Lesson 38: Stage three check ride!

Today, I became a licensed sport pilot! It has been the most difficult six months! I sat down on Thursday, August 2nd for my stage three check. We sat down at a desk and I got out my flight plan and planner and was ready to talk about my preparations for the practical exam. He then asked me content knowledge covering all 17 chapters of the Rod Machado Pilot Handbook. It was rough and mentally exhausting. I only got hung up on ATC light gun signals. I lifted up my sectional and flight plan from my knee board to take a peak and he urged me to dig deep in my memory to pull the information. I countered with a safe and responsible pilot should know everything but if one forgets something, the safe and responsible pilot will know exactly where to find the information. He countered with, dig deeper, I'm sure you can recall the information. After four hours sitting across the desk from the FAA examiner, the weather had changed for the worse and I asked to postpone the practical portion of the exam. Mike was proud of me for making a good decision and not rushing into the practical flight test in excitement, but to be a safe and responsible pilot and make safe and good decisions. We rescheduled for early this morning.

This morning was the earliest I had ever been at the airport. Being a teacher, I always flew in the afternoon. The airport operations office was closed, CSP was closed, though a flight instructor was planning to meet me, my wife, and Mike at the office to let us in, and my aircraft was covered, no drenched in dew. I was nervous, as I thought I would be, but these few things seemed to throw me off a bit. I panicked and grabbed a towel and started wiping down the entire plane. I new I was overthinking and I certainly wanted to wipe down the cockpit, but the entire plane, I was off. I asked Mike and my wife to stand off to the side while I did my pre-flight and then informed my wife we would be leaving. Mike and I jumped in and my check ride began!

I taxied down to the engine run up for runway 11 and I noticed that there were hundreds of geese on the center line in the middle of the runway. I called on the unicom and asked for anyone at the airport operations office to drive a golf cart down the taxiway to spook the birds. I called a few times but remembered that the office was closed when I arrived and possibly, no one was in this early on a Saturday. I was panicking but finally made a decision, I told Mike I was going to abort the take-off and taxi back to the tarmac and hope that the birds would scare and fly off along the way. Mike said he was about a minute away from failing me because I needed to make a decision. He was happy I did, gave me the benefit of the doubt, and suggested that I advise the CTAF that I would taxi down the runway to clear the geese and to make the advisement a few times very clearly. I thanked him profusely and made the call. I taxied down the runway until the geese were airborne. We exited the runway and began the engine run up procedures again.

We were airborne on our way to SBY for the cross country. As with my stage two check, we deviated to RJD and practiced maneuvers and emergency procedures along the way. after a quick touch and go at RJD I demonstrated an emergency landing, emergency descent and as we entered the traffic pattern, an engine out procedure to runway 11 from the downwind to base turn and it was successful. Major forward and side slips to make it work and a lot of right rudder but I did it. Though things went well during the exam, Mike was very calm and quiet in the back with minimal conversation and showed no emotion over the two hour flight. This worried me and I was sure as I taxied up to refuel the plane, he would deliver the bad news that I needed to work on something and we would have to look at our calendars to reschedule my check ride. After checking the ELT, I shut off the master switch and avionics switch and took off my headset. I was hot, exhausted, and still nervous. I opened the canopy to let in some fresh air and Mike spoke to me. He asked, "so are you going to take your wife up today?". I finally was relieved for the first time in six months to have achieved my goal of becoming a pilot! Mike told me I was a great pilot, a safe pilot and a confident guy to work with. As I packed up the plane I couldn't stop smiling. I wanted to tell everyone I walked past! Mike printed out my temporary certificate and wished me the best of luck!

My wife came over and took a few pictures and got in the plane and flew up north along the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay and flew towards Chestertown. We then flew west below the restricted airspace of Martin State and Aberdeen Proving Grounds in the hopes of seeing an A-10 on final approach. With no jets in sight, we headed back for W29 and had a bit of a round landing. Maybe I was feeling too confident and I had to remind myself on that very first licensed flight, that I am always a student of the sport, I will always stay current, I will always follow the ADMP to ensure my safety, my passengers safety, and the safety of everyone flying around me.

This certainly was a life changing opportunity that I set out on back in December 2011 and I am so proud of everything that I have learned. I look forward to all the experiences I will get to share with my students in the ground school course at SRHS in the hopes of instilling the lessons I learned and encouraging them to take up the same opportunity I was given months ago, to become an aviator!

Lesson 36-37: Final practice sessions!

Today and Wednesday the 11th were my last practice days before my stage three check ride! I put myself through soft and short field take-off and landings, steep turns, cross wind take-off and landings, stall work, cross country and deviation practice. I chose to go to ESN for my check point work and then deviated towards GED. I deviated from GED back to W29 as I was making my check points on time and with great accuracy.

These two days I also worked on my reaction timing based on the results of my stage two check. I was feeling confident and scheduled my stage three check ride with an FAA examiner. I was prepped that I would have a few hours on the ground covering all the knowledge I should have gained throughout my training. If that went well, we would head for the practical portion of my exam. I made sure to brush up on my maintenance records as I felt that I was rusty on some of the terminology, time frames of inspections, etc. so I made sure to review that with my instructor beforehand.

After topping off the tanks, I quietly and calmly pulled my Sky Arrow back to be tied down in front of Chesapeake Sport Pilot. I felt very proud of how far I had come and all that I had learned. I was also nervous about proving I could handle all that I should know in front of the FAA examiner. After packing up the Sky Arrow, I walked into the CSP office. I talked with a veteran pilot about my upcoming check ride and how nervous I was. He reminded me that I should have a healthy respect of fear and should be aware of my abilities, though if I am nervous because I am uncertain, then I should speak up now and ask for help and to certainly postpone my check ride. I knew I was confident and only nervous about the situation of performing well for the FAA examiner. Dan agreed, we shook hands and I left CSP for the last time as a student pilot.

Lesson 35: Stage two check

Today was a big milestone! I made it through my stage two check from W29, planned a cross country to OXB and a deviation to RJD and back to W29. It was about a two hour flight. I met my stage two check examiner and talked him through my cross country plans. I demonstrated a good pre-flight and took off!

After a few minutes of hitting all my check points accurately, the examiner informed me that there was a large earthquake at OXB and we would need to deviate to RJD. I figured this was going to happen and quickly was nearing RJD. We then did a few emergency procedures and emergency descents, various maneuvers and a steep turn.

