Slow Flight in N130JM a Piper PA-28-181
Yesterday I had my third flying lesson towards my private pilot’s licence. The objective of the lesson was to become comfortable maneuvering in slow flight. I didn’t fair too well as my head was not in the game. I was confusing myself and once I became flustered there was no “getting it” from that point on. Of course, once I touched down all the concepts seem clear as day. The initial task was to control altitude using power and to control speed using pitch. This was opposite to what my brain wanted to do. Instinctively, to control altitude I wanted apply forward or back pressure on the stick, thereby causing the airplane to ascend or descend. Likewise, to control speed I wanted to apply or reduce power. So, as a result of it taking me eons to conceptualize those tasks, I got very little practice actually maneuvering in slow flight. Much of the lesson was spent changing from cruising speeds to slow flight speeds and trying to maintain altitude/speed. I’m not sure what my mental block was, but I certainly hope it’s not a indication of future performance as it will cost me a fortune to complete the training if each and every task takes me as long to grasp. Perhaps it was just an “off day” for me…I hope it was just an “off day” for me.