Pilot Life: End of Course Stage Check Completed!

I got past another hurdle in my pilot training today, the end of course stage check for the private pilot certification; this was supposed to be done last Monday, but I had to deal with a family tragedy so I only ended up doing the ground portion of it. Like the previous stage checks, I went up with a flight instructor other than my usual one so he could evaluate what I've learned. It was also an opportunity to for me to demonstrate my skills as an airman. I showed up an hour early to do some weight and balance as well as performance calculations. I also took the time to get the plane out and fueled up, which my examiner (a former U-2 pilot and a Lieutenant Colonel with the Civil Air Patrol!) appreciated as he had a schedule to keep. After doing the pre-flight, we hopped in and got started up, doing the usual before-takeoff routines before we got airborne. I was instructed to get airborne using a short-field takeoff technique.

Today's stage check was conducted on board N968CT.

Once airborne, I took us south and climbed to altitude in preparation for all the performance maneuvers I would be tasked in doing for the stage check. For the most part, I was able to nail most of the things I was asked to do first time. Once we leveled off, I initiated a clearing turn (which is something I conducted prior to each maneuver) and then went into steep turns, followed by a couple of power-on and power-off stalls. My stage check examiner gave me some additional pointers along the way where needed. And understanding his vast experience, I really appreciated his input!

Satisfied, my examiner moved onto the next part, by putting me through a simulated engine-out emergency procedure. It came to me naturally: I first established the plane at its best glide speed. I then picked the best place to land and we just so happened to be close enough to the airport from where we were relative to which direction we were flying in so I picked the runway (had this been a real emergency, the runway would've been the best option possible). I then got out my emergency checklist and went through the midair engine restart procedure. As always, we proceeded under the assumption that the simulated midair engine restart was a failure so it was time to land, and we landed for real during this simulated emergency on the runway doing a touch-and go!

We were already on an extended left-base for Spanish Fork's Runway 30 so I maintained the best glide speed and went through the emergency landing checklist. I threw in flaps where necessary and we were eventually on 3-mile final for the Runway. We were still a little high (the Katana makes for a really great glider in emergency situations!), so my examiner suggested a 360 degree turn to help bleed off some altitude without jeopardizing the glide speed and glide ratio; he reminded me that in emergency situations, a lot of normal rules of aviation are allowed to be broken in order ensure flight safety and a successful landing.

After doing the 360 degree turn and re-establishing on the final approach, I proceeded towards the runway until I was able to kiss the pavement with the landing gear. I was given the a-okay to throttle forward and get back in the air, completing a touch-and-go from a simulated emergency. I have to say that this was one of my best simulated emergencies I've done; I exercised some unusual, but not-often-heard-of and often-neglected options pilots can utilize in the event of an emergency, in this case, an engine failure. This emergency definitely made appreciate airport runways a lot more!

I was on a roll following the successful simulated emergency so we moved on. I was next instructed to stay at a lower altitude because we were going to do ground reference maneuvers next. After leveling off, I determined wind direction in order to set up properly and looked for some reference points. My examiner had me do all three ground reference maneuvers I was to do: turns around a point, S-turns across a road, and finally, the rectangular course. With winds being favorable, I was able to do all three well.

Satisfied with the ground-reference portion, my examiner took the controls and had me put on my foggles for some simulated instrument work. We climbed to a higher altitude and my examiner informed me that he was about to put me through some unusual attitudes and asked that I recover from them. As always, I closed my eyes and bowed my head down and my examiner started jostling the airplane around to throw off my senses. Every time he said "Recover," I took the controls and quickly referenced my attitude indicator and recovered appropriately; we did this several times and my examiner was pleased with each recovery (I must be doing something right to be doing well as I have!).

Satisfied with unusual attitudes, the final thing my examiner had me go through while under the hood was VOR navigation. I initially had a little trouble tuning the CDI, but I eventually got it. We got a fix on the VOR at Provo Airport and I eventually navigated us towards it, watching the needle along the way. I still have a little trouble with the little things with VOR navigation so I asked my examiner for some pointers about it, which he gladly filled me in on!

I still passed on the VOR navigation, so my examiner had me remove my foggles and we were ready to finish this End of Course Stage Check with some landings and pattern work. The VOR navigation took us north of Spanish Fork, so it was a matter of crossing over midfield 500 feet above pattern altitude before swinging back around to the 45 degree entry to the downwind all while descending. Making the appropriate CTAF radio calls to report our plane's position, I set us up for the first of three landings my examiner wanted me to do. The first was short-field landing with a soft-field takoff. I did not have any problem doing so! The next was a soft-field landing followed by a normal takeoff. Again, no problem! The only problem I was having was that I was not landing on runway center line; I have to admit, I've been focused more towards perfecting the technique so my landing placement was on the sloppy side.

After the second touch-and-go, my examiner threw in a curve-ball for me; a no-flaps landing! I've never done one before, so I quickly verified what I was allowed to do in the event of flaps failure and I had to land without them. My examiner sort of walked me through it since I've never done one before, but I pulled back on engine power like normal. In this case, I was allowed to extend the downwind to bleed off altitude. I established the Katana on an extend final approach. Still too high, I executed a slip to shed even more altitude. Once glide path looked good, all I had to do was land. And since I was coming in slightly faster without the flaps to slow me down, I had to execute some aerodynamic braking by keeping the nose wheel off the ground. It was a little longer landing rollout, but a successful landing nonetheless.

And just like that, my stage check was over and my examiner said he couldn't find any reason not to send me out on a checkride so I passed! During the taxi back, we went over the strong and weak points my examiner observed and he gave me great advice, which I really appreciated. We taxied up to the hangar and I shut the engine down. We got back in time too because my examiner also teaches the private pilot ground school so he appreciated how well I did to get us back on the ground in time!

Once the plane was squared away, we met with my instructor to debrief further for a moment. My examiner signed my logbook and we called it a good flight. After today, I feel really good about how far I've come! Now it's just a matter of going back out on my own to polish up the few problem areas my examiner found and get sharpened up in preparation for the long-awaited checkride! But for now, I'll take today's successes with stride!