Aileron

To the air! After five consecutive lesson cancellations, I finally had my second flying lesson today, a discovery flight at Solberg-Hunterdon Airport (N51). A discovery flight is an abbreviated lesson aimed at helping people decide if flying is something they want to pursue. As it's cheaper than a full lesson, I thought it'd be a good way for me to get a feel for the airport, the instructors, and the aircraft.

For the flight, I met my CFI at the airport office, we did a very quick walk-around of the aircraft, and went for a short thirty-minute flight of basic maneuvers. The aircraft was a 1982 Cessna 152, a tiny tiny plane that seats two and flies at speeds comparable to a family car (107 kts); something like a motorcycle with wings. But it did fly, and quite well at that. A motorcycle with wings is never a bad thing.

My flying went much better this time around. The plane responded more like what I expected from years of video games. I was able to hold altitude and heading more precisely, and even felt comfortable enough to scan out the side windows from time to time, past the wingtips, instead of fixing my gaze directly in front of the nose as in my first lesson. This drove home the enjoyment of flying because it gave me a better sense of space and speed. We even tried some steep turns which were fun because I got to feel some G-forces, and I was still able to hold my altitude during those. But before I can say I'm improving, a number of factors have to be considered in comparing today's lesson to my first:

• I bought a headset. It made a huge difference because for my first lesson, I rented one from the school and the microphone arm didn't stay in place. Any time I wanted to talk I had to use my hand to hold it up to my mouth and I barely have enough hands as it is while flying. Also, the mic is on the left side, but my left hand is dedicated to controlling the yoke, so I had to do this awkward maneuver using my right hand crossing over to hold the mic any time I wanted to talk. It became a distraction. The AirClassics HS-1 seemed to be the popular headset among student pilots so I went ahead and got one for $109 off Amazon. It's cheap and it works. I didn't have to think about microphones my whole flight today; I just talked and my CFI heard me and I heard him and it was great. And I didn't have to think about other people's sweaty germs living on the ear muff.
• Although crazy-hot (37°C), there was almost no turbulence today.
• The Cessna 152 is known as a training aircraft because it's very stable and forgiving. The Piper from last time felt like it was balanced on a pin and I had to constantly correct it, but it's hard to tell how much of that was due to turbulence.
• Being a short discovery flight, the instructor handled the throttle and flaps while I focused on the yoke and pedals. A little reduction in cognitive load goes a long way.
• Our practice area today was by the Round Valley Reservoir, which is a much more prominent reference point than an intersection of highways. This made orientation a lot easier for me and it gives me more confidence when the CFI tells me to do something like turn 180° because I actually have an idea of where things are and where I'm pointing.
• Finally, I've had some time to sleep on what I learned last time. It's already been two and a half weeks since that first lesson, but maybe a little of that experience stuck around to help me today.

I become more convinced everyday that flying is something I would enjoy and is something I want to pursue. My next steps are to try out the third and final airport close to my house, pick which one I want to do my training at, and then start scheduling serious lesson time. I've been continuing to study flight training material pretty heavily on my own and that's been helpful in getting the most out of my flight time. It seems my biggest roadblock will be getting enough lessons scheduled and not canceled by weather to keep training moving along.

• Flight Hours: 1.5
• METAR KSMQ 192153Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR 33/23 A2974 RMK AO2 SLP069 T03280228

Aircraft today: Cessna 152, motorcycle with wings.

Labels: Flight Lessons