Will Samurai Husky Solo?

[Samurai Husky]

Sure its a lot of hours, there are some people that PPL at the amount of time I have, but i can honestly say that i feel safe flying. We'll see if that changes when i solo.... but in general i feel calm and in control when I fly and in this area, that says a lot. Even talking with Norcal, I am getting better. Though from what i understand, norcal is the nicest FAA approach center in the country. I hear that Phx Approach and Chicago Approach are %#(holes.

I would say that if i solo'ed at 20 hrs, i would not feel the same way at all. The difference between 20 hrs and now is unbelievable. Actually, i probably would have damaged the plane at 20hrs.... 32 hrs was the 'a ha' moment where things all came together (Thats earlier in the thread); Everything since then has been more or less practice or testing, plus night flight. 

Right now i feel a little unsure on where i go from here. Once i solo i can fly by my self between 2 airports, but i really dont feel like need to practice landing or forward slips or power off landings; I think all of that is rock solid. Ground reference is also pretty good so is flying in a pattern. So really when i solo all I will be mainly practicing is slow flight with in stds, steep turns within stds and thats about it. I mean i will still do landings, but its not like i need to do hours and hours of landings anymore. 

I think that short field take offs/landing as well as soft field TO/Landings will be pretty easy. Wont know until i get there i guess, but my control of power during landings has been pretty good. Though i dont think they want us to do a lot of short field landings, because it burns up the brakes. 

 

[Yetti]

Just so you know I started this thread to goad you on and hope you would not quit.  I think there is about a 70% drop out rate for private pilot.  So just make it happen.

My Flight Review instructor final quote was "Make it airline smooth"   Work on that.

[Samurai Husky]

"There's no quittin on your dreams" - me 

[Samurai Husky]

Canceled again, I really hate el' nino..... 

Winds were way outside my sign off range. For runway 31 they were 22017knts... So basically 17knt crosswinds... We did crosswind landings because i hadnt flown in a week and i was getting rusty, combine that with getting really excited (because it looked like there may have been a window to solo at the very beginning) and the results were the first few being god awful. Then gradually got better, 1 perfect airliner landing.

But it was crazy busy today. In 90 mins we only got 8 landings in; I think it took us a good 10 mins at run up to get in that we were ready to go. We also got all the paper work down for X-country. Which we would have done today since the chances of solo were so low, but someone came in right after me and booked the plane. By the time we had the paperwork done, we didnt have enough time to do the XC either...

Today was a big disappointment

Next opportunity isn't until wed night...

Edited May 23, 2016 by Samurai Husky

[carusoam]

What are you going to work on between now and then?

There is always something to do.

 

Plan the next X-Country.

 - the old paper, slide rule, and sundial way... Get really good at this so you flawlessly present your skills.  Prove you can get past this little hurdle so you can move on to the method you prefer for flight planning.

- the WingX way... (Or other tablet based app)

 

Memorize the VOR details for the nearest four or five VORs...

- names

- Abreviations

- Frequencies

VORs never go out of style, usually...

 

Draw out all the typical things to know related to controlled airspace.  A, B, C, D, E, and G...

- what makes each special, like what is needed prior to entry into class C and B.

- what are the typical tops and bottoms of each, and their lateral limits...

- what to get (weather), when to call (distance out), what to ask for, that kind of thing.  When is a clearance required? What are the key words to hear?

 

Draw out the cloud clearances and visibility required for VFR flight.

 

Draw the circle diagram for VFR cruising altitudes.

- what altitude do they start at?

- what headings do they change over at?

- which is odd, which is even?

 

These are the things I still like to know, long after the check ride is over.

 

Best regards,

-a-

[Samurai Husky]

Yea, I will probably get the knowledge test out of the way.

i just feel like the last 2 weeks I have been spinning my wheels, making no forward progress. I'm getting to the hour count now where I should be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but I don't.

 If it's not weather, then it's cfi schedule, not that then the plane is down or booked.

frustration is starting to build. 

[Mcoyne34]

There are A-holes controllers at all facilities. It's just a personality trait that people possess. I can't stand working with people like that. Pilots are the only reason us controllers get a paycheck. 

