CFI-A Lesson 13

For those paying attention, you're probably wondering what happened to lesson 12. Lesson 12 is all about spins and FlightSafety sub-contracts that lesson out to a private company. I'm scheduled for lesson 12 on March 24.

This lesson started with a wrap-up of lesson 11. We spent the first 30 to 40 minutes discussing Certificates and Publications. The Certificates discussion was straight out of Part 61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). The Publications discussion was more difficult because it wasn't exactly clear where to find all the publications that are available. The FAA, afterall, is a government agency and their primary purpose in life is to generate paperwork and confusion. ;-)

We quickly briefed the flight and were on our way. My instructor selected a variety of maneuvers for me to demonstrate. We started with a Short Field Take-off, then headed west to the practice area. After doing my safety checks and checklist, I did Steep Turns, Basic Attitude Instrument Flying, Slow Flight, a Power-On Stall, and a Simulated Emergency. Then I did Eights on Pylons and headed back to the airport. We ended with a Short Field Landing.

Overall, I think I performed all the maneuvers better than ever before. As for the instruction aspect, my instructor gave me some great tips about the simulated emergency; things that will help a student understand the importance of each step and the logical flow involved. We also discussed my Power-On Stall technique. I was a little too agressive while increasing pitch. The plane will easily enter the stall at a much lower pitch, but it takes a little longer, so some patience is required.

I guess I get the rest of the week "off", so if I'm smart, I'll continue working on my FAR flash cards, my Fundamentals of Instruction, and re-learning the performance numbers for the Piper Arrow. Not to mention adding my notes and feedback to my existing lesson plans.