Preparation for the solo
The Video above tells most of the story, after 18 flying lessons and nearly 100 landings the day finally came for me to fly solo. The night before I did a flight with about 12 landings, and they were going really well. My instructor Patti didn't need to do anything on these landings, in fact she even made me count the landings too :) If it wasn't for the fact that it was windy and the sun was setting then I probably could have done my solo that night.
So I booked the plane for the next day, an early start with an 8am flight. I got up early the next day and was dissapointed to see the sky was overcast with the fog that had moved in from the bay. The forecast was good however, the fog would burn away over the next few hours, in fact by the time I left home the sky was pretty much clear over San Jose and the fog was moving and burning away towards the north. It was just a matter of waiting for the sky to clear up.
On arrival at Palo Alto I pre-flighted Cessna 24351, everything looked good, I added some fuel and I was ready. Just needed to wait for the sky to clear up a little. Patti met me at the airport and while the sky above looked like 'few' clouds, the ATIS was a little out of date and still said scattered at 1100ft. Patti called in a favor at ATC and managed to get a special ATIS with the current weather which represented the few clouds we could actually see.
Time to jump in the plane and go. As I went through the checklist and started the engine something was wrong. The Ammeter was showing a negative current which meant that the battery was discharging. This could only mean one thing. The alternator on the engine was faulty. If we flew the plane like this then the battery would go flat, the lights, flaps and radios would stop working, and this is clearly not an airworthy condition.
At this point I was wondering if today could be the day for my solo. The weather was against me earlier in the day, and now the plane is not working. This plane is the one I have been flying the most during my training and the one plane I knew the most. On further inspection I found a loose bolt on the alternator which meant the unit was falling apart.
The only solution was to swap planes. I went into the office and picked up the keys for Cessna 67398. This light blue plane was the first one I ever flew (see my first blog entry), and I'd only flown it once since then (which was last night). I was lucky I had flown it the night before as it flew very differently to 24351. Firstly the idle is faster, which means it keeps more speed during the landing, and secondly the rudder pedals are much lighter and more sensitive. They may sound like small things, but they make a big difference on takeoff and landing.
The flight
After another pre-flight 67398 was on top form and had enough fuel in for the solo. We got up in the air and went round the pattern a couple of times with my instructor to check I could still land. The weather was good, quite light winds and the sky was now completely clear.
First landing was good, safe, smooth, down the middle and maybe a little flat. The second landing was great, a nice nose up flare with the rear wheels touching down first, and holding the nose for a couple of seconds before it dropped. After doing the post landing checks Patti asked me to radio the tower to request a stop at the bench to let the instructor out. This is when the meaning of 'solo' really hit home. Patti jumped out, and I radioed to the tower that I was ready to continue.First solo take off
After getting "Cleared to takeoff" I opened the throttle, accelerated down the runway and pulled back like the 98 times I'd done it before.
Everything was going well until I got in the air, at that point there's no going back! I had the sudden realisation that I was completely on my own, and there was no one there to help me with the landing. It sounds obvious I know, but you can't describe the feeling unless you experience it for yourself. Even if I radioed the tower to ask them to help me land, there's nothing they could do! I was more nervous than I expected I would be.I continued the upwind, turned 10 degrees right for noise abatement, turned crosswind at 500ft etc etc. I'd done this so many times now that I was on autopilot. The plane felt strangely quiet, almost lonely in fact. The weight balance of the plane was different, heavier on my side of the plane and a little quicker to accelerate and climb.
At key position it was time to reduce the throttle to 1700, add carb heat, drop the first flaps. During the rest of the downwind, base and approach my concentration level was high and everything was going to plan. My approach was probably a little on the fast side, closer to 70 kts than 65 (I was being cautious). As I reached the runway I eased the power back and patiency levelled off before pulling back to a flare and a nice landing. I did it! I'd done my first solo take off and landing. You should have seen the smile on my face, it was as big as it had been the first time I flew :) All that was left to do was to wave at the audience (Patti my instructor, and Julia another student who luckily was there to take photos), and continue on to the next two take offs and landings.
The next couple of times round the pattern were easier. I was less nervous, I was getting used to how the plane felt, and I was busy concentrating on the other aircraft in the pattern. Unfortunately I picked a day with a lot of helicopter activity, and this can be quite distracting for two reasons. Firstly I like helicopters, and secondly they fly a different pattern which makes them difficult to look out for. Also I had to extend my downwind on one or two of the other landings due to other traffic. This is normal for a pattern at Palo Alto, but it distracts a little from the landing. The next two landings were reasonable, again I was going a little fast, and I probably didn't flare enough which meant they were quite flat. The extra speed and the faster idle on '398 meant that I used more of the runway and went pretty much to the end each time.Solo complete
With the third landing done, the tower reminded me to terminate my flight and taxi back to west valley. I did it! After all the practice practice practice I flew my own pattern at Palo Alto, and landed the plane myself. I taxied back to the tie down and west valley and met with Patti and Julia for some photos!Next steps
The next task on the learning to fly is to do a Phase Check with another instructor. This will check out my skills and knowledge to confirm I am suitably trained to do my solo flights. Beyond that I need to learn cross-country flying and night flying and get 20 hours of solo time before I take the FAA written exam and the FAA Check Ride to get my Private Pilots License.
Post flight briefing
Part of the celebration of a first solo includes a new t-shirt from West Valley Flying club with "Solo" on the back, and your name on the white board. All in all even though there were a few challenges at the start of the day, the solo went really well and I was on a high for the rest of the day!
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