The weak economy caused me to reconsider the long-term prospects of working for a firm that is supported by venture capital with the end result being a job change in April. Consequently, when I married the love of my life on June 14th, I didn't have much vacation time to take to enjoy a real honeymoon. My new boss is an incredibly understanding person and an all-round great guy and he allowed me to take a couple of days off (off the record). So the day after Christy and I got married, we loaded up a nice new Cessna 172 from North Florida Flight Training (www.fly-us.com) and headed for Key West.
We had some last minute details to take care of before leaving, so we didn't go wheels up until around 1 pm. That time of day in June in Florida generally results in towering cumulous and the occasional cumulonimbus throughout the sky and June 15th was no different. I filed IFR and we flew down at 7000 feet. (As I have noted before in prior blog entries, ATC in Florida handles altitudes a bit differently than the AIM specifies. Flying southward generally results in an odd altitude assignment, so even though my heading was towards the western hemisphere, I filed for and got 7,000 feet. This put us above most of the clouds, but an occasional fluffy one towered above us.
Our route took us from Craig to the Ocala VOR, then Lakeland, then down the west coast until we went off shore somewhere south of Naples. We avoided the class B airspace at Tampa, Orlando and Miami and every so often, ATC changed our course to avoid more severe weather. Nevertheless, we found ourselves popping in and out of clouds, bouncing around and getting rained on. It made the flying that much more interesting and I was never worried.
Christy slept as we got further south and didn't wake up until we were about 20 miles away from land. All that we could see in the hazy conditions was bluegreen ocean and a few clouds in the sky. No land was evident. I used the GPS's NRST function to constantly point us at the closest airport in the unlikely event that our engine would conk out. (Or should that be CONCH out - since we would be in the keys?) At one point, we were 39 nm from the nearest airport...and that was behind us. Eventually the NRST position was Key West NAS, and then the Key West International. About 35 nm out, ATC started us down. It would have been fine with me if they kept me at 7ooo until I reached the airport with no experience over large spans of water other than Lake Okeechobe, I liked having more glide range. Nevertheless, I was able to descend at 700 fpm and enjoyed the increased airspeed that the steady descent gave me.
About 15 miles out, ATC asked if I had the airport in sight. I told him that I could see the NAS, but had never been to Key West and couldn't pick it out just yet. About 10 miles out, I spotted the runway running perpendicular to our path and I told ATC that I saw it. I had previously listened to the ATIS and had set my kollsman to the local barometer setting. ATC handed me off to the tower and I was advised to enter a left base for 9. We dropped down lower and lower and the colors in the water became more apparent. I was amazed at how much development had gone on and how little undeveloped land was there. I lined up with the runway and was cleared to land. We touched down nicely, but I think I have developed a nasty habbit in the G1000 - I tend to look at the TAS rather than IAS. AS a result, my speed was too high and the plane did not want to settle down right away. No matter, the landing was smooth and we landed without a problem. The controller asked me where I wanted to park and I told him the local FBO would be fine. He directed me to turn on Alpha 6 and look for the ground handler.
This was a pretty straight-forward flight. I was excited about going to the Keys and since my AME had recommened the trip, I can't wait to tell him all about it. The flight down was 3.2 hours with about a full hour in the soup. The return was more eventful - we had to return suddenly due to a family situation and our arrival happened to coincide with the arrival of thunderstorms just as we were lining up on final...nothing like a disappearing runway to justify a diversion! More on that later.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, May 03, 2009
More from Class Bravo
While Christy and I approached runway 18L, the traffic information system (TIS) constantly announced, "traffic! traffic!". But we knew that. We could see the steady stream of jets lined up for 18R and the other stream of jets lined up for 23. Although the tower had asked me to keep my speed up on approach because of jet traffic behind me, the TIS showed no on lined up on 18L who was within 3 miles of me. As we sat waiting to be cleared to cross runway 23, Christy started to worry about traffic landing on top of us. I wasn't worried, though. The jet that landed on 23 startled her, but we were perfectly safe. Shortly after the jet passed, the tower cleared me to cross the runway.
The controller asked, "Cessna 7-7-0, are you familiar with the Charlotte airport".
I replied, "Only as a passenger, 7-7-0".
He then told me to taxi straight ahead on 18L and turn left on Delta-4 and that would take me straight to WilsonAir. He also told me to contact ground on "point 9", meaning contact ground control on 121.9.
Flying home was equally as exciting. After loading and preflighting, I called for clearance. I'm used to receiving clearances that are different from what I filed; usually I'll be assigned "radar vectors to XYZ" - when I file direct to XYZ. That's no big deal. This time it was different. I was cleared to depart via the HUGO-8 departure, then as filed. He did not assign a transition route, which made it difficult to plug in to the GPS as it expects a transition. That didn't matter though because as soon as I departed, the tower had me turn to a heading of 270 - completely off course for the HUGO-8 departure from 18L. I'm sure that they just wanted me out of the way of the jets that were departing from 18C.
Before all that happened, though, we had to taxi. After being cleared to taxi to 18L intersection Alpha, I was told there would be a three minute delay after the DeHavilland Dash-8 departed before me. I completed the run-up on the roll and stopped at the hold short line. When I announced that I was ready to go, the tower reiterated the 3 minute wait, to which I replied, "Understood, 7-7-0". We were cleared for take off and I responded, "Skyhawk 7-7-0, cleared for takeoff on 1-8-Left" and we began to roll.
Once we were airborn, the controllers had a field day vectoring me left and right. Finally I was told to resume own navigation and I flew direct to Columbia. We had awful headwinds for this trip. The briefing showed that we would encounter 20 to 24 knot winds almost directly in our face no matter what altitude we flew at.
The rest of the trip was uneventful although we began to encounter clouds the further south we went. We bounced through them without shaking any vital parts loose. Christy slept for much of the trip.
For the landing we were cleared for the visual to 14 and the winds were reported to be 100 at 12. The were a bit gusty and the plane just didn't want to stay on the ground. After initial contact, the plane became airborne again and I held the nose up and she dropped to the ground again. I still managed to make the first turnoff.
The flying this weekend was great. Flying in and out of Class B airspace without any miscues is particularly satisfying. I logged 2.9 hours CRG-CLT with about 0.2 instrument and 3.1 CLT-CRG with .4 instrument.
The controller asked, "Cessna 7-7-0, are you familiar with the Charlotte airport".
I replied, "Only as a passenger, 7-7-0".
He then told me to taxi straight ahead on 18L and turn left on Delta-4 and that would take me straight to WilsonAir. He also told me to contact ground on "point 9", meaning contact ground control on 121.9.
Flying home was equally as exciting. After loading and preflighting, I called for clearance. I'm used to receiving clearances that are different from what I filed; usually I'll be assigned "radar vectors to XYZ" - when I file direct to XYZ. That's no big deal. This time it was different. I was cleared to depart via the HUGO-8 departure, then as filed. He did not assign a transition route, which made it difficult to plug in to the GPS as it expects a transition. That didn't matter though because as soon as I departed, the tower had me turn to a heading of 270 - completely off course for the HUGO-8 departure from 18L. I'm sure that they just wanted me out of the way of the jets that were departing from 18C.
Before all that happened, though, we had to taxi. After being cleared to taxi to 18L intersection Alpha, I was told there would be a three minute delay after the DeHavilland Dash-8 departed before me. I completed the run-up on the roll and stopped at the hold short line. When I announced that I was ready to go, the tower reiterated the 3 minute wait, to which I replied, "Understood, 7-7-0". We were cleared for take off and I responded, "Skyhawk 7-7-0, cleared for takeoff on 1-8-Left" and we began to roll.
Once we were airborn, the controllers had a field day vectoring me left and right. Finally I was told to resume own navigation and I flew direct to Columbia. We had awful headwinds for this trip. The briefing showed that we would encounter 20 to 24 knot winds almost directly in our face no matter what altitude we flew at.
The rest of the trip was uneventful although we began to encounter clouds the further south we went. We bounced through them without shaking any vital parts loose. Christy slept for much of the trip.
For the landing we were cleared for the visual to 14 and the winds were reported to be 100 at 12. The were a bit gusty and the plane just didn't want to stay on the ground. After initial contact, the plane became airborne again and I held the nose up and she dropped to the ground again. I still managed to make the first turnoff.
The flying this weekend was great. Flying in and out of Class B airspace without any miscues is particularly satisfying. I logged 2.9 hours CRG-CLT with about 0.2 instrument and 3.1 CLT-CRG with .4 instrument.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Safety at Flight Schools
Recently, someone who read this blog wanted more details about what I apparently described as unsafe practices at a local flight school. The purpose of this blog is not to bash any particular business. Therefore, I won't mention the name of the company at this point. A few examples of the operational practices that I think should be eliminated or improved on are the following:
1. During a lesson, immediately after take off - when I was still less than 200 feet above the ground, my instructor pulled the aircraft's throttle to idle and said "you just lost power, now what do you do?" I immediately pushed the throttle back in (PA-28/161) and said, "Don't ever do that on take off." He wanted to teach me to keep my hand on the throttle until the plane was 1000 feet above the ground. I had removed my hand from the throttle to adjust the manual trim.
2. A friend who was taking a lesson flew to the Palatka airport with his instructor. While in the pattern, he pulled the power to idle and asked the student if he knew what a windmilling propeller looked like. When the student said no, the instructor pulled the mixture to idle cut off and killed the engine. He then attempted to restart the engine by diving to accelerate and adding mixture. Although the attempt to restart was successful, the fact that they did this in the patter of an airport that is usually busy with student traffic and the fact that killing the engine was totally unnecessary suggest to me that this was an unsafe risk.
3. On numerous occasions I have witnessed instructors from this school violate Visual Flight Rules by either flying directly through or too close to clouds while operating under VFR. The practice area for this and other flight schools in the area overlaps the approach for the ILS 32 at Craig as well as several approaches at NAS-Jacksonville. Flying through clouds could result in a collision with similar training flights or with legitimate aircraft on instrument approaches. It is simply foolish.
4. Also on numerous occasions I have witnessed (and confirmed via handheld radio) instructors taking students much too low over congested areas such as my own neighborhood. 700+ homes in my neighborhood, the golf course and the nearby mall would seem to make the a congested area and flying lower than 1000' AGL is simply foolish.
5. Frequently the aircraft used by this company have squawks that take weeks to repair. Often these are minor such as a burned out bulb on the anti-collision lights or a landing light. But other problems include aircraft that sit for days with their fuel tanks in need of fuel. Leaving empty tanks invites water into the fuel and although this is not mandatory, it is a good practice.
6. Instructors do not enforce the use of proper check lists. For example, the Cessnas never have their fuel valve set to one or the other tank as prescribed in the POH. During runup, instructors do not test the trim controls as the tests that are shown in the POH are not shown on the checklist. Instructors do not check behind their students after tie down. Aircraft are left unlocked. Pitot covers are often lost or left in the plane. Control locks are not installed. Tiedown ropes are generally in a state of disrepair.
7. When renting aircraft, frequently, the aircraft were not refueled and ready even though they had been parked overnight.
8. The aircraft are generally not very clean. Oil streaks are found on the fuselages and a peek under the hood shows dirt an oil. The cowlings rarely are reinstalled after their 100 hour inspections in a proper way. They are generally misaligned.
Any one of these issues by itself would be minor and correctable. However, taken holistically, they suggest a pattern of operation that is in dire need of improvement. This doesn't even begin to touch on the customer service problems that I have experienced. For the most part, the people who work at this place are very kind and easy to deal with. However, when they think it is OK to call me the morning of an evening trip and tell me that I cannot take the plane that I had reserved weeks in advance simply because they wanted to use it for training flights, that is not acceptable. I understand that their primary goal is to be a flight school. Fine. But that doesn't allow canceling a flight and forcing a seven year customer to do a check ride in a more expensive plane at his expense. That is unconscionable. And trying to make up for that by giving me a free chart is not adequate. If I had been given adequate notice, I might think a bit differently, but that act was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was that incident that caused me to look elsewhere. And what I found was a selection of top notch aircraft for the same price. The competitor's aircraft were clean and have always been ready for me each time I have needed them.
So that's all I'll say on this topic. It saddens me each time I think about it and I don't care to hash it out again.
1. During a lesson, immediately after take off - when I was still less than 200 feet above the ground, my instructor pulled the aircraft's throttle to idle and said "you just lost power, now what do you do?" I immediately pushed the throttle back in (PA-28/161) and said, "Don't ever do that on take off." He wanted to teach me to keep my hand on the throttle until the plane was 1000 feet above the ground. I had removed my hand from the throttle to adjust the manual trim.
2. A friend who was taking a lesson flew to the Palatka airport with his instructor. While in the pattern, he pulled the power to idle and asked the student if he knew what a windmilling propeller looked like. When the student said no, the instructor pulled the mixture to idle cut off and killed the engine. He then attempted to restart the engine by diving to accelerate and adding mixture. Although the attempt to restart was successful, the fact that they did this in the patter of an airport that is usually busy with student traffic and the fact that killing the engine was totally unnecessary suggest to me that this was an unsafe risk.
