Hard Subjects!

Recently i have been going over all my study notes and i am still finding some subjects very hard to understand. Usually it is subjects such as weather, regulations and certain areas of aerodynamics. Here is a list of subjects i dont understand.

High pressures and low pressures. What does this mean?

Angle of Attack.

Induced Drag and Parasite Drag.

The Turn Co-ordinator.

Different  Airspaces.

Sectional Charts.

These subjects are the one’s i find very hard to understand. I have gone back and watched all my Sportys DVD’s atleats 3 times and i am still struggling to register these subjects.  I have just over 9 weeks to prepare for my written FAA test and now i am starting to feel the pressure.  I believe i can do this!

I did it!

Today i have achieved something i have been working on for many months. I passed my Driving Test! I started learning to drive back in March just as i was starting to earn a fairly good wage. At first i thought driving was not something i would be good at, but i stuck it out because i knew i would need to drive to enable me to do bigger and better things. On April 26th i took my Theory test, i passed first time with a 95% passrate. After passing my Theory i have been working to get my driving to almost perfect. On October 1st 2010 i had been very very nervous about my practical test. I made sure i was really ready so i took a 2 hour lesson just before my Driving Test. All my hard work really payed off with only getting 3 driving faults out of a possible 15. I am really chuffed with myself and i am now starting to see a bright future. I have one more goal before i am 21 and i am now starting to feel more and more confident about it as i write this blog. My last goal is to become a Private Pilot!

My Holiday

Im Back! Some of you may of thought i had given up on my blog and pilot adventures. Well theres one thing for sure, I will never do that. So the last couple of weeks i have been enjoying a long awaited holiday at Stafford Moor Fishery in Devon, England. I had a very relaxing time, im not so much a fisherman so i did spend most of the time studying in the log cabin i was staying in.

I will bring you an update of what i have learnt within the next 24 hours, because there is alot of information.

Metars & Tafs

This weekend i have been refreshing my knowlegde on Metars & Tafs. Whilst in America in 2008 i had been taught how to decode Metars & Tafs, but i needed to refresh my knowledge and it has all slipped back into place.

Here is a Metar of Renton and a TAF of Bristol from earlier on today.

Metar: KRNT  051853Z  18006KT  9SM  BKN039  OVC065  16/08  A3016  RMK AO2  SLP219  T01610083

TAF EGGD 051658Z 0518/0618 11013KT 9999 SCT045
      TEMPO 0518/0609 8000 PROB30
      TEMPO 0518/0607 11015G25KT
      TEMPO 0607/0618 11018G28KT
      BECMG 0609/0612 7000 RA
      TEMPO 0613/0617 4000 +RA PROB30
      TEMPO 0614/0618 BKN010

It may seem like a lot of jumbled up letters and numbers, but its actually a vital resource for pilots. I can fully understand Metars, but i am still needing more study on TAFS.

P-Factor And Stalls

So yesterday i was informed that would have to take an endorsement test in order to take my written test in December. I will require a pass rate of 80% for the flying school to endorse me as a student pilot. Once i have passed the endorsement test, i can then move on to my written test, a challenge i am willing to undertake. So today i have been learning about Stalls and the P-factor. The P-Factor is a subject i will need to go over again because i am struggling to get my head around the Decending blade and Ascending blade, but i did not struggle to understand the left turning tendency on most aircraft. Stalls however are a very good subject. I learnt that you can stall at any altitude, any power setting and any airspeed. Also the higher the load factor = the higher the stall speed. I managed to score a pass rate of 87% on my Sporty’s what you should know DVD’s, But lets not get to confident because there is still alot to learn.

FS Training

So today i have been juggling the day about, having worked 8 – 4 i have struggled to find time to get some study in. I did manage to fit it in though and i decided to test my knowledge on my Flight Simulator. The plan of action was to practice some stalls on my FS but that soon ended in dismay.  I have a typical joystick. It’s ok for gaming sims of fast planes, but for accurate simming of a real plane like the C172, it sucks. For smooth precision maneuvers the scene would shake around violently. I was really disappointed, because it would really be nice to practice everything I’m learning at home on my desktop.

Then i figured that the best way to learn is to get out in the real thing. For now i will continue to study with my DVD’s and useful textbooks. Tommorows plan is to study all different types of weather and atmospheric pressure because i feel these are the topics i will need to study over and over again untill it actually sinks in.

Volume 1 Test

I had my first Sportys test on the computer. The tests don’t really count towards anything except to help me prepare for the FAA exam. But either way, It consisted of 22 questions, I passed with an 90%. It was basic subjects such as Communications, Taxi (Run-up, Traffic Patterns), Engine TLC Etc. Really pleased with myself and it has given me that extra bit of determination. Tommorow i will take the Volume 2 test and see how i get on. I also learnt something new today which i always found hard to remember 2 years ago.

The 4 W’s

Who are you calling?

Who are you?

Where are you?

What do you want?

So for example if i was speaking to Renton Traffic, I would address them in these terms, “Renton traffic, cessna 1538 Victor, holding short runway 15, departing to the north, Renton traffic”

I cant wait to test this knowledge when im airbourne in December

Seattle 2008

I visited seattle back in 2008 as a break and as a learning trip. I managed to shoot some video while going flying with my uncle. This footage is what inspired me to become a private pilot.

Enjoy

Getting Started

So its official, I am starting my studying to become a private pilot. On Tuesday night i decided to crack open my ASA complete privite pilot book.

So far it has been very good. I keep going over certain areas such as ”Drag” because it takes a while to register, Apart from that i am getting on very well with the studying. I have “sportys private pilot” DVD collection which i find very helpfull. I watch one DVD everyday.

This Christmas i willl be taking my written exam in Seattle, Washington so i will need all the studying i can get.

So it begins!

This is the first post of what will hopefully be many. I’m someone who’s decided to get my private pilots license. Why? I have always wanted to be a pilot, My uncle has been kind enough to offer me so much tuition to get me off the ground. 

It seems fair that I’ll blog my progress as well and maybe help someone else. Maybe no one other than I will ever see this, but its here if someone should stumble upon it.
This is just for what you think it’s for… pilot stuff. If you want to know something ask. Maybe I’ll answer, maybe I won’t.