Yeah, around the airfield the airliners coming into KDCA are only about 1000 above us and less then a mile away over the river.

Surprisingly the ATC isn't going crazy all the time (of course we aren't on DCA's tower frequency though).

The general rule is we take off and head 180 away from DC.

Procedure is basically to announce takeoff, check in with ATC and let them know we are headed to the practice area. We have to announce major movements (i.e. we are turning back for the airfield, etc.). We also have to report traffic if we see it as well as weather changes (yesterday we were reporting ceiling changes to them). ATC will keep us abreast of any traffic as well. That's about it.

It's class B near DCA so we stay below 1500 until we hit the Class C space further away from DCA where we can get up to 2500.

Within 60 miles of D.C. is the SFRA and we are pretty much always in it except when I do cross country flights. In order to fly here you need a special certificate, which is given by your flight school.

Otherwise, if any private pilot just wanted to fly here they'd have to get checked out first before entering the area.

I Used to teach multi out of Potomac many years ago. Unless they have cleared some of the trees, you will have a good background in obstacle clearance on t/o and landing. Field elevation was like 120' with the immediate terrain as being higher. Have fun. I had a high school classmate that became part of the landscape there so keep on your toes.

Trees are still there on both sides. Takeoff from 24 gives you the most room. There are houses on a ridge above the airfield but they are pretty far out there.

Yesterday winds dictated runway 6 and the trees are very close with elevation rising up from there. So you have to maintain 700-1000 VS.

Interesting. That will keep you on your toes. When you fly to places away from there you will feel so free. Just know that there are a lot of liscenced pilots who will not fly into Class B. They will flight plan around it. Many pilots fear talking to ATC. So you are piling on some good experience right at the start.

I see it is a single runway field. So you'll be getting crosswind landing experience too.

You should feel good about the difficulty level you are starting at.

Good on you !

It will take a couple flights before you get down the feet and hands doing different things than they do when driving a car. Rudder on takeoff will get to be routine after another dozen take offs. Then you will focus on improving wing waggle and holding centerline more precisely. It will all come to you with each lesson and each flight.

Keep doing progress reports for us.

That circular hanger will give you vertigo while standing still if you are in it when they are moving the door.

Congrats on getting started!

First of all...don't worry about it. You are going to be fine and stress will only make it worse.

Second, airsickness is always better when you fly and always worse when someone else does. If you are feeling a little queasy, fess up to your instructor and ask if you can take the controls for a bit. It'll help you recage your gyro.

Third, keep cool. A little fresh breeze in the face or a damp bandana on your neck will do wonders. I know it's hard in a light civil, but hot and stuffy is a sure way to find yourself shouting at the wet compass.

Fourth, eat something. I've heard crackers are good and, as you've stated, ginger. An empty stomach, is an acidic stomach.

Fifth, as you seem to intend, fly often. You'll not only learn faster if you don't go weeks between lessons, but you will become accustomed to the ride much quicker. In Pensacola, if you are prone to airsickness, you will get sent to the Multiplace Spatial Disorientation Trainer, commonly known as the "Spin and Puke".

All flight students go at least once. If you get sick, you will go much (much) more often. I was spared the pleasure of a repeat trip, but I hear that the repetition cures the vast majority of students.

Last, relax. You know that sweet spot that you get when you're all trimmed up in FSX? Forget about it. You're going to spend the rest of your flying career, correcting something. If you are trimmed up, the corrections will be small...unless it's gusty. If you are out of trim, you will spend all of your time frustrated and squeezing the black juice out of the stick.

Trim, scan, wiggle your fingers and toes. If you let go of the stick and it goes off to the races, you are not trimmed and you are working harder than you need to.

Keep the blue side up!

Deacon

Got my PPL about 2 years ago (Which also means I'm coming up on my Flight Review). I changed instructors right after my solo and there was a mix up at my flight school, so it took me about 120 hours in 2 years to finish up. Did it all in the Los Angeles area.

Like the others have said, don't worry about the airsickness as it's probably just due to stress, which can be indicated by the degree of the death grip you have on the yoke...

Personally, I think that the most important thing in your PPL training, other learning how to play nice in the various types of airspaces, is to gain a good feel for flight. Building good stick and rudder skills will go a long way in any future training. That and learning how to conduct yourself when the airplane is at the edge of its flight envelope, particularly during stalls.

