Learning To Fly..from Beginner To Pilot..exercise:3 Air Experience
For some this flight will be a once in a lifetime experience, perhaps a gift from a friend, whilst for others it is the beginning of a whole new world of experiences. It is time for you to take your first flight. The purpose of this exercise is to introduce the student to the aircraft and what it actually feels like to fly. This is one lesson you will never forget. The feeling as you take off for the first time and the sensations you will experience as you climb away from the airfield will no doubt stick with you forever.
The instructor will ensure that you feel comfortable and will explain what you can expect in this lesson. Without a good explanation you may be surprised and even frightened. One particular thing to be aware of is that you may encounter some turbulence. This is more noticeable in a slow flying light aircraft but is nothing to be afraid of. It is all part of the true flying experience that you can only get in a microlight. Don’t be surprised by the rate of climb and descent either. These modern aircraft have a great power to weight ratio and can climb in excess of 1400ft per min. You will very quickly have the most amazing panoramic view of your surroundings.
Once seated the pilot will ensure you are secure and check the communications system is working properly. You will be able to talk to the pilot throughout the flight. The pilot will then go through pre-start checks before shouting 'clearprop' and starting the engine. Depending on when the engine was last run there will then be a bit of a wait for the engine to warm up. This is important as a cold engine risks icing. Soon you will be taxiing out to the runway in use for the day. You may hear some communications over the headset. Once again the pilot will go through a series of checks. He or she may well say the checks out loud so you can hear what is going on. Once all the checks have been done and you are clear to enter the active runway you will line up and before you know it will be airborne.
Once airborne your instructor will probably offer you the opportunity to take the controls yourself. A demonstration of the controls will be given before handing them over to you. You will be looking to fly straight and level and then try some gentle turns. It is really very easy and nothing to worry about. This is your first lesson in the air and the instructor is not going to ask you to do anything too demanding.
All too soon it will be time to land again. Once again the pilot will run through a few pre-landing checks. You may be surprised at the angle and speed that you come down. The thing to remember with any aircraft is you need speed, otherwise you stop flying. That's not good unless you are on the ground. In order to keep the speed up you need inertia or thrust from the engine. If you are making a glide approach the aircraft will need quite a steep nose down attitude in order to maintain a good flying speed. After all the total weight is going to be under 450kgs. That weight has to overcome drag and the only way to do this is to point to the ground. You’re not flying in a 777 today! The ground will soon appear and you will notice the round out as you fly along the runway before touching down.
Well, did you enjoy your first flight? For some this is a one off experience whilst for others it is the first of many. Should you decide to continue to learn to fly then you will move onto Exercise 4: Effects of Controls.
