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Show Can I Learn hy William R. Nelson. First Solo Flight TO EVERY student sooner or later comes that memorable day when he or she flies "solo" for the first time. Some students have been "turned loose" after one day of instruction. Others require fifteen or twenty hours of instruction first. The average normal nor-mal person solos after eight to ten hours of dual flying. Good flying schools carefully build up a student's confidence, as well as his ability, before sending him off alone. Seldom Is the embryo flyer fold Id advance he Is to solo. It comes, fairly unexpectedly, only when the student has demonstrated he is ready for it. "Now 1 want you to do it a couple more times for me," my instructor bad said simply. lie had climbed out of his seat ahead of me and was standing on the wing walk, leaning Into my cockpit. I recalled later that he had studied my expression minutely. After he spoke he smiled and stepped down to the ground and waved me to ?o ahead. 1 opened the throltle, pushed the stick forward and was off. I was too busy to think of anything but operating operat-ing the plane until after 1 had made my second turn and was cruising back to glide in for the lauding. Then I noticed-that empty seal ahead of me and my heart began to pound. "You have done all of this many times before," 1 said to myself. "Just imagine he is sitting there as csual. tie thinks you can do it. He said 'do it for me.' You can't fail him," ran through my mind and calmed me. The glide in was uneventful and the landing, my first solo landing, was "three-point." -That gave me some satisfaction. But it was shortlived. As the plane rolled along after landing, land-ing, I unconsciously pushed forward slightly on the right rudder pedal and before 1 discovered the error, the plane turned around in a slow "ground loop." My Instructor came running up, laughed at my consternation over the loop, and sent me away again on solo number two. The second trip was more jerky than the first. I was getting nervous. The landing was not as good, either. I worked the stick backward too fast and hit the ground harder than I should, causing a bounce. That did no damage but it shook my confidence and my instructor called it a day. Use of the Stabilizer IN THE empanage or tail assembly of an airplane is a small horizontal horizon-tal control wing which appears stationary. sta-tionary. It is just ahead of the elevator, ele-vator, that bigger wing which, hinged at its front, moves up and down. The horizontal part is the stabilizer, and It is not stationary. In die pilot's cockpit is a small control wheel or lever, as the case may be, which will move the stabilizer. I was taught Its use, which is Important Im-portant and quite simple to learn. "In level flight let go of the stick and watch the nose of the plane," my Instructor began. "If the nose remains re-mains beaded for the horizon, the stabilizer is set the way It should be. If the nose climbs, turn this wheel at your left side forward until the climbing climb-ing stops. If the nose has a tendency to go down, pull backward on the top of the wheel until it comes up to horizon hor-izon and stays there." In the air my Instructor put the plane in a level position and cautioned cau-tioned me to look along the "sights I used to spot horizon. Then b'e let go of the stick and the nose began to climb. A forward movement move-ment of the small wheel brought It down. "Now I'll change the stabilizer and you adjust it," he said through the speaking tube. As he did so the nose began to drop. I pulled back on the top of the wheel and it came up slowly. slow-ly. A forward movement on the wheel and the nose went down again. Back and forth, not over four inches either way, I moved the wheel, finally finding find-ing that position at which the nose of the ship held to a level position. "You will 6nd that you will have to adjust the stabilizer when you fly solo." he explained. "When 1 get out the weight changes and that throws the plane out of balance. If you were on a long cross-country flight yon would have to adjust the stabilizer to compensate for the difference In weight caused by the consumplion of fuel." After four turns about the field he suggested another solo flight. Something Some-thing within me told me not to try it and I begged off. "If you feel thai way," he answered, "I don't want you to go alone." That loss of nerve was another new experience. What caused it I'll never know. ((c). 1930. Western NewaDQDer OnlOD.) |