My Biggest Challenge

Of course I'd like you all to think that I was a natural born pilot who has always had it easy, but that isn't the truth.  Flying with precision is something I have had to learn over the years.  I have done enough intro flights to know there are those who are natural aviators, and those who are not.  There's nothing wrong with either one, but for some of us, we have to work a lot harder to master the maneuvers than others.

Though my first flight with my instructor was such an adrenaline rush, I remember having a difficult time holding altitude.  I felt like I was keeping the nose of the aircraft where the instructor told me to, but the airplane, against my will of course, kept climbing or descending.  At the time, I didn't realize that some pilots can hold altitude within 10 feet on their first flight, so I thought I was the most amazing pilot that there ever was!

Thankfully my instructor never said anything discouraging to me, and never compared me to his other students, so after a few flight I had mastered the basic maneuvers.  Next up?  Takeoffs and landings.  The takeoffs didn't seem too difficult, but the landings gave me some grief.

I had over 15 hours before I soloed because I could not get a good landing in.  If it was a 'common error' I struggled with it.  Flaring too high?  Yep.  Coming in too fast or slow?  Yep.  Leaving power in too long?  Yep.  Landings were my nemesis.  But I was determined to get it.  I spent a lot of time in the traffic pattern with my instructor.  I'm sure he got bored of flying traffic patterns for over an hour/three times per week, but he never complained.  I saw myself improve each and every time, which is what kept me going.

After a million or so landings (okay, maybe not that many... but it was a lot), my instructor finally felt I was ready for my solo.  I was nervous, but I acted the part and told myself that if he thought I could do it, that I could do it.  I did three touch and go's and survived every single one- in fact, the landings weren't so bad after all.  I could hear my instructor in my head, coaching me through it.  It was awesome!

Once I had my solo endorsement, I went up frequently by myself to work on my landings.  I put in a lot of time and spent a lot of money before I felt my landings were up to par, but I distinctly remember the day when it all clicked.  My traffic pattern was perfect, my approach was stabilized, I reduced power at the perfect time, leveled out, and flared exactly when I needed to- I'd finally gotten the sight picture correct.  I'm sure I still had some less than beautiful landings in that plane before my checkride, but I now knew how to land the airplane safely each and every time.   I had finally mastered the normal landing.

What's the point to this story?  It's that not every pilot is perfect, and that's okay.  If you are having a difficult time learning a specific maneuver, don't just give up.  Keep working at it until you get it.  Don't compare yourself to your peers- your only competition is you.  Study harder so you can be better than you were the day or the flight before.  If you beat yourself up, you won't be able to improve.   Some pilots are naturals, and some are not; it's nothing to be ashamed of.
 If this is something you really want to do, then do it.  There were many times I could have easily given up, but I didn't.  I kept working through it.  I had to study a lot more than most, but that didn't stop me.   Don't let it stop you!

If you have questions about becoming a pilot, or would like to share your story on my blog, email me at trendyprivatepilots@gmail.com.

Fuel- Top if Off, Please!

Getting back into the General Aviation world has re-opened my eyes with how important fuel is.  Of course we pay attention to it at the airlines and check it a bazillion times before we takeoff and during the flight, but the amount of fuel we need is figured out by dispatchers and then put into our planes from fuelers who are paid to do it.  Fuel is burned evenly from each tank into each engine, so we don't have worry about switching fuel tanks throughout the flight.  And the fuel gauges are very accurate on a commercial airliner!

Many GA airplanes are not quite the same, as far as fuel goes.  Fuel gauges only have to show accurate when they are empty, which is not something I want to test out!  Because of that, we need to visually inspect the tanks to make sure they are full before each flight, and sump it to make sure there are no contaminants (including water), in our fuel tanks.  Water weighs roughly 8 pounds per gallon, whereas fuel weighs only about 6 pounds per gallon; if there is water in your fuel tank, it will separate and sink to the bottom of your sump.  If you see this, continue summing until all of the water is removed from your fuel tank.

While sumping fuel, you have probably noticed that the fuel was either a blue (100LL), red (80), green (100), or clear (Jet-A).  Dyes are added to the fuel to help us identity which grade of fuel is in our tank.  Most of the airplanes I have flown have used 100LL, which is blue.  (As a side note, after you sump the fuel, hold it next to something white so you can verify the color.)

My one exception (minus my airline flying) to that is the Diamond Twinstar, which takes Jet-A fuel.  One important item to note is this: When two grades of fuel are mixed, it will turn clear.  I got asked that question on my commercial checkride and I had absolutely no idea.  The examiner was kind and let me look it up afterwards... whew!

Though many smaller airplanes have only one fuel tank, or two fuel tanks that can be used at the same time, some are not designed that way at all- in fact, you may have to watch your fuel and switch it from one tank to the next every 30 minutes or so.  Make sure you know which type of fuel system you have in your aircraft.  I have heard stories of pilots running out of fuel in one tank, doing an emergency landing, only to remember they still had another tank completely full of fuel.  Don't be that guy (or girl)!

As long as taking full fuel won't put me overweight, I 'top it off' before each flight.  I'd much rather have too much fuel than not enough.  What are your personal minimums regarding fuel?