Firstly, well done. You are about to embark on a great challenge. Not one that is anyway unreachable, but for many the sense of achievement is unbeatable.
So, first lesson. Some much more experience people will no doubt add to this, but here's a rough guide. It can vary, so don't be worried if your instructor does it differently.
- A walk around... Doing some basic 'due diligence' to check some simple things about the aircraft. Basically making sure the moving bits move, and the bits with runny stuff in them have enough runny stuff.
- Internal check list... the right number of CD's in the autochanger, arming the lasers, checking the holodeck... well, ok, more workaday than that, but aside from the safety aspect, a good way of getting to know the cockpit. It takes a few of these to instinctively remember where everything else. I still find myself peering around for the more obscure bits!
- Flying! The good bit! If you've already got Trevor Thom book#1, you can read up to, say, excercise 4e to get an idea of what the first steps are. If not, here's a rough summary...
* Climbing out. Your instructor may get you to do this. Basically it will teach about the effect of the elevator. The steeper you go, the slower the plane goes, which is kind of logical. It's probably one of the first things that teaches you about speed in an aircraft.
In a car you might keep an eye on your speedo to make sure you don't go too fast (say where's a speed limit and you don't want a fine!). In a plane it's the other way round, which isn't instinctive at first. Generally speaking, being too slow is what you've got to keep an eye on.
In the climbout you'll also be reminded about...
* Scanning for Traffic. You're not likely to be finding yourself strafed by Jaguars, but it's reassuring when you spot that Cessna that you heard on the radio.
then there's
* Level flying. My mistake was to look at the instruments too much. It took about five minutes before my instructor insisted on covering them up! Basically trying to fly by looking at the horizon. It's never perfect, but it's your basic skill, which you supplement with the occasional glance at the altimeter.
(In subsequent lessons, expect plenty of pestering from your instructor as you wander up and down a bit)
* Level turns. Turns are quite easy. They will be untidy at first, but they'll get the job done. With practice, they'll get tidier. There's two bits really. Rolling out on the desired heading (not too hard), and maintaining your altitude. The latter comes with practice.
* Climbing and Descending. Like turns, in the basic sense this is quite easy. The finer points is getting to the desired altitude and levelling out not too late or too early.
(Once again, in later lessons, practice and nagging+encouragement will make for steady improvement.)
* Trimming. This makes the aeroplane easier to fly in a given situation. Say you are doing a long long climb. After a few minutes your arm is aching from pulling back on the main control. Your mind is more occupied with doing this consistently than perhaps, say, looking for traffic or doing other jobs. Trimming is the answer.
Trimming increases or decreases pressure on a control, according to how you set it. In our example climb, we can trim away enough pressure such that you could could fly the aeroplane hands off!
At some point you're instructor will demonstrate hands off flying. There's nothing better at showing that an aircraft wants to fly. (Unlike a helicopter say, whose only ambition in life is to be a fiery ball of flame on the ground, and it's only the pilot that stops this. Hats off to our rotorhead friends.)
Well, that's probably enough for now. It sounds like you are intending to do more than just the one lesson. If your school doesn't know this yet, tell them. Rather than it being a jolly, you should ask for and get a proper preflight breifing. If nothing else, it will tell the school you are serious about flying, and they will treat you likewise.
Enjoy the ride. You'll be an ever increasing part of it from now on!
Last edited by paulo; 22nd Jun 2002 at 14:26.