Flight - 7/24/2010

I just got back from my Flight today. I flew up to AXH to get signed off to rent the Piper Cherokee 180 that Dutch Wings has. I had a blast flying the Cherokee. I can't wait to fly it again. After that, I headed over to LBX to get a $100 Lunch at the Windsock Grill located at the Airport. The Gried Shrimp is very good. Awesome place to eat. After that I Flew back home. Logged 1 hour in the Cherokee, and 2 hours in the Cessna 172.

Here are a few pics.

Flying tomorrow...

Tomorrow I'll be flying up to Houston Southwest Airport (AXH) to get signed off to fly a Piper Cherokee PA-28-180 from Dutch Wings. This will be my first flight in an Aircraft that is not a Cessna!

I'll try to take pics and vids tomorrow.

First Flight as a Private Pilot

So today I had the chance to head over to the Airport and take my First Flight as a Private Pilot! I invited my Brother to tag along, and it was also his first flight in any kind of Aircraft. Just a nice Local sightseeing Flight.


We departed Runway 13 at BYY and departed to the Northwest with the goal to find my Dad at work. We did so with no problem, and did a few Turns around the area to give my Brother the time to take a few pics.
After he got a few photos I waggled the wings and turns South. The plan was then to head to the Coast and fly along it. While headed South we Climbed up over the Clouds and went up to 4,000ft. While up there, my Brother asked... "Hey, is it normal to have a Rainbow around the Plane's shadow?" I told him it was a Pilot's Halo, and had him take a few pics. It did not come out all that well, but oh well. While headed South I looked at the GPS to see what the Ground speed was, as it felt horribly slow. It was showing 60-65kts of Groundspeed. A far cry from normal. So I turned east and descended back down below the Clouds in an attempt to gain speed. We started getting 75kts. When we reached the Coast, we turned east and started getting 95kts GS. We then turned North towards the Airport and flew over my House. We took some pics and turned back on course. We then turned west and flew over the place we used to work. Snapped a few pics and headed to the Airport. the Landing was made less graceful by a Crosswind, but I got her down nice and smooth.

Ok, here are some pics my Brother took. I'll have a video up soon as well.
Me and the plane...

Pilot's Halo...

Up with the Clouds...

Birds...

Passed the Checkride!

I'm proud to say that there is a new Private Pilot in the Skys over South Texas, and I'm him!!!

The Oral went fairly smooth, I messed up a few things but he was a really relaxed, forgiving, Examiner. The Oral seamed more like a glorified Ground School lesson. He did most of the talking (Not that I minded that lol).

The Flight went very well, other than I forgot to take the 10° Flaps out after the first Take Off. He just pointed, and I reached down put the flaps in. I expected he would fail me, or at least scold me, but he never said a word about it. The other maneuvers went well for the most part. I had to do a Go-Around after I was unable to get the 40° of flaps in. That impressed him that I had "The presence of mind to Go-Around, and not try to save the landing." I was thinking about why I could not get the last 10° of Flaps in, when it hit me. I was going to fast, and with Manual Flaps, I could not put in the last 10° of Flaps. Simple fix, came back in and nailed it.

Now I have my License to learn, and can start getting some "Real World Experience" as the Examiner said.

I'm also happy to say that I got my License at the minimum age required, of 17! Just 9 days before my 18th Birthday!