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MAY 2009 Volume 3, Issue 5 |
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| Welcome
to Reach for the Sky, EAA's monthly
e-newsletter written and created for people who
are interested in learning how to fly. This
month Certified Flight Instructor Steve Krog
introduces us to the sectional chart and
explains the importance of knowing how to
interpret this valuable source of information
when preparing for a VFR cross-country flight.
In this month's
"A Personal View," Steve tells about
several flight students who found ways to pursue
their passion of flight despite their financial
obstacles.
As always, feel
free to forward your copy to someone who might
like to receive the newsletter. And remember,
you don't need to be an EAA member to subscribe.
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Note: If you're a
pilot just starting out and would like to share
your story, or if you have a question about
flight training, drop us an e-mail at LearnToFly@eaa.org.
In
this issue...
- Planning
Your First Cross Country - Steve Krog,
CFI, Editor
- Update:
Earning My Wings video blog - Brady
Lane, EAA Multimedia Journalist
- What You're
Asking - Questions for your instructor
- A Personal
View - Is Now the Time? - Steve Krog
- Aviation
Glossary - Learning the language of
flight
- This
Month's Poll - What was your favorite
ground school subject?
- Did You
Know? - Facts and information on the
world of flight
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Planning
Your First Cross-Country
By Steve Krog
The cross-country
flight is one of the most exciting phases in a
student's training curriculum. Flying to
different airports well beyond the home base
airport - sometimes a state or even two away -
is a new and challenging adventure. In the last
newsletter we listed most of the variables that
must be considered when planning and safely
making a cross-country flight.
When preparing
for a trip by automobile, the primary sources
for travel information are the trusty road
map/atlas or even more so recently, online trip
planners like Mapquest, Google Maps, or Yahoo.
These are filled with illustrated information
showing virtually all of the interstate, state,
and county highways, the villages, towns, and
cities along the planned travel route. So what
do we use for planning a flight by air?
A map says to
you,
"Read me carefully, follow me closely,
and doubt me not. I am the earth in the palm of
your hand. Without me you are alone and
lost." - Beryl Markham, 1936
[ Read
more
]
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Update:
Earning My Wings: A video blog about learning to
fly |
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Brady Lane
Challenging
Lessons
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| Some
lessons are incredibly fun and exciting.
Others are challenging. As you'll see in
the video of my last lesson - this one
was challenging.
In this
lesson I was introduced to short and
soft field landings. I now understand
why these are the most commonly failed
portions of a checkride. No matter how
hard I tried, I couldn't touch down on
the numbers. First, I was too high, and
then, too slow - nothing I did was
working. I left the lesson rather
frustrated because I know I can make
good landings, but the longer I flew the
worse they got.
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It's
challenging lessons like these that
shape me into a better pilot. Nobody
said learning to fly would be easy. But
it's worth it, so I'm going to keep
practicing and eventually I'm going to
land on those numbers.
- Brady
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Using cockpit cameras, Brady is
recording video of every flight lesson
and posting them at www.EAA.org/wings/.
He encourages you to visit the blog
regularly for updates and invites you to
leave comments and questions.
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Q&A:
What you're asking
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| Common
questions for the instructor from beginning flight students
Q: I
am currently working toward a sport
pilot license but am considering getting
my private pilot license in another
year. What is involved? Can I count my
sport pilot time toward the private
pilot requirements?
A:
The sport pilot requirements include a
minimum of 15 hours of dual instruction
of which at least 2 hours are to be dual
cross-country training and 3 hours in
preparation for the flight test; 5 hours
of solo flight which includes a solo
cross-county flight of at least 75
nautical miles total distance, landings
at 2 points and one leg of the flight at
least 25 nautical miles straight-line
between takeoff and landing locations; a
sport pilot written test, and a
combination of an oral test and flight
test given by a designated
examiner. [ Read more ]
[ More
questions ]
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A Personal
View - Is now the time? |
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| By
Steve Krog
Is today's
economic uncertainty preventing you from
pursuing your dream of learning to fly?
I've spoken with
a number of potential students over the past six
months who have expressed a strong interest in
flight training. However, several of these
prospective pilots qualify their comments with
statements like, "I'd really like to learn
to fly but the economic future is so uncertain
that I'd better wait until times are
better."
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| So,
when is a good time to learn to fly?
What type of
person are you? An optimist? A pessimist? Do you
see a half-filled glass of water and think it's
half-empty? Or do you see it as half-full?
[ Read
more ]
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fairing -
a smooth covering over a joint or a junction in
an aircraft structure to provide a smooth
surface for the airflow. Its primary purpose is
to reduce drag.
hard landing
- an improper landing of an aircraft that has
transmitted undue stresses into the structure.
maintenance manual
- a manual produced by the manufacturer of an
aircraft, aircraft engine, or component that
details the approved methods of maintenance.
service ceiling
- the height above standard sea level beyond
which an airplane can no longer climb more than
100 ft./min.
[ more
glossary terms
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Last
month's poll: We
asked, "What's the most difficult maneuver
to learn during flight training?" The
majority of you said "Crosswind
landings" with 56 percent of the total
votes. "Landings in general" came in
second with 18 percent of the votes, followed by
"Ground reference maneuvers" with 12
percent. "Steep turns" (7 percent),
"Stalls" (5 percent), and "Slow
flight" (2 percent) were considered the
least difficult maneuvers to learn.
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Did you know .
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The visible condensation
around an aircraft that's moving near or at the
speed of sound is caused by the rapid changes of pressure
as the aircraft moves through the air. The conditions
(temperature and humidity) have to be just right in order
for the condensation to become visible around the aircraft
and it's not always a ring or cone.
A helicopter engine
works in exactly the same way as an airplane engine.
The big difference is what happens to the engine's power
output. An airplane's engine drives a propeller, which
provides thrust to move the aircraft along so it's wings
can produce lift. A helicopter's engine drives a
transmission, which in turn drives the helicopter's
rotors. The rotors produce both the lift and the thrust
for the helicopter.
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A moment to
join, a lifetime to fly
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 If
you’re preparing to become a pilot, the EAA
community is here for you. Membership gives you
access to the collective passion, knowledge,
experience, and support of 170,000 members
worldwide. You'll get to participate in EAA
events, connect with fellow members, and have
access to the tools and resources to get you
airborne. Join the fun by visiting http://www.eaa.org/membership/benefits.asp
today.
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Reach for the Sky - EAA's Guide to Learning
to Fly and Light-Sport Aircraft
|
 EAA’s
guide to learning to fly and light-sport aircraft
is a resource to help anyone take the first
steps toward becoming a pilot. Whether you want to
have fun in a powered parachute or one day want to
command a Mars mission, Reach for the Sky is a
great place to start. It is
available
as a PDF
that will take a few minutes to download with a
high-speed connection.
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From the book
"Say....." Martin Leeuwis Publications
www.humor.aero
humor@leeuwispubli.nl
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