Lesson 29 3/31/09

1.3hrs – Gusty crosswind, hood work, and getting used to 4KU again.

We had originally planned to go to a few very short fields, as well as a grass field, but decided to take full advantage of the 16kt with variable gusts to 21kt winds, which at Twin Oaks were variable between 60 and 90 degrees to runway 20.

I got off cleanly from Twin Oaks but quickly realized that my right leg had become a little lazy from flying 40H lately, and struggled a bit through the lesson with holding enough right rudder. Funny how an airplane that I’d become so used to, now seems foreign after a short time.

On my first landing, I began a slip just after turning final to give myself some time to get a feel for it. I was able to get the wing down/opposite rudder arranged in my head and translated to hand here/foot there pretty quickly, completing a very acceptable landing.

Feeling good about that, we departed Twin Oaks for Sportsman Airpark (2S6) over in Newburg, just a short hop south.

In route to Sportsmen we worked on wrapping up the required hood time I had remaining. With the gusty wind, and the resulting turbulence generated by the ridge between Twin Oaks and Newburg, it was a good workout.

We arrived at Sportsman, and started with a nice crab on final, transitioning to a slip, but got caught up in some variable gusts just before touching down, requiring some rudder assistance from my instructor.

My instructor demonstrated the next time around, and did so very skillfully, conceding that the conditions were pretty challenging down low.

My next several trips around the pattern were pretty acceptable, and we turned toward North toward Twin Oaks.

My pattern for 20 at Twin Oaks was just as it should be, which I felt very good about since approach and landing on 20 is a little trickier, and not often used unless landing on 02 would be with a tailwind in excess of about 7kts. The landing was also as it should be, and ended the day well.

We also discussed my long cross country, which I was given the green light for if the weather conditions are agreeable. The plan is to be off at 10am Friday, with stops at RDM (Redmond), S21 (Sunriver), 61S (Cottage Grove), and SLE (Salem), but the extended forecast doesn’t look to promising. I have plenty of time to wait for the right day.

While paying up for my rental time, I met someone in the office that was looking at getting started on his long time desire to learn to fly, and spent the next hour talking. It was nice, and just less than 6 months ago I was in his very spot, checking the place out, and talking to a student nearing the end of his training. Sometimes that day seems like last week, sometimes years ago.

Good times!