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Flyboy
Guest
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 Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
 |
|
So I finally went ahead and took my first flight last weekend in a
Piper Warrior III. Becoming a pilot is something I've wanted to do
for as long as I can remember. Now that I've taken the first step, I
have roughly a bazillion questions that I'm hoping the cumulative
expertise available here can answer for me. My first concern is: will
I ever really learn to control one of these things?! During my first
flight I felt utterly and completely incompetent. The instructor was
belting off instructions on what to do just when I needed to do it and
I found myself fumbling and bumbling around trying to obey commands
that I've never heard before on what to do with controls I've never
touched before! It was quite bad really; trying to turn the airplane
on the taxiway using the yoke, having no idea whatsoever what foot
movement activated the brakes and which one steered the plane (I just
pushed one at a time to steer and both really hard to stop - though
I'm still unsure if it was the instructor actually braking while I
futilely fought my feet against each others steering efforts). The
plane seemed to move far too fast on the taxiway leaving me no time to
react (am I supposed to drag the brakes to keep it from just zooming
about on the ground?), the throttle seemed way too touchy (1k rpm to
2k rpm seemed to only take the lightest touch). Once we got in the
air it was just as bad if not worse! The instructor was having me
play with the throttle to illustrate its lack of effect on airspeed (a
sputtering engine resulting from your poor throttle control is not
something you want to hear on your first flight!), meanwhile we're
being bounced around by gusts of wind (rather severe jerks and swings
of the plane) and thermals (we went over a lake and I swear we dropped
500 feet in 5 seconds - not that I actually even knew which gauge to
look at) all the while I'm mentally calculating how much time is left
before I do something stupid and get us killed. As we headed back for
landing (this whole scenario lasted maybe 25 minutes) I started to
feel a little motion-sick (I'm hoping it was due to the excessive
bouncing around and my incompetence at controlling the airplane, yet
in the back of my mind I'm terrified that I'll be constantly stricken
with motion sickness and will have to give it up). As we came down
for the landing the wind that was apparently helping to keep us above
the runway suddenly died and the plane smacked down on the runway from
what I can only guess was about 3 feet up (I heard the stall buzzer
for a split second then BAM!). The entire flight - from staring the
engine to letting the instructor "park" the plane - happened so fast I
can barely even remember it. Does this really get to be second
nature? We went through a very rushed pre-flight (10 minutes at best)
and I was only told what control to use to do what at the moment I
needed to do it (is this normal?). And lastly (finally): is it wise
to invest in simulator equipment this early in my training? I was
looking at x-plane and CH products yoke and pedals, but I wonder if
learning on that kind of setup might do more harm than good at the
early stages of training. All in all I'm excited to continue training
and I've already booked another intro flight with a different flight
school. I've been reading Jerry Eichenberger's "Your Pilot's License"
but it's hard to follow the first time through without any real flight
experience. So that's what's been plaguing me for the past few days
since my flight. Does anyone have any advice? ...Or consolation? What
I'm hoping for is "everyone goes through pretty much the exact same
thing, before you know it you'll be flying solo". But I'll take "wow,
maybe flying isn't really for you" if that's the truth of the matter.
(Though I doubt it will stop me!). Thanks in advance! |
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chris
Guest
|
| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
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On May 15, 3:04 pm, Flyboy <mr_cwsm...@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | So I finally went ahead and took my first flight last weekend in a
Piper Warrior III.
|
Awesome!!!
| Quote: | Becoming a pilot is something I've wanted to do
for as long as I can remember. Now that I've taken the first step, I
have roughly a bazillion questions that I'm hoping the cumulative
expertise available here can answer for me.
|
I have very little expertise, but we'll see what I can do - FYI, I
have a private license and about 200hrs total time, so I ain't no
instructor nor commercial pilot. Others will be more expert than
me :-)
| Quote: | My first concern is: will
I ever really learn to control one of these things?!
|
YES!!!!! You definitely will, but it does take time.
| Quote: | During my first
flight I felt utterly and completely incompetent.
