First Lesson PT1: Engine start, Taxi, Engine Runup and Takeoff.
First Flying Lesson Part 1.
Engine start, taxi, engine runup and takeoff
This video is for entertainment purposes only. It is not flight instruction. This video shows what you can expect to see on your first flying lesson.
This is an automated transcription and may not be an exact transcription of what is happening in the video. Some content may require context to be understood.
Beginning: All right we just completed the pre-flight so now we're getting ready to start the engine. You listen to this thing called A.T.I.S. and what it is is it gives you airport weather conditions and it'll tell you what runway you're taking off from, what the wind direction is, what the altimeter setting is, et cetera. This is information that they automate and that's why it's called automated terminal information service(A.T.I.S.) …just for the reason that stuff so they don't have to repeat themselves every time an airplane calls up. They don't have toys don't want runway they're using what winds are using etc it alleviates the controller from having to continuously giving give that information and anyhow what's listen to it see what it says:
[Radio detail from ATIS]
okay it's information hotel so we know that with uh when we call it the ground controller before we taxi we're gonna tell this guy that we have hotel and we'll get to that in a little bit once we start the engine. You get all that get all the frequency information from a thing called the sectional and you can find it right here on the Snohomish County Pain field as we're flying out of… and it shows down here the aid is frequency of one to eight point six five and then it has the pair listed as well it doesn't have ground frequencies listed on these charts but you'll start to use these quite a bit when you're flying around especially since you're learning how to become a visual VFR pilot standing for Visual Flight Rules you're gonna have to refer to this chart. Of course the advent of GPS helped substantially in terms of staying out of airspace and stuff like that but… remember when you have a private pilot's license - Are you allowed to fly in a cloud? and the answer is no! I am NOT allowed to fly in a cloud! So, you just remember that… there are cloud clearance requirements and certain types of airspace you'll learn as you go along… but this being today his first lesson I'm not really gonna worry about that stuff.
Let's get this fired up!
I've already gone through preflight on the airplane and now and we're inside the cockpit and everything is ready to go. We're gonna go ahead and turn on the beacon switch on. The master switch is already on.
Prior to starting the engine you should have already done your walk around and made sure there's nobody out here or behind you. So, when the propeller does start spinning …you're not going to start blowing debris back into a open hanger door or towards another airplane potentially damaging it. Just so you know, rocks can pick up and fling (typically to the left).
Let's go ahead and start it up
What we do before we start…We've done all the pre-flight stuff for everything set in here and we've done our cockpit inspection. Now, what we do…and this is generic, not towards any one specific airplane… so I'll be a little bit general when I'm talking about these airplanes and not getting into specifics for just this airplane because there's several different series of Cessna 172s that have enough differences in the fuel injection or carbureted that I don't want to really get your too wrapped up in that… so for now, it's just kind of a general thing.
Let's go ahead and start that.
To start this airplane we put the mixture rich. This airplane has a fuel pump because it's fuel injected so we turn the fuel pump on, look for a fuel flow… fuel pump is off - the mixture is idle cutoff… which means pulled all the way, the throttle is a quarter inch open and then before we turn the key we want to look both around both ways and then also yell the word clear. Why do we yell that? it just means clear the propeller because we're ready to start. Again, you have your beacon switch on down here… if you don't have that on, (that's the red flashing beacon on the tail - you want to make sure that's on because when people see it and they're walking around airplanes… they see the beacon flashing which means that airplane has electrical power to it and could start at any time. That's kind of how that whole thing works out…
Okay, “clear!”
And then give it a couple of seconds before you turn the propeller on… You don't want to hear a “clear” and start it right away because, if somebody was down there, & I don't know why they would be down there…
anyhow
“Clear”
Now we're gonna go ahead and look around. Don't see anybody? We're gonna go ahead and start the airplane. The first thing we want to look for, is oil pressure and oil pressure should be coming up within 30 seconds on a warm day… or 60 seconds on a cold day. So, if it's a cold day it's gonna take a little bit longer - then I'll go ahead and turn the avionics master switch on we'll just go ahead and listen to the ATIS again just to make sure it didn't change. Oh, It's changed from hotel to Information India …so, I'll see what the difference is.
[Radio]
That's a big one right there - The altimeter setting two nine eight three - there's a little Coleman's window in here and it has two nine eight two nine nine three zero zero …I'm going to nine decimal eight three - so they're using the runways one six left and right and remember the winds the winds are 230, so, when you're talking about winds and runway headings the wind is the direction from that it's coming from so if they say the window wind is two seven zero that would be the wind's coming from the west… if the winds from one eight zero that means it's from the south …zero nine zero would be East right. In this case it's two thirty - so it's coming from the southwest and Runway one-six is the runway that we'll be taking off on. (I don't know if we're gonna be using the right or the left runway). There's two parallel runways here at this Airport.
