Complex Time with a Retractable Gear 172

A complex aircraft has flaps, retractable landing gear, and an adjustable pitch propeller. Believe it or not, I have used a Groupon more than once to get a flying lesson at a flying school that I would not otherwise have visited. As a result, I have had the opportunity to fly a complex Cessna 172 as well as a Garmin G1000 Glass Cockpit equipped Cessna 172. When I came home from a demo flight with Orange County Flight Center, I explained to my wife that I had just flown a plane with retractable landing gear, but she was astonished after she asked “Don’t they all have those?” Good stuff. Since I have done all of my primary training in either a C-152 or some flavor of a C-172, everything I have flown has had flaps. The only complexity that adds is remembering to extend flaps at the appropriate speed, and remembering to retract flaps for touch and goes and go-arounds for a landing.

With the 172RG, I get an introduction to the awesome GUMPS mnemonic checklist as follows:

G - Gas  - (Not Gear as you may think) – Have the tank selector on Both or the fullest tank

U – Undercarriage – This refers to gear – down and locked

M - Mixture – Set for landing

P - Prop – High RPM

S - Seatbelts – Fastened

Although I have been using the King Schools Private Pilot video course to supplement all of the reading I did with both the Airplane Flying Handbook and The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, after my flight at Orange County Flight Center, the instructor told me about the Cessna Pilot Training which is an updated private pilot course specific to newer Cessna 162 and 172 aircraft and it also covers the Garmin G300 Glass Panel as well as the G1000. I’ll be headed up again soon, but for now I am going to stay away from complex aircraft so I can just focus on finishing my Private Pilot with the simplest requirements possible.

Related posts:

1. 747 Airshow over the Golden Gate Bridge
2. Private Pilot License Update