I was scheduled to head down to Florida on business and I decided it would be fun to try and take a flight lesson with an instructor down there. After making a few calls, I scheduled two lessons during my trip with a local CFI who had been recommended to me.
My first lesson was flying out of Orlando Executive (KORL). Executive is a Class Delta airport in close proximity to downtown Orlando and Orlando International (KMCO) — it actually sits right under one of MCO’s Class Bravo shelves.
I was pretty nervous heading to my lesson as I had never flown with anyone besides my instructor back home. The ridiculous Orlando traffic (thanks to I-4 construction) certainly didn’t help my stress level. I would up being 20 minutes late, for which I apologized profusely! Way to make a good first impression.
I had spoken to the instructor on the phone and told him where I was at with my flying and that I wanted to work on landings. We sat and spoke for a bit before heading out to the plane and briefed how the lesson was going to go. We were planning on staying in the pattern and working exclusively on landings and pattern management.
We headed to the plane and did the preflight check. The plane was a 172R model — this model is fuel injected instead of carbureted, so the engine startup was slightly different. No big deal, though, and soon we were taxiing to the runup area.
I was having trouble steering the plane to the left — I would be pushing the rudder pedal all the way in and the plane would barely be turning to the left. I had to use the left brakes more than usual to keep the plane where I needed it. I should’ve mentioned this right away to my CFI but I thought it was more a pilot/technique issue than anything mechanical! More on that later.
We took off from runway 7 and started our pattern work. It was nice having some different scenery to look at! Our downwind leg took us directly towards the Orlando skyline which was pretty cool. I didn’t take this picture, but this is pretty close to our view on downwind (we were lower and more to the left).
I really enjoyed flying with this CFI! He had a good teaching style and he shared the same views on flight instruction that my CFI back home does — namely, all of the information you need to fly the plane is available out the window. He emphasized this by failing almost all of my instruments. I had to climb out to pattern altitude with no altimeter, and when I thought I was there we would check and see how I did. I was coming in consistently low by 500-1,000 feet, but that wasn’t bad considering I was in a new environment for the first time.
We went over energy management techniques to help keep the plane at the right speeds while flying the pattern. We also did a lot of landings! I had one where it felt like everything clicked and I definitely feel like I’m getting closer to “getting it”. I also had some lousy ones, so I’m not there yet!
We also trained on some stuff that was new to me — using slips to lose altitude quickly and simulated engine outs on takeoff (where I had to then manage my energy to land the plane smoothly without nosing it into the runway). I also got a bunch of crosswind work — the winds weren’t as strong as they’ve been back home, but there was a decent crosswind so I worked on holding a proper ground track and keeping the plane lined up on final.
All in all, it was a great experience and I’m really happy I did it. I got to see some cool planes at the airport (the new HondaJet looks very nice!) and got a great view of a Learjet landing while I was in the pattern.
Taxiing back to the ramp I again had some trouble with that left turning, so I mentioned it to my CFI. He took the controls and agreed something felt off and he would mention it to the aircraft owner. I realized then I should’ve mentioned this as soon as I noticed it — what if they thought my wonderful landings had caused the issue?!?
We had a great talk after the lesson — we discussed the flight and flying in general. The instructor had some kind things to say about my flying and level of experience overall. According to him, I’m on track and right where I need to be.
Extra bonus today — the second page of my logbook is now full! On to page 3!
Flight time today: 1.5 hours
Total flight time to date: 27.8 hours
Total takeoffs to date: 89
Total landings to date: 85