2nd flight

This morning I woke to the sound of thunder... ugh. I went to the computer and checked out the forecasted weather for my airport. There looked like a lot of rain north of the runway in Houston. Winds were calm though and the sky was half clear, half high altitude cloud cover. I met CFI at the airport and we talked about the sectional airspace map, and emergency landing procedures (I had a feeling that was coming up). There is a lot I need to become familiar with on the airspace sectional map. I have also thought about getting my instrument rating after I complete my private pilot's license. With map reading knowledge and an instrument rating my freedom to fly greatly increases. I've also been looking into a handheld GPS unit. The planes I'll be renting do not have any GPS installed, so I was looking for something handheld that would work for general use too. I found the Garmin GPSMAP 96C. It's nice except for the small screen. It shows airspace, automatically logs your flights, and comes with a yoke mount. But it's also pricey, so... we'll see...

I also went out and bought a Telex Stratus 30XT noise canceling headset. I tried it out today, and it was pretty nice. So today I practiced basic flight maneuvers, stalls, a couple of landings, and then CFI threw in an emergency landing as well. All these seemed to go ok, except maybe the stalls... the plane doesn't want to stall! Or at least it's hard to keep in in a stall for very long, which is probably a good thing. CFI said I seemed to be pretty comfortable in the plane. I said I was, and that it was a nice plane to fly. He was pointing out some landmarks which were hard for me to spot initially because it was so hazy. Mental note... solo on nice clear air days until I get my bearings. And speaking of solo, I am getting more comfortable in the plane, and am looking forward to some solo time. The next flight is scheduled for next Tuesday.