Phil, I was in the same spot a few months ago that you're in now. I had even less training. I would do the 'floats" like you are but each time I would go a little higher. Before I knew it I was 50 or 60 feet up before settling down. A fellow pilot was watching and said well your taking off and your landing what next but to fly. I told him that I've only flown in a straight line so he said next time wander a little from side to side to feel what it's like. I did that once and on the next one I went for it and flew the pattern. What a feeling!! Joy, relief, satisfaction. I'm not saying this to belittle your progress or to shame you into doing something that you aren't ready for but just to let you know that you are just a few vertical feet from success. Take as much time as you need, only you will know when you're ready. Wishing you much success.
@@aerolite103buildersvlog8 - keep the plane flying - trust your instruments - watch to the left and right for safety - and fly it --- remember or turns will require you to pull back and some power -- stay calm -- and the plane will do the rest! Best !!! You'll love that first solo --- I have mine on video -- watch it ever now and again to remember...
@@jjjww975 , I know I know. Just DO IT!! Right? We had an old saying back in the last century. It went like this; "S*it - or get off the pot!" Many onlookers at my airport have said the same. It's me and my comfort level - or lack thereof. Mechanically I know I can fly. Mechanically the aircraft is sound and won't fall out of the sky. I know all those facts but first 'solo' is, I'd imagine, always kind of sketchy the first time. Stay tuned. It will happen soon. Thanks for the encouragement!
@@aerolite103buildersvlog8 - I flew R-22's and then bought a Mosquito XE (8 yrs of flying that ) -- built at the factory (2011) -- before I left - I had to fly it... took me 9 minutes before I hovered it...all manual throttle - no governor ... so, take your time you'll doing everything right -- don't stop -- and eventually you'll be cruising like no one's business ! Congrat's on owning an Aerolite 103 - they look like the best 103 on the market!
Phil, fyi I just found your channel yesterday and am watching several. I have been in ppc for a few years and have always wanted a fixed wing plane. Your experience and watching you gain it has been very inspirational to me. I love that you're not full of knowledge and jargon, but are approaching this thing in a safe and calculated manner. Kudos brother. Stay safe. Keep filming.
wkboggs5, thank you for your kind words. I don't know what to say other then that's why I started this channel. To help others like yorself follow their dream of flight and becoming a pilot. I hope you reach your goal. Stay tuned. The winds have been gusty at my airport lately and I won't try to fly till it's dead calm. After I get into the air and the pattern, I will attempt more winds and crosswind takeoffs. But I have to feel the time is right when I do. In the spirit of the Wright Brothers, "blue skies and tailwinds" to you. :)
So good to you and the wife out. You're doing great! It's so sad to see classic aircraft like that Beech 18 just sitting there rotting away. That lady should be in the air. Anyway, enough of my rant. Thanks for uploading You may not have a lot of suscribers, but we're loyal! Blessings as always..
Hey there.....you seem to repeatedly NOT put enough right rudder into effect to remain on the center line. Your left leg seems to tighten up and press on the left rudder for some reason.....MORE Right Rudder and you'll stay right on that Center Line. Cheers from the Oil Patch in Central WY
@@aerolite103buildersvlog8 Hey, I UNDERSTAND the stress of being behind the yoke and learn to get comfortable with flying a plane! I did my training in a Cessna 172 Hawk, and let me tell you, those first 10 hours were White Knuckle time (thrilling and I loved EVERY minute of it); it was a psychological battle with myself, trying to get my head to understand that I was 'safe', despite attempting to learn how to control something that was NO longer on the ground! Like I've said before, and others in this thread have said: go at YOUR OWN pace! Do NOT let anyone browbeat you, or attempt to shame you into getting up in the air before YOU are ready for it! The one thing that helped me is concentrating on how MUCH FUN it was, once I was up int he air! That point came when I was able to repeatedly touch down again, staying on the Center Line (which my instructor kept harping on in those first 10 hours! He had me do what I referred to as 'up and downs' 3-4 times on the runway: power up and lift off, staying above the Center Line, then ease up on the power-remaining in 'attack angle' for a 'quick' landing again. He would have me do that, POWER UP, take off, fly for a few seconds, then LAND again, then POWER UP, and do it for the 3-4 times of runway I had. During the last one, I would stay aloft, fly into the pattern and we'd do it all over again...two hours of that one day.......tiring, but man I'm here to tell you; that 2 hour exercise got me COMFORTABLE with controlling the Throttle, comfortable with eyeballing the proper attack angles for take off and landing, and comfortable in my own head, that I was NOT going to 'crash and burn' us because I was landing. It also got me used to STAYING on the Center Line, so that I wasn't even really concentrating on it, my muscle memory, through repetition had me doing it automatically about an hour into the 2 hour session.........from there, it was....LET'S FLY! Cheers from the Oil Patch in Central WY
It is my opinion that a pilot must feel comfortable leaving the bonds of earth. Until I am 'ready', as in I am confident everything will go as planned, I will wait. That's what the instructor advised and it's sound advice, in my humble opinion. Thanks for the comment. Stay tuned!