|
So do most non-pilots when confronted with an aeroplane
| Quote: | The instructor was
belting off instructions on what to do just when I needed to do it and
I found myself fumbling and bumbling around trying to obey commands
that I've never heard before on what to do with controls I've never
touched before!
|
He won't be expecting you to know anything yet, and I was exactly the
same way to begin with.
| Quote: | It was quite bad really; trying to turn the airplane
on the taxiway using the yoke, having no idea whatsoever what foot
movement activated the brakes and which one steered the plane (I just
pushed one at a time to steer and both really hard to stop - though
I'm still unsure if it was the instructor actually braking while I
futilely fought my feet against each others steering efforts).
|
Yep, same here at first. Those Warrior brakes leave much to be
desired, compared to other aircraft, and there's a large horizontal
tube just above the pedals that is easy to hit with your toes instead
of the brakes. Just press with your toes on the brakes...
| Quote: | The
plane seemed to move far too fast on the taxiway leaving me no time to
react (am I supposed to drag the brakes to keep it from just zooming
about on the ground?),
|
Some people drag the brakes - bad form, really. On grass you need a
bit of power to taxi, on concrete just get it moving and chop the
throttle, basically.
| Quote: | the throttle seemed way too touchy (1k rpm to
2k rpm seemed to only take the lightest touch). Once we got in the
air it was just as bad if not worse! The instructor was having me
play with the throttle to illustrate its lack of effect on airspeed (a
sputtering engine resulting from your poor throttle control is not
something you want to hear on your first flight!),
|
The engine will take everything you can throw at it and it will
survive!! You will soon get the feel for the throttle...
| Quote: | meanwhile we're
being bounced around by gusts of wind (rather severe jerks and swings
of the plane) and thermals (we went over a lake and I swear we dropped
500 feet in 5 seconds - not that I actually even knew which gauge to
look at) all the while I'm mentally calculating how much time is left
before I do something stupid and get us killed
|
Turbulence I found frightening at first, but after a few months of
training it got easier to deal with.
| Quote: | As we headed back for
landing (this whole scenario lasted maybe 25 minutes) I started to
feel a little motion-sick (I'm hoping it was due to the excessive
bouncing around and my incompetence at controlling the airplane, yet
in the back of my mind I'm terrified that I'll be constantly stricken
with motion sickness and will have to give it up).
|
I don't get motion sick, myself, but my new passengers sometimes do
with gentle turns and so on. Possibly is something you will overcome
as your body adapts to the new sensations of flight. Any instructors
here can answer this one better??
| Quote: | As we came down
for the landing the wind that was apparently helping to keep us above
the runway suddenly died and the plane smacked down on the runway from
what I can only guess was about 3 feet up (I heard the stall buzzer
for a split second then BAM!).
|
Yeah, landing can be interesting!!! That took me the longest to get
good at, and aeroplanes can be dropped in from quite a height and
still survive.
| Quote: | The entire flight - from staring the
engine to letting the instructor "park" the plane - happened so fast I
can barely even remember it. Does this really get to be second
nature? We went through a very rushed pre-flight (10 minutes at best)
and I was only told what control to use to do what at the moment I
needed to do it (is this normal?).
|
Your flight training will cover each thing you need to learn
separately, and you'll have a briefing before each flight, so you'll
know what to expect, then you'll go out and do it. Preflight will be
shown to you in detail and by solo you'll be doing it by yourself!
It is like driving, I reckon. When you start you need to consciously
think about every thing you do, but it slowly becomes subconscious and
automatic. Same as flying, to maybe a lesser degree. The actual
aircraft handling will become much easier but you will still need to
concentrate on navigation etc.
| Quote: | And lastly (finally): is it wise
to invest in simulator equipment this early in my training? I was
looking at x-plane and CH products yoke and pedals, but I wonder if
learning on that kind of setup might do more harm than good at the
early stages of training.
|
I wouldn't. Maybe later. Sims can possibly cause you to look inside
the cockpit too much and rely on instruments, when in reality you can
do much of your flying without looking at the instruments.
