Vectors To Final

I went up in 99A with Tom again for a 0.9 hour flight; mainly some touch-and-go's at West Point . The flight went well, did 3 landings (one of which was fairly decent), and I did a lot better on the engine-out procedures compared to last time. :) After the flight we did another hour of ground time, where he quizzed me on the FARs and reading sectional charts. So now I can fly the two Cessnas at JGG. I have some time on Sunday scheduled in the hopes that, if the weather is good, I can get some solo time in with the N-model.

After not being able to fly last Thursday due to 90-degree crosswinds of 15-17 knots I finally got up in the air again today for 1.3 hours. I was hoping to finish up my BFR (provided I flew well) while also get checked out in Cessna 99A, a 172 model R plane with fancier systems than an older 172 (auto-pilot, GPS, fuel-injection, etc). When I got there I found out that there was little chance of finishing the BFR since there would not be enough time to do the ground parts of it. That was no big deal though, b/c I could do that right before going solo by coming in a bit early and working with the instructor (Tom) to finish up that phase. So I started my pre-flight. There were a few things foreign to me in that pre-flight. Some were easy to figure out, like testing the pitot-heater and the car-style seat belts, others were totally new to me like the annunciator panel (just a set of panel warning lights, like cars have). But with some help from Tom, I learned those things, as wel...

Just got Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook in today, along with a copy of the newest FARs. After just 2 minutes thumbing through it I knew it was good; after reading the first few chapters I know it is the best. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone getting back into flying or simply starting their private pilot training. It contains huge amounts of information put clearly and concisely. A must have.

Well, because of a crosswind I was not able to go up in the air today, but I was able to chat with the Flight School owner about weather info and other topics (including where to get the instruction manual for the GPS in their C172R ). After talking with him, I joined the AOPA and I can now login to get weather info in a nice format on their website. Pretty cool. Plus they have an excellent magazine which I should start getting soon.

I had my first flight in 7 years today out of JGG . Went up in a Cessna 172 for 1.2 hours of instruction towards my biannual flight review. Once I pass the BFR I plan to do a few cross-country flights solo and then with Krista. In general the flight went pretty well. My two landings were not that great, but at least no damage was done. :) I was able to see my house and a few other landmarks around the peninsula. Krista thinks she saw me over the interstate in Newport News which was a neat coincidence.

I did my first IFR approach today, albeit a virtual one. Using MS Flight Sim 04 I shot a VOR approach into PAE airport in WA. While my flight path was a bit eratic, I did OK. The hardest parts of the process were directly related to how I use the simulator: since I use my right hand for the stick, it is tough to hit buttons in the cockpit. And the resolution of the artificial horizon leaves something to be desired.