taken last december '06 at the airport, one of the airplanes he'd been flying.As some of you know, JJ had been training for the last few months to get his private pilot's license. Well, he finally reached an important milestone this evening... he flew the plane without his instructor on-board!!
...this was his story posted on his website!
JJ: The evening started out kinda dicey... there was a fairly constant 6-8 knots of wind out of the north (which is almost exactly perpendicular to the runway) when tonight's lesson started at 7pm. But in the air, flying was smooth as silk... almost no turbulence whatsoever. So we stayed in the pattern, did a few touch-and-goes, and around 8pm my instructor told me to go park the plane in front of the office... it was time! (yikes!)So we shut down, went inside to put our paperwork in order (endorsement in my log book and on my student cert.), he went and got the field radio so I could reach him if needed. And I went back out to get the plane ready to go.Finally around 8:25pm, got the Cessna 172R taxied back out to runway 28. Went through pre-takeoff checklist, was just about ready.... but just my luck, the airport got busy. To add to the suspense, I had to wait for two planes to land before it was my turn.By this time, the windsock was almost completely limp -- just a gentle breeze out of the north.The second plane did a touch-and-go, so I set the transponder to ALT, turned on the landing light and strobes, made my departure radio call, and started rolling out to the runway. On the centerline, one last check of flaps (up), engine instruments, fuel... everything set, full throttle. Just a touch of the right rudder to counter engine torque, 40 kts., forward pressure to keep the nose on the ground, 55 kts., there we go 60 kts. -- and into ground affect, build a bit of speed, then pitch to 79 kts. for best rate of climb.Everything going very well per the normal routine; I had already done this dozens of times... ha, feels like hundreds already. But this was just the beginning. Gotta remember my radio calls, and oh yeah, gotta watch out for that guy that took off before me... he was also staying in the pattern. Made the "climbing crosswind for runway 28, traffic in sight" call while turning left, keeping the pitch up for 79 kts. to get up pattern altitude (1900 ft. MSL).My instructor told me previously that flying solo is a bit different -- the plane is a bit more responsive with the reduced weight -- and I was seeing the affects now since I made it to pattern altitude during the left turn into the "downwind" leg of the pattern. Pitch down to level, reduce to 2100 RPM, and enjoy the ride... wow, quiet, don't have the instructor playing "Aviation Trivia Pursuit" with me or "breaking" the plane to see what I would do in an emergency. Just me and the nice smooth air. Oh yeah, and that guy ahead of me... oops, radio call time: "on downwind, #2 for runway 28".Mid-field on downwind, time to pull the power out to 1500 RPM, check speed less than 110 kts., and set 10 degrees of flaps to start decent. Traffic ahead is on base leg now... have to wait to make my turn to base after I pass him. Decent is holding at a steady 500 ft./minute, bleeding speed through 85 kts.. Just passed the other aircraft, so started left turn to base; time for the "turning base for runway 28" radio call.Double checked speed below 85 kts., set 20 degrees of flaps. Keeping an eye on the traffic that is now on final -- oops, looks like he's doing a go-around. Strange, perfect night... he must just be playing around. Ok, left turn for final approach, radio call time once again: "on final for runway 28, full stop".Ok, moment of truth... taking off and flying around is the easy part. If I can't get it back on the ground in one piece with the rubber side down, then nothing else matters much. I put in the last set of flaps (30 degrees), speed holding at 70 kts., started making adjustments to get lined up with the runway. Using small throttle adjustments to control the decent. Ok, I have the runway made, throttle back to idle... wee, now I'm a glider! Steady.... steady, small smooth adjustments, dang, sliding to the left kick in some right rudder! Ok, increase back pressure... more, more, MORE! There we go... in ground affect, now I'm just floating, keep that pressure coming back, stall horns start moaning as the angle of attack increases. The main gear make a "SCREECH" sound as they contact the runway, but dang, too much speed, the bounce pushed me back in the air! Ok, don't panic, keep the pressure back... there we go... slow it down, "SCREECH" again, but this time for good as the nose wheel settles to the ground. Slowly apply pressure on the brakes to get slowed down for the right turn onto the taxiway.Whew, I did it! "Clear the active runway 28" was the radio call, flaps up. I started the taxi back to 28 to do it all over again. After it was all said and done, four takeoffs followed by four landings, ranging from so-so to perfect. Other than the little bunny-hop on the first one, I was quite proud of the landings, but it didn't hurt that the winds had died down to practically nothing.Anyway, I still have a long way to go... but I feel like I finally have some momentum. I hope to have this all wrapped up by the end of summer... and then I'll be ready to do a little impulsive weekend traveling. Oh and BenFarteen, let me know when you are ready to try some barrel rolls... I know that's what you are waiting for!!
