My Flight Journal

Saturday, July 19, 2003 11:12am

Another 2.1 today. Geeze was it busy. Major dogfight over the practice area. I did get to fly form with a Mooney for a while though it wasn't exactly planned or completely intentional.

Tip for anyone practicing ground ref: don't pick a field that will have you flying through an area of strong thermals on one of the legs. Damn hard to hold a altitude when the earth suddenly decides to repel you.

Back to the airport for some touch and go's and we get a controller who was near the end of his shift and really frazzled. He chewed out one pilot for stepping on (broadcasting on the radio at the same time as) someone else. I stepped on someone myself earlier - but this guy tried to transmit in between the tower giving an instruction and waiting for the other aircraft to acknowledge.

While I'm on the downwind a 727 is inbound, so I was told to make a 360 for spacing. He can have all the space he wants as far as I'm concerned! Then I ended up having to make another 360 for another aircraft that the controller put in front of us. Then he doesn't talk to us again for a while and I'm waaay downwind. I ask my instructor if we can turn base yet since we haven't been cleared to land. He said, "sure, you can turn base". So I did. Tower comes on "42RL [our aircraft's call sign] don't you turn that base yet, I haven't cleared you land." Fscker. So I get back on downwind again, though this pattern is well and truly screwed now. Oh well, made for a loooooong final which was kinda nice.

Then, while we're in the middle of T&G's they turn the airport around [reversing the direction that everyone lands and takes off]. Fun fun.

Going back out tomorrow for some more. Going to go practice emergency maneuvers, and lots of T&G's and/or stop and go's. Expect to be signed off to solo after tomorrow.

Oh, and after today the radio doesn't intimidate me at all anymore.