3. On numerous occasions I have witnessed instructors from this school violate Visual Flight Rules by either flying directly through or too close to clouds while operating under VFR. The practice area for this and other flight schools in the area overlaps the approach for the ILS 32 at Craig as well as several approaches at NAS-Jacksonville. Flying through clouds could result in a collision with similar training flights or with legitimate aircraft on instrument approaches. It is simply foolish.
4. Also on numerous occasions I have witnessed (and confirmed via handheld radio) instructors taking students much too low over congested areas such as my own neighborhood. 700+ homes in my neighborhood, the golf course and the nearby mall would seem to make the a congested area and flying lower than 1000' AGL is simply foolish.
5. Frequently the aircraft used by this company have squawks that take weeks to repair. Often these are minor such as a burned out bulb on the anti-collision lights or a landing light. But other problems include aircraft that sit for days with their fuel tanks in need of fuel. Leaving empty tanks invites water into the fuel and although this is not mandatory, it is a good practice.
6. Instructors do not enforce the use of proper check lists. For example, the Cessnas never have their fuel valve set to one or the other tank as prescribed in the POH. During runup, instructors do not test the trim controls as the tests that are shown in the POH are not shown on the checklist. Instructors do not check behind their students after tie down. Aircraft are left unlocked. Pitot covers are often lost or left in the plane. Control locks are not installed. Tiedown ropes are generally in a state of disrepair.
7. When renting aircraft, frequently, the aircraft were not refueled and ready even though they had been parked overnight.
8. The aircraft are generally not very clean. Oil streaks are found on the fuselages and a peek under the hood shows dirt an oil. The cowlings rarely are reinstalled after their 100 hour inspections in a proper way. They are generally misaligned.
Any one of these issues by itself would be minor and correctable. However, taken holistically, they suggest a pattern of operation that is in dire need of improvement. This doesn't even begin to touch on the customer service problems that I have experienced. For the most part, the people who work at this place are very kind and easy to deal with. However, when they think it is OK to call me the morning of an evening trip and tell me that I cannot take the plane that I had reserved weeks in advance simply because they wanted to use it for training flights, that is not acceptable. I understand that their primary goal is to be a flight school. Fine. But that doesn't allow canceling a flight and forcing a seven year customer to do a check ride in a more expensive plane at his expense. That is unconscionable. And trying to make up for that by giving me a free chart is not adequate. If I had been given adequate notice, I might think a bit differently, but that act was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was that incident that caused me to look elsewhere. And what I found was a selection of top notch aircraft for the same price. The competitor's aircraft were clean and have always been ready for me each time I have needed them.
So that's all I'll say on this topic. It saddens me each time I think about it and I don't care to hash it out again.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Class Bravo - B is for BUSY!
Last Friday, Christy and I flew to Charlotte Douglas Airport from Craig so that we could go to my 25th Davidson College reunion. The flight up was fairly uneventful. We planned to leave at 2pm, but didn't depart until 4:15 - that's one of the advantages of flying private planes - no schedule to adhere to.
I've flown through the Class B at CLT before, but this was the first time that I have landed there. It was quite an experience.
About 40 miles south of CLT, ATC began to give me vectors for my approach. They turned me to the northeast and then every few minutes turned me 10 degrees more and more easterly. We were dropped down to 4000 feet before entering the class B. Initially, I was told to expect runway 23, but after being vectored for the downwind to 23 and pushed further and further northeast of the airport, I was subsequently told that I was being switched to 18 Left. A steady stream of heavy jets were lined up for 23 and for 18 Right. The were being brought in below me and I was eventually vectored for a base leg to 18 that took me across the path for 23 above the stream of jets. The controller gave me rapid and frequent instructions - turn to 360, then 340 then back to 360 then decend ... bang bang bang... one right after the other. Finally I was handed off to the tower and was cleared to land on 18L but I was asked to keep my speed up as much as possible. I dropped in at 140 knots and pulled power at 2 miles out, leveled until the speed dropped below flap extension speed. I progressively added flaps to full and brought her down on the numbers. As I rolled out, the tower asked if I could stop before runway 23. I said that I could and I stopped the plane. Christy was wide-eyed with all the activity around us. She wondered if a plane would be coming in behind us, but the TIS showed nothing lined up for our runway. After sitting for about 30 seconds, a large jet landed from left to right on runway 23.
It was very exciting for both of us.
More details to follow...
I've flown through the Class B at CLT before, but this was the first time that I have landed there. It was quite an experience.
About 40 miles south of CLT, ATC began to give me vectors for my approach. They turned me to the northeast and then every few minutes turned me 10 degrees more and more easterly. We were dropped down to 4000 feet before entering the class B. Initially, I was told to expect runway 23, but after being vectored for the downwind to 23 and pushed further and further northeast of the airport, I was subsequently told that I was being switched to 18 Left. A steady stream of heavy jets were lined up for 23 and for 18 Right. The were being brought in below me and I was eventually vectored for a base leg to 18 that took me across the path for 23 above the stream of jets. The controller gave me rapid and frequent instructions - turn to 360, then 340 then back to 360 then decend ... bang bang bang... one right after the other. Finally I was handed off to the tower and was cleared to land on 18L but I was asked to keep my speed up as much as possible. I dropped in at 140 knots and pulled power at 2 miles out, leveled until the speed dropped below flap extension speed. I progressively added flaps to full and brought her down on the numbers. As I rolled out, the tower asked if I could stop before runway 23. I said that I could and I stopped the plane. Christy was wide-eyed with all the activity around us. She wondered if a plane would be coming in behind us, but the TIS showed nothing lined up for our runway. After sitting for about 30 seconds, a large jet landed from left to right on runway 23.
It was very exciting for both of us.
More details to follow...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Diamond Check Out
Since North Florida Aviation's aircraft were booked for the weekend, I was left with a choice between taking Sterling's Diamond DA-40 or driving to/from Tampa. I hate driving long distances, so I had to go for a check ride in the Diamond.
Christy wanted to go with me and was not dissuaded by my warnings about stalls and steep turns, so we arrived together at the airport. I met the instructor, Mike, and we discussed the plane. I grabbed a checklist and discovered that it was somewhat similar to the Cessna G1000 checklist although the Diamond had a controllable pitch propeller. I had never flown a controllable pitch prop before.
We loaded up in the plane and I started the engine. First the prop is set to max RPM and the mixture to idle cutoff. The throttle is set to about half. The master power switch is turned on then the fuel pump is turned on while the mixture is advanced to full rich for a few seconds then back to lean. Then the key is turned to start and the engine fired up while I advanced the mixture to full rich.
After listening to the ATIS, we taxied to runway 5 and did the runup. About the only difference between the DA40 runup and the Cessna was the prop. The throttle was advanced to make the engine turn 2000 RPM, then the prop lever is pulled back until the RPM and oil pressure drop, then it is put back to max rpm. This is done three times. After that, a check of the magnetos is done and the idle is verified.
With everything ok, I taxied to runway 5 and called, "Craig Tower, Cess--, uh, Ddd-diamond star 7-5-6-Delta Sierra ready to go at 5". To which the tower replied "Are you sure?"
We all got a kick out of the smarty pants, and I quipped, "Sorry, this is my first time flying this plane. I'm ready."
We were cleared for takeoff and I taxied onto the runway. The plane tended to fishtail a bit as I accelerated. The nosewheel is not steerable, so at low speeds, the brakes do the steering and at higher speeds, it is done by the rudder. I managed to keep the nose reasonably straight and pulled her up at around 55 knots.
The best rate of climb is achieved at only 70 knots, but at that low a speed and high angle of attack, the stall warning is constantly blaring, so a slightly higher speed is recommended. With three adults in the plane, we were climbing around 900 feet per minute.
We leveled off at 3800 feet and began our maneuvers. First it was a few turns at 30 degrees, then a couple of back to back steep turns at 45 degrees to get the feel of the plane. We followed that with some slow flight and a couple of stalls. The plane really won't stall. It just sits in the buffet but no actual stall occurs. I peeked in back at Christy and she had a huge smile on her face.
By this time, the cloud layer below us had thickened and the instructor got us an instrument clearance and I flew the ILS 32 at Craig with a circle to 5. There are only three flap settings, up, first and second notch. As I pass the threshold, we had slowed to below 108 and the first notch of flaps extended. I pitched nose down to generate a 500 fpm descent and adjusted the throttle to slow us a bit. Turning base, I extended the next notch. Then on final, I pushed the prop to max rpm and pulled the throttle back further. The instructor said to keep the speed to more than 70 knots to ensure a smooth landing. He explained that the plane has a tendency to drop hard below 70. I managed to set the plane down reasonably well and the set her up for climbout - Flaps to the first notch for take off, full power and out we went. Left turns around the pattern were met with a similar landing and takeoff. We made one final landing - this time a soft field landing. I glided long with a bit of power and finally set her down smoothly. We then taxied back and parked.
Christy loved the touch-and-go landings, she later told me. It was a blast flying the new plane, but I'm still not happy with the situation that brought about its use. This flight was wonderful though and I was particularly pleased that Christy liked it.
1.0 hours of dual with .2 Actual instrument and one instrument landing.
Christy wanted to go with me and was not dissuaded by my warnings about stalls and steep turns, so we arrived together at the airport. I met the instructor, Mike, and we discussed the plane. I grabbed a checklist and discovered that it was somewhat similar to the Cessna G1000 checklist although the Diamond had a controllable pitch propeller. I had never flown a controllable pitch prop before.
We loaded up in the plane and I started the engine. First the prop is set to max RPM and the mixture to idle cutoff. The throttle is set to about half. The master power switch is turned on then the fuel pump is turned on while the mixture is advanced to full rich for a few seconds then back to lean. Then the key is turned to start and the engine fired up while I advanced the mixture to full rich.
After listening to the ATIS, we taxied to runway 5 and did the runup. About the only difference between the DA40 runup and the Cessna was the prop. The throttle was advanced to make the engine turn 2000 RPM, then the prop lever is pulled back until the RPM and oil pressure drop, then it is put back to max rpm. This is done three times. After that, a check of the magnetos is done and the idle is verified.
With everything ok, I taxied to runway 5 and called, "Craig Tower, Cess--, uh, Ddd-diamond star 7-5-6-Delta Sierra ready to go at 5". To which the tower replied "Are you sure?"
We all got a kick out of the smarty pants, and I quipped, "Sorry, this is my first time flying this plane. I'm ready."
We were cleared for takeoff and I taxied onto the runway. The plane tended to fishtail a bit as I accelerated. The nosewheel is not steerable, so at low speeds, the brakes do the steering and at higher speeds, it is done by the rudder. I managed to keep the nose reasonably straight and pulled her up at around 55 knots.
The best rate of climb is achieved at only 70 knots, but at that low a speed and high angle of attack, the stall warning is constantly blaring, so a slightly higher speed is recommended. With three adults in the plane, we were climbing around 900 feet per minute.
We leveled off at 3800 feet and began our maneuvers. First it was a few turns at 30 degrees, then a couple of back to back steep turns at 45 degrees to get the feel of the plane. We followed that with some slow flight and a couple of stalls. The plane really won't stall. It just sits in the buffet but no actual stall occurs. I peeked in back at Christy and she had a huge smile on her face.
By this time, the cloud layer below us had thickened and the instructor got us an instrument clearance and I flew the ILS 32 at Craig with a circle to 5. There are only three flap settings, up, first and second notch. As I pass the threshold, we had slowed to below 108 and the first notch of flaps extended. I pitched nose down to generate a 500 fpm descent and adjusted the throttle to slow us a bit. Turning base, I extended the next notch. Then on final, I pushed the prop to max rpm and pulled the throttle back further. The instructor said to keep the speed to more than 70 knots to ensure a smooth landing. He explained that the plane has a tendency to drop hard below 70. I managed to set the plane down reasonably well and the set her up for climbout - Flaps to the first notch for take off, full power and out we went. Left turns around the pattern were met with a similar landing and takeoff. We made one final landing - this time a soft field landing. I glided long with a bit of power and finally set her down smoothly. We then taxied back and parked.
Christy loved the touch-and-go landings, she later told me. It was a blast flying the new plane, but I'm still not happy with the situation that brought about its use. This flight was wonderful though and I was particularly pleased that Christy liked it.
1.0 hours of dual with .2 Actual instrument and one instrument landing.
Friday, March 20, 2009
End of a Flying Relationship
Since 2001 I have been renting aircraft from Sterling Flight Training. I fly nearly every week and spend thousands of dollars each year with this flight school at Craig Municipal Airport. That relationship is about to end and this makes me sad.
For several weeks I have had a Skyhawk reserved so I could fly to Tampa to take my new fiancee and her daughter to meet my family. This morning, I received a call from Sterling's chief instructor telling me that I couldn't have the plane because they wanted to use it for training. I would have to take their Diamond DA40, an aircraft that I have never flown. To do this, I would have to get a check ride at some point in the next 24 hours. Because of their last minute change, I did not have an option to rent an aircraft from North Florida Flight Training which is also at the same airport - their planes were already booked.
