Over the past year, EAA multimedia journalist Brady Lane chronicled his journey to earn his sport pilot certificate at
www.EAA.org/wings. Ab initio is Latin for “from the beginning,” and in this column Brady will continue to share his
adventures as he gains experience as a newly certificated pilot.—Eds.
Meeting a New Bird
Second aircraft checkout boosts confidence
ABOUT A MONTH AFTER I earned my sport pilot certificate, the plane I
learned to fly in was no longer available. I was a new pilot, but plane-less. The thought of flying a different aircraft had always sounded
fun—until then. I wrestled with a question that haunted my core:
Would my knowledge and skills transfer to this new plane or would
I feel like I was starting over?
Having to brave a checkout felt burdensome, but it was necessary to keep flying. To
keep my spirits up, I focused on the fact that
this checkout would help me become a better, more rounded pilot. Thankfully, the
plane I was getting checked out to rent, the
One of the major differences between the aircraft
Brady trained in and the one he was transitioning to was the panel, particularly adjusting to the
glass panel displays over the traditional round
gauges. This graphic shows the round gauges and
where their information is displayed on the panel.