As we began the return trip to W29, the aircraft began suddenly climbing! I pushed down on the stick as hard as I could and nothing happened. I began to panic. The aircraft then leveled off after I struggled with the stick a bit longer. Suddenly, the aircraft began to climb again. I pushed down on the stick and checked my gauges. My examiner then asked me why my trim seemed to be on the fritz. He chuckled and then in a very serious tone, asked me why I hadn't noticed that my electric trim was out of control. He was sitting behind me adjusting the electronic trim tab and I hadn't noticed the change. He was disappointed in my lack of ability to react quickly to errors. He then asked me to continue to W29.

Upon landing, he asked me to taxi around to take-off again. I was so bummed. I was physically and mentally exhausted. I was frustrated with myself because I wanted today to go well and I had let my instructor down. Nonetheless, I taxied up to the displaced threshold, I checked the pattern, advised that I was taking off, and applied full throttle. We had just passed the numbers and my examiner yelled out, OIL PRESSURE IS IN THE RED, OIL PRESSURE IS IN THE RED! It took me far too long to abort the take off. As I retarded the throttle, communicated my abort, and exited the runway, I received an ear full from my examiner about how terrible my reaction time was and I had better start working on it.

Overall, my examiner felt that I was ready for my final check ride. I was relieved but he was firm that I needed to work on reaction time to be a safe pilot. I was happy the day was over and I was grateful for the lessons that I learned.

Lesson 33-34: Maneuver practice, short/soft take-off and landings, stalls, steep turns, engine out and forward slips

Today and yesterday were stressful days. My instructor put me through my paces to prepare me for my stage two check tomorrow. I felt very proud today as I was able to talk myself through all of the maneuvers listed in this title.

The forward slips are always my favorite, (as shown in the image above), practicing losing a ton of altitude without an increase in airspeed. The Sky Arrow is great at executing this maneuver because of it's large rudder. Here is a great graphic to help explain a forward slip:

I was also feeling confident in my steep turns. My instructor gave me a few reminders but it was mostly smooth sailing. I felt that I needed to work on my altitude holding abilities during the steep turn as every now and then I can feel myself wanting to pull back on the stick to increase my altitude, though this would only result in a tighter turn and more resultant forces pushing me into my seat. As the image below shows, one does not want to increase their wing loading factor during a steep turn that could result in a spin.

I was excited after my lesson today knowing that tomorrow would be my final step before my check ride. I am so close to achieving my goal of getting my license!

Lesson 32: Solo Cross Country to Millville, NJ

Today was a big day! I flew solo to NJ! I crossed the Delaware Bay! It was quite the experience! After days of landing work, I prepared my flight. I picked out my landmarks, calculated the wind correction angle, checked the weather many times, and calculated the fuel consumption for each leg. I decided to use flight following during this flight as I new I would have a lot on my plate flying solo and it would keep me calmer knowing someone was watching me on radar.

I called and opened my filed flight plan. After all the planning and preparation, I took off from W29 on runway 11 and began my climb to 5,500' towards the Eastern Shore. Check point after check point, I slowly made my way across the Eastern Shore. As I flew north of Dover AFB, the center controller informed me that I had traffic at my 3 o'clock west bound at 4,500'. I scanned the skies but could not find them. I was happy to have someone watching over me. The Delaware Bay grew larger and larger and my heart started pounding as I could see MIV and WWD (Cape May) and I wasn't sure at first which airport was mine. I remembered my flight instructor telling me to trust my heading, trust my instruments, and to trust my check points. I new that there was a twisting winding river north of MIV and not north of WWD. I checked my sectional chart again. I looked outside, pilotage was working wonders. I was confidant again and told the center controller that I had my destination in site. I asked permission to change frequencies and tuned into the MIV CTAF. As I flew over the bay, I noticed that my oil pressure gauge was teetering towards yellow. My heart was pounding again. I needed to descend anyways and now I was sure that I needed to tip my nose and reduce power. I continued to watch the oil pressure gauge. I had to focus on getting to TPA and begin advising on the CTAF. This was an interesting experience as their was a center controller monitoring the airspace around the airport rather than a tower controller. I gave my traffic advisories and the center controller reminded the aircraft in the pattern the sequencing of landing. I was very proud of myself as I entered the pattern at a new airport and had a solid landing! I taxied to the terminal and closed my flight plan. I called my flight instructor to tell her I had made it to NJ! I then went to relax and enjoy a lunch.

After lunch and a quick potty break, I began my preflight. I opened my flight plan and taxied down to do my engine run up. A low wing was behind me as I throttled up. Immediately, the oil pressure gauge was in the yellow. I shut down the plane. I advised the plan behind me to go around to take off. I got out of the plane and grabbed the spare quart of oil from the baggage compartment. I checked the oil level and topped it off. I cleaned up and hoped back in the plane. Feeling confidant that I certainly wasn't losing oil, I taxied back to the terminal. I called the FSS and informed them that I would be delaying my departure and updated my arrival time at W29. I then called my flight instructor to inform her of the events. She asked me if I had cross checked my engine gauges. I said, uhhh no. I knew the oil pressure was in the yellow and the oil temperature was nearing yellow and the engine temperature was in the green. She asked me if I was flying fast and if it was a long flight and if it was a hot day and if I had flown to a higher altitude than normal. I was surprised that she knew all of these things about my flight, duh she reviewed and signed off my flight planner. She was also very experienced and reminded me that the oil viscosity was lower causing the oil pressure to slightly drop because the oil had warmed up beyond what I was used to. It was the longest flight to date and the more I thought about it, I realized what she was saying. After thanking her, I taxied and took off again for W29. I did a deviation for RJD (Ridgely Airport) and was proud to be able to pilotage my way there.

As I neared the Kent Narrows Bridge, I saw a large plume of black smoke in the sky. There must have been a house fire south of W29 near 3W3 (Kentmorr). I landed quickly and called my wife to let her know I had made it! I closed my flight plan and called my flight instructor to tell her the good news! It was an amazing accomplishment and a real confidence booster as I am nearing my stage 2 check!

Lesson 30-31: Landing practice at W29

Today and yesterday, I practiced landings to keep me current and ever prepared for my first solo cross country. I plan to fly my solo cross country in about a week so now is the time to get in as much landing practice as I can to give me the confidence to land at Millville Municipal Airport in New Jersey. There will be plenty on my plate that day and knowing my landing abilities will certainly help me with a successful first solo cross country!