I called Irene Malone, a very nice lady and the wife of the school's owner to discuss the situation. She took my number and said Jay Lawrence, the new Chief Instructor would call. I told her that actions like this were going to lose her a customer. Jay and I discussed the situation and he finally agreed to let me take the plane for this weekend, but I would have to make alternative arrangements for the following weekend. This was acceptable because I had already arranged with North Florida to have a plane for the weekend.
About an hour later, Jay called me back and advised me that I couldn't have the plane because Scott Malone, Irene's dimwitted son, told him that he could not allow the plane to be gone this weekend regardless of reservations. Scott is a former US Airways Express pilot who quit the airline to fly charters at Malone Air. Although I have been flying with his family for 7 years, I seriously doubt that he has the faintest clue about who I am. He probably has no idea that I spend between $7,000 and $8,000 per year with Sterling Flight Training on aircraft rental. Heck, he's never even greeted me when I walked in the place. It is bonehead maneuvers like Scott's that will cost Sterling Flight Training their business. This weekend will be the last time I rent a plane from them.
The Diamond has a G1000 panel like the Skyhawk, but it lacks the autopilot and cargo capacity. It takes much longer to take off and to land. It is faster, but not fast enough to justify the $180 per hour (versus $150 - an increase from the $120 that had been the rate for the 'Hawk.)
I'm sure that the Diamond is a great plane, but the problem is that they let me reserve the plane for weeks and then dropped me from the schedule with less than 24 hours notice. That's a poor business practice. Combine that business practice with the stunts that some of their instructors have pulled (see prior entries) as well as the accident rate for their aircraft and I think this place is a recipe for disaster. So maybe I'm better off with a better aircraft provider. Perhaps North Florida will value my business more than Sterling does. I have referred numerous students and renters to Sterling over the years. It is unfortunate that I can no longer do so.
For several weeks I have had a Skyhawk reserved so I could fly to Tampa to take my new fiancee and her daughter to meet my family. This morning, I received a call from Sterling's chief instructor telling me that I couldn't have the plane because they wanted to use it for training. I would have to take their Diamond DA40, an aircraft that I have never flown. To do this, I would have to get a check ride at some point in the next 24 hours. Because of their last minute change, I did not have an option to rent an aircraft from North Florida Flight Training which is also at the same airport - their planes were already booked.
I called Irene Malone, a very nice lady and the wife of the school's owner to discuss the situation. She took my number and said Jay Lawrence, the new Chief Instructor would call. I told her that actions like this were going to lose her a customer. Jay and I discussed the situation and he finally agreed to let me take the plane for this weekend, but I would have to make alternative arrangements for the following weekend. This was acceptable because I had already arranged with North Florida to have a plane for the weekend.
About an hour later, Jay called me back and advised me that I couldn't have the plane because Scott Malone, Irene's dimwitted son, told him that he could not allow the plane to be gone this weekend regardless of reservations. Scott is a former US Airways Express pilot who quit the airline to fly charters at Malone Air. Although I have been flying with his family for 7 years, I seriously doubt that he has the faintest clue about who I am. He probably has no idea that I spend between $7,000 and $8,000 per year with Sterling Flight Training on aircraft rental. Heck, he's never even greeted me when I walked in the place. It is bonehead maneuvers like Scott's that will cost Sterling Flight Training their business. This weekend will be the last time I rent a plane from them.
The Diamond has a G1000 panel like the Skyhawk, but it lacks the autopilot and cargo capacity. It takes much longer to take off and to land. It is faster, but not fast enough to justify the $180 per hour (versus $150 - an increase from the $120 that had been the rate for the 'Hawk.)
I'm sure that the Diamond is a great plane, but the problem is that they let me reserve the plane for weeks and then dropped me from the schedule with less than 24 hours notice. That's a poor business practice. Combine that business practice with the stunts that some of their instructors have pulled (see prior entries) as well as the accident rate for their aircraft and I think this place is a recipe for disaster. So maybe I'm better off with a better aircraft provider. Perhaps North Florida will value my business more than Sterling does. I have referred numerous students and renters to Sterling over the years. It is unfortunate that I can no longer do so.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Back in the Air!
When I went for my medical in January, I indicated that I had had a kidney stone in March of 2008. Consequently, the doctor rejected my application. I followed the instructions on the AOPA website for kidney stones, but they missed a few things. I had to go to a urologist, have an ultrasound and x-rays of my kidneys, ureters and bladder, then two different blood tests. My doctor then had to write a letter stating that I was had no stones present and was not likely to have another. This documentation was sent to the FAA and several weeks later, I received my second class medical with no restrictions.
So, yesterday, Christy and I flew in N512MA, an old, tired Piper Warrior II. This plane is a far cry from the G1000 Skyhawks that have spoiled me lately. Due to some last minute problems at home, we were late arriving at the airport and we didn't get the engine started until shortly before 2pm. The weather was perfect for VFR flight with a 7 knot breeze, few clouds and lots of blue sky.
We departed Craig to the west and I tuned the 290 radial from the CRG VORTAC so I could have an indication that would keep me out of the JAX class C airspace. I climbed to 4,500 feet and we followed interstate 10 westward towards Glen St. Mary. Christy appeared to be thrilled by the view and was pointing out landmarks that she knew. We eventually flew over her small town and circled her house a few times after dropping down to 1,200 feet. Then I tuned the VOR for Cecil Field and we climbed to 3,500 feet and overflew Cecil. From Cecil it was eastbound to my neighborhood and we circled my house at about 1,500 feet. I noticed that my Dad had arrived at my house, so we headed back to the airport.
I listened to information Charlie at Craig then called the tower. I was instructed to enter a right downwind for 14 and report midfield. We descended to 1000 feet and I pointed at the airport. When I reached midfield, the tower cleared me to land. I reduced power to 1,700 RPM and put in the first notch of flaps. I trimmed for a nose down attitude and began a 500 fpm descent. I turned base and dropped the second notch. Then a turn to final and the final notch of flaps. I dropped a little below the glideslope and pulled the nose up. The plane slowed nicely. Low wing planes tend to float a bit especially if you come in hot, but I came in just right. As the speed dropped, I held the nose high and the wheels touched down gently on the numbers. I was particularly pleased with the landing especially considering that I had not flown since Christmas and it had been quite some time since I had flown a Warrior.
We had a beautiful flight and a wonderful time. 1.1 hours of VFR flight.
So, yesterday, Christy and I flew in N512MA, an old, tired Piper Warrior II. This plane is a far cry from the G1000 Skyhawks that have spoiled me lately. Due to some last minute problems at home, we were late arriving at the airport and we didn't get the engine started until shortly before 2pm. The weather was perfect for VFR flight with a 7 knot breeze, few clouds and lots of blue sky.
We departed Craig to the west and I tuned the 290 radial from the CRG VORTAC so I could have an indication that would keep me out of the JAX class C airspace. I climbed to 4,500 feet and we followed interstate 10 westward towards Glen St. Mary. Christy appeared to be thrilled by the view and was pointing out landmarks that she knew. We eventually flew over her small town and circled her house a few times after dropping down to 1,200 feet. Then I tuned the VOR for Cecil Field and we climbed to 3,500 feet and overflew Cecil. From Cecil it was eastbound to my neighborhood and we circled my house at about 1,500 feet. I noticed that my Dad had arrived at my house, so we headed back to the airport.
I listened to information Charlie at Craig then called the tower. I was instructed to enter a right downwind for 14 and report midfield. We descended to 1000 feet and I pointed at the airport. When I reached midfield, the tower cleared me to land. I reduced power to 1,700 RPM and put in the first notch of flaps. I trimmed for a nose down attitude and began a 500 fpm descent. I turned base and dropped the second notch. Then a turn to final and the final notch of flaps. I dropped a little below the glideslope and pulled the nose up. The plane slowed nicely. Low wing planes tend to float a bit especially if you come in hot, but I came in just right. As the speed dropped, I held the nose high and the wheels touched down gently on the numbers. I was particularly pleased with the landing especially considering that I had not flown since Christmas and it had been quite some time since I had flown a Warrior.
We had a beautiful flight and a wonderful time. 1.1 hours of VFR flight.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Grounded. Dammit!
Once again the Libertarian in me is screaming for the government to get the hell out of my life. But, my wails fall on deaf ears. Here's the situation: Almost a year ago, I was awakened by a pain in my back. The pain was getting stronger and stronger and I recognized it as being caused by a kidney stone. I had one about 9 years earlier and it is hard to forget that intense pain.
I got out of bed, drank a bottle of water and hoped that it would pass. When it became apparent that the pain was getting worse, I asked my wife to drive me to the hospital. (I'm not married any longer, but it has nothing to do with a kidney stone). The first time I had a kidney stone, I drove myself to the hospital after experiencing pain for 4 days.
The E.R. doctor gave me some saline and a flomax injection. Flomax is usually for urinary trouble resulting from an enlarged prostate, however, it also helps people pass kidney stones. I was x-rayed and they confirmed that I had a stone and that it had already moved down the ureter. I asked the doctor for some coffee and orange juice because I still didn't seem to have an ability to urinate. Finally, the beverages had the expected effect. I passed the stone - it sounded like a b-b hitting the urinal, but it was actually very small.
I left the hospital, went to the airport and caught a flight to Boston - I had missed my earlier flight.
The point of all this detail is that although kidney stones can cause debilitating pain, in every situation, I have managed to deal with it and I am certain that if I had one in flight, I would have no trouble landing the plane.
The FAA doesn't see it that way. Apparently, I was supposed to tell them as soon as I had the stone. I didn't realize that. When I went for my bi-annual medical review, the doctor told me that I would have to obtain the records from my hospital event, visit a urologist and then send the results of this to the FAA. According to the doctor, I should be able to fly by March.
I haven't gone a month without flying since I took my first lesson. I was told that I could go up with an instructor, so that would be ok, but more expensive. Oh well. I just have to jump through the bureaucratic hoops if I want to fly.
I got out of bed, drank a bottle of water and hoped that it would pass. When it became apparent that the pain was getting worse, I asked my wife to drive me to the hospital. (I'm not married any longer, but it has nothing to do with a kidney stone). The first time I had a kidney stone, I drove myself to the hospital after experiencing pain for 4 days.
The E.R. doctor gave me some saline and a flomax injection. Flomax is usually for urinary trouble resulting from an enlarged prostate, however, it also helps people pass kidney stones. I was x-rayed and they confirmed that I had a stone and that it had already moved down the ureter. I asked the doctor for some coffee and orange juice because I still didn't seem to have an ability to urinate. Finally, the beverages had the expected effect. I passed the stone - it sounded like a b-b hitting the urinal, but it was actually very small.
I left the hospital, went to the airport and caught a flight to Boston - I had missed my earlier flight.
The point of all this detail is that although kidney stones can cause debilitating pain, in every situation, I have managed to deal with it and I am certain that if I had one in flight, I would have no trouble landing the plane.
The FAA doesn't see it that way. Apparently, I was supposed to tell them as soon as I had the stone. I didn't realize that. When I went for my bi-annual medical review, the doctor told me that I would have to obtain the records from my hospital event, visit a urologist and then send the results of this to the FAA. According to the doctor, I should be able to fly by March.
I haven't gone a month without flying since I took my first lesson. I was told that I could go up with an instructor, so that would be ok, but more expensive. Oh well. I just have to jump through the bureaucratic hoops if I want to fly.
Staying Current
Staying instrument current can be a challenge in a place like Florida where we have so much sunshine. I would much rather fly in actual IFR than in simulated and arranging for a safety pilot can be a hassle at times.
This time of year, we tend to have a few days of low ceilings and fog and a few Saturdays ago, the sky was cooperating. The ceiling had risen to 300' overcast by the time I got to the airport. I would be flying the Archer again and that would give me good steam gauge practice...and I wouldn't be spoiled by any autopilot.
I wondered how thick the cloud layer would be when I took off and my question was answered suprisingly quickly. I was out of the clouds by 1000'. This was perfect IFR weather. It wasn't too windy or stormy - just a layer of fog that had risen to slightly above minimums.
