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Ground School – Presolo written test review and my first endorsement!

I thought the weather was going to be OK for flying today and was mentally prepared for another trip to POU. When I got to the airport, however, reports were coming in of some pretty strong gusting winds so my instructor announced that we would not be going up today.

I actually wasn’t too upset about this — I wasn’t feeling 100% and for some reason felt like I was going to have a lousy flight. After my last flight boosted my confidence, I was a bit nervous about a bad performance eroding my progress. So, when my CFI told me we were Earthbound today, I took it as a sign from above and was happy we’d be able to review my pre-solo written test.

Pre-solo written exam

We spent two hours going over my two exams — one was the pre-solo written exam proper, the other was a rental checkout form that asks questions specific to the C172M I fly. The pre-solo written exam is pretty important — my CFI described it as a legal document that the school keeps on file. If I were to get into an accident or break a serious rule while soloing, the first thing the FAA would ask to see would be my pre-solo written exam. I took a lot of time researching my answers and noting where in the FAR, AIM, or POH I found each answer.

I did pretty well on the test — I had one question I got wrong about the accuracy of fuel gauges… I had done some research on this and felt the FARs could be interpreted to mean fuel gauges did need to be accurate at all times, but my instructor had implied that they couldn’t be trusted and I thought he was one of the “accurate only when empty” believers (there is an ongoing debate about how the wording of the FAR should be interpreted — some people believe that, legally speaking, fuel gauges only need to be accurate when indicating empty tanks).

This was completely my mistake, I should have answered with what I thought was true and then defended it if my instructor had a problem with it… instead I answered the question how I thought he wanted it answered. Turns out I had misjudged him and I was actually really happy to hear he had the same interpretation of the FARs as I had arrived at.

The rest of the questions were OK. We delved into a few and discussed the topics at length — things like weight and balance, airspace, emergency procedures, etc… I felt it was a really good review and I ended the lesson feeling like I knew more than I did when I showed up that morning.

My instructor graded both tests a pass and I received my first logbook endorsement (pre-solo knowledge exam)! One step closer to flying the plane myself.

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Did he say solo?

Today was pretty uneventful. Yesterday my instructor had mentioned we might take a trip to Dutchess County (POU) today, so I had pored over the sectional last night and did some advance planning. Alas, it was not meant to be — the weather was too crappy to leave the immediate vicinity of the airport, so we did some more pattern work.

I did much better with the actual pattern — I had the airplane trimmed more or less properly, my airspeeds were close if not dead on, and I felt like I was tracking where I needed to be. Well, everywhere except for final. I’m still having some issues with keeping the plane and nose centered while on final approach. It’s a little frustrating because one minute my CFI will say, “don’t dance on the rudder pedals!” Then, when I’m a bit more timid on them the next time around, he’ll bark, “get on those pedals!” They seem like conflicting messages, but I know what he means — I can’t be timid but I also can’t be jerky on the pedals. I need to apply the correct pressure and hold it, and I need to be commanding with the control inputs to get the plane where I need it.

Final approach is done in slow flight, which is why that was one of the first things we practiced in our early lessons. When flying slowly, there is less air flowing over the control surfaces so the controls can feel a bit mushy. They require greater travel to move the plane, so slow flight is not a time to be dainty with the plane. (Note that I don’t mean you should over control the plane — just that you need to have some authority when you’re making your inputs).

My biggest problem right now is controlling the plane while we’re in the roundout. My instructor demonstrated that you still need to fly the plane all the way down. My mind is stuck on the feeling that you are very close to the runway and you don’t want to use the ailerons, but that isn’t right (we’re probably much higher off the runway than it feels). I also keep forgetting to look down the runway during landing. The result is quite a few sloppy landings off centerline. Sigh, practice will make perfect.

When we came in after the lesson (logging another 7 takeoffs and landings), I was surprised to hear my instructor mention me soloing for the first time. Now, we still have quite a bit of work to do before I’m there, including traveling to all the local airports so he can endorse me to land there in case DXR closes for an emergency while I’m in the pattern. Still, it was great to hear him start talking about planning for that day.

One of the requirements is to complete the pre-solo written exam.

Pre-solo written exam

The written is more of a research project than an exam. The test covers a wide range of topics, everything from aircraft systems to emergency procedures to local airspace rules. I have to look up the answers to every question and also note where I found the answer — either the airplane’s operating manual, the FAR/AIM book of federal regulations, or some other document.

I took the exam home and will work on it this week. The next time we have a bad weather day, my CFI will review my answers and (hopefully) I’ll be one step closer to flying an airplane by myself!

Flight time today: 1.4 hours
Total flight time to date: 17.2 hours
Total takeoffs to date: 35
Total landings to date: 31