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Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 11:59:57 -0600
From: Snowbird <snbird@ibm.net>
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Subject: Re: Solo skills question
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Alasoosa wrote:

> I have been flying solo for about 6 hours now and still can't get 
> comfortable flying alone.  My instructor wants me to go to the 
> practice area and work on my skills.  I have gone out once and got 
> really nervous.  So I returned and landed.  Has anyone else > experienced this? 

I think it is partly an hours thing.  I had a lot of hours, including
time in the right seat and acro experience, before I soloed.  So I
felt really pretty comfortable, even on my first solo (not to say I'm
a good pilot, but I'm comfortable).  I've heard this from other 'late
solo-ers'.  So comfort may come with time and experience.  But how to
get the experience if you're nervous, a catch-22, I guess, huh?

Kind of depends on why you're nervous.  Are you nervous about doing
the maneuvers -- that something might go wrong and your CFI isn't
there to save you?  Is your CFI a "hands off" kind of guy?  If not,
it might help you to fly a session with another CFI who *is* strictly
hands off, and will let you make mistakes and solve them yourself.

If you're already flying with such a guy, it might help you to stretch
your envelope -- go out with your CFI and do uncoordinated stalls and
falling leafs and 60 degree banks or wing-overs, if he's willing.  Or
hunt down an aerobatic instructor and do some basic acro and spin
training.  Then the 45 degree banks and coordinated stalls (recovered
immediately) which you do on your own might seem relaxing and peaceful.

Or, are you nervous about getting lost?  If so, maybe it would help
you to fly with some people who already have their PPL.  They fly,
you just spend your time looking at the chart and trying to pick out
exactly where you are as precisely as possible.  Don't follow a course-
line or use ded reckoning, the idea is to convince yourself you can
figure out where you are from the chart and the view out the window,
given an approximate idea ('we've flown west for 20 minutes into a bit
of a headwind so we're 30-40 miles west of the airport').  This takes
practice, and the more the better.  Don't know any pilots?  I bet a
note put up on the bulletin board in your FBO might produce some
takers, esp. if you can offer to buy lunch or chip in for fuel.

Or, maybe a session of "airport finding" with your CFI would be
beneficial; fly a short xc where you try to find and land at as
many airports as possible using strictly pilotage.  This will
really sharpen your chart reading and planning skills.

Are you concerned about forgetting something?  Do you have and
use written checklists?  I found written checklists a comfort
as a solo student, I could tick off my "approach" checklist and
say "yep, got everything".

Lastly, sometimes if you feel uncomfortable, there is a good
reason.  As a solo student I took off several times only to
encounter a front with low ceilings and high winds, appearing
hours ahead of forecast.  Or maybe you haven't flown for a while
and are rightfully cautious about your skills -- I can still tell
if I haven't flown for two weeks.

Good luck, and keep at it!
Snowbird