That runway - the whole idea is that you want to take off into the wind… up to a 90 degree cross one if you have a ninety degree crosswind on a runway they could go either way but the whole idea is that you want to take off into the wind so - anyhow, let's give ground controller a call and what we're gonna tell him is who we are and who we are is Cessna 9 5 3 3 Delta.
You notice in America there's an “N” before every number in on an airplane November 9 5 3 2 Delta all the “N” stands for significance is that it's a u.s. registered airplane so that's it so anyhow we are Cessna 9 5 3 3 Deltawe're located on a thing called central ramp that's where we're parked - central ramp and we are going to be westbound with India because we're gonna go to the west… let's give them a call.
“ground [missed] Cessna 9 5 3 3 Delta central parking westbound with India… 3 3 Delta runway i 6 right off of 5 intersection via Delta 1 Cross one one two niner. “
“ok 1 6 right alpha 5 via Delta Delta 1 across runway 1 1 33 Delta Thanks”
Ok so that sounded like secret code didn't it - but what it is is all these deltas and gulfs and all that sort of thing …they're just names of taxiways is all it is. so Anyway’s - before we start taxiing when I turn the left look to the right make sure that we're clear release the brake and then immediately apply the brakes to make sure that the brakes are working. Then, to turn the airplane - believe it or not - you don't steer it like a car with the left and right…there is no left and right - notice it doesn't do anything when we're going straight down the taxiway - you actually turn this thing with your feet - so no hands. I'm steering it with my feet - pretty cool! Kind of like a sled …so how this thing steers - you can steer it with your feet - but if you just steer with the rudder pedal portion only - There's pedals on the floor - two of them - one’s not a gas pedal & the other’s not a break… it's not the way it works in airplanes… They're both rudder pedals. The bottom portion of the pedal works the rudder on the tail of the airplane, and the top portion of those pedals actually are independent - independent brakes…Right top of the right pedal for the right brake - top of the left pedal for the left brake. When you're on a long straight taxiway - you don't need to use any braking for turns - but, when you're making very tight turns …sharp turns …you have to use brake. So if you're going to be making a sharp right turn - you're gonna have to step all the way down on the rudder pedal. Then, you're also gonna have just apply some brake… well if you do that without trying to add any power… you'll just stop. Again, as we're taxiing - you always want to stay on the yellow line. When you're coming up to any intersection - you want to look behind you and make sure that there's nobody else on it.
Again - following the the taxiway here & staying on the yellow line… (so now we are on Delta right now) - so when we're taxing how fast do we taxi and how do we control the taxi speed well if you have a bunch of power put in meaning gas kind of the equivalent of stepping on the gas pedal and you've had to step on the brake at the same time. In a car wouldn’t you think that you're probably giving it too much gas? Yeah - you take your foot off the gas pedal and step on the brake…Same applies here - in this case, the gas pedal is in your right hand and is called the throttle. The brakes are on the two pedals on the floor… so anyhow you just want to taxi as long as you're in control - that's the big thing! if you're having to apply brake when you're taxing - you're taxing too fast and just need to reduce power. What I do to control the airplane a little better…is, I pull back on the control wheel - while I'm taxing & that just helps raise the nose a little bit and it keeps the propeller clearance higher off the ground - which is good - to keep it away from any rocks. That's primarily why I do it - but also…It seems to give you a little bit better control of the airplane when you're taxiing.
