During Lesson 37, TO rode along.  TL asked me to perform a soft field takeoff.  I did much better this time, but still have some learning to do.  I held her in ground effect longer and better, still not long enough and not well enough though.  As soon as we took off and turned east, T had me put the hood on and most of the flight was under simulated IFR conditions.  We landed (my first turf landing) and took off at New Holstein and then headed right back to Oshkosh, again under simulated IFR conditions.  So I was entirely blind to my first flight across Lake Winnebago and back.  T had me perform the approach under simulated IFR up until 1 mile out.  That was a satisfying experience.

T says I am already performing IFR flight with some skill and strongly encouraged me to pursue an IFR rating down the road.  He also suggested my skills might come from time spent playing video games.  Well, I never spent a lot of time on video games, but I have spent a lot of time on flight simulators.  I suggested that my skills probably were developed flying a simulator on an Apple IIc in 1987, because the view out the window on that simulator (I think it was Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0) was of little value.  You had no choice but to fly the instruments!

I should like to take this opportunity to thank Mom and Dad for that first flight simulator.  I don’t know what they were thinking as they purchased one of our first software packages for that little Apple with the nine inch monochrome monitor, but I was in awe.

Flight number thirty-six was another solo cross-country.  It was not required for the private pilot certificate, but T and I agreed it could only help to have more experience.  I found the cross-country navigation to be fairly straightforward, even though there are few landmarks between Oshkosh and Adams County.  I flew from Adams County to Wautoma, a very short flight, and thence back to Oshkosh.

I need to work on:

• Remember to adjust the mixture every time I change altitude.
• Remember to start the stopwatch before taking off.
• Adjust for a crosswind that is stronger or weaker than I expected.
• Never give a “roger” when you did not understand the entire call.

It holds that every time I fly solo I encounter something new.  This time there was quite a bit of traffic using OSH and a twin Cessna (faster than our 172) was coming straight in for runway 36 so the controller asked me to turn base immediately and then land ahead of him, halfway down the runway.  Moreover, the pilot asked to taxi to AeroShell Square.  I felt like I was in some small way a part of the AirVenture arrival procedures.

During flight 35, G got to ride along but his headset wasn’t working properly, so he could not hear us, although we could hear him.  We started with a soft field takeoff and proceeded west while T discussed some of what I might expect on the practical test.  We reviewed navigation, diversion to an alternate field, and use of the navigation radios.  Then I spent some more time under the hood.  T says I do really well under the hood but I still need two more hours of IFR instruction.  That’s going to take a while to get.  We ended with a soft field landing, which I performed satisfactorily, but not excellently.

On the next three flights, I worked with T on short and soft field takeoffs and landings.  Flight 33 was solo.  Both techniques were unfamiliar and a challenge at first but with noticeable gains in proficiency by the end if their respective lessons.  Again, some more practice is in order because the goal is to do these smoothly, expertly, and safely.

I flew the solo practice on a Friday and Fridays tend to be busy in the air.  I was using runway 36 for touch-and-goes and a DC-3 wanted to use runway 18 to takeoff.  He waited while I and a few others landed and took off and then he finally got his turn.  Well, the unusual thing is that he was taking off in the opposite direction as I was and flying directly across from my left wing down my entire downwind leg.  So I had to be aware of wake turbulence from an airplane going the opposite direction as me.  …interesting.

Today I practiced some more takeoffs and landings.  There was a slight crosswind (4 knots, directly from the left), which is good for practice and then T asked me to try to land after the aiming point, but within 200 feet of it.  There was some rust to shake off today.  I had not too much trouble landing within the designated area and on the centerline, but I should like to have a more precise roundout and flare.  I shall try to practice some more later this week.

As I was closing the hangar door, Aluminum Overcast (EAA’s B-17) taxied past on her way to runway 18.  Now that was a treat.

Yesterday, C and K were walking down our road and saw this fawn walking across the road and then hiding in in a copse of popples.  You could say it is rare to see a fawn this young this close up in the wild.  This is only the second time for me and I suspect most folks never get the opportunity.  Herewith is the photographic record.

Last Saturday, we had planned to put in the garden, but there were scattered thunderstorms all morning.  We had been meaning to find B a bike, so we decided to alter course, pile into the grocery-getter, and browse the rubbage sales for a bike.  Before we got out of the car the first time, I mentioned to B that it was an opportunity for him to trust God and asked if he’d like to ask God to provide the right bike for him.  So he prayed for a shiny bike with gears and one that fit him.  I mentioned that maybe he’d better say what colour.  So he said green please.  We searched a neighborhood full of sales and found only a few bikes, all too big or girls bikes.  We drove to a new neighborhood and found a bike that seemed to fit, maybe on the small side, in fair to poor condition.  B said he liked it alright and they were asking only $10, so we said it would not hurt, even if he only rode it for a year and we bought it.

