Back in the Air

After a three month "break" due to a shoulder injury, I finally got to crawl back into the cockpit again. That's a long time, soo flying took a bit of getting used to, all over again!

Theory is in!

Yay!!! I have passed all theory exams!!!
I now have a theory certificate, that is valid for two years. I will need to do my practical exam in two years, r I'll have to take the whole theory course all over again. I don't expect that to be too much of a problem, if my shoulder does not throw me back too much. I have what is called a "frozen shoulder" (adhesive capsulitis), which is basically a deep-tissue inflammation. It was very painful for the first two months, but now the inflammation is subsiding. The joint-encapsulation is now thick and rigid at the place of the inflammation, so I experience a more "mechanical" limitation. I only have (severe) pain, when I exceed those limitations. Physiotherapy is helping me to get more reach, and I see small improvements every week. This can take a good while to completely heal, though...

 

Cross Country

After some 5 "local" lessons (from and to the same airfield) since my official start per the first of Januari this year, I now finally have flown to another airfield too!
The first so-called Cross Country flight went to Texel airport (EHTX), the second one to Teuge (EHTE).

The 28th of April (yes, I know I'm a bit late writing about it), we flew to Texel for some touch-and-goes.

Stalls

Meanwhile, I'm also taking flying lessons, of course!
I may not write each and every time about my lessons, but they do continue. I have had my seventh lesson as I write this, which is also lesson number 7 in the syllabus, so I am progressing as planned. Lesson 7 is all about slow flight and stalls. Stalling is effectively flying so slowly, that the wings reach that critical point where they stop producing lift.
So, yes, you start to fall from the sky, and no, that's not scary :)

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StallFormation.svg

Hoogvliegersdag Lelystad 2014

Busy times, with practical RT (Radio Telephony - talking to the tower) on Tuesday evenings, and still my theory course (one more lesson Meteorology, then Human Performance and Limitations) on Thursdays, plus the occasional flying lesson in between. I really hope to gt through these two exams OK, that'll leave only one - Air Law... RT takes a bit of preparation, but especially lots of practice, so that takes time as well.

Still, I wanted to be a volunteer again at the annual "Hoogvliegersdag" at my home field, Lelystad airport. That's a day, organised by the Hoogvliegers foundation, during which chronically ill or disabled children get to be a pilot for a day. They are antertained thoughout the day, and at some moment during the day, they get to fly in a real airplane. If their illnes or handicap allows it, they even get to steer the plane around a bit! That way, those children forget all their troubles for a day, and get to be a child again :)

Human Performance and Limitations

Every aviation incident has Human Factors as at least one of their root causes. So a lot of research has been put in that subject over the last few decades. Human Performance on the one side, but espacially the limitations. Man was not meant to fly, so we are taking man out of their natural environment, yet still expect them to perform above and beyond what is expected "on the ground". One of those limitations is the amount of information that can be processed. It has been demonstrated that the human brain, when overloaded with information, goes into "survival mode", where only the information that is perceived as essential for survival is processed, and the remainder is "parked" in short term memory, only to be collected again after the essential information pool is processed. Short Term memory has a limited shelf life, so it is well possible that information that is not perceived as essential, is not processed at all.
Now this is all well and understandable, but how does that affect me, the (student) pilot? Surely this will be applicable in a crisis situation, but even then ... I know what to do when things go wrong, so it won't happen to me, right?. Well, I can tell you this: you're WRONG!!!

Belated Valentine's Flight

After the cancellation of my first flight lesson this year, I enjoyed a lesson on January 12th. The next lesson I had planned for February 5th fell through because of rain, wind, and low clouds. The next one, Feb. 11th, was "blown away" by way too much wind. So, statistically, my flight planned for Valentines Day should go through, right?