Ed_Wischmeyer
Well Known Member
Went up with a CFI today in a Cessna 172 just to check that my skills were okay before I start doing the PIC thing again.
The reason for the flight was that two months ago, to the day, I had a total knee replacement. That procedure placed enormous stress on every aspect of my being, and I know from experience that not every corner of my flight envelope is guaranteed to be untouched after that much surgical insult and recovery.
Why not go in the RV-9A? None of the local CFIs have flown in it, and it needs a first flight after maintenance, so not a good choice. The C172 won't be an RV-9A skills checker, of course, but that wasn't my concern. I just wanted to make sure that my situational awareness was still intact, and that I could make the plane do what I wanted to without excessive concentration (tunnel vision). After a good flight in the C172, and 700 hours in the RV-9A, I'm confident that the RV-9A skills will be at least satisfactory.
The C172 controls were a *lot* heavier than I remembered, but on the other hand, the C172 held altitude in the light chop a whole lot better than the RV-9A. The RV has exceptional avionics and an autopilot, but the C172 would be much easier to hand fly IFR. And boy, is it slow. I climb the RV faster than the C172 cruises.
My standards are damn near perfection on everything, and I did not achieve that in the C172. But aside from getting distracted and missing a radio call (she was handling the radios, but I should have been listening more closely) things were satisfactory.
Other tidbits: There's a trick to getting into the left seat of the C172 with a recalcitrant right knee, and I've not found it. Glad that physical therapy has done leg strengthening exercises, because at one point, the required right rudder pressure was noticeably more than I've had to do at PT.
Lastly... I've been researching takeoff and landing accidents for a presentation at Oshkosh this year. One C172 takeoff accident was because the pilot had too much left rudder on takeoff and couldn't get his foot off the pedal. Why? Hadn't recovered sufficiently from total knee replacement...
Thursday is an IPC in the RV-9A. WIth that done, I'll be ready for a bit more practice before heading off to Oshkosh.
See y'all there.
Ed
The reason for the flight was that two months ago, to the day, I had a total knee replacement. That procedure placed enormous stress on every aspect of my being, and I know from experience that not every corner of my flight envelope is guaranteed to be untouched after that much surgical insult and recovery.
Why not go in the RV-9A? None of the local CFIs have flown in it, and it needs a first flight after maintenance, so not a good choice. The C172 won't be an RV-9A skills checker, of course, but that wasn't my concern. I just wanted to make sure that my situational awareness was still intact, and that I could make the plane do what I wanted to without excessive concentration (tunnel vision). After a good flight in the C172, and 700 hours in the RV-9A, I'm confident that the RV-9A skills will be at least satisfactory.
The C172 controls were a *lot* heavier than I remembered, but on the other hand, the C172 held altitude in the light chop a whole lot better than the RV-9A. The RV has exceptional avionics and an autopilot, but the C172 would be much easier to hand fly IFR. And boy, is it slow. I climb the RV faster than the C172 cruises.
My standards are damn near perfection on everything, and I did not achieve that in the C172. But aside from getting distracted and missing a radio call (she was handling the radios, but I should have been listening more closely) things were satisfactory.
Other tidbits: There's a trick to getting into the left seat of the C172 with a recalcitrant right knee, and I've not found it. Glad that physical therapy has done leg strengthening exercises, because at one point, the required right rudder pressure was noticeably more than I've had to do at PT.
Lastly... I've been researching takeoff and landing accidents for a presentation at Oshkosh this year. One C172 takeoff accident was because the pilot had too much left rudder on takeoff and couldn't get his foot off the pedal. Why? Hadn't recovered sufficiently from total knee replacement...
Thursday is an IPC in the RV-9A. WIth that done, I'll be ready for a bit more practice before heading off to Oshkosh.
See y'all there.
Ed