? All in all I'm excited to continue training
| Quote: | and I've already booked another intro flight with a different flight
school. I've been reading Jerry Eichenberger's "Your Pilot's License"
but it's hard to follow the first time through without any real flight
experience. So that's what's been plaguing me for the past few days
since my flight. Does anyone have any advice? ...Or consolation? What
I'm hoping for is "everyone goes through pretty much the exact same
thing, before you know it you'll be flying solo". But I'll take "wow,
maybe flying isn't really for you" if that's the truth of the matter.
(Though I doubt it will stop me!). Thanks in advance!
|
Good luck and let us know how you get on. I am absolutely addicted to
flying, hope you become addicted too!!!
Rgds
chris |
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Crash Lander
Guest
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
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|
"Flyboy" <mr_cwsmith (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:1179198248.091094.133180 (AT) u30g2000hsc (DOT) googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | So I finally went ahead and took my first flight last weekend in a
Piper Warrior III. Becoming a pilot is something I've wanted to do
for as long as I can remember.
|
Congrats on finally taking the first step.
It sounds to me like the instructor that took you up was in a bit of a rush.
In my intro flight, I was shown all the controls and gauges before the
engine was even started!
I wouldn't go out and but any simulation software if you don't already have
it, as, especially in the early part of your training, it can instil bad
habits. Most people here will tell you that.
I reakon I'd bet money that the next intro flight with the new school will
be quite different to the one you have just had.
The feeling sick bit will pass. For me, it was when I was able to control
the a/c myself with some sort of confidence. I found that when the
instructor was in control, I felt crook, because my brain couldn't tell me
what the instructor was going to do next, but once I had the controls back
in my own hands, I felt a lot better.
You will get the hang of it, and you will be surprised at just how well you
will pick it up.
Congrats again, and good luck!
Oz Lander |
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Morgans
Guest
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
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"Flyboy" <mr_cwsmith (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote
| Quote: | So I finally went ahead and took my first flight last weekend in a
Piper Warrior III. Becoming a pilot is something I've wanted to do
for as long as I can remember. Now that I've taken the first step, I
have roughly a bazillion questions that I'm hoping the cumulative
expertise available here can answer for me. My first concern is: will
I ever really learn to control one of these things?!
|
Your being overwhelmed is quite normal, as many people report feeling the
same way.
I would say that it does sound like your instructor let you get more
overwhelmed than he should have. A good instructor will explain things
before they happen, and what you need to be doing, so that you can deal with
things as they happen, and understand them.
Don't mess with the simulator, for now. That is a loaded subject, but most
instructors will say that simulators do best with teaching procedures, and
are counter productive in teaching the feel of flying.
Many people get to a certain point where they say that everything suddenly
just clicks, and everything is much easier.
If you go flying with this same instructor, tell him that you need to go
slower, and that he needs to explain things better. If he can not do that,
then you need to find an instructor that can. They are out there, and you
just need to find the right one, that can teach you as you need to be
taught.
Hang in there, and you will get it all figured out. Desire and commitment
go a long way to making learning flying possible.
And congratulations! You have taken the first step, by taking that first
lesson!
--
Jim in NC |
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Dudley Henriques
Guest
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
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I could write a long reply addressing each and every one of your questions
but basically all I would be telling you is that much of what you are
relating is a textbook account of a perfectly normal first flight.
I will say that from my point of view as an instructor, I have the feeling
that this first flight has left you with a lot of questions and feelings
unanswered that in effect are the main purpose of the first flight. In other
words, it is the purpose of the first flight to build a degree of confidence
in a new student that leaves the student with the exact feeling this
instructor might have missed giving to you; that being the fact that flying
an airplane is not only within your reach, but attainable without superhuman
effort on your part, which is exactly what it is.
I hate to see a new student taken on their first hour of dual coming away
from the lesson with all the questions you have. There is no reason for it
if the student has been exposed correctly to flying during that all
important first flight. If the instructor has done a credible job on a first
flight, the student should be leaving that flight with much of the feelings
you are having now coupled with the feeling that learning what is necessary
is well within reach.
Now....this having been said, let me assure you in no uncertain terms, that
you WILL be able to fly an airplane, and you will be able to do it safely.
