Lesson 10: Steep Turns

Saturday, January 10th. We did "steep turn drills" followed by slow flying and stall recovery, and then a couple of touch and goes. Steep turn drills are as follows:
- Note your current speed, altitude, and heading .. for example 80 kts, 4000 feet, NW.
- Visually pick a landmark in the distance dead ahead .. for example a tower.
- Bank left at 45 degrees, and stay in that turn for 360 degrees until you see the tower.
- Then immediately bank right at 45 degrees, do another 360 until you see the tower.
- Level out. You should be at the same speed, altitude, and heading that you started.

Essentially, its a 360 to the left followed by a 360 to the right. The trick is that more power is needed during the turn to maintain altitude. You also have to pull back on the stick to help keep the turn coordinated. Because of the high power, steep angle configuration, you experience a couple of "G"s during the drill. It was fun.

Here's what was not fun. My pattern work (touch and goes) are not improving at the rate I need them to. Good landings are about a good setup: being at the right altitude and airspeed in the right places in the pattern. Add to that the constant radio communication which I've barely started to do. The problem is that I'm just not flying often enough. Plain and simple. I go in once a week, dust the rust off, and then my hour is up. I have another week to get rusty again.

So I am going to make a concerted effort to fly more often.