Wow, people are actually waiting for my update now?
No. 2 - the subject of where to leave the gear for an emergency landing is open for debate. In fact, it has been debated several times in the Private Flying forum, and I was discussing it with Keygrip this morning. Basically, you have two options. If you land with the gear up, the landing roll will be very much shorter, which may be the difference between going into the trees at the end of the field or not - and that might mean the difference between walking away uninjured or not. If the field is boggy, the gear can dig in and tip the aircraft over, which again may mean the difference between being uninjured or not. That is the argument for leaving the gear up. (On water, it's been pretty much proven than the aircraft is far more likely to stay upright with the gear up, and I don't think there's any debate about this.)
The argument for putting the gear down is based on preserving the aircraft. With the gear up, you will almost certainly cause damage to the underside of the aircraft, the prop, and the engine. If the problem can be easilly fixed, you won't be able to fly the aircraft out of the field, or even taxy it to somewhere that it can be more easilly recovered from. So there's a good argument for getting the gear down to look after the aircraft.
Personally, I'd rather look after myself and my pax than the aircraft. But I can see the other side of the argument too. You won't fail any test, whichever method you use, as far as I'm aware.
Anyway, so much for "no more days off" - here's today's entry:
Day 14 - Sunday 23 November
No flying today. The tyres on the Arrow were worn to the limit, and by the time they were changed there wouldn't be enough daylight left. I had noticed yesterday that the tyres were very worn, but the tread was still discernable, and I was expecting it to last until after my skills test. But there had been a couple of flights between yesterday and today, and I was wrong - there were patches on the main wheels where I couldn't detect any more tread.
So where does this leave me? Well, our plan allowed time for weather delays, tech delays and so on, so we should still be ok. What's more, my instructor tells me that I've done nearly everything now, which I find quite scary, as I thought I had quite a few more flights still to do! I have two more things I haven't done in the Arrow yet - stalls and navigation. Normally this would be two flights, one covering stalls and one navigation exercise, but we might combine these into one longer flight. I have to do a practice test, ideally with a different instructor although it doesn't have to be, and then I may need to fly once more if any issues come up during the practice test. And that's it! If all goes according to plan, there's still no reason why I shouldn't be able to take the skills test, with enough time to spare for a re-test if I don't manage to pass first time. So I'm only getting a little bit stressed about lack of time!
I have just re-read what I wrote yesterday, and realised something that I didn't realise as I was writing it. I think I've just about got this "captaincy" thing now! Reading through yesterday's entry, I realised that the word I was using to describe the guy sitting next to me flicked between "instructor" and "passenger", and that's pretty much exactly how I thought of him during the flight. And that, I think, is what it's all about.
I had a similar experience today, after pre-flighting the Arrow - although I didn't handle it quite as well, it still shows the difference in the way I'm thinking. My instructor asked if I was ready, and I said that I'm "not completely happy about the tyres." I have to admit I was waiting for him to make the call, but when he asked if we were going or not, I knew that it was my choice. I thought about it for a second, and then said "No." And that was it. I was in charge, and it was my call. As I've said before, this is nothing new - every time I fly my own aircraft, I make the decisions about whether any problems are going to stop me flying or not. But most low-hours pilots will act differently when they fly with an instructor - or with an examiner. And the examiner wants to see how you will act around a non-pilot passenger. What I think the course teaches you to do is behave as if the person sitting next to you really is just a passenger - purely so that he can mark your ability to act properly in that situation.
Ok - that's enough for tonight about the philosophy of the course! Tomorrow morning, I expect to be doing the last few things on the course, in an Arrow with nice new tyres.
FFF
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