What seems totally confusing today will be less confusing tomorrow. Much of
the actual learning you will be doing will be done between flights as you
recall what you have done and it begins to make more sense to you, rather
than in the air when you are under the pressure of absorbing all that is
happening.
My advice to you is to loosen up and relax a bit. What's happening to you
now is that in your mind you are trying to put EVERYTHING you did in the air
on that first flight together at once as a total mental image of what is
required to fly the airplane properly, and that image is totally fragmented
and confused. Naturally you can't make any sense of it now. It's way too
soon for that.
Learning to fly is a step by step process. Just concentrate on one step at a
time and the pieces will fit into place for you as you progress along the
learning curve.
Let me put it another way for you that might help you look at things from a
slightly better direction.
Basically there are only a few things you can do with an airplane. There's
straight and level flight, turns, climbs, and glides. You learn how to do
these 4 things, throw in a few stalls, and everything else is basically
these and a combination of these things. Even takeoffs and landings are a
combination of these 4 basic things.
My math teacher once told me as I was struggling hard to learn how to find
the area under the curve, "Dud , after all the fuss, you can either add,
subtract, multiply, or divide. 
Keep posting on this group and let us know how things are going. We'll help
you through it.
I personally shy away from answering questions that should be handled by the
CFI on the scene, but if you have a specific problem, many of us here will
try to help you.
All the best of luck,
Dudley Henriques
"Flyboy" <mr_cwsmith (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:1179198248.091094.133180 (AT) u30g2000hsc (DOT) googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | So I finally went ahead and took my first flight last weekend in a
Piper Warrior III. Becoming a pilot is something I've wanted to do
for as long as I can remember. Now that I've taken the first step, I
have roughly a bazillion questions that I'm hoping the cumulative
expertise available here can answer for me. My first concern is: will
I ever really learn to control one of these things?! During my first
flight I felt utterly and completely incompetent. The instructor was
belting off instructions on what to do just when I needed to do it and
I found myself fumbling and bumbling around trying to obey commands
that I've never heard before on what to do with controls I've never
touched before! It was quite bad really; trying to turn the airplane
on the taxiway using the yoke, having no idea whatsoever what foot
movement activated the brakes and which one steered the plane (I just
pushed one at a time to steer and both really hard to stop - though
I'm still unsure if it was the instructor actually braking while I
futilely fought my feet against each others steering efforts). The
plane seemed to move far too fast on the taxiway leaving me no time to
react (am I supposed to drag the brakes to keep it from just zooming
about on the ground?), the throttle seemed way too touchy (1k rpm to
2k rpm seemed to only take the lightest touch). Once we got in the
air it was just as bad if not worse! The instructor was having me
play with the throttle to illustrate its lack of effect on airspeed (a
sputtering engine resulting from your poor throttle control is not
something you want to hear on your first flight!), meanwhile we're
being bounced around by gusts of wind (rather severe jerks and swings
of the plane) and thermals (we went over a lake and I swear we dropped
500 feet in 5 seconds - not that I actually even knew which gauge to
look at) all the while I'm mentally calculating how much time is left
before I do something stupid and get us killed. As we headed back for
landing (this whole scenario lasted maybe 25 minutes) I started to
feel a little motion-sick (I'm hoping it was due to the excessive
bouncing around and my incompetence at controlling the airplane, yet
in the back of my mind I'm terrified that I'll be constantly stricken
with motion sickness and will have to give it up). As we came down
for the landing the wind that was apparently helping to keep us above
the runway suddenly died and the plane smacked down on the runway from
what I can only guess was about 3 feet up (I heard the stall buzzer
for a split second then BAM!). The entire flight - from staring the
engine to letting the instructor "park" the plane - happened so fast I
can barely even remember it. Does this really get to be second
nature? We went through a very rushed pre-flight (10 minutes at best)
and I was only told what control to use to do what at the moment I
needed to do it (is this normal?). And lastly (finally): is it wise
to invest in simulator equipment this early in my training? I was
looking at x-plane and CH products yoke and pedals, but I wonder if
learning on that kind of setup might do more harm than good at the
early stages of training. All in all I'm excited to continue training
and I've already booked another intro flight with a different flight
school. I've been reading Jerry Eichenberger's "Your Pilot's License"
but it's hard to follow the first time through without any real flight
experience. So that's what's been plaguing me for the past few days
since my flight. Does anyone have any advice? ...Or consolation? What
I'm hoping for is "everyone goes through pretty much the exact same
thing, before you know it you'll be flying solo". But I'll take "wow,
maybe flying isn't really for you" if that's the truth of the matter.
