18.10.02     10am   SHERBURN  CESNA 150 1 HOUR

Excersize 10 from the book. Stalling & Slow Flight. & an introduction to the circuit. I had some bad glitches in concentration that made me forget what I was meant to do, but felt that i was progressing OK by the end. Still feel very much like i'm following instruments & instructions. Went through a cloud that was a strange experience, heading straight for an obstacle, then having visibility of 0 and appearing from the other side. Saw a plane nearby for the first time, going much faster than we were. Did stalling excersizes, making the plane go into a stall by increasing the angle of attack (pulling the nose up steeply) which felt quite scarey. The worst was Jane demonstrating high speed stall in a tight turn, it felt like the plane was practically on its side, and gravity became very peculiar. I guess the feeling of hanging there in our seats. Gravity and orientation.

I decided that I won't do my european pilots license, but the UK license, which only needs a minimum of 32 hours of flying. If I progress OK then it'll be much cheaper. I really feel like i'd like to continue and get my license I think. Talked to Jane when we had a break, she learnt to fly when she was young and was turned away from becoming an airline pilot because they didnt take women then, but her whole working life has been as a flying instructor it seems. She lived in Canada for 12 years and used to fly a Cesna 150 into Toronto to go shopping. Did the circuit briefing but need to really swat up on it before next week. Friday mornings are good because they get me into a routine, but bad in that i dont have much time on Thursday to really swat up on it. Need to be thinking about it all day everyday. Still very difficult to think about the experience as well as learn to fly. Apparently they had a simulator there that is used for instrument flying and draws a line around a map of where you've been.

WEATHER: Very clear & sunny day, a few clouds, but clear up to a very high altitude. Some freezing, clear up to at least 3500ft. a bit bumpy and breezy at lower altitudes.