Home | Issues | Articles | Aviation Glossary | Q&A | A Personal View | Polls

First lesson logged; what’s next? (cont.)

By Steve Krog
Steve Krog is a flight instructor, EAA member and president of the Cub Association.

Attitude flying is the process of learning where the nose of the airplane needs to be positioned in relation to the horizon for any maneuver you will be learning and performing.

But first things first: You’ll perform the preflight inspection of the aircraft. Don’t forget to find and use the printed checklist in the aircraft. Remember, this is done so that nothing is overlooked. If you have any questions during the preflight, don’t hesitate to ask your instructor for clarification.

Once completed it’s time to enter the airplane, get comfortable, buckle your seat belts and shoulder harness, and begin the “Start” checklist. Again, use the printed checklist so that you don’t forget anything.

After start-up, ensure that the engine gauge indicate everything to be normal. Now it’s time to begin taxiing to the runway. Right about now your instructor will ask about the wind direction - from which direction the wind is blowing? Wind direction? I don’t know! Thus presents a lesson you’ll never forget: The next and every time thereafter you prepare for a flight, you will study the windsock and know exactly from which direction the wind is blowing. Once you’ve determined the wind direction, you’ll know which runway is best suited for take off. Remember, we always want to take off into the wind. A simple way to remember: Take off flying into the small end and out of the big end of the windsock.

After taxiing to the desired runway and conducting your pre-take off checklist, again using the printed list, you’re ready. Checking for other aircraft in the traffic pattern and determining that there are no conflicts, your instructor will direct you to taxi into position on the runway. Once positioned, the instructor will then begin talking you through the take off.

With one hand on the throttle and the other on the control yoke (or stick), smoothly advance the throttle to the full power position. As you begin rolling down the runway, maintain directional control by lightly tapping on the rudder pedals. As speed builds you will begin feeling slight pressure on the control yoke as air flows over the wings and tail control surfaces. Then apply slight back pressure on the yoke. With speed building, the nose begins to rise and seconds later the airplane lifts off the runway. As the earth falls away, the exhilaration of flight flows through every cell in your body! Next page: Applying what you’ve learned