Well, I finally completed my FAA check ride for my pilot’s certificate. I am now licensed as a private pilot of single engine – land airplanes (as opposed to seaplanes), with all my time in a Cessna 172. I began the training process back in November, right after Thanksgiving. I had always wanted to fly, but never quite believed I would have the time, money or later-life inclination to do it. That all changed when my neighbor took me flying with him a few times, and my wife suggested I take flying lessons.
It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed my training immensely, even when I reached a plateau fairly early on in learning how to land properly and gently. I eventually crossed the plateau as described in my previous post here, and went on to finish my training with some quite enjoyable activities, including flying into a controlled airport and six cross country flights, three of them solo.
I did my three required solo landings at a controlled airport at Newport News (PHF) in April, shortly after my solo. We spent a day there with me under instruction, and Kacper introduced short field takeoffs and landings and soft field takeoffs and landings too. Then we went back the following week and did a few practice landings before Kacper got out of the plane and let me do my solo landings. It was somewhat anticlimactic.
The first cross country flight was soon after that, cruising down to Halifax, NC (IXA). My chart was marked up and I picked good checkpoints I knew I could identify. I used Google Earth to “fly” the route to assist in identifying the landmarks and it helped. We landed in Halifax with no difficulty and taxied around for an immediate takeoff and return. On the way back to PVG, we practiced a diversion and landed at Suffolk (SFQ) for lunch. The restaurant was newly reopened, and we had some delicious burgers. Then back to PVG without further incident.
The next flight was scheduled to complete all the night training requirements (3 hours). We started at PVG and did some stop and go landings and then began the night cross country trip, again to IXA. It was nice seeing all the lights from 4500 feet, and it made finding landmarks easy, as I had picked towns to look at. We did a few touch and go landings at IXA before returning, again stopping at Suffolk to do some more landings. I did 16 landings that night with at least 13 of them full stop landings. We ended the trip just before midnight.
Then I got to do my first solo cross country to IXA. It was a very nice, clear day and I finished the trip in 2 hours, which included 4 full stop landings at IXA before returning to PVG. I filed and activated a flight plan for this trip, as I had done for the two previous trips with Kacper, but did not request flight following from ATC. I was familiar with the route, having “Google Earthed” it as well as having flown it twice. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and wished I had been flying longer!
Kacper and I then did a three point cross country together, going to Emporia (EMV), Edenton, NC (EDE) and back to PVG. It was a nice day, but my normal training buddy, N2102P, was not available, so we took N64754. It was a little different, but I had a few hours in that plane too, so I got comfortable quickly. It was another very nice day, with a little more wind this time that before, maybe 10 – 12 knots at Edenton. It was fun getting to fly to three airports and to see all the countryside in between. A couple of weeks later, I made the same trip solo, once I got a good weather day.
I still needed about an hour of solo cross country time to complete the experience requirement for a private pilot trainee, so I picked Tappahannock (XSA) for a destination. That’s up in the area where I grew up, so it was fun getting to fly there myself. I had been before with Dick in his plane. The trip started out nicely, but it got slightly bumpy on the way up and I had to descend a bit below my cruise altitude to clear some clouds that formed. Other than that, it was no problem getting there and making a nice landing. I back taxied and took off again to get back to PVG without burning too many extra (expensive) flying hours. I steered a bit farther to the west on the way back to avoid the clouds again and landed with 2.0 hours on the Hobbs meter. Another very nice trip.
At this point, my training was all preparation for the check ride. I practiced several maneuvers that I had not performed since December, like S-turns and turns around a point. Also, I needed work on my short and soft field landings and takeoffs. I was making good progress; now well into the month of June. However, the weather had turned more summer-like with afternoon thunderstorms. In fact, it turned into a wetter, cooler, stormier year than I could remember for a long time. I had a few periods of over two weeks without flying due to weather and work schedule not matching up to provide me with an opportunity. June dragged into July, and Kacper went to Poland for three weeks too. I trained with Andrew while Kacper was gone, but even then I had to wait two weeks for the weather to improve.
Finally, toward the end of July after Kacper returned, I was getting close to check ride proficiency. My short and soft field landings were the last things needing improvement. More weather delays, and more training. Finally, in early August things came together. I had to show Kacper one more good day of good soft field landings. It wasn’t a great weather day, with marginal ceilings and a few scudding clouds right at pattern altitude. My landings were poor: disappointing. We ended the day with less than an hour on the Hobbs. I was determined, and came back the next day for one last try with Kacper before he departed again for three weeks of pipeline inspection flights. I had pulled things together and made several nice soft field landings and one great short field landing.
Kacper signed me off for my check ride, and we scheduled the exam with the examiner for the following Tuesday morning. He advised us to make sure all the required ground training was included in my log, and we spent some time getting that done. I signed up for one last practice flight with another instructor, Chad, before my check ride. It went well, and I was set.