I filed for a round-trip to CRG and departed on runway 5. ATC turned me to a heading of 080 at first and then progressively gave me 160 in 20 degree increments it seemed. There was a decent wind above the clouds and I think the controller wanted to get a feel for the amount of drift I would experience. I advised the controller that I would like the ILS32 approach at CRG and would follow that with more of the same. He gave me a 100 heading for my climbout on missed and assigned 2000 as my clearance altitude. I flew along above the solid layer of clouds until I moved off shore where the clouds nearly disappeared. ATC turned me for my base leg about 5 miles southeast of the ADERR intersection. Then about half a mile east of the localizer, I was turned to 300 and told to maintain 2000 until established on the approach. I had previously obtained the ATIS weather information for CRG and the plane was set up for the approach. As the needle began to close in , started my turn to line up on the localizer. Just south of ADERR the glideslope needle reached one dot above center and I pulled the first notch of flaps. I was maintaining 90 knots in my steady descent now and the clouds were solid in front of me. Focused on the needles, I made small adjustments to the trim and to my heading in order to keep the needles centered. I entered the clouds and it was solid white around me. Nothing to do but maintain my instrument scan and pay close attention to the altitude. I called out 500 feet to myself and still couldn't see the runway. The tower cleared me for the low approach and I continued lower. About 300 feet, I popped out of the clouds and there was the runway right ahead of me. I felt ver proud that I had executed this instrument approach so flawlessly.
As I crossed the threshold, I pushed the throttle, began to climb and retracted the flaps. I then told the tower that I was going missed and he handed me off to Jax Approach. I turned the plane to 100, continued my climb and called Jax. Two more approaches followed similar paths, however, by the last approach, it was clear that the clouds were burning off quickly and I decided against flying a fourth approach.
That was such a fun flight due to the moderate challenge of the cloud layer. Single pilot IFR is a great confidence builder provided that you don't crash.
I logged .6 hours of IFR with three approaches and a total of 1.1 hours.
This time of year, we tend to have a few days of low ceilings and fog and a few Saturdays ago, the sky was cooperating. The ceiling had risen to 300' overcast by the time I got to the airport. I would be flying the Archer again and that would give me good steam gauge practice...and I wouldn't be spoiled by any autopilot.
I wondered how thick the cloud layer would be when I took off and my question was answered suprisingly quickly. I was out of the clouds by 1000'. This was perfect IFR weather. It wasn't too windy or stormy - just a layer of fog that had risen to slightly above minimums.
I filed for a round-trip to CRG and departed on runway 5. ATC turned me to a heading of 080 at first and then progressively gave me 160 in 20 degree increments it seemed. There was a decent wind above the clouds and I think the controller wanted to get a feel for the amount of drift I would experience. I advised the controller that I would like the ILS32 approach at CRG and would follow that with more of the same. He gave me a 100 heading for my climbout on missed and assigned 2000 as my clearance altitude. I flew along above the solid layer of clouds until I moved off shore where the clouds nearly disappeared. ATC turned me for my base leg about 5 miles southeast of the ADERR intersection. Then about half a mile east of the localizer, I was turned to 300 and told to maintain 2000 until established on the approach. I had previously obtained the ATIS weather information for CRG and the plane was set up for the approach. As the needle began to close in , started my turn to line up on the localizer. Just south of ADERR the glideslope needle reached one dot above center and I pulled the first notch of flaps. I was maintaining 90 knots in my steady descent now and the clouds were solid in front of me. Focused on the needles, I made small adjustments to the trim and to my heading in order to keep the needles centered. I entered the clouds and it was solid white around me. Nothing to do but maintain my instrument scan and pay close attention to the altitude. I called out 500 feet to myself and still couldn't see the runway. The tower cleared me for the low approach and I continued lower. About 300 feet, I popped out of the clouds and there was the runway right ahead of me. I felt ver proud that I had executed this instrument approach so flawlessly.
As I crossed the threshold, I pushed the throttle, began to climb and retracted the flaps. I then told the tower that I was going missed and he handed me off to Jax Approach. I turned the plane to 100, continued my climb and called Jax. Two more approaches followed similar paths, however, by the last approach, it was clear that the clouds were burning off quickly and I decided against flying a fourth approach.
That was such a fun flight due to the moderate challenge of the cloud layer. Single pilot IFR is a great confidence builder provided that you don't crash.
I logged .6 hours of IFR with three approaches and a total of 1.1 hours.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Renter Beware
The economic woes that afflict our country do not discriminate between wealthy or poor. The political rhetoric of late would have one believing that the rich are always getting richer, but nothing could be further from the truth.
As evidence of this, take a gander at the following story. A newly minted private pilot reserved a plane so that he could fly to Atlanta for the weekend. This was to be his first long cross-country after getting his certificate and I'm sure he was very excited. Unfortunately, a few days before the planned flight, he received a call from the flight school telling him that the plane was no longer available for rental because the owner had taken it off of lease-back. That wasn't quite true.
What has now been revealed to me is that another renter took the plane to South Florida. While tied down at the out-of-town airport, Cessna Finance repossessed the plane. Apparently, the owner had not been keeping up his payments. This left the renter stranded and my friend without a plane for the weekend.
What I find amazing about this is that the owner made no attempt to sell the plane and Cessna Finance hasn't attempted to put the plane on lease-back to the flight school that was using the plane on a daily basis. Seems like both Cessna Finance and the owner are not the most brilliant businessmen.
So renters, beware. I don't know what the answer to this problem would be. At least with a Skyhawk like N2469U, you could lock the cabin and the ignition requires a key. But what about all those Warriors and Archers that don't need a key to start. A repo-man could easily fly off with the plane. Should you take a length of chain to lock the plane to a tiedown? And perhaps a set of bolt cutters would be in order to free your plane from a lock installed by a repossessor.
It is too bad that Cessna Finance chose to behave in this manner. They could have easily repossessed the aircraft at its home base. It seems rather vindictive for them to repo the plane far from its home. Unfortunately for the renter, he became the victim of the finance company's vindication. I'll bet this even sticks in his mind should he ever decide to purchase an aircraft in the future.
If I learn more details, I'll be sure to post them here.
As evidence of this, take a gander at the following story. A newly minted private pilot reserved a plane so that he could fly to Atlanta for the weekend. This was to be his first long cross-country after getting his certificate and I'm sure he was very excited. Unfortunately, a few days before the planned flight, he received a call from the flight school telling him that the plane was no longer available for rental because the owner had taken it off of lease-back. That wasn't quite true.
What has now been revealed to me is that another renter took the plane to South Florida. While tied down at the out-of-town airport, Cessna Finance repossessed the plane. Apparently, the owner had not been keeping up his payments. This left the renter stranded and my friend without a plane for the weekend.
What I find amazing about this is that the owner made no attempt to sell the plane and Cessna Finance hasn't attempted to put the plane on lease-back to the flight school that was using the plane on a daily basis. Seems like both Cessna Finance and the owner are not the most brilliant businessmen.
So renters, beware. I don't know what the answer to this problem would be. At least with a Skyhawk like N2469U, you could lock the cabin and the ignition requires a key. But what about all those Warriors and Archers that don't need a key to start. A repo-man could easily fly off with the plane. Should you take a length of chain to lock the plane to a tiedown? And perhaps a set of bolt cutters would be in order to free your plane from a lock installed by a repossessor.
It is too bad that Cessna Finance chose to behave in this manner. They could have easily repossessed the aircraft at its home base. It seems rather vindictive for them to repo the plane far from its home. Unfortunately for the renter, he became the victim of the finance company's vindication. I'll bet this even sticks in his mind should he ever decide to purchase an aircraft in the future.
If I learn more details, I'll be sure to post them here.
Monday, October 27, 2008
One Trip Made All The Training Worth While
Growing up in Florida in the '60s and '70s, there was only one baseball team nearby (sort of) to root for. As a result, I was raised on Hank Aaron and the Atlanta Braves. Several times as a kid, Dad drove the family up to Atlanta to watch the Braves play in Fulton County Stadium. These were great times and the trips were always fun.
Fast forward to today...Dad and I are quite a bit older and Floridians have two teams to choose from. Dad now lives on the Gulf coast of Florida and I'm still in Jacksonville. This year the Tampa Bay Rays made it to the World Series! I used StubHub.com to find a couple of tickets to game 2 in St. Petersburg and asked Dad if he wanted to go. It isn't every day that you get to take your dad to the World Series.
The plane that I've been flying for the past year, N2469U, a Skyhawk with the Garmin G1000 panel was not available. The only plane that had enough open time was N341PA, a Piper Archer III that is showing some wear. This meant that I was back to flying on steam gauges and with no autopilot. The forecast was not good. Definitely not a VFR opportunity, so I'd be hand flying single pilot IFR in low conditions.
I got my briefing and filed two Instrument flight plans, one for CRG-CGC to pick up Dad and one for CGC-PIE to get to the game. The winds were fierce and gusty on the ground, but I would have a tailwind on the way down. Craig's beacon was lit signifying IFR conditions. After fueling the plane, I picked up clearance and departed Craig on schedule. Almost immediately after takeoff, I found myself in the clouds bouncing all over the place. Since I hadn't flown an Archer in over a year, I paid very careful attention to my checklist. ATC vectored me around the restricted area that was established over NAS Jacksonville for the airshow. As soon as I was past the restricted area, I was cleared direct to Crystal River. Most of the flight was conducted in instrument conditions, but the clouds thinned out a bit as I neared Crystal River. ATC was giving me vectors for the GPS approach to CGC and I entered that in the GPS. About 4 miles out, I started to pick out the airport through the clouds. ATC dropped me down to 2000 feet and I was able to cancel IFR and landed VFR. The skies were scattered at 1,300 feet with an OVC ceiling around 2,500 feet. The winds were light and variable, and there was no traffic in the pattern, so I entered a left downwind for runway 9 and landed.
Dad and I loaded up and I took off again this time headed for KPIE. I attempted to raise JAX approach on 118.6 several times and they never acknowledged me. As I flew closer to the Class B airspace around Tampa, I began to get aggravated. I could hear ATC, and I could hear other aircraft, but ATC never responded to me. Another pilot tried to relay for me, but the controller was ignoring me for some reason. Frustrated, I had to circle outside the Class B at 3000 feet waiting for clearance. I called Tampa Approach and was told that they couldn't get my clearance and was instructed to contact JAX on 118.6 - but that was the frequency that was not responding to me. The Tampa controller then told me to contact St. Pete. the St. Pete controller was able to pull up my clearance and told me it was on request - thinking I was on the ground. It advised the controller that I was over a particular intersection (I forgot which one) at 3000 feet and he then gave me my clearance and squawk. I was then instructed to intercept the localizer for 17L at PIE and I flew the ILS in.
The game was great and we had fun time. The next day, dad and I flew back to CGC and I flew on to CRG. This time the weather was also pretty cruddy. After getting my clearance at KPIE, ground control instructed me to taxi to 17L via taxiway Alpha. I taxied on alpha and crossed 9/27 and then found myself at the end of 35L. Thinking that I had missed a turn, I called ground control and asked if I had made a mistake. The controller told me that 35L was the continuation of alpha and it was not used as a runway currently. I was fine. I completed my runup as I taxied and was ready to go when I reached the end of 17L. The tower cleared me and told me to fly heading 270 on climbout. Passing through 700 feet, I turned right and was cleared to 4000 feet. Eventually we were turned to the north and we proceded to Crystal River. About 15 miles south of the airport, I was about to request a lower altitude and ATC handed me off to Jax approach. Approach told me to expect the GPS approach and said that they had no weather information at CGC. I advised that I had the numbers for CGC and that they were reporting 1300 feet scattered. ATC gave me vectors for the approach and I spotted the airport off my left wing. When I advised ATC that I had the airport in sight, ATC cleared me for the visual approach and I made a left turn to base - but I was still way to high to land. I advised ATC that I would be back in the air in about 10 minutes after I dropped off my passenger. The controller advised me to contact him on 118.6 when I was airborn and gave me a new squawk code for the next flight. This was a far cry better than the previous day's situation. I canceled IFR and I began a steep turn and a descent to lose altitude until I was low enough for a safe approach. There was no other traffic in the area and I flew straight in on runway 27. I dropped dad off and was back in the air shortly.
Once I was away from the pattern, I contacted ATC and was cleared to 6000 feet and direct Craig. I entered cloud layers around 2000 feet, passed through one layer and entered another layer around 5,500 and flew in clouds almost the entire way home. Craig was IFR and landing using either the VOR14 or the GPS14 approach. Winds were at 18 knots gusting to 26 from a heading of 130. Nearing the Jacksonville area, ATC advised that she could save me some time if I could fly the ILS32-Circle to 14 which I eagerly accepted. She vectored me around the airshow's restricted area - although I seriously doubt that there was any airshow practice going on in this weather. ATC brought me down to 3000 feet and then dropped me to 2000, turned me to 350 and told me to maintain 2000 until established on the localizer. I passed through some cloud layers and found myself in the clouds until about 1000 feet. Craig tower advised me to circle to the west, so I made a slight left turn off of the localizer about 2 miles from the departure end of 32 and flew a tight pattern at 600 feet. At this altitude, I was bounced up and down quite a bit and I was thankful I didn't have a passenger with a weak stomach. I landed and parked the plane just as the rain began again.
There is no way that I could have made this flight without an instrument rating. To borrow from the MasterCard commercials - flight lessons $12,000; World Series tickets $700; Taking Dad to the World Series in style, PRICELESS!