(Though I doubt it will stop me!). Thanks in advance!
|
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Euan Kilgour
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
|
|
On May 15, 3:04 pm, Flyboy <mr_cwsm...@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | So I finally went ahead and took my first flight last weekend in a
Piper Warrior III. Becoming a pilot is something I've wanted to do
for as long as I can remember. Now that I've taken the first step, I
have roughly a bazillion questions that I'm hoping the cumulative
expertise available here can answer for me. My first concern is: will
I ever really learn to control one of these things?!
|
There are only a small percentage of pilots who are what you would
call a "natural". I was certainly not one of those and asked myself
that very question at numerous stages during my flight training. My
answer to this question is: yes, if you have the dedication to stick
with your training and practice. Its widely claimed that if you can
drive a car you can fly a plane. I would agree with this statement
based on my personal experience. Its all a matter of time and effort.
| Quote: | During my first
flight I felt utterly and completely incompetent. The instructor was
belting off instructions on what to do just when I needed to do it and
I found myself fumbling and bumbling around trying to obey commands
that I've never heard before on what to do with controls I've never
touched before! It was quite bad really; trying to turn the airplane
on the taxiway using the yoke, having no idea whatsoever what foot
movement activated the brakes and which one steered the plane (I just
pushed one at a time to steer and both really hard to stop - though
I'm still unsure if it was the instructor actually braking while I
futilely fought my feet against each others steering efforts). The
plane seemed to move far too fast on the taxiway leaving me no time to
react (am I supposed to drag the brakes to keep it from just zooming
about on the ground?), the throttle seemed way too touchy (1k rpm to
2k rpm seemed to only take the lightest touch). Once we got in the
air it was just as bad if not worse! The instructor was having me
play with the throttle to illustrate its lack of effect on airspeed (a
sputtering engine resulting from your poor throttle control is not
something you want to hear on your first flight!), meanwhile we're
being bounced around by gusts of wind (rather severe jerks and swings
of the plane) and thermals (we went over a lake and I swear we dropped
500 feet in 5 seconds - not that I actually even knew which gauge to
look at) all the while I'm mentally calculating how much time is left
before I do something stupid and get us killed. As we headed back for
landing (this whole scenario lasted maybe 25 minutes) I started to
feel a little motion-sick (I'm hoping it was due to the excessive
bouncing around and my incompetence at controlling the airplane, yet
in the back of my mind I'm terrified that I'll be constantly stricken
with motion sickness and will have to give it up). As we came down
for the landing the wind that was apparently helping to keep us above
the runway suddenly died and the plane smacked down on the runway from
what I can only guess was about 3 feet up (I heard the stall buzzer
for a split second then BAM!). The entire flight - from staring the
engine to letting the instructor "park" the plane - happened so fast I
can barely even remember it. Does this really get to be second
nature? We went through a very rushed pre-flight (10 minutes at best)
and I was only told what control to use to do what at the moment I
needed to do it (is this normal?). And lastly (finally): is it wise
to invest in simulator equipment this early in my training? I was
looking at x-plane and CH products yoke and pedals, but I wonder if
learning on that kind of setup might do more harm than good at the
early stages of training. All in all I'm excited to continue training
and I've already booked another intro flight with a different flight
school. I've been reading Jerry Eichenberger's "Your Pilot's License"
but it's hard to follow the first time through without any real flight
experience. So that's what's been plaguing me for the past few days
since my flight. Does anyone have any advice? ...Or consolation? What
I'm hoping for is "everyone goes through pretty much the exact same
thing, before you know it you'll be flying solo". But I'll take "wow,
maybe flying isn't really for you" if that's the truth of the matter.
