Learning to Fly

 Much like yesterday, today began with studying the landing traffic pattern with my dad at home, practicing the pattern extensively, and ended in the same way as it began. In anticipation of the flights that I will be performing after I get the traffic pattern down, I spent a lot of time going over the different waypoints in the maps of the New Hampshire and Massachusetts airspace, as my instructor informed me that soon, we will be doing a "cross country" flight, which is very exciting. Today however, we simply took off and landed many, many times. To put things rather bluntly, my landings need a lot of work. As the day went on the maneuvers in the traffic pattern became second nature, with the same being said about the radio calls. However, the actual act of landing the aircraft is something that I will need to practice more extensively to truly get a grasp on.  Total Study time today: 4 hours Total time at concord aviation: 3 hours Total time today, 7 hours Total project ho

Over this past weekend, I had a lot of time to reflect and go over the large amount of information that has been thrown at me during these past few weeks, so I spent a lot of time on both Saturday and Sunday doing that. Today, we did a bit of ground schooling to go over what we would be practicing today, and headed up. All that we did today was practice the traffic pattern for landing, which is in my opinion the hardest part of flying that I have experienced thus far. We took off and landed about 5 times today, and will be doing much more tomorrow, as I am practicing the same exact thing at that time. My takeoffs are steadily improving and so is my confidence while performing them. My landings are getting there, however they continue to be quite difficult, and I definitely wouldn't feel super comfortable doing them without the guidance of my instructor. Can't wait to keep practicing tomorrow. Hours over the weekend: 2 1/2 each day Hours at concord aviation: 3 Hours at home goin

    This second week learning how to fly planes for Senior Project has continued to be an extremely memorable and fun experience. As mentioned in last week's reflection, the sheer amount of information that has been thrown at Ben, Henry and myself is very large, so studying this information and preparing for the next day in the air has been occupying a large amount of our time during the day. I can speak for all three of us when I say that we have been throughly enjoying learning how to fly these aircraft, as well as interacting with the amazing instructors at the concord aviation center.     Thus far in our project, we have been educated on a multitude of topics spanning from basic aerodynamics, reading weather in the sky, learning about the many instruments in the aircraft's interior and, of course, learning how to actually pilot the aircraft. The planes that we are piloting are not very large, which makes the wind and other weather conditions affect us while in the air far m

 Today was more of the same, however the winds were not quite as nice as yesterday. We again worked on some power on and power off stalls, and practiced the recoveries for those. Additionally, we practiced the flight pattern for landing the plane a couple of times, however today this was made much more difficult with the wind. I am also notably improving on my familiarity with the area around the airport, which is helping me to find my way back each day without the help of my instructor. Overall, I feel that I am becoming far more comfortable in the aircraft each day that I enter it, and I am excited to see what next week brings. Time at concord aviation today: 3 hours Time at home working: 2 in the am and 2 in the pm Total Time today: 7 hours Total project hours: 56

 Today was great day both in the air and on the ground. The weather was far more favorable than yesterday with much more favorable winds, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. With the help of my instructor, we went over and practiced how to recover from different types of stalls, and we went over emergency situations such as the engine cutting out mid flight and practiced the recovery for such scenarios. Additionally, we practiced the flight pattern for landing three separate times, giving me a lot of additional practice with my takeoffs and landings. On the ground today, I kept going over the geography of the area as well as the different aspects of the map so that I can be better suited to navigate myself without the help of an instructor. Time at Concord Aviation: 3 hours Time at home working: 2 in the morning and 2 at night Total time today: 7 hours Total project time: 49 hours

 Unfortunately, the winds were gusting to up to 33 knots today, so flying was not in the cards for any of us. Instead, we did ground schooling for two hours, where we reviewed some old stuff that we'd gone over previously, and introduced some new things. The main focus of today's session was on reading the maps that are used to mark airspaces, airports, restricted areas and obstacles all throughout US airspace. Though it didn't look like it at first glance, these maps are surprisingly easy to read. After looking over this material, I was informed that soon I will have to perform a "cross country" flight using just this physical, paper map, so I will definitely need to get more accustomed to my surroundings in concord airspace. Overall, it was good day and I am excited to fly tomorrow. Total hours at Concord Aviation: 3 Total hours going over material at home: 2 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon Total for the day: 7 Project total: 42

Today was a really good day up in the air. Unfortunately, the Cessna plane that I have become somewhat used to flying was out of commission, so I was fortunate enough to be able to use a Piper Cherokee plane. This plane flew significantly more stable I thought, and my takeoff was far smoother than the last few days. In the air we practiced more turns at a 45 degree bank, turning around a point, and practiced the radio calls and flight patterns for landing a few times. Each day I feel that I am getting more and more comfortable with the interior of the aircraft, which I feel I demonstrated quite well today. Tomorrow the plan is to practice stalls and keep working on the maneuvers that I've been practicing up until this point. Hopefully the wind wont be too strong. Total Hours Today: 7 Studying Radio calls for landing pattern + other ground stuff: 8:30am - 10:30am Time at Concord Aviation:  10:00am - 1:00pm Study at home: 4:30 - 6:30 Total Hours: 35

