Student is ready for open door
After a few weeks of trying to get everyone's schedule to work out, the big day finally came. After some ground instruction at San Luis County Regional Airport in California, a thorough preflight, and an explanation of what we would be working on, we climbed into the Cessna 152, secured the doors, and buckled up. Since I had some experience, including having completed the knowledge test, my instructor let me taxi and take off with close supervision.
At the run-up area, my instructor demonstrated how to do a proper runup and explained how this is a very important step before every flight. After a final check to make sure that everything was secure and ready, he called the tower and got our takeoff clearance. I taxied onto the runway and pushed the throttle forward.
As we climbed over the end of the runway, the noise in the cockpit grew considerably and I felt the wind tugging on my pants. My attention was drawn to the open door, which I had failed to secure properly. I fought with the door for a bit and finally managed to get it shut properly, only to turn back to the controls and realize that I had completely forgotten about what I was really supposed to be doing--flying the airplane. When I became distracted, my instructor took the controls and kept us in the air until I got situated. While we made our crosswind departure, he discussed with me the importance of always flying the airplane first and how little things like open doors really don't constitute an emergency--as long as you don't allow them to distract you from your primary responsibility as a pilot to maintain control of the aircraft.
I remember thinking when it happened that my instructor didn't seem interested in keeping me from falling out of the airplane. I realized afterward, however, that really he was keeping both of us from falling to the Earth by keeping the airplane under control and established in a positive rate of climb. It was made clear to me that flying the airplane is always the most important thing to do, especially during a critical phase of flight such as takeoff.
After this exciting debut, the lesson proceeded as planned, and I enjoyed an hour of climbs and descents, straight and level flight, and configuring the aircraft for landing before heading back home. My training continued quickly through stalls, ground reference maneuvers, emergency procedures, and lots of landings until I was ready to solo. That memorable day came, and after a couple trips around the pattern with my instructor, he sent me on my way to fly three full-stop landings. I was nervous, and my knees were shaking in the run-up area before my first trip around the pattern, but it was successful and exhilarating.
Following a dual cross-country down to Santa Barbara, I was signed off to fly solo in the pattern at Paso Robles Municipal Airport. Comfortable on the radios, at least with the basic requests I always made at a towered airport, I made my way out to the run-up area on a Wednesday afternoon and got ready for a good flight. However, as I began my takeoff roll, I experienced a familiar sensation as the airplane got a bit louder and the wind picked up a bit. Looking to my right, I saw that the passenger door had opened, and this time there was no convenient explanation such as not having latched that type of door before. Still on the ground, I kept my focus on flying--or maybe still driving at this point--and pulled the throttle back to idle and called the tower to say that I was aborting the takeoff. Clear of the runway, I leaned over and made sure the door was shut properly. The controller asked if I wanted to taxi back or go to the parking area. I humbly replied that I would like to try again, and I was cleared to taxi back to the end of the runway. On the second time around I made it off the ground.
In a sense, I knew exactly what to do because I had already had this sort of thing happen. I knew it wasn't really a problem, and I just kept the airplane going straight and got it stopped so that I could fix it. Had I been in the air, the situation would have been a bit more exciting, but it still would have just meant a trip around the pattern with a bit more wind in the cockpit than usual. Keeping my attention on the airplane was the most important thing to do.
As a new private pilot with fewer than 50 hours, I don't have a great deal of experience dealing with emergencies, apart from the numerous exercises in the training process and my now chronic ODS (open door syndrome).
The only real in-flight emergency I have experienced was while flying backseat recently in a Civil Air Patrol Cessna U206 during an orientation flight. Shortly after departing San Luis Obispo, with a cadet on his first flight in the right seat, we got a low voltage light and the pilot asked me to pull out the pilot's operating handbook and read the procedures. He called the tower and said that we may be coming back and kept the airplane on its original course until we had finished checking the problem. We went through the checklist and the light stayed on, indicating a failed alternator. For a time it felt like he wasn't doing anything when we should be turning back to the airport to get on the ground quickly, but again, the pilot was simply making sure that he flew the airplane first--the navigation could wait until we got things straightened out. When we got back on the ground and opened up the cowl, we found that the connector from the alternator to the battery had broken, presumably just after takeoff.
I have learned several important lessons from these experiences. First and foremost, fly the airplane. We are all taught the adage, "Aviate, navigate, communicate," and we must always maintain our control of the aircraft and not let a small problem grow into a big problem because we let it distract us from flying the airplane.
I also have learned that it is reassuring to have a knowledgeable person onboard, either a CFI or a fellow pilot, when something new or unexpected happens. As a new pilot, I know I still have a lot of firsts to experience. Whether it's just an open door or something more serious, it's always good to have someone who can help you make a safe decision. The low voltage light was a lot less exciting than it would have been if I had been flying!
Always, no matter what is going on with the airplane or in the cockpit, our first job is to fly, and there are knowledgeable people out there to help us.
"Learning Experiences" is presented to enhance safety by providing a forum for students and pilots to learn from the experiences of others. It is intended to provoke thought and discussion, acknowledging that actions taken by the authors were not necessarily the best choices under the circumstances. We encourage you to discuss any questions you have about a particular scenario with your flight instructor.
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