Originally Posted by
double_barrel
Musing on the fact that everyone's experience is very different......
Things I have never done:
Turn left - ok that's a very slight exaggeration, but not much and not for many hours. Maybe I will crap myself when the plane leans the other way!
Seen the mixture at full rich
Waited less than 20 minutes for take off clearance
Had a lesson cancelled due to bad weather
This has been a good read and as others have commented brought back memories, you are definitely not alone.
Left hand circuits are easier for the reason you mentioned earlier, thats why you sit on the left. You'll adapt quickly. Should have seen me trying to get used to a right slipped approach when the wind was in an unusual direction, never done that much, understood the theory but muscle memory not there, all over the shop like a one-armed paper hangar.
Surprised you don't power check or take off full rich, what are you flying and has it been explained why? I seem to recall a general direction to never lean above 75% power.
Is that 20 minutes for push back / taxi, or waiting in a queue to take off while burning your cash? If the latter I would be concerned - where is this? I also note your comments about how busy the circuit is and having to extend, which doesn't help consistency at the start. I started off at a small relatively quiet field (Panshanger) with almost no delays and little other traffic to worry about, which made getting the basics right early on much easier and learning more progressive when moving on to busier places like Stapleford.
I think perhaps you have been rather lucky with the weather this year!
On taxiing, I struggled with not feeling in control to begin with. I found there seemed to be quite a delay between foot action and meaningful aircraft response so I was often late heading in the right direction and then over-controlling, just takes time to get in synch. It actually reminded me a bit of trying to steer a boat vs a car.