I had another flight lesson this week, something I’ve written nothing about since I mentioned that I was getting back into flying. My fiancée came up with us for the second time. My instructor encourages me to bring passengers during lessons, as long as they don’t distract me/us from the business at hand.
When asked, she expressed her disappointment at not being with last week when I had to practice stalls. I’ve told her that they can be stomach-turning, exactly what she loves. (I don’t like amusement park rides much, while she loves them all, the scarier the better – stalls can be a lot like a roller coaster). You know what that meant, we had to practice a couple stalls. She liked it, but was disappointed that it wasn’t as wild as she was hoping.
The majority of the lesson was spent practicing what to do with an engine failure. Establish the best glide speed, find a field or road to land on, check the cockpit controls to see that there is no way to restart the engine, declare an emergency, and prepare to evacuate.
We headed up north to a smaller airport. In the past, when I’ve practiced this, we take the plane down to about 500 feet above the ground and then apply full power and climb out. With the airport available, and no other traffic, we practiced bringing the plane down and to a stop without the benefit of an engine. It was great practice.
Another thing we practiced was what to do with an engine fire. In that case, you want to get on the ground as quickly as possible. The quickest way to lose altitude safely is by transferring lift from vertical to horizontal – steep turns. This is where she had fun. descending quickly and making steep turns can be a wild ride. Near the ground you need to straighten out and slow to about 70 knots (we peaked at about 140 during our decent).
I was glad she came along. She had fun, and since she will likely be flying with me a lot in the future, I have the peace of mind of knowing that she knows that if the engine quits on us, I know what to do. I can land the plane without anyone getting hurt.
This is a real-world potential emergency too. Just a few week before, My instructor and I were flying and he said we should look for an airplane in a grass field near the area we practice in. One of his students was flying solo and the engine threw a rod. She had to put the plane down in a sod field.
My lessons are progressing quickly. Next weekend I will be practicing touch-and-goes (landings and take-offs). Once my instructor and I are comfortable with my ability to safely land a plane, I will fly my first solo in over three years (third ever). That’s when the real fun begins. Once I solo, we will be starting cross-country flights.
I can’t wait!