Other than your sight picture, the most important, at least in my opinion, component of feel are the control forces transmitted back to you through the yoke. The feedback is your airplane trying to talk to you, and you can only listen if you loosen up your grip. The trick is to have a strong enough grip to hold the airplane steady, whilst still be able to feel the out-of-trim forces. You manipulate the controls until the airplane is at the airspeed/attitude you want in steady flight, then you trim away the forces. It's okay to have some forces left in the stick, as long as they aren't excessive and you're holding the airplane steady.

Regarding flight simulations, I think the most helpful combo was IL-2 with a G940 force feedback joystick. Really helped me nail down crosswind landings. That, and not many other instruments to distract you. As I fly with HSFX, I usually use their wannabe T-6, which has about the same V-speeds as the 172 I was flying. Plus, when you get frustrated, you can always jump into with guns and release said frustration...

For me, I transitioned to the DA-40 right after my checkride (which was the last time I flew a 172) and did my share of giving rides to friends and flying to random places. Got super bored with flying straight and level after about 10-15 hours and took a spin/acro course. As of late, been doing a bunch of night cross countries in preparation for instrument training. After that, who knows? Maybe some glider, formation, or tailwheel...




Says who?!

The thing that helped me was I knew the instructor. I asked if we could work on landings first. I know how to control the plane from simulators over the years but if you can't land the aircraft properly...then you shouldn't be flying. It wasn't in the curriculum but he agreed with my reasoning and we started on landings.

The only time I've ever been airsick was in 1999 when my boss at the time flew me in his Piper Aztec (IIRC) from Ft Lauderdale to Holly Hill during the serious summer wildfires we were having. He flew through a couple of smoke plumes (too hard to avoid) and the turbulence got me seriously unsettled. I didn't bring anything up, but I wished I could!



The Jedi Master

Hi!

As others have said the learning curve in a busy environment can be pretty steep, but you'll be a better pilot in the end, thanks to the greater situational awareness =)

On the topic, I have had a few moments of terrible nausea over my training (Finnish Aviation Academy), the first was when I was just an observant sitting on the back seat of Beechcraft Bonanza on an IFR flight, when my schoolmate was practicing all kinds of fancy stuff in IMC, for the rest of the flight I had to focus on the ADI I could just barely see from the back, otherwise I would have thrown up all over the place =D

The next time was on an Upset Recovery Training in the Extra 300, it was my first time in an acrobatic aeroplane and it was terrible, -3 through +8 or something G's and the reason was that I hadn't eaten anything in that morning. But the next day the same kind of maneuvres, nothing. (besides having the greatest time of my life) So, you kinda get used to it, and remember to eat at least something, just like you would eat before a 5-mile jog: an hour or two before.

Says ME!




J/K, Nice shot man!

Deacon

A shot from today's flight. Coming into Runway 6 at KVKX.

Aahhhhhhhhhh. Nice.

They will become commonplace; but still wonderful.

Advice? Trim. That's all you really need to know.

Went up and did emergency procedures today. Nailed the dead stick landing (power cut on downwind). Actually was my best landing of the day lol. As long as you manage your speed and descent at the optimal glide speed for the plane you can touch down like it's nothing.

Did a power out at 2000AGL as well and did a simulated approach on a short open field before executing a go around.

8 hours in the book already in only two weeks. I should be soloing later next month. Then the real fun begins with some cross country and night flying. They fly to Ocean City a lot here so that'll be cool to hit the beach in-between legs.

Some shots of the DC skyline and the Potomac heading back into KVKX. If you look ahead on the front facing shot you can make out Reagan National. The airliners turn base for final right over the point we are at (but higher of course).

Advice



WC

Fly straight and level?

Don't drink and fly?

Take a potty break before you fly?

Don't eat a big meal before you fly?

Always check your six?

lol

I did something similar to OG:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3004133/Malibu43_s_Private_Pilot_s_Lic#Post3004133

The average time for PPL around here is more like 80 hrs, FYI. Something to think about. Plan accordingly ($$$).

If we are sharing....here's my link but I do not think it quite applies.

SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2840205/all/Pilot_Training.html