Everything went good with my lesson yesterday. I’m now cleared to practice on my own in the local training areas. My FI says im going to need about 5 hours of solo practice.
My steep turns are horrible, atrocious in fact. So on Thursday (if the weather holds up) I”m going to dedicate most of the lesson to getting that in order. I’m also going to refine some of my short/soft field take-offs and landings.
We did a “mini diversion” again, this time from Keswick to Goodwood.
FI: Which heading do we need to fly?
Me: 110 degrees
FI: Does that take into account the winds?
Me: no.
Must not forget to adjust heading for winds when doing a diversion.
Yesterday was the first time that I actually felt like I was “flying” and not just practicing or doing exercises. We did some upper air work over Keswick, then headed down to Claremont (via Goodwood) then back to Buttonville. The idea being that I can demonstrate to my FI that I know how to get where I need to go as well as use the proper frequencies. With that proved, I’ve been given the go ahead to go solo in the practice area.
If I have some time, I’m going to whip up a quick map that outlines all the necessary frequencies I need to use in the local training areas.
My first solo out of the circuit was the first time that I really felt free to enjoy my skills.
I’d suggest for the first 20 or 30 minutes of your first solo away from the airport you do as I did – relax, fly safe…and throw your lesson plan out the window (figuretively) and just enjoy really flying for the first time.