Another First... should have thought about it that way

A picture I snapped after my first solo "lesson". Can you see the total bewilderment in my eyes? Look deep. Look hard.

Hello Person!

I had another lesson today. I use the word "lesson" loosely, as it was just me and the airplane this time. Though, I'm sure that in the future, referring to renting an airplane and flying it on my own as a "lesson", will come in handy, as it will remind me that what I should be doing is practicing, getting better at the art of flying, instead of just flying around.

Regardless, today was the first time I rented an airplane on my own, and was responsible for it from the time I ignited the engine to the time I turned it off.

It caught me by surprise, as I took off for the first time today, that I felt quite anxious. It was that feeling that I talk about in prior posts, of not feeling comfortable in the airplane, not being one with it. Kind of wishing that the lesson would be over. It shouldn't have surprised me though. I should know by now that these feelings will happen from time to time. Taking into account that it was a "first" for me, and that I hadn't flown in almost two weeks, and that it was only my second time flying an airplane on my own... I should have seen it coming.

On to the lesson though. Before Dispatch gave me the keys to the plane, they tested me thoroughly, making sure all my paperwork is in order and that I have all my performance calculations and weight & balance calculations in order. They also asked me some questions about emergency procedures and normal procedures, that in all honesty, I didn't answer as well as I thought I knew them. It's ok. It's part of the process I suppose, but it's something that I'll have to study and improve on for next time. Regardless, I answered the questions, or maybe corrected my answers, well enough that they gave me the keys to the airplane in the end.

For the flight itself, I decided I would just work on normal circuits today, just to acquaint myself and get used to flying on my own. I ended up only doing three circuits before I called it quits. This was due mainly to heavy traffic. After every circuit, I needed to wait in a line-up of airplanes waiting to take off, which cut into my flying time a whole bunch today. That fact, coupled with the fact that after three circuits, I felt like I had enough for today, resulted in me only being in the air for a half hour (0.5 hrs) today. Figuring that it was my first "lesson" alone today, I think it was the right call. I have another booking for Thursday, where I can hopefully fly some more, but for the first time doing this, I learned enough in that half hour.

In the second circuit that I flew, there was lots of traffic ahead of me in-line to land. When I got to the place where I usually turn for the base leg, I called the tower to tell them I'm turning base. The tower informed me that I will have to extend my down-wind, due to traffic ahead of me (on final approach). What they meant, was that I have to wait before my turn to base, in order to keep the right spacing. And so, I extended the down-wind far beyond the point where I usually turn to base. After about 30 seconds of extending the down-wind leg, I got permission to turn to base, and I did so. But when I tried to look out the window for the airport, I couldn't find it. Funny what a 30 second difference will do in an airplane.

I made sure not to panic at this point. I did know the relative direction the airport would be at, but I just couldn't spot it at the moment, and so I flew that direction. At the point the tower told me that I'm cleared to land, I decided to make the relatively embarrassing call to the tower. Paraphrasing, it went something like this:
Me: "Buttonville Tower, this is Romeo Foxtrot India, I'm a student pilot, and I can't find the airport."

At the moment I said that, I found the airport. It was to my right. I wasn't that far off the approach path of the runway, but I did need to adjust my heading, and make a slight right turn. This happened because I didn't fly the base-leg long enough. In other-words, I kind of cut a corner too short there.

By the time I realized all of this, the tower responded to me "Romeo Fox India, no worries, I see you there to the East of the airport, just make a slight right turn."

I responded that I found my bearings.

While the feeling of being "lost" was not a fun one to experience, it was still an experience. It would happen at some point. Better to happen sooner than later, I think. And it might still happen again, as I believe my weakest suite of piloting, is navigation. Just another thing to work on.

I'll mention that I also forgot to do my pre-landing check list because of the whole commotion. Not to worry though, I did it on final, and everything went smoothly. As stated above, all of my landings today were very smooth. I also made sure to thank the all-mighty tower person for his help, before I left his frequency.

Hopefully I get back to myself on Thursday. See you then.