Frustrated: Need Some Advice

[fabricfan]

Dear Abby (Supercub.org),

Well, I have been on this site since 2005 dreaming of flying and having my own Supercub one day. I have also been plagued with the burden of maintaining a medical while suffering from some side effects of cancer treatments from almost 10 years ago. I have finally found a path to good health and I am back in the game. I am in my 40's.

I am still trying to get my PPL. Here is my dilemma: I am sort of embarrassed to write this, but I am not a very good pilot. My confidence is in the toilet and it has come as a surprise to me. I was athletic my entire life and played all high school sports and played soccer in the Army, but I suck at putting together the coordination required for being a pilot in class D airspace and traffic. I mean, I have a hard time flying, operating electronics, and communicating at the same time. Most people I see (other students) don't have as hard as time as I do and it makes me feel inferior big-time Please don't get me wrong, it is not the blow to my ego that bothers me so much, but rather, it is the realization that my confidence level is dropping daily and that it is affecting my performance and costing me a lot more to get my PPL than every other student I know of.

It is a giant wake-up call and I don't have a good coach to talk to. If any of you have experienced this, please chime in. The only advice I have gotten so far is "hang in there." Sure, but am I alone? I have started and stopped flight training three times now in the last decade. I am just looking for a fresh piece of wisdom, not an ego stroke. I don't need sympathy either.

Problem areas:

-multi-tasking
-short field landings
-short field take-offs (ground effect flying)

Plane: Diamond Katana (T-Tail)

I really appreciate whatever knowledge any of you can spare. Thank you for reading this. Chad

[Tim]

The right instructor makes all the difference in the world. In your neck of the woods you should be able to find a good one, keep looking

[68Papa]

How many hours do you have? When were the bulk of those hours collected; 10 years ago, 5 years, 2 years ago??How many hours a week are you flying now?

Just curious - RD

[mvivion]

Every student I've worked with ALWAYS wants to compare themselves to other students. That's natural. Everyone is different. I've seen students who really struggled to get through private pilot training, but once they got there, they turned out to be very good pilots...just took a little longer. It's hard, but try not to compare your progress with others. Prior performance in other skills does not necessarily a pilot make, either. Again, everyone is different.

For perspective, I'm told that the current national average of flight time to complete the Private certificate is around 70 hours of flight time. It's pretty hard for someone who's at 60 hours to look at the FAA "requirements" of 40 hours and make any sense of what they are experiencing. Is it me, or my instructor, or the school, or???? And, sometimes it is one or the other of those things.

Nevertheless, based on your previous posts on this forum and this one, it is pretty apparent that you are motivated to do this. I tell students that the single best thing you can do to finish your flight training in the shortest time period and for the least amount of money is: SHOW UP, and show up regularly. Set up a regular flight lesson time. Does your instructor/school have a syllabus? If not, I'd be looking elsewhere, frankly. You should be able to look at the syllabus and study ahead, and see where you're at. Plan to fly twice a week if at all possible. Three times is better. Once a week is pretty marginal, but it can work. Try not to stop flying, wait a couple months then start again. Get to it, and keep at it till you're finished. If that means not doing a lot of other things, so be it. This needs to be your priority, and you need to explain to your family that's the case.....and that it's not forever. But, SHOW UP for every flight lesson. If you can't fly, review ground lessons, or brief ahead on what comes next. There's always something you can be working on. No you are not alone. If your flight instructor/school isn't pushing you and encouraging you to move forward, I'd find someone else.

Finally, to your problem areas:

Multi-tasking: This is one of the most difficult skills pilots face. This is why your flight instructor tells you to fly at this speed and this altitude while on downwind, then that speed on Base leg, etc. We're fixing variables so that you have fewer variables to deal with. If you're having trouble putting it all together, move to an uncontrolled field, where you can work on landings, etc without having to communicate, then once you feel more confident, spend more time in the ATC environment.

Short field landings: The Katana is a floater. It has a very long, high aspect ratio wing. It's GOING to float during a landing approach. Airspeed control is absolutely essential. Most schools teach you to fly final waaaay too fast. Read up in the Katana manual, find their recommended airspeeds for final, and fly THAT speed, no faster. Realize that when we talk about 1.3 Vso on final, that's out there at 1/2 mile, NOT right over the numbers in the flare. As you cross the threshold, you should be in a gradual deceleration and increasing the angle of attack, smoothly, right to the touch. You are probably using the intended touchdown point as your aim point for landing. Don't. That is the point at which the airplane would impact the earth if you didn't flare. Your aim point needs to be about 150 to 200 feet closer than your intended touchdown point. For some reason, many instructors don't teach this..... Airspeed control is absolutely essential, though. Get out in the practice area and practice approaches at altitude, holding your speed precisely, then gradually flaring as you bleed off speed until it's natural.