Lesson 29: Crosswind take-off and landing practice

I spent an afternoon at Bay Bridge Airport working on my crosswind landings and take-offs. After nine successful landings, I was worn out! Obviously, during a crosswind take-off, one should be prepared to use the rudder more than usual, but boy my feet were working the rudder pedals today. It is important to remember to keep the stick into the wind while taxiing and NEVER let the aircraft fly itself. Upon rotation and climb out, I immediately crabbed into the wind to stay above the center line of the runway. My previous work of turns around a point and s turns really paid off during my practice today. I will say that coming in on final, low power, low airspeed, a side slip to stay on center and immediate rudder and control upon landing is tiresome yet invigorating at the same time. You really know you are flying on days like these!

Lesson 28: 1st cross country flight

There is a lot of planning that goes into a cross country flight. Even though my flight instructor would be going along for the ride, I needed to prove to her that I would be able to do this on my own. The sheet below is the flight planning form to Salisbury Airport. I had to calculate the heading for my flight based on the forecasted winds as well as the magnetic deviation. The ground speed can then be calculated and used to determine the estimated time en route (ETE) as well as the estimated time of arrival (ETA) and the amount of gallons that will be used. 

The image below shows the Salisbury Airport diagram. I use this to diagram to determine the location of the runways as well as the taxiways once the control tower gives me my clearances.

The image below is my sectional chart for navigating to other airports.

A pilot must be able to fly direct to an airport during the practical exam check ride. On this chart I chose landmarks like cities and airports and large divided highways that intersect rivers to help me know where I am on en route to my destination. On my first flight I also used flight following and filed a flight plan. The flight plan is opened with flight service station (FSS) so they know my plan and where I am headed. If I don’t close my flight plan when I arrive at the airport FSS assumes I did not make it and will call my points of contacts and begin to search for me in case there was an emergency. Flight following uses radar to follow me in flight and informs the pilot of other traffic in the area. All of these things require a pilot to be able to multitask. Follow the dead reckoning on the flight planning form, pilotage,  maintain altitude and airspeed, communicate with flight following, and maintain the correct heading are just a few of the tasks during a cross country. I controlled all of these tasks well except for maintaining altitude. I varied about plus or minus 500 feet. Not bad for a first time cross country. We made it to Salisbury and I was happy. My flight instructor was more thrilled because she was confidant to sign me off to do my solo cross country. On our return trip, I was told to deviate off course to Ridgely airport. I had to do some flight planning by the seat of my pants. Based on my planned flight I could estimate how long it would take to get to Ridgely as well as the heading. We made it! A quick touch and go and I was on my way back to Bay Bridge. I landed and was thrilled to be home. Three hours in the sky was tough. This was a major accomplishment. I had flown 60nm to another airport, deviated to Ridgely on my return trip and finally landed at W29. I was now ready to do my solo cross country!

Lesson 27: Grass field take-off and landings

Kentmorr Grass Airstrip: about five nautical miles south of bay bridge airport. This would be my first time seeing a grass runway and landing on one. When my instructor pointed out the wind sock I couldn’t believe that I was looking at a runway as it looked just like a farm field or a grass lawn. This runway has houses along the edge with hangars as garages. It would be really awesome to live on a runway, get up in the morning and roll your plane out of the hangar attached to your house onto the runway and take-off for work. Once I had the runway in sight, I had to get down to traffic pattern altitude (TPA). As I came in to land, I had to overfly the runway to get a good look at the condition of the turf to locate potentially moist areas as well as large divots or ruts. The second time around I flared the nose and the main gear touched down and I remembered to hold the nose wheel off the ground until the plane slowed enough to drop the nose down naturally. WOW it was a bumpy ride. I had to keep full back pressure on the stick the entire time just in case we hit a bump. This will hold most of the weight of the plane off of the nose wheel since it would be the most vulnerable to breaking if the plane ran into a ditch or rut. We taxied around for take-off. Ten degrees of flaps, full back pressure on the stick, and immediate take-off once lined up with the runway. The minute the plane hopped off the ground I had to dip the nose back down and establish a level flight about five feet above the ground until the plane reached a 60kt climb. I did this a few times until I had it down. The most difficult part about landing on a grass runway is knowing if the grass turf is safe for landing as well as keeping the plane moving during taxi as it is hard or sometimes impossible to get the plane moving again in the soft turf. The wonderful thing is, the airports that I can now land at are endless!

Lesson 26: Soft field take-offs and landings

Flaps set to ten degrees. Full aft pressure on the stick during taxi and continuing through takeoff is necessary to get the plane off the soft field runway as soon as possible. Apply full power.

As soon as main wheels leave the ground, lower nose to a level attitude and fly the aircraft five feet off the ground until a 60kt airspeed is attained. Climb out at 60-70kts. This is a thrilling maneuver because the plane is just soaring over the ground and it feels like the wheels are going to touch down again at any second. The reason behind this maneuver is to get the plane off the soft field runway as soon as possible due to the damage that could occur to the landing gear as it bounces along the uneven terrain. The problem is that in forcing the plane to get airborne in ground effect is that it could easily stall back onto the ground. This is why it is important to tip the nose level and fly the plane five feet above the ground to “recover” to prevent from stalling the plane until 60 kts is achieved. When it is time to land on a soft field runway it is important to keep the nose wheel off the ground for as long as possible. It is important to allow the plane to slow down long enough for the plane to naturally lower the nose to the ground. If the nose drops to the ground at a higher speed it could damage the caster nose wheel or cause the plane to skid around in the soft terrain. Once all three wheels are on the ground the plane should keep moving until parked to prevent from getting stuck in possibly moist conditions but the terrain can also cause drag that requires the plane to work harder to start moving again. I look forward to testing out my training on a real grass runway.

Lesson 25: Instrument Flight

Today was an interesting lesson. Since December 29^th, I had flown a plane and been able to see out the cockpit. If I ever happened to accidentally fly into a cloud I could virtually lose all sight. I experienced a virtual cloud today. When learning how to fly via instruments, pilots must wear goggles or a sort of a visor which shield all of the glass so that the only thing in view is the instrument panel. The Sky Arrow has a huge plexiglass cockpit with amazing visibility. The instrument visor that blocks a pilot’s vision does not block out everything in a Sky Arrow. We brought on board a portable cloud. Basically a couple pieces of poster board cut into triangular and trapezoidal shapes taped to the inside of the cockpit to block out all view of the outside world. It was very nerve racking seeing only my instruments. My instructor would have me close my eyes so I couldn’t see my instruments. She then slowly changed the planes pitch or bank or speed slow enough that I wouldn’t feel a change. Once I opened up my eyes I realized that all was not well. The plane was spiraling downward. I knew that I needed to level the wings and pull up the nose. I had to trust my instruments. I closed my eyes again. I heard the stall warning horn sound so I knew that when I opened my eyes I would need to push the nose down to recover. I opened my eyes and not only were we in a power-on stall but we were in a turning stall. I had to level the plane lower the nose and establish a stable climb. This all required me to trust my instruments. Even though I felt like the plane was doing one thing or another, my instruments told me the opposite. The most important lesson was to trust my instruments. I instructor gave me a heading to fly and then began to take down the portable cloud. I finally looked out the cockpit and saw Bay Bridge airport. It was an awesome experience and I couldn’t believe that I made it back to the airport without being able to see anything but my instruments.