Lots of instrument time on these flights. 3.9 hours total time. Two instrument approaches. An absolutely terrific trip!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
A Good Pilot Is Always Learning
Recently I had the pleasure of flying with a student pilot shortly before he earned his wings. I had never met the pilot in person - we had corresponded when he was researching flight schools and came across this blog.
We made arrangements to get a $300 hamburger (inflation took its toll) at HighJackers at the Flagler Airport (KXFL). I've flown down there many times and like the food and the atmosphere, so I thought it would be a good place to take him. The weather was fine for an instrument rated pilot, but marginal VFR conditions prevailed. I filed an instrument flight plan and we jointly preflighted the plane. This was also the first time that Hank had flown in a G1000 cockpit. I took the left seat - I'm not an instructor and I have very rarely flown in the right seat. With a student in the plane, I didn't want to take any chances.
I got the clearance, taxied and after a short wait, we were cleared to depart on runway 5 and were told to fly heading 100. We encountered a few clouds on the climbout and during cruise. I demonstrated the autopilot, the GPS and explained the basics of the G1000 PFD and MFD. I also hit the reversionary mode button so my copilot would have the exact same display that I had.
During the flight we talked about Hank's training. He described a situation where his instructor had him flying in what he described as instrument conditions without an IFR flight plan. Further discussion revealed that these were not actual instrument conditions but hazy conditions that obscured the horizon. He also explained that he had an actual engine out condition that his instructor deliberately caused. They were over a non-towered airport and pulled power to idle. The instructor apparently had him pull back on the throttle until the prop stopped windmilling. Once it stopped, he pushed the nose over but the engine did not restart. They went through the emergency procedures and were able to restart. I found the situation quite disturbing and unnecessarily risky. It is a potential violation of FAR 91.113 and I told Hank as much.
Nearing the airport, ATC instructed me to descend to 2,600 feet - but I heard it as 2,000 feet and I repeated the same. ATC did not correct me and neither did my co-pilot who later said he heard it correctly. In level flight at 2,000, ATC told me, "fly 2,600 as assigned". Oops. Busted altitude. I replied that I was climbing back to 2,600.
As we approached Flagler, we could see a few aircraft on the Traffic Information System and I heard several talking to ATC. One was a Cirrus on instruments that was going to cause us a bit of a delay. ATC told me I could cancel IFR in the air and avoid the delay. Unfortunately, the airport was obscured by clouds and we were in and out of clouds at our altitude. I explained the situation to ATC who vectored me to the East where there were fewer clouds and he dropped me down. Clear of the clouds and low enough to stay below them, I canceled IFR and entered the pattern to make a landing to the East.
After a nice meal served by an attractive waitress who bore a striking resemblance to Sarah Palin...maybe hotter, I filed IFR for the return.
We taxied to runway 6 and were number 3 behind a Warrior and a Cirrus. The Warrior departed and the Cirrus taxied to the hold short. An aircraft in the pattern announced he was turning base and the Cirrus decided to wait. I don't know why. The Cessna that was on base was flying a very wide pattern and took a full five minutes to land. The Cirrus waited quite a while after the Cessna landed and executed a touch-and-go. As soon as I saw the Cessna airborne, I called on the radio, "Be advised that touch-and-gos are prohibited at Flagler". I felt like telling the pilot to read his A/FD, but my co-pilot had confided that he had done the same thing a few weeks earlier without noting the A/FD's warning, so I cut him some slack.
After the Cirrus' inexplicable delay that caused quite a back up of traffic behind me, I taxied onto the runway and watched as the Cirrus aborted his take off. He turned off of the runway quite a way down and as soon as he was clear, I departed. As I passed through pattern altitude, I leveled off below the clouds and contacted Daytona Approach to pick up my instrument clearance. We were cleared Direct to Craig as filed but we were assigned 6,000 feet as our cruising altitude. On climbout, I turned over the controls to hank. We encountered clouds on climbout and he did a pretty good job of handling the plane in spite of the unfamiliar display and right seat. He leveled off ok, but had a little difficulty trimming it. Encountering clouds, he busted altitude a few times and when focused on altitude, he drifted off of his heading, however he did an overall good job of handling the plane.
During the flight, we encountered some VFR traffic that was reported at 500 feet below us in the opposite direction. ATC announced the traffic and we spotted it on our scope. Since we were barely above the broken cloud layer, I advised ATC that we did not have traffic in sight and it was probably in and out of clouds. I then heard ATC instruct the traffic to remain VFR - so I suspect that someone was violating VFR. I see that quite a bit especially with the students flying planes with tail numbers that end in Echo-Romeo - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. This is dangerous and unacceptable behavior. What happens when two ERAU pilots encounter each other in a cloud and neither is talking to ATC? Not a good situation at all. The FARs were mostly created in response to some tragedy and are intended to protect all of us. Follow the damn rules guys!
The conditions at Craig required that we fly the ILS-32 Circle to 5 approach . I took the controls when ATC told us to descend and I flew the approach.
Hank had to postpone his check ride that was scheduled for Tuesday because the aircraft was down for maintenance. I got an email last Friday announcing that he got his ticket punched. I think he'll make a great pilot. Congratulations Hank!
We made arrangements to get a $300 hamburger (inflation took its toll) at HighJackers at the Flagler Airport (KXFL). I've flown down there many times and like the food and the atmosphere, so I thought it would be a good place to take him. The weather was fine for an instrument rated pilot, but marginal VFR conditions prevailed. I filed an instrument flight plan and we jointly preflighted the plane. This was also the first time that Hank had flown in a G1000 cockpit. I took the left seat - I'm not an instructor and I have very rarely flown in the right seat. With a student in the plane, I didn't want to take any chances.
I got the clearance, taxied and after a short wait, we were cleared to depart on runway 5 and were told to fly heading 100. We encountered a few clouds on the climbout and during cruise. I demonstrated the autopilot, the GPS and explained the basics of the G1000 PFD and MFD. I also hit the reversionary mode button so my copilot would have the exact same display that I had.
During the flight we talked about Hank's training. He described a situation where his instructor had him flying in what he described as instrument conditions without an IFR flight plan. Further discussion revealed that these were not actual instrument conditions but hazy conditions that obscured the horizon. He also explained that he had an actual engine out condition that his instructor deliberately caused. They were over a non-towered airport and pulled power to idle. The instructor apparently had him pull back on the throttle until the prop stopped windmilling. Once it stopped, he pushed the nose over but the engine did not restart. They went through the emergency procedures and were able to restart. I found the situation quite disturbing and unnecessarily risky. It is a potential violation of FAR 91.113 and I told Hank as much.
Nearing the airport, ATC instructed me to descend to 2,600 feet - but I heard it as 2,000 feet and I repeated the same. ATC did not correct me and neither did my co-pilot who later said he heard it correctly. In level flight at 2,000, ATC told me, "fly 2,600 as assigned". Oops. Busted altitude. I replied that I was climbing back to 2,600.
As we approached Flagler, we could see a few aircraft on the Traffic Information System and I heard several talking to ATC. One was a Cirrus on instruments that was going to cause us a bit of a delay. ATC told me I could cancel IFR in the air and avoid the delay. Unfortunately, the airport was obscured by clouds and we were in and out of clouds at our altitude. I explained the situation to ATC who vectored me to the East where there were fewer clouds and he dropped me down. Clear of the clouds and low enough to stay below them, I canceled IFR and entered the pattern to make a landing to the East.
After a nice meal served by an attractive waitress who bore a striking resemblance to Sarah Palin...maybe hotter, I filed IFR for the return.
We taxied to runway 6 and were number 3 behind a Warrior and a Cirrus. The Warrior departed and the Cirrus taxied to the hold short. An aircraft in the pattern announced he was turning base and the Cirrus decided to wait. I don't know why. The Cessna that was on base was flying a very wide pattern and took a full five minutes to land. The Cirrus waited quite a while after the Cessna landed and executed a touch-and-go. As soon as I saw the Cessna airborne, I called on the radio, "Be advised that touch-and-gos are prohibited at Flagler". I felt like telling the pilot to read his A/FD, but my co-pilot had confided that he had done the same thing a few weeks earlier without noting the A/FD's warning, so I cut him some slack.
After the Cirrus' inexplicable delay that caused quite a back up of traffic behind me, I taxied onto the runway and watched as the Cirrus aborted his take off. He turned off of the runway quite a way down and as soon as he was clear, I departed. As I passed through pattern altitude, I leveled off below the clouds and contacted Daytona Approach to pick up my instrument clearance. We were cleared Direct to Craig as filed but we were assigned 6,000 feet as our cruising altitude. On climbout, I turned over the controls to hank. We encountered clouds on climbout and he did a pretty good job of handling the plane in spite of the unfamiliar display and right seat. He leveled off ok, but had a little difficulty trimming it. Encountering clouds, he busted altitude a few times and when focused on altitude, he drifted off of his heading, however he did an overall good job of handling the plane.
During the flight, we encountered some VFR traffic that was reported at 500 feet below us in the opposite direction. ATC announced the traffic and we spotted it on our scope. Since we were barely above the broken cloud layer, I advised ATC that we did not have traffic in sight and it was probably in and out of clouds. I then heard ATC instruct the traffic to remain VFR - so I suspect that someone was violating VFR. I see that quite a bit especially with the students flying planes with tail numbers that end in Echo-Romeo - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. This is dangerous and unacceptable behavior. What happens when two ERAU pilots encounter each other in a cloud and neither is talking to ATC? Not a good situation at all. The FARs were mostly created in response to some tragedy and are intended to protect all of us. Follow the damn rules guys!
The conditions at Craig required that we fly the ILS-32 Circle to 5 approach . I took the controls when ATC told us to descend and I flew the approach.
Hank had to postpone his check ride that was scheduled for Tuesday because the aircraft was down for maintenance. I got an email last Friday announcing that he got his ticket punched. I think he'll make a great pilot. Congratulations Hank!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Far Reaching Effects of Tropical Storm Fay
Get-there-itis is an affliction normally reserved for the impatient or foolish, but I think I may have had just a touch of it last month when I flew to Tampa for the Jaguars-Bucs game. Tropical storm Fay had just crossed the state bringing huge volumes of rain, wind damage and general inconvenience. But the outer bands of the storm were still hundreds of miles from its center.
The plan was to fly from Jacksonville to Tampa international on Saturday morning, go to the game then fly home the next day. The flight usually takes about 1.5 hours from startup to shutdown. I got a briefing and checked the weather forecast and it looked a little ugly, but not so bad that I couldn't make the trip and I really didn't want to drive the 4 hours. I filed IFR and headed took off about an hour behind schedule because I was waiting for the local weather to clear up a little. The problem was the winds were pretty severe at 18 knots with gusts at 26 knots as I recall. I held the plane on the ground a little longer than normal so I would have plenty of speed for the climbout should the wind suddenly shift on me. I reached my cruising altitude without covering much distance at all.
After leveling off, I activated the auto pilot and set it to NAV and ALT. This would make the plane follow the flightplan that I entered in the GPS and it would maintain a steady altitude. About 30 seconds after activating the auto pilot, I noticed that the altitude had not stabilized and the aircraft was climbing. I checked the breakers, made sure everything was set properly, but the darn thing would not hold altitude. Then I noticed the red "P" on the face of the auto pilot. This meant that the pitch control was inoperable. Great. Flying into crappy weather without an auto pilot - not the best thing to do. But heck, pilots have done that for years.
I trimmed the plane and hand flew it monitoring the HSI, GPS and altimeter to make sure I was always on course and at my assigned altitude. As I got closer to Ocala, ATC advised me that there was a squall line extending from south of Tampa to Ocala and she suggested that I deviate to the south or maybe land at Ocala and wait it out. I opted for the deviation. About 5 minutes later, the controller told me that the deviation wouldn't work and I should deviate to the west. She gave me a westward heading and with her help, I began to navigate around the worst of the storms. The real problem was the wind. The winds aloft in my briefing were expected to be in the low 30knot range at 6000' and less at 9000'. I was cruising at 7000' but the winds varied from 36 to 41 knots according to the G1000. Groundspeed was pretty dismal as a result. I trudged along accepting course changes from ATC to vector me around the storms. I was getting tossed around quite a bit and flew in clouds for about an hour straight. At one point I started climbing rapidly and I had to reduce power and push the nose down. I had gained 500 feet and was pointing 20 degrees nose down with the engine idling...and I was still climbing. That was some serious updraft. ATC kept giving me instructions like 10 degrees left, 20 degrees right as she steered me clear of the worst of the storms. Eventually, I passed through the clouds, but I could see a solid line of towering cumulous off my left wing in the direction that I needed to go. The coast appeared ahead of me. I was near Cross City north of Cedar Key when I crossed the coastline. Finally, ATC turned me to the south.
