Thanks for the encouragement everyone. HWD said that he becomes "ever so slightly more stupid" when sat next to an instructor. I can relate to that I think
However, the point of the CPL course is that the guy sat next to me is not an instructor, he's a passenger. I think that this is maybe even more important than the increased level of accuracy that everyone else talks about... it's all about changing the way you think about, and approach, your flying - doing everything methodically and professionally.
Anyway, a much better day today, having learnt the lessons from yesterday. Here's today's flight:
Day 5 - Thursday 13 November
Well, I didn't manage to do my bonus flight today.
You don't need an FAA license to do the CPL course, since there is no need to log any P1 time. But I thought that, since I'm in the USA, it was a good opportunity to replace my FAA license which I carelessly lost a year or so ago. That required a visit to the FSDO at Orlando. When I mentioned that I'd need a morning off to drive to Orlando, the instructor suggested we could fly there, if I didn't mind the extra cost. Cool - I was definitely up for that! The biggest airport I've flown into so far is Tucson International in Arizona. Orlando is huge by comparison, definitely an experience that I wanted. Plus I hoped to get some good aerial shots of Disney World on the way!
Well, I woke up nice and early and got a weather briefing. Although it was beautiful weather in Fort Pierce, the forecast for Orlando was fog. Sanford airport - just a few miles north of Orlando - was already reporting IMC conditions, and it was drifting south. We still had the option of going IFR, though, so I asked the briefer to give me the Notams. I'd managed to book my appointment at the FSDO for the day when the President was in Orlando - there was a huge restricted area which would effectively make it impossible for us to get home if I was delayed at the FSDO. So we had to scrap that idea, and I went by car instead - and Tucson is still the biggest airport in my logbook.
Once I got back from Orlando, it was time to start the CPL course. I sat down with my new instructor, and we spent some time going over the course. It is much more formal than I'm used to - the contents of every flight is pre-arranged, and planned to the nearest 0.1 hours, such that it works out at exactly 25 hours. Of course it's always possible that I'll have to re-do a part of one lesson, or even the whole lesson if it goes really badly, but obviously I'm hoping that doesn't happen, and that I finish the course in the minimum amount of time.
The first CPL flight is a very easy flight - climbs, descents, turns, climbing and descending turns and so on. It's basically a revision of some of the PPL stuff which we use every day, except that it requires more accuracy. I was asked to transition from a Vx climb to a Vy climb, level off at specified altitudes, turn in the climb (being sure to maintain Vy speed) and so on. We reviewed climbs with flaps, comparing the attitude to clean climbs. Descents had to be at a specified airspeed, something which I've never had to do before other than during an approach, but turned out to be very easy. We also did some glide descents, not aiming anywhere in particular, but watching where the aiming point was and how it moved as we added flaps. And we did some straight-in approaches to a runway-shaped field, starting at whatever height and distance my instructor felt like, and judging how much power and flap to use.
I had no problem with any of this, and we headed back to the airfield. On the first approach, there was an aircraft holding short of the runway waiting to depart after we'd landed. At about 100' my instructor told me that the aircraft had just taxied onto the runway, so I went around, and landed off of the next approach. I'd be lying if I said I was totally relaxed as I rounded out, after yesterday's experience, but I'd had plenty of time to reflect on yesterday and put it behind me, so I made a concious effort to concentrate on the picture, focus my attention in the right place, and flare nicely. The landing wasn't the best ever, but it was certainly good. Much happier than yesterday, we taxied in.
During the de-brief, my instructor told me that he was happy with my performance. He commented on the fact that my lookout was good, which I was very pleased with because that's something I've been criticised for in the past, especially in high-wing aircraft. His biggest negative point was in my use of checklists. I'd missed a couple of points in the 300' checklist, and forgotten to do the 1000' checklist on the departure. But he also wants me to start talking through my checks before climbing, descending and so on. Of course I will always check that the mixture is rich and the carb heat is cold before I start a climb, but he wants me to say these things out loud - or at least point to the controls so that the examiner can see that I'm checking them. He also wants me to add a check of Ts and Ps before performing these manoevres, which isn't something I've ever done before but makes perfect sense, so I'll need to make sure I remember that in future.
Tomorrow, we have two flights planned. The first is circuits, and the second is a cross-country which I will be planning tonight. We will be visiting two airfields, and crossing some military areas, so I'll need to have all the frequencies and procedures planned, as well as the distances, headings and times.
The first 1.2 hours towards the 25 hours that I need was pretty easy. I've been warned that the next couple of lessons are easy, too, but that it gets harder after that - not only do the exercises become more demanding, but the captaincy part of the course will become more and more significant as I have to stop treating the guy sitting next to me like an instructor and start treating him like a fare-paying passenger. But right now I'm pleased that I performed well, and my confidence has been restored before any more damage was done.
FFF
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