Lesson 12
1.1hrs - Navigation, pattern work, crosswinds, clouds, snow, and my head not quite in it.
Why the pictures from the yard, and not from the air? I've not had a camera along for the past few lessons, and much of what we flew over during lesson 12 was snow covered.
The weather around here had been poor in the morning with a mix of snow, rain, freezing rain, or sleet, but fortunately by lesson time, had improved.
We departed Twin Oaks and climbed to clear a small band of low clouds hugging a ridge. From there is was a clear shot below the high overcast to McMinnville.
My calls on the radio and navigation work seemed to have slipped, and was already beginning to feel a little behind.
We arrived at McMinnville with wind at 10kts from 200, and entered the pattern for 22. Snow and limited visibility was forecast to move into the area in the next hour, so or time at here would not be long.
My first landing at McMinnville was okay, but I just didn’t feel on top of it. I flared a bit high, struggled a little with the small crosswind component, and touched down at bit hard. The subsequent takeoff was good, and in the cold air I was able to climb out at about 1400fpm (nice).
About mid field on downwind, my instructor pulled the throttle “you just lost your engine, what are you going to do?”. I needed a hint or two during the descent, and flared a little flat, but pulled off a decent landing.
The last trip around at MMV went okay, but I began to flare high, could feel us begin to drop in, added some power, and brought it down with no more than a squeak. I was happy with my ability to correct for a poor short final and flare, but not so happy with my performance that led to the need for it.
Now it was time to head for Twin Oaks. Many areas are still covered in snow (unusual for this part of Oregon), so the view was really something, and we passed through a few light snow showers along the way. Pretty cool.
About 10 miles south of Twin Oaks, it was IMC (instrument conditions) ahead . We turned around, and headed a little farther east, and then north. It was clear at Hillsboro, so we planned to head there and wait, or leave the airplane overnight and get a ride back to Twin Oaks. Soon we found a clear opening to the west between to storm fronts, could see Twin Oaks in the clear on the back side, and headed for home.
Back at Twin Oaks the wind favored 20 (over the trees to the down sloping runway), so I entered the pattern for 20.
I had it pretty well set up on final, but started to lock up on the rudder on short final. A wiggle on the rudder from my CFI and a reminder to be aggressive loosend me up again, ending landing number 4 of the day nicely.
Everything seemed to have slipped since my last lesson, but it did turn out to be a really good lesson in how physical condition can affect my performance (I’ve had a sore lower back this week and have not slept as well as normal), and how non-flying related issues in the day or week can affect my mental preparedness.
My CFI sent me off after some encouraging discussion of plateaus, and pre-solo struggles of his own.
I may be able to get one more lesson in on the 23rd, but if not I’ll be on the ground until early next month. Oh well, many things to stay busy with anyway!
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