The Student Pilot Cast

This is episode 50, where you may have been expecting an episode about my check ride, but alas, there was a bit of a snag, so you can get all of the information in this week’s episode. This episode will include part one of some makeup flying and we even go and land at Pinal Airpark to look at some mothballed airplanes. Believe it or not, it was a fun, relaxing flight, but I’ll be back to stressing about the check ride soon enough. Hope you enjoy episode 50.

In this episode we’ll cover a quick flight to get the additional .3 hours I needed to be ready for my check ride. The previous day I had 3 flights (see episodes 46, 47, and 48 for those). Today I would do this one flight, and be studying like crazy for my oral and check ride the next morning. I also was going to try to get to bed early so I would be ready the next day. But today, I needed some hood time…thus this episode.

For this episode we’ll be doing a dual flight with Lary, getting some of that hood time I needed, and practicing a takeoff under the hood. We’d be flying in N81658. Keep in mind this is now my 3rd training flight of the day and the fourth in the past two days. To recap, I had a solo flight in the morning (see episode 46) where I practiced the stuff I had gone over the day before with my instructor, Lary (see episode 45 for that), and then I had done my fourth and final stage check in the early afternoon (that one is episode 47). Now, in the late afternoon, I was doing another flight with Lary. I was getting very tired as you can imagine. It was late enough that it was no longer getting hotter at least, but it was still well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Hope you enjoy the episode.

In this episode I’ll be taking you along for my fourth and final stage check with one of the chief pilots. This stage check, if successfully completed, would mark the end of my primary training and I would then be ready for my check ride with an examiner.  Of course, as I’ve already mentioned, I would have a couple more flights after this just to get my hood time in and also to do some last-minute prep and practice.

Enjoy Episode 47.

Welcome back SPC listeners…this flight was the day after my dual flight with Lary from the last episode, episode 45, and I would be doing some solo practice on the same things, short and soft takeoffs and landings.  I’d be staying in the pattern for this solo.  Hope you enjoy Episode 46 – The Last Solo.

In this episode, just three days after my last solo covered in episode 44, I was back in the cockpit with my instructor, Lary, and along for the ride on this one was my oldest Son who was around 10 at the time. We would stay in the pattern for practicing short and soft field landings and takeoffs, as well as an engine out drill in the pattern. It was a great flight, and I was getting close to my check ride, and I was getting excited and nervous. It was getting close.

This was a morning flight, thank goodness. I’d be flying in N9126M. Enjoy the episode.

Today I’d be flying in 2148Y on a solo flight to practice ground reference maneuvers as well as practicing some short and soft field landings. In fact, according to my part 141 training curriculum, this would just be my second to last solo flight before my check ride. We will see what actually happens, but I knew that my primary training was coming to an end. In fact, this was passed the middle of July and I was trying to pass my oral and my check ride before I would go to Oshkosh for Airventure 2008; my first trip there. And I would be going as one of the handful of aviation podcasters at the time. I would be leaving on a commercial flight Monday, July 28th in the evening, and this solo flight was 10 days prior to that…so I would need to finish up my training pretty quick, make sure I was ready, and pass my checkride to make it by the time I left. So these flights were important to me because I needed the practice to get where I wanted to be to make my check ride date, which was scheduled for 6 days away, on the 24th. After this flight my curriculum had me taking 5 more flights over those six days, so it would be a whirlwind. In fact, I would be taking the next Tuesday off of work to do a dual flight, a solo flight, and a stage check all in one day to make sure I would make it, but we’ll get to that in future episodes.

Dropping episode 43 today, where I take you a long on a dual flight with Lary, my instructor, but I have two small visitors today as well. This episode is a bit nostalgic for me as I had my two youngest kids with me; ages 8 and 6. Of course, they’re adults now as this was way back in 2008 when I was doing my primary training. I’m such a washout with these episodes.

I hope you enjoy this one…at least a little better than my poor boys did near the end. It was a very hot afternoon flight and we were doing ground reference maneuvers down low. Well, you can imagine, I’m sure. Don’t worry, they still love flying. And so do I, it turns out. Enjoy episode 43.

Wow…what is this? Another episode of the Student Pilot Cast?!?! After all this time? Well, yes…let’s at least get through my primary training before another hiatus, shall we? Actually, I’ve got some plans even after that, so let’s see how it goes.

In this episode I’ll take you along on a solo flight where I practiced Short and Soft Field Landings, Minimum Controllable Airspeed, Power off and power on Stalls (with turns), and a few more things.

I started to notice some of the little things; things in the back of my head that stood out because they weren’t right even if I wasn’t paying that much attention to them. I started to notice that my situational awareness was getting more keen and I was just getting more used to what I expected to happen; I was anticipating more and more, and feeling much more comfortable. And I was still exhilarated by solo flights being the sole pilot responsible for the flight. This was a fun one, so come along with me as I get closer and closer to becoming a pilot.

Hello, everyone. This is episode 40 of the Student Pilot Cast, The Anonymous CFI. This is a bit more brief than most episodes because I never got permission from the CFI I flew with this day to publish the content, so I’m sorry to say that any cockpit audio with the CFIs voice or instruction is not included in the episode…and of course I don’t say who it is. It’s the anonymous CFI episode, of course. Not to worry, though…this is the only time I flew with this particular instructor, so should be the only time this happens. In the future, for any future training I do, I will try to get permission. Apologies.

That said, in this episode I get to do some practice maneuvers, including shorts and softs, steep turns, hood work, minimum controllable airspeed, and both power on and off stalls. It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot. I’ve said before that I liked flying with different instructors because it kept me on my toes, as well as always taught me something since everyone has a different style.

I hope you enjoy this one. As always, don’t hesitate to contact me and let me know what you’re doing in aviation.