I was cleared direct to TPA and I loaded the ILS 18L into the computer. I started receiving the localizer about 30 miles out and although ATC hadn't pointed me to it, I adjusted my course a few degrees to the left to intercept. Meanwhile, I tuned the ATIS and got the numbers on the second radio. Jax Center handed me off to TPA who started bringing me down. I entered clouds around 3000 feet and was eventually cleared for the ILS 18L approach. With the strong headwinds, I kept my speed at 120 knots so I wouldn't slow down the commercial traffic any more than was necessary. I popped out of the clouds about 900 feet above the ground and I saw the runway ahead of me. I reduced the throttle to idle and progressively extended the flaps. I landed a little long on purpose so I would be closer to the first taxiway and could clear the runway as quickly as possible.
Ground control cleared me across 9-27 to the ramp. I looked for a "follow-me" cart, but nothing appeared. I taxied to parking and the ground handler appeared. No sooner had he chocked my left wheel then the sky began to fall. Man, that was some strong rain pouring down on me. I had made it just in time. I sat in the plane feeling the wind rocking it while it sat on the ground. Eventually, the FBO drove the rental car up to my wing and I managed to stay dry as I loaded up.
The combination of the weather vectors and the strong headwinds turned a 1.5 hour trip into a 2.5 hour run with over an hour of actual instrument time. Quite an adventure!
The plan was to fly from Jacksonville to Tampa international on Saturday morning, go to the game then fly home the next day. The flight usually takes about 1.5 hours from startup to shutdown. I got a briefing and checked the weather forecast and it looked a little ugly, but not so bad that I couldn't make the trip and I really didn't want to drive the 4 hours. I filed IFR and headed took off about an hour behind schedule because I was waiting for the local weather to clear up a little. The problem was the winds were pretty severe at 18 knots with gusts at 26 knots as I recall. I held the plane on the ground a little longer than normal so I would have plenty of speed for the climbout should the wind suddenly shift on me. I reached my cruising altitude without covering much distance at all.
After leveling off, I activated the auto pilot and set it to NAV and ALT. This would make the plane follow the flightplan that I entered in the GPS and it would maintain a steady altitude. About 30 seconds after activating the auto pilot, I noticed that the altitude had not stabilized and the aircraft was climbing. I checked the breakers, made sure everything was set properly, but the darn thing would not hold altitude. Then I noticed the red "P" on the face of the auto pilot. This meant that the pitch control was inoperable. Great. Flying into crappy weather without an auto pilot - not the best thing to do. But heck, pilots have done that for years.
I trimmed the plane and hand flew it monitoring the HSI, GPS and altimeter to make sure I was always on course and at my assigned altitude. As I got closer to Ocala, ATC advised me that there was a squall line extending from south of Tampa to Ocala and she suggested that I deviate to the south or maybe land at Ocala and wait it out. I opted for the deviation. About 5 minutes later, the controller told me that the deviation wouldn't work and I should deviate to the west. She gave me a westward heading and with her help, I began to navigate around the worst of the storms. The real problem was the wind. The winds aloft in my briefing were expected to be in the low 30knot range at 6000' and less at 9000'. I was cruising at 7000' but the winds varied from 36 to 41 knots according to the G1000. Groundspeed was pretty dismal as a result. I trudged along accepting course changes from ATC to vector me around the storms. I was getting tossed around quite a bit and flew in clouds for about an hour straight. At one point I started climbing rapidly and I had to reduce power and push the nose down. I had gained 500 feet and was pointing 20 degrees nose down with the engine idling...and I was still climbing. That was some serious updraft. ATC kept giving me instructions like 10 degrees left, 20 degrees right as she steered me clear of the worst of the storms. Eventually, I passed through the clouds, but I could see a solid line of towering cumulous off my left wing in the direction that I needed to go. The coast appeared ahead of me. I was near Cross City north of Cedar Key when I crossed the coastline. Finally, ATC turned me to the south.
I was cleared direct to TPA and I loaded the ILS 18L into the computer. I started receiving the localizer about 30 miles out and although ATC hadn't pointed me to it, I adjusted my course a few degrees to the left to intercept. Meanwhile, I tuned the ATIS and got the numbers on the second radio. Jax Center handed me off to TPA who started bringing me down. I entered clouds around 3000 feet and was eventually cleared for the ILS 18L approach. With the strong headwinds, I kept my speed at 120 knots so I wouldn't slow down the commercial traffic any more than was necessary. I popped out of the clouds about 900 feet above the ground and I saw the runway ahead of me. I reduced the throttle to idle and progressively extended the flaps. I landed a little long on purpose so I would be closer to the first taxiway and could clear the runway as quickly as possible.
Ground control cleared me across 9-27 to the ramp. I looked for a "follow-me" cart, but nothing appeared. I taxied to parking and the ground handler appeared. No sooner had he chocked my left wheel then the sky began to fall. Man, that was some strong rain pouring down on me. I had made it just in time. I sat in the plane feeling the wind rocking it while it sat on the ground. Eventually, the FBO drove the rental car up to my wing and I managed to stay dry as I loaded up.
The combination of the weather vectors and the strong headwinds turned a 1.5 hour trip into a 2.5 hour run with over an hour of actual instrument time. Quite an adventure!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Congested Area - Definition
I just published a comment from a reader that suggested that a congested area is any yellow colored portion of a VFR sectional chart. Neither the FAR nor the AIM define congested area and the key on the sectional does not state that yellow areas define congested. There have been recent enforcement actions described on the AOPA website where the FAA has punished pilots for flying too low over congested areas that would not have been identified in yellow on the chart.
I live in a neighborhood that has about 200 homes. There are about 3 to 4 homes per acre plus lots of streets. Adjacent to our neighborhood are several condominium complexes. There are thousands of cars and thousands of people. Any reasonable person flying over the area would think of this as a congested area. The Jacksonville sectional does not identify my area in yellow.
The key point is that the FAA does not clearly define "congested area" and the VFR charts cannot be used to reliably identify congested areas. Furthermore, the FAA's enforcement actions have lacked the consistency necessary to draw any conclusions about their definition of "congested". Consequently, common sense is the order of the day for defining congested areas.
The AOPA's member website has several discussions about minimum safe altitudes, FAR 91.13 and 91.119. "The FAA does not define congested area in the FARs or in the Aeronautical Information Manual. And, FAA interpretations and decisions issued by the National Transportation Safety Board in low-flight enforcement cases are not consistent for purposes of drafting a precise definition. Such a determination is usually decided on a case-by-case basis, and in the cases that we've seen, "congested" has been interpreted rather broadly. For example, a highway with moderate traffic was found to be "congested," as was a seaside area where 200 to 300 persons were sitting on the beach or bathing in the water. "
The bottom line is good judgement should be used in determining minimum safe altitudes and the only sure way to avoid an enforcement action is to err on the side of caution. Whether you think it is a congested area or not, that girl floating in her pool below you probably doesn't want you buzzing her only 500 feet above.
I live in a neighborhood that has about 200 homes. There are about 3 to 4 homes per acre plus lots of streets. Adjacent to our neighborhood are several condominium complexes. There are thousands of cars and thousands of people. Any reasonable person flying over the area would think of this as a congested area. The Jacksonville sectional does not identify my area in yellow.
The key point is that the FAA does not clearly define "congested area" and the VFR charts cannot be used to reliably identify congested areas. Furthermore, the FAA's enforcement actions have lacked the consistency necessary to draw any conclusions about their definition of "congested". Consequently, common sense is the order of the day for defining congested areas.
The AOPA's member website has several discussions about minimum safe altitudes, FAR 91.13 and 91.119. "The FAA does not define congested area in the FARs or in the Aeronautical Information Manual. And, FAA interpretations and decisions issued by the National Transportation Safety Board in low-flight enforcement cases are not consistent for purposes of drafting a precise definition. Such a determination is usually decided on a case-by-case basis, and in the cases that we've seen, "congested" has been interpreted rather broadly. For example, a highway with moderate traffic was found to be "congested," as was a seaside area where 200 to 300 persons were sitting on the beach or bathing in the water. "
The bottom line is good judgement should be used in determining minimum safe altitudes and the only sure way to avoid an enforcement action is to err on the side of caution. Whether you think it is a congested area or not, that girl floating in her pool below you probably doesn't want you buzzing her only 500 feet above.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
10.5 Hours Around Vegas & The Grand Canyon
In mid-May, I had a conference to attend in Las Vegas and decided to go out early so I could get some flying in around the Grand Canyon. Last November, I had flown to the Grand Canyon West airport and I wanted to fly to the airport at the Grand Canyon National Park this time (KGCN).
And another shot by Lynn:
After passing the dam, we flew around a mountain ridge that extended to the southeast then flew north back towards Lake Mead. We followed the lake to the North then ultimately flew along the North rim of the canyon remaining outside the restricted areas. The chart showed an airstrip in a canyon, but I couldn't spot it. After turning around, I spotted this very narrow runway situated deep in a valley near the north rim. I can only imagine the challenges that landing in a windy valley like this would present.
We followed lake Mead back and I called ATC for clearance back through the Class B. They vectored me towards Nellis where we were finding challenges trying to remain clear of clouds. Ultimately, we were caught in some virga followed by severe turbulence that made me just a bit nervous. I slowed the plane down to minimize the stress on the airframe and we made it through the mess. As we were getting tossed around, Lynn asked, "Are you going to get us down from here?" and I responded, "One way or another, we'll get down". Her nuckles were white as she gripped the door handle and she grabbed my shoulder each time we hit a bump. I felt so bad for her, but I was never really in danger. We landed without further incident with 2.5 hours on the Hobbs meter. I was amazed that we had flown that long. It felt like only an hour.
The first two days took up about 4 hours of flying time each and this one generated 2.5 for a total of 10.5 hours of flying over three days. What a great trip!
I rented a Skyhawk with steam gauges and no auto pilot from Westair Aviation. I've rented from this flight school in the past and have found their planes to be well maintained and the staff to be very friendly. My scheduled instructor for the check-out ride was a no-show, though. One of the instructors reviewed my log book and saw that I was current, instrument rated and had plenty of time in type plus rentals from this school in November, so he waived their 90 rental rule and signed off on my rental.
I departed the North Vegas airport around noon VFR and followed ATC's instructions through the Class B airspace. They vectored me over Nellis Air Force Base and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The weather was windy, but there were few clouds. I flew to the Peach Springs VOR, then headed to GCN. The flying time was almost 2 hours due to winds.
The wind passing over the mountains and canyons created very bumpy conditions and the lack of an autopilot forced me to rely on my stick and rudder skills to remain straight and level. I've been spoiled by the two-axis auto pilot in the Skyhawk that I fly at home...and I have been flying G1000 equiped aircraft almost exclusively, so going back to steam gauges was quite a change. Nevertheless, I flew over incredibly beautiful scenery and made it to GCN without incident.
Along the way, I managed to take a few shots looking North to the Canyon. There are numerous canyons that feed into the Grand Canyon and I was able to fly directly above them as I traveled eastward at 9,500 feet.
The FAA regulations don't permit general aviation aircraft to fly directly over the canyon except in four narrow corridors that are 4 miles wide and that cross the canyon or nearly cross it North and South, but these are fairly far to the east or they only come down from the North rim making it very time consuming to get to them from Las Vegas. Nevertheless, I was able to get a good view of the canyon as I flew South of it. Once at GCN, I caught a cab from the airport to the national park. For $16, I received transportation and admission to the park which I thought was very reasonable. I spent the afternoon hiking and taking pictures. I hiked down the Bright Angel trail for about an hour wondering why the rangers thought it was so difficult to hike down and back in a single day. After hiking down for an hour, I turned back and it was quickly apparent why the rangers issued their warnings. It took me two hours to get back up and I only went a fraction of the way down the trail.
The FAA regulations don't permit general aviation aircraft to fly directly over the canyon except in four narrow corridors that are 4 miles wide and that cross the canyon or nearly cross it North and South, but these are fairly far to the east or they only come down from the North rim making it very time consuming to get to them from Las Vegas. Nevertheless, I was able to get a good view of the canyon as I flew South of it. Once at GCN, I caught a cab from the airport to the national park. For $16, I received transportation and admission to the park which I thought was very reasonable. I spent the afternoon hiking and taking pictures. I hiked down the Bright Angel trail for about an hour wondering why the rangers thought it was so difficult to hike down and back in a single day. After hiking down for an hour, I turned back and it was quickly apparent why the rangers issued their warnings. It took me two hours to get back up and I only went a fraction of the way down the trail.The winds in the area of the Canyon are notorious and challenging to pilots of small planes. I paid particular attention to wind direction as I taxied for my departure. The ride was bumpy and required my full attention because the wind direction would frequently change causing my airspeed, engine speed and altitude to change every few minutes.
As I approached the Las Vegas Class B airspace, I was asked if I was familiar with the area, and I told the controller I had flown there twice before. He asked if I knew the Cortez arrival route and I responded that it was on the TAC but I had not flown it before. The controller then dropped me down to 6,500 feet and cleared me for the Cortez Arrival and cleared me into the Class B airspace. I was bouncing around in the plane quite a bit as I attempted to fly the route. At one point, the controller asked if I was flying the route, and I told him that I thought that I was. After about 10 minutes, the controller informed me that the route was supposed to be flown at 3,500 feet. The trouble was that the route only mentioned 3,500 once in small print that I never noticed as the chart bounced in front of me. I apologized and the controller said it wasn't a problem and gave me vectors for North Vegas.