Lesson 24: Crosswind landing practice

Well...today I found out that my feet are connected to my brain. My feet woke up and started controlling the rudders! I just needed a good crosswind, some excellent instruction and I was back fighting the winds using my feet on the rudders in coordination with the ailerons. It was a gorgeous day and just the right amount of crosswind to get me back on track. Soon I will be working on short and soft field landings on a grass runway as well some instrument work. I learned that you must be able to recognize when you have become rusty and to get in some lessons with an instructor to get back on track. Crosswinds are one of the most important maneuvers to have under your belt at ALL times as a sport pilot due to the light nature of the planes. The winds can more easily push the LSAs around so you have to become a better pilot and be able to control the plane in crosswinds. You must remain the pilot-in-command at all times and never allow the situation to become airplane-in-command.

My instructor also mentioned today that flying can help you in many ways. One way can be best stated by Jamie Beckett. He recommends that job seekers learn to fly as a way to make their resume stand out. "Being able to include the word 'pilot' on your resume tends to separate you from the crowd", he writes. "It's an accomplishment that not only has practical value, but it says something about the person who carries it."

In addition. This is a message to my SRHS students. Please remember to call CSP to schedule your free flight on June 3rd for the Young Eagle's event.

Lesson 22 + 23: Short field take-off and soft field landing

Today I learned how to take off on a short field as well as how to execute a soft field landing. The short field take-off is necessary if you have an obstacle to clear at the end of a runway, or if you need to establish a best angle of climb to gain altitude quickly. For starters, I had to align the plane with the end of the runway to establish the largest field possible for take-off. I held in the brakes as far as they could go and I pushed the throttle forward until I read 4,900rpms and I released the brakes. The plane lurched forward and began the ground roll. With 10 degrees of flaps and full throttle the plane popped off the runway and I established a 55knot climb. Once above the tree line I pushed the nose down slightly and established a 65knot climb and finally removed the 10 degrees of flaps. After flying the downwind I began to set-up for final approach. On the base leg I deployed 20 degrees of flaps with a 60knot decent. Upon final approach I put in the last notch of flaps and the plane slowed down to 55knots. On final approach my flight instructor asked me to land on the first centerline stripe after the numbers on the runway. I had to then pick a landing spot and aim for it so that during my flare over that spot I would eventually land over the first stripe. The first couple of attempts I passed up my mark. I had to figure out how to judge my landing and the amount of flare so that I could land on my required stripe on the centerline. Each time I attempted this landing I was able to practice my short field landing. It was tough working on the landings and I needed to knock the rust off due to the lack of flight time I had in the past couple of weeks. This was especially true for my feet. I needed to work on controlling the plane in the crosswinds. It was time for me to land and work on crosswinds for another day.

Lesson 21: Stage One Check

Fail :( The stage one check is an opportunity for a second opinion. A secondary flight instructor checks to see if a pilot is ready to practice maneuvers and flight solo. If they agree with the primary flight instructor then the student pilot passes the stage one check and continues practicing solo. I have practiced, I have done the homework, but there are no exceptions and there are no short cuts to becoming a pilot. You are either ready to fly solo or you are unsafe and need more instruction to be on your own. A close friend of mine, basically a brother to me, told me this today, "if it wasn't hard it wouldn't pay off". Learning how to fly requires dedication, skill, practice, determination, but most of all, an excellent flight instructor who knows when you are ready.

Lesson 20: Practice Maneuvers for Stage One Check

Fridays are wonderful for flying. It is the end of the work week, the beginning of the weekend, and there always seems to be gorgeous weather. May the 4th was a stormy early morning with a hazy cloudy afternoon. There was 7-20 mile visibility but I would need to get used to flying in a haze. The objective of the day was to review the maneuvers I had been taught many lessons ago to prepare for my stage one test. I will fly with a different instructor and they will be checking to see if I can demonstrate control of the aircraft in all of the maneuvers in order to be given the privilege to practice these maneuvers solo. My instructor and I would be reviewing these and if I pasted my instructors test I would be granted my stage one check. If I pass that I begin my solo work in preparation for my final check ride to get my license. Now, I still have a few other maneuvers as well as doing cross-country flying prior to my final check ride but I am moving along in the syllabus. I was eager to get up in the sky and demonstrate my ability to do the required maneuvers. I had been studying and doing my homework and I wanted to pass my instructors test to move on to my stage one check. We left the traffic pattern and headed out for the practice area over the eastern shore. She asked me to begin with a slow flight and climb to 4,000 feet in slow flight. This required me to control the plane at almost it's stall speed. I pitched the nose up to set an airspeed of about 45 knots just almost a stall (during the entire climb the stall warning horn was going off due to the low airspeed). I added my flaps to maintain enough lift and I gave the engine enough power to inevitably climb the required 3,000 feet in slow flight. Once there I leveled off and cleaned up the plane from slow flight. I was asked to execute a power-off stall. Ok, throttle back 3,500 rpms, pitch up for a 60 knot glide, add flaps, descend 300 feet, pull throttle back to idle, and pull back on the stick. This is to represent a stall when coming in to land. I pulled back on that stick until I was pointed at the ISS. Before you know it the plane starts to bounce and it drops slightly and the left wing dropped slightly and I calmly leveled the wings and pitched the nose down simultaneously adding full throttle. Alright now for the power-on stall representing stalling at take-off. 3,000 rpms, 45 knots, 10 degrees of flaps, add full throttle and pull back. The power-on stall was not exciting. The plane kind of buffeted but that was about it. I pitched back down to establish a 60 knot climb and I asked if there was a way to get the plane to drop more and have a more dramatic stall. My instructor said, sure, don't slowly ease back on the stick. So I set up for my power-on stall again except this time I pulled back hard on the stick and shot up towards the ISS and yep, the plane dropped a bit that time. We then did turning stalls to add to my experience of controlling the plane during a stall as well as in a weird maneuver. I needed to demonstrate steep turns next. 80 knots, level wings, pick a landmark, bank 30 degrees, add 100 rpms of power, enter 45 degree steep bank and maintain altitude. My first steep turn I lost a lot of altitude by not pitching the nose up enough prior to entering the steep turn. The second turn I passed up my landmark (the Bay Bridge off about 15nm in the distance) but it was still check ride worthy, but my third and final steep turn was within commercial pilot check ride standards! Now I'm happy and excited and seeing the payoff of all the studying and homework. All good things must come to an end. My instructor pulled back the throttle to idle and said I was having too much fun with the plane and caused the engine to fail what are you going to do now in this simulated engine failure, she asks me. I pitch for a 60 knot glide slope, find a suitable emergency landing field near a road or farm, mayday on 121.5 and set 7700 on my transponder, and attempt engine restart. In this simulation my engine failed to start so I began to circle my field losing altitude slowly and I looked at the wind direction on a nearby lake to figure out at which heading I should be entering the downwind leg for landing on the field. At about 500 feet I was on final approach for the field would have had to do a forward slip to make the field but we had to add full power and climb since I was at the minimum safe altitude. We headed back to the airport and practiced a few forward slips upon landing since it was fresh on our minds. It is always awkward approaching the runway with full left rudder and full right aileron. The plane is basically sideways and facing the runway perpendicularly and it is descending at a very fast rate, like riding an elevator. The intense sideways motion of the airplane adds so much drag that it maintains the current airspeed while losing altitude quickly. We did this three times to make sure I had it down. What a wonderful day and I was thrilled to have successfully executed the maneuvers so well and it truly was due to studying and reviewing homework. I was confidant and ready for my stage one check. It is scheduled for this coming Monday. I am ready!

