HOME

Today I had another flying lesson – my 7^th since I started at Pinnacle Aviation Academy. So far all of my lessons have been in the Cessna 172R Skyhawk, but today we went out in the 172 SP Skyhawk, which I really liked. It’s just like the “R” but it has 180 hp instead of 160 hp. Maybe it was just my improving flying skills, but I really liked that plane. Normally we head out to Valley Center to practice maneuvers, but today my instructor John and I flew down the coastline past La Jolla and around Point Loma and practice maintaining altitude, climbs and descents, and maintaining directional heading. It was my first time flying on a Saturday afternoon, and I was surprised how busy it was.

Things I worked on today:

• The takeoff checklist: The takeoff always feels hectic and I get a little anxious because are lots of things to remember. Fortunately there are acronyms and checklists to help. “Lights, Camera, Action” is the takeoff checklist as we position on the runway. “Lights” means your lights are on, “Camera” is your transponder, set to ALT (Altitude), and “Action” is your mixture set to full RICH and your throttle all the way in.

• The takeoff callouts: I used to always panic and forget these, but I’m getting better at remembering. Practice makes perfect. As soon as the plane starts moving on the centerline and your power is set to max, you call out “Power Set” and then check your gauges to make sure your oil pressure and oil temperature are both at appropriate levels. If they are, you call out “Instruments Green”. Then check your airspeed indicator (I call it the speedometer, but it’s an airspeed indicator). As you are passing 40 KIAS (“knots indicated airspeed”) you call out “Airspeed Alive”. And then, “Rotate” when you get to 55-60 KIAS.

Once in the air, my instructor and I headed south down along the San Diego County coast line. It’s cool to see such a familiar sight from a different perspective. We flew past Swami’s Beach, the Del Mar horse races where the Bing Crosby season was running, and then past the Torrey Pines Golf Course and Glider Port, and even saw a wedding at Sunset Cliffs. Along the way we practiced maintaining altiude, going from 500 feet to 1,500 feet and back down again. I did much better today than I did in my first couple lessons.

After flying past the Hotel Del Coronado, my flight instructor took over the controls and I managed to get some good pics of the Coronado Bridge, Glorietta Bay, Harbor Island and the San Diego airport. Here is a short video from today’s flight:

After flying over the San Diego airport, we went back up the coastline, again practicing maintaining altitude and directional heading. Then we went up by the Oceanside Pier and practiced slow flight, which I am getting much better at. The lesson ended with a uneventful landing and taxi back to Pinnacle.