ET's Info-Stew

Yesterday I was supposed to fly my cross country stage check with Joe, but instead I flew with a new instructor, Erick. I passed easily, and even made a pretty descent landing at the end of the flight! Erick was a pretty easy going guy, but he was chock full of little tricks and tips. He showed me easy ways to estimate magnetic course and distance while in the air. He showed me a nice training maneuver that with practice will improve the crispness and coordination of my turns. And he gave me some good insight into how pilots do things in the real world. He compared my current stage to learning long division. After you know how to do that, they let you figure out your own tricks to make it faster. Eventually they give you a calculator. That's the same way with flying. When you're training for the private pilot, they want you to do everything longhand. But eventually you do it more ad hoc, but efficiently and effectively.

Erick told me something that is really awesome and I misunderstood. I don't need Nick to fly with me dual on every cross-country route that I take. I was confusing CFR 14 61.93b with 61.93c. The two cases in 93b state that I must have received dual instruction on routes and pattern entry at the distant airport. But the first case pertains to a pattern training airport within 25 miles and the other pertains to repeated cross-country flights within 50 NM, requiring only a single endorsement. Sure, I need Nick's endorsement, but this means less dual cross-country time! It also means I can plan solo cross-countrys to other locations, if Fresno and Modesto don't suit me.