After going over some of the necessary ground school topics in order to demonstrate my proficiency for about the first hour or so of the stage check, it was time for me to hop in the airplane and demonstrate my flying proficiency to the designated instructor overseeing my first stage check in private pilot training. After performing the usual pre-flight inspections, I was joined my stage check instructor and she got me started on the flight portion of the stage check. As per usual, we went through the start-up procedures followed by a taxi check and I got clearance from the ground controller to begin taxiing to the runway. Following run-ups, I contacted the tower and got our flight's takeoff clearance and we made a routine take-off. Once airborne, we made our way to the practice area south of Provo and we got started.
First, my stage check instructor had me put the airplane into slow flight configuration, which I was able to demonstrate relatively well. Before going further, I'll mention right now that I performed everything I was required to do for the stage check to a satisfactory level where it was passable; nothing I did was perfect and of course had room for improvement. The important take away from today's stage check was to learn from any mistakes and make improvements for the future. After slow flight, I was asked to demonstrate power-on and power-off stalls. Again, improvements in my techniques can be made. Plus I almost missed something while doing a power-off stall, but I still passed on this part. Next, my stage check instructor did the one thing I'm still caught off guard on; she pulled the power on the throttle back to idle to simulate an engine failure!
I recalled upon the ABC's of a typical engine failure procedure. As usual, the simulated failure resulted in being unable to restart the engine after establishing the optimal glide speed, picking an emergency landing field and going through the checklists for a restart. I did alright in bringing the airplane down to where my designated landing spot would've been, except I forgot to use my flaps! Something to remember for the future...
Following that, my instructor had us return to Provo for the final part of the stage check, so she instructed me to recover from the low altitude and get back up to at least pattern altitude for when we got to Provo. After we got the latest information regarding winds and conditions at Provo, I made contact with the airport tower and entered the pattern. My stage check instructor required that I perform three regular landings, so two regular touch-and-go landings were on the agenda. I performed the first touch-and-go landing without any major issues. After getting back up in the air and setting up for the next one however, things got a little unusual.
We ended up getting an extra landing in due to the tower asking us to perform a short approach in order to accommodate a business jet that was approaching from the north several miles away. If I was alone, I wouldn't have been able to do this but with my stage check instructor with me, we performed a short approach; in fact this was really the only time she took full control of the airplane during the flight as she basically took the airplane through the quick turns to the runway. Once she brought us on the normal glide path to the runway, she returned control of the airplane to me and I performed a touch-and-go. For the stage check, this particular landing where the short approach was conducted didn't count against me.
My next regular touch-and-go and the full-stop landing that followed was routine. Following the full-stop landing we vacated the active runway and taxied back to the UVU ramp, where my stage check instructor critiqued the flight. While I have areas that have room for improvement, she passed me on today's flight. After making the necessary logbook entry, my regular flight instructor told me it's time for me to go on a solo flight next time we meet. The first milestone of my flying career is just around the corner!
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| Diamond DA-20-C1 Katana (N245NH), "Wolf 01" the aircraft I flew my first stage check in. |
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