Ramshorn- I have to agree with Mordacai the trailer park is the better option though. I am finding EFT very enjoyable but obviously I don't have anything to compare it with.
Day 7
Weather is great today calm winds and plenty of sun. We are going to start with a Nav to the south west. I planned the route which was destined to take us 24 minutes. We found our usual set heading point and noted the time and we flew on. I had split the route into 4 six minute legs, but had failed to realise that if I had split it into 3 legs our waypoints would have been much easier to find. There was not really much to see at my points so I had to rely more on my timing and abeam features. However the leg worked out well and we arrived at our destination at more or less the correct time. I have a bad habit of spending too much time looking at instruments rather than getting my head out of the cockpit. The instructor pointed out that if you fly a heading and then pick a visual reference point on the horizon and just fly to that, your heading will always be good. All basic stuff but not being the brightest cookie in the jar, I had never really thought about it. At our destination I was given a diversion to the south a distance of about 25 miles. Again very basic, draw a line, look out, mark a half way point, look out, measure the distance, look out, hold your pen on the track, look out, slide the pen to the nearest VOR, look out, check the heading, look out, advise time to destination and heading, look out, look for MSA, look out and just fly. You are not allowed to look at your chart again until you are 3 minutes from your half way point, at which time you can advise new heading to fly and revised ETA. This simple approach worked very well and amazingly we passed over our diversion within a minute of our time. We had been flying for about an hour by now, and we decided to land at nearby Okeechobe for lunch. The airfields here are fantastic and all have superb restaurants and facilities, and best of all no landing fees. After lunch we took of again to have a look at PFLs and emergency descents. The PFLs are very similar to the way that I was taught although you have the added complication that the engine may or may not be on fire. The power is pulled and you pitch for best glide, and then ask is there a fire. If the answer is yes you carry out the fire drills as follows. Mixture ICO, Fuel off, Ignition off, Heater off, Defroster off, then is the fire out. The answer always appears to be no. You then select full flaps and carry out a spiralling descent at 80Kts at 45deg angle of bank. Every 180deg you ask is the fire out. If it is you immediately clean up the flaps, pitch for best glide and carry out a normal PFL. Remembering of course, that as there has been an engine fire, you do not try to restart.
I am becoming more comfortable with the aircraft each day, but now I need to concentrate on learning my checks. All in all the two flights today have gone well. Tomorrow is more instrument flight, and recovery from unusual attitudes using partial panel.
<<edit: Remember the drills and speeds quoted are aircraft type specific (C172?) - other aircraft may use different drills/speeds>>
Last edited by Keygrip; 31st May 2005 at 20:06.