AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 96

RUDDER & WRENCH
Earn a tailwheel endorsement. If
operating on the centerline and maintaining
directional control seems tough
in a Piper Cherokee, then you need to fly
a Piper Cub. Like landing a glider, ground
operations, takeoffs, and landings in a tailwheel
aircraft offer little room for error.
Flying my own airplanes became easier
after earning a tailwheel endorsement in
a Cub. And transferring those skills to a
Cessna 185 Skywagon, with its 285-horsepower
engine, upped them even more.
Learn your new advanced avionics.
course out of the Rocky Mountain Metro
Airport. Reading about density altitude is
valuable but witnessing the performance
degradation-and the ways to optimize that
performance-makes those lessons stick.
Get some spin training. Here's
another topic about which you can read
all day long and still be shocked in the airplane.
During ground school for my spin
course, I show many spin videos before
we even preflight the airplane. Still, after
the first spin, a common remark is, " Wait,
you didn't say it was going to be like that! "
I was always glad that spin training began
the first flight after I earned my private
certificate as it gave me confidence in my
everyday flying. Most people who come
to train with me aren't looking for a thrill
in an airplane; rather, they are afraid to
stall an airplane. I lead people over the
edge so they better appreciate what it
looks like, and they can better stay away
from it in everyday flying.
Get a glider rating. When every one
of your landings is an " engine-out " how
can that not be the best training ever? My
own rating years ago was one of my favorite
aviation gifts ever. While even a trainer
boasts a glide ratio roughly twice that of a
typical general aviation aircraft that experiences
an engine failure, knowing that
you have just one chance to land on the
runway provides an impressive, and even
fun, challenge.
If you've ever pushed the buttons on your
fancy new panel and merely " hoped " that
the airplane got the message, you know
it's not a good feeling. I've been there
(See " Rebirth Reflections, " December
2023 AOPA Pilot) and availing myself of
an expert who specialized in my avionics
package allows me to optimize the use of
my panel and travel with confidence.
For CFIs, learn something new. I've
taught flying and math for so many years,
it can be easy to forget what it's like to feel
overwhelmed or anxious. I laugh when I
recall the first time I saw the panel of my
Cessna 150 trainer, I wondered how I would
ever learn what all those dials did. But that
anxiety can be the reason that a student
drifts away from aviation. Several years ago,
I sat in on a senior-level English course on
American novels taught by my colleague
Tam Carlson at the university. While I
struggled to make contributions in class,
Carlson ensured I felt as though I belonged
there. So, when I catch myself thinking as an
instructor or examiner, " How can this be so
hard? " I bite my tongue, remember what it's
like to first learn and readjust my attitude so
I send the correct message.
There are many other educational
opportunities that would make a great
holiday gift, and most of these can be structured
to count as a flight review. I often
advise pilots to find something that scares
you the most and train for it in a safe, controlled
environment. You'll be giving your
passengers the best intangible of all-your
increased proficiency and safety as pilot
in command. Catherine Cavagnaro
teaches aerobatics at UOS and is the Gaston
Swindell Bruton Professor of Mathematics
at Sewanee: The University of the South.
96
AOPA PILOT / December 2024
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024

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