07/06/2009 - "I'm not saying anything!"

On departure today, we were assigned Runway 4R. Normally, we've been given 4L for departure, but today I'm going to be departing from the same runway that the big jets use.

I taxied behind this Southwest 737, and it was pretty neat to be close behind such a large plane. Snapped a quick photo to commemorate the event.

Tom is very quiet. I took off, turned right to a heading of 180, and climbed to cruise without a word from Tom.

Tom told me to head south until we passed Bult Field. We began work on simulated emergencies; in other words, we practiced procedures that I will use in the event of an engine failure. Tom taught me "A, B, C", which means "Airspeed, Best Field, Checklist."

* Airspeed - As soon as the engine fails, I must immediately reach a best glide speed of 65 knots. The plane is going to slow down quickly, and before I can worry about restarting the engine, I have to set the plane up to cover the most ground distance while losing the least amount of altitude.

* Best Field - After trimming for 65 knots, I must search for a closeby open field that will permit an emergency landing. I am searching for a wide open space without power lines or any other obstructions. And it is helpful to do the emergency landing into the wind if at all possible. Once I have chosen a suitable field, I must begin circling that field with the intention of setting up to land on it.

* Checklist - The Emergency Checklist first concentrates on restarting the engine, and if the engine is not able to be restarted, the checklist requires me to turn off the fuel supply and prepare for the emergency landing. This includes tightening the seatbelts as securely as possible, and once landing is assured, unlatching the door so that if the plane is damaged in the emergency landing and the door frame bends, I will still be able to get out.

It's a little unnerving to practice emergencies, because Tom will suddenly pull the throttle to idle and I need to react. The most important thing that I learned about emergencies is that I have more time to set up for the emergency landing than I thought I would. If my engine fails at 3,000 feet, I'll probably have five minutes of airtime to pick an emergency landing field, troubleshoot the problem, and even call in the emergency to the emergency frequency, 121.5.

Tom told me to head to Bult. I turned to the north, and had trouble getting my bearings for a few minutes. Tom was once again very quiet. At last, I saw the field, and asked Tom if I should overfly the field at 2,300 feet to view the windsock. Once again, Tom didn't answer me.

"Eric, you need to start performing these transitions on your own. I'm planning on soloing you soon. I'm not saying anything!"

I smiled. Tom's right. If I rely on him to tell me what to do, I will never be able to do it on my own. I'm going to stop asking questions about things that I already know the answer to, and I'm going to concentrate on doing them.

Moving on to soft field takeoffs and landings. Still very unnerving. I have to constantly remind myself to trim the airplane for the soft field takeoff to relieve the control pressure that results from 10 degrees of flaps. And I must also constantly remind myself to apply right rudder on takeoff roll and climbout. Getting better at the soft field takeoff, but still having difficulty with the soft field landing. The approach is the same as a regular landing, but in the flare I must push in the throttle to about 1,400 RPMs to permit the nose gear to softly touch down in the grass. Again, the goal for a soft field landing is to protect the nose wheel and prevent it from bogging down in mud or in a puddle. I haven't developed the muscle memory for the soft field landing; it will come with time.

At last, I'm improving on holding airspeed in the traffic pattern, and I'm getting used to letting the runway come to me. Still rolling out to final too soon, and I repeatedly track left of the centerline. I was pretty lucky with the wind today, and the nose of the plane stayed pretty well lined up with the runway direction. I'm experimenting with the rudder, and I think I'm improving. Although today I did have one approach where I was too far to the left of the centerline and I had to go around.

In the end, I performed several landings by myself. None of them were perfect, and I still keep touching down to the left of the centerline. But I am improving.

- Airman Eric