January 29, 2011 - (Not) To Burlington
Big plans to fly to Burlington (to practice landings in an uncontrolled aerodrome) failed to flower thanks to weather conditions. So we went to Oshawa instead. And I managed to land the plane a few times on my own. (And a few more times with Lari’s ever-patient guidance.)
It was strange, being at a different airport. I’m so reliant on the water and island as my visual cues at City Centre… of course the airport at Oshawa has a runway, and a tower, and taxiways… and yet, it is different somehow. I can imagine how hockey players must feel when they are playing in another arena – an ice rink with the right lines in the right places, surrounded by familiar team mates, and yet, if it is not their home arena, it must still feel strange.
Flying to Oshawa was interesting in that Lari had me read the chart and navigate. Not an easy task for someone as visually-spatially challenged as myself. The squiggles and markings that hold such meaning for Korkka are indecipherable to me! (What I need is a calm, patient person with access to Google Earth who is willing to sit down with me for a few hours and walk me through some mock navigation scenarios, and not laugh when I get the first 12 wrong. What seems clear to a pilot who is used to interpreting the world from the sky is in fact as murky as a filthy fishtank to me!)
Our final take-off from Oshawa, Lari took control and showed me the quickly increasing speed achieved with ground effect. We soared over the trees ahead at a much steeper than usual angle, kind of neat. (Show off Lari!)
The ongoing voice failure saga continued today; spending what few functioning vocal cords were left at another engagement last night ensured that I was basically broadcasting at a 1 today, i.e. not at all! Not an easy burden to bear at the best of times for someone as vocal as me, haha, but an especial challenge when trying to engage in a flight lesson. Dear Lari did all the radio calls again (at least I could hear him this time, as my new replacement headset seemed to be working just fine), and I managed to make myself understood most of the time in the air by pointing at things and looking quizzical. But many questions went unasked, and many observations went unshared.
On the way home from Oshawa, I was instructed to climb to 4000 ft indicated, and Lari began rummaging through the cabin; all items were secured other than my banana peel, so I knew something was up, and sure enough – he had decided it was time to show me how a Cessna spins. A spin in a Cessna 150 is probably a fairly benign maneuver, and yet, I was terrified! Okay, not totally freaked out, but let’s just say one demo was enough for me. I don’t remember much about that experience, other than stepping on the right rudder (Lari set things up pretty predictably), and being told to open my eyes (yes, I had closed them tight!!!) so I suppose I will need a few more exposures at some point… It’s funny, flying circuits and focusing on landings is somehow so different from practicing spins, stalls and spirals. It’s just a whole different mindset. I know both groups of maneuvers require skill, but somehow the circuits seem more academic to me; there is more of a process I can focus on, study and refine.
When I think of how much I still have to learn, I feel overwhelmed. But when I think of how far I have come, I am quite amazed with myself!
It was strange, being at a different airport. I’m so reliant on the water and island as my visual cues at City Centre… of course the airport at Oshawa has a runway, and a tower, and taxiways… and yet, it is different somehow. I can imagine how hockey players must feel when they are playing in another arena – an ice rink with the right lines in the right places, surrounded by familiar team mates, and yet, if it is not their home arena, it must still feel strange.
Flying to Oshawa was interesting in that Lari had me read the chart and navigate. Not an easy task for someone as visually-spatially challenged as myself. The squiggles and markings that hold such meaning for Korkka are indecipherable to me! (What I need is a calm, patient person with access to Google Earth who is willing to sit down with me for a few hours and walk me through some mock navigation scenarios, and not laugh when I get the first 12 wrong. What seems clear to a pilot who is used to interpreting the world from the sky is in fact as murky as a filthy fishtank to me!)
Our final take-off from Oshawa, Lari took control and showed me the quickly increasing speed achieved with ground effect. We soared over the trees ahead at a much steeper than usual angle, kind of neat. (Show off Lari!)
The ongoing voice failure saga continued today; spending what few functioning vocal cords were left at another engagement last night ensured that I was basically broadcasting at a 1 today, i.e. not at all! Not an easy burden to bear at the best of times for someone as vocal as me, haha, but an especial challenge when trying to engage in a flight lesson. Dear Lari did all the radio calls again (at least I could hear him this time, as my new replacement headset seemed to be working just fine), and I managed to make myself understood most of the time in the air by pointing at things and looking quizzical. But many questions went unasked, and many observations went unshared.
On the way home from Oshawa, I was instructed to climb to 4000 ft indicated, and Lari began rummaging through the cabin; all items were secured other than my banana peel, so I knew something was up, and sure enough – he had decided it was time to show me how a Cessna spins. A spin in a Cessna 150 is probably a fairly benign maneuver, and yet, I was terrified! Okay, not totally freaked out, but let’s just say one demo was enough for me. I don’t remember much about that experience, other than stepping on the right rudder (Lari set things up pretty predictably), and being told to open my eyes (yes, I had closed them tight!!!) so I suppose I will need a few more exposures at some point… It’s funny, flying circuits and focusing on landings is somehow so different from practicing spins, stalls and spirals. It’s just a whole different mindset. I know both groups of maneuvers require skill, but somehow the circuits seem more academic to me; there is more of a process I can focus on, study and refine.
When I think of how much I still have to learn, I feel overwhelmed. But when I think of how far I have come, I am quite amazed with myself!