5th lesson - perfect weather/more slow flight and landings

Time - 1 hr
Total time - 3 hrs

Saturday was a picture-perfect day for flying, which was VERY welcome after the spell of horrible weather we've been having here in Chicago. 5 MPH winds, with not a single cloud in the sky, and about 78 degrees. It was perfect. And because it was perfect, the airport was again completely packed. Everyone with a pilot's license who lived in the area was definitely at the airport that day. You would have to be stupid to do otherwise.

After a preflight I talked to the tower and got clearance to taxi, takeoff, and we were in the air. We flew out northwest and practiced some more slow flight, which I found a little more difficult that time. It was hard to maintain altitude while maintaining airspeed, constantly monitoring the power and pitch attitude of the aircraft. The purpose of practicing the slow flight was to further hone my skills of keeping the aircraft slow during a landing approach, which is the next thing we did.

We headed back towards the airport and got clearance from the tower for a touch-and-go. I setup for the approach and flew it rather well, although I used the PAPI extensively to guide me. I don't yet have that total concrete sense of if I'm too high or too low. We had to do a small crosswind correction, which complicated the landing just a little bit. My instructor handled the rudder, but I handled the yoke fully this time, and got the plane on the ground. Immediately following the touch down, I applied full power and made left traffic to again end up on final for a full-stop this time.

I had a little trouble squaring the plane up for landing on final, but eventually put it down smoothly again with the instructor on the rudders. Although immediately following the landing, I made a little bit of a mess-up. Accidentally pushing the right brake more than the left brake, I sent the plane hurling towards the left grass at about a 40 degree angle. Thankfully, my instructor punched the right rudder and kept us on the pavement, but that was still a little humiliating.

Overall another great day of flying, making a lot of progress. Some comments from my instructor were that I seemed to be very confident in the air, flying maneuvers easily and correctly and that I was great on the radios, which is an area that new pilots usually fall short in (or are scared of). The one criticism that he had that I wholeheartedly agreed with was that I am not the best at manuevering the aircraft on the ground.

Besides that rudder incident I described above, I also did the same exact thing while taxiing to the hold short line, making the plane end up facing sideways, parallel with the runway. I agreed with him quite emphatically, stating that I suck on the rudders! He reassured me though, reminding me that I had only been in the aircraft three times and I really shouldn't be criticizing myself like that yet! I just told him that I want to improve quickly, and he said that flying doesn't come quick to anyone, which I understood.

My flight today also marked the completion of the "Phase II" part of the flying program, which is meant to wash people out. This puts me in the "official" flight training program at Palwaukee Flyers. I received a Cessna pilot's training kit, with CDs and books and manuals and all sorts of good stuff, which I am excited to delve into.

After another great day of flying and some more great weather in the forecast I am very excited for my next lesson on Thursday (6-14).