Finally... In the air again!

[spacer]

...just can't wait to get in the air again...
...the life I love is coordinating steep turns with my friends,
...and I can't wait to get in the air again.


This morning I ended a two year long flight-fast, and took 39NP up with my new instructor.
She was happy with my ability to keep the runway heading on climbout, with a slight crosswind and a few mild gusts,
I could have controlled my speed better, but she told me I was well within the ballpark, and she's seen rated pilots do worse.
My standard and 30 degree turns were good, with the altimeter glued to within 20 feet through the turn. I was able to roll
out right on course, except for one time she had me distracted (I think she did that on purpose).
There was some trouble with her mic, and I couldn't understand much of what she was saying, also, I had to repeat some of what the tower
told us, so she's going to send her headset off to the shop.
I brought the plane in just as directed, and got the airplane down to a good short final before she took over. The crosswind wasn't bad, but there were some gusts, so
she figured she'd bring it in this time, though she assured me that she knew I would have been able to manage the landing. Ego stroking? Perhaps.

Twice a week, hopefully by Spring I'll be legal.

[Franz]

Sounds like you are having a great time and hardly unlearned anything.

Actually I had to read your post a couple of times. At first I thought "she" was referring to the plane not the flight instructor 
(in German there are different forms for male / female)

I think we need an envious smiley here. Winter is beginning over here and there will be hardly any flying for me the next few months . . . .

...just can't wait to get in the air again...
...the life I love is coordinating steep turns with my friends,
...and I can't wait to get in the air again.

Is this form a song / poem ?
If so, who wrote it ?

[Thunder Eagle]

...just can't wait to get in the air again...
...the life I love is coordinating steep turns with my friends,
...and I can't wait to get in the air again.

Is this form a song / poem ?
If so, who wrote it ?

It's a clever adaptation of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again".  See http://youtube.com/watch?v=dKXfESGy0qo
He usually plays this song in concerts somewhere between "Whiskey River" and "Whiskey River" 

I can't wait to get in the air again either... it's been 6 weeks and I should only have a few more hours until my checkride.

[spacer]

Bingo, Eagle...

[Frank N. O.]

Congratulations, that is really wonderful news. And yes I thought the she was the plane too but I started to wonder after you said she spoke to you and her headset wasn't working

I can't wait to get back in the air again, and it's been years for me. My signature quote really is true.

Frank

[Fabo]

Yep Frank, could not be more truthful.

It actually replaced my old motto I had on room door: Order is for stupid, Intelligent handles chaos

As for flying, I do as well feel like that. List time I was in the air was when I flew back home from Bulgaria. I still wish the friend that took me flying in L-200 (my first fire picture in Eye of camera thread if you can remember) would take me to air once more this year. If I could at least do my drivers license to keep me busy, but that comes next year only (18yr legal minimum for license in Slovakia).

[spacer]

Yes, the instructor is a female, and a rather attractive one at that. Fortunately I love my wife and have no trouble with this. Heck, I'm not distracted at all... really!

One thing she did, before the flight, was ask me where I wanted to go with it. Well, I'm not a big fan of the Rat Race, and don't really care to go through a lot of what my
fellow students are putting themselves through in the headlong pursuit of ratings in order to hopefully get a job with an airline (though it appears to be getting easier. Many of our flight instructors have been snatched up by airlines, some with only a few hundred hours).
Naw, I've had plenty of time on the road, and my wife is a professional (in HR, for you dirty minded scumsuckers... you know who you are  ) so I'm not under enormous pressure to
take that path. Rather, I'm looking at getting my PPSEL, IR, multi, and light-sport instructor ratings, with endorsements for taildraggers and seaplanes, and maybe open a flight training service for light sport pilots. I'd have to check, but I may then be able to offer the taildragger and seaplane ratings to private pilots. If not, I know an independent instructor nearby who can do those for me.

Whatever I do, I want it to be fun. I've had enough 'not fun' work in my life.

[G-man]

for you dirty minded scumsuckers... you know who you are 

That would be us firefighting pilots..  ::whistle::Good to hear you are back in the air..remember..

"Time spent in the air is NOT subtracted from ones lifespan."

[spacer]

for you dirty minded scumsuckers... you know who you are 

That would be us firefighting pilots..  ::whistle::Good to hear you are back in the air..remember..

"Time spent in the air is NOT subtracted from ones lifespan."

Good, cuz I wanna live forever!

