JoeyMeatballs

So I went up yesterday in 172, first time in 2.5 years. I went up with an older CFI friend of mine. Well The pre-flight walk around was nice and quick Taxing was jerky and weird, the intercom was scratchy and loud, hard to hear the controllers, and found it difficult to answer back with the N# rather then "Jetlink". The T/O was not to bad, I rotated at 80kts and climbed out at about 90kts, with weak right rudder of course. On the T/O it was an awkward feeling, at one point in my life I felt like there wasnt anything I could do it a 172, yet here I was climbing out wondering if it was "safe". I forgot how unstable they can be and how the controls have so much play. I also remembered feeling very uncomfortable with the rudder pedals, they are extremely narrow down there. The turn to base & final weren't to bad, never got below 80 kts until short final and I was kinda high the whole approach. The flare of course I flared high, and its hard to remember that the wheels are underneath you, not behind you 50ft. I landed flat but wasn't too bad. After the 4th or 5th circuit around the pattern, I held centerline on T/O and departure with the appropriate amount of right rudder, and my landings were fine, actually pretty smooth. So I figured Id tell ya guys whats its like to go back to a 172, especially for those of you that haven't gone back in years. I went up for an hr and it was just over $100.00 If any of you guys have been thinking about, you have to do it, I remembered how much fun it was, and if anybody in NJ wants to go up for an hr and go get breakfast somewhere, PM me! nothing more funny to see then 2 airline guys in a 172

xkuzme1

Glad you went back to your roots.

I did all of my learning and CFI'ing part 61 at an airport that is about 1 mile from my house. I love that place. I still hang out there and I still drink all of my beer up there (private field for public use).

Check out my beloved Roosterville Airport. It states that the runway is 20' feet wide, but I have thousands of landings there, and I would say that it ain't a foot past 13. 50' obsticle at both ends, 2780 feet long, hanger party any time of the year. It is a great community of aviators.

It is also filled with OLD TWA pilots (MCI area). A LOT of them have been flying west lately, but I love talking with those guys about TWA's yesteryear. It very much reminds me of the book, Northstar Over My Shoulder, by Bob Buck.

http://www.airnav.com/airport/0N0

I stay current (small stuff) because I don't want to forget how it all started. I like my job, I like flying, I am proud of my chosen career, and I like to give back and be involved.

Welcome back. I would love to do some breakfest runs with ya if there wasn't 1000 miles between us. If your ever out at Roosterville, look me up.

Fellow Jetlinker

X

saab2000

When I converted my JAA licenses to FAA I did it at FlightSafety in Florida. We had to do 4 hours of "Unusual Attitude" stuff in a S/E Zlin acro plane. It was a blast. I was actually surprised at how easy it was to reaclimate to the smaller airplane. Part of it was the stick, which is so intuitive.

Anyway, sometimes I say that I don't give a crap about flying outside the job. That is mostly true. But other days I sorta wish I could go out for a trip somewhere. It is too expensive, but I wouldn't mind actually owning an airplane. And a hangar. Fly when I want.

Sounds like fun sometimes.

cyrcadian

A while back I rented a Seminole with a former student who at the time was trying to build multi time. As we were climbing out she said, "Uh, you gunna flying into that cloud or what?" Forgot about that VFR stuff.

And like you said, flaring at 50 feet does not have a pretty ending.

flynavyj

glad you had a good time saab, was looking through my logbook a few days ago and noticed that the last thing i flew (before the jet) was an hours worth of spins in a 152...

xkuz, so you were one of those 9 million radio calls i used to hear for "turning right base, roosterville"...I was a 9k4 boy...think they're RCM now...was kinda strange when that ole' 9k4 disappeared off the FMS database.

happy flying.

HSLD

Isn't that how most accident reports start out?

"Two highly experienced CFIs on a day VFR mission........."

xkuzme1

Yea that'd been me. I dont know how many times I had my square ass around that Roosterville pattern in a 150.

kansas

Thanks for sharing, Saab...helps to make us realize why we do this.

alpar80

Ive been wanting to but with my income it is hard to buy a 6 pack of PBR!

Timmay

It blew my mind when I was instructing at ERAU-PRC how many students had never done any flying outside of the school. I had a handful of commercial students who had over 100 hours and had never flown back home or anything. One student told me her mother wouldn't let her because she didn't feel that it would be a safe decision. I told them all they're missing out on so much fun, because while training can be fun, it's still training.

I came to the school with my private and about 100 hours of puttering around the Black Hills area of SD & WY, and that's some of my favorite times spent in a plane. I was so fortunate that the airport had a flying club that was uber-affordable even for a kid in high school. Fly-ins, pancake breakfasts, family gatherings, or just poking around the area looking out the window, I wouldn't trade that flying for anything. I hope, someday in my lifetime, I can fly a plane I call my own.

Thanks for the read, Saab.