Lesson 18+19: Second Solo :)

More practice take-offs and landings at Bay Bridge. I also got to do my second solo! This was my second time alone in the plane but I felt different. As I took off from runway two-niner and climbed out over the Chesapeake Bay, I truly realized I was flying a plane. My first solo I wanted to do everything correct and I was nervous about being alone that I didn't even process the feeling of flying on my own. This time I took a moment on the crosswind leg to appreciate the fact that I had been trained to fly an airplane and I was doing it. It was a great feeling and I was so proud of myself! Flying is wonderful.

Lesson 17: FIRST SOLO!!!

The winds were picking up to about 12 knots from 170 degrees. Gusty crosswind? At Bay Bridge? NO! So my flight instructor asks if I want to go to Easton. I'll be honest, I knew we were going to Easton so I read through radio communications with ATC since it had been awhile since I had visited Easton. No problem. I can handle talking to ATC. It was a great flight there and the landings were comfortable and my wings were level since I didn't have to execute a side slip as there was hardly any crosswind. After a few touch and goes and go-arounds my flight instructor asked me to taxi to the terminal. She hopped out and the plane was mine! She took a two-way radio with her in case I needed some advice and so she could listen in to my flight. I called up ground control and received clearance to taxi to runway two two. I then called up the control tower and received clearance to take-off! By myself. For the first time :)

I was up in the air, smiling ear to ear, flying an airplane all on my own!

I talked myself through the checklist and came around for my first landing. Go-around and on my second attempt also go-around. I'm getting used to how the plane flies alone. After three go-arounds my flight instructors voice crackled over the radio and she reminded me that the plane would maneuver differently since it was minus one human...my flight instructor. She also reminded me to come back and pick her up since I was her ride back to Bay Bridge.

Finally, I'm on a much better approach and I held the plane off the ground until the wheels just kissed the ground. One of my nicest landings and I was all alone!

I contacted ground control and received clearance to taxi to the terminal where my flight instructor was doing a celebratory dance!

I successfully soloed!

We flew back to Bay Bridge as a gorgeous sun began to set. My final landing of the night was into a familiar crosswind and the wheels touched down. I was home a new person.

The feeling of being in total control, on my own, and having the time of my life in an airplane 1,100 feet above Easton airport was outstanding :) I LOVE FLYING!!!

Lesson 16: Gusty Crosswind Practice and Go-Arounds

Today I continued my landing practice at Bay Bridge airport. It was a gusty day and of course there was that old crosswind. I battled the winds and fought the upstarts and downdrafts. I had to go-around a few times before I had a comfortable final approach and successful touchdown!

Hopefully will solo soon :)

Lesson 15: Gusty Crosswind Landings

A crosswind is always difficult...but a pilot must know how to manage and control a plane in a crosswind. I started to taxi and according to the AWOS the winds were from 200. A perfect 90 degree crosswind. The wind sock was exactly perpendicular to the runway. Pilots had been taking off and landing on runway one one so I began to taxi towards that runway. At the hold short line my instructor pointed out that the wind sock at the end of the runway did indeed favor runway one one...which means wind shear. 

I continued to apply my turns to a point lesson to flying in the traffic pattern with this strong crosswind. As I turned left after departure I had to make a very steep turn on the crosswind leg to prevent from being blown away from the runway. Once I was in the downwind leg I had to crab quite a bit to stay parallel to the runway. I did a nice job going through my landing checklist. Level off at 1,200 feet, airspeed at 67 knots, flaps at 10 degrees, engine rpm at 3,000 and I was abeam of the numbers. Things were looking nice on the base leg. I was at 600 feet over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Upon turning for final things began to get messy. Remember that crosswind? You have to apply some serious right aileron and left rudder to slip into the wind to remain on centerline. The plane dropped and climbed due to wind shear and gusty winds so the approach was not stable. As I was gliding in over the runway there was a big dip in the winds and the plane dropped quickly and my flight instructor stepped in to execute the go-around. My second approach was better but I executed a go-around. Yep, number three was just not there yet, though it was indeed my best approach to the runway yet. I maintained centerline and fought the crosswinds. I also used my engine power to overcome the dips and rises in wind along my final approach path. On a side note, there was another plane turning right base for runway one one. The traffic pattern is always a left traffic pattern meaning that planes should always turn to the left for each leg of the traffic pattern. Due to this I had to extend my downwind past the major superstructure of the Bay Bridge. I turned base before I entered the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) for Washington D.C. Now my final approach is probably twice as long as it usually is. Nonetheless, I fought the crosswinds, if I felt the plane drop and bob upwards I carefully adjusted the engine RPMs to accommodate the abrupt change in altitude (which, by the way, you can feel this change when your butt is being pushed on or it feels like a sudden drop) and I made it back to the runway. Still I had to go-around and abort my landing. Nothing wrong with that since my approach was not stable. My fourth time around I nailed it. Everything looked great during the approach but as I began to flare I let the winds push the nose of the plane to the left so I landed on the left side of the runway with an awkward touch down. It was not rough. The landing gear did not break. I was able to taxi the plane to the fuel pump. I was able to walk away from the plane. Thus, safe landing.