Short field takeoffs (ground effect flying): If you are indeed talking about flying in ground effect after lift off, you are discussing SOFT field technique, not short field technique. This too is a difficult skill to master, but the Katana is a GREAT floater in ground effect. The key is to hold that stick all the way back as you begin the takeoff roll, until that nosewheel comes off the ground. The T Tail will then require some "dancing" with the controls to get it just right, and stop the nose up pitch, while keeping the plane in ground effect. As the airplane accelerates, the controls become more effective, and you can fly the plane, and smoothly level it momentarily as it accelerates in ground effect. Again, because of that T tail, the Katana is a little challenging to do this well, but.....it can be done. I've done it, so it can't be THAT hard.

Plane: Katana: These are great little airplanes, but that T tail and the serious aspect ratio of the wing make them different than most other trainers. They are a lot of fun to fly, though.

Again, SHOW UP, keep it regular and scheduled, TRY not to get discouraged, and try not to compare your progress with others. It can be done. I did it, and many thousands of others have too.

Good luck.

MTV

[flybynite]

Dear Chad,

I am not Abby, but I do have a niece of that name. It takes guts to admit our shortcomings amid such a crowd as this. I would venture that there are more of us in the same boat as you as opposed to those "others" who fly on a daily basis, multiple times even, for up to 26 hours on each day.

Learning to fly does not come as easy for adults as it might for kids (anyone under the age of 32). We attempt to fit things into categories that match up with our life experiences where very little of it might. Ever try balancing on a unicycle while juggling running chainsaws? I thought not.

The best advice I can give is, when you are feeling uncertain, grab an instructor and go fly. When you feel confident, go fly. Fly multiple times each week and, when you cant fly, take the sim for a ride around the park. Listen to the audio tapes, watch your videos of past lessons that you took with you digicam. Totally immerse yourself in flying until you gain muscle memory and many of the tasks become second nature. Hang a picture of the panel on the wall in front of your desk. Use it as a wallpaper on your computer screen and smartphone. Sit in the cockpit and make airplane noises, making imaginary calls to air traffic or announcing on the unicom while watching your scan of the instruments and visualize yourself in the pattern with a number of other planes. Close your eyes and visualize what you would do and say in defferent situations, then, when they actually happen, you have already practiced.

Find an older instructor... one who is not on a career climb into the heavy iron so he or she will be there for your next lesson later this week. Continuity helps. Follow a syllabus.

I got my ppl while in my late 40s. I have done everything that I told you to try. I only bent one plane and it flew again, after a bit of work. ( it was a bit tough going back after that. I didn't tell my bride for probably 6 weeks) Don't worry about the other students. You don't know how hard they worked or how bad they are in the air until you fly with them. NTSB reports are full of their kind.

Remember the story of the student pilot who was watching an old man and kid doing a preflight? they were walking around the airplane, touching or poking everything, going really slow. Inside the FBO, the student smugly mentioned them to his instructor, how slow they were and their obvious lack of confidence about themselves around the airplane. The instructor looked out on the ramp and said to his student: Oh, them? that's Charles Lindberg and his grandson"

I think that whoever has told you to hang in there has given you some good advice. The more you fly frequently, the more situations you encounter, the more your confidence builds.

Best regards


PS... While I was writing this, Mike was typing better and faster than me....

What he said...
Wayne

[cub12]

i agree with Tim, i was the training capt for a large airline for years and still do rec instruction on small a/c, and i found less then 1% just were not cut out for it. a big part to learning is to not over load your self! learn to fly the plane when you are good at that then your instructor should work you into the radio's ect.slowly increasing your work load. when your brain bucket is full your just wasting time and fuel.so in the beginning one flight a day no more then an hour.one task at a time.after a bit flying will use alot less of your bucket load so then fill it with something else(radio's nav emerg ect,) and so on.a good instructor should be able to pick up on the pace you need. anouther hint "fly the couch" go through procedures in your head at home were it is free this will help to make things happen in the plane more like a reflex which again will help reduce your bucket load and multi tasking will be more automatic. hope this helps

[OLDCROWE]

My daughter is 90% done with her private mostly in a Diamond20 and when she had trouble adding other pieces to the puzzle i took her up in the 180 to do radio work and navigation without having to think about flying in Class D airspace and it really helped her so maybe get a buddy to do some flying whie you do other parts and put it together a bit later.

