Hold on!

Ironically, lousy weather kept me from doing instrument training lately. Finally got a nice clear day, and a clear (albeit somewhat bumpy) night.

I mentioned to Kent that I wanted to work on more accurate trimming, so we did. The trick is to pitch the plane by hand until it is stable, then trim off any pressures. Doing it this way, you can basically get the plane properly trimmed (even after a major power/configuration change) in about 20 seconds. This helped a lot, not just for trimming, but to be able to better feel the plane. Then some stalls, unusual attitudes, constant airspeed climbs and descents, and VOR tracking.

Next I was told to hold south on the 180 radial of the Fillmore (FIM) VOR. I had to weed out the entry method (parallel) on the way there. Flying it was pretty easy, as I’ve done it several times on my simulator. A few more tries and I should have the entries nailed. Then I just have to work on compensating for wind, and I’ll be all set. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

Try to hook the ILS on the way back, but we came in too high and too close to the runway. By the time we caught the glideslope, I was at the DH (decision height) already. Made a descent landing, and taxied home. Felt pretty good about this lesson – I’m really beginning to feel the plane.