All in all I had an opportunity to continue working on my crosswind landings in gusty winds and landing procedures in general. If I could just get some calm winds.....I could SOLO!

Lesson 14: Crosswind Landings

Today I practiced crosswind landings. I have been applying what I have learned in my most recent lessons. Today I made sure to control the plane. I would only let the plane land when I was ready to let the plane touch down. I had some excellent landings and I'm very confident about flying.

I learned something very interesting. I teach my students how to calculate lift using the lift equation. My flight instructor reviewed the constants in the equation. Lift = coefficient of lift X 1/2 X wing area X air density X velocity squared. The speed, lift, and coefficient of lift can be changed. As the angle of attack (AOA) is increased the coefficient of lift increases until the plane stalls. AOA is something a pilot can change using the stick. Increase the AOA and you increase lift. Decrease the AOA and you increase the speed. This is important when on final approach. You need a good glide slope and stabilized speed but once you are above the runway you must exchange your rate of decent. Pull back on the stick and increase the AOA. Lift is just a little less than the weight of the plane slowing the decent. This step, the flare, I have been lacking. Today I greatly improved it! I also applied turns to a point in my lesson. Since there was a strong headwind on base to final I made a shallow turn to prevent from being pushed from the centerline.

Overall it was a click flight where everything clicked and went well! I cant believe it is February because it was 50 degrees and sunny. It was an amazing Friday flight!

Lesson 13: Crosswind Landings, Go-arounds, Soft Field Landings, Simulated Engine Failure

Yes! I am beginning to get the hang of landings. Today was warm, around 50 degrees out. But there was a decent crosswind. Before I began flying my flight instructor sat me down and gave me a landings pep talk. She told me that I am in control of the plane. The plane will do as I say. If it is not time for the plane to land then do not allow the plane to land. I must be in control of three very important things. Three things that I was working on in the last lesson. I must control and maintain airspeed, glide slope, and staying on the centerline. I also must pay attention to looking out my window. I can glance at my instruments to make sure my airspeed and altitude look appropriate but I must be able to recognize change. I must improve my ability to see a physical change in the runway I am looking at. Are the houses below me getting larger or smaller? Am I still parallel to the runway? Flying requires a person to think three dimensionally. In a car one must monitor the direction and speed of the car. In a plane a pilot must monitor, control, and maintain speed, direction, and altitude....and recognizing a visual change in the immediate surroundings.

These techniques must be gained through experience. As I continue to practice my landings my ability to think in three dimensions has improved.

Today I recognized how much I have improved. I was able to maintain airspeed much better than last Friday. My glide slope looked great. I mastered fighting the crosswind and stayed on the centerline after my second landing.

I worked on simulated engine failure again and I was on a modified final approach for runway two niner. I was coming up to the runway at a weird angle and as I turned to line up with the centerline I pulled back on the stick instead of just rolling the wings slightly. This caused my airspeed to drop from 60 knots to 45 knots. Guess what? Don't pull back on the stick. It adds drag and slows the plane down and the plane drops drastically. I added power and executed a go-around.

The next two attempts I landed but I continued to fail to flare the plane. I succeeded in maintaining everything else for a good looking landing but my flare did not exist. Hard landing number 3.

My last landing was perfect. I lined up nicely on final approach for runway two niner. I put in a nice right aileron to combat the crosswind and stayed on my centerline. I was over the runway threshold. I flared the nose and continued to add back pressure to the stick. The landing gear kissed the runway.  It was so smooth. Guess what? I didn't keep back pressure on the stick and the nose was about to drop on the ground but my flight instructor blocked my attempt to let off the back pressure and I saw the nose maintain its pitch as the plane continued to slow and I slowly lowered the nose for a gorgeous touch down and landing!

It was so nice to feel a graceful pleasant landing. I have confidence that I will be able to master the art of landing a plane and maintaing a proper glide slope.

I'm glad it was a nice warm day for flying. It makes it much easier on my fingers and toes when they are not freezing cold.

Lesson 12: Go-arounds, Forward Slips, Slow Flight, and Power Off Aproaches

Today I revisited slow flights. It is required that a pilot can maneuver a plane at slow speeds while maintaining a stable flight. I flew out to a wildlife refuge about 7 miles from Bay Bridge airport and did a U turn. On my return flight I pulled the power all the way back to idle and had to maintain 55 knots or less and descend from 2,500 feet down to traffic pattern altitude 1,200 feet and enter the traffic pattern. The plane makes strange sounds and is sluggish at these slow speeds and the engine is so quiet that you can hear the wind gusting by the cockpit over the wings. Once back in the traffic pattern I was allowed to clean up my current configuration (take out flaps, add power and trim for 60 knots) and prepare for the downwind for runway one one. I looked to my left and I was abeam the numbers (in line with the one one numbers on the end of the runway I am planning on landing at) and my flight instructor told me to pull out all power to idle. This was to simulate an engine failure and I needed to modify my normal landing pattern since I was not going to be in the air much longer. I decided to continue to fly my normal traffic pattern and as I began on final approach I realized I was not going to make it. I had to add power to make it to the runway so I did not pass the test to land on the runway with an engine failure. The second time around I turned base at 1,000 feet and made a combined or modified base/final approach for runway one one. I made direct route to the runway threshold but then needed to eventually get back on the centerline to land on the runway. I acted too late and executed a go-around. The third time was a charm. I made it!

My flight instructor informed me that I was doing a few things right...but I needed to fix two major things.

1. Stay on the centerline of the runway
2. Flare the nose when I am 20 feet above the runway to slow the planes rate of decent

So on my fourth time around my flight instructor allowed me to land with power but I had to apply the techniques I learned during the power off landings. It was much easier maneuvering in the traffic pattern with power...I stayed on the centerline of the runway...I failed again to flare the nose :(

What goes through my mind when I am about to land? That close to the ground and about to feel the wheels touch down I think... oh my gosh have a nice landing, oh my gosh execute a smooth landing, oh my gosh what if I hit the tail on the ground, oh my gosh the wheels are on the ground and now the plane has landed and I can let off all the back pressure on the stick. The plane basically just runs into the runway... rather than gracefully gliding onto and kissing the runway with a beautiful landing.

