More Study, More Thoughts
I went over some of what I learned about airspaces last time; I wanted to be more clear about the difference between Class C and D airspaces (now that I'm awake). Class D is cylindrically shaped around the center point (the center airport). It goes from the ground up to whatever altitude is specified. Class C is more complex, as seen in this image. The inner circle does go to the surface, and then there's an outer circle that is up off the surface. Kind of like class B, but in class B, there are many outer circles and areas. One of the things that sometimes shows up on the charts is circles around airports -- Class B, C, D, and E circles are around many airports. Class E is the most interesting and irregular, because it shows up all over the place, and there are many different designations for whether it starts at the surface (purple dashed line), at 700 feet AGL (purple shaded line), at 1200 feet AGL (the default, but the legend also says that it's indicated by a blue shaded line), and some other altitude (blue double-dashed line, with altitude indicated in MSL).
Other than chart reading, I've studied some about takeoff and landing distances, aircraft loading and center of gravity, flight planning (I'm required to carry 30 minutes of fuel more than what it will take to get me to my destination during the day, and 45 minutes more at night), and weather -- this is really hard. I've probably mentioned the ADDS weather service before which gives weather reports and forecasts in a highly cryptic format. As if that wasn't bad enough -- we're basically expected to know enough about the weather to be able to predict what conditions will be. For example, if I know that the temperature and the dewpoint are fairly close to each other, and that the winds are coming from a certain direction (over the water, maybe) bringing in cooler and moister air, I should know to expect fog. That's a pretty simple one, but it's the most complex one I can understand at this point. So much to study!!
Several people commented about Kevin's tactics and my experience with him in last week's flight. First off, thank you for your support! I really appreciate it; it's amazing how people on line, some of whom you've never met in person, can be really supportive and motivating! So, thank you.
Part of why I write this blog is to say things as I see them, without the need to have perspective or "be an adult" or any of that, and in fact, to help me gain perspective on what has happened. Writing that did enable me to go to the next step and say what I needed to say to Kevin in a way that he'd respond. He would not respond well to me going up to him and saying, "Kevin, we need to talk." But, on our way out, I did make it clear to him that it's frustrating for me to be expected to do things that I'm not adequately prepared for. He responded well, without the least bit of defensiveness ("Of course!" he says, almost to say, "That's the point -- you're going to get frustrated sometimes!" but without making me feel stupid),and then we had a long ground session to talk about air spaces. He also told me that just because he asks me a question, doesn't mean I need to know the answer -- in fact, the examiner will continue to ask me questions until I don't know the answer, just to see where I am.
I guess what I'm saying is: Anyone you spend that much time with is going to be frustrating at some point. Kevin is excellent except for the way in which he pushes me, and for me, if I understand that "OK, he's trying to push me right now," then I can deal with that -- it's a lot easier than trying to find another instructor who is as good as he is; by doing that I could lose a lot of time and money. Now, if it becomes a thing where flying is no longer fun (for a longer period of time), if I can no longer learn from him, then yes, I have to make the switch. But I've had two bad flights out of ..15 or so, which is pretty good considering that neither flight was really that bad! And both times, I should mention that he's been very good about praising me (and yesterday too -- he actually said that I have a god-given ability to fly), it's just that when I'm in the zone of being hard on myself, the words just go in one ear and out the other.
The first instructor that I went up with, a few years ago, actually yelled at me when I couldn't keep the aircraft level. From what I've heard, many instructors are like that, which is surprising to me. I think it has to do with the fact that getting a CFI (flight instruction) certification is all about air skills, and not about teaching skills. It's interesting; I thought about finding a woman flight instructor -- I feel that the way men communicate and the way women communicate is totally different. I can do both, to some extent, as much as a guy could, and sometimes the female mode actually comes more naturally to me (that's what I get for having a dominant mother and an older sister, I guess!). Once I met Kevin I really liked his style, his directness and his attitude toward flying and toward teaching. There are so many variables...
Anyway, I'm back in the air, getting ready to solo, trying to stuff way too much into my brain, and trying to get to that solo flight! After the check ride, the first solo will be a "supervised" solo -- we'll go up together, go three times around the pattern to warm up, and then, in his words: "I'll get out and sit on a bench next to the runway, and watch you do three more takeoffs and landings." I thought that was funny, that part of the procedure is that he sits on a bench.
