Flight #4
11-19-94

C-150H
TEB
Local
1.3 dual


"4 fund, power-off stall, takeoff procedures, rectangular patterns"


Finally getting behind the controls of the 150 today, but first the preflight inspection.
She's in good shape; very little dimpling of the skin, and only two, noncritical screws missing.
Needs a good cleaning, but the new paint sure is pretty...

I'm excited to be flying again... I had to skip the last two scheduled lessons. First time the wind was gusting to about 25 knots, and the second time conditions were ideal, but- somehow- my lesson had been struck from the schedule book!

So I'm itching to fly, and not fazed at all by trying out a new type of plane.
E. handles the rudder again on takeoff, and I do the rest- not badly, either. I like the more ... "immediate" feel of the 150, although to say it's more responsive would not really be accurate.
And it's quite slow, though plenty fast enough, I think, for the money, which is over $10/hr less than for the 172.
  I'm soon quite comfortable working with the little two-seater as we review climbs, descents, turns, and straight-and-level flight.
E. takes over to demonstrate the 150's slow but not exactly sedate  stalling characteristics, but I won't get to try it myself today.

I notice at one point that we're practically over my father's old house on Lake DeForest, where I lived the last three years of high school... the altitude makes that time and place seem even farther away.
The sun is going down as we make our way back across the state border, southbound to TEB, but E. decides we have one more task before approaching the airport: flying a make-believe traffic pattern, using Route 17 as a runway reference.
The groud itself is in darkness now, and the lights of the highway make it very easy to visualize the pattern. I do a very good job, even crabbing properly on all legs, and E. is pleased.
He takes the controls again as we approach the airport, the horizon now getting really dark.Tower clears us for a modified base leg to avoid some incoming jets, and I'm again very impressed with his skill as he drops the 150 down on a very short final and makes a sweet landing.
Once on the ground, it's time for me to work again: trying to guide the unfamiliar little plane along the taxiways, in the dark... made slightly more challenging by the fact that the taxi light does not seem to be working. The bright centerline lights on the taxiways make all the difference, though, and I soon get us back to the ramp without mishap.

I now have just over two hours logged, and the feeling is a good one.
Next lesson is Monday....

(Monday arrives with IMC; oh well...)

Next: flight 5

Keep them coming!!  I enjoy reading your stories about your training and everything you went through!!

  Cory

Forget the lights and speakers and wire and all that,  Sean you should be a writer, perhaps for AAOP, Plane and Pilot, or Flying magazine................

See, I'm not the only one.

I think you should at least give it a try. The beauty of writing is that it can be done in your spare time. No need to give up the day job until you become famous.