Almost a week to the day that I started my annual CAP Form5 renewal, I finally finished...
The good news is that I "passed," and the good news is that my back is doing well enough that I felt comfortable about piloting an airplane. I must admit, I was a little tentative about how comfortable I would be, so I made a point of getting into the airplane this morning and doing a "dry run" just to make sure that I could do all the movements and reach all the things I need to reach without problems. Only after I satisfied myself that I'd be okay, did I commit to taking the check flight this afternoon. I did make a point of being careful doing certain things like opening the hangar doors, and for other things, I solicited help - whether by asking for help pulling the aircraft out of the hanger (something I would normally do by myself) or by using a ladder to check the fuel tanks (rather than just climbing up on the strut).
The check pilot who did my Form5 is a really nice guy, and a really good check pilot. He had me to perform the required maneuvers and ensured that they were done to the appropriate standards, but he also spent some time giving me some tips to make me a better pilot.
I try to make every flight a learning experience, and it is even better when you have a skilled pilot/instructor to enhance that learning experience.
In terms of the specifics today, we did soft field take offs and landings, short field take offs and landings, a power off landing, a slip to landing (high approach) with abort and go-around, slow flight, power off and on stalls, steep turns, S turns across a road and some hood work including recovery from unusual attitudes.
It was nice getting up in the air - especially since it was my first day out of the house since last Sunday.
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Posted by David at August 04, 2007 07:42 PM