Which reminds me, I guess I need to know the ground-to-plane hand signals...aaaagh! Too much to study!! :-)
Other than chart reading, I've studied some about takeoff and landing distances, aircraft loading and center of gravity, flight planning (I'm required to carry 30 minutes of fuel more than what it will take to get me to my destination during the day, and 45 minutes more at night), and weather -- this is really hard. I've probably mentioned the ADDS weather service before which gives weather reports and forecasts in a highly cryptic format. As if that wasn't bad enough -- we're basically expected to know enough about the weather to be able to predict what conditions will be. For example, if I know that the temperature and the dewpoint are fairly close to each other, and that the winds are coming from a certain direction (over the water, maybe) bringing in cooler and moister air, I should know to expect fog. That's a pretty simple one, but it's the most complex one I can understand at this point. So much to study!!
Several people commented about Kevin's tactics and my experience with him in last week's flight. First off, thank you for your support! I really appreciate it; it's amazing how people on line, some of whom you've never met in person, can be really supportive and motivating! So, thank you.
Part of why I write this blog is to say things as I see them, without the need to have perspective or "be an adult" or any of that, and in fact, to help me gain perspective on what has happened. Writing that did enable me to go to the next step and say what I needed to say to Kevin in a way that he'd respond. He would not respond well to me going up to him and saying, "Kevin, we need to talk." But, on our way out, I did make it clear to him that it's frustrating for me to be expected to do things that I'm not adequately prepared for. He responded well, without the least bit of defensiveness ("Of course!" he says, almost to say, "That's the point -- you're going to get frustrated sometimes!" but without making me feel stupid),and then we had a long ground session to talk about air spaces. He also told me that just because he asks me a question, doesn't mean I need to know the answer -- in fact, the examiner will continue to ask me questions until I don't know the answer, just to see where I am.
I guess what I'm saying is: Anyone you spend that much time with is going to be frustrating at some point. Kevin is excellent except for the way in which he pushes me, and for me, if I understand that "OK, he's trying to push me right now," then I can deal with that -- it's a lot easier than trying to find another instructor who is as good as he is; by doing that I could lose a lot of time and money. Now, if it becomes a thing where flying is no longer fun (for a longer period of time), if I can no longer learn from him, then yes, I have to make the switch. But I've had two bad flights out of ..15 or so, which is pretty good considering that neither flight was really that bad! And both times, I should mention that he's been very good about praising me (and yesterday too -- he actually said that I have a god-given ability to fly), it's just that when I'm in the zone of being hard on myself, the words just go in one ear and out the other.
The first instructor that I went up with, a few years ago, actually yelled at me when I couldn't keep the aircraft level. From what I've heard, many instructors are like that, which is surprising to me. I think it has to do with the fact that getting a CFI (flight instruction) certification is all about air skills, and not about teaching skills. It's interesting; I thought about finding a woman flight instructor -- I feel that the way men communicate and the way women communicate is totally different. I can do both, to some extent, as much as a guy could, and sometimes the female mode actually comes more naturally to me (that's what I get for having a dominant mother and an older sister, I guess!). Once I met Kevin I really liked his style, his directness and his attitude toward flying and toward teaching. There are so many variables...
Anyway, I'm back in the air, getting ready to solo, trying to stuff way too much into my brain, and trying to get to that solo flight! After the check ride, the first solo will be a "supervised" solo -- we'll go up together, go three times around the pattern to warm up, and then, in his words: "I'll get out and sit on a bench next to the runway, and watch you do three more takeoffs and landings." I thought that was funny, that part of the procedure is that he sits on a bench.
Which reminds me, I guess I need to know the ground-to-plane hand signals...aaaagh! Too much to study!! :-)
posted by MKT at 8:18 AM
1 Comments:
Hey, I can publish a comment! And my comment is . . . I'm glad Kevin's been more complimentary, but I'm not sure about the "God-given ability to fly". I'm thinking that might require less equipment, and you might be in less trouble from jumping off the main terminal at SFO. . .
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