(Though I doubt it will stop me!). Thanks in advance!
|
I remember my first lesson vividly, and I ended up just like you, full
of a sense of being overwhelmed and full of questions. Take that
energy and put it to use. Write down your experiences, your
questions, anything that you can then read over at a later stage to
get a better perspective on what you were shown and what you actually
learned. Then take your questions and ask your instructor at your
next lesson.
I wouldn't go out and buy simulation software or hardware at such an
early stage of your training. I'd wait till well after you have
soloed. The reason for this is that you should rely solely on your
instructor(s) to teach you how to master the basic fundamentals of
flying an aircraft, rather than reinforcing bad habits in a sim
environment like I did. The sim comes in handy when practising
instrument flight, but it sucks for visual flying. Also the controls
feel totally different in a real plane and learning control feel is
important in the early lessons.
Well done Flyboy, keep us updated please. |
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Flyboy
Guest
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
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|
Wow. First let me say thank you to everyone who took the time to
respond. It's things like this that really reinforce what I'm coming
to discover about pilots being some of the most helpful people
around. Second, I really appreciate all the reassurance and
encouragement everyone's been offering. I feel considerably better
about my experience and am actually gaining confidence that I'll lick
this thing yet! I'm playing a bit of phone-tag trying to schedule my
next intro flight, but hopefully that will be sometime before next
weekend. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes! Thanks again
for the replies! |
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P S
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
|
|
On May 15, 7:02 pm, Flyboy <mr_cwsm...@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Wow. First let me say thank you to everyone who took the time to
respond. It's things like this that really reinforce what I'm coming
to discover about pilots being some of the most helpful people
around. Second, I really appreciate all the reassurance and
encouragement everyone's been offering. I feel considerably better
about my experience and am actually gaining confidence that I'll lick
this thing yet! I'm playing a bit of phone-tag trying to schedule my
next intro flight, but hopefully that will be sometime before next
weekend. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes! Thanks again
for the replies!
|
Speaking of the throttle on the Piper. I learned to fly in a Cessna
172,
and recently checked out in a Piper Archer. The throttle lever
in the "throttle quadront" took quite a while to get used to.
I had the same problem you had, except I have a pilot license
and you are on your first hour . I eventually learned to not use
the big arm muscle to fine tune the throttle, instead to plant
fingers on the box as stable support, and use the thumb and
index finger to move the throttle with more precision.
It is not the most ergonomic design, but I was told most pilots
get used to it quite quickly.
On the use of the simulator, when I started my PPL training,
used MSFS to get familiar with the controls and instruments, and
had been very useful for the first few hours of my training.
But the MSFS does not have enough fidelity to practice controlling
of the real plane, esp for the landing flares, stalls and maybe
others.
The perspective and view of the outside can be rather different
compared with what you will see in a real plane. Say for steep turns,
you can hardly do a good one only with reference to the instruments,
but looking outside from the simulator feels very different, even if
one only looks out the front wind shield.
In the solo stage, MSFS were very useful in practicing the
navigation skills, and in practicing descend for pattern entry.
It forces one to find out the correct headings in each phase of the
pattern entry process, just like in a real cross-country flight. And
it
plots your flight path instantly. So you can be a bad pilot here
without causing problems to yourself and others .
Keep it up, and it will be a reward lasting a life time.
P S |
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Euan Kilgour
Guest
|
| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 3:48 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
|
|
On May 16, 5:19 pm, P S <mister...@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | On May 15, 7:02 pm, Flyboy <mr_cwsm...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Wow. First let me say thank you to everyone who took the time to
respond. It's things like this that really reinforce what I'm coming
to discover about pilots being some of the most helpful people
around. Second, I really appreciate all the reassurance and
encouragement everyone's been offering. I feel considerably better
about my experience and am actually gaining confidence that I'll lick
this thing yet! I'm playing a bit of phone-tag trying to schedule my
next intro flight, but hopefully that will be sometime before next
weekend. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes! Thanks again
for the replies!
