7-7-00
Piper Warrior
Instructor: Long Tan

    Long is an incredible instructor. The next scheduled lesson on my training syllabus was on crosswinds. And sure enough, there was a steady crosswind blowing at both Sullivan County and Monticello airports. I don't know how he does that.

    I'd heard that crosswind landings are one of the harder skills for student pilots to pick up, and I can believe it. That kind of wind plays hell with your pattern, and makes the final approach extremely interesting. Today was a good day to do it because the wind was steady, but not gusty. As I'd read, the idea is to use a sideslip as you get down to the runway. In the pattern and on approach you can just crab to adjust your ground track, but the slip comes in as you get down low. Turn your wing into the wind using aileron, and use this to keep you on the center line. Use opposite rudder to keep the plane pointing straight down the center line. Pretty tricky. Long explained that it's even more difficult under gusty conditions because you have to keep adjusting your slip angle to compensate quickly.

    So we did about seven landings, and I did all right. I was a bit annoyed at myself for making small errors, mostly out of distraction. Once I forgot to take out my flaps after climbing out. On one climb out I was watching the runway to keep a straight ground track, and didn't notice that we were climbing too slowly, and consequently moving 40mph faster than we should have been. And once I thought I saw another plane right near us, but it was just a bird. Scared the heck out of me.

    The worst mistake came when we went back to Monticello. I put us into the pattern, and didn't notice that the wind was coming from a different direction. Makes sense - the Monticello runway is on a different heading than Sullivan County. I failed to compensate during my base turn, and we ended up waaaaaay off line. Had to go around and do it again. When we did put it down on the second try, I handed it over to Long as we flared. I thought we didn't have enough runway left to land, but Long put it down without any problem.

    So although I feel fairly good about the landings, next time I want to try to stay more on top of the details. I've also told Long that I think I need to review some basics, especially airspeed configuration.

7-8-00
Piper Warrior
Instructor: Long Tan

    I asked to go over airspeed configuration again today, and then we did some more landings at Sullivan County. I felt better about everything today, was more relaxed, and felt more "ahead of the plane". I also did the landing at Monticello, and found that we can land in the middle of the runway and still have enough room. Sullivan County's 6000' runway almost seems easy now.

    Long tells me that I'm almost ready to solo. I told him that I could picture myself taking off and flying around by myself, but I don't think I'm ready to land without him there. We have to go over emergency procedures yet, and do some ground preparation before I'm ready. I told him that I am in no hurry, and only want to solo when he is absolutely sure I'm ready. He said that is the hardest part of his job - deciding when students are ready to fly solo. That must be quite a responsibility.

7-11-00
Piper Warrior
Instructor: Long Tan

    We have done a good deal of ground work over the last few days in preparation for soloing. This has included airplane performance, weight & balance, and emergency procedures. After spending an hour in the classroom today, Long took me with him on an errand to another airport - the first time I've been on a cross-country trip of any length. This was only to Sussex, NJ, about twenty minutes away. I was happy to just fly and do the landing, and see what another airport was like. As we made our approach we heard a call from a plane almost directly above us that was dropping skydivers. That's a bit unsettling, although we knew we had time to get on the ground before any came close to us. Landing was OK, but I think I need to learn more about the flare and touchdown phase. My approaches feel OK, but I'm a bit vague on a few particulars of the flare. Should fly tomorrow if the weather is good.

7-12-00
Piper Warrior
Instructor: Long Tan

    Went up to practice emergency procedures and landings today. Once we got up to altitude Long pulled the power back to simulate an engine failure, at which point I promptly forgot what to do. He coached me through it: establish and trim for best glide speed (87mph in the Warrior), look for a landing spot, then go to the checklist to try an engine re-start. Mixture full rich, throttle open, carb heat on, electric fuel pump on, primer locked, change fuel tanks, check the magnetos. If that doesn't re-start the engine, get ready for a forced landing (at which point you actually start shutting off the fuel and electrical system, among other things).

    Long also showed me that you need at least 1000' altitude to execute a 180 degree turn. That's means that during an engine failure on takeoff if you are not up to 1000' yet, you just land straight ahead. He simulated this (without warning) as we practiced landings at Sullivan County. Just as I was taking off he pulled the power back! Plenty of runway left to land, and the key is to keep the nose down for speed. Since you're not going that fast just after takeoff, if you pull the nose up you'll stall. So it's better to land a little hard than to stall and get killed.

    Felt good about the landings today. Approaches and touchdowns felt natural and controllable. I especially noted the characteristics of ground effect today. When things are pretty well lined up on final, the plane just straightens out and floats. Although I felt good today, I have no idea what things will feel like when I solo. I'm looking forward to it, and feel confident, but am definitely apprehensive.

7-13-00
Piper Warrior
Instructor: Long Tan

    Landings, landings, landings. Went to Sullivan County and practiced for the solo. Did about eight landings, and it felt pretty good to practice and tweak, and make them as perfect as possible. I needed a little work on my flare and use of the rudder just before touchdown, and I think I have it worked out. Most of the touchdowns were pretty gentle, and proper use of the rudder (usually right rudder) eliminates a side load on the gear. I'm also able to understand how all the components of the landing fit together: the speed & power settings, use of flaps, and the coordination of everything to achieve a good glide slope.

    I'm glad we did not do the solo today because I think I needed the practice. We'll see what happens next time. Supposed to be stormy the next few days, so I might have to wait until after the weekend.