 Today was a rather long day. Knowing I was going to have an hour of ground school before actually flying today, I prepared myself by studying and filling out some sheets that my instructor had given me the night before for a couple of hours. Following this I headed to the airport, went over how to perform and recover from different types of stalls, and more information about different scenarios in the air and different parts of the aircraft that I hadn't learned about at this point. During the flight itself, we performed two separate takeoffs and landings, practiced turns with a 45 degree bank, turning around a point, and some radio calls that I hadn't performed yet. This was a LOT of new information for one day, so I left the airport feeling pretty overwhelmed. Luckily, my instructor gave me some sheets to go over upon returning home, and I looked over these and familiarized myself with them for a few hours when I got home. Total Hours today: 7 Total Project Hours: 28

       This first week learning how to fly planes for Senior Project has been an amazing learning opportunity, as well as an extremely memorable and fun experience. The breadth of information that has been thrown at Ben, Henry and myself is very large, so studying this information and preparing for the next day in the air has been occupying a large amount of our time during the day. I can speak for all three of us when I say that we have been throughly enjoying learning how to fly these aircraft, as well as interacting with the amazing instructors at the concord aviation center.     Thus far in our project, we have been educated on a multitude of topics spanning from basic aerodynamics, reading weather in the sky, learning about the many instruments in the aircraft's interior and, of course, learning how to actually pilot the aircraft. The planes that we are piloting are not very large, which makes the wind and other weather conditions affect us while in the air far more than what

 Today was a busy day, much like the last three. I began the day by going over some aerodynamics and radio call practice at home, and following this, headed to the airport to begin the day of flying. With my instructor, we began by conducting the same tests on the airplane as we have the three days prior to today, which all turned out fine. After this, we taxied down to the runway and took off. Today, my takeoff was far smoother than yesterday, which set a good precedent for the rest of the flight. During the flight, we practiced turns at a 45 degree bank, turning around a point in the ground, and we worked on the pattern and descent for a proper landing sequence. Everything is beginning to feel much smoother while I am in the air, which I believe is a good sign going forward. Following the session today, my instructor gave me a few sheets to study upon returning home, which occupied some of my afternoon. Total airport/flight time today: 2 1/2 hours (went a little long) Total study tim

Today, I continued on with what I had learned on Wednesday and Tuesday in the air, and learned some more information on the ground. My instructor Mike and I began the session today by checking the weather, and going over some new information about how drag/lift works, and what to do during the event of a stall or a spiral. After this, we went out to the plane and completed the pre-flight check as we did the two days prior. Once in the aircraft, we taxied to the runway, completed the required checks and I took off. Compared to my performance yesterday, the takeoff was significantly less smooth. Upon reaching cruising altitude, we practiced some more turns around a point in the ground, and my instructor showed me how to properly descend and fly at low speeds. He also showed me how to approach the landing strip properly, and we both decided on learning how to properly land another day. Total Flight/Ground school time = 3 hours Total study time with myself and my father at home = 3 hours T

Today, I again flew in the same aircraft with the same instructor, and overall, the experience was far smoother than yesterday. Firstly, I had no motion sickness while in the air, which was partly due to the weather. I was able to do a full takeoff on my own today, and made some maneuvers in the air including S-turns and descents/ascents. I was able to have my hands on the controls while descending to the runway for landing, however the instructor took over for that part. There was a lot of information that I was presented with on how to effectively use the instruments and how to do certain maneuvers, so I spent a large amount of time going over this information with my father (a pilot himself) following the lesson. Overall, today was a great day, and I am very excited to continue tomorrow. Total flight time = 2 hours Total study time = 3 hours (1 in the morning before leaving, 2 in the afternoon following) Total = 5 hours

 Today we had our first day of actual flying. We began by going over the pre flight checks and the weather, and got in the plane to go. First, we learned how to control the plane using the rudders and brakes to steer while taxiing, which I found surprisingly difficult. After this we actually took off, and to my surprise, my instructor allowed me to do this part almost entirely on my own. I was quite shook on the way up, as the small plane made for some crazy turbulence. Mid way through the flight where we were learning how to steer, pitch up and pitch down, I became rather motion sick, and we had to call it. Overall this was a super exciting day, and I'm stoked to do it again tomorrow. Upon returning home, I studied for a little over 2 hours and that was the day. Flight time = 2 hours Study time = 2 hours total = 4 hours

Today, myself along with my partners Henry Krehbiel and Ben Greenberg traveled to the Concord Aviation Center for our first day of learning to fly. Unfortunately, the wind speed was 17mph with just to almost 30mph on the runway, so the weather was not suitable for beginners such as ourselves to try and go up into the air. Rather than actually flying today, our respective instructors ran us through the nomenclature involved in the numerous websites that are used to predict the weather and/or conditions in the air. We also went over what needs to be done before taking a plane up, which involves methodically and very thoroughly checking through the many parts of the plane's interior and exterior. My instructor Michael and I ran through this information for 2 hours until I went home. Since I returned from Concord Aviation, I have been studying the information that was presented to me to prepare for my first day of flying tomorrow. Im very excited to continue learning, and I am waiting