Speaking of the throttle on the Piper. I learned to fly in a Cessna
172,
and recently checked out in a Piper Archer. The throttle lever
in the "throttle quadront" took quite a while to get used to.
I had the same problem you had, except I have a pilot license
and you are on your first hour . I eventually learned to not use
the big arm muscle to fine tune the throttle, instead to plant
fingers on the box as stable support, and use the thumb and
index finger to move the throttle with more precision.
|
I had a similar experience - i.e. learnt in a C172 then gained a PA28
rating after getting my license, except when my instructor
demonstrated to me how to anchor my throttle hand on the quadrant it
felt the most natural and I've done it that way ever since.
| Quote: | It is not the most ergonomic design, but I was told most pilots
get used to it quite quickly.
|
Yes, the PA28 doesn't win too many ergonomic awards in my book, in
particular the stupid place they put the elevator trim wheel. Our
Archers have electric trim but its slower than a wet week and is only
good for fine adjustments in the cruise. |
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Steven Barnes
Guest
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 4:24 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
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Definitely keep us updated. Where are you based at? Just being nosey...
"Flyboy" <mr_cwsmith (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:1179280969.332009.243670 (AT) k79g2000hse (DOT) googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Wow. First let me say thank you to everyone who took the time to
respond. It's things like this that really reinforce what I'm coming
to discover about pilots being some of the most helpful people
around. Second, I really appreciate all the reassurance and
encouragement everyone's been offering. I feel considerably better
about my experience and am actually gaining confidence that I'll lick
this thing yet! I'm playing a bit of phone-tag trying to schedule my
next intro flight, but hopefully that will be sometime before next
weekend. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes! Thanks again
for the replies!
|
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chris
Guest
|
| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
|
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| Quote: | Speaking of the throttle on the Piper. I learned to fly in a Cessna
172,
and recently checked out in a Piper Archer. The throttle lever
in the "throttle quadront" took quite a while to get used to.
I had the same problem you had, except I have a pilot license
and you are on your first hour . I eventually learned to not use
the big arm muscle to fine tune the throttle, instead to plant
fingers on the box as stable support, and use the thumb and
index finger to move the throttle with more precision.
|
I went from 152 to Archer, and I instantly took to the quadrant
design. Each to his own, I guess, but I think it's damn cool!
I had much more difficulty with not trying to raise the nose
prematurely on takeoff, I ended up trucking down the runway with full
back elevator doing 30kt with full power quite a few times until I
figured it out :-)
| Quote: |
It is not the most ergonomic design, but I was told most pilots
get used to it quite quickly.
On the use of the simulator, when I started my PPL training,
used MSFS to get familiar with the controls and instruments, and
had been very useful for the first few hours of my training.
But the MSFS does not have enough fidelity to practice controlling
of the real plane, esp for the landing flares, stalls and maybe
others.
The perspective and view of the outside can be rather different
compared with what you will see in a real plane. Say for steep turns,
you can hardly do a good one only with reference to the instruments,
but looking outside from the simulator feels very different, even if
one only looks out the front wind shield.
|
I went away from MSFS, the more time I had in a real a/c the less real
it felt to me.
I have now discovered X-Plane and am flying the pants off it :-)
| Quote: | In the solo stage, MSFS were very useful in practicing the
navigation skills, and in practicing descend for pattern entry.
It forces one to find out the correct headings in each phase of the
pattern entry process, just like in a real cross-country flight. And
it
plots your flight path instantly. So you can be a bad pilot here
without causing problems to yourself and others .
|
Is it just me or do X-country flights take MUCH longer on a sim ??? |
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chris
Guest
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
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On May 16, 2:02 pm, Flyboy <mr_cwsm...@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Wow. First let me say thank you to everyone who took the time to
respond. It's things like this that really reinforce what I'm coming
to discover about pilots being some of the most helpful people
around. Second, I really appreciate all the reassurance and
encouragement everyone's been offering. I feel considerably better
about my experience and am actually gaining confidence that I'll lick
this thing yet! I'm playing a bit of phone-tag trying to schedule my
next intro flight, but hopefully that will be sometime before next
weekend. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes! Thanks again
for the replies!
|
No worries mate!!!
