2013-07-09 02:04:43 +00:00
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---
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layout: post
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title: "Swimming Laps with the Ugly Duckling"
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tags:
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- aviation
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- flying
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2013-09-19 03:56:58 +00:00
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- vfrstudentpilot
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2013-07-09 02:04:43 +00:00
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---
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Due to some scheduling challenges, my instructor and I decided to move up our
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standing appointment from Saturday to Friday in order to ensure that I got two
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flights in this week.
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Just like [earlier](/2013/06/11/maybe-hayward-isnt-so-bad.html), we stayed in
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the pattern at Hayward (KHWD) to practice the pattern, approaches and landings.
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Today's interesting complication/oddity was that there was a Temporary Flight
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Restriction (TFR) in place in at the airport because the Vice President is in
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town. I only heard about it when we listened to the
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[ATIS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Terminal_Information_Service)
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*after* engine start. I probably wasted 3 minutes of engine time, next time
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I'll make sure I listen to the *full* ATIS before engine start instead of
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tuning out after the altimeter information.
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For the first time, I needed to deviate from the Controller/Pilot script and
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give Hayward Ground a call and ask them if the TFR will affect our desire to
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just fly the pattern. With the green light, I request taxi clearance and we
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start rolling towards 28L in the Ugly Duckling.
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentdero/8675165949/"
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title="Ugly Duckling by agentdero, on Flickr"><img
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src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8387/8675165949_cbcdab831c.jpg" width="500"
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height="375" alt="Ugly Duckling"></a></center>
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Run-up checks complete, I call Tower requesting 28L for closed traffic (pattern
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work), receive clearance, taxi onto runway and then my instructor calls tower
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to inform them we'll be performing an aborted takeoff before properly taking
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off. I wasn't terribly concerned, 28L is **huge**, so we had plenty of space to
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play with. I go full power, we gain some airspeed then abort and veer a bit too
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far to the right of center-line. Oops.
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Single engine airplanes **love** to turn left, there are [four major
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forces](http://cfi-wiki.net/w/Turning_Tendencies) that try to turn the plane
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left. When you take-off, you're putting in maximum power and the plane just
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**wants** to turn left. To stay centered when the plane wants to go left, you
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have to kick some right rudder in. Thing is, if you remove all that power, say
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on an aborted take-off, and don't pick your big-ass right foot up, you're going
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to veer right. Oops.
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I straightened out and we proceeded with a normal take-off roll and rotation as
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per usual, and we were quickly back up in the 650ft pattern coming back around
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to touch-and-go on 28L.
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----
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Unlike previous lessons where we were working in the pattern, this was later in
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the day, and with about 11 knots of wind from about 265/275, a 15-20 degree
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cross-wind. Another new variable to add into the mix!
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We perform a couple touch-and-go's, some of which are pretty nice, some with
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more side-loading than I wanted. After we take-off again tower tells us to
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make right closed traffic for 28R, we're being switched from the giant runway
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(28L) to the smaller runway.
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No big deal, I'm feeling much more comfortable flying the plane, using
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[trim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_tab) more and more to control my
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airspeed, a big improvement from the last lesson. On one approach, I roundout
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my descent, the airspeed slows, I begin to flare, my upwind (side where the
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wind is coming from) wheel *gently* touches down, a couple seconds pass and then the downwind
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wheel gently touches down.
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**Greased it**, except I'm about 5 feet left of
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centerline. Damn.
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When landing in a cross-wind, it's not uncommon to have one wheel touchdown
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first like that you would use a lower upwind wing to
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[sideslip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip_\(aerodynamic\)#Sideslip) into
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the cross-wind to maintain center-line. As long as you have the plane's
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momentum going in a straight line, you're gold.
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A few more approaches, some with flaps, some without flaps which required [forward
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slipping](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip_\(aerodynamic\)#Forward-slip) into
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the crosswind to lose altitude and airspeed. Using the plane as an airbrake is
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pretty fun, and makes for a completely different sound than you'll normally
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hear. I highly recommend them.
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On one circuit, I rolled out on my final approach too early, started correcting
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and became too focused with my airspeed and power *inside* the airplane, that I
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let us line up on the left edge of the runway. Approaching from that far off
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centerline, at less than 100ft from the ground is a **bad idea**. It's a sloppy
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approach, and an inexperienced pilot might try to save it, which can be
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dangerous. The right procedure is to go-around, which is exactly what my
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instructor said, and then asked the rhetorical question: "why did I have to
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call the go-around?"
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An important lesson learned on my part, if I exercise poor judgement to the
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point that my instructor has to exercise his good judgement, that's a Bad
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Thing™.
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Another couple touch-and-gos and we're done for the day. My side-loading has
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gone away (as far as I've perceived it), my roundout and landing flare have
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improved and I'm starting to get a feel for what *looks* and *sounds* like a
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good approach.
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"Hey! You know how to land an airplane!" my instructor says as we slow to taxi
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speed and leave the runway.
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----
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I'm nearing another critical milestone in my flight training, the **solo
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flight**.
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The solo flight is arguably one of the biggest milestones pilot will have. For
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the first time he or she will be *alone* in an airplane, flying around, without
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adult supervision.
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Provided I continue to demonstrate that I can safely perform the
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necessary flight maneuvers and exercise good judgement on bad approaches, I
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should be making solo takeoffs/approaches/landings in the next couple lessons.
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[Hold onto your butts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W6as8oVcuM), next week
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could be amazing.
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