Tell us about your first solo

[Thruster88]

Some time in February 40 years ago I did my solo in brand new out of the box Wheeler Skycraft Scout mk3. Fearless, cautious,  somewhat knowledgeable about how aircraft fly at age 21, it all went well. The three axis 18hp scout was a very good performer with a light pilot. Sold it after a year and moved on to a Thruster. 

[T510]

Did my solo Sunday morning, just managed to sneak it in before a change in the weather saw the winds pick up.

 

Did 3 circuits with my instructor in variable winds that made runway choice a bit challenging but the direction settled down giving me enough time before the wind speeds picked up.

 

Full credit to my instructor and I have fallen in love with flying Cubs. The challenge of learning to fly in tail draggers has been an awesome experience

 

[RFguy]

well done. airplane climbs like a scalded cat without instructor aboard eh ?

[T510]

Dropping 95kg from the back seat of a 100hp cub makes for a really short take off roll. 

 

Reached circuit height well before the end of the runway.

[facthunter]

Now the  "REAL"learning starts and it never ends.  As an Instructor I'd never send someone solo in worsening condition. it's an extra risk and there's NO real rush to solo. Flying in fairly bad conditions MUST be part of it.   Your Instructor is supposed to have good flying ability and judgement so use their skills. You won't get through a flying life without some "Testing" weather events unless you stop early. Nev

[T510]

I aim to learn something with every flight. At no time was I rushed, my instructors and I came up with a plan the night before, the weather conditions and forecasts where closely monitored and a decision was made.

That decision was then re-evaluated on the morning of the flight and further discussed during the flight and the circuits conducted with my instructor.

 

I have flown in conditions that where worse than the conditions I did my solo in, we have discussed at length the rarity of "perfect" conditions and the requirements for a competent pilot to be able to read the conditions and fly (or cancel the planned flight) as appropriate. We have also discussed the appropriate actions if conditions deteriorate once the flight has begun.

 

My instructors are highly skilled and we brief before and after all flights. I rely on them and appreciate their skills and their ability to instruct.

[facthunter]

ALL good things.    Nev

[BrendAn]

i had a few months break because our club ran out of instructors for a while. now i have access to 2 excellent raaus instructors i am back into it.

got familiar  with the tecnam again last weekend . this week we did efato and touch and goes. hopefully get back to solo fairly quick.

i nearly changed to ga but decided to stick with ra because i want to fly ultralights. more fun than a cessne and easier on the pocket.

[spacesailor]

Just a question !.

Can't a ppL fly a raa registered aircraft. 

Lots of Hummel aircraft are flown & registered by GA type people.

So if. You own a GA plane Plus a FAA part 103  plane ( no licence required ) do you need to relinquish your licence , while flying the microlight aircraft .

spacesailor

[BurnieM]

The PPL needs to be an RAAus member and do a 5 hour-ish RPC conversion.

 

A GA BFR counts for both but a RAAus BFR only counts for RAAus.

 

[BrendAn]

15 minutes ago, BurnieM said:

The PPL needs to be an RAAus member and do a 5 hour-ish RPC conversion.

 

A GA BFR counts for both but a RAAus BFR only counts for RAAus.

 

i think that 5 hours must be a carryover from earlier days when ga pilots would jump in a high drag low inertia aircraft and pancake them into the runway because they cut the throttle too early.  

these days there are a lot of aircraft that can be vh or ra . 

[facthunter]

In earlier days Pilots had only tail draggers many of which glided  like bricks. A few Airline mates of mine  from QLD flew Ultralights before I did (1986) and any accidents i got to know of  with these guys were due to sudden Engine failures at Low height as I recall We weren't allowed to go above 300' and Powered approaches weren't the order of the day. Also there were some pretty basic Plane registered as VH with small motor in them back in the 50's and plenty of gliding in some pretty Primitive gliders ( Kookaburra's) After about 63  taildraggers quickly vanished and the Tiger Moth was removed from the List of accepted Primary trainers. We then observed a plethora of wheelbarrowing landing incidents due to landing too fast with lots of lift providing flaps. I think this is where the never use the rudder and the pedals are for resting your feet on brigade got wings, everyone learned on Cessna, Beechcraft &  Piper planes which were forgiving and easy to fly reasonably. By and Large Ultra lights are more demanding to fly for many reasons which can be discussed at length I got ONE bloke who stated initio on Jets in the Airforce. He wanted an endorsement on the tiger. I spent many hours with him. At times he wouldn't use the rudder at all on Landing and  I'd have to put everything in the corner with full Power applied  to avoid BIG ground Loops. The way HE had learned completely compromised his ability to relate to the DH 82's characteristics. I'm Not sure IF he ever went solo.. If I had to hazard a guess,  I'd say NO. Nev

[BrendAn]

7 minutes ago, facthunter said:

In earlier days Pilots had only tail draggers many of which glided  like bricks. A few Airline mates of mine  from QLD flew Ultralights before I did (1986) and any accidents i got to know of  with these guys were due to sudden Engine failures at Low height as I recall We weren't allowed to go above 300' and Powered approaches weren't the order of the day. Also there were some pretty basic Plane registered as VH with small motor in them back in the 50's and plenty of gliding in some pretty Primitive gliders ( Kookaburra's) After about 63  taildraggers quickly vanished and the Tiger Moth was removed from the List of accepted Primary trainers. We then observed a plethora of wheelbarrowing landing incidents due to landing too fast with lots of lift providing flaps. I think this is where the never use the rudder and the pedals are for resting your feet on brigade got wings, everyone learned on Cessna, Beechcraft &  Piper planes which were forgiving and easy to fly reasonably. By and Large Ultra lights are more demanding to fly for many reasons which can be discussed at length I got ONE bloke who stated initio on Jets in the Airforce. He wanted an endorsement on the tiger. I spent many hours with him. At times he wouldn't use the rudder at all on Landing and  I'd have to put everything in the corner with full Power applied  to avoid BIG ground Loops. The way HE had learned completely compromised his ability to relate to the DH 82's characteristics. I'm Not sure IF he ever went solo.. If I had to hazard a guess,  I'd say NO. Nev

i would imagine the ga pilots that stacked uls would have been in the early 80s, late 70s.  the rule was introduced to protect ga pilots.

you and your mates were professionals.  plenty of ga fliers that don't have your experience.

i was told about this by an old auf member. 

[facthunter]

Yes I thought I'd covered that. It's NOT the Pilots fault. At the same time Pilots were NOT taught spin and spiral RECOGNITION and recovery. You can only try to Imagine it IF you haven't done it. DCA at the time had to just gloss it over and live with what the Big 3 offered. The Victa was fully aerobatic, but it died here and went to New Zealand. The 100 was underpowered when I evaluated it  with other instructors for RNAC. Hot days. Nev

[Max Headspace]

It may not have even been as long as Orville's first solo of 12 seconds. And like his, it was straight ahead up and then back down. But I didn't have a brother or sister to help me build my airplane. And I did have a lot of other people's experiences to guide me.

 

That first flight was most of the length of a long grass field. The next one, a couple minutes later, was a complete rectangular pattern.

[Moneybox]

 

 

The green track was yesterday practising circuits and forced landings with a but of dodging the rain and low clouds.

 

The pink was my solo this morning. Fortunately the GPS doesn't show the vertical oscillations upon landing 😉. After the second bounce the full burst of throttle did the job 😅. 

 

The engine cut out twice after landing, it appears the idle is too slow and when the windmilling has ceased the engine stalls if no power is applied. I'm a bit slow getting back on the power because the stupid electric flap control is setup for the right hand but I must use my left because the Jabiru only has one centrally mounted joystick. I find it quite challenging to reach the left hand to the centre of the plane for several seconds while in the middle of a touch-and-go. 

[skippydiesel]

Congratulations.

 

Looks like your green track was having a lot of fun.

 

Dont know much about Jab engines however you may find that your 912 will idle faster in winter. You can live with that or adjust down. I do my winter/summer adjustment at the throttle quadrant (adjusts both carbs at the same time). If you forget to adjust up for summer, you may encounters the occasional engine stop, at or shortly after landing.😈

[Moneybox]

2 hours ago, skippydiesel said:

Congratulations.

 

Looks like your green track was having a lot of fun.

 

Dont know much about Jab engines however you may find that your 912 will idle faster in winter. You can live with that or adjust down. I do my winter/summer adjustment at the throttle quadrant (adjusts both carbs at the same time). If you forget to adjust up for summer, you may encounters the occasional engine stop, at or shortly after landing.😈

 

I was practising engine out and forced landings. It was good see how to set up and perform the landing. He said lets go an have a look at the beach but on the pointy bit, lower right he cut my throttle back to idle and said "You've just blown the engine. What are you going to do"? I chose to turn back while I had plenty of height and set up for a landing on the edge of the lake. He expected me to head for the beach but it could be quite steep and soft.

[skippydiesel]

1 hour ago, Moneybox said:

 

I What are you going to do"? I chose to turn back while I had plenty of height and set up for a landing on the edge of the lake. He expected me to head for the beach but it could be quite steep and soft.

The only correct answer to a forced landing, is one you survive. You were acting as PIC, made your decision, based on prior knowledge/experince (perhaps not of that beach) & chose what you felt was  the best option - hope you got a pat on the back for that one😈

[facthunter]

Was it  Box ticking exercise?  Nev

[facthunter]

This is just the beginning.  A hurdle to jump. Good luck on your Journey. WHEN you stop learning you become dangerous.  Nev

[Moneybox]

40 minutes ago, facthunter said:

This is just the beginning.  A hurdle to jump. Good luck on your Journey. WHEN you stop learning you become dangerous.  Nev

I'm just disappointed that I never reached my goal. I wanted to leave here tomorrow with my RPC but the change of planes held me back. Of course the weather doesn't help a lot either.

 

 

Tomorrow is my last day and it's not looking good. My plane is sitting out in the weather at Northam airport and I won't get back there until mid June. The main trouble with retirement is that you don't get time to scratch yourself. I think I need to go back to work so that I can have some time off.

[Red]

Nice one mb, so just some more solo consolidation and a couple of cross country flights to do?  (I'm unsure of your regime)