OC

Ps. Watching and listening to her the Diamond seems to have pretty good manners and it's a stick which really helped her.

[fabricfan]

I can't thank those who commented enough. Here is my current training history.

11 hours 2003

54 hours 2006 (completed 1st cross country and only had long cross country and check-ride, then lost medical)

7 hours now

I am already well past the 70 hour average, but circumstances play a little part in it

[8GCBC]

Have three words of advice... Instructor instructor instructor. Took me many years to find a real one! In fact, flown several thousands of miles to be with better flight instruction on my own dime

Flying is not hard but, we all need solid guidance which I find rare. Do not stop looking and learning, regardless!

If you are posting questions about primary aviation maneuvers, there's an issue with local instructive resources in my book. Find better CFI.

[Darrel Starr]

I almost quit a few hours into training in a Cessna 140 at a tower airport, Peoria, IL. I stuck with the same instructor but switched to a Cessna 150, that relieved some pressure. I picked up my attitude, my job transferred to Arizona and I finished my training at a quieter airport, Goodyear, AZ, in a Cherokee. Later I bought and put 950 hrs. on a Cessna 120, much like the 140 that was too much for early training. Anyway, my advice is to keep changing the rules if you are overwhelmed, get things in a frame that you can handle. Some are natural pilots, the rest of us have to make the experience work for us at our learning pace. don't be discouraged, you too can enjoy this sport.

[fobjob]

Watch out for instructors that are "working their way up"....find one with grey hair....then: practice, practice, practice....

[sjohnson]

The lengthy posts above pretty well cover it, but here is my short answer. I no longer teach, but I used to do tailwheel transitions and most of the "senior" pilot checkouts (the FBO was in a college town).

- fly at least 2, and better 3 hours per week. This is probably the most common problem I encountered as an instructor - a pilot's new skills would fade in the lengthy gaps between lessons and practice flights.

- chemistry matters. You may need to find another instructor. The one you have may be a great person, just not the right one for you.

- find a different training aircraft. I've flown (but not instructed) in a D20 in a local club. It did not strike me as a great trainer - pitch sensitive, reclined seating position, small cabin, etc. It was not widely loved, although I liked it. The Piper Warriors and C 172s were much, much more popular, both as primary trainers and routine flying. If you intend to fly a Cub or similar plane, consider training in a high-wing Cessna.

- don't sweat it. Learning comes in plateaus. Don't let a plateau make you feel like you're not progressing - you probably are, but its not showing up in performance and confidence yet.

[C-90 Cub]

Chad..........don't give up. Confidence builds as skills build. Here's a little story for you. I have never had a problem flying anything. Experimentals, production aircraft, tailwheels, high performance, ultralights,........all came easy to me. I am 56 and have been flying since I was 22. At 55 years old I decided I would just add on a helicopter rating. It will be no problem.....already have a pilots license......just have to learn how to fly a helicopter. I will make it in minimum hours, like always before.....right. WRONG!! The helicopter kicked my ass. Seventy plus hours and almost a year to learn to fly that thing. I already knew the rules, weather, navigation, etc. There were times I wanted to beat my head against the wall. One lesson I would do good on auto rotations but couldn't do a quick stop. I knew how to do all the manuvers but just couldn't put it all together for several consectutive flights. I got so frustrated at how long it was taking and how much it was costing that I quit and took a break.

My instructor told me I was my own worst enemy. He kept telling me I was learning and I was going to make mistakes. He honestly thought he would never see me again. I told him I would be back and I also told him to get creative in how to teach me to fly.

I took a four month break from it. I had went into this with the wrong attitude. Because I had excelled at everything else I had flown I expected to to it again. Well, at 55 you realize that you can hurt yourself. At 22 you can conquer the world. Bottom line is it is harder to put it all together as you get older. That doesn't make you a bad pilot. Just takes longer to set in. I went back four months later with the attitude that I was going to take however long it takes to do this. I took the time limit I had set for myself off and all of a sudden my flying improved. My instructor also changed his way of teaching. When he seen me struggle, we quit doing those manuvers and focused on what I was doing well at. That helped keep my frustration level down. Towards the end of a lesson we would try the ones I had failed at and most of the time I did much better because I had done so well on everything else. You cannot judge yourself against others when it comes to flying. Some people have a natural ability to draw........some have to learn it in school. Don't get disgusted because your ability doesn't match some standards you have secretly set for yourself, or someone else. It's obvious you want to fly so just continue on. Changing flight instructors sometimes helps, as with a different airplane. But bottom line is don't pressure yourself, and don't quit, and before you know it............you will be sitting in that airplane by yourself enjoying a freedom like no other in the world.

