Checked Out in the Tecnam Sierra

After some schedule changing I was able to find a plane and an instructor to provide a checkout flight in the Tecnam Sierra.

The weather on Friday, August 22nd was pleasant, with a light breeze from the west and a broken cloud layer at about 3500ft. The visibility was very clear so I suspected that we were going to get some bumps below the cloud layer due to the unstable air. After preflight we climbed in and started up. I followed the checklist for the runup and we departed from runway 29. I left the pattern and headed east. Prior to departure I spoke with my instructor and told him that I was interested in being comfortable with the airplane no matter how many hours that took. He told me that he would not sign off on me unless I demonstrated command of the aircraft. I still found myself doing somethings that were ingrained in me from my time in the Cessna 172. The Sierra has no toe brakes but I was still trying to make them work despite that fact. The stick still took some getting used to but it is actually rather intuitive. I expected the checkout to be something like a mini checkride but my instructor sat back and let me fly the airplane. A quiet instructor is usually a good sign. It means you are doing OK and they don't have to correct anything. Since I wanted to show him that I could fly the airplane, I decided on the manuevers to fly that would help to prove it. I know that he was really interested in whether I could take off and land without a problem, but I wanted to show proficiency in other areas. To that end I demonstrated slow flight, steep turns, and a power off stall. The only surprise I got from the power off stall was the left wing dropping on me. I expected a benign stall and was frightened by the drop. I added right rudder during the recovery and the wings leveled nicely. Slow flight was actually a lot of fun as I was able to bring the plane to the edge of its envelope. After two approaches and landings, complete with forward slips we taxied back and parked. I was happy to discover that after the flight my instructor was pleased, said I was a good pilot, and signed me off to fly the Sierra solo. I plan on doing pattern work for my next flight, and then maybe a short trip to Ridgely or Easton. The video below was shot just after I turned the plane over to the next person.