The next day, an old friend of mine arrived and I flew the same route all over again, just a bit later in the day. The wind was fierce and we bounced all over, but this time I had a Skyhawk with an autopilot. When we departed Grand Canyon, the wind was nearly straight down the runway at 19 knots with gusts to 28 knots...pretty fierce, but the direction was steady. The climbout was easy and quick and the flight was bumpy but uneventful.
The next day, I took another friend up. I had met Lynn through work and had encouraged her to come sightseeing with me. The weather was overcast and windy, but the clouds were high and this would not prevent us from flying. We received vectors from ATC to fly directly to Hoover Dam and even had a controller say, "Enjoy your dam tour!"
I handed my camera to Lynn and she demonstrated her skill as a photographer by taking these shots of the dam.
And another shot by Lynn:After passing the dam, we flew around a mountain ridge that extended to the southeast then flew north back towards Lake Mead. We followed the lake to the North then ultimately flew along the North rim of the canyon remaining outside the restricted areas. The chart showed an airstrip in a canyon, but I couldn't spot it. After turning around, I spotted this very narrow runway situated deep in a valley near the north rim. I can only imagine the challenges that landing in a windy valley like this would present.We followed lake Mead back and I called ATC for clearance back through the Class B. They vectored me towards Nellis where we were finding challenges trying to remain clear of clouds. Ultimately, we were caught in some virga followed by severe turbulence that made me just a bit nervous. I slowed the plane down to minimize the stress on the airframe and we made it through the mess. As we were getting tossed around, Lynn asked, "Are you going to get us down from here?" and I responded, "One way or another, we'll get down". Her nuckles were white as she gripped the door handle and she grabbed my shoulder each time we hit a bump. I felt so bad for her, but I was never really in danger. We landed without further incident with 2.5 hours on the Hobbs meter. I was amazed that we had flown that long. It felt like only an hour.
The first two days took up about 4 hours of flying time each and this one generated 2.5 for a total of 10.5 hours of flying over three days. What a great trip!
Monday, June 02, 2008
What Not To Do
I had flown to Tampa for the weekend and was prepared to head back IFR flying through the towering cumulous clouds that are typical for this time of year in Florida. It was early evening and I had received my IFR clearance to DADES-V581-OCF-direct-CRG. The controller gave me a squawk code, frequencies told me to fly 060 on climb out to 1600 feet expect 8000 in 10 minutes. I ran through the runup checklist as I taxied to 36-Right as instructed. There was no traffic on the tarmac behind me or anywhere near the taxiway, so I felt safe in doing the runup on the roll.
Part of a runup is the run the engine at 1800 RPM, then turn off one magneto, then turn it back on, then the other magneto and turn it back on, then reduce the throttle to idle and verify that the engine would not die. I executed this procedure, or so I thought.
I had to wait for traffic to depart including a Boeing 737 which the controller referred to as an Airbus. I knew it was a 737 from the non-circular shape of the turbine intakes, but I didn't think it would be good to correct a controller for this minor detail.
I was eventually cleared for takeoff and I taxied onto the runway and gave the engine full throttle. The plane seemed to accelerate normally but as I climbed, I noted that I was barely getting 500 fpm for the rate of climb. I attributed this to the very hot day and high density altitude due to the heat and humidity.
I eventually leveled off at 8000 feet but was concerned when my speed was barely 107 TAS. I normally get about 124 knots and the engine was maxed out at 2400 RPM. I thought that maybe I had fouled a plug with the long wait on the tarmac, so I leaned the engine considerably until it ran rough. That didn't work.
I kept a close eye on the gauges and nothing was abnormal. What could be causing the problem?
Finally, I decided to run through my mental cruise checklist. This involves looking at each piece of equipment from top to bottom and left to right verifying that everything is as it should be. I started with the top left of the panel - all normal. Then moved downward. All circuit breakers were fine. But wait! There it was! Somehow, the start switch had flipped to the right magneto only position. It could have been because I had my whole keychain attached to the key or maybe I just didn't switch it far enough when I did the run up. I turned the switch to the both position and the engine instantly gained 300 rpm! Problem solved.
1.6 hours of cross-country flying with about .5 in actual IFR conditions.
Part of a runup is the run the engine at 1800 RPM, then turn off one magneto, then turn it back on, then the other magneto and turn it back on, then reduce the throttle to idle and verify that the engine would not die. I executed this procedure, or so I thought.
I had to wait for traffic to depart including a Boeing 737 which the controller referred to as an Airbus. I knew it was a 737 from the non-circular shape of the turbine intakes, but I didn't think it would be good to correct a controller for this minor detail.
I was eventually cleared for takeoff and I taxied onto the runway and gave the engine full throttle. The plane seemed to accelerate normally but as I climbed, I noted that I was barely getting 500 fpm for the rate of climb. I attributed this to the very hot day and high density altitude due to the heat and humidity.
I eventually leveled off at 8000 feet but was concerned when my speed was barely 107 TAS. I normally get about 124 knots and the engine was maxed out at 2400 RPM. I thought that maybe I had fouled a plug with the long wait on the tarmac, so I leaned the engine considerably until it ran rough. That didn't work.
I kept a close eye on the gauges and nothing was abnormal. What could be causing the problem?
Finally, I decided to run through my mental cruise checklist. This involves looking at each piece of equipment from top to bottom and left to right verifying that everything is as it should be. I started with the top left of the panel - all normal. Then moved downward. All circuit breakers were fine. But wait! There it was! Somehow, the start switch had flipped to the right magneto only position. It could have been because I had my whole keychain attached to the key or maybe I just didn't switch it far enough when I did the run up. I turned the switch to the both position and the engine instantly gained 300 rpm! Problem solved.
1.6 hours of cross-country flying with about .5 in actual IFR conditions.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
More Fun With The Weather
I looked at my calendar and it came as a shock that I hadn't taken the controls of an aircraft in two whole weeks. No wonder I was drooling as I looked from my first row seat of the Airbus A320 into the open cockpit door. I pulled out my blackberry and reserved a plane for the next day.
I was awakened by the sound of rain beating on my roof Saturday morning. Checking the forecast, conditions did not look good for the day. Mostly IFR conditions throughout the day but with fairly calm winds at the surface. So with my coffee in my hand, I got a briefing for an 11am departure flying over to Cecil Field. The ceiling at Cecil was showing much better than Craig - Overcast at 900 feet while Craig was overcast at 400. Visibility was reported at 3 miles, but it was diminishing with light rain and mist. These are the METAR strips for the time that I was up yesterday:
KCRG 261653Z 00000KT 2 1/2SM BR OVC004 09/08 A3025 RMK AO2 RAB02E50 SLP242 P0000 T00940083 $
KCRG 261641Z 15006KT 1 1/2SM -RA BR OVC004 09/08 A3024 RMK AO2 RAB02 P0000 $
KCRG 261618Z 14007KT 2SM -RA BR OVC004 08/07 A3027 RMK AO2 RAB02 PRESFR P0000 $
KCRG 261553Z 00000KT 3SM BR OVC004 08/07 A3032 RMK AO2 RAE38 PRESFR SLP267 P0001 T00780072 $
KVQQ 261750Z VRB03KT 2 1/2SM BR BKN004 OVC010 A3022
KVQQ 261650Z VRB04KT 2 1/2SM BR BKN005 OVC010 A3026
KVQQ 261550Z 00000KT 2SM BR OVC009 A3034
The interesting thing to note is that the barometer was dropping pretty rapidly during this time period and that doesn't spell good weather.
Arriving at the airport I learned that a new VFR pilot had taken the plane that I reserved to St. Simons Island the night before and due to obvious reasons, he could not make it back. I think the chief instructor needs to take another look at this fellow's credentials. The weather on Friday Night was exactly as forecast, so there was no reason for him to expect that he could make it back VFR.
Fortunately, a new Skyhawk was on the line - fueled and ready for me. With the weather conditions looking miserable, I verified if the plane was reserved for later just in case I needed to land at an alternate. Sure enough, it was reserved at 2, but I expected to return by 1, so no problem.
I called a briefer and entered a new flight plan since my tail number had changed and then preflighted the plane. Since I hadn't flown it several weeks, I was very careful about the preflight - didn't want to miss anything.
Taxi, runup and departure were uneventful and I was cleared to depart on runway 5 and instructed to turn to 280 on climbout. The plane accelerated down the runway and I was airborne. The cold air's effects on the engine's performance and the wing's lift were quite noticeable as I was climbing more than 1000 feet per minute with full fuel. In no time I was in the clouds. I made my turn to 280 and was handed off to JAX Approach.
Approach assigned me 4000 feet as my final altitude. I leveled off and set the autopilot to follow the heading bug. I then loaded the approach into the GPS and clipped the approach plate to my yoke. I read the plate and then tuned the ATIS for Cecil.
I was flying between layers of clouds above and below me. ATC turned me to 190 for the downwind leg for the ILS 36-R approach to Cecil. Just prior to turning me for the base leg, the controller dropped me to 2000 feet and I found myself in the clouds once again. ATC turned me to 270 followed shortly by a turn to 320 and an approach clearance, "November- 2-4-6-niner-uniform, fly heading 320, maintain 2000 until established, cleared for the ILS 36-right approach to Cecil." I repeated the clearance as I adjusted my course and activated the vector-to-final. On the downwind, I had identified the localizer at Cecil, and the green bar and the diamond were showing on my G1000 PFD. ATC handed me off to the tower who I contacted and I was given clearance for the option on 36R. I hit the APR button on the autopilot and it subsequently lined me up perfectly with the localizer. Prior to reaching the fix, I slowed my speed to 95 knots. As the glideslope neared my current altitude, I dropped the first notch of flaps and waited as the autopilot stabilized the aircraft with the warning, "Trim In Motion". I was maintaining a descent of about 450 fpm when I disconnected the autopilot so I could hand fly the rest of the approach.
I was in solid IMC when the tower controller asked me to give him a base report once I broke through and I said that I would.
The ground finally appeared when I passed through 400 feet. The runway was dead ahead. Since I had the option, I touched the wheels to the runway and then took off all over again.
My climbout instructions were fore 270 and 2000 feet on the same ATC frequency. My touch and go had used less than a quarter of the very long runway (12,500 feet). The tower handed me back to ATC and I was quickly turned to 190 again for a left downwind for the same approach.
I was flying at on ly 90 knots when I heard ATC talking to a Seminole advising them that he might have to turn them for spacing. Recognizing that I might be the cause of the potential delay, I called ATC and offered to fly faster. ATC thanked me for that and I pushed the throttle for more speed. I accelerated to 125 knots IAS and set up the plane for the next approach.
I maintained my speed until 1 mile from the FAF receiving turning instructions from ATC as I lined up for the next approach. ATC asked my intentions and I said following this approach, I would return to Craig for a full stop. He ammended my climbout instructions to 360 and 3000.
I wanted to practice an emergency procedure - nothing in the book, though. Since I carry a spare radio that can tune and indicate the localizer, I decided to use this for navigation simulating an emergency where I lost the nav radios. This time, I hand flew the entire approach. I found myself wandering across the beam a bit more than usual and the handheld radio had a bit more variability than the regular equipment. I emerged from the clouds at 400 feet and about 20 feet from the center line pointed about 10 degrees to the right of the center. But the fact is that I was pretty close to being lined up and had no difficulty reaching the runway.
Following this, I headed back to Craig where I flew the ILS 32 approach. The weather had grown worse - lower ceilings and less visibility. The ceiling was reported at 400 feet and that is lower than every approach requires except for the ILS. I did the usual - ATIS, Radios, Approach Plate, GPS, etc. I entered clouds at about 2800 feet and was solidly in IMC as I was handed off to the tower. I made my call and was told that I could expect to emerge at 300 feet...wow - that's damn close to minimums - 241'. A circling approach would not be possible. Fortunately the wind was light so I should have no trouble landing on 32.
I popped out of the clouds at 300 feet as expected, but I couldn't see the far end of the runway. Visibility was only about 1.5 miles, if that.
The runway was precisely where it was supposed to be as I emerged from the clouds.
Flying in such poor conditions and being able to make three successful landings without crashing was a very satisfying experience.
1.4 hours, 3 TO, 3 Landings, 3 Instrument Approaches, 0.9 hours in actual IMC.
