• A Chronicle on Learning to Fly, by Aviation Photographer Max Haynes • Sponsored by Full Motion Flight Training and Twin Cities Aviation •
• Home
• 1 - And So Begins A Journey
• 2 - First Things First
• 3 - I'm 'Fliming!'
• 4 - In The Air Junior Birdman!
• 5 - From The Ground School Up
• 6 - The Hang Of It
21st
Day of Training
- Current Anxiety Gauge Reading -
"Thus cornered, your old-time pilot probably will say that the controls simply cannot be labeled in any straightforward fashion; you've got to know how to fly--that's all."
Wolfgang Langewiesche
Stick and Rudder
1. Review the checklist. I want to remember all of the things we looked at and checked before flying, so I won't have to do so much searching next time.
If you have a comment about my quest, or a memory of learning to fly, send it in via email. I may post it here, subject to editing.

• Glad to read your update and that the butterflies are at least organized and seeking permission to operate in your restricted air (stomach) space~~~~
Also good to see your anxiety gauge has settled down somewhat!!!
 It's all good!
 - Don Smith

• Nice, I like the flight lessons.  Yeah, the pre-visualization is key.  I really didn't have a simulator.  I just had to think about it a lot on the way to the airport...
- Adam White

• Flying in a simulator sounds about right to me. I'm waiting till they get those flying dirigibles off the ground before taking off.
:0)
- John Nez

• My first solo when getting checked out by the instructor (3 touch & goes, meet me back at the tower...) I flew the entire pattern with my flaps still down too; wasn't until I went to add flaps that I realize I had 40 degrees! The absence of a 200lb instructor made the 150C fly very differently!
- David Lyles

• I just finished reading your flog.  It's really fun, though I had to keep a paper bag next to me in case I started hyperventilating.  It always amazes me how pilots love to fly, and they admit that they scare the pants off themselves with regularity. They must get a different kind of scared than I get. Did I tell you I took one sort of FAA class about why airplanes fly?  It was really cool understanding what keeps them up.  Then they ended the class with a movie of fiery plane crashes and all the pilots were leaning into the screen, mesmerized by how cool it was. I am jealous of how much they must love it. Have fun,
- Lori Gordon
PS: Don't post this on your blog.  It will not help.
• Home
• 1 - And So Begins A Journey
• 2 - First Things First
Entry #3 January 21st, 2010 • I'm 'Fliming!'
Wingman--
I got an opportunity to do some air-to-air with two Cirrus SR22s, to promote the programs of Twin Cities Aviation and Full Motion Flight Training. TCA's head instructor, Torben Kiese, flew the subject plane, and Tim Barzen flew the cameraship. It was great to be in the air again, but I had no chance to take the controls. Partly because we were in formation for the whole of the flight, and partly because I was in the back seat! Expect to see many of the images from this flight appear in the FLOG, as I don't expect to have a cameraship alongside me when I do my flights.
All Technique, No Fear--
Since I am doing work for FMFT, I am able to make full use of the simulator for my training. My first flight lesson is coming up, so I decided to do it in the simulator first. The benefit was HUGE. I was able to focus solely on technique: without worrying about using up gas, sitting idling on the ramp or crashing the airplane. I was also able to take off, fly around and land without Chris needing to wrest the controls from me for fear I'd kill us both. The take-off left a lot to be desired, but I did okay trying to keep a level course, and was able to land the plane myself. Yes, I bounced a bit, but I didn't crash.
Flight Schools often have deals where they give you your first flying lesson for free. Ironically, it was one of the things that stopped me from taking flying lessons! Me!? Go up, handling the controls of an airplane, taking off, possibly landing without ground school lessons and hours of going over stuff first? No way! Really, being able to do it in the sim first was HUGE. It's kind of like the new movie Avatar. You get to enter another world without risking your real body! And now I know how to fly. No, really, I know how! Flying is like painting. Once you have some basic techniques and concepts down, you can paint a picture. Painting well is another matter. Painting beautifully, more difficult still. Right now, I fly, like a five-year-old paints.
The other day there was a seminar being held at Key Air. An expert talked about some facet of flying. These folks appeared to all be seasoned pilots to me, and yet, here they were, using up valuable Saturday time, listening to somebody talk about flying technique. This is one of the things I find so interesting about flying. It can practically be done by a monkey. But, you can fly all your life, and still have things to learn and refine.
The Dream of Flight, Part 3--
For the past two nights, I've had vivid flying dreams that lasted a long time. Not in airplanes, these were my standard levitation dreams. But in the past, when someone was there to witness my ability to fly around, I could rarely do it. In these dreams, I was able to float around for all the world to see.
Flying Postponed--
Tomorrow was supposed to be my first flight lesson. Unfortunately, the aircraft won't be available all week. That is one of the nice things about doing part of your training in a sim, you never have to worry about weather or mechanical issues. So instead of flying this afternoon, I'm going fliming again. I can't wait! Also, Ground School lessons start tonight! Stay tuned.
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