Lesson 5-6: S turns, turns around a point and a first review of previous lessons

Today I did a review of previous lessons. It is getting easier to remember my maneuvers since I have been memorizing them for homework and getting practice from flying. My radio communications are becoming more natural and I am more comfortable doing things on my own without being prompted by my flight instructor. The afternoon flight lesson was exciting. I was getting very nervous while my flight instructor was talking me through S turns and turning around a point. The S turn is basically performing a sine wave along a straight roadway. The roadway being selected for practicing an S turn should have a perpendicular wind blowing. The S turn is practice for a windy day at an airport to keep the plane equal distance from the runway. When the plane turns into a headwind a shallow turn is executed and when turning into a tail wind a steep turn is executed. The S turns I did along the road went very well. It was exciting to see how well the plane performed in different wind directions and speeds as well as how important it is to look out the window. My instructor then sent me to a field with a large house in the middle of it. I was instructed to apply the same principles of the S turn to turning around a point. We were to loop around a single point and maintain the same distance from the point. It is essential to maintain altitude, airspeed, and distance from the single point. While executing this maneuver my flight instructor and I enjoyed the natural wildlife. There were many snow geese, eagles, and deer. There were also many hunters. I don't think the hunters appreciated my noisy plane circling them from above... Another amazing day of flying over the gorgeous Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore. Back to the Bay Bridge and of course, more homework and studying. The homework is truly only reviewing the maneuvers and procedures which will help me through my next couple of lessons. It is easier to fly the plane if I don't have to think about what to do.