Wings on High.

3rd Flight

Got .7 hrs today in a Cessna 172N.  I got to the FBO at Crest Field half hour late after I put it into my calendar wrong (Smartphones rock, but don’t account for human err).  So I get there, chat with my CFI for a bit, as he’s someone I’ve met a few times but hadn’t taken instruction from until today, and we go over what I’ve flown so far, how familiar I am with a plane, etc.  I explained I’d been up a couple of times in a Diamond DA-40, which is a very different beast, but I got used to flight handling, landing, takeoff, etc.

We walked across the field to the classroom (a room in one of the hangars), and went over the pattern.  I knew enough about pattern operations from the Sporty’s videos and my own research that I wasn’t starting from scratch, but it was definitely good to be taught.  We went through the profiles, altitudes, the legs of the pattern, and general procedures, and then he said “Oh, by the way, I drew a right-turn profile, but Crest is a left-turn field.”  This was actually good, because it gave me a chance to draw it all out again myself, but mirrored, so I could solidify it a bit more.  No complaints.

So we go out and do the preflight.  Now, I should say that I’ve never been a fan of the premise that you dump your sampled fuel onto the ground.  With the Diamonds, we poured it back into the fuel tank because it’s a low-wing, and has easy access.  Maybe I’m an environmentalist at heart, maybe gas costs keep me conserving, or maybe I’ve just been in the northwest too long, but that just seems wasteful and polluting to me.  Nevertheless, we did.  For all three samples.  I groaned a bit internally every time…  I’ve heard some FBOs have gas cans around to dump the samples into, so I’ll try and nudge them in that direction.  Anyway, we do the walkaround of the plane, and after looking in the plane and examining the exterior, it’s very obvious that it was a ..uh.. well used plane, and had seen more than a couple of flights.  As we’re looking over the prop, we find a big ole hole in the cowl right behind the prop on the top right side of the engine compartment!  I should have taken a picture…  It was probably about 1/4″ wide, and when we stuck the wire from the fuel sump into it to see if it was corroded, some rust starts falling out, and the hole gets bigger!  Definitely confidence inspiring!  There were scratch marks around it all going in the same direction, the way a rock looks after it gets run over by a lawnmower?  So he figures that a mower went by and kicked up a rock at some point that hit the cowling.  In the end, we took note, and decided it wasn’t a problem. 

We do the preflight, get inside, go through the checklist, and walk through what the wind is doing, which way we’re taking off, and what I’m going to do as we work through the pattern.

First off, the cab of the Cessna is way narrower than the Diamond I was in.  So it felt like I was looking through a funhouse mirror, combined with my CFI being pretty scrunched in next to me, even though neither of us are big guys.  Second, the instruments were all steam,(rather than the all-glass G1000), which I don’t mind because I need to learn to fly by both types, but the panel was (also) pretty well used.  And finally, inside the plane smelled an awful lot like dirty socks.  Either it was really bad and nobody notices but me (or they don’t say anything), or I’m starting to think I was pretty spoiled for those few hours in the Diamond.   

I did some taxiing for a while to get used to the feel of it, then we went down the ramp and did the runup.  Checked the mags, looked good, ran the final control check, felt good, so my CFI made the call (he wanted to this time, I missed it.), and we went for takeoff.  As we taxiied from the hold-short line, we never stopped again before takeoff.  This was a bit nervewracking, as the other two flights I’ve taken (plus most every commercial flight I’ve taken) we went onto the runway, stopped for a moment, and went full throttle.  I think I like making a stop to get your mental sh*t together before pushing the throttle, but maybe I’ll need to make that mental moment at the hold-short line.  (Any input here would be appreciated).

During takeoff, I staggered around on the runway as we got some speed, I’m looking forward to the day that it’s a nice straight line.  But I get up in the air, and WOW is that bird different to fly.  It’s a yoke, so there’s that to consider (flight stick on the Diamond’s), but mainly I found it was sloppier to hold on to, and although coordinated turning itself was easier, getting the rudders to do what I wanted was more of a challenge.  But we get up, hit about 1500 on the altimeter, and then take a look at a rainstorm we’re going straight into.  Instead of hitting the pattern at Crest, we flew out a couple miles and went into the pattern at Auburn for some practice runs.  I had a hard time making out where the field was, because it was right in an industrial complex, and next to the freeway.  So he points and says “See the runway?” and I’m looking at the freeway.  That’s a problem waiting to happen.  Fortunately he pointed out the correct one to me, so no trouble there.  We join the pattern at crosswind, and go through the procedures with the carb heat (a new practice for me, since the Diamond was fuel injected), flaps, and throttle.  We did two touch and go’s through the pattern.  It kind of freaked me out, since he essentially aimed the nose at the runway on the approach until right before touchdown when he flared, and I’m more used to a gliding descent in with the nose up.  It may very well just be my perception, but I’m not yet accustomed to pointing my airplane towards the runway at 500′ up.  (Again – any input here would be appreciated). 

A couple rounds through the pattern, and we head back to Crest.  For some reason, he decided that he should land at Crest because I hadn’t before, although he had no problem with my landing at Auburn.  Maybe the runways are different?  Or there’s different handling?  In any case, he took the controls, and I just felt them as he brought it in.  He did a nice job touching down, although there was certainly a bit of turbulence like we’d been feeling all morning, so no reflection on him.

All in all, I don’t think I like the plane – I mean the 172 in general, not just this one.  I’m going to keep flying it though, for a number of reasons.  First, because it’s cheap (although I probably spend the difference in gas getting down there); also because it probably won’t be the last Cessna I try and fly in my piloting career; but when it comes down to it, I’m learning to be comfortable with flight right now, not comfortable with my seat or the look of the instrument panel.  I intend to fly a lot of planes for an awful long time.  So if I fly something atrocious right now, it will just make anything else seem that much better, and make for some stories down the road. 

I didn’t take any pictures of the flight this time round, because it was just me and the CFI, and I was a bit busy learning to fly.  But after I got back to my office this afternoon, I needed to head into downtown Seattle.  I discovered that one of the highways was closed, because of a Blue Angels show.  I had to hit another bridge to make it over, but it was a parking lot.  I soon discovered why – the show was happening right over us.  As I’m sitting in my car on the highway, I see the blue smoke wafting over, and then a jet makes an immelman right over my head.  I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera when they all fly straight overhead in formation.  I kicked myself a bit harder after that.  I was able to snap one which I’ll put up, but it wasn’t nearly as spectacular!  Although I probably shouldn’t have taken my life in my hands with a camera on the highway anyway… but we were parked, so it’s ok, right?