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Doing my homework

I've owned my airplane for a week, but I haven't flown it yet.

As I noted earlier, my insurance company requires that I receive an hour of dual instruction in the plane before I fly it as pilot in command, either solo or with one or more passengers, and this is currently scheduled for this Friday afternoon. Weather permitting, of course. In the meantime, I've been doing some homework.

First thing is to go through the Pilot Operating Handbook for the plane. For those not familiar with pilot-speak, the POH is basically the user manual for the airplane, much like the one that comes with a new car. With a car, you can get in and drive it after some familiarization with its operation provided by the dealer or the person you bought it from. Or just sitting in it and noting where the controls are. With an airplane, doing that would be foolhardy if you've never flown that model of airplane before. Since I've flown only Cessnas, this is the situation I'm in.

In addition to the POH, there are a couple of upgraded components in the airplane that require going through the operation manual for. First is an Electronics International FP-5L Fuel Computer that was installed back in 2019. This is a fairly sophisticated instrument that provides a lot of functionality in a compact package. Because that package is compact, however, the user interface consists of two buttons and a small switch that you can push left or right from its center position. Its operation reminds me of my first digital watch or my current thermostat. In both cases, some functionality requires pushing or holding two buttons at once. I went through the manual and wrote down some notes for a quick reference that I plan to print out and carry in the plane.

The other is an Electronics International SC-5 Super Clock, also installed in 2019. It's a bit simpler than the Fuel Computer, but it's still a compact package with the same set of controls so its operation isn't exactly intuitive.

Both of these, the Fuel Computer especially, will be very useful. Because this airplane does not have a "Both" setting for the fuel valve, I need to switch between the left and right tanks as I fly in order to keep the plane balanced. The Fuel Computer is set to flash a notification after a certain amount of fuel has been consumed to remind me to switch tanks.

The Super Clock will become more useful once I start going on cross country flights. That'll be a while, though. To begin with, I plan to fly the plane mostly in the local area, practicing landings and becoming familiar with its handling characteristics. Maybe after a few such flights I'll head on over to another airport. Who knows, maybe by then I'll be able to do the traditional pilot thing and have an effectively expensive meal at the airport restaurant.



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