This evening we spent time talking instead of flying. The weather outlook was for thunderstorms so I gladly spent the time inside going over many things that he's required to teach.
We discussed a few things like the Chocks (used during parking) and radio procedures. I need to ensure that I'm on the right frequency on the right radio before transmitting. I also need to listen before transmitting. My transmissions need to be short and concise statements and not questions. Vocal inflections may make it harder for the other person to understand me.
We discussed the three elements of drag:
We talked about the power curve and the region of reverse command. I found this article to be quite beneficial to understanding the region.
My instructor presented a list of airspeeds which covered Vx (62kts) and Vy (72kts) with the flaps up. The landing approach speed I should fly is 70kts, which is within the range of the flaps up speed (65-75kts) and with 30 degrees of flaps (60-70kts). He also indicated that I should approach at 1.3Vso
We then discussed traffic patterns and how to enter and exit one. Entering the traffic pattern should be done at 45 degrees to downwind, midfield. Exiting should be done straight out, 45 degrees of crosswind or straight out downwind, all at pattern altitude for safety. He let me know a little trick, that is when turning from downwind to base, instead of looking back at the runway to judge the 45 degree angle to the airplane, to look 45 degrees across to the base/final turning point when abeam my landing point. That way I can just turn base when I'm abeam that spot. Also, with no wind, downwind/abeam to the downwind/base turn is about 15 seconds.
We discussed wind sheer, where air currents are passing one another withing 30 degrees and 7 kts, which creates a potential for the airplane to go from a headwind to a tailwind immediately and lose airspeed on approach or landing. We also discussed wake turbulence and how landing beyond a large aircraft's touchdown point or taking off before a large aircraft's rotation point helps to avoid it. Staying upwind or above a large aircraft is helpful. He told me a story where he saw a large airplane about 5 minutes ahead of him at the same altitude passing from left to right. He decided that 5 minutes should be long enough to avoid the wake turbulence according to textbook explanations. He flew through it and it had a big affect on the airplane's roll, so he said it would be better to fly over that airplane's path to avoid it completely.
Next, we talked about flicker. I never knew what it was but it makes sense. The frequency of the airplane propeller passing in front of the eyes (interfering with light or reflecting it) may cause sleepiness. Another sign of sleepiness is carbon monoxide which should be checked by viewing the fingernails for pinkness.
The three closest hard surface airports are Clearview, York and Frederick.
I am scheduled for the following training days: