Hand off...

Well, I have been giving primary instruction to my son... Started him
ab initio in the Apache... He has reached the point where he can get it
out, gas and preflight, start and run up, taxi and takeoff, navigate
across downstate Michigan, around Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland , and
back, do stalls, enter and fly the pattern, configure for landing, make
the appropriate radio calls, and land...

The understanding was that I would teach him every bad habit known to
man and then turn him over to a lucky instructor... After an hour and
a half of grinding around the pattern on Sunday I decided I had done
just that...
"I'll ask Wally if he has time to go out with you."
His eyes got big.. "I'm not ready for an instructor."
"Sure you are... I'm plumb out of bad habits to teach you."... He had
no argument to counter that...
Wally was sitting in the lounge mumbling about going for lunch when I
said, "Hey, Wally you got the time to take Dennis out for a while?"...
The lounge got silent, all eyes on Wally... Wally kinda hunched down in
his chair...
"Well, sure... Ummm, but none of the airplanes are out."
"I'll help you get one out."
OK... Well, none of them have been plugged in."
"Mine is never plugged in and it runs."
His shoulders sagged... Check and mate...
So, we pushed the hangar doors open and pulled the Warrior out... I
turned Dennis over to him and became scarce...
Wally put him through a half hour airplane quiz out on an 18 degree
ramp... Then they fired up and went... Later I saw them doing touch
and goes... Finally they came back in... Dennis became scarce...
"So, how'd it go?", I asked Wally...
He shrugged, said it was good, that he needs to look to one side during
the flare , and that he had a time slot open on Wednesday afternoon...

On the way home I asked Dennis, "So, how'd it go?"...
He shrugged... "Well . . . . . . It was different... The single
engine feels a lot different from the Apache... We went out and did
takeoff and departure stalls, accellerated stalls, slow stalls, and
slow flight... Then we came back for landings... boy, there sure isn't
much to do compared to the Apache... Wally is a lot different from
you... I retard the throttle and pull carb heat, and he pushes it
off." (I am a fanatic about carb heat anytime the throttle is
retarded.) "Wally talks non stop and all you do is grunt and point."
(I do?)
"Wally, really rolls the airplane around and you are always telling me,
"Not so steep... Standard rate turns. Watch the pitch"
Wally keeps telling me to look out of the airplane and you are always
grunting and pointing at the altimeter, the air speed, the manifold
pressure, the prop.. Wally is a lot more fun to fly with!"
And that was it... So he is kicked out of the nest and making his own
way... Now I'm really nervous...


denny - grunting and pointing