Solo!!! (Part 1)

Lesson 20
9-6-12
1.2 hours logged
21.8 hours total recorded in logbook


I woke this morning to find the golden light of sunrise still tinting the trees. A low fog hung over the landscape but there was not a breath of wind. As the sun rose higher, a light breeze began to blow but it was only just enough to dissipate the fog.What a beautiful day for flying!

A beautiful day for flying!

So it was with a feeling mostly of anticipation but mingled with a little trepidation that I drove the well-worn route to good old HXF. Upon my arrival, I found Steve waiting and we went through the usual routine. I pre-flighted Cub 186, climbed aboard, and held the brakes while Steve spun the prop. He got in and we taxied to the end of 36 for our first takeoff. We put it through the paces of six takeoffs and landings. I think I made more good landings than bad ones and I am learning that some bad landings are not always entirely the pilot's fault. A gust of wind, a bump in the runway, or some other seemingly insignificant thing can quickly cause an otherwise good landing to go awry. No matter what happens though, it is always the pilot's responsibility to maintain control and recover safely and efficiently, using any number of available tools to accomplish this. I am in the process of learning what tools work best in different situations. It's all part of refining the landing technique and striving to become a better, safer pilot.

With takeoffs, I am learning to let the airplane fly itself off the runway by relaxing back pressure on the stick as it accelerates rather than trying to "pull" the plane off the ground. I was able to impress Steve with a few really good ones.

Then of course there are always the winds to deal with. While there wasn't a whole lot of wind today, what wind there was just had to be a crosswind to all runways. And there was enough to feel it on takeoff and landing I soon discovered!

Once as we flew the pattern, Steve pulled the power on me. No surprises this time. I knew exactly what to do! Well, nearly. As I pointed the nose for 36, the nearest runway, it was obvious we were way too high. Steve told me to slip it, so I did. I threw the Cub into the hardest left sideslip I dared and amazingly all that extra altitude quickly disappeared. Those sideslips feel a little strange but I actually kind of like them! Well that landing ended up not being the best but at least I got it down on the runway!

We came around for landing number six which was also somewhat less than ideal. As we rolled to a stop, Steve told me to taxi back to the end of the runway. At that moment, I began to sense something different was about to happen as this was not part of the usual touch-and-go routine I'd become accustomed to. And he hadn't told me to taxi back to the hangar as he would have if we were done for the day. No, something was different. But obediently I followed his instruction and without question turned around heading back toward the runway threshold. We'd gone only a short distance however when he told me to stop. Huh...? Why? The question was only just beginning to form in my mind when Steve spoke.

"Okay, Serena, I'm going to get out," he said. The next few sentences, though I heard them, were quickly forgotten as the full realization of what he'd just told me began to sink in. My initial thought was, You're going to let me go now? After a landing like that? He unbuckled his seatbelt, turned around and looked at me. Though my mouth was forming a  smile, my eyes were wide and my heartbeat had doubled I'm sure.

He climbed out. As if in answer to my unspoken question, "You're going to fly! Here's what I want you to do," he continued. "Taxi down to the end of the runway, do a normal takeoff, go around the pattern just like we've done and then come in and make one of those beautiful landings you've shown me before. If it doesn't look right, go around. I don't care if you make ten go-arounds before you finally land. Once you've landed, taxi back to the end of the runway, take a little breath, then takeoff again. And I want you to do three--three takeoffs, three landings." He held up three fingers. He told me he would have a radio so he could talk to me and showed me how I could talk to him if I needed to then asked if I had any questions. I only wanted to know about applying carburetor heat. In all of my lessons up to this point, that had been the responsibility of whoever sat in the front seat since it is much more easily reached from there, but Steve assured me I'd be able to reach it even from the back.

"Are you ready?" he asked. "I'm ready," I replied with all the confidence I could muster. But I knew I was indeed ready. As ready as I'd ever be. This is the goal I'd been working toward since I began my flight training truly in earnest four months ago.  I'd had almost a full ten days since my last lesson to prepare myself mentally. Over and over again during that time I'd tried to imagine what it would be like to fly alone. Here I was, about to find out.

"All right then! Bring my baby back. I'll be needing it again," Steve said giving the Cub an affectionate pat. He closed the lower half of the door and with one more reassuring smile, a high five, and a salute, he turned and walked away. I was on my own!