Flying lessons
Sport Cruiser
I smiled as I watched him open the door and place the cup brimming with hot coffee on the dashboard. Interesting I thought, that’s a first.
“We will follow the cold engine start check list,” he said.
It was a gorgeous day for flying: winds calm with not a cloud in sight. It was supposed to get warm into the upper 80s, but for now was pleasant weather. So far, the preflight steps were very similar to the Cessna 172 preflight procedures.
The SportCruiser is a 2-seat, low-wing monoplane with cantilevered wings and conventional empennage, and tricycle fixed landing gear of nose type. It is approved for operation in the US under the light sport aircraft (LSA) category. With max take-off weight of 1320 lbs., max cruise of 108 knots, and best glide speed of 60 knots, similar in performance to the C172. Each wing has a 67-litre fuel tank, carbon-glass composite wingtips with position and strobe lights and electronic flaps and ailerons, and electrical trim on right aileron. Inside, the cockpit was spacious with plexiglass canopy window with openable side windows, and dual flight control. The only downside for me was that the seat was not adjustable, and this meant I might or might not be able to reach the rudder pedals. Ultimately with two seat cushions, the feat was achieved.
“Prop clear,” shouted Danny while he took another sip and placed the cup in the cup holder on his side of the door. I watched amused. I hoped he would be done with the coffee before take-off. Will I need to remind him where he placed the cup I wondered?
Taxing the SportCruiser was another interesting challenge. We meandered slightly as I figured out the dual pedal method of opposite rudder and brake to adjust for turns and maintain centerline as we taxied to the runup area for final checks. One final check and we were cleared for take-off. Very similar to the C172, within seconds we had achieved takeoff speed and the aircraft lifted off easily.
We climbed to 3,500 ft our planned altitude to fly the LAX Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) mini route mid field as we transitioned south to our final destination of Avalon airport on Catalina Island. Watching commercial airlines taking off beneath us, as we flew in our light sport two-seater aircraft, was totally awesome!
The LSA flight rules were first established in 2004 for aircraft that weigh no more than 1,320 pounds at takeoff and fly no faster than 120 knots calibrated airspeed, with a stall speed of 45 knots or less. In order to be a light sport pilot, you need to:
- Be at least 17 years old
- Be able to read, speak, write, and understand English.
- Hold at least a third class medical, or hold a current and valid U.S. driver’s license for operations in light-sport aircraft other than a glider or balloon.
Flight training requires 20 hours of flight time with 15 of those dual training and 5 hours solo time. Similar to the private pilot requirements, the training includes take-off and landing, cross-country, ground training, knowledge and practical test. As of December 2022, there are more than 6000 sport pilots of whom 300 were women pilots.
Santa Monica Flyers has several LSA aircraft on their flight schedule and even several flight instructors just for sport aircraft flight instruction. When I first checked their website as I planned my adventure out west, my curiosity peaked when I saw CFI-S for the first time. I had not seen this at the flight schools out east. At least not yet.
In order to become a sport pilot instructor, you will have to:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Be able to read, speak, write, and understand English.
- Hold at least a current and valid sport pilot certificate with category and class ratings or privileges as applicable.
- Receive a logbook endorsement and pass a knowledge test on the fundamentals of instruction listed in 61.407.
- Meet the aeronautical experience requirements listed in 61.411 for the applicable aircraft sought.
- Receive a logbook endorsement and pass a knowledge test on the aeronautical areas applicable to the aircraft category sought.
- Receive a logbook endorsement and pass a practical test on the areas of operation listed in 61.409.
In July 2023, the FAA released a preview of notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes changes that could increase takeoff weight to around 3,000 pounds, raise maximum speed to about 250 knots, and boost the maximum stall speed to 54 knots.
Oh, and that coffee mug with hot coffee? All gone.
As we completed our preflight checks, at one point Danny took the last sip, laughed and shared an anecdote about the time he was learning to fly and his instructor had done a similar thing.
