Long flight to rehearse as much as possible of the PTS airwork. We flew out towards the coast, did the maneuvers, then returned. The following are my notes about things we did:
Turns around a point: Failed. All over the place, because I did not pick 4 points to follow around the circle. Once I did that, I was fine.
Power on stalls. Failed. Hurried the stall (approaching a whip stall), and used full power, which is more than necessary. (Note max engine speed is 2750 rpm; 65% power is about 1790 rpm.)
Straight and level. Failed. I said at some point I was going to maintain straight and level 3500' while circling to plan my diversion. Bob said I descended unknowingly to as low as 2800' while futzing with my charts. I need to develop a better scan habit.
Diversion. Passed. Fold the chart and keep it open at all times; that helps with situation awareness.
Soft field takeoff. Passed. Hold yoke back before you add power, and add power gently. I am now allowed to practice this maneuver solo.
Normal landing at KSQL. Passed. Flared early -- too much of a "thud". Due to the fact that the runway is wider than what I'm used to.
Simulated engine-out emergency. Passed. I forgot to make the mayday radio call. I delayed my 360° turn to lose altitude; I should have done it directly over the intended field, with eyes on the field. Note for future reference that I lose about 600-700' per 360° turn.
Short field landing. Passed. Was slightly too slow on final (48-49 kias; book value is 50 kias). Landing location was okay. I asked whether it's a good idea to account for weight and compute a modified landing speed -- Bob said no; for small airplanes like the Flycatcher, the landing speeds are often based on an absolute margin from stall, so always use the book value.
Downwind departure from KSQL. Passed. I flew a wider pattern than usual, expecting this to be a reasonable "get out of my airspace" pattern. Do not do that. Fly the pattern as specified, at the normal altitude and geometry.
A/FD lookup. Passed. Study the format once again to become familiar. Always check traffic pattern altitude(s) for intended airport.
Turns around a point: Failed. All over the place, because I did not pick 4 points to follow around the circle. Once I did that, I was fine.
Power on stalls. Failed. Hurried the stall (approaching a whip stall), and used full power, which is more than necessary. (Note max engine speed is 2750 rpm; 65% power is about 1790 rpm.)
Straight and level. Failed. I said at some point I was going to maintain straight and level 3500' while circling to plan my diversion. Bob said I descended unknowingly to as low as 2800' while futzing with my charts. I need to develop a better scan habit.
Diversion. Passed. Fold the chart and keep it open at all times; that helps with situation awareness.
Soft field takeoff. Passed. Hold yoke back before you add power, and add power gently. I am now allowed to practice this maneuver solo.
Normal landing at KSQL. Passed. Flared early -- too much of a "thud". Due to the fact that the runway is wider than what I'm used to.
Simulated engine-out emergency. Passed. I forgot to make the mayday radio call. I delayed my 360° turn to lose altitude; I should have done it directly over the intended field, with eyes on the field. Note for future reference that I lose about 600-700' per 360° turn.
Short field landing. Passed. Was slightly too slow on final (48-49 kias; book value is 50 kias). Landing location was okay. I asked whether it's a good idea to account for weight and compute a modified landing speed -- Bob said no; for small airplanes like the Flycatcher, the landing speeds are often based on an absolute margin from stall, so always use the book value.
Downwind departure from KSQL. Passed. I flew a wider pattern than usual, expecting this to be a reasonable "get out of my airspace" pattern. Do not do that. Fly the pattern as specified, at the normal altitude and geometry.
A/FD lookup. Passed. Study the format once again to become familiar. Always check traffic pattern altitude(s) for intended airport.
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