Daily Archives: December 30, 2014

December 29th Flying Lesson Recap – Turns Around a Point

Posted on 30 December, 2014 in Flying Lessons

turns-around-a-pointI had another flying lesson yesterday, and I almost got sick again! I have not thrown up in the cockpit, but I’ve come very close. Too close. The extremely close call, a few weeks ago, happened when we were practicing power off stalls. Those freaked me out big time and the sickness I felt was definitely fear-related. But now, those stalls are no big deal. It’s funny how something can be so scary at first, and as you practice it more and more, it becomes easy.

Yesterday, we worked on turns around a point, just one of the many training maneuvers I need to do to get my pilot’s license. This maneuver is exactly what it sounds like. You’re flying over something, probably some sort of landmark. Yesterday, the landmark was a water tower in Valley Center. As part of the exercise, I had to fly the Cessna in three complete circles of uniform distance using a maximum bank of approximately 45 degrees while maintaining constant altitude. The motion sickness I felt yesterday definitely had to do with looking at the point on the ground and constantly shifting my attention between the traffic in front of me, the point on the ground, and my instruments (the airspeed indicator, altimeter, and heading indicator). It is multi-tasking at it’s best. Good thing I wasn’t texting while doing all that.

According to my Airplane Flying Handbook, there are several reasons we learn how to fly urns around a point. They are to further perfect our turning technique, to perfect the ability to subconsciously control the airplane while dividing attention between the flight path and ground references, to develop a keen perception of altitude, and to perfect the ability to correct for wind drift while in turns.

For turns around appoint, you have to take into account the wind. You enter the turn on the downwind During the downwind half of the circle the nose of the plane is turned toward the inside of the circle, and during the upwind half, the nose is turned toward the outside. I think the biggest challenge for me will be gaining or losing altitude, and learning to divide my attention equally between the flight path and ground references and instruments.

I’m flying again on Saturday, and I’m going to nail it! After that, I have to do steep turns, and then it will be time for my big stage check, all leading up to my solo. I can’t wait!

Thinking About 2015 Resolutions and Goals

Posted on 30 December, 2014 in Inspiration, Motivation

2013practiceDuring December every year, I think about the goals I want to make for the following year. I am always optimistic that the new year will be the best year yet! I am not someone to write down a few resolutions on New Year’s Eve and then half-heartedly try to achieve them. For me, a resolution starts with a simple acknowledgement that I want some part of my life to be better and is brought to life with a plan that includes daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Along with that acknowledgement and plan, is an understanding of why I need to make a change. This understanding is critical when I am feeling lazy or procrastinating

lifequote2For lots of people, resolutions are forgotten and abandoned by mid-January. I think this is because most people don’t have a specific plan for achieving their goals. There is a saying “Failing to plan is planning to fail” – and it’s really true. If you want to lose weight, but don’t know how you are going to do it, it’s not going to magically happen. A weight loss plan will be much more successful with a specific diet and exercise plan, broken down to daily workouts and calorie intake. Rather than resolutions, I like to focus on big goals that I can achieve, and improvements to fine-tune things I am already working on.

My big goal for 2015 is to get my private pilot license, and hopefully instrument rating. This I am working on daily, and will continue to do so until I pass that FAA Checkride. Other than that, my 2015 goals are continued improvements on 2014 efforts. I want to be more effective in keeping my house organized. Specifically, I will be better at going through mail right away, keeping the kitchen counters clutter free at all time. And laundry and dirty dishes will be addressed daily, so that they’re never waiting for me for too long. Another one of my goals for 2015 is to make the most of the valuable period of time in the morning before Ava gets up. Before I had a baby, I never realized how precious that little time is. I would lie in bed and hit the snooze button 5 or 8 times. And sometimes, I still like to do that. But now when I hear the alarm on my cell phone, I know that the cell phone alarm is a precursor to an impending baby alarm, which really can’t be ignored. If I can get up 30-45 minutes before Ava, I can have breakfast, shower, and be dressed before she gets up, which makes for a much less stressful morning.

Believe you can achieve what you set your heart to achieve, and you will do it. It might not be easy, but it will be worth it.

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