Skyhawk Solo

Flew a bit on Saturday. Took the Skyhawk up and flew around Solberg for a bit - mostly just patternwork, but I also took it on a trip around Round Valley Reservoir, just to play around with the procedure for leaning the mixture. Let's face it: using an Exhaust Gas Temperature gauge is very different than how you lean a 152 (which has no EGT gauge).

Anyway, that flight gave me a little more insight into how the plane handles. I've only ever flown in a Skyhawk with an instructor before, which is great, but half the time I'm busy listening to what "that guy in the right seat" is telling me. That means I'm not spending as much time listening to what the plane is telling me.

What'd the plane tell me on Saturday? That it's used to carrying a heavier load!

See, I think I overshot pattern altitude just about every time I went around the pattern - that plane just wanted to keep climbing. Then, on base, what seemed like a reasonable distance to turn final always, without fail, was too close and I was too high. Plus, because of that darn placard next to the flap switch ("Avoid slips with flaps extended"), I was afraid to slip to get the plane down (checked the manual when I got home -- turns out the reason to avoid slips is because it can cause elevator oscillations. But the slips aren't prohibited, so that tool's still in the kit)!

Consequently, my landings were not nearly as precise as I wanted them to be. More practice is needed.

But it was a beautiful day, with a little bit of wind to practice in, and I felt really good about the day overall. Part of that may be related to the fact that it was my first solo flight in a very, very long time. That was a big confidence-booster.