#pilotslicense

[overlandblackbear]

Day 11! Elf on the Shelf is well on his way to get his #pilotslicense with all of his recent #flightstudies! Here he is with his #aviator #goggles & #quadcopter #drone! . . . #dronestagram #elf #elfontheshelf #elfontheshelfusa #30daysofxmas https://www.instagram.com/p/BrCCSYQAJY6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wxi8fcmco41r

[redspan-blog]

Private Pilots Licence - Further Flight Training After Getting Your Priv...

[redspan-blog]

Private Pilot Licence How To Reduce The Cost Of Learning To Fly & Gett...

[jamiethole]

So this is happening :) #pilot #pilotslicense

[geoffeg-blog-blog]

Power On Stalls and Steep Turns

My first attempt at my third flight was postponed due to high winds (20mph gusting to 30). I was a bit nervous about those kinds of winds this early in my lessons so I was relieved when my instructor emailed saying it was too bumpy to go up. The weather was perfect a week later when I did go up: 5 mph winds with slight gusts and 50ºF temps. My introductory flight at [SET](http://www.airnav.com/airport/KSET) was in a Cessna 152 and my first lesson was in a 172. Sarah mentioned that she might like to be in the backseat during some of the flights, the 172 is only $10 more an hour and I figured I should stick with one model. During the pre-flight checklist a Cessna 152 pulled up to the pump with a propeller that had struck the ground on landing. I lost my place on the checklist a few times while trying to look at that plane with the bent prop and forgot to check for proper operation of the flaps. Lesson learned: keep your mind on what you're doing, don't concern yourself with things that won't affect you or your plane. A bit of confusion in scheduling led to the 180hp model being the only 172 available for my third lesson. Before the flight I wasn't sure what that extra 20hp in the 172S engine would translate to performance wise but I definitely found out during the takeoff roll. The 172S felt noticeably faster compared to it's lower-powered cousins; I found it harder to keep the runway center line in front of me. Once we rotated, I immediately needed more right rudder input to keep straight and level flight. From the moment we turned onto the runway and began the takeoff roll up until about one minute after leaving the runway I felt the discomfort I've felt on previous flights. Sweaty hands, a queasy stomach and what felt like tunnel vision and hyper focus on the sky in front of me. Then I looked over and saw that my instructor wasn't flying, **I** was flying an airplane. I remembered that the plane wasn't going to do anything I didn't command it to and my instructor could undo anything I could do. The apprehension mostly disappeared and I started to relax a bit, chatting with my instructor as we flew to the practice area. Once we leveled off around 2500ft and got over the practice area I asked my instructor to help me get a better feel for how the plane reacts to rudder input alone. I knew what the rudder did and how it translated to controlling an aircraft but I wasn't comfortable with how it felt, how much pedal input was needed to produce an effect. The instructor held the yoke straight while I gave various amounts of left and right rudder input. Initially it caused the plane to just yaw left or right but, a second later, the wing yawed further out gets more lift and starts to roll the plane. I didn't expect such a delayed reaction for the roll, the demonstration helped me get a much better feel for the pedals. Next came steep turns and power-on stalls, both of which seemed much easier and more comfortable than I had expected. The steeper turns require more attention: keeping airspeed, altitude and a coordinated turn is difficult at first but easy to handle once you're in the turn. The power-on stalls are partially meant to help a pilot understand proper recovery when taking off with too steeply and I had some concerns about my comfort level with the high angle of attack needed to induce a power-on stall. That concern quickly disappeared, the sensation was barely noticeable and much less pronounced than a power-off stall where the plane's nose suddenly drops at the end of the stall. However, power-on stalls will need a lot of practice to properly recover from without entering a spin, an undesirable side effect of an improperly coordinated stall recovery. I bounced at least once on landing as a result of not keeping back pressure on the controls when I touched down. For some reason, my reaction on feeling the wheels touch the runway was to push in on the yoke, giving the aircraft just enough lift to temporarily depart the runway, a mistake I didn't make on the second contact.

[geoffeg-blog-blog]

First Flights

I've wanted to be a pilot since I was a kid. My dad had his own business, I would sometimes fly with him in addition to the occasional family vacations. Before 9/11, pilots would invite excitable little kids like me up into the cockpit during cruise flight and let them look at all the buttons, knobs and controls. Those pilots seemed superhuman, one or two people commanding a huge machine, they had to know what every switch, control and circuit breaker did and when it needed to be used. However, I never became a pilot, I became a software developer instead. The act of being a pilot still seemed exciting but the stress of getting into the career quickly undermined my enthusiasm. My Dad also explained that pilots needed great math skills, which I did not have and, from what I can tell, most pilots don't need. Over the years my fascination with aviation continued. I enjoy looking around on [Airliners.net](http://airliners.net), I'll listen to ATC on [liveatc.net](http://liveatc.net) and I love commercial airline travel (especially takeoff). A few years ago I took a 1 hour introductory flight during a sunny, calm day but didn't expect the flight in that little Cessna to be so bumpy and responsive to the controls. I became uncomfortable; more because of my inexperience and lack of preparation than any real fear about the safety of flying. In September of this year, I received a introductory flight lesson gift certificate as an early birthday present (thanks Sarah!). I scheduled another one hour introductory flight lesson, this time at [St. Charles Smartt Airport](http://www.stcharlesflyingservice.com/) north of St. Louis, MO. I was more prepared this time for the queasiness and feel of flying a small, light aircraft. I felt a bit more comfortable, aided by a very relaxed, calm instructor in the right seat. I was still very nervous, with sweaty hands and my stomach in my throat when we hit the lightest turbulence, but I really enjoyed that second introductory flight, as evidenced by the massive smile on my face when I climbed out of the cockpit. The feeling of freedom and serenity overcame any discomfort and I was hooked. I also felt that the instructor would be patient with my awkwardness and not push me faster than I felt I could handle. I immediately scheduled my first real lesson for a few weeks out. That first flight lesson was on a mostly clear, warm day. I taxied to the runway, took off, did some basic turns and did my best to keep calm and in control. For the landing I handled about 20% of the flight controls and the instructor handled the throttle. Still, my mind was not able to control my stomach. I was not dizzy, queasy or scared mentally but I just wasn't relaxed physically. The instructor said it would get better with further flights. I bought two books and a fuel tester and scheduled my next flight for a few weeks later. That second flight was a bit smoother. I taxied, took-off and practiced slow flight and power-off stalls which I found relatively easy. The 30º turns were more concerning than the stalls, mostly because I still wasn't comfortable with the proper relation of rudder to yoke input. For the landing, the instructor gave me full control but kept his hands and feet on the controls. I landed a little hard but felt great about the approach and touchdown. Once I was down, I focused on the first taxiway I saw and decided I wanted to take that taxiway. Those little Cessnas can stop quick when you slam on the brakes. I felt a bit more relaxed during that flight, the turbulence didn't bother me so much as annoy me, having to continually provide clumsy control inputs. My next flight is this Saturday, where we'll be practicing power-on stalls and steep bank angle turns. Those should test my resolve a bit more, given the greater changes in g-forces I'll be experiencing.

[tammy-dahlia]

Pilot's license.

One of the best euphemisms I've heard for something I thought I'd never be doing.

I have decided, if what I hope doesn't happen, actually does happen; I'm going to take it into my own hands and not tell him. He doesn't need to worry about me or anything else. For the sake of protecting our futures, he will never get to know what happens. As selfish as that sounds, I don't want to jeopardize his life long goals because we did shit that we weren't supposed to do. 

Heavy thinking last night always goes well with a little bit of cotton mouth.