See Also
FAA Safety Briefing – Pilot Speak by Susan K. Parson
As noted in this issue’s “Bring Your ‘A’ Game” article, one of the first things that pilots in training learn is the aviation safety “trifecta” of aviate (fly the airplane), navigate (point it in the right direction), and communicate (talk to air traffic control). Flight instructors tend to take a military drill instructor’s approach to stressing the importance of the sequence, and a somewhat clichéd bit of advice cautions that pilots should never “drop the airplane to pick up the mic.”
There is no question that aviating — maintaining proper attitude, airspeed, and altitude — is also the top priority for a pinch-hitting pilot. But I would suggest that if you do wind up in that position, it is both appropriate and wise to make communication your second priority. You’re going to need help to navigate and land, so it’s best to speak up as soon as you are reasonably sure you have the airplane flying straight and level.
If you don’t remember anything else from this article, the two most important items to recall are the emergency radio frequency (121.5) and the word “mayday,” which means emergency. If your pilot has already been talking to ATC, you can start by clicking the mic on whatever frequency is tuned and uttering the magic “mayday” word. But since not all GA flights involve communication with ATC, you might want to use the next flight you take to learn how to tune the radio to 121.5. Someone is always listening to the emergency frequency, sometimes known as “guard.” It’s always a good idea to monitor 121.5.
Once you have made contact, whether on 121.5 or another channel, you need not worry about proper phraseology — just say what you need to say. But you might feel more comfortable, both as emergency preparation and just to know what’s going on, if you learn at least a little of the lingo. Here are a few tips that can help you decipher PilotSpeak.
Continue to read here.
Repost: Gone Flying Part 2 – Joy of Tailwheel Flying
Almost 9 years ago
I’ll run my hand gently over the wing of a small airplane and say to him, “This plane can teach you more things and give you more gifts than I ever could. It won’t get you a better job, a faster car, or a bigger house. But if you treat it with respect and keep your eyes open, it may remind you of some things you used to know — that life is in the moment, joy matters more than money, the world is a beautiful place, and that dreams really, truly are possible.” And then, because airplanes speak a language beyond words, I’ll take him up in the evening summer sky and let the airplane show him what I mean.
–Lane Wallace, ‘Eyes of A Child’ – Flying Magazine
Potomac Airfield is nestled amid a sprawling residential neighborhood. When you first come upon it, it feels surreal. The neighborhood ceases to exists in your mind. All that remains is a simple and idyllic airfield. Your mind may leap back to recapture that era of bygone days when barnstorming was the norm… flying was simple and easy, without rules or a care in the world.
Pre-flight complete, we set off down south towards the training area, south of the FRZ, and over the Potomac river. It was a grey day: overcast, with chance of showers. Still, it did not look or feel gloomy. Visibility was great, but because of ceilings we were limited to stay below 3,000ft. The air was calm and the airplane almost flew itself and needed very minimal corrections. The last time I flew the Citabria was back in 2005. I had forgotten how much fun it is to fly! I had forgotten how much fun it is to fly with a stick.
Continue to read here.
Repost: Gone Flying Part 1
Nine years ago: Has it really been that long?
“Arriving at destination, on your left.” chimed in my Google maps navigator app. All I saw, was huge houses on either side. As I drove further, the road dipped steeply down into rolling hills and more mansions on both sides of the road. It can’t be right, I thought. How can I miss a runway, even a small, narrow one? All I had seen was a “Learn to Fly” sign, in what looked like a residential neighborhood flanked by houses.
I turned around, and let the map app recalculate, which it did and I looped around the block and got back on to Glen Way again. Soon, I arrived back at the same “Learn to Fly” sign on a lamp post in front of a huge house, with a road before it, going downhill. It was almost time for my lesson, and I wondered if I have to call my instructor for directions!
Continue to read here
Checklist Fatigue
How much is too much?
“What are the after-takeoff checklist items?” I searched through the checklist to find the exact ones… meanwhile…“Watch your heading, maintain altitude”
As I took my eyes off from the panel to read the check list, of course I had drifted off course and deviated from my assigned altitude. As I transferred my attention to correct my course and heading, “Brief the procedure, what fix, initial or final, what heading,” snapped the next command.