[Samurai Husky]

It wasn't the controllers fault. He was working his ass off. We had 6 at run up, 5 in the pattern, 2 ifr approaches an 3 helicopters. 

even after an hour there were still 4 in the pattern plus random people dropping in. I think there is a vintage military air show at moffet because there were a bunch of old fighter planes dive bombing the runway.

it was just a bad day to stay at kpao. 

[carusoam]

Life is like a box of chocolates... - F. Gump.

 

There are so many things that can be worse.  Every stage of life has them.

Getting the ticket takes work.  Keeping the ticket may take even more work.

Stay positive, life is a long journey.  To search for disappointing stories, search for Class III medical.  Add something like demonstrated abilities. There are some pilots that never get a chance to solo and others that lose the privilege to fly.  And some that haven't tried because they thought they wouldn't be able to...

For the sunnier side of things... look forward to the flights where you pick up a few wayward pups and deliver them along the way to their forever homes.  Or look up Yooper Tom who delivered three patients in one flight to visit a medical center.

There is no short cut and it doesn't get any easier with time.  You just get a whole lot more prepared with practice and education.

Keep reading, studying, memorizing, dreaming, planning, posting,...

I'm looking forward to the pictures of the first PnP flight you make.  Huskies or dachshunds...?

Best regards,

-a-

[Guest Mike261]

1 hour ago, Samurai Husky said:

Yea, I will probably get the knowledge test out of the way.

i just feel like the last 2 weeks I have been spinning my wheels, making no forward progress. I'm getting to the hour count now where I should be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but I don't.

 If it's not weather, then it's cfi schedule, not that then the plane is down or booked.

frustration is starting to build. 

ok... so you're frustrated. This is a good sign. When i sign off a student for solo it is usually after a few hours of frustration. If your instructor has been sitting there with his hands in his lap and you've been bouncing a couple of landings and making mistakes and you're totally frustrated, and thinking you're going backwards...You're not, you are on your own. I'm sitting over there watching you, with my hands in my lap...and you are correcting, recognizing mistakes...I'm doing nothing but getting quiet. This is a new phase of training for you. For all intents and purposes, I'm not there in the cockpit with you...I just offer critique. This is because you are now really learning how to land the airplane. I'm not telling you you floated it...you figured it out and corrected it. I'm not telling you that you need power...you figured it out and did it yourself. I don't tell you to correct for the crosswind, or that you need more aileron...and maybe you figure it out a little late without my help, but yet you figure it out and its not perfect, but good enough. I can see it before you can, and when i tell you, you respond and have a good outcome. now you see it and correct it yourself, all i have to do is wait for you to gain a little experience on your own while i keep my mouth shut. It only takes a few landings. It's all on you now. I watch and become quiet, strangely quiet. Where is all that feedback you are accustomed to getting? It's gone, I'm pretending I'm not there. "Make this one a full stop, give me your logbook and let me out by the tower... Oh...beware...this thing is going to leap off the ground without me in it..."

With the exception of having kids...it will be the best day of your life.

Mike

[Danb]

Mike261 -> a lot of great comments not just for newbeys but for all of us. I think back many yrs, typically every other year I'd go to different three day flight programs like flight safety, recurrent flight flight training in Ill. and Doug Carmoudy when he was Mooney specific. It seemed at the end of day one I was torn apart by the difficulty of simulated disasters and extreme single pilot adventures. I generally wanted to quit flying at the end of day one, by the time I got to the hotel my mind lost all confidence.  I needed to critique myself that night and assure I'd make it home. But by the end of day three after being rebuilt I felt sharp and ready, I was torn apart then put back together. Still 30 yrs and 3000+ hours I'm still learning and have that pit in my stomach along with the need to strive to get better.

SH will learn that  what he is going through will be the norm for decades, there is thruth in the ppl is a license to learn, when you think you learned it all its truely time to quit. After a long winter every year the pit comes back only practice and patience will prevail.

Its great he is frustated and will soon realize it's the norm, Mother Nature makes sure of that.

[Samurai Husky]

Can confirm. He was pretty quite except on those really crappy landings. They were crappy..... Almost day 1 all over again. 

We were going to solo at a different airport on the XC (kill 2 birds with 1 stone); But again, someone booked the plane right after us, by the time we did the paperwork for the XC we only had enough time with the plane to stay local. There were no nearby airports with calm wind. 