I will have to keep working on executing the flare and fighting the crosswinds to stay on centerline. I will also need to work on three important landing techniques.

1. Maintain airspeed
2. Maintain glide slope
3. Stay on the centerline

Landing is much more difficult than taking off but if I ever want to enjoy flying and taking off from the runway my plane must land back on the ground.....safely!

Lesson 11: Landing practice at Bay Bridge

Today I practiced my landings at Bay Bridge. I can now appreciate landing a plane after crosswind landings at Ridgley. I tuned in to the Bay Bridge AWOS and for the first time I heard the phrase calm winds at Bay Bridge. Wow! No crazy crosswind? It was beautiful. On my first pass around the traffic I landed. I also learned that a "go around" is not a negative thing. It shows a pilots ability to make the right decision when forcing a landing is NOT the best idea. Every approach should be considered for a go around unless the landing looks and feels just right, then the go around could be aborted. It was a lot of fun feeling more comfortable and confidant about landing. I did a great job controlling my airspeed by trimming properly and I got down crabbing into the wind!

I learned that I should not be so critical on myself to be a perfect pilot but that I should be looking for improvement from my previous lessons. In the end it was a gorgeous warm day for the beginning of February. It was an amazing way to end a week and spend a Friday afternoon.

P.S. I should solo in the next lesson or two!

Lesson 10: Crosswind traffic pattern and landings, go arounds, and pilotage

Today I did some practice landings at Ridgely airport. I successfully piloted the plane to the airport using both the GPS and basic pilotage. There was a nice 7 knot crosswind which made my day of practice landing a bit difficult. The first step I needed to master was trimming the plane for a 60-65 knot airspeed. If you increase the engine power you must pitch the nose up and if you decrease the engine power you must pitch the nose of the plane down in order to maintain airspeed. It took me awhile to master this and my flight instructor suggested changing the title of my blog from "Trim for Level Flight" to "Trim for the APPROPRIATE AIRSPEED!!!" The next step was to master my geometry at 1,100 feet. The traffic pattern "should" be rectangular. Now, with the crosswind my rectangle began to look like a trapezoid, then a parallelogram/ellipse, and finally the traffic pattern became rectangular. Hint - crab into the crosswind and reference the runway so you know when to enter each leg of the traffic pattern. After that I needed to remind myself to maintain a 60 knot airspeed during the base and final approach legs of the traffic pattern. Airspeed is your lifeline! If you pull the nose up in an attempt to gain altitude (because the houses and power lines are looking awfully close) you will only go down faster. You must add power to gain altitude. This took me a few go arounds to get down before I finally had a sufficient final approach and landed.

After a few more landings I was physically and mentally tired so I suggested we head back to Bay Bridge airport. There were many snow geese out today. It is amazing to watch migratory birds flocking together. There were hundreds of these white snow geese flying below us above the Chesapeake Bay. It was an awesome site.

After much landing practice at Ridgely I was ready to put my knowledge to the test at Bay Bridge. Guess what? I forgot all that I learned about maintaining airspeed and decided to pull up on the nose to gain altitude but that only slowed me down more. I remembered to add power but forgot to pull up on the nose. Again....another lesson I had just learned. My flight instructor reminded me to roll the plane into the crosswind as we came into the landing and finally touchdown back at Bay Bridge. Practice, practice, practice and I soon will have mastered the landing of an airplane!

Lesson 9: Aircraft Systems

Today I received some ground school review. The rotax engine! I usually teach chapter 3 in the Rod Machado Textbook using a small gas engine. Usually a donated push mower engine. Today I got to look at the engines that are in the light sport aircraft I fly. It is important to know how the engine works so that a pilot can troubleshoot engine issues when on the ground or in the air. It is one thing to know what the instrument gauges are reading but it is even more important to know how they work and what they are showing. I am definitely going to bring my students to the hangar for a field trip to see how an airplane engine works and all of its components.

Lesson 8B: Traffic Pattern Operation, Class D Operation, Forward Slips

Today, I conquered class D airspace! I was able to communicate with air traffic control as well as ground control at Easton airport. I also made it to Easton airport without getting lost. I followed basic pilotage by looking out the window and referencing the ground landmarks and the sectional chart on my kneeboard. I had a lot of aid from the GPS as well : ) but nonetheless I made it. Once I had instructions from ATC I began working in the traffic pattern. I need to continue practicing the maneuvers for entering the traffic pattern and especially for landings. It is difficult to follow a traffic pattern at a foreign airport. I am used to the landmarks at Bay Bridge airport but I have only been to Easton airport twice. An important part of the traffic pattern is called the "Key Point" which is when the airplanes wing tip is abeam of the runway numbers in the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. At this point a pilot will know if they are going to be able to execute a normal landing, prepare for a steep approach, or add power to make it to the runway. I had fun practicing landing. It will take a lot of practice to perfect flaring the plane for landing. At one point as I was coming in for a landing and I heard ATC informing another pilot that I was landing on runway 33 and the pilot replied to ATC saying something like "wow it looks like that light sport is having a rough time landing I will give him some space" and I was laughing because the glide slope for my landing must have looked pretty bad for someone to say that. Oh well I will get better with practice. I got to try the forward slip again and enjoyed it. What an important maneuver to bring the plane down quickly from a high altitude without increasing the airspeed. I landed and tuned my radio to ground control and was given instructions to taxi on taxiway bravo to alpha to get to the terminal. I took a little walking break and then back into the plane to Bay Bridge. I conquered my fears of communicating with ATC and ground control and I did not get lost! A perfect day. I even practiced some crabbing on the base leg coming into Bay Bridge! What a fun afternoon and a relief to have conquered class D airspace.

Lesson 8a: Basic Pilotage, Intro to Class D Airspace, Basic Patterns and Landings, Crabbing

Today I learned some very important lessons to say the least:
1. Common courtesy will go a long way.
2. Common sense will keep a pilot alive.
3. Always be prepared for every flight.
4. ATC is your friend.
5. Know your FAR's!

1. Being a courteous pilot is important because it is the correct thing to do when at taxiing by taking turns when pulling up to the runway, doing your runup away from anyone, talking to fellow pilots when entering the traffic pattern, letting everyone know who you are, where you are, and what your intentions are, and saying please and thank you when talking to anyone on the radio.