Like they said - we could cross that runway… the one which we just did back there - and now we're pulling up to this mysterious place called alpha five… and it sounds cryptic like you'd have to be a 32nd degree Mason to know what that means …but all that really means is this whole taxiway down here is called alpha. It starts at alpha one and it works its way all the out to alpha 10 or something at the other end. In this case - we're half way in the middle of the runway. You can see alpha five on there (on the left (in the black sign)) and then you can see the runway - three four left and one six right brief the runway three four would be to the north the runway one-six will be to the south and that's one that we're gonna take off on today so
Anyhow - okay - before we get going …we have to run the checklist to make sure that everything is checked before we take off. Before we get going we have to run the checklist to make sure that everything is checked before we take off. When we were taxiing - I made sure that the turn coordinator was working down here - now I'm taking a look at the heading indicator and setting that to the heading of three four zero (which matches our magnetic compass up here) and then I'll go ahead and put the heading bud not all airplanes have those but there's a heading bud that I'm setting for that runway so I know when I pull out turn on to that runway up that heading bug is not aligned with my current heading when I'm on the runway - then I know I'm probably on the wrong …runway so we've checked all the instruments…
my airspeed is indicating to zero
my attitude indicator is showing the wings are level
my altimeter is good
my turn coordinator wings are level by heading checks
my vertical speed indicators is zero
so these are things you'll get used to… it's a lot to absorb initially …but eventually this becomes a normal flow - just like anything in a car. So before we take off - we have to run the engine up, and in this particular airplane…we run up to 1800 rpm. Now we're checking the Magneto's… it's one flick to the left to check the left - back to post - then two clicks to the right - back to both. - then I'm looking over here at the vacuum so why is that I've checked the Magneto's those are what provide the spark for the engine there's two of them two sets of them and the vacuum drives a lot of these instruments. Now, I want to go ahead and look at the ammeter I could do that by lowering the flaps and raising them real quick just down but not too back up and that shows me that the ammeter is working - it's taking a charge. I've checked the fuel I checked everything else down here:
fuel floats are good
temperatures are good
the oil pressure is good
Now at this point - we're ready to take off …but we still have to run a checklist don't we? it's not like a car where you start it and go - these things you have to take your time and read the checklist …this checklist
parking brake is set
seatbelts are on
seat backs upright
flight controls
I'm going to check those …I'm looking in the opposite direction - I'm turning to the left but looking to the right to see that comes down… pulling back to see that the elevator comes up ….turning to the right and then looking behind me to make sure that the rudders are in fact working by stepping on each individual pedal.
The mixture is rich (that's the red knob down here that controls the fuel air mixture into the engine (higher altitude you go you there's not as much oxygen so you don't want to have as much fuel going in - so the mixture controls the mixture between the two…
the elevator trim (which we talked about earlier) has been set for takeoff and I set that on the pre-flight… remember? It's just rechecking everything that you do and (in my case) this is how I run a checklist. There's two ways you can run it - I suggest when you're brand new to do it item by item - it's just easier to do it that way - as you start flying more - you start getting used to the flow …go ahead and run your flow.
Just make gonna read the checklist to make sure you got the items - I highly recommend just going line by line …that's the best way to do it.
We did the throttle check 1800 RPM - we checked the Magneto's - the anunciar panel you checked - not every airplane has that - this particular one does - very nice airplane! throttles 1,000 rpm or less - ok so we're sitting here and I can see we have one guy right here and we have a big jet on final for landing - so I'm gonna call him up and tell him that we're ready for takeoff but I know that there's maybe a couple guys in front of us so I'm just gonna - I'm not up at the whole line in the pole position - so I'm gonna use this phraseology called “ready in sequence” and we'll tell them what we ready to do again it's who we are where we are over 9 5 3 3 Delta where alpha 5 remember - and we're ready for takeoff westbound so let me give him a call
Tower system 9 5 3 3 Delta alpha 5 - all ready for takeoff westbound.
9 5 3 3 Delta main tower roger track landing.
In this case, I saw that that guy is just sitting there and he's still running his engine up. I know this guy's landing right there - it's a big jet so I decided to disregarded the ready in sequence - if there's multiple airplanes down here then you can use ready in sequence because it just tells them if you're ready to go… and if there are 5 guys down here waiting around - they'll let you go before them because you told you them that you are ready in sequence.
ok so I'm going to go ahead and pull out here and taxi up because I don't see anybody else around here. and remember everything you do - make sure you look around before you make any move -
33 delta runway i 6 right alpha 5 clear for take off west.
Ok clear takeoff 1 6 right alpha 5 - 3 3 Delta.
a lot happens on your first flight doesn’t it - it's the way it works… you know …but it's fun stuff! There's so much information that comes to you when you're first learning to fly it feels like your head's gonna explode. That's what the beauty of flying is… is every time you take a lesson you learn something new and it starts to come together -
Go ahead and do what's called the death grip - it's looking out for traffic as we're making this turn big thing always looking out for traffic - 99% of my scan is outside - so let's go ahead and continue around on that 360 degree turn I'll show ya what happened. to learn a turn right now right what do you think is gonna happen if I let go of that control wheel? It’s gonna roll over and that's the end to captain Scott here? I know! let's let's see what happens! okay ready? okay I'm gonna release the death grip! got the death grip! then I'm releasing death grip -