Today was one of those days when everything just seems to go right. I felt more coordinated and managed to hold my altitude and heading much better during the exercises. Takeoff was smoother and landing only needed a few nudges on the controls from Paul. My radio communications with ground and tower controllers are improving. We spent the morning and afternoon sessions practicing slow flight, stalls, spins and spiral dives. These manoeuvres are “undesirable flight attitudes” and are taught simply in order to recognize and recover.
[Mom, you can stop reading now]
In a spin, the aircraft rotates around all three axes simultaneously pitching, rolling and yawing. All this while pointed straight down, corkscrewing to earth with the stall horn blaring and losing several thousand feet in the process. The good news is that since the wing is stalled, speed is relatively slow and recovery (for most aircraft) is pretty straightforward. I REALLY like spins!
Spiral dives, on the other hand, involve high speed. If left uncorrected, the aircraft’s speed will increase to the point where the wings tear off and the airframe disintegrates. Paul tells me that they don’t allow students to practice this manoeuvre on their own. I’m fine with that.
The only misstep I made was during engine shutdown. When I turned the key to perform a “live mag” check, I inadvertently pressed the key in. Have you ever tried to start your car while the engine was already running? Aircraft mechanics really don’t like that sound…
You should warn me to stop reading too, I almost lost my lunch!! Ha Ha.
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