As for the confidence..........that takes time my friend. I have no where near the confidence in that helicopter that I have in a fixed wing. Not even close. But each time I fly it, each time I correct a mistake I make in it.........my confidence builds. I'm a rookie in a helicopter. I tell people I can fly a helicopter.............but I wouldn't make a pimple on a helicopter pilots ass!! But I'm getting there . So will you..........stay focused, quit comparing yourself to anyone else, and let it happen, when it happens. Keep it fun and it will happen. I'm proof of it. And one more piece of advice.........try to fly at least once every week. Keep current. You can't fly once a month and expect to do this. And ask S.J. how many hats he has given out Ain't none of us perfect!!


Steve

[Cubus Maximus]

Hmmm...given the time gaps + getting used to a T-tail with sticks and a high aspect wing (this is likely the biggest issue) from what you've flown many moons ago, I'd say you're in the ballpark and will make it. It often seems like 10 hours is the magic number when things start to click with something unfamiliar -and the Katana is just different enough to be unfamiliar.

Don't be discouraged either way, I think you're going to be just fine. The instructors above all have excellent advice.

[SC3CM]

I rarely disagree with the experts on this site, and these posts are all informative but my guess is your next best step is to try nothing. Go out with a friend, instructor, whatever. Let that pilot fly the plane to quiet airspace then take the controls and just mess around. Have fun. Fly in circles. Don't look in the plane at all. Stick and rudder. As long as you don't hit anything who cares about altitude and airspeed and all that other garbage.

Repeat as many times as you need. When you feel like you want to work on something then get back at it. If you're forcing it it's going to be very frustrating and that's not the east it's supposed to be.

For the procedural/radio stuff, get a cheap flight sim and practice there so when you go out in the plane it's old hat.

Many people have done far worse! Just get to a campfire and listen to the stories!

Rene

[JimC]

I learned to fly in a Cub, and have been flying them for 47 years. I'm not very good, but am good enough to have fun. Just go out there and enjoy yourself.

[Bill Ingerson]

Hi Chad
Looks like your flying out of Anchorage, I can really relate to what your going through, Im 66 and flying a cub now trying to live that dream while I can. A friend of mine is retired and had a Taylor Craft, his own plane to learn in. A local instructor (young man) was trying to show him how to fly. He told me he was probably going to quit, just can't get the hang of it. I ask him, how many hours do you have now in trainning ? He said about 50 and Im still in the right seat. To me that was a real red flag, I told another friend of mine and he took him out several times, away from the airport, they had fun and learned to fly it with a new instructor and flew it from the left seat and got his licence in no time. He flys all over now, I am sure he would have quit, he just needed some incouragement and get out and have fun. Im a low time pilot, and still get white knuckels at times and found out everyone else does too. You will be learning the rest of your life, its a challange and thats what makes flying so much fun. Buy Damian Delgaizo's Tailwheel 101 and 102 and learn from it, read Stick and Rudder all those will help help you. I have learned so much from Vivion and several others on this site. Don't give up

[soyAnarchisto]

Keep at it - it will click. And those other foos you are comparing youself too - they struggled at some point too - we all do - keep that in mind.

For radio work - listen to the web recordings of towers like liveatc.net - it just helps to ket the rhythm of the communication while you are focusing only on the comms. Electrics and systems - that can be solved by training in a simple plane or just ignoring that crap till you get the stick and rudder feel down.

Go up with another pilot who is not your instructor. Don't rush. Play around and get the feel for it at your own pace wihtout someone barking at you or feeling like you have to perform perfectly. Relax, breath it's all good. Who effing cares how long it takes. It took me 90 hours - starting/stopping - switching instructors and different planes. Sometimes **** gets in the way. I'd rather feel good about what I'm doing that to rush through and cut corners to hit a 40hr mark.

You survived cancer you can fly a plane. Good on ya.