The examiner called me on Sunday afternoon to ask if I could do my check ride on Monday instead of Tuesday. I gulped and said, yes, I could do that. He gave me a cross country assignment to plan for a trip to Front Royal (FRR). I spent the next 4 hours getting everything planned, calculated and shined and ready to demonstrate to him the next day. Route drawn on chart, weight and balance calculated, fuel requirements calculated and adjusted for temperature, takeoff and landing roll calculated, extra airport information tabulated in case I have to divert while enroute, etc., etc.
I met the examiner Monday morning at 1130. He spent about 15 minutes looking over my logbook and the aircraft logs to make sure I was qualified to take the exam and that the airplane was safe to fly. Then we logged into the FAA system and finalized my application to start the exam. We spent about an hour and a half doing an oral exam, which he punctuated with some interesting stories and commentary as well as a few bits of wisdom and advice. It was rigorous, but pleasant and helped put me at ease.
By 1330, we were on our way to the flight school to check out and preflight the airplane. I completed the preflight and we discussed the plan for once we were airborne and then got in and started up the airplane. I taxied over to Runway 10 and demonstrated a soft field takeoff and then climbed out and began the mock cross country portion of the check ride. He halted me about 10 miles into the trip and had me put on the hood for simulated instrument work, and once that was completed, demonstrated steep turns, slow flight, stalls and some situational awareness. At this point, the examiner took control of the airplane and demonstrated some interesting slow flight, stall and spin characteristics and corrective actions. It was a nice diversion and I learned a good deal.
By then, we were about halfway done with the flight. Once he turned the plane back over to me, he had me cut the throttle to idle and execute a simulated engine out landing which went well, with him offering encouragement the whole way down. He particularly seemed to like how I performed a nice forward slip to reduce altitude to make a good approach on my selected emergency field. He then had me recover and level off at 1000 feet to demonstrate turns around a point. About two turns around the barn I selected and he had me climb back to 2300 feet.
He then had me, without looking out the windows, use equipment in the airplane to find my current position on the chart. I was allowed to use the GPS, but not the map display portion, so I plugged in PVG and got the bearing and distance and quickly located us on the chart. Then he had me dial in the Norfolk VOR and steer to it. Completing that, he had me use the CDI fed by GPS to steer toward PVG. We followed that until a few miles out of the field, and then called in on UNICOM to get advisory info to identify the runway in use, as the winds were light and variable from the north.
Runway 2 was identified, so I maneuvered to enter downwind at a 45 degree angle, and executed a normal landing. I then taxied back and he had me demonstrate a short field takeoff, followed by a short field landing. After taxiing back, I made a normal takeoff and the examiner cut my power while we were at about 500 feet on climbout, simulating an engine loss on takeoff. He emphasized the need to execute the checklist, and then had me recover and continue in the pattern. He asked me to throttle back to about 1800 RPM on the downwind leg, which was actually my normal power setting, so no problem there. Then he told me to reduce power to idle when abreast the touchdown point and execute a soft field landing, no power. As I began, he said something my instructor said several times while we practiced engine out landing away from the airport, “You better make it!” He also said not to worry about the displaced threshold; he would accept a landing anywhere on the runway.
Honestly, while it was critical that I get that landing right, I was already very comfortable in the cockpit with the examiner, and was “all warmed up” after a couple of landings. I began my turn to base early and did not deploy flaps yet, wanting to make sure I could reach the field. I knew I would be quite high on final, but decided it would be less risky to be high than low, and I could always slip down to glideslope, which seemed to be something the examiner enjoyed doing and seeing. So I did. Once assured of reaching the field, I applied 10 degrees of flaps and once stead on final I put down full 30 degrees of flaps. I was quite high, so I went into a nice, steady forward slip until I was down far enough to land at the threshold. He suggested I might dump a little more altitude, but I didn’t do it. We leveled off just before the threshold and touched down pretty much on the numbers with the nose high and I held the nose wheel off the ground until full elevator no longer would hold it and gently set it down. He was very complimentary, and I have to say it was probably the best soft field landing I had ever made.
He had me taxi back to the hangar, and once shut down, he congratulated me and told me to finish taking care of the plane and he would meet me back at the terminal. With my head swimming, I went into the school and checked the plane back in and paid for it, gratefully accepting the congratulations of all. I went back to the terminal and the examiner printed out my temporary certificate and congratulated me again. I thanked him, and told him I learned a great deal on the ride and appreciated his flying tips and advice. He seemed genuinely pleased to hear that, and we shook hands as I left, head still swimming in disbelief, relief and excitement. It was 1535.
I still can’t quite believe it is over and I have a private pilot’s license to fly single engine, land airplanes. I will definitely miss flying with my instructor. Kacper is a great pilot and a wonderful, patient and capable instructor. I thoroughly enjoyed flying with him, and hope I can afford to have him check me out in a couple of the other airplanes the school has available for rental, particularly the Warrior.
I’m not sure yet when or where I will fly for my first flight as a licensed pilot. I expect it will be some time in the next couple of weeks, as I do not want my skills to atrophy, but I have not yet selected a destination of purpose. Whatever it will be, I know I will enjoy it completely!