That was exciting...yikes!

The flight school where I earned my certificate and had done most of my flying had suffered along with most of aviation. Just recently, they were unable to continue doing business and have closed their doors, for good. This has left a large void in what was one of a few businesses at Tipton Airport. Unwilling to give up flying the ubiquitous Cessna Skyhawk, I made arrangements with another flight school/rental company to fly their one 172SP. Aircraft rentals are not like cars. Just showing up at the school with your pilot certificate is not enough for them to hand you the keys. Before they will do that you need a "checkout ride." Every school has a different procedure for this but it almost always involves going out with one of their flight instructors and demonstrating that you know what you're doing.
I got sent out with one of the schools CFI's for my ride. It's very difficult to get in an airplane and fly with someone you've just met five minutes ago. In addition, there is more than one way to fly an airplane. More on that later. When all was said and done, and I got my signoff, I noticed that the CFI showed a certificate expiration of 8/2010. I make it a habit of checking the FAA database for the people I have instruction with. I noticed that the listing for my CFI did not show his instructor certificate in the FAA database. I did show that he was a commercial, instrument rated pilot with mutli and single engine land ratings. He was not doubt experienced and a much better pilot than I. But he had only been a CFI for two months. Is this bad? No, its not bad, but think about being a brand new, insert job here. It's difficult until you've done it for awhile.
Then there is me, an almost 100 hour pilot who has NEVER flown with this guy before. Talk about awkward. The next time I have a checkout flight, or any flight where another pilot sits in front of a set of controls, I will ask a simple question that will solve many problems. Who is the Pilot in Command? Pilot in Command. It's not just a cool sounding name. It's the person who is directly responsible for the safety of the flight. It's the person who takes the blame when something goes wrong. There can only be one PIC. During flight training and before someone has their pilot certificate, the CFI is the PIC even if they never touch any of the controls during the flight. Some may even argue that the CFI is PIC when the student is solo because they ultimately endorse the flight. When you are a student flying solo you make log entries as solo and PIC. The only time you can carry a passenger as a student and log the flight as PIC is during your checkride. When you are a certificated pilot you can receive dual instruction but still be PIC, or you could just receive dual instruction and let the CFI be PIC.
When I did my checkouts in the Tecnam Sierra, I logged my time as dual only and let the CFI be PIC.

I digress.

The checkout flight was to consist if some weight and balance calculations, landings, a stall, and a simulated forced landing. The wind at Bay Bridge was fluky so we decided to fly over to Easton and back. This also let the CFI know that I knew how to use the radio and the GPS.
Off we flew to Easton. The guy must have made my nervous, I even told him so. I set up for what I thought was a very good landing at Easton. Then at the last moment I bounced on the flare. I tried to arrest it but I bounced a second time. I was porpoising. I never let my landings get past a second bounce because a porpoise just gets worse and you will most likely end up with a collapsed nose gear if you continue. There is a very simple fix, however. It's called going around. You add full power and leave for a "do-over." It's a required and perfectly normal maneuver to perform and solves all manner of landing problems. As we continued up into the traffic pattern I could tell that the CFI was a bit confused. He asked if I had performed a go-around. I think he thought that I was doing a touch-and-go. I assured him that it was a go-around, it would have been a lame touch-and-go. He asked why I had done it and I explained about the bouncing and porpoising. He explained how I could have corrected for the porpoise. What he said was indeed correct and I could have attempted it. Perhaps someone with more than 100 hours time or more skill than I could have salvaged the landing. It also could have gone badly and ended up with a collapsed nose wheel, bent firewall, and broken prop. But either outcome deserves the same question. Who is the PIC? It it was me, and judging by the fact that I was flying the plane I had every reason to believe it was, then I was responsible for the outcome of the flight even thought someone else, an instructor, could say, "C'mon, you can make it."
As we got back into the pattern and requested the option, more comments and questions from the CFI. Once again, a clear understanding of who was PIC would have cleared it up. I was told that using full flaps on my last landing may have contributed to the bounce because the winds had been a little fluky. I told him that I agreed with that but I had only used 20 degrees of flaps and not full for that very reason. As we got onto the downwind leg he must have been paying more attention to my flap settings because now he wanted to know why I had extended 10 degrees of flaps on the downwind. I explained to him that I was taught that way, downwind with 10 degrees flaps and RPM's at the bottom of the green arc. This allowed me to stablilize in the downwind. "Yes, but you're above the 'white arc'." Aircraft airspeed indicators are marked with a white arc that signifies the normal flaps operating range. The top of the white arc indicates Vfe, the maximum flap extension speed. In the case of the Skyhawk SP it was 85 knots. We were indeed above 85 knots with flaps extended 10 degrees. Was this a test? Was he unfamiliar with the Skyhawk SP? He has most likely flown several different types and models of aircraft. Having done most of my time in Skyhawk SP's I might have been more familiar with them than he. It is documented in the POH and placarded on the flap handle that Vfe for 10 degrees flaps is 110 knots. Any more flaps and you have to be at or below 85 knots. I explained this to him and the problem was solved. He knew that I was aware of the proper speeds, and that I was taught to and deliberately flying the aircraft in that manner. The second touch and go at Easton went a whole lot better. We climbed up and out and then did a power off stall with no problems. Next came the simulated engine-out forced landing. Once again there was little in the way of problems. I hadn't really performed one of those since my checkride. The one on my checkride wasn't so good.
We headed back to Bay Bridge and I set up for my first approach to the airport in a Skyhawk. The wacky pattern, I've written about it previously, wasn't actually so bad in the Cessna. There was still a crosswind but it seemed to require very little correction. I didn't use any more than 20 degrees flaps however. A good smooth touchdown and then the roll out. The distance from the threshold of runway 29 and the turnoff to the left is 1700 ft. During the roll out I started to apply the brakes to make the turnoff. The braking was relatively hard and I momentarily felt the brakes lock. I immediately let off on the brakes to stop skidding. I reapplied the brakes near the turnoff and heard a popping noise and some hissing. I didn't immediately connect the event with the left main tire blowing out. But that's exactly what happened the left main tire blew out and we hadn't exited the runway yet. The CFI called for the controls and he tried to get us off onto the taxi way. We were unsuccessful. I radioed to the other aircraft in the pattern that we had effectively closed the runway. I also made sure that their fuel status was ok as we worked on how to get a ton of aircraft moved. We eventually called for help. A combination of pulling while lifting the left wing strut was what worked. It took awhile. We then got a dolly for the left wheel and a hitch for the nosewheel that hooked up to a truck. the airplane was towed back to the ramp and the runway was reopened. In the end I got signed off to fly their Cessna. I also had a wonderful learning experience that I can carry with me. In the end the only thing that appeared to be damaged other than a tire was pride and ego.