Double trouble

I passed my multi engine flight test! Phew!

I started the training in May at the flight school where I did my PPL. The multi instructor there was set to leave for an airline job so several of us signed up to get the multi rating done while he was still there. I did about 7 hours of lesson time with him through late May and into June. I thought it was a thrill to fly the Piper Seminole but I found the lessons stressful for various reasons. Near the end of June, the plane went into maintenance for a couple of weeks. When it came back online, the instructor was so booked up that I wouldn't have had time to finish the training with him before he left. I was frustrated and had to decide how to proceed.

I opted to move over to the flying club where I am also a member. Things seemed more stable and accessible there. I restarted the training with my new instructor in mid-July. It had been almost a month since my last lesson in the Seminole and now I was flying a Piper Comanche with a very different instructor! I felt in many ways that I was starting over. I loved the Comanche, though, and appreciated my instructor's patience and sense of humour.

I had a couple of enjoyable lessons in July and felt like I was getting used to the busy-ness of the fast airplane and starting to get the hang of the required exercises. In August, however, I was only able to do two lessons because of bad weather, forest fire smoke, my instructor's busy schedule, and my week away in Victoria for my seaplane rating. When I flew in late August, I was rusty and frustrated again. I tried to chill out but I felt like it was taking too long and I couldn't get into a groove.

Somehow, with a few good flights in early September, my instructor said I was ready for my flight test. We booked it for Sept 12 but it was cancelled for weather. We rebooked for Sept 17 and then the 18th but both of those were also cancelled for weather. I kept studying for days, trying to remember it all while waiting for the time to come. On the 18th, I was able to do the ground portion (an oral exam on aerodynamics, airplane systems, flight planning) so we'd at least have that out of the way if the weather ever improved! The ground portion lasted about 75 minutes. It went well and he said I had excellent knowledge. The next day, Sept 19, turned out to be a lovely blue sky day, the first we'd had for weeks (we got a lot of snow this month - two months too early!), so I was able finally to do the flight test. We were in the air for about 70 minutes, going through the circuit, stalls, steep turns, flight at reduced airspeed, and single engine procedures. After we landed and I had shut the engines down, he told me I had passed. Huge relief!

My examiner was a nice guy and said supportive things to me before we went but he was super detail-focused and picky! After the flight test, we debriefed and he told me every little thing I had done wrong (for 45 minutes). After the long list of all of my errors, he simply said, "But there was lots that was good, too." Wow!

This was a challenging rating. There was a lot of new knowledge and skill to acquire. I felt that it took my aviation experience to a whole new level. After all the work and studying, together with the frustrations of the process, I can't quite believe I'm done!