CFI-A Lesson 2 (complete!)

Today, the stars aligned; my health and my instructors health was adequate and the weather was quite fair, if not quite chilly. Even with all of this, there was still a chance the flight might be canceled. When I walked out on the line to pre-flight the plane, I found a small amount of frost on both wings, and quite a lot on the windshield. The maintenance guys were out and about and stopped by with a rag soaked in alcohol. Problem solved. Then the plane didn't want to start. I bet we tried cranking the old girl at least 8 times before she finally caught fire - and even then, quite reluctantly. I am surprised the battery lasted so long.

The flight was quite enjoyable and I was well relaxed the entire time. I guess after being prepared for this lesson for so long, I felt that I didn't have anything to worry about. I did most of the initial flying, starting with taxi - which is a whole different animal from the right seat - through take-off and the flight to the practice area.

Once in the practice area, I put on my instructor hat and tried to think of everything that must be done. I made radio calls, I looked for traffic, and I taught my 'student' the four fundamentals of flight. One thing that did slip my mind on this short lesson was remembering to switch the fuel tanks every 30 minutes. My instructor gave me a good tip on how to remember this and at the same time, set a good example for my future students. Basically, I just write the time and tank on my kneeboard. For example, I write 8:30 R after take-off, then 30 minutes later, I write 9:00 L, etc.

The time went by quickly as my 'student' performed each maneuver per my instructions. He made a few mistakes, which caused me to clarify my words and think more about speaking each action when doing demonstrations. I think my 'student' is well aware of my desire to have positive control exchanges (your controls, my controls, your controls) and if he was paying attention, he would have noticed that I was pointing out all conflicting traffic in the area and making appropriate radio calls before each maneuver.

Back in the pattern, I was flying again. I showed my 'student' how and where to check the ATIS and some good landmarks for making the initial call to tower. Tower cleared us to land, but another plane entered the downwind from the 45 in front of us, so I had to clarify my clearance with the tower. He revoked my clearance to land and gave me #2 to land, following traffic. I told my 'student' that Vero Beach is a busy airspace with lots of student pilots. And although we prefer to follow procedures, it is very likely that you will be forced to modify your arrival due to other traffic conflicts. I told him that it was very important to keep a quiet cockpit, look for other traffic, and listen for and visualize the position of all other aircraft in the vicinity.

Now that my first flight lesson is out of the way, I can finally look forward to the next - slow flight. This is beginning to be a lot of fun!