[Iflylower]

Lots of good advice here. Oldcrowe started with a great idea. Ask to ride along in the backseat of a few training flights of a 172 or like... Of course, better if you're training in the same type plane. In the back seat you'll watch what's happening and imagine that you'd do the same, or possibly different. You might pick up a mistake, and think how you'd do it differently. Watching others can be so helpful when you take a step back and take it all in.

I was just reading (and have heard many many times before). The biggest dummy is the guy holding the stick...or, you loose 10 IQ points as you grab it. It's so much easier for the other crew member, the jumpsseater, the instructor, the evaluator and so on to catch mistakes. The guy driving is already getting saturated with task overload by driving and making decisions.


So, it's just easier to learn by watching it modeled. Did I mention that it's free?


Good luck. And, your hours are not out of line. Fly often.

[DENNY]

Learning to talk, Landing speed, when to flair, and worry about the guy behind you is hard to do when you first start out. Do like the Romans and only eat one grape at a time. Get out of Anchorage. Go to Birchwood, Goosebay. I would fly at 6 am and only see two planes in two hours, only talked on downwind. Learn to fly first, than learn to talk to the Tower. Don't try to do both at same time. Turn off the GPS(I did not have one), You don't need it this side of the range. Short field landing means slowing down, get a CFI with gray hair.
I had well over 100 hours before I had my PPL. Don't worry about the cost, it is nothing in relation to the amount you will be happy to spend once you have your own plane and PPL. Fly 2-3 times a week it will come to you.
DENNY

[jprax]

I can relate to you. When I was going for my private I just hit a wall and couldn't seem to put it together. My high time brother took me out and we just flew the plane for fun, followed a river bank for awhile, just had fun with the plane and just concentrated on flying it and having some fun. That gave me quite a bit of confidence to get through it and fly the plane, I was over-thinking all of it. I don't think basic flying is high skill, more good judgement. You don't need to be the second coming of Don Sheldon to have a safe fun time in an airplane.

[Lefty]

O lord, don't make me think back to learning to talk on the the radio. I actually thought I was starting to do ok until my first solo slapped me back to reality. Once the instructor left the aircraft so did my brain. I screwed up my call sign, what leg I was on, everything. The landings were pretty good though. I have a good friend who is a long time cop. The most nerve racking part of training for him was learning to talk on the radio and finding his way to calls. Just like in flying, when you hear something your brain is initialy trying to pick from every word in your head while at the same time devoting capacity to learning a new motor skill. As you get more experienced your brain learns the relatively limited things that might be said to you in a particular situation, so it has far less to choose from.

There is a lot of great advice in the above posts, the ones that applied to me the most when I was learning are:
1: Fly often. Three times a week is really good, two is ok, and one is marginal.
2: Find a quality, well experienced instructor who is a good fit for you.
3: Expect to experience plateaus, they happen to virtually everyone.
4: Have fun with it...even if it can be nerve wracking at the same time.

You obviously want this or you would have lost interest after your battle with the big C. Don't give up!


Tim

[OLDCROWE]

One last suggestion, to get more comfortable on the radio make an appointment and go visit the tower or get a handheld and go listen a bunch and visualize each transaction...worked for me

[skywagon8a]

I agree with all of the above posters. There is a lot of good advise there. I looked up the Diamond Katana, since I did not know what it is. It looks like it may be a fun sporty plane to fly. They offer two different instrument panel options, both of which are complete "state of the art" with all the whistles and bells. The current FAA viewpoint seems to be that everyone who learns to fly is planning to be an airline pilot. With that in mind every student is taught from lesson one to operate every item in that "state of the art" panel. This is before the student understands what the primary controls of the plane are for and results in system overload. It is very easy to keep both eyes "glued" on the instrument panel and not really know what is going on outside. Even high time pilots get caught in this trap. I suspect that your instructor is constantly pointing to various functions on the panel. Thus you may have developed a reliance on the instruments before you learned basic flying skills. I suggest that you ask the instructor to cover the whole instrument panel with something so that you are forced to look outside. Then learn the airplane by feel and attitude. Go out to Birchwood, or another airport, away from controlled airspace for practice. If the instructor will not do this, then he/she is not comfortable in his/her own skin and should not be instructing. I have done this procedure with, new to me, students with great success.

[Anne]

I, too, got my PPL in my 40s, and still have some confidence problems.