This time I pulled my iPad up and tried to bring the procedure. It wasn’t sufficient that I review the key steps. Each time I had to read out the name of the procedure, valid dates, check any NOTAMs and whether they were applicable, and so on. Meanwhile … “watch your altitude… watch your heading.”
I switched again to level-off at 3000 ft which was what I had been cleared for and tried to orient myself to the avionics in the aircraft. I had never flown this aircraft before. Each time I fly a new aircraft, it does take a little flying to familiarize and get comfortable with the controls and avionics panel. As I tried to re-orient, “What are the cruise checklist items?”
This time I pulled the cruise checklist to read the items of the list: “What is before that step… You need to read and confirm every one of them…”
I looked down, and repeated the one that I had thought was unnecessary to repeat… “Watch your heading… you are off course…”
I switched back yet again between checklists, cockpit familiarization, maintaining smooth control, procedure briefing from the iPad, and occasional communication with ATC. “How will you enter the hold …”
I switched to the iPad again. At this rate, I almost missed the days when I was using paper flight procedure plates. At least that was easier moving from departure procedure to approach procedure at a different airport.
And so, the flight progressed. Mostly VMC, going in and out of clouds. Wearing foggles limited my view of the outside, although I could see the occasional clouds as we pierced through them, vectored and rerouted by ATC to steer us away from other IFR traffic, and traffic advisories about VFR traffic in the vicinity. Weather called for broken to scattered clouds at 4,000 ft at our departure airport and along our route. We had departed on an IFR flight plan with the intent to shoot some precision and non-precision approaches, holding and other required maneuvers for an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC).
During the early days of flight, it was mostly seat of your pants flying. Airplanes had few navigation and flight control systems, and pilots mostly relied on their senses to gauge position and performance, and make decisions. Much of flying was by feel, intuition and experience.
In 1935 that changed. A B-17 Flying Fortress crashed after take-off when pilots failed to release a new rudder and elevator mechanism. After that event, checklists became a standard issue with an aircraft. As aircraft complexity increased more checklists were added. The 1990s saw the emergence of electronic checklists. Introduced in 1996, electronic checklists continue to be ever changing as technology evolves.
Initial checklists were made for completing routine procedures. A study issued by the FAA’s Commercial Aviation Safety Team [1] indicated that insufficient depth of system knowledge and/or over-reliance of automated checklist systems could lead to problems when managing unspecified failures. If the solution for every problem is another checklist, cognitive skills begin to diminish as critical thinking becomes unnecessary.
According to Flight Paramedic Dave Weber of Intermountain Life Flight in Salt Lake City, Utah [2], aviation and medical communities have reached a critical threshold with checklists. He suggests that we can’t make checklists for every part of our environment. Education and training are key and those items need to be trained and memorized. In his words:
“We’re seeing rapid skill diminishment across all fields when checklists are substituted for judgment. Critical faculties wither quickly once judgment is discouraged, and people are now becoming paralyzed when the problem doesn’t fit the checklist. They can’t process past that point in the checklist if there’s a problem mismatch.” [2]
Weber suggests checklists should be designed as reminders for experts who already know how to perform the tasks, not as “recipes” for beginners who are trying to use the checklist to figure it out. Weber’s solution for “checklist absurdity” is to streamline checklists down to include only the highest-risk procedures, and then edit those checklists to consist of five to nine bullet points.
I had never seen this drastic use of checklists before in my more than 20 years of flying. I have had my share of flying with different flight instructors in the course of that time either for flight reviews or advanced flight training. Many a time I have enjoyed these in depth flight reviews with my favorite instructors [3]. I had even done an IPC in the past. While every instructor has different techniques, this absurd adherence was almost negating the real reason why checklists are used in the first place: safety.
Good flight instructors are rare to find. Good flight instructors pay attention, adapt and train their students according to the situation, and student needs. No two students are the same. Further, every student is different. Not only in how they learn, and how they process and digest information, but also in the purpose and goal of their flying. While checklists are an essential part of flying, they need not be used to this level of absurdity.
I almost felt nostalgic for the good old days when flying was carefree and fun, and pilots were not bogged down by checklists.
