----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Hi Folks, I haven't written about my lessons since November, but not because I wasn't having them. I just got behind on my writing. Trouble is, longer I wait before I write, the more details I forget. I've got to do better. Friday, November 10, 2000 This is the lesson where things took a turn in a whole new direction. I sensed something different was going on during the entire lesson, but I didn't know for sure what it was until afterwards. I'll get back to that later. During the early part of the lesson, I was taxiing over to the runup area. Andres evidently thought that I was going too slow, because he kept saying, "Faster, faster!" I pushed in the throttle a tad more but it wasn't enough to satisfy him. "Let me have the throttle and you just steer, Georgia." (He doesn't know that I'm Spook.) Good grief. Seemed like an awfully fast taxiing speed to me but what do I know? So I then discovered what everybody's been telling me. Namely, that taxiing is easier faster than slower. When we got ready to take off I was still internally fretting about my taxiing. So we're on the takeoff roll and as usual Andres is yelling, "Stay on the line!" He was not at all happy with my takeoff and said, "You should be getting this better by now. We're going to go practice this right now." So he told me to head across the bay and up the coast the Arcata Airport. From here on, it seems like a whirlwind. All I know is that Andres would land and then he would have me takeoff - over and over and over. Once in there we went to the Samoa strip instead. Now Samoa is only 300 ft shorter than Murray but it seemed so much shorter to me. I'm not at all good at judging these things as yet, but it was looking to me like I was going to run out of runway before I had enough airspeed. An optical illusion. I had plenty. Maybe it's because I had never been to Samoa "Airport" before and I wasn't accustomed to looking at it? Anyway, back to Arcata we went for more takeoffs. Andres was yelling, "Stay on the line, stay on the line!" so often that... Well you folks know about my strange sense of humor. Remember the '77 film, Saturday Night Fever and the opening sequence/title song, 'Staying Alive'? I started hearing the song in my head, paraphrased to fit Andres instructions: "Ah, ha, ha, ha, stay on the line, stay on the line!". But what the hell, the music and the rhythm helped me. So, whatever it takes, eh? About the time I was feeling like I couldn't tolerate one more takeoff, Andres told me to climb to 3000' and go over to our practice area over the water. Whew. He is uncannily accurate about sensing how much I can take. He knows when I've had enough without me even telling him. Andres asked me to do some 45 degree turns. I'm not that good at them yet, but I'm getting better and they're so fun! It was actually relaxing after the adrenaline surges of all that taking off business. Next Andres demonstrated power on and power off stalls. Not exactly a comfortable feeling but it's not nearly as bad as I had imagined. By now I had had enough for this lesson so I'm going to do the stalls next time. Again, Andres knew I couldn't take any more today. When I told him. "I'm fried." He said, "I know you are. Let's go back to Murray." Starting with this lesson and ever since, when I think I have done the worst job is when Andres thinks I have done well. I don't quite understand this yet but I think it has to do with me putting out maximum effort and being mentally exhausted at the end of the lesson. After the lesson, we sat in the plane for maybe half an hour or more while Andres explained to me what he was doing during the lesson and would be doing from now on. He said that he discovered that if he pushes me I do much better. He said that I'm somewhat timid and tend to want to hold back. So when he puts pressure on me I progress faster. He is amazingly accurate. I'm not so sure I'm overjoyed about this recent development but he is correct and his plan is the best thing for me. Fortunately for me and his other students he is unusually perceptive in reading his student's states of mind and in accessing their abilities and progress. I am grateful to have the CFI I have. I suspect that I would not do so well with a less patient, less calm instructor. Until next time... __________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
