ERAU | My Life @ Riddle

I have had a 2 flights this past week. Since I am in the CFI flight course, I get to do all the flying from the right seat instead of the left (which is what I have been doing for the past 3.5 years). Naturally, it all looks weird to me; like driving a car from the passenger seat. I feel like I am flying a brand new aircraft and learning my private pilot certificate all over again. It has been very challenging and sometimes my performance is not the best, but nevertheless, it has been fun.

The cool thing about it is that I am beginning to look at every single maneuver I have done in a very different way. I am learning to break down every maneuver step by step so I can teach it to my future students. In fact, I am learning how to do the maneuvers better myself since I am breaking them down so much. I have a great instructor that is always motivating me and showing me really cool pointers along the way. That is what I hope to become this summer, an ERAU flight instructor. My instructor is so motivating and so friendly and knowledgeable that I cannot wait to be the same with students of my own. Embry-Riddle looks like a place that I would love to work for, at least until I get my hours for the airlines. Until then, ERAU is what I am looking to do.

Within the Private Pilot course here at Embry-Riddle, you get to do 4 solo flights: your first solo, practice area solo, pattern solo, and a long cross-country solo! On January 20th and 22nd, I had my second and third solo flights!

On my practice area solo flight, I went out and honestly had some fun, while maintaining safety and professionalism. The pressure was on. First obstacle to overcome was pre-flight. I started to preflight around 6:00 am when the sun was just starting to rise and it was about 28 degrees out. Most of the plane had ice on it, requiring me to get de-iced. I took the windscreen cover off the plane, continued and finished pre-flighting. However, it was cold enough that ice built up on the windscreen. I sprayed it off, got in the plane, and taxied to the de-icing station.

In the practice area, I did all the maneuvers (slow flight, power on/off stalls, steep turns, and turns around a point) as well as flying around and enjoying flying solo! I finished the day with 1 landing and 1.1 hours!

Two days later, I came back for another solo, this time around the traffic pattern.

My plane of the day: Riddle 49.

This was one interesting solo! After take-off, tower instructed me to “fly runway heading,” meaning keep flying the runway heading until they tell you to turn. I overflew campus, a spot where they normally tell you to turn, but I received no approval. I restated that I was on “extended upwind,” then they approved my turn. I thought they had forgotten about me! Then, on the downwind leg of the pattern, they told me to follow traffic ahead. Then, they would tell me to turn my base leg. However, I just about reached the edge of the airspace, when at the last minute they told me to turn! Needless to say it was an interesting and fun solo flight! Here are some pictures I took!

Before Take-off checklist, to the line part

The Prescott Airport

The ERAU Flightline

ERAU Campus

Tag Archives: ERAU

Flying from the right seat is weird

Solo Flights!