First realworld flight in a Cessna

[Delphia 0]

Hi everybody!Some time ago I got a coupon for "Flying a Cessna on your own" for half an hour. Eventually, last sunday I had the opportunity to fly in that airplane on a small local airport near Berlin. I did already fly in a full-flight-sim at the Lufthansa Training Center in Schoenefeld two years ago which was a fantastic ride! But I knew this one here was going to be some really cool stuff and now I

[Guest RonB49]

Hi Hagen. I had a similar flight to yours (except a C-172) a few years ago here in San Antonio and my experience was great too.>And as you can see flying with the sim at home definately helps...There is no doubt this is true, if for no other reason, than cockpit familiarity. I knew what every switch and knob was for without being told. I didn't do as well as you when I taxied and I have a yoke and pedals at home.:) Did your instructor let you turn onto the base leg and then onto final? I was surprised at how much easier it is to judge distance in the real world than on a computer monitor. I landed into a nice headwind and was shocked by how far down the runway the little plane floated before touchdown.>Hope you had fun reading.I did and thank you for writing this and renewing my wonderful memory.R-

[Delphia 0]

Yes, as I already wrote, I flew it all alone. He just told me when to turn because I thought I might lack timing on this one ;-) But I agree, you know very well where you are in the real world space and you can judge quite easy how far it is to touchdown.

[Guest Gander]

Nice post, Hagen! I wish you every success in your pilot training. My training was in the Cessna 150 and my instructor was a rather heavy man. On my first solo takeoff the airplane jumped off the runway so quickly without the instructor's weight it scared me for a moment until I understood why the difference.I received training in that little 150 at a major international airport with 10,000-foot runways. It certainly makes a person feel silly to use that size runway for Cessna 150 takeoffs and landings!If you can visit the U.S. be sure to go to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and try their simulator for the FA-18 attack jet. It moves fully on all 3 axes (yaw, pitch, and roll) so you spend much of your flight vertically climbing or diving, upside down, etc. Don't eat before you try it: it's amzingly realistic!Keep us advised how your training progresses.

[vgbaron 3,496]

Thank you for that, Hagen - it brought back memories of many years and several thousand flight hours ago when I took my first ride. I especially like your reference to the "flying virus" - that one bit me too. I hope you continue and go through the PPL and further.Best of luck,VicQ6600 G0 CPU 2.4 o/c 3.65Evga 680i A1 with P31 BIOS 2G XP2-8500 DDR2 1066FSB Mushkin 996535 RAM 5-5-4-12-2T320G 7200 HD partitioned for XP/Vista/Programs 2 - 74G Raptors in RAID0 500G 7200 HD for backup SATA DVD burner Evga 8800GTS 640 PCIx XG 174.74 702/1620/792Kandalf LCS case w/ built in liquid cooling 850W Thermaltake power supplyVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-supporter-sigbanner.jpg

[Delphia 0]

Thanks for your response!@Gander10,000ft runway with a Cessna? Wow, you feel certainly lost there! :-)I

[tf51d 284]

Great story!! I know the feeling, except mine was in a Mustang.