Well, that was going to be his bike and it wasn’t exactly what he was looking for but he was happy.  On the way back home, I decided we should take the country road instead of going back through town so I turned left instead of right.  We drove past a house with a for sale sign on a four-wheeler and two bikes next to it.  C and I discussed it, and thought maybe we should just continue on, after all the bikes probably were not for sale and we already had one, but we decided we should stop and it did not hurt to ask.  So we stopped in and asked, and sure enough, the bikes were for sale.  Interestingly, the homeowner was my classmate in high school.  We said, “How much?”  He said, “Make an offer; whatever you think.”  So we said “$25 for the green one. ” Imagine a bike that’s shiny and green and you will have just the exact idea of what colour this bike is.  And it fits B just exactly as you would want it to too, with room for him to grow into it.

Next time, we shall all have more faith!

Yesterday I passed the airman’s knowledge test with two questions missed.  I missed a question on steam fog and a question on accident reporting.

For flight thirty, T and I decided that I should fly out to the practice area and practice some turns about a point and some s-turns across a road.  There was a considerable wind to deal with (30 knots) so it was good practice.  The GPS showed that my s-turns were quite symmetrical if not quite semi-circular.  My turns about a point were close to circular, but a bit rougher, so there’s some work to do there.

Well, today was the day.  After a week of waiting out some serious winds, the forecast was for clear skies and light winds.  When I woke up Oshkosh was clear, but the clouds were still low over Green Bay; they began to clear up by 7:00.  All of my planning was done, so T reviewed it with me, I filed my flight plans, got my preflight briefing, and headed over to the aerodrome.  We took off from Oshkosh and flew to West Bend.  Things were just peachy along the short flight and the rain that had gone through Oshkosh at 4:00 a.m. had passed West Bend by 8:30.

On the ground at West Bend we stopped in at the Terminal and asked if there was a pilot’s phone, the guy at the front desk told me down the hall and turn right and then right again.  Well, I ended up in the lunch room and there were three old codgers but no phone.  They told me I had gone one door too far, but when I backtracked, it was a private office.  So I just used my cell phone.  I went back to the lunch room and asked if any of the codgers would like to sign my log book and they started jabbering, “Isn’t there someone up front?  Don’t you need a flight instructor for that?”  Well, wasn’t up to arguing so I went up front to ask the guy there to do it.  On the way down the hall, I heard the codgers continue, “Wow, the poor guy is being ignored.  Shouldn’t there be somebody up front?”

Thence to Sturgeon Bay, we had planned to cruise at 3500′, but the winds aloft were stronger there than the forecast I used, so we descended to 2600′.  We gained 15 knots ground speed by doing so.  Flying along Lake Michigan was plenty scenic and then the stop at Sturgeon Bay was great.  The FBO lineman there was super-friendly and helpful and recommended taking a look at the canal, which we overflew upon takeoff and it was picturesque like he said.

Thence to Oshkosh, the flight was relatively easy as I am familiar with the entire route.  In the Green Bay Class C airspace, we encountered three other ships.  You would think that when the controller tells you to look for traffic 2 miles away at 10:00 and 500 feet below you inbound for landing, it would not be hard to spot.  It took a minute, however, to pick him up and we  were only a mile away when I did.  I have to admit some satisfaction at being able to call the controller and report “traffic in sight.”  There was also a DNR aircraft that was flying circles above another aircraft that was spraying for gypsy moths on the surface.  That was an interesting operation, both because the DNR were spraying for gypsy moths and because they were using one aircraft near the surface and another at 3500′ to do the communicating.

In the last few weeks I have read two magazine articles about how pilots often take the word of a controller as gospel truth and now and then it gets one into trouble.  My student pilot’s manual also has a page on this topic.  All of these author’s explain that it is important for us to think about what the controller is telling us and if it doesn’t make sense, it is our responsibility as pilots to (respectfully) question the instructions or humbly ask for clarification if you don’t understand.  The pilot is the final authority and responsibility for the safety of the craft and her passengers.  When I called Oshkosh to announce my intentions, we were north of the airport.  The controller asked me to report a two mile right final for runway 9.  The pilots in the audience will have noted that the instructions would require us to fly around the city to the south and come back to runway 9.  This would not be unsafe at all, but I began to wonder: first I wondered whether I had heard her correctly, but my acknowledgment confirmed that I did; second, I wondered whether she was comprehending where I was.  So I called back and respectfully asked, “Oshkosh tower, seven zero gulf, that was a two mile right base for runway nine, correct?”  She asked me to repeat my position and then gave me a left final for runway 9…good experience.

Next up: Short and soft field landings and preparation for the practical test!