Pilot Life: A Practice Flight Cut Short

Today, I had to deal with a minor setback that forced me to cut today's flight short. I started out by flying in an airplane I did not schedule myself for because the plane I've been using was running behind schedule. So I ended up flying a different airplane, but I was fine with that. It was what happened while airborne that made me decide to end the flight. More on that below...

Ended up flying in N968CT after N802CT started falling behind schedule with the guys who were flying it before I was supposed to.

After doing the pre-flight, my instructor helped me pull the plane to the fuel pumps; we figured it would be best to fuel up before I went up and save the next guy flying the plane after me a little trouble. Plus, the tanks were kind of on the low side anyways! After I was done fueling, I pulled the plane away from the pumps and hopped in got started up. After I did my run-ups, I departed on the runway and made the same traffic pattern I did yesterday. The plan was to do the same things I did yesterday by practicing my soft-field and short-field takeoffs and landings. I started the flight and pattern work with soft-field work and that's all I really ended up accomplishing...

The mishap occurred just as I was about to turn on my base leg for what was supposed to be my third touch-and-go soft-field and the airplane started pitching up. I also felt the stick being pulled back as if I trimmed the aircraft; but I didn't touch the trim controls! A quick glance at the trim position indication on the cockpit panel showed the lights flickering from up to down and vice versa in rapid succession. I realized I had a runaway trim so I pushed the stick forward with great effort in order to keep the wings level, and then I recalled a technique I learned from a fellow student at UVU and pulled the circuit breaker for the trim control. And just like that, the pressure I needed to exert to counteract the abnormal trim on the stick was no longer necessary.

I extended the downwind leg for just a bit before pushing back in the trim circuit breaker and things were normal. I still didn't trust the trim and the trim indicator in the airplane I was flying in so I decided to make a full-stop landing and cut the flight short out of precaution. I made my base turn and descent and turned again to final approach. It ended up being longer flare over the runway and I touched down and rolled out before exiting to the next available taxiway. I taxied back to the ramp, killed the engine, and noted the issue I dealt with. I got a flight instructor from Platinum Aviation to come out to the airplane and explained to him what had happened; he assured me that he would look into it and try to replicate what I experienced.

This was definitely one of the more disconcerting experiences I've had flying solo. But I'm glad I was able to recall on the training I previously received in order to handle the situation which of course resulted in a safe and successful landing. Futhermore, today's experience goes to show that I've become a better pilot compared to a year ago.