pulled all the stops on me and all but one I had Aced(I'm full of 'em tonight!) We were gonna do a go around, and thankfully we were over the runway cause I pulled up the flaps due to a brain fart! and the plane dropped about 15 feet onto the runway. That was interesting. Jerry showed no sign of aggrivation at the mistake and we went about like all was normal, but then again, there is nothing normal about aviation. He covered up my ASI and Altimeter. Traffic pattern altitude is 2000' but we fly about 1800'. I hit 1900'. Damn close. He asked me to guess my airspeed on final, I said 70. He said, "I'm guessin about 60." he took off the sticky note and behold the ASI read 60! AHA! Short field approach baby. I seem to be attracted to those :P. Just after a slip approach to land(which was close to perfect) Jerry says as we moving down the runway, "I'm gettin kinda tired." I looked at the clock and realize we've been up for awhile. I think to myself, "It's gotta end sometime." It was such a good day. Then he asked, "How about you? You gettin tired?" I said, "Nah, I'm ready to get flying again." What he said damn near made my heart explode! "Well I'm gettin tired, you think you can handle a couple two tree on your own?" I said, "If you're willing to let me." I taxied to his truck and dropped him off. I was all that nervous but my heart was racing. There was heavy traffic today too! What an experience. I backtaxied runway 5. The whole time while waiting for a 172 taking off before me, I was waving my right arm in the seat next to me making sure I was really alone. I lined her up on centerline and did everything by the book. On final I noticed I was low so I added power. I cut the engine and the plane bounced, and my own damn incompetence nearly killed me. My left foot stiffened. unfortunately it was on the rudder pedal and my plane flew toward trees, powerlines, and a silo. I felt like I was Will Smith in Independence Day when he is flying through Grand Canyon. I was weaving around those obstacles like it's cool. I kept under control though. I nosed over a bit after applying full throttle, carb heat off, and raising the flaps one by one. The whole thing happened so quick and every reaction seemed instant and completely natural, even calling the go around. I never got above the silo or the tree. Although it was a damnable F*ck-up, I felt I did some good flying to get myself out. I re-oriented myself and came in waaaaaaay high on final. I called another go around. Next time down I got her. It was a good landing. "That's how it's done!" Jerry said. He never said anything to discourage me, even after the near fatal error I had made. That is why he one of the best. Patience alone could get him on the top of that list, but he is also the best teacher I have ever had. "Taxi on down to the ramp I want to talk to ya." he said. I was nervous. I did as told and opened the door when he walked up to it. He extended his hand and gave me a good handshake. "congratulations." He said. I was smiling the whole damn time and he gave me little talk and told me it's just like we've practiced all those times before. It's no different. He told me to go up and do another one just like that. I did. I got her down that second time and we both decided that was most fun we needed for one day. I was stoked. We went to the Flight school room and he signed my logbook and Pilots certificate and we did the whole shirt tail thing. It was amazing. I loved every moment. Even during my mistake. It was exhilerating. The most adrenaline I had ever felt run through me. It was absolutely amazing.

Flight #15- October 19th
1.1 hours of total awesomeness. Jerry warned me as we grabbed the taxiway that sometimes after people solo they can't, and I quote, "Grab their ass with both hands." Then he said, "On the other hand don't be surprised if you do just ducky." Well, I did just ducky. So far I haven't had an off day. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope I never do! 23 was our runway today. We did emergencies(engine failures) on TO, Xwind, and downwind all of which I watered. Then I did a slip to land completely on my own. He didn't have any part of himself on the controls. I did it perfectly. He got out again and I went up by myself. Everything went perfect the first time around. Jerry came on the radio and said, "I double dog dare you to go do that again!" To which I replied, "I'll take that dare Jer." and so I did. After taking off I called the Xwind when someone in a Diamond asked if I was departing Xwind. I said, "Bradford County Traffic, Cessna 94609 turned Xwind runway 5, Bradford county." Apparently he didn't get it and asked if I was departing again. I had turned downwind and said, "Bradford County Traffic, Cessna 94609 turned downwind runway 5, Bradford county, repeat downwind for runway 5." He finally got it and asked if it was okay if he went first as he coming on a long final. He said he could see me and asked if I could see him. I replied with, "Roger." You know you're a pilot if you talk like that without thinkin about it! I told him to go ahead of me on landing. He said he appreciated it and i replied, "No problem." At the end of the runway I pulled power to 1700 RPMs and applied carb heat. I decided I needed more spacing so I put the power to 2300 (cruise) and took off the carb heat. I pulled the aircraft into a low bank 360 degree turn to the right. Once back on track I turned on base. I pulled power to 1700 (forgot the carb heat) and put on the first notch of flaps. I slowed her down to 65 knots and turned final. It was a long final but it ended perfectly. I pulled the power all the way and added the second notch of flaps. I added power and pulled it again once I reached the very end of the runway. I leveled off and flared. Touchdown was perfect. This is the best.

That was thus far in my training, I am sure there is more to come. :) Hope you enjoyed this. I know I enjoy writing about it, but I enjoy doing it even more. If you have any questions about me or my flying or anything at all, feel free to email me. Azpiazu21@yahoo.com

First Post: Mini Bio

20081029 - I've started this later than I wanted to. I didn't get the idea to blog or keep a written record of my flights other than the logbook. Thus far I have 19.5 hours and .9 hours as Pilot in Command. Here is a quick bio: My name is Adam Azpiazu. I am 18 years old and have been flying since March of 2008. I am a senior at Wyalusing Valley High School. I play basketball and am looking forward to this year. I am part of the Navy DEP. I hope to go to college with an NROTC scholarship to become an officer so I can get the chance to become a Naval Aviator.