I read somewhere that getting your pilot’s license and especially your Instrument rating is actually a license to continually learn and prefect your flying technique. That is so true!
This short video shows a nice day for routine practice air work in the Cirrus SR22 during a bumpy North Carolina late spring day on June 10, 2024. Fortunately, the cameras managed to behave themselves and recorded some good straight ahead, wing and internal cockpit footage.
Today, we flew from Raleigh, International airport (KRDU) to a practice area near Johnston Regional airport (KJNX) in North Carolina. We did stalls, slow flight, spiral dives and emergency engine failure procedures. The latter work focused on the automation needed to maintain the proper best glide speed (88kts) while descending towards the nearest airport or open field. I had my instructor with me to monitor my work and serve as safety pilot (keeping eyes out for other aircraft) while I executed these maneuvers.
I also “discovered” the little idiosyncrasies of the flight system automation (like the navigation computer, autopilot and the instrument panel button lights that somehow got turned off) that’s normally not encountered during these maneuvers. Best to know how to deal with those things now than when things get dicey in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (aka in the clouds). So, every flight is an opportunity to learn a little bit more each time.
How do you continue your learning experience?
Enjoy!