Keep us updated as to how you go!
Since I posted my first reply to you I have been thinking, and I want
to retract what I said about simulators. this may go against common
wisdom, but I remember now that I used one when I was first training,
and what I found was that even though on the sim you can't see out the
window properly and the controls are nothing like the real thing, when
I got in the cockpit of the real plane, I actually knew what all the
instruments and controls did, and where to look for RPM, altitude, and
so on.. And when I got home from a lesson I would climb onto the sim
and practise what I'd just done in the real plane. I certainly found
it of value, but YMMV, of course, and you have to keep in mind not to
become fixated on the instruments. I don't think it did me any harm,
and I knew how to navigate using VORS before I could figure out how to
fly a real plane!!! Also, I had a 10 year gap in my training, quite
early on, and in that time, while I couldn't fly a real plane for
various reasons, I flew the sim, so when I got back into the training,
we didn't have to do very much revision at all!
Rgds
Chris |
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Chris Nielsen
Guest
|
| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:45 pm Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
|
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Euan Kilgour wrote:
| Quote: | On May 16, 5:19 pm, P S <mister...@gmail.com> wrote:
On May 15, 7:02 pm, Flyboy <mr_cwsm...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Wow. First let me say thank you to everyone who took the time to
respond. It's things like this that really reinforce what I'm coming
to discover about pilots being some of the most helpful people
around. Second, I really appreciate all the reassurance and
encouragement everyone's been offering. I feel considerably better
about my experience and am actually gaining confidence that I'll lick
this thing yet! I'm playing a bit of phone-tag trying to schedule my
next intro flight, but hopefully that will be sometime before next
weekend. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes! Thanks again
for the replies!
Speaking of the throttle on the Piper. I learned to fly in a Cessna
172,
and recently checked out in a Piper Archer. The throttle lever
in the "throttle quadront" took quite a while to get used to.
I had the same problem you had, except I have a pilot license
and you are on your first hour . I eventually learned to not use
the big arm muscle to fine tune the throttle, instead to plant
fingers on the box as stable support, and use the thumb and
index finger to move the throttle with more precision.
I had a similar experience - i.e. learnt in a C172 then gained a PA28
rating after getting my license, except when my instructor
demonstrated to me how to anchor my throttle hand on the quadrant it
felt the most natural and I've done it that way ever since.
|
I just thought it looked cool!
| Quote: | It is not the most ergonomic design, but I was told most pilots
get used to it quite quickly.
Yes, the PA28 doesn't win too many ergonomic awards in my book, in
particular the stupid place they put the elevator trim wheel. Our
Archers have electric trim but its slower than a wet week and is only
good for fine adjustments in the cruise.
|
The original Cherokee had a crank on the ceiling for the trim but in
order to add electric trim they had to shift the trim to the floor,
unfortunately.
That's according to Wikipedia, but I seem to recall DOK has the trim on
the ceiling, and I am sure that's electric, so maybe Wikipedia is full
of shit ??? |
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gatt
Guest
|
| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 10:14 pm Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
|
|
"JGalban via AviationKB.com" <u32749@uwe> wrote in message
news:723b367bd20f6@uwe...
| Quote: | Control on the ground is one of those things that make you feel like a
goofball on your first flight.
|
I remember after my second or third flights when the instructor had really
drilled me on staying on the centerline and lining up with the center of the
runway... going out to the car, driving off and remembering to stay in my
lane.
-c |
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JGalban via AviationKB.co
Guest
|
| Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 2:54 am Post subject: Re: Took my first flight! Could use some advice... |
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|
Euan Kilgour wrote:
| Quote: |
Yes, the PA28 doesn't win too many ergonomic awards in my book, in
particular the stupid place they put the elevator trim wheel. Our
Archers have electric trim but its slower than a wet week and is only
good for fine adjustments in the cruise.
|
You must be talking about the old trim on the ceiling versions. When they
relocated the trim wheel between the seats ('68 for most models), I found it
to be better (ergonomically) than Cessna's trim on the pedestal design. No
need to lean forward to trim.
John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)
--
Message posted via http://www.aviationkb.com |
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