Yep, the days of seat of your pants flying!
See Also:
Checkride Anniversary: 5/5
Twenty-Two Years Ago
May is always memorable. I got my PPL . Three years later I got my Instrument rating.
“I hope we will be done by 3:00 pm, ” said Wanda, “I wan’t to watch the Kentucky Derby”
“I hope so too,” thought I. “With positive results.” For it was the day of my PPL check-ride and I wanted to get home without a pink slip! It was also Derby Day. And getting home to watch the race would be good too… I did make it home in time to catch the race that day.
As it happens, it’s also Derby weekend!
Repost: Flying the Hudson River Corridor
Remembering this flight from thirteen years ago…
“First will be xxxx aircraft, then John in xxxx will follow on and next will be…” continued Bob from our flight school, who had planned the whole flyout to the last minute detail.
I wondered how in the world we were going to keep the order straight leave alone spot the aircraft in front of us. Countless times ATC gives traffic warnings routinely. Only on a rare occasion am I ever able to spot the traffic. Often, I rely on ATC to tell me that I was clear of the traffic or to provide me deviations to avoid the traffic.
Maybe it will all work out, I thought.
Being on a C172 and in no hurry to exit the Hudson river corridor, I and my passengers opted to fly second last.
Continue to read here.
We All Fly: First Airplane Ride
No pilot ever forgets his first airplane ride – Bill Kershner
Coming across this quote recently brought back some fond memories of my very first flight in a small airplane. Seems almost another life time ago. but oh so true… a pilot never forgets!
It was back during my college days that I had the good fortune to go for my very first ride in a glider, ably piloted by my friend, a glider pilot and fellow class mate. It was a short and sweet flight. An introduction into the wonderful world of flying. Until then even though I had thought of it, it seemed beyond reach, not only in terms of access but also in terms of cost and effort needed. I had attended the local glider flying club meeting with him and considering the cost and options offered by the club, it almost seemed possible. I was excited and enthusiastic and ready to try.
Despite the excitement of my first flight, it’s my second flight though that overshadows my first one. Who can forget the adventure of an emergency landing on a street, the long day and process of dismantling the glider and towing it back to the airport?
Gliding? Hmm… maybe. While that episode caused a brief pause in pursuing my pilot license, it certainly did not deter me and a few years later, I did obtain my private pilot license. The joy of flying knows no bounds. It has to be experienced!
The National Air and Space Museum in DC is going through a complete transformation. The renovations in progress have added several new galleries. It is exciting to see a new General Aviation gallery. If it has been a while since you visited NMB, be sure to check it out if you are in the area. It might almost seem like a brand new museum!
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Current Again. Yes!
Lately I have been thinking about the word “Rusty”.
Back in 2011, I had thought four months was too long a gap since my last flight. The gap this time was almost four years. For the first time, I even missed a flight review or two. It was interesting to experience the true meaning of “Rusty Pilot”. It was interesting to realize how much can be forgotten if one is not flying regularly!
While the review of current policies, procedures, regulations, aeronautical information, aircraft performance, weather and environmental factors are all vital and necessary, and can be part of every day activities even if one is not a pilot, the visual acuity, coordination, practical techniques, sensory perceptions, nuances, awareness and resource management are vital skills that are all accrued over time through application. These skills evolve and grow through continuous application, recurrent training, and pursuing other advanced ratings and endorsements.
As with anything, human behavior is built through constant practice and application. We focus on what’s in front of us or what’s important in the moment. With time forgetfulness can seep in. Other factors such as loss of memory, age etc. might add to it. As I attempted to refresh my memory, it was interesting to realize how much I had forgotten. Although I have been attending virtual rusty pilot seminars over the last two years, it was evident almost immediately to me that despite having flown for almost two decades one can forgot basic things from lack of practice.
May has always been the month. I got my private pilot license in May. Three years later, I got my instrument rating also in May. This meant every two years May was the month for my flight review with my instructor to maintain currency. That is, until this year.
Its good to be current again, after this unplanned hiatus!
Links:
Fly 'n Things 
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