Jump to content

Red_Bird_Flies

Basic Member
  • Posts

    17
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About Red_Bird_Flies

  • Birthday 03/21/1989

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Female
  • Model
    M20E

Recent Profile Visitors

454 profile views

Red_Bird_Flies's Achievements

Apprentice

Apprentice (3/14)

  • First Post
  • Collaborator
  • Conversation Starter
  • Week One Done
  • One Month Later

Recent Badges

17

Reputation

  1. Man, it was definitely a stressful process. I have never slept better in my life though - like a baby!
  2. Forgot to pop in and update everyone here: officially a CFI thanks to this gorgeous M20-E!!
  3. Update: 5 hours of interrogation and I passed the oral exam (woo hoo!) However was given a discontinuance due to weather (high winds). Will be flying next week if the weather cooperates but either way, I'm half way there! Thanks for all of the great suggestions, y'all! - Jen
  4. Y'all. GREAT NEWS. She was grounded for most of the week due to a wonky gear indicator light that decided to work intermittently but I just landed after an extremely successful flight: I've got it down!! While she was in maintenance I had them lube her up a bit. They were a bit confused at first but once I showed them what happens with my thumb when I put pressure on it, they understood lol I'm not sure if it was the lubrication on the release button or the fact that I went up with another CFI who again let me take some time to work out a good hand gesture but I did it on my second or third try. After practicing in slow flight, we took her in and I did a couple touch and gos no problem. Today is a very good day Side note: sitting on the right is so different! Not a fan of the new sight picture yet, but I'm sure I'll get used to it Thanks for all of your great suggestions! You guys are great. - Jen
  5. No worries, they can look pretty similar when you’re focused on taxiing That’s a great idea!! I’ll be sure to check into that! thanks, jen
  6. Hey those are some great suggestions! I spoke with the owner of the school and let him flex my thumb back and out of socket so he could see what I was working with. Initially he was just grossed out but he’s said he’s down to have maintenance lube her up when she goes down for her 100 hour (which is later this week). I’m really optimistic this will help me out! In the meantime, my husband and I are going to stop by a few sporting goods stores so test out some braces. Hopefully we’ll find a solution soon! Thanks again for all of your amazing suggestions, this is such a great community! - Jen
  7. Whew, I'm MIA for a couple hours and I come back to a ton of great suggestions! However, no modifications of any sort can be done on this plane as I am not the owner. To answer your question, Mike Elliott, this is the school's Mooney, and it's a '65 M20E. When I reference it as "my Mooney" it's simply the Mooney I'm most familiar with. It's also the only plane I've flown since getting my Instrument Rating so I am incredibly attached to her... I guess you could say I finally formed a good relationship with her. While I have had the opportunity to fly a later model Mooney, I left the flight feeling as though I had "cheated" on my Mooney so I've stuck with her since. So much so that when I got into her yesterday and saw that someone had completely trashed her interior (crushed coffee cops littering the backseat, dirty napkins stuffed in every pocket, etc) I took it as a personal offense and MPG, haha I guess I forgot to omit in my original post that this was for a CFI check ride Takair, What I've been doing since riding right is, before even starting up, stating that I do not have any brakes and that the student is completely in control of stopping the aircraft. Therefore, to make taxiing easier, I let them know they will have controls during all stages of taxiing. I reiterate that they are responsible for stopping as we approach the runway (both from the taxiway and from the approach) as a reminder they have controls once on the ground. Aside from demonstrating appropriate wind controls, I do not handle controls on the ground to reinforce that this is their "domain" in a way. This plane is for students who are already have their PPL and are going on for their CPL. Private Pilot students are 100% not allowed to even look at this Mooney, let alone think about flying her lol - Jen
  8. I’ve already considered that! But I’ve already submitted this plane’s info to the FSDO for my ride so I’m wondering what kind of paperwork I’ll be stuck with. Also, at this point it’s a pride issue lol I can’t let it win!! - Jen
  9. carusoam, Thankfully the actual movement from cradle to floor latch is as easy from the right as it is on the left - you’re right, airspeed is key! Once you get the timing down it’s a breeze. It’s just that darn thumb latch that’s making this so difficult! And no, the Mooney is blue, I’M the red bird (redhead). RLCarter, It’s definitely been an adjustment not having brakes but it’s been fun seeing all the less effective ways I can slow her down... namely getting a flat on one of the taxiways haha don’t really know who was losing nails but I did my part in helping him find at least one of them lol BDPeterson, A switch to lower the gear you say? Well why didn’t I think of that? But yes, the claw-type device idea would be a great help at this stage of my training lol -Jen
  10. Definitely not arguing with you there, it’s what I’ve been taught since my first flight. - Jen
  11. 300 below pattern altitude was exactly what I was taught! However, previous CFI’s who tested with this particular administrator said he prefers turning crosswind at 500 AGL regardless when he’s testing at his home airport. and Carusoam, I’ve got two weeks until my checkride so I’ve got time to work on this, just really hoping to master it sooner rather than later! -Jen
  12. Carusoam, Per my testing administrator’s traffic pattern standards, he wants 1) gear retraction 2) 25, 25 3) flaps raised and 4) fuel pump off - in that specific order. And he wants me to turn crosswind at 500 AGL. I doubt he’ll be ok with me waiting until 1000 AGL lol takair, I LOVE that idea! I’m apparently going to be “teaching” him commercial maneuvers so it would be a great way to incorporate him in his “first” takeoff. Thanks for this idea!! - Jen
  13. So many great ideas! Takair, While that’s a great alternative, I’ve tried the knuckle option but my hand is simply too small. I can’t get enough of a grip on the bar itself while using my pointer finger knuckle to release the bar. Bartman and Carusoam, no autopilot. As of now, I've just used my right hand to release the bar and my left to follow through with locking the bar on the ground. This is a lot of unecessary crossover during a ciritical stage of flight and I doubt my CFI check ride administrator will approve. - Jen
  14. I got my CPL in this Mooney and I was able to operate the J-bar without issue from the left since I don’t have the same issue with my right thumb. Thankfully I can lower the gear from the right without issue since I don’t need to press the release button at all to get it into the cradle. I’m considering asking the man I took my CPL checkride with (who is also the owner of the school where I am about to start instructing) to fly left seat with me and see if he’s got any suggestions. I know there’s got to be an unconventional method I just haven’t considered yet lol Thanks, J
  15. No brakes, which is why I have to have full faith in my instructor and CFI testing administrator ha!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.