.9 Circuits in UOB

The thing about being a private pilot is that it takes conscious effort to keep up and keep current.  Unlike a commercial pilot, who stays current by the very nature of her job, flying privately requires dedicated time and money, both of which most people have in fairly short supply.

This month, with the kids gone for a week with their dad and the dog out of the house temporarily (long story, another blog post perhaps), my partner and I decided to commit a little of both (time and money) so that I could regain currency.

It's been well over a year since I've flown PIC, maybe even two years?  And with a few more important details to pay attention to, flying's a wee tad trickier than riding a bike!

A short flight CYOO to CYTZ earlier this summer... Look close -- see anything funny down by the water's edge?

Having been out of the game for so long, I was a bit stressed about who I might enlist to do my checkout.  I knew I'd likely need at least five hours in the A/C, possibly longer, and so I wanted to fly with an instructor with whom I'd be comfortable, someone who could handle my million questions, and who wouldn't judge!

After my initial plan to fly with someone I had known peripherally while still a student pilot at the flight school didn't pan out, I ended up doing an hour and a bit with a fellow fairly new to instructing.  He turned out to be great, really laid back, and surprisingly chill for a newer instructor.  He was also pretty quick to figure out my "high challenge/low threat threshold" (i.e. he knew when and how much to push me), and as a result, I gained the confidence to take control considerably sooner than I had anticipated.

​I had decided to return to flying in a 172; I'd been licensed in a Cessna 150, however, I figured if I ever wanted to take colleagues or friends flying,  a 4-seater might make more sense.  So, in addition to remembering how to fly, I would have to learn a few different attitudes and minor procedural changes.

It actually turned out to be a perfect day to get back into the swing of things: The weather report was predicting thunderstorms, and indeed, we could see the TC and impending rain from the apron.  So no one else was flying, which meant with the exception of a few Porter planes, the circuit was surprisingly light.  Perfect for a re-entry into flying!

(And as it turned out, in the five circuits we flew, there was no rain; the storms conveniently moved to the north and south of us.)

After an excruciatingly long pre-flight (walk-around,  etc. -- I'm super slow with that sort of thing), we finally found ourselves holding short of rwy 26.

At my request, the instructor did most of the first circuit, but after that, he pretty much turned it over to me, and soon I was doing touch and goes on my own, with minimal coaching (we did overshoot one; turns out a 172 doesn't drop out of the sky as easily as a 150, so I was quite high on approach before I got the hang of it).

But I remembered my downwind checks (I'd run them through the night before, with a little help from Tats), and managed to land safely, if somewhat "firmly"!

The Island in the fall, from downwind at 1250 ft.

Weather permitting, I will be back in the sky this weekend, this time flying away from the island, and out to the practice area, to refresh my upper airwork.

Better stop blogging, and start studying... power-on stall with flaps, anyone?!