T-Flight Experience
Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 8:20 pmI just got back from OSH yesterday after spending some quality time in the company Waiex as part of the T-Flight program. What a great experience before my own first flight! Joe Norris was a good and patient instructor, and helped me get my insurance-company-required 5 hours of Sonex tailwheel time... all in ONE day!
We budgeted 3 days, but day 1 was windy, gusty and not a good day for flying. Day 2 was supposed to be cloudy, light winds, but rain late in the day. Day 3 was forecast to be IFR. Hmmm... not good.
So on Day 1 we covered all the ground training and called it a day. We got an 8am start on Day 2. It was hazy with overcast varying between 2,000' and 7,000' depending on where you were. We got in all the basic flight maneuvers in the first sortie, then returned for several landings on runway 9. Got gas, then went right back up for sortie #2. Burned some holes in the sky, saw LOTS of farmland, checked the progress on local road projects, and then returned for a LOT of landings. Stopped for gas and lunch, then right back up for sortie #3. By now the weather was still VFR, but got skunky enough we opted to return to the OSH pattern and do a LOT of landings.
Finished up the requisite 5 hours in 3 sorties in 1 day. That's a lot time in a small cockpit! We returned to the Sonex hangar after the last sortie, went inside, and by the time we came out it was raining lightly. 15 minutes after I drove off, the airport went IFR and remained that way through the next day. Now THAT'S timing!
Many thanks to Joe for hanging in there for a long but productive day! The stick time did wonders for my confidence and I feel really good now about making that first flight... hopefully really soon (gotta' finish the canopy and hang the prop)! If you can make it out to OSH, I highly recommend the T-Flight program!
Oh, and with two 200 lb guys and about 9 or 10 gallons of fuel, the Aerovee did a marvelous job. It felt quite peppy and climbed out great. I feel even better about my Aerovee decision after all this.
Mike Smith
#439
We budgeted 3 days, but day 1 was windy, gusty and not a good day for flying. Day 2 was supposed to be cloudy, light winds, but rain late in the day. Day 3 was forecast to be IFR. Hmmm... not good.
So on Day 1 we covered all the ground training and called it a day. We got an 8am start on Day 2. It was hazy with overcast varying between 2,000' and 7,000' depending on where you were. We got in all the basic flight maneuvers in the first sortie, then returned for several landings on runway 9. Got gas, then went right back up for sortie #2. Burned some holes in the sky, saw LOTS of farmland, checked the progress on local road projects, and then returned for a LOT of landings. Stopped for gas and lunch, then right back up for sortie #3. By now the weather was still VFR, but got skunky enough we opted to return to the OSH pattern and do a LOT of landings.
Finished up the requisite 5 hours in 3 sorties in 1 day. That's a lot time in a small cockpit! We returned to the Sonex hangar after the last sortie, went inside, and by the time we came out it was raining lightly. 15 minutes after I drove off, the airport went IFR and remained that way through the next day. Now THAT'S timing!
Many thanks to Joe for hanging in there for a long but productive day! The stick time did wonders for my confidence and I feel really good now about making that first flight... hopefully really soon (gotta' finish the canopy and hang the prop)! If you can make it out to OSH, I highly recommend the T-Flight program!
Oh, and with two 200 lb guys and about 9 or 10 gallons of fuel, the Aerovee did a marvelous job. It felt quite peppy and climbed out great. I feel even better about my Aerovee decision after all this.
Mike Smith
#439