Howdy!
Well, the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to flicker a little less. I have completed the required 30 hours of flying for my one class, and have turned in several other things due by next Friday. I still have a paper to write, a couple of tests to take and then the FAA test to study for and take, but I am nearing the end of the insanity. I haven't been filling well though, which adds to the frustration of it all. I have been sick for a little over a week now, fighting my allergies as usual. Beth has been sick, too, although worse than I have. I think I am over the worst part, and she is nearing the end, too, but what a pain in the ass. We both are making appointments to see an ear, nose and throat doctor, since our allergies seem to be worse than ever before.
Back to flying... I completed my marathon of solo cross country flights earlier in the week. My first flight to Mesquite was alright, although there were several issues, all of which I learned from. I'll give the skinny...the coordinates in the GPS for the Mesquite airport (67L) were incorrect, and the GPS had me tracking to a little town about three miles north of Mesquite that had no airport. That's why you never navigate with one tool, and my flight plan proved to be correct. The fuel guage for my right fuel tank kept going from full to zero and back to full (this plane has always had issues evenly feeding fuel from each tank, like it's supposed to). Although that airplane has always had fuel issues, the fuel guage never did that before. The weather was forcasted to be improving, and actually got significantly worse. And because of that, I was forced to alter my flight plan and get clearance from Nellis Air Force base to change my route of flight and altitude (I was flying, legally, in Nellis' air space.) Once I finally made it to the airport in North Las Vegas, I thought I was home free. Think again.
The winds had picked up a little, but nothing significant. However, when I was just about to touch down, the wind shifted dramatically so I had a tail wind straight on my tail. Not good when landing. You always want to land and take-off into the wind. Result? I ballooned. I got three landings for the price of one and one very stressed, fast beating little heart. The wind had picked up my airspeed significantly and made me wonder if I was going to stop in time before I got to the end of the runway. Here's some perspective: the runway is five thousand feet long, I only need about two thousand to land and stop. I almost didn't. The airplane was so unstable when I was just over the runway I didn't know what would've been worse, powering up for a go around or land. My instructor said either would have been fine. He also said I was probably never in danger, but most certainly learned a lesson well: be ready for change, any change.
After all that, I was nervous about my whirl-wind cross country the next day. I thought, "If I only flew some 120 miles round trip today, to one airport, and had all the problems I did, how on earth am I going to make it 238 miles and to three airports tomorrow?" It couldn't have been better. My route of flight took me from North Las Vegas airport to Bullhead City, AZ (Laughlin), did a touch and go, and then on to Lake Havasu City, AZ. There I stopped and refueled, closed one flight plan and opened another. Then, I took off to Kingman, AZ, did a touch and go, and then flew back to North Las Vegas. No problems... the navigation was flawless and the weather was as forecasted. My fuel still had issues, which is why my instructor and I planned a fuel stop, even though I ordinarily wouldn't have needed one. In all, I was airborne for 3.2 hours, and by myself! It made me realize that being in a small plane that long was just fine, and made me even more anxious to fly up to Gardnerville, about three hours from Vegas. Oh the possibilities!
Well, the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to flicker a little less. I have completed the required 30 hours of flying for my one class, and have turned in several other things due by next Friday. I still have a paper to write, a couple of tests to take and then the FAA test to study for and take, but I am nearing the end of the insanity. I haven't been filling well though, which adds to the frustration of it all. I have been sick for a little over a week now, fighting my allergies as usual. Beth has been sick, too, although worse than I have. I think I am over the worst part, and she is nearing the end, too, but what a pain in the ass. We both are making appointments to see an ear, nose and throat doctor, since our allergies seem to be worse than ever before.
Back to flying... I completed my marathon of solo cross country flights earlier in the week. My first flight to Mesquite was alright, although there were several issues, all of which I learned from. I'll give the skinny...the coordinates in the GPS for the Mesquite airport (67L) were incorrect, and the GPS had me tracking to a little town about three miles north of Mesquite that had no airport. That's why you never navigate with one tool, and my flight plan proved to be correct. The fuel guage for my right fuel tank kept going from full to zero and back to full (this plane has always had issues evenly feeding fuel from each tank, like it's supposed to). Although that airplane has always had fuel issues, the fuel guage never did that before. The weather was forcasted to be improving, and actually got significantly worse. And because of that, I was forced to alter my flight plan and get clearance from Nellis Air Force base to change my route of flight and altitude (I was flying, legally, in Nellis' air space.) Once I finally made it to the airport in North Las Vegas, I thought I was home free. Think again.
The winds had picked up a little, but nothing significant. However, when I was just about to touch down, the wind shifted dramatically so I had a tail wind straight on my tail. Not good when landing. You always want to land and take-off into the wind. Result? I ballooned. I got three landings for the price of one and one very stressed, fast beating little heart. The wind had picked up my airspeed significantly and made me wonder if I was going to stop in time before I got to the end of the runway. Here's some perspective: the runway is five thousand feet long, I only need about two thousand to land and stop. I almost didn't. The airplane was so unstable when I was just over the runway I didn't know what would've been worse, powering up for a go around or land. My instructor said either would have been fine. He also said I was probably never in danger, but most certainly learned a lesson well: be ready for change, any change.
After all that, I was nervous about my whirl-wind cross country the next day. I thought, "If I only flew some 120 miles round trip today, to one airport, and had all the problems I did, how on earth am I going to make it 238 miles and to three airports tomorrow?" It couldn't have been better. My route of flight took me from North Las Vegas airport to Bullhead City, AZ (Laughlin), did a touch and go, and then on to Lake Havasu City, AZ. There I stopped and refueled, closed one flight plan and opened another. Then, I took off to Kingman, AZ, did a touch and go, and then flew back to North Las Vegas. No problems... the navigation was flawless and the weather was as forecasted. My fuel still had issues, which is why my instructor and I planned a fuel stop, even though I ordinarily wouldn't have needed one. In all, I was airborne for 3.2 hours, and by myself! It made me realize that being in a small plane that long was just fine, and made me even more anxious to fly up to Gardnerville, about three hours from Vegas. Oh the possibilities!
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