January 20/23 - Flying with Tatiana
In an effort to conquer the circuit and get closer to soloing, I decided to book two lessons with an other instructor, just to get a different perspective on approaches, landings, and anything else she might notice about my technique. The timing worked out well, as Lari was away on a course, and I managed to squeeze in two short lessons between band rehearsals, work and other obligations.
Thursday Jan 20 - Descents Due to snow starting right at the precise moment when my lesson was booked, Thursday turned into Friday, which turned into Sunday, thanks to high winds on Fri. Thankfully, Sunday afternoon the weather was ideal for flying: Great visibility, and relatively calm winds. Ahhh, but a simple lesson in decent weather would be too simple! There was good fun to be had when we returned to the circuit after a short refresher on descents (PAT, as opposed to climbs and cruise corrections APT). Right on cue as we landed what we hoped would be the first of several touch and goes, the engine cut out!!! It was the first time I've experienced an engine failure, and to be honest, it wasn't that bad (of course, we were on the ground, and T took control immediately, calling tower to let them know we were safe but w/o power, and that we were going to try to start up again). The engine did start again, and we taxiied safely off the runway and onto the apron to trade in for another plane (GNJ, as it turns out. Good old Juliet, she always saves me!) As it was becoming dusk, we only got in 3 circuits, and there is always so much going on with radio and Porter and stuff that my ADHD runs rampant, and I find it difficult to isolate salient focal points both visually and mentally. Nevertheless, it was good to get more comfortable and familiar with the plane; every experience counts in building schema, right? The debrief afterwards was also helpful. We talked about the flare, and noticing when it should occur, and basically how and why it occurs. The whole thing is still a bit of a mystery to me, which I think is part of the problem. I really need to understand the science behind it so I can deconstruct everything; that will allow me to have power over it -- currently, I am still overthinking everything, from controlling speed with attitude, and altitude with throttle, to figuring out which way I should be rolling the trim wheel. Arggh, the whole exercise is just so counter-intuitive to everything I know and am good at! I hate being so inept. When I think of everything I know about differentiated instruction and assessment, about concept mapping, about -- hey, maybe I could concept map this; really visually-spatially put it all together on paper. Hmmmm.... (Because I have so much time for that, lol!) Anyway, the point is, I am not a stupid person, really. And yet, I feel stupid now more often than not. (No wonder we have so many kids dropping out of high school -- some of them are really smart but learn and demonstrate understanding in a different way than the vast majority of teachers teach and assess.) T is a different instructor than L, for sure. (Although, like him, she is she very smart! It's so funny, I can almost see her brain going, and it works in such a very different way than my own.) But she takes a rather different approach to teaching than L does. Or maybe it's just a different student -teacher chemistry. In any case, it's interesting to have a different perspective, and will no doubt enhance my learning with Lari. |
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This week is my aviation medical, necessary to process student pilot permit. Preceeding that is another important appt that could impact the medical. I am eager to see how it all unfolds.