My advice is this:
*Any flight time older than a year doesn't count as current, especially with low-time training hours.
*40 hours is from years ago, when people trained at grass strips with no tower or radios, autopilots, slick airframes, GPS, or a rulebook as thick as a brick.
*170 lbs./person is also from years ago.
*Don't dump an instructor before talking to him/her about your issues; the training plan may just have to be tweaked.
*The only cure for lack of confidence is a good, patient instructor and more flight time.

Good luck, and keep at it. It will come together one day, and you'll wonder why you had any trouble at all.

Anne.

[dryfarmer]

May I suggest a handheld radio that you can listen too while driving your car or setting in your living room, that will get you used to the chatter and you will learn what is being said with out requiring all your brain cells being focused on just one task. Helped me a bunch.

[Greg Campbell]

Chad, You are not alone here. Practice making your calls while chair flying. I learned to fly mostly in a J3 Cub, No radios most of the time. When we got our Supercub, Bill Rusk took me up for a friendly Check out. Let me put it nicely, I was pretty embarrassed at my poor performance of the radios. Bill is a very patient man. I could fly the plane, but all that student pilot time from years back practicing radio calls had left me. So I went home an started practicing. After practicing it became second nature pretty quick. Hang in there Chad, Very Glad you are getting to chase your dreams again. Stay well, and see you in the Skys. Greg

[GeeBee]

I was a Gold Seal Instructor, an examiner, Chief Instructor of a Part 141 school, and a check airman for a major airline.

Let me ask some questions. Have you had an eye exam? Not which way the "E"s are pointing at the AME but a serious exam by a high quality optometrist or opthamologist. Do you wear glasses? Are the glasses optimized for flying?

Next question. Have you ever been tested for ADD or ADHD? It is a lot more common than you think and a little bit is good for multi tasking, a lot is a disaster. Hard to believe there is adult ADD. Interestingly, these new electronic cockpits tend to maginfy problems with ADD. I've seen more than one Captain retire medically with a diagnosis of ADD when he could not transition to an electronic cockpit.

Finally as has been suggested do you feel you have a time builder or a professional instructor? Have you tried different instructors.

[akavidflyer]

GeeBee, there is no such thing as ADHD. Some people told me I may have it but.... oh look, a moose.

I will second the glasses. I passed the tests and do not have them as a restriction for both driving nor flying, however, when I did get them, I was shocked at how much I was not seeing prior to getting them. I always had perfect eye sight growing up and used to piss my dad off when hunting because I saw every critter long before he could spot them. One day it just started heading south and I never realized it till I had a full check and got glasses. Suddenly the runways had numbers at the end, trees had branches and even leaves, the stumps on the ground I argued with my flying buddy about actually did turn out to be moose...

[NimpoCub]

Multitasking can be a bitch when all 3 or 4 things are new & being learned.
Like others have alluded, do ONE at a time until it becomes more familiar/comfortable.
When an instructor is telling you what to do & how to do it, you're trying to do what he said "just right". That's not natural nor how to fly. He's trying to shape your habits/thoughts, but following instructions is not how to fly. I was told by the owner of the flight school & the chief pilot that once I pass the tests that I could forget the "crap" & just focus on flying. That turned out to be so true. When the altitude/attitude, flap position, speed, etc, become more familiar (Not following instructions) and what is being yacked about on the radio, (all familiarity) everything will become easier. Imagine playing ping-pong with someone behind you telling you what to do. Near impossible, right?

[8GCBC]

Reading your post again ... you are smart enough and can see well enough to fly! Unless somebody typed the above posts for you! Or somebody is impersonating you. Hell, just getting on the Internet you have convinced me you can fly. Flying is way easier than these computers we are on! But, as I said you need a good person to "hold your hand". Keep looking, it took me many more years to fly than most. Fast forward... I am have insurance, the FAA likes me, and my friends think I'm really cool! You will get there! Keep paddling you will catch a wave!

[fabricfan]

Can't thank everyone enough. So much good info and encouragement.

[SJ]

Great post, Fabricfan, and a lot of excellent thoughtful responses. I can't add much at all except one thing which might help with multi-tasking, etc (others have already said it differently). You learn to fly on the ground, you demonstrate what you have learned in an airplane. Having everything straight in your head before you get behind the stick really helps - yes, I'm talking homework. All the comments about doing com work, etc on the ground are good. Sometimes all the pieces don't click simultaneously, but they will all eventually click.

