After Monday’s cold-weather bust, Tuesday afternoon actually ended up being really nice. There definitely wouldn’t be any icing issues this time around. I ducked out of the office just before 4:30 and headed for PDK, arriving about ten minutes before our 5:00 scheduled time. Upon arrival, I got a bit of unexpected good news. It seemed that the student and instructor who’d flown the DA20 earlier in the day had left something at LZU, where the main Advanced office is. As such, instead of 30 minutes of tooling around, my flight would consist of a mission to LZU and back. As you might imagine, I put up no fight at the prospect of additional flight time.
Down on the ramp, Scott and I went through the preflight, with me trying to do as much as possible from memory. In no time, we were in the cockpit with the engine started, ready to go. After we got ATIS info, Scott called up ground and got taxi clearance. He got us out of the tight parking area, and then let me get in my first attempt at taxiing. This turned out to be quite a humbling experience. Since the DA20 has a castering nosewheel, at taxi speeds steering is done via differential braking. I was having difficulty getting my feet positioned correctly, and I was also having difficulty figuring out the right amount of brake to get us back on centerline, but not over. The result was a drunken weave that would have made a state trooper’s day. At least I kept it on the taxiway.
On the way out, I got a glimpse into PDK’s reputation for activity. We were taxiing behind a Cessna and a Piper. Directly behind us was another 172, and as we approached the runup area, another 172 was already there. The 172 behind us got instructions to run up on the taxiway- the four of us took up the entire runup space. After runup, as we were holding short, a business jet was directly behind us. Busy, busy, busy. We got our takeoff clearance, and Scott took over for the roll. I tried to do something useful by calling out airspeeds to him, since I figured the indicator might be tough for him to see. Climbing through 1500′, Scott handed the airplane over to me.
A quick right turn put us on course for LZU, and after leveling off at 2500′, I did a few S-turns to get a feeling for the plane. One thing I immediately noticed was that compared to other aircraft I’d had brief stick time in, the DA20 required almost no back pressure to stay level in a turn. I found myself inadvertantly making climbing turns until I got a bit of a feel for things. It seemed like no time at all before Scott was talking to the tower at LZU, and we had the field in sight. I continued to fly into the pattern, with Scott helping out a bit, until we turned base, at which point I willingly gave the airplane back to Scott to get us safely on the ground.
In the Advanced office, I got to meet Bruce, the owner of the school. Also, since the new PDK location didn’t have a credit card machine yet, I went ahead and paid for my flight at LZU. Scott also showed me the student pilot kit they use. After about 30 minutes, it was time to head back home. I got another chance to embarrass myself as we taxied away from the ramp, though my zigzags had shrunk a bit. Scott again flew the takeoff, but this time I got the plane only a couple hundred feet up. The flight back was a bit more leisurely- I flew a couple of 360s and started to feel comfortable with maintaining altitude in a turn.
As we approached the PDK airspace, things got a bit more interesting. The Tower frequency was full of chatter, and Scott had some difficulty getting a word in. I ended up flying a few more 360s to keep us out of the airspace until Scott was finally able to talk to the tower so we could enter the airspace. I continued to fly as we descended towards pattern altitude. I was still flying when we turned base and final, though Scott was working the throttles on final- I just worked on staying lined up. Scott didn’t fully take over until the last hundred feet or so.
Just like that, the fun was over. After we secured the airplane, I checked the time- nearly two hours since I had arrived. I’d gotten just over an hour of flight time for what was supposed to be a half-hour flight, and I’d had a hell of a time. The Diamond is a great-flying aircraft. Between the control stick and wonderful visibility, I found it much more pleasant than a Cessna. Back in the Advanced office, Scott and I discussed the general structure of my training, and debriefed the flight a bit. We then walked over to where Scott’s RV was hangared so I could show off my envy skills. It was nearly 8:00 by the time I finally headed for home.
Bottom line, I don’t even feel compelled to check out any other schools. I really like the DA20, and it’s cheaper to rent than a 172 at PDK. I also really like Scott- he obviously loves flying and loves sharing that with others, and he was nice enough not to make fun of my drunken taxiing. At this point, I still have to work out some details concerning financing before I can really start my training, and I hope it happens sooner rather than later. I’m beyond ready to go at this point, and I feel really good about my ability to fly the airplane.
