Up, Down, Left, and Right

by Philip Greenspun; revised April 2005

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Objective

This is a local flight from Bedford to the practice area and back. The student becomes proficient with straight-and-level flight, turns, climbs, and descents. The student gets better at dividing his or her attention between visual and instrument references.

Elements

preflight review of airport traffic patterns and the things that Tower controllers might say
radio communications with tower
straight and level at 2500'
90-degree clearing turns
500' descents and climbs
360-degree turns, left and right
climbing and descending turns
getting the ATIS, calling Tower, and preparing to enter the Class D

Content

student arrives with current weather at Bedford and Boston and Worcester terminal forecasts, obtained from Internet or telephone sources
preflight review of airport traffic patterns and the things that Tower controllers might say; preflight review of the New York Sectional Chart and the location of the practice area
preflight by student
passenger briefing
pilot briefing (rotation speed, heading to fly, who takes controls in emergency)
student calls Tower
takeoff, turn toward practice area, climb, level out at 2500
straight and level at 2500'
90-degree clearing turns
500' descent
360-degree left turn
500' climb
360-degree right turn (repeat descents, climbs, and turns as necessary)
descending 500' 180-degree left turn
climbing 500' 180-degree right turn
get ATIS, call Bedford tower, prepare to enter the Bedford traffic pattern
instructor takes over on base leg, just before turning final at around 500' AGL

Schedule

0-15 minutes: planning in the lounge
15-30: pre-flight and getting settled in the airplane
30-45: taxiing out and running up
45-90: the flight
90-105: park and secure airplane
105-120: evaluation and discussion

Total time: 2:00

Equipment

airport diagram
New York Sectional
Fuel strainer
headsets
clipboard
pen
scratch paper
print-outs of the following tasks:

Instructor Actions

The instructor does the final 500' of both landings and may add some rudder as necessary.

Student Actions

The student does all radio communications and manipulation of the flight controls except for the final approach and landing.