Lesson 8
Oh it was so good to be back! A lovely day for it, too.
My first flying lesson for 3.5 months. I had fleeting butterflies as I left home. I don't think it was nerves, just think I just didn't want to be cruddy, plus I was excited.
It went well, I was much better than the last time, but last time I had held my head in my hands after shutdown so the bar wasn't exactly set very high!
I was consolidating (yep, by that I mean repeating) climbing and descending.
I managed to answer all the questions posed in the briefing and I even spotted a 'deliberate' mistake, so I felt a little more confident that I had retained something from prev lessons.
I got up to the wing tanks first go, no unseemly scrabbling, just jumped up like a gazelle (OK, that last bit is a gross over-exaggeration). This is a small issue but it bugs me. Those pegs are too high for us short asses. I made my instructor laugh when I told him in all seriousness I had been practising to improve the manoeuvre.
Interestingly testing the fuel revealed some water at the bottom fuel strainer. As soon as I saw it I reported it. We just drained it off but it was a good lesson to always check it. The other drains had been fine.
My walk round felt good, I enjoyed it but weirdly I skipped 2 lines of the written checklist on pre-start up checks. I have never missed them before. Of course that got me a ticking off, rightly so.
It was a long taxi out to the opposite runway due to NNE wind so I got to practice a fast taxi - I found out why shortly after when I was told that I'd be doing the take off with my instructor following on the controls.
My biggest worry was speeding along while trying to steer straight with my feet, all the while watching the t's & p's and that point in the distance past the end of the runway.
It was fine. No drama. Much easier than I thought it would be.
As we reached 300' I was asked to do the post-take off checks which I was able to carry out from memory
. I later did the enroute checks and finally the rejoins checks without faltering. So the revision last night was worth it.
Then we rehearsed climbing and descending. My word, although I was FAR from perfect it felt soooo much better than my first efforts at the end of December. Obviously I had set the bar very low in lesson 7, but thankfully this was way better.
It was amazing to actually react more quickly, know what to do (not always getting it just right but correcting things more quickly), and to be much lighter on the controls. I didn't chase the instruments this time
I even managed to level off at the desired altitude pretty well. I was very surprised to have improved and also very relieved.
The descending was criticised though! I let the nose drop before the speed bled off. That was the only time today that I got the familiar exasperated voice ringing in my ears
I did get a ticking off for not watching the balance ball and therefore failing to use the rudder at one point, but at the time, near the end of the lesson, I was trying to keep my eyes on the ASI, altimeter, rpm, all while looking out for other aircraft, and steer straight and level, so I admitted defeat!
I also did plenty of turns and those were mostly fine, except I let the air speed drop a bit in the first turn. Again, I was much better than last time.
A couple of other skills, which somehow I have always managed, were still embedded and I was fine with those, which I was very happy about. Trimming was quicker, rolling out onto a heading, all fine. No praise for those because my instructor had said they were good once, ages ago, and that's it from him
Quite a few more new things were introduced as sort of off the cuff remarks that I now have to try and recall! - details of correct height and positioning on approach to the circuit, some radio calls, and I've forgotten what else (!!).
All too soon it was time to head back.
The classic, find your landmark, in my case "can you see the disused airfield" (fairly close to base) which I have never been able to spot! Once again I admitted defeat and was told, "Look, it's right there, with all those cars parked on the runway". Of course, yeah, how could I miss that?! Cars. On a runway...
It was over too soon.
I was annoyed with myself at not being able to read a list!! I was very pleased that I felt a lot better in the air.
In conclusion, a great day but OMG, I am shattered!! I've had to have a nap this afto!!!
[A slice of cake to anyone that read all the above
]