[spacer]

Well, we went flying today, and Zoe got to go. She was strapped in to the back seat of the 172... snoozing the whole flight.
It was pretty bumpy today, though not a lot of wind, so getting the bird trimmed was a bit of a challenge for a newb like myself.
My instructor told me I did fine, and I kept the plane well within the VFR deviation standards the whole time... Ok...

There is one thing... she had her hand on the yoke the whole time, and while she told me that she was not going to take control
unless she had to, and that she'd tell me in no uncertain terms (the ol' handoff procedure), it didn't really instill confidence, and every
time a bit of turbulence gave me feedback, I looked over at her to make sure she wasn't trying to take over. I know it must seem like
a small thing, but I've flown with a couple of guys who crossed their arms and sat back... and I flew much better with their show of
confidence.
Also, they let me land the airplane from the start, and this instructor seems to be afraid to let me... and this is actually affecting my
confidence in that area, as well.

Am I being silly? We get along just fine... but seeing her hand on the yoke through the whole flight just unnerves me.

[airtac]

Time to change instructors friend---If she feels she isn't competent enough to salvage the airplane from a relaxed position---well, she's not, and you'll do both of you a favor by finding someone who does

[Turbomallard]

I concur with Airtac... fire her. You can't teach that way. What I've learned (and I'm by no means an expert... instructing is a part time fun job (and about half the time I do it for free anyway)) for me, but... half or more of the job is psychological-- making the student believe they can learn to fly. The instructor knows they can (90% of the time or more... there are a few people who don't have what it takes) learn, even when the student thinks they cannot, and the instructor must make the student understand that yes, they can do this.

I NEVER have my hand on the controls unless I'm flying the airplane. When we're learning how to land (such that the airplane can be used again afterwards, that is) I have my right hand resting on my leg, fingers ready, two inches from the yoke... I can grab it in an instant and won't hesitate to do so if need be. When the ground is that close and a quick intervention is needed, you gotta be ready to do that. At altitude, there is no reason to do that. If the student messes up a steep turn or stall, there should be more than enough time to reach up.

Speaking for myself... you have a bad instructor there. If that's how she feels about things, she has no business being in the right seat teaching. And I would guess most or all instructors and examiners would concur.

You're the customer, and you deserve better.

Comments....?

TM

[Fabo]

Agree on off-the-yoke part. Many instructors agree on this, and just for example, Yershov, Russian long-year aviatior and one of the best, if not the very best, Tu-154 instructor, clearly states this in his book (Zapiski yezdovogo psa - a very good book on aviation, it is being translated to English right now I believe), and yes, he talks about confidence and self-cofidence part here.

Maybe you don't need to fire her right away, especially if you are getting well. Tell you what you feel about it - maybe she just do not know. If she disagrees, then comes the point of firing her.

edit: transcription from cyrillics

[spacer]

Agree on off-the-yoke part. Many instructors agree on this, and just for example, Yershov, Russian long-year aviatior and one of the best, if not the very best, Tu-154 instructor, clearly states this in his book (Zapiski yezdovogo psa - a very good book on aviation, it is being translated to English right now I believe), and yes, he talks about confidence and self-cofidence part here.

Maybe you don't need to fire her right away, especially if you are getting well. Tell you what you feel about it - maybe she just do not know. If she disagrees, then comes the point of firing her.

edit: transcription from cyrillics

That's kinda where I am right now. I discussed it with Mrs V, and HR is her field of expertise. I'm going to talk about it with her in the morning, and if she doesn't agree to let go of the yoke, I won't have a choice but to find another instructor. I'm not made of money, after all, and I have to wonder how many 'missed starts' occur merely because of this sort of thing.

[TheSoccerMom]

Oh, Velo, Your instincts are TRUE and GOOD.  There is no reason she should have had her hand on the yoke...  nope, nyet, non, nada.

I would have been VERY unhappy in your situation.  You are right ON to question this aspect of her instructor's approach.   

She may be new -- and, may have just had a WILD ride with a total nutcake, where she was SURE she was going to not make it to happy hour at the airport bar....  BUT....  YOU are the paying customer, and NO, the instructor should NOT have his/her mitt on the yoke all the while.  Trust me, after a few adventures (such as the middle eastern man who pulled out a prayer card before the run-up, the doctor who snapped "Gimme a complex check-out -- I got 45 minutes!" ET AL....), I came to see instructing as "Wow... I get to go up in an airplane with a total stranger who is trying to KILL me"...  BUT -- the job is the JOB.....  there's no reason for the constant paw-paw attachment.

ALWAYS go with your "little voice".  In flying, it's known to never lie to one.     You are wise to see this already.