Your First Flight Lesson

Your first flight lesson will be an exciting event for you. Not only will it introduce you to new experiences and sensations, but it will also be your introduction to new concepts and new ways of doing things. Remember that there is a lot more to flying an airplane than simply steering it around as if it were a car. In fact, the analogy of driving an automobile in two-dimensional space does not translate very well into the three-dimensional world of flight.

The Basics

An automobile travels forward and backwards, left and right. Add up and down to those dimensions and you have the space in which an airplane operates. If you recognize that an airplane tends to go faster when it descends, and slows down when it climbs, you can readily see that speed depends on more than just giving it the gas.

The throttle controls the power in both airplanes and automobiles. In a car, you control the throttle with your foot on the gas pedal. In an airplane, the throttle is a hand control which you push forward or pull back. But while throttle controls only the speed in a car, it controls both speed - and therefore lift - in an airplane. Reduce the throttle during straight-and-level flight and the airplane tends to slow which causes an immediate reduction in lift. The reduction in lift causes the nose to drop slightly and a descent results. That descent causes the airplane to speed back up again. The deceleration and acceleration balance each other out so that the airplane's speed actually remains unchanged. Thus, the real change you see from reducing the power is not a decrease in speed, but a descent.

In a very similar fashion, if you push the "yoke" (which is roughly analogous to the steering wheel of a car) forward, the nose goes down and a descent results. But the descent causes an increase in airspeed which results in an increase in lift. This tends to attenuate the descent. Increased forward pressure on the yoke is then required to maintain the original pitch down attitude. If you take your hands off the yoke, the increased airspeed causes the nose to come back up until it finally neutralizes again at the original straight-and-level attitude.

It is not important for you to fully understand these concepts of speed, power, and pitch yet. They will become obvious to you as you progress in your training. But it is important for you to realize that speed and power have different relationships in an aircraft than they do in a car.

The objective of your first lesson will be to learn the basics of aircraft control, both on the ground and in the air. On the ground, you steer the airplane with your feet on the rudder pedals. In the air, you maneuver with a combination of yoke, rudder pedals, and throttle.

On The Ground

Before going up for your flight, you and your instructor will spend time on the ground discussing the airplane and the basics of airplane operation. Outside, the two of you will "preflight" the airplane together. That is, you will inspect the airplane using a printed checklist to verify that it is ready for flight.

Once the preflight is completed, you will climb into the left seat and your instructor will join you in the right seat. Next he will discuss the instruments with you and give you a quick description of the communication and navigation radios.

Starting The Engine

With the preflight completed and the two of you buckled into your seats, your instructor will go through the pre-start checklist with you, culminating in the actual engine start. As soon as the engine is running, he will point out the oil pressure gauge. It is imperative that the needle on this gauge points in the green arc within a few seconds of engine start. This will always be your first instrument check after cranking up the engine. With proper oil pressure registering, you will next click the Avionics Master Switch to ON and put on your headset. If you can hear yourself talking in the headset, your instructor should be able to hear you, too.

Your next step is to "get the weather." This means you tune into a special radio frequency where a recorded message will tell you the current cloud heights, visibility, wind direction and speed, temperature and dewpoint, and barometric pressure. The barometric pressure is used to set the altimeter. The wind direction and speed is used to help determine which runway to use.

At a towered airport, the ground control operator will specify which runway to use for takeoff. Generally, this will be the one that faces most closely into the wind. At a non-towered field, you will have to determine the appropriate runway yourself, based on wind and other traffic that may be flying in the pattern.

Taxiing

Taxiing to the runway requires that you follow a yellow line, steering the airplane solely with your feet on the rudder pedals. It is important that you watch for other aircraft, both on the ground and in the air.

Prior to entering the runway for takeoff, you will taxi the airplane to a runup area. Some airports have a separate parking area to the side of the taxiway for this. At other airports, you are expected to stop on the taxiway for your final checks. During this runup, the engine will be checked for proper operation, the flight controls will be verified as being "free and correct", instruments will be double-checked, and elevator trim will be set for takeoff.

Now you are ready to go. At a towered airport, you will call the tower on the radio telling them "Gwinnett Tower, Cessna 737FZ is ready for takeoff at runway 2-5." Do not taxi onto the runway until the tower controller tells you to. At a non-towered airport, the obligation to stay clear of landing traffic falls squarely on your shoulders. In either case, your instructor will show you how to scan the air for inbound traffic. Never rely completely on someone else to guarantee that the final approach course is clear of landing aircraft.

Again, don't worry about trying to memorize all these activities now. They will come with experience. You're just being told about it now so that you know what to expect. One of your goals as a pilot is to avoid surprises.

In The Air

With either clearance from the tower, or visual clearance at a non-towered field, you will taxi your airplane into position on the runway centerline and apply full power on the throttle. As the airplane accelerates on the ground, your instructor will keep it straight using the rudder pedals. He will ask you to "follow him." This means he wants you to lightly touch the pedals with your feet so that you can feel his rudder movements.

When the airplane reaches approximately 60 knots, a light pull on the yoke lifts the nose into the air and the airplane lifts off in flight. You will continue this climb attitude on a straight heading until the airplane is about 500 feet from the ground. At that point, your instructor will ask you to slightly bank the plane left or right. This causes the airplane to turn in the direction of the bank and depart the traffic pattern.

You will continue your climb to an altitude of roughly two thousand feet above the ground. Once there, your instructor will help you set the power and trim for straight-and-level flight. To control the airplane so that you maintain a constant heading and altitude will be your first challenge. It is not difficult and you will probably master it in just a few minutes. Next he will help you with turns, climbs, and descents. These are all referred to as the "four fundamentals" of flight. Your intial training in these fundamentals will take approximately an hour.

All too soon, it will seem, the time to return to the airport will arrive. Your instructor will tell you what direction and altitude to fly as you work your way home. He will talk you through your entry into the traffic pattern, and guide you through the pre-landing checklist and turns toward the runway.

You will make your final turn to the runway centerline at an altitude of approximately 500 feet above the ground. You will guide the airplane down the final approach with guidance and corrections from your instructor. Together, the two of you will make the touchdown, transitioning from flight to ground operation.

Summary

During your first lesson, remember that your instructor is not going to let you do anything that would endanger you or the airplane. Don't worry about it. He will encourage you to do all that you can, but is right there with you on the controls. He knows your concerns and is constantly reading your body language - and the airplane indications - to ensure that everything stays within the predefined limits.

Your first flight lesson is a special one. It is probably one of the flights that you will always remember. Be prepared to enjoy the experience.