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Contents:


Kelly Learned
1. I learn something EVERY time I go up. Even if it's just T&G's, I always learn something.
2. It is absolutely SHOCKING how little I really knew when I first got my ticket. Some is a result of flying in the LA Basin, but most is the same for anywhere.
3. It is a real effort to keep yourself from getting too comfortable (read: complacent) in the plane.
4. The difficulty of landings is directly proportional to the number of pilots watching. A bad one with one in the plane, and a terrible bouncer with 10 watching stand out.
5. The plane will fly fine when the window pops open. Fly the plane.
6. Turn off the GPS every now and then (or more) to keep you interested in other forms of navigation. They're great, but can make you lazy.
7. ANR headsets are worth the money.
8. Judgment is everything.
9. Checklists should get longer, not shorter.

Women vs. Men
--Flight management errors by women leading to accidents occur 80 percent of the time.
--Flight management errors by men leading to accidents occur 48 percent of the time.
--Decision making accidents related to weather or aircraft capability occur to men 29 percent of the time
--Decision making accidents related to weather or aircraft capability occur to women 19 percent of the time.
--Failure to pay attention relates to 32 percent of accidents by men.
--Failure to pay attention relates to 19 percent of accidents by women.
--With age, accidents by men decrease in frequency.
--Men will fly into bad weather more often than women.

Side Note:
By the second year, hand dominance appears. Aircraft are equipped to do things equally well both left and right but American aircraft do things easier to the left. The rest of the world is right handed from scissors, tools, guns, phones, serrated knives, power mowers, binders, desks, keyboards, screws, and knobs. On average, right-handers do live eight months longer than left-handers. Average age difference 66 years to 75 years. Life is not fair.  Gene is left handed.

Training Advice
Usually you are relearning prior material. By flying twice a week the process  is better and less expensive overall.

Plan to take a lesson with another instructor. You will learn better by being able to compare instructors. Even learning a negative is beneficial.

Plan to take a lesson in a different type and perhaps a more powerful aircraft. This will give you an idea of how your instruction in a trainer is preparing you for the real world.

Get some tail wheel time, glider time, and aerobatic time. You will learn things about the rudder, ground effect, and aircraft performance you never believed possible.

Work on your taxiing skills. Follow the yellow lines.

Different airplanes land differently. Learn to use different sight lines as required by different airplanes.

Learn to land with and without flaps as well as slipping in different configurations.

Good or Lucky?
There are three classes of students that I have distinguished in many years of classroom teaching. There are students who make things happen, students who watch thing happen and finally those students who wonder what happened.

Good pilots seem to know what to do even when they are unsure of the problem. Just luck? Perhaps. I have had one abrupt engine failure in over 10,000 hours now and my pulling the mixture out 9/10 of the way caused the engine to restart. Lucky, yes. I had resigned myself to landing in the trees at 800' but I was still trying to make things happen to my best advantage. Only in 1998 did I find that the engine problem was probably the result of the carburetor float sticking so as to flood the engine to the point of stoppage. Leaning cut off the fuel to the point where the engine restarted. I'll never know how the float became free, but it did.

I have watched pilots freeze up on the controls during landings, especially crosswind landings. The plane begins to drift with the wind and the pilot makes no move to resolve the problem, just going along for the ride. Doing something is always the best option when things go wrong. Even doing the wrong thing may aggravate the problem sufficient to get your attention to do something. Being timid in use of aircraft controls is just a prelude to an accident. Letting things happen is always a poorer option than making things happen.

The FAA in its 20/20 hindsight analysis of pilot actions up to the point of an accident can always find the chain of wrong decisions as probable cause. Occasionally, a pilot will be commended for a belated action that reduced the number of fatalities or the amount of damage. You should be so lucky when (if) your turn comes

Making Flying Less Expensive
--Fly in an older aircraft
--Fly out of an airport not putting local taxes on fuel prices; the smaller the better.
--Once you find a place you like, buy your flight time in prepaid blocks.
--Learn to fly between October and March. Planes will be more available and you get weather experience.
-- Buy your own fuel by renting the aircraft 'dry'. You will learn to conserve fuel and refuel for less.
--Join a flying club or a shared aircraft.
--Working for your flight time will teach you much more than you are worth.

Finding the Time to Learn
--Make a time allotment study for a week and see what you will need to give-up.
--Take charge of your time allotments to maximize aviation time.
--Find a way to reduce the time needed for routine life matters such as laundry and food preparation.
--Eliminate those activities that are not giving you time for your flying commitment.
--Those you care for must support your commitment.
--Plan how you will proceed using time, money and frequency.
--Accumulate money first, select your CFI/FBO; have extra time before and after each lesson.
--Work with your CFI toward a program with sufficient frequency to assure efficient progress.
--Share a programmed syllabus so you can prepare for each lesson properly.
--Anticipate weather or aircraft delays and always have an alternate lesson in reserve.
--One way to prove mastery of what you have studies is by teaching it to another student.
--Chinese proverb: To teach is to learn twice.
--Know that the cockpit is a very poor learning environment.
--Get an aircraft/instructor regular schedule that assures progress and success
--Be prepared before every flight to take advantage of the ground and flight time.
--Consider flying twice a day with study time between flights.
--Expect to hit several learning/progress plateaus. Do not be surprised or disheartened when it happens to you.
--Stay the course with the expectation that a diversion is a part of learning to fly. Fly a different plane.
--Use weather problems as an opportunity to practice minimum conditions flight.
--If it is not enjoyable, find out what you are doing wrong.
--Plan for at least 70 hours of flight time before the checkride.

Flight Bag
Rodney asked, "What should I put in my flight bag?"
Gene's response:
Excellent question. The longer you fly, the less you will find necessary. When I started as a student I would carry 25 pounds of gadgets, books, etc. Now I carry my headset, a tape recorder, extra tapes, sectional and area chart, hood, and my IFR plates if on IFR flight.

If you are not taping your ground and flight training you are missing a great deal that goes on. You will save money by replaying the tapes and taking notes. Carry extra rubber bands, pens, highlighter, and kitchen timer. A hikers emergency kit might be advisable if flying wilderness areas. Personally, I fly ifr (I follow roads)

For local flights with your instructor you will need your logbook, tape your medical/student license to the front cover. I hope you use a headset, the noise of a plane in the cockpit approaches 85 db. You should have flashlights for any flight with a chance of lasting past dusk. You should make a 6" x 18" plastic or masonite lap board. On the board list all airport, VOR, and universal frequencies that you have in your area. You should know these frequencies but having them helps. Ask your instructor for Tracon and Center frequencies as well. On this board have lists of V speeds, and basic radio procedures such as contacting Flight Watch, FSS, giving PIREPS,

Always dress for your flight as though you will need to walk home. Take something to eat and water. Carry
a 'leatherman' tool as well. A cell phone is nice to have. An A/FD is a nice to have booklet but you should learn
how to ask for much of that information as needed using the radio. Don't carry all your training books. If you have something you haven't used on several flights, other than the things mentioned above, start leaving things behind.
Hope this gives you some ideas. Gene

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