Others have heard me say this before, but my CFI instructor always said after we got into the airplane, "OK Johnson, we are in an airplane now" I still say that to myself sometimes.

Your gaps are huge. Forget about how long it takes. Have fun, clear your mind, and keep at it!

sj

[soyAnarchisto]

Another piece of advice. I learned in a Diamond DA20-C1 (eclipse not katana - but close enough) - great plane. I found after getting my PPL and transitioning to other planes that were more draggy - that the katana is a little too easy to fly. I was barely using my rudder - never felt adverse yaw - and scared shitless to stall. Get a ride in a cessna or a piper or a citabria. No fuel injection, no gps, hell no electrics if you can get access to it. Strip away all the fluff and pay attention to what your seat britches are telling you. It'll make you feel better about stepping back into that motor glider.

You can listen to anchorage tower from your cozy chair with a beer here:

http://www.liveatc.net/search/?icao=anc

[fancypants]

I found that listening to ATC using the liveatc app while driving to work was helpful. My commute brought me past O'Hare twice every day. Listening to tower, I would try to match what I was hearing to what I was seeing in the air. After a while you start to pick up on it and can guess what will be said even before it's said.

This book has pretty good examples of the syntax you can expect in most situations: Say Again, Please by Bob Gardner

[8GCBC]

". .. After a while you start to pick up on it and can guess what will be said even before it's said...."

Good. This reduces work load for ATC, and yourself. In "B" airspace, where students are allowed ( I.e. PHNL), remember C. R. A. F. T. (CLEAR to, via ROUTE, initial ALTITUDE, FREQ., and TRANSPONDER). Using a sudo formal military style of communication works good too here because we share RWYs and "B" with Hickam, AFB.

This thread is outstanding! Thank you for sharing FABRIC FAN.

[fabricfan]

I just want to make sure I am thanking everyone. This is the best medicine I have had for a long time.

[aktango58]

Sorry to hear your difficulties, but it appears they are less your ability than the amount of time between flying.

My thoughts:

1. hanger fly... meaning find some folks, (Mr. Hammerack), that you can talk to and discuss your flying and questions. Be at the airport, sit in the plane and study where everything is, then close your eyes and touch everything to be sure you know where it is. Go to the tower, sit and listen. Hang out where you hear aviation radios, listen to lake hood freq. on busy days... all this gets you familiar so it feels normal.

2. The worlds number one instructor may not be the best for you... 7 recent hours is not much. Most of the other hours, especially if in a different plane, are sort of fluff and not useful for all intensive purposes. But, if the instructor is not able to communicate with you what he wants, and you don't understand information he is trying to impart you need to find one you can understand.

3. less is more- as said above learn one step at a time. Maybe you learn nothing on the radio, but practice at goose bay landing.. that is fine. When comfortable with one part, add another.

4. frequency of lessons is important.

5. ask friends questions that you think of. Sometimes others, like the group here, can explain stuff in a way that makes sense to you more than your instructors

6. ride along any chance you get and observe. The more familiar you are with everything the easier it gets.

7. RELAX, take a deep breath.

8. SJ said it well, prepare on the ground and learn on the ground. Prove it in the air. It is very hard to learn when trying to fly strait and level, now add in the guy next to you talking in your ear and it becomes a mess...

Just my thoughts. I really figure you have 7 hours for training purposes. The other hours will kick in later, but not until you can solo that plane. I started in a high wing, switched to a low wing and it took me forever to get my rating.

Have fun!!!

[fobjob]

Realize that learning to do anything like flying starts out with you having to process everything with your conscious mind, which is swamped with sensory input while doing something like flying. Progress results from repetition, which lets you relegate an increasing number of tasks to your subconcious, so you have decreasing load on your conscious, until the subconscious is doing everything, and all the conscious mind has left to do is make planning decisions, and to just enjoy the experience....hours, hours, hours....

[N86250]

4. frequency of lessons is important.

I found this to be true. Even today when I do something and my performance is less than desired, if I go back tomorrow or the next day, my performance improves greatly. If I wait 2 weeks, I'm banging my head against the wall. If there had been internet in '69 to '71 it would have been a lot easier for me. So much help and good info here. Early on I decided I only wanted to fly for fun. Something about "if it became a job it wouldn't be fun anymore". Now I honestly think it was because I was never comfortable with the radio. I now realize that not pursuing an aviation career was a big mistake. Even now when I do fly, I stay away from controlled fields and fly NORDO. I'll be doing some reading and listening too. jrh