Pilot Life: Getting Checked Out in the Piper Cherokee!

Just a little under a month after getting my private license, I got checked out in another single-engine aircraft today: the Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser! And I got it done on my third flight flying the type. I went out to the plane to start pre-flight, but the first thing I ended up doing was scraping frost that had accumulated overnight on the wings and control surfaces! My instructor eventually met me at the airplane and we both worked to get the frost off the wings. Once that was done, I did my pre-flight checks and walk-around. We then pulled the airplane over to the fuel pumps to add some fuel in the individual wing tanks. Once fueling was complete, we hopped in and got the engine started... eventually!

Today's check-out flight was conducted in N7625F.

We actually had a little difficulty with the starter following several failed attempts at getting the engine turned! At first, we thought the battery was dead or had low voltage because the plane sat outside in below-freezing temperature the night before. We tried a flooded-start and that yielded something. After letting the starter cool for a bit, we primed the engine again and it eventually got started.

With that little nightmare over with, I proceeded to taxi the Cherokee over to the runway. We ended up doing our run-ups over by the far end of the airport's runway as the winds favored Runway 12 at the moment. Once run-ups were complete, I taxied us onto the runway and got us airborne. The objective: pick up where we left off the last time I flew the Cherokee and improve my landing techniques. That meant we were staying in the pattern over Spanish Fork-Springville Airport! After getting airborne, I reset us so we were on the downwind for Runway 30 as winds became calm and it was a more favored runway due to its orientation.

In what ended up being an hour of flying the pattern, I logged eight landings total with my instructor. And better yet, my handling of the heavier Cherokee was better as was my landing techniques. My instructor gave me some useful advice throughout the flight as well. My instructor was also satisfied and confident enough in my abilities to fly the Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser! After making the eighth landing, we vacated the runway and taxied back to the ramp, where we parked and shut the engine down. After securing the aircraft, my instructor officially endorsed me on this checkout flight in my logbook and I have added a new plane to repertoire!

Considering what I've went through with regards to flight training this past year, I consider getting checked out in the Cherokee another milestone of the year!