Lesson 23- 4.17.12 ROCKED IT

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. 

 ~Thomas Jefferson

It's been a crazy week at the Vande Voort house and the week isn't even over yet.  Shane has had trips everyday and I've had some photo sessions and volunteer work.  We were able to squeeze a lesson in though.  The funny thing is the weather actually cooperated on the only evening this week that we could fit it in.  I guess the lesson was meant to be.  I wasn't feeling this was the case in the hour leading up to it however.  The sister sitters were running late and I was cranky due to my very recent Dt. Coke cutback.  I think it gave me a small taste of what detox would be like.  I was a three to four can a day girl, but I had to cut it cold turkey.  Yikes, poor Sullivan (maybe Shane too).  Anyways, 7 pm was fast approaching and I was ready to just forget the lesson and veg.  Shane said we still had some good flying time so I headed out to the airport.  In the back of my mind I was kind of questioning myself, but I figured maybe putting my focus elsewhere would help my mood.  

Since it was getting late Shane had the airplane pre-flighted and ready to go by the time I pulled into the parking lot.  I jumped in the airplane and got working on the checklist.  I got through the checklist and we started our taxi to one six.  I ran through the pre take-off checklist and we were ready to go.  I got lined up and the butterflies in my stomach were going crazy (I get way more worked up over take-offs as opposed to landings).  I think it's because there's a minute where you are mentally preparing yourself for the task at hand.  It's one of those moments where everything around you seems quiet and in you're in the zone (there is nothing quiet about an airplane engine, LOL).  I gave the airplane full power and we smoothly rolled down the runway in a straight line.  I didn't tug to hard or too early, and I gave it the perfect amount of rudder.  

We were practicing take-offs and landings so we stayed in the pattern and played cat and mouse with one of Shane's other airplanes.  Once we were in the air, I had a short in my head freak out about the fact I hadn't flown the pattern from one six in awhile.  Luckily, I got busy and didn't have time to dwell.  It all came back and so did my confidence.   The wind became an issue once we turned base.  So we had to setup a wind correction angle to keep us from being blown further away from the runway.  Once we did this then the wind helped us to get to the runway and descend.  I had a good landing which was exciting!  I didn't balloon like I had a couple times in the previous lesson.  We went around the pattern a couple of more times and I had a couple more good take-offs/landings.  Once we pulled up to the pumps I knew I had rocked it.  I did confirm it with Shane before I celebrated too much. SWEET SUCCESS!

Lesson 22- 4. 9.12 practice, practice, and more practice

"Practice is the best of all instructors"

 Publilius Syrus

Shane and I worked on perfecting my take-offs and landings for lesson 22.  The take-offs and landings have been and will continue to be the main focus right now.  I had a couple landings where I ballooned a bit.  I think the best way to explain this would be through a video I found.  Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ShIi_WXCMM

I ended up being pretty frustrated after these landings but we figured out I did this when I came into land a bit high.  I was able to turn it around and finish on a nice safe landing.  There isn't much else new on the training front, but it is getting harder to find time for the lessons.  The weather is nice and busy season is upon us.  Bring on the craziness!

Lesson 21- 4.3.12 Emergency procedures

              "You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky." -- Amelia Earhart


My last lesson was a week ago today.  I'm a little late getting this post completed but life has got in the way a bit.  I try my very hardest to blog shortly after the lesson so I remember details, but it doesn't always work that way.  It's funny pre-mommy phase I probably could've remembered every last detail of the lesson, but after pregnancy and now parenting my memory is shot.  Yes, mommy brain is a real condition.  


Here's what I remember.  I got to the airport and we briefed in Shane's office.  The plan was to keep working on the take-offs and landings.  I know if you read the blog you know we've been devoting a lot of time to them.  I don't totally suck at them it just requires lots of time and practice to become safely proficient at them.  Hmm, safely proficient, it sounds like I'm writing a manual for the FAA.  We headed to the airplane and I started the checklists.  Once that was complete, I started to head towards three four because that is where we'd be taking off from.  We got to the turn around and I finished the before take-off checklist, and we were ready to go.  I had a nice take-off and was excited about that.  The take-off has been my achilles heel, but I'm really starting to get proficient at it. I maneuvered through the pattern without any problems.  Soon it was time to land and I had a good landing (good for a pre-solo student not Shane good).  We all have to start somewhere, right?  We did a touch and go and were back up in the air.


The advantage to having your husband teaching you how to fly is that he knows how and when to introduce a somewhat nerve wracking skill.  After I turned to enter the pattern Shane said he was going to simulate engine failure, and he was going to show me how to maneuver the airplane to the ground.  I was a bit apprehensive but knew that I was with a very safe and skilled pilot.  Shane modeled how to get the airplane to the ground and I was glad once we touched down on the runway.  We did another touch and go and I thought we'd resume our take-offs and landings. I figured Shane would just model landing the plane and that would be the end of it.  I was wrong.  As soon as we were in the pattern he told me it was my turn.  I did have a bit of a panic moment but he pushed me, and before I knew it I was flying it.  When I was flying it didn't feel much different than normal.  It did require more strength to turn and maneuver the plane.  I guess the best way to describe it would be to say it felt kind of stiff.  We came in high over the runway but had the whole length of the runway to get down.  I actually land quite well when we come in high on regular landings.  I have no idea why.  It probably has to do with me doing the opposite of what "normal" students do.  I guess in reality it's probably a good thing that I know how to compensate if I come in high.  Anyways, the landing was pretty uneventful and I safely got us on the ground.  We went around the pattern one more time and did a standard landing before calling it quits for the night.