2. Common sense will help you make the right decisions. If an emergency happens, use common sense. Don't over think the situation. Do what makes the most sense. Common sense works hand in hand with common courtesy. Keep track of where you are headed when flying to a specific destination. Something as simple as looking out the window at a landmark and finding it on a sectional chart and placing your finger on that landmark will help keep track of your route.

3. Be prepared for all situations. If you get lost on your way to Easton airport....make a u-turn and back track to find your planned route. I may have planned on flying to Easton airport to practice flying in Class D airspace as well as to practice landings. I ended up flying towards Ridgely airport to the east. My main landmark was where route 301 and route 50 split. Continue east on 301 towards Ridgely or bank to the right and head south along route 50 straight to Easton airport. I may have missed my target when posing for some pictures to place on this blog. This was a test to see how prepared I was and if I could apply basic pilotage. I failed and realized I missed my target, the Queenstown Outlet mall. Oops, a quick U-turn and back track....a good way to find your way when you are lost. Other things that you should always be prepared for are to always know the frequencies at the destination airport and understand how to communicate with air traffic control.

4. Class D airspace is the airspace over the smallest airport with a control tower. Class D is commonly used for "Goldfish" sized aircraft. Class C is commonly used for "shark or dolphin" sized aircraft and Class B airspace is for "Blue Whales or Shamoo" sized aircraft. Now some larger aircraft can be found in Class D airspace just as small light sport planes can be found in Class B airspace such as flying north to BWI. Class D, C, and B all have control towers. I was intimidated by the control tower at Easton airport. The first step to fixing this problem is to not fear the controller and be prepared to read back what the air traffic controller says. ATC is there to help you land safely without any midair collisions. If you don't remember what ATC tells you, ALWAYS ask them to repeat themselves. They are willing to help. I failed to remember these simple rules. Once I had calmed down and I was no longer tongue tied I felt comfortable again. The next issue was to find the correct runway ATC assigned me to land on. It is difficult to imagine the direction the runway is pointing, the heading of the airplane, and the heading the airplane should be on in different parts of the traffic pattern. Again, ALWAYS BE PREPARED. Bring a small detailed airport layout attached to your kneeboard to make orienting the plane easier when given instructions from ATC. I commenced to practice take-offs and landings and working in the traffic pattern. When I was on my way back to Bay Bridge I used common courtesy. As I left the Class D airspace I informed ATC who I was, where I was, and my intentions. I was leaving his airspace and I said a nice thank you for all his help while dealing with me and my first experience in Class D airspace.

5. Almost back to Bay Bridge and I tune into the Bay Bridge AWOS to find out the wind direction. It was blowing at 6 knots from 200 degrees which is an exact 90 degree crosswind favoring neither runway 11 nor 29. I then listened to the Bay Bridge CTAF to find out where other planes were landing. I heard runway 11 so I entered the traffic pattern for runway 11. I noticed it was getting dark out and my flight instructor decided to quiz me on my FAR's. You must use the strobe or anti-collision lighting at all times on an aircraft but you must use your navigation lighting at nighttime, it is not required during the day. I forgot this simple FAR as well as the the definition of nighttime which is "the time between the end of civil evening twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight". When does evening civil twilight end is the more important question and it can be found on the internet. Part of being prepared is knowing when you must be on the ground. Sport pilots cannot fly at night. Now back to landing this plane. My flight instructor noticed the plane was being blown away from the Bay Bridge (I am now in the downwind leg parallel to runway 11) due to the 6 knot crosswind. We went through a "demonstration" on how to crab a plane.

 Lesson: point the nose of the plane about 5 degrees off course into the cross wind to prevent the plane from being pushed away from the runway. DO NOT roll the plane, bank the plane, point the nose 50 degrees off course, perform S-Turns, or add rudder. All of which I/my flight instructor tried and failed/scared bay bridge automobile traffic with our crazy maneuvering. Just point the nose of the plane about 5 degrees into the crosswind to crab into the wind. Lesson learned. I got to turn on the runway lights by clicking the push to talk button 5 times and the runway and taxiway light came on. Quite exciting and then I came in for an evening landing.

Overall it was a stressful and difficult lesson but we covered a lot. I learned a lot but I also learned that even though flying can be difficult, the fun and joy of flying drastically overrides the difficult times. The difficult times end up being a teachable moment or a lesson learned moment to help me become a better and more safe pilot.

P.S. there was a gorgeous sunset over the Chesapeake Bay. Every color you can imagine and we could even see some mountains far off to the west. What a day of flying!

Lesson 7: Forward Slips, S-Turns to Landings, Go Around, and Pattern Entry

This afternoon I got to do something different. I got to fly to Ridgely Airport. It is only roughly 15 nautical miles away from Bay Bridge Airport but it was a big deal to navigate to a different airport/find the airport/land at a different location. Prior to take-off I went over my route with my flight instructor. We found landmarks that were familiar to me from previous training that linked the two airports. Immediately following take-off I pointed the nose of the plane to the heading of the airport. I saw a water tower far far off in the distance. That was my target and I locked on for the flight. It happened to be a high of 35 degrees and a low of 17 degrees. I could see my breath the entire flight. On my way to the Ridgely I learned about landmarks that I could use on my return trip or if I happened to get lost. My flight instructor could see the runway once we were in the air. I did not know what to look for. As we continued to get closer he showed me landmarks so I could identify a route to Ridgely airport from the North, South, East, and West. Once we arrived we practiced entering the a foreign traffic pattern. I needed to be able to identify the downwind leg of the runway as well as a landmark for entering the downwind at a 45 degree angle. The first landing I did was called an S-Turn landing. This maneuver allows pilots to slow down if there is a plane on the runway or if they just need to slow down. The shortest distance between a plane and the runway is a straight line. The S-Turn landing is a side to side "zig zag" maneuver. As I got near the runway I centered up and then once I was over top of the runway I flared the nose and touched down. I then went full throttle and took off again. I entered the traffic pattern and went into the downwind leg. This time I turned very early on the base leg which meant I was incredibly high for the final approach leg of the traffic pattern. I was about 1,000ft and I learned a very important and fun maneuver. It is called the forward slip landing. You tip the nose of the plane down, roll the airplane into the headwind/crosswind and apply full opposite rudder. For my landing I rolled the plane to the right and yawed the plane to the left. This maneuver causes a lot of drag on the airplane which allows the plane to descend quickly to the runway but maintain airspeed. The immense amount of drag helps maintain the airspeed. We did a touch and go and practiced another forward slip and then I did a go around and began my return flight to Bay Bridge Airport. It was a lot of fun to learn these new maneuvers for landing as well as complete my first cross country flight to another airport!