Instrument Student's Log
Part Fourteen

Flights 24-25

Flight 24: Mon, Mar 3. (1.4 / 2.1 / 40.9)

Tonight I did a lesson with a new (to me) instrument instructor. I hadn't expected to accomplish much; I just wanted to evaluate his style to see if I wanted to book more time with him.

It turned out to be a really good lesson, considering that I hadn't flown with him before. He had very little to go on, not knowing where I was in my training. (I couldn't tell him too much, since I don't really know where I am myself.)

We started out by reviewing the approach plates so he could get an idea of what I understand. When we went out to the airplane I remembered that I hadn't done an IFR lesson at night before, since my original CFII was never available then. (The new one is willing to fly anytime he's not already booked, which is how it used to be in the old days. It's nice to be able to just pencil myself in on the schedule.)

I'm comfortable flying at night, but I thought I might have trouble with the plates or something. I don't have a fancy, lighted clipboard or anything, just a flashlight, but it wasn't a problem.

We did the same VOR and ILS approaches I did the last two times, with the instructor providing vectors, since Tampa Approach was unable to work with us. (They must have been short-handed, because there wasn't much traffic.)

After that we did something brand-new to me: intersection holding. I didn't have the equipment to do that until I got the new CDI installed. (Yes, you can identify an intersection with one VOR display, but you have to continually switch between stations, so it would be hard to learn that way.) It's going to take a while to be able to figure this out on my own, since I'm not used to monitoring two VORs.

Tonight reminded me of my intro flight, when I couldn't wait to go again. I felt great when the lesson ended, because I think I've found somebody who can help me finish my rating in a reasonable amount of time. But I wouldn't have gotten this far without my original flight instructor.

Flight 25: Thurs, Mar 14. (1.2 / 2.1 / 42.1)

I did another night lesson with my new instrument instructor. We started with about half an hour of ground instruction. (He has this weird idea that I should at least partially understand something before I try to fly it.)

We spent most of the time doing NDB work, tracking and intercepting bearings. It wasn't easy, because I had forgotten most of what I knew, and the wind was over 30 knots.

We did an NDB approach at Plant City, and I was surprised to be able to figure out all the steps from the plate. (Not fly them properly, but at least understand them.)

Then we practiced the basics of instrument flying (turns, climbs, descents, and combinations at constant speeds or rates), which need improvement. Approaches will be easier when I can maintain a steady descent at the proper speed, for example.