Patch's Flight Schools Guide

Flight Hrs: 1.2 / Total Hrs: 2.1
Aircraft: C-152 / Airport: KGEG

We took off from Spokane International (KGEG) and took a little trip down to something called “The South Practice Area”. This is between 7 and 10 miles south of the airport. Dave (my flight instructor or CFI), said this area can get pretty busy sometimes and you really need to keep your eye out for other aircraft. Fortunately we didn’t really see any, other than the traffic in and out of GEG.

I’ve spent a lot of time with Microsoft Flight Sim, so I kind of knew a little about how to do my turns and altitude changes. I think a lot of people end up overshooting their target heading or altitude because they don’t know when to roll out. Of course, knowing the theory and actually doing it are two different things.

Part this flight was also spent just getting familiar with the area surround Spokane International. It’s amazing how different things look from 3000 above the ground. When it was time to head back to the airport, I had NO idea where I had to go. My CFI Dave pointed out a few landmarks that I could fly towards. Once I did that, I was able to see the airport, but I still wasn’t sure what runway to use.

Communications. Dave did just about all of the communications with air traffic control. Wow! I’m on the radio everyday and I was very confused by all the talk going back and forth. I know we had to change frequencies about 3 or 4 times before we were actually in the air. Dave tells me this is an area that a lot of people have a hard time. If I had decided to fly out of a Class D airport (a smaller one like Felts Field), I wouldn’t have had as much ATC communication to deal with.  When looking at flight schools, take time to consider the class airspace they operate within.

On my next flight we’re supposed to do some “touch and goes” at Deer Park, WA (KDEW). They say take offs and landings are the most dangerous part of flying, so I’m a little nervous about this. I’m still extremely excited, but very respectful of the fact that I’m flying an airplane.