I left the lesson feeling good about how I was progressing.  My take-offs are coming together and my landings getting better.  I'm also thankful that Shane introduced the emergency procedure in the way that he did.  He knew very well if he told me in briefing like he does with most students I would've fixated on it.  It most likely would've impacted my performance during the lesson.  The way he introduced it didn't give me time to think I just had to act.  Oddly enough, I just came across some reasons why women don't stick with flying and one of those reasons was introducing stalls to early in training.  Shane and I were talking about it last night and he told me he introduced them later with me.  He normally introduces them around the third lesson and he waited until the sixth lesson with me.  The man's a genius!  Ok, so I'm partial.  If you'd like to check some interesting information about women and flying go to http://www.teachingwomentofly.com/default.htm.  

Lesson 20- 3.30.12 Cat and Mouse

"Flying is not about whether the pilot is a man or a woman. It is about the results of the actions imposed by the pilot and the responses returned by the aircraft. The aircraft does not know or understand gender. It only knows the difference in a true pilot, and one who was perhaps not meant to fly."

— Captain Jennifer Kaye, Air National Guard, 2000

Friday's weather was different.  It wasn't raining but it sure felt and looked like it could.  I made it to the airport at six and the sun was starting to peek out a bit.  It was exciting to be able to fly a sky that would be smooth as glass .  Refining take-offs and landings was the plan for this lesson.  An area I needed to work on was keeping my hand on the throttle.  Shane says I really should keep my hand on it when flying in the pattern.  I've developed a tendency to take my hand off of the throttle once we're in the air. This may not seem like a big deal but if I do the throttle can slip back.  If the throttle slips it could mean a potential for a reduction in power.  Once my hand is off I rarely remember to put it back on.  This has created another bad habit which is grabbing Shane's leg when I land.  I think it'd be pretty embarrasing to fly with another instructor and give their leg a squeeze.  Plus, the fact that it's a bad habit and poor form means I need to break myself of it sooner than later. 

A beautiful evening meant that there would be traffic.  I'm finally adjusting to it a little better than I was.  The other airplane flying around the pattern was another instructor and his female student.  If you remember from one of my previous posts you know that women only make up for six percent of pilots.  It was totally cool that the only two planes flying around Pella (a town of about 10,000) and both of the students were females.  It was unique just like our little town; Pella prides itself on being unique.  Yes, sometimes this little dutch community smack dab in the middle of the US can be pretty cutting edge. I thought I it was lame in high school but now realize what a true gem it is.  If you'd like to know more about our quaint community go to http://www.cityofpella.com/ or http://www.pellachamber.org/.

The other plane was finished with their pre-flight and checklist work well ahead of us, and they started on their pattern work.  Once we were finished with ours we waited for our turn and prepared to take-off.  My first take-off I gave it the power in the right amount of time and I was headed straight down the runway.  I was pumped!  I got a little eager and started to pull back a little early, and we hadn't quite reached the speed needed to take-off.  I ended up flaring and our speed got to slow.  In order to correct for this we relaxed the back pressure and added power.  Grrr, I was mad at myself but didn't have time to dwell on it.  On top of all the pattern work I needed to do we had to be in constant communication with the other airplane flying the pattern.  Radio communication is important when dealing with traffic, but it's just as important to keep them in your sight.  We worked our way through the pattern and prepared for our first landing.  I didn't do so well with keeping my hand on the throttle during this first go around, but luckily we were doing multiple landings.  As we approached the runway we were a bit high but were able to fix this by adding full flaps.  The landing wasn't a greaser but it was safe.

I barely had time to take enjoy my landing because Shane said we'd be doing a touch and go.  I felt like we were chasing the other airplane and vice versa, but it was fun.  The other airplane was preparing to land so I had to take-off right away again.  I turned the carb heat off, put the flaps up, added full power, waited until my speed reached 55 knots, and then started to pull back.  The take-off was good and I was making progress.  I remember commenting to Shane that it might've been my best take-off ever.  I remembered to keep my hand on the throttle for the rest of the lesson except when I had to itch my nose.  Hooray for small victories!  A landing and some pattern work later and we were ready to land yet again.  I was all lined up, descending nicely, and pretty sure I was  going to grease this landing.  I was just about ready to put the airplane on the ground when Shane saw a deer.  The deer was on the edge of the grass just by the runway, so Shane made the call to do a go around.  At this point I was a bit shaken and had him take over.  We got back in the air and I took over flying again.  We did two or three more landings and then called it a night.

I really felt like I progressed during this lesson.  I broke my bad habit and was able to keep my hand on the throttle.  My take-offs are really progressing, and working the rudder pedal is starting to come together for me.  The landings are coming along and I'm getting a "feel" for when I need to put the airplane on the ground.  I now have 18.2 hours in my logbook, and as my time builds so does my confidence.  It was a good lesson and a good night.