But i felt even though the wind was bad, that i should have been able to handle it. That's the frustrating part. 

[Mcoyne34]

 I could not land a plane smoothly to save my life when I was training.  Then one day I went up with my instructor and the winds were a direct Crosswind at 20 kts gusting up to 30.  I learned how to land that day.  I think the strong winds really teach you a lot about landing and flying. Fly in them as much as you can and calmer winds will become easy.  But in the end, any landing you walk away from is a good landing. In my opinion. 

[Yetti]

I suck most at calm winds and long final landings.   Loop it around and put down gets the best ones.

[Mcoyne34]

Too relaxed with calm winds and too much time to think with a long final. I always have my worst landing when someone is holding short of the runway waiting on me, watching me, judging me...

Edited May 23, 2016 by Mcoyne34

[Samurai Husky]

lol, there is never too much time to think.

We were extended to 2.5nm finals yesterday... is that considered a long final? 

[Hank]

2 hours ago, Yetti said:

I suck most at calm winds and long final landings.   Loop it around and put down gets the best ones.

Seems like my worst landings are in calm condition . Gusty, twitchy, crosswind, variable, no problem. Calm is hard . . . .

[Yetti]

6 hours ago, Samurai Husky said:

lol, there is never too much time to think.

We were extended to 2.5nm finals yesterday... is that considered a long final? 

Depends on your if your idea of fun is putzing around the pattern.  Uncontrolled field with no one around about 0.6 to 0.8 nm away from the runway and same for base and final.   You kind of have to do what the tower tells you at a controlled field but you can throw out the gear and flaps and not get as far away from the runway.

[Yetti]

6 hours ago, Samurai Husky said:

lol, there is never too much time to think.

We were extended to 2.5nm finals yesterday... is that considered a long final? 

Depends on your if your idea of fun is putzing around the pattern.  Uncontrolled field with no one around about 0.6 to 0.8 nm away from the runway and same for base and final.   You kind of have to do what the tower tells you at a controlled field but you can throw out the gear and flaps and not get as far away from the runway.

[Hank]

7 minutes ago, Yetti said:

Depends on your if your idea of fun is putzing around the pattern.  Uncontrolled field with no one around about 0.6 to 0.8 nm away from the runway and same for base and final.   You kind of have to do what the tower tells you at a controlled field but you can throw out the gear and flaps and not get as far away from the runway.

My worst so far was being turned downwind 6nm out from a Class C, then being given a 737 on final to follow; it was a tiny dot in my windshield, so I immediately turned base. By the time I turned final, he had landed, cleared the runway and was most of the way to the terminal. Then it was "Mooney, keep your speed up, there's an MD80 behind you" while on short final. At least there was a high-speed exit a mere 3000' away, the length of my entire runway at home. So I gave it some throttle and held 40-50 mph to the exit before going back to idle power.

Gotta love those towered fields . . . I like to keep the runway just inside my wingtip on downwind, not a thin line in the hazy distance, and turn base when the end if the runway is 45° behind me.

[Samurai Husky]

took the knowledge test today, only got a 85... i thought i would do better. Seems like they knew all the questions to ask me that i  didnt know the answers too. 

All the ones i got wrong were just memorization ones, not the ones that take application of knowledge like navigation, density alt, w&b etc. 

Like who and when do you report your DUI too. IDK, i dont drink and drive

 

[carusoam]

To score a 100% it takes a lot of test practice and huge memory skills.   This is possible with the Internet.  Just not a requirement.

Knowing that, take the same approach with the IR.

When you mom says 'I'm afraid to fly with you in a small plane' you can remind her that you got the best score possible.  Equal to or better than all the Boeing 747 captains out there...

Truthfully, I only got a 98% on the IR, and Mom would only go for taxiing around on the ground.....

Best regards,

-a-

[Andy95W]

Boy am I glad I'm done taking written tests.  I did my 12.

Edited May 26, 2016 by N1395W

[Samurai Husky]

solo canceled again. CFI is trapped on a ferry trip an isnt going to be back in time;

next solo op is sunday

 

[Danb]

Anthony we tied just one more, test must have been easier back in the '80's