A new plane for number 5

Just before my flight yesterday, I got a call from the flight club say 63G will be out for maintenance, so they scheduled me in one of their newer Cessna 172SPs. Fine with me, as long as I don't go broke.

Differences in the SP from the N
My preflight highlighted some of the main differences between the two models: An alternate static source, 13 fuel sumps instead of 2, pressurized fuel for the fuel injection, and landing light positioned on the wings instead of the cowling. The inside of the cabin looked much nicer with the instrument panel somehow oddly familiar and identical to the panel I fly with in the sim. (end sarcasm) Starting the aircraft also requires a different procedure for priming the engine. Instead of the hand pump used in the N model, the SP has an electric fuel pump to prime the engine with. Other then all that, the laws of physics dealt exactly that same with the two aircraft.

Ground Reference Manuevers
The flight lesson was incredibly fun for the primary reason that yesterdays maneuvers were all done at 1000 ft AGL. Being this close to the ground, it was probably the first time I got to check out the scenery and look down, especially since the maneuvers required that I look at the ground instead of the horizon. Unfortunately, my next lesson will probably be quite the opposite.

The primary goal for this lesson was to learn how to keep the ground track of the aircraft where I wanted the plane to go regardless of the wind. We started with a rectangular pattern around an agricultural field. Next we flew to a large water tower and flew circles around it. Lastly, from the tower we flew to the highway and practiced S-turns.

Flight Time Logged: 1.2 Hours
Total flight time: 5.8 Hours