...this was his story posted on his website!
JJ: The evening started out kinda dicey... there was a fairly constant 6-8 knots of wind out of the north (which is almost exactly perpendicular to the runway) when tonight's lesson started at 7pm. But in the air, flying was smooth as silk... almost no turbulence whatsoever. So we stayed in the pattern, did a few touch-and-goes, and around 8pm my instructor told me to go park the plane in front of the office... it was time! (yikes!)So we shut down, went inside to put our paperwork in order (endorsement in my log book and on my student cert.), he went and got the field radio so I could reach him if needed. And I went back out to get the plane ready to go.Finally around 8:25pm, got the Cessna 172R taxied back out to runway 28. Went through pre-takeoff checklist, was just about ready.... but just my luck, the airport got busy. To add to the suspense, I had to wait for two planes to land before it was my turn.By this time, the windsock was almost completely limp -- just a gentle breeze out of the north.The second plane did a touch-and-go, so I set the transponder to ALT, turned on the landing light and strobes, made my departure radio call, and started rolling out to the runway. On the centerline, one last check of flaps (up), engine instruments, fuel... everything set, full throttle. Just a touch of the right rudder to counter engine torque, 40 kts., forward pressure to keep the nose on the ground, 55 kts., there we go 60 kts. -- and into ground affect, build a bit of speed, then pitch to 79 kts. for best rate of climb.Everything going very well per the normal routine; I had already done this dozens of times... ha, feels like hundreds already. But this was just the beginning. Gotta remember my radio calls, and oh yeah, gotta watch out for that guy that took off before me... he was also staying in the pattern. Made the "climbing crosswind for runway 28, traffic in sight" call while turning left, keeping the pitch up for 79 kts. to get up pattern altitude (1900 ft. MSL).My instructor told me previously that flying solo is a bit different -- the plane is a bit more responsive with the reduced weight -- and I was seeing the affects now since I made it to pattern altitude during the left turn into the "downwind" leg of the pattern. Pitch down to level, reduce to 2100 RPM, and enjoy the ride... wow, quiet, don't have the instructor playing "Aviation Trivia Pursuit" with me or "breaking" the plane to see what I would do in an emergency. Just me and the nice smooth air. Oh yeah, and that guy ahead of me... oops, radio call time: "on downwind, #2 for runway 28".Mid-field on downwind, time to pull the power out to 1500 RPM, check speed less than 110 kts., and set 10 degrees of flaps to start decent. Traffic ahead is on base leg now... have to wait to make my turn to base after I pass him. Decent is holding at a steady 500 ft./minute, bleeding speed through 85 kts.. Just passed the other aircraft, so started left turn to base; time for the "turning base for runway 28" radio call.Double checked speed below 85 kts., set 20 degrees of flaps. Keeping an eye on the traffic that is now on final -- oops, looks like he's doing a go-around. Strange, perfect night... he must just be playing around. Ok, left turn for final approach, radio call time once again: "on final for runway 28, full stop".Ok, moment of truth... taking off and flying around is the easy part. If I can't get it back on the ground in one piece with the rubber side down, then nothing else matters much. I put in the last set of flaps (30 degrees), speed holding at 70 kts., started making adjustments to get lined up with the runway. Using small throttle adjustments to control the decent. Ok, I have the runway made, throttle back to idle... wee, now I'm a glider! Steady.... steady, small smooth adjustments, dang, sliding to the left kick in some right rudder! Ok, increase back pressure... more, more, MORE! There we go... in ground affect, now I'm just floating, keep that pressure coming back, stall horns start moaning as the angle of attack increases. The main gear make a "SCREECH" sound as they contact the runway, but dang, too much speed, the bounce pushed me back in the air! Ok, don't panic, keep the pressure back... there we go... slow it down, "SCREECH" again, but this time for good as the nose wheel settles to the ground. Slowly apply pressure on the brakes to get slowed down for the right turn onto the taxiway.Whew, I did it! "Clear the active runway 28" was the radio call, flaps up. I started the taxi back to 28 to do it all over again. After it was all said and done, four takeoffs followed by four landings, ranging from so-so to perfect. Other than the little bunny-hop on the first one, I was quite proud of the landings, but it didn't hurt that the winds had died down to practically nothing.Anyway, I still have a long way to go... but I feel like I finally have some momentum. I hope to have this all wrapped up by the end of summer... and then I'll be ready to do a little impulsive weekend traveling. Oh and BenFarteen, let me know when you are ready to try some barrel rolls... I know that's what you are waiting for!!
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