|
Flying Lesson 28
| Tonight's lesson was very interesting... starting with the hangar. This was the first time I actually had to go down to the hangar to retrieve the airplane. It is stored away in winter months to prevent ice buildup, frost, etc. It was a bit of a walk, but well worth the effort. It turned out I was .2 hours short on my IFR requirement so we planned some IFR flying. My instructor filed an IFR flight plan out to a VOR and parctice area. We proceeded to fly as planned but the weather deteriorated quickly from snow flurries, to sleet, to freezing rain. As the weather truned worse, my instructor pointed out the ice formation on the wing struts. It was light but visible. The landing gear was also beginning to accumulate snow. As we discussed weather and continued to fly as planned, the gentle snow turned to a sleet shower. This woke me up better than any cup of coffee I've ever enjoyed, not that I was sleeping to begin with, but it was loud.
|
|
View Before the Sleet and Snow |
I began to focus my attention on the wing struts more frequently without the instructor prompting me. We were in total IFR conditions with the propeller being about as far as I could see. Even this visibility was about ot become a thing of the past. From the constant, loud sound of the sleet beating on the plane we went to another sound, sort of a whoosh...! Apparently the sleet getting heavier along with what seemed to be freezing rain. The instructor did not hesitate to contact the local ATC to tell them we were abandoning IFR and going VFR. We throttled down turned 180 degrees and descended out of this dismal weather situation. I must say I was relieved to see the lanscape below. Our windshield for a short time was totally obscured. We remained VFR beneath this passing shower and continued on our way. that concluded my IFR flight training and also gave me a first hand experience of real winter weather. No simulation here, this was an eye opening experience demonstrating how fast weather can change and how serious it can become.
|
| At this point in the lesson he decided we should practice for the checkride. As we neared our destination we began the arguous task of practicing power on and power off stalls as well as numerous power off landings. Stalls seem to get better with practice but those dreaded power-off landings can be tricky. I am certain that you can never have too much practice with the power-off landings. I am actually looking forward to my next lesson which will be more of the same as I prepare for checkride day. |
|
