Rust accumulates quickly

Oft-interupted flight training

Earlier this spring both my instructor and I were beginning to feel that I might actually be nearing the end of my private pilot flight training journey. After several years of on-again, off-again, training I was finally feeling confident in the airplane. All of my cross countries were completed and I was in the process of doing the last minute fine tuning necessary before my instructor signed me off to go take my check ride. We had even lined up an examiner and set up a date.

Then all of a sudden everything got placed on another indefinite hold following a family health crisis, the death of a family member, and a busy few months of Air Force Reserve duty. There was simply no energy or time available for training this summer. Although I was able to get an occasional flight in, it was not consistent, and the fact of the matter is that I lost some of my skills through months of disuse.

Now that things are beginning to settle down professionally and personally I have been able to get back into training. Today’s flight was a bit of a diagnostic ride for my instructor to see how much review we need to do before the check ride.

Diagnostic ride shows lots of rust

Things did not get off to a good start when I opened up my flight bag at the beginning of the lesson and discovered that I had grabbed the wrong sectional chart on my way the airport. Dexter, Missouri is in the far southwestern corner of the St. Louis sectional. The area immediately to the south is covered by the Memphis chart. We were still okay to fly because of I have Garmin Pilot on my tablet, but I was unable to do the paper cross-country planning exercise that I had been assigned.

The preflight inspection process went smoothly, especially now that I have started carrying a pocket pack of tissues to use when checking the oil, instead of relying on the supply of paper towels in the club’s hangar (just one of the many little tips I have picked up along the way). Takeoff, climb out, and most of my maneuvers went smoothly. My instructor had me do stalls once we got up to altitude, and I was able to handle climbing turns in slow flight fairly well. Overall, he was happy with my air work, but things started to go downhill shortly thereafter.

Watch your altitude while fiddling with the VOR

My time away from cockpit really showed itself once he asked me to put on foggles for some simulated instrument work. While trying to tune in the Malden VOR I allowed myself to get distracted and my altitude began to wander. By the time I had found the right frequency and gotten the heading figured out I was nearly three hundred feet above where I should have been. My instructor allowed me to figure out what I was doing wrong and I was eventually able to correct my problem. Gradually I was able to get on heading and return to my assigned altitude.

He had me pull off the foggles as we were nearing the Dexter airport. We made a normal pattern entry and set up for landing. I flew the pattern and the initial part of the descent well, but allowed my airspeed to increase once I turned final. Of course, I landed beyond my intended point of touchdown.

The second attempt was better, but I am still struggling with the flap controls in our club’s new airplane. Unlike the manual Johnson-bar flaps in our old plane, or the electric flaps in the Cessna 152’s I flew at the University of Central Missouri, the 1976 Cessna 172 we now fly has no detents. The switch is simply held down for 5-6 seconds per ten degrees of flap travel. Sometimes I hit the numbers exactly. Most of the time I do not. Usually, I either put out too much flap or not enough.

Eventually we made a total of six landings before decreasing daylight and my jangled nerves said it was time to call it a day. Even though I would like to blame my frustration with the flap system for my less than perfect touchdowns, I cannot. I am the weak link.

Being away takes its toll

The fact of the matter is that I have been away from training for too long. It has been one month since I flew at all and six months since I flew regularly. During that time my landing site picture, familiarity with the controls, and general comfort in the cockpit has significantly evaporated. It is going to take a few flights and some time in the air to get back to where I was. My next flight is already scheduled for later this week, weather permitting.

As frustrating as it was to see how much I had lost, it is still magical to be flying once again. Even if is taking far longer than I had originally hoped, flight training is still some of the most fun I have ever had.