Fixed wing...here I come!

I finally started my fixed wing add-on yesterday! Had a great 1.1hr lesson with a great flight instructor out of Pegasus-air flight instruction in Statesboro, GA.

3 things gave me some difficulty.
One: I can't seem to remember to push the throttle to increase RPM. Seems opposite of the collective in a helicopter. At one point on final approach I felt like I needed a bit of power to make the threshold. I promptly decided to pull on the throttle. Got my attention. Kudos to the instructor for letting me fix my error without freaking out on me!

Two: flying with the left hand! Takes some real getting used to using different hands for the controls. Speaking of controls, it seems strange to taxi without my hand on the yoke. My instructor anticipated this and specifically had me stick my arm out the window to break the habit of using my hands to move the aircraft around.

Three: Very stiff controls. The 172 felt like a flying tank. I'm so used to being able to go from 60deg left to 60 deg right and holding it there with my pinky if I wanted to. I really had to use some muscle.

On the plus side, it felt like the lesson went pretty well. My instructor says probably 3-4 hours till solo. I'm MUCH more skeptical than that. I'm really excited about soloing though because out of my 1600hrs flight time, except for a 4 min glider flight when I was 15, I've never been by myself in an aircraft. I'm really looking forward to it.

I've got 3 hours scheduled for Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it.

Thanks to Belle, my lovely wife, for supporting yet another project. Thanks babe!

Jake

Congratulations!

I have a daughter going to college there in Statesboro. She's always driving over to Savannah to eat at Paula Dean's.

Well done, mate. And probably a fortuitous accident that you are flying FW with the other hand. Do things one way with the right hand in the helio, a different way with the left hand in the FW. Possibly helps with differentiating the environment.

Good luck with the solo.

Duncan

The left hand thing had me bothered too when I went from a stick to driving a Cessna. Seemed terribly un-natural. I forced myself to play flight simulator games with my left hand for a while and it helped.

I've flown both left and right handed without too much difficulty, but what I feel is unnatural is a yoke instead of a stick! This is especially true in the flair... a stick is pulled comfortably into your gut, but a yoke rides higher and you end up with it high in your chest and with your elbows arched back behind you.

Bruce

!600 hrs pilot in command and never been in an airplane....
That is a bit strange and unusual.
BB

All my time is in Army helicopters and the Army doesn't go for actual solo flight any more. Our solo flight in flight school was with another flight student in the other seat and it was just around the patch a couple of times. My particular helicopter (OH-58D) can be flown single pilot, but it's only under certain circumstances and I've not had the need as of yet. I really believe true solo time in Army flight school would go a long way to improve the confidence and abilities of newly minted aviators. But...I guess they don't agree. My 1600hrs is total time not PIC, although the Army counts it differently. You don't actually log PIC time until you have earned the PIC title and you are acting in that capacity on that flight. The other thing to think about is nearly 1000 hours of that time is in Iraq and a good portion of the remainder is operating in restricted areas in a tactical environment. I'd say that if I was to take a cross country trip I'd perform in the National Airspace system about like a 200 hour pilot considering how rare I operate in it. Maybe worse because even on our cross country flights we rarely use traffic patterns and almost always take off and land from taxiways and parking areas. I've got some real brushing up to do!

Well if you can switch from automatic transmission to a standard transmission in a car, with no problems, I think a FW should not pose much getting used to.

It's been around 40 years for me, but I can still remember all the feelings as though it was yesterday. I'm pretty sure the first thought I remember after breaking contact with the ground, was such satisfaction of being in the air "alone" and at almost the same instant, the horrifing thought of making my first solo landing.

Then I survived safely

Ron

Look at it this way Jake... if you are comfortable in a rotary winged craft, then you should feel right at home during spin training.

Bruce

Jake,

I recently went for a trial flight in a sport star microlight, and had briefly had the controls in a CH-701, the weight of the controls felt heavy to me as I have mainly flown radio controlled models. The other pilots say the controls in them are reasonably light. I am currently building a CriCri so I hope the controls aren't heavy in that.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Shannon.

Thanks for the responses guys, I'll keep you posted on my mis-adventures.

How far along in the CriCri are you? I really like the idea of very small single seat aircraft like the CriCri and the Hummelbird. I'm sure you've seen the twin jet version using Model Airplane turbines. I wonder if you need a twin and turbine rating? Even so, talk about a cheap way to build turbine time . It would be great if you could start a thread talking about your project. I'd love to hear about it.

Jake,

I am not sure about the USA as to whether you need a twin rating, some of the US CriCri's are listed as singles and some as twins So I guess it depends on the pen pusher. Here in NZ they are a microlight/ultralight, therefore easier to get a license to fly. I think there are issues with the turbines and the foam wing ribs, not that it would stop me making a turbine one. There are ways to engineer that prblem out.

Most of my info is on the CriCriDrawings yahoo group. I will consider starting a thread. I have made a lot of the controls and am currently working on the wing spar. I hope to have the majority done by the end of the year. The CNC I own really helps
Looking forward to you adventures in the 'plank' flying, I will be getting my license when closer to completing my CriCri.

Shannon.

Originally Posted by Jman

I wonder if you need a twin and turbine rating? .

A twin rating is not required to fly a one seat CriCri.
A rating is required to carry passengers.
The pilot would need a minimum of student pilot certificate with a logbook endorsement for solo from an instructor.
If the pilot has a private certificate or higher then nothing more is required to fly solo, I think.
Perhaps an instructor can comment.
BB

Okay Jake,

update us on Sunday. How did it go?

Phil

Sunday went well. We went over slow flight and stalls. We also did our first simulated engine failure. WOW - I can't get over how much time you have once you chop the throttle. I'd have about 1 minute to touch down from 2500 ft in the helicopter I fly. I was actually board it took so long in the 172. Made the field without a problem. Did some more pattern work and my landings were OK but I wasn't getting the flares right. The instructor was helping out with each one. Completely different attitude then doing a run-on landing in a helicopter.

Monday went well too. My stalls were much better and my Simulated engine failure was a non-event. The landings were a different story though. My flares were much worse than the day before and one landing in particular got kind of sporty. When I went into the flare I ballooned up and instead of letting it gradually settle I pushed over on the nose. I recovered in time to land basically flat but we bounced up again. I put the throttle to the firewall and did a go around while in the bounce. The rest of my landings were mediocre and my hopes of solo were dashed.

Today, however, was s different story. Took off and left the pattern to do one power on stall, one simulated engine failure, one power off stall, and a steep turn. All went pretty well and we went back to do some pattern work. I made 6 circuits in the pattern and my last 4 landings were all me and pretty smooth. No tendency to balloon or slam it down. Next, it was my turn to go it alone..>SOLO<!! She told me to do 3 full stop landings and keep an eye on the a shower that was off to the West. While in the pattern before my first landing she told me to make the first landing a touch and go and the next two a full stop. All three landings went without a hitch. Got my cool blue Hawaiian shirt cut to shreds and that was that!

6.3 dual, .6 SOLO