REFLECTOR: Got My Transition Training
Brian Michalk
michalk at awpi.com
Mon Feb 16 09:32:46 CST 2009
I returned yesterday from Sebastian. Man, I hope that's the last time I
have to fly commercial.
I have never visited the factory, nor have I really flown a velocity.
Taking the transition training was better than going to Disney World.
John Abraham is a very capable instructor. The best part about him is
that he doesn't constantly chatter like so many CFI's. After each
landing, or after a maneuver, he'll talk you through what you did wrong,
and what you got right. He gets high marks from me.
Five hours of factory training is a lot of time to practice getting used
to the V. I am pretty sure we got in more than 30 touch and goes, with
six or more of those being simulated engine failures. John made sure
that I would be ready for the things that affect first flights, and
focused a lot on engine failures, fires, and control failures. For the
ground portion we went through some basics with the plane, but again
spent some time on that punch list of things that need addressing.
During this process, we went over fire sleeving the aileron control
cables. I had not yet done this, so one more item on the punch list.
It was like having another inspection, but John going over the important
things, and me referencing my airplane in my mind. I came away with
three new tasks I need to take care of before first flight.
I was impressed by how stable the Velocity is. I can't wait to get mine
in the air. There were a few landings where I was having difficulty
managing airspeed and altitude, but nothing that would have resulted in
a dangerous landing. One or two of the simulated engine failures, we
went around because things were not set up right. Before I went to
Sebastian, I practiced 90kt no-flap approaches in a Cessna 172. That
was about right as far as setting up how the approaches look in the
Velocity, but that's about all. I never really felt behind the
Velocity. The most difficult thing for me is to keep off the ailerons
and get on the rudders when below 75kts. Once you do that, the landings
get easy. And if you are used to landing full stall, it's not that
bad. Just arrest the descent, and let the plane settle. Doing no flap
landings in the C172 above stall speed is similar.
After flying on Friday, I went over to the service center where all the
cool people hang out. There is some seriously cool stuff going on over
there. They are working on hot rods. From the rocket powered V to the
400HP XL with standard wings. Comes with air conditioning! Lots of
hangar flying too.
The transition training is top notch. I feel confidant in my ability to
not ball up my airplane on the first flight. Even if the insurance does
not require factory training, it's a good idea.
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