Flight 6: Stuck on the Ground
I did the preflight checklist without supervision today; my CFI said there’s no need to wait for him if I get there first. On the way from the hangar to the taxiway, I managed to do something he’d never had happen before.
I needed to make a sharp turn onto the paved taxiway. Since it takes more power to taxi through grass, I reduced the power before hitting the pavement to avoid shooting across it. I did that a little too soon; we got stuck in some dirt and had to get out and push the plane onto the pavement. No harm done.
I did some stalls, at least one of which was about ideal, then we reviewed the emergency procedures from the last lesson. I practiced flying in a circle around a fixed point on the ground (a turn around a point). The goal is to keep the radius and altitude constant, which would be fairly easy without the wind. My path was shaped more like an egg than a circle. We continued the lesson with more touch & goes.
My skills in the pattern need a lot of improvement; I tend to turn too early, too late, and/or too steeply. I’m not compensating for the wind properly, either, which I think is the main problem. Drifting off course makes the pattern different every time.
The bright spot today was that the last landing was all mine; the first one I’ve done without my CFI having to move the controls a bit. I still need coaching every time, but this is progress.
Today: 1.1 hours
Total: 6.9 hours