I was awakened by the sound of rain beating on my roof Saturday morning. Checking the forecast, conditions did not look good for the day. Mostly IFR conditions throughout the day but with fairly calm winds at the surface. So with my coffee in my hand, I got a briefing for an 11am departure flying over to Cecil Field. The ceiling at Cecil was showing much better than Craig - Overcast at 900 feet while Craig was overcast at 400. Visibility was reported at 3 miles, but it was diminishing with light rain and mist. These are the METAR strips for the time that I was up yesterday:
KCRG 261653Z 00000KT 2 1/2SM BR OVC004 09/08 A3025 RMK AO2 RAB02E50 SLP242 P0000 T00940083 $
KCRG 261641Z 15006KT 1 1/2SM -RA BR OVC004 09/08 A3024 RMK AO2 RAB02 P0000 $
KCRG 261618Z 14007KT 2SM -RA BR OVC004 08/07 A3027 RMK AO2 RAB02 PRESFR P0000 $
KCRG 261553Z 00000KT 3SM BR OVC004 08/07 A3032 RMK AO2 RAE38 PRESFR SLP267 P0001 T00780072 $
KVQQ 261750Z VRB03KT 2 1/2SM BR BKN004 OVC010 A3022
KVQQ 261650Z VRB04KT 2 1/2SM BR BKN005 OVC010 A3026
KVQQ 261550Z 00000KT 2SM BR OVC009 A3034
The interesting thing to note is that the barometer was dropping pretty rapidly during this time period and that doesn't spell good weather.
Arriving at the airport I learned that a new VFR pilot had taken the plane that I reserved to St. Simons Island the night before and due to obvious reasons, he could not make it back. I think the chief instructor needs to take another look at this fellow's credentials. The weather on Friday Night was exactly as forecast, so there was no reason for him to expect that he could make it back VFR.
Fortunately, a new Skyhawk was on the line - fueled and ready for me. With the weather conditions looking miserable, I verified if the plane was reserved for later just in case I needed to land at an alternate. Sure enough, it was reserved at 2, but I expected to return by 1, so no problem.
I called a briefer and entered a new flight plan since my tail number had changed and then preflighted the plane. Since I hadn't flown it several weeks, I was very careful about the preflight - didn't want to miss anything.
Taxi, runup and departure were uneventful and I was cleared to depart on runway 5 and instructed to turn to 280 on climbout. The plane accelerated down the runway and I was airborne. The cold air's effects on the engine's performance and the wing's lift were quite noticeable as I was climbing more than 1000 feet per minute with full fuel. In no time I was in the clouds. I made my turn to 280 and was handed off to JAX Approach.
Approach assigned me 4000 feet as my final altitude. I leveled off and set the autopilot to follow the heading bug. I then loaded the approach into the GPS and clipped the approach plate to my yoke. I read the plate and then tuned the ATIS for Cecil.
I was flying between layers of clouds above and below me. ATC turned me to 190 for the downwind leg for the ILS 36-R approach to Cecil. Just prior to turning me for the base leg, the controller dropped me to 2000 feet and I found myself in the clouds once again. ATC turned me to 270 followed shortly by a turn to 320 and an approach clearance, "November- 2-4-6-niner-uniform, fly heading 320, maintain 2000 until established, cleared for the ILS 36-right approach to Cecil." I repeated the clearance as I adjusted my course and activated the vector-to-final. On the downwind, I had identified the localizer at Cecil, and the green bar and the diamond were showing on my G1000 PFD. ATC handed me off to the tower who I contacted and I was given clearance for the option on 36R. I hit the APR button on the autopilot and it subsequently lined me up perfectly with the localizer. Prior to reaching the fix, I slowed my speed to 95 knots. As the glideslope neared my current altitude, I dropped the first notch of flaps and waited as the autopilot stabilized the aircraft with the warning, "Trim In Motion". I was maintaining a descent of about 450 fpm when I disconnected the autopilot so I could hand fly the rest of the approach.
I was in solid IMC when the tower controller asked me to give him a base report once I broke through and I said that I would.
The ground finally appeared when I passed through 400 feet. The runway was dead ahead. Since I had the option, I touched the wheels to the runway and then took off all over again.
My climbout instructions were fore 270 and 2000 feet on the same ATC frequency. My touch and go had used less than a quarter of the very long runway (12,500 feet). The tower handed me back to ATC and I was quickly turned to 190 again for a left downwind for the same approach.
I was flying at on ly 90 knots when I heard ATC talking to a Seminole advising them that he might have to turn them for spacing. Recognizing that I might be the cause of the potential delay, I called ATC and offered to fly faster. ATC thanked me for that and I pushed the throttle for more speed. I accelerated to 125 knots IAS and set up the plane for the next approach.
I maintained my speed until 1 mile from the FAF receiving turning instructions from ATC as I lined up for the next approach. ATC asked my intentions and I said following this approach, I would return to Craig for a full stop. He ammended my climbout instructions to 360 and 3000.
I wanted to practice an emergency procedure - nothing in the book, though. Since I carry a spare radio that can tune and indicate the localizer, I decided to use this for navigation simulating an emergency where I lost the nav radios. This time, I hand flew the entire approach. I found myself wandering across the beam a bit more than usual and the handheld radio had a bit more variability than the regular equipment. I emerged from the clouds at 400 feet and about 20 feet from the center line pointed about 10 degrees to the right of the center. But the fact is that I was pretty close to being lined up and had no difficulty reaching the runway.
Following this, I headed back to Craig where I flew the ILS 32 approach. The weather had grown worse - lower ceilings and less visibility. The ceiling was reported at 400 feet and that is lower than every approach requires except for the ILS. I did the usual - ATIS, Radios, Approach Plate, GPS, etc. I entered clouds at about 2800 feet and was solidly in IMC as I was handed off to the tower. I made my call and was told that I could expect to emerge at 300 feet...wow - that's damn close to minimums - 241'. A circling approach would not be possible. Fortunately the wind was light so I should have no trouble landing on 32.
I popped out of the clouds at 300 feet as expected, but I couldn't see the far end of the runway. Visibility was only about 1.5 miles, if that.
The runway was precisely where it was supposed to be as I emerged from the clouds.
Flying in such poor conditions and being able to make three successful landings without crashing was a very satisfying experience.
1.4 hours, 3 TO, 3 Landings, 3 Instrument Approaches, 0.9 hours in actual IMC.
Inexperienced? Maybe...but a damned fool? Absolutely not.
A while back I wrote an entry where I described getting a clearance for an IFR departure from a non-towered airport and explained that I was given a very short window to take off. I had called Tampa Departure Control - the controlling agency for the clearance. The airport that I was departing is beneath the Class-B airspace for Tampa International and is fairly close to the approach patterns for this busy airport. An anonymous writer was harshly critical of my comments and said that my acceptance of a 6 minute clearance was indicative of my inexperience. The anonymous pilot explained that he has been a corporate pilot for 20 years and frequently gets clearances for 20 minutes for zero-zero departures from non-towered airports. Bully for him.
First, I'm flying a Skyhawk and will not depart an airport that I cannot immediately return to should I have a problem on departure, therefore a zero-zero for me translates to zero airspeed, zero RPM. Second, his experience may tell him to demand longer clearances, but I won't be flying with him if he opts to depart in such conditions. He won't get a 20 minute clearance window departing from the Tampa North Aeropark in his corporate jet...oh, yeah, that big lump of aluminum can't land or take off from there anyway.
Third, I never claimed to be a 20 year corporate pilot. However, I have more experience than many of the instructors who are teaching new pilots...and most of my instrument experience is in IMC, not under the hood. Still, I recognize that I do not have the experience of many pilots and I am constantly learning.
It is extremely unlikely that Tampa Departure would give anyone a 20 minute window that would cause them to block a section of busy class B airspace. Perhaps they do things differently in the Great Lakes.
So, if anyone cares to comment on my entries - please feel free. Just keep the chest pounding to yourself. It serves no useful purpose. And if you've never flown from the place I described, try not to use irrelavent experience as the basis for criticism. Lastly, if you expect me to post critical notes that lack signatures, forget it. Anonymous notes will garner nothing more than my own response...if that.
First, I'm flying a Skyhawk and will not depart an airport that I cannot immediately return to should I have a problem on departure, therefore a zero-zero for me translates to zero airspeed, zero RPM. Second, his experience may tell him to demand longer clearances, but I won't be flying with him if he opts to depart in such conditions. He won't get a 20 minute clearance window departing from the Tampa North Aeropark in his corporate jet...oh, yeah, that big lump of aluminum can't land or take off from there anyway.
Third, I never claimed to be a 20 year corporate pilot. However, I have more experience than many of the instructors who are teaching new pilots...and most of my instrument experience is in IMC, not under the hood. Still, I recognize that I do not have the experience of many pilots and I am constantly learning.
It is extremely unlikely that Tampa Departure would give anyone a 20 minute window that would cause them to block a section of busy class B airspace. Perhaps they do things differently in the Great Lakes.
So, if anyone cares to comment on my entries - please feel free. Just keep the chest pounding to yourself. It serves no useful purpose. And if you've never flown from the place I described, try not to use irrelavent experience as the basis for criticism. Lastly, if you expect me to post critical notes that lack signatures, forget it. Anonymous notes will garner nothing more than my own response...if that.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Christmas Night IFR
Before heading to my sister's house for Christmas dinner, I checked the forecast for the flight home that I was planning to make later that evening. The weather along the route provided no obstacles, but the ceiling at Craig was forecast to drop from its current 1200 feet overcast to 400 feet overcast with layers later that night. 400 feet is just a little more than the minimum 241 feet for the ILS approach and was below minimums for all of the non-precision approaches. I wasn't worried, but this would be as big a challenge as the prior day's approach to Tampa North with no instrument approaches and 1,600 foot ceilings.
After a wonderful meal and lots of time with my neices and nephews, I called 1-800-WX-BRIEF and got a standard briefing for the flight home. The weather in the Tampa area had cleared somewhat from the morning's broken skies and it now appeared that I could depart VFR and pick up my clearance once airborne. The alternative was to try to raise ATC on the ground or call the Lockheed-Martin 800 number for clearance. This could result in having to wait on the ground for a while until ATC had cleared the sky around me and with a busy Tampa International nearby, the big jets always get priority.
Arriving at the airport, we had calm winds and few clouds. I completed my preflight and set the altimeter to the airport elevation of 68 feet. I set the local CTAF on the radio and tuned 119.9 in the standby frequency for Tampa Approach. I then entered my route in the GPS: X39 direct OCF direct Craig. Runup showed no problems, so I announced my intentions on the CTAF and departed on runway 32 just as the sun was setting.
Climbing through 1000 feet, I completed the climb checklist, announced a departure to the north and turned the plane direct to Ocala. Then switching the radio to the ATC frequency, I listened for traffic and called, "Tampa Approach, Skyhawk 7-2-1 Victor Alpha".
The controller instructed an airliner to slow to 170, waited for his response, then acknowledged me by saying, "Skyhawk 7-2-1 Victor Alpha, Tampa Approach".
I requested my instrument clearance, "Approach, 1-Victor Alpha has just departed Xray three niner. IFR on file for Charlie Romeo Golf. I'd like to pick up my clearance, please."
The controller gave me a squawk code for the transponder which I acknowledged and entered into the device.
A minute later, the controller radioed, "November 1-Victor-Alpha, radar contact three miles north of the Tampa North Aeropark. Cleared to Craig as filed, climb to 6000 feet." I repeated the clearance and altitude then set 6000 as the warning in the autopilot and as the bug on the altimeter.
I leveled off at 6000 feet and before I reached Ocala, the controller cleared me direct to Craig.
Just past Ocala, I could see a cloud layer building ahead of us. It looked like a thin layer that covered a wide area ahead. Eventually, the horizon disappeared and I was completely on instruments.
There weren't many aircraft flying this evening so the radio was quiet except for the occasional frequency change to accommodate handoffs to different controllers.
I could see the lights of towns and cities below causing bright spots in the cloud layer, but the ground was otherwise completely obscured.
I listened to the ATIS for Craig and learned that CRG was landing on runway 32 and was IFR with a ceiling of 009 broken. I pulled up the plate for the ILS 32 approach, briefed it, loaded it into the GPS and followed ATC's instructions for descent to 2000 feet into the clouds.
I slowed the plane to 90 knots for the approach and was vectored by ATC to the final course.
The controller cleared me for the ILS 32 approach which I repeated. I activated the vector-to-final in the GPS and set up the auto pilot to line me up which it did wonderfully. Once established inbound, ATC handed me off to the tower.
I called, "Craig Tower, Skyhawk 7-2-1- Victor Alpha, 4.9 miles from runway 32 on the ILS with whiskey, full stop. The tower immediately cleared me to land and I continued to hand fly the approach. We popped out of the clouds at 800 feet with the approach lighting directly ahead of us. I greased the landing - a very smooth landing especially considering it was at night.
I made the turnoff and was advised by the tower to taxi to the ramp and monitor ground on point-8. I thanked the tower and then advised him that the ceiling was now down to 800 feet.
Flying in IMC is a pleasure for me. I get a great sense of satisfaction from flying an approach through the clouds and navigating directly to the runway. Popping out of the clouds to see the runway right where I expect it makes me just a bit proud.
1.6 hours of Night cross-country with 0.7 in actual IMC and one instrument approach...a good day of flying by any measure!
After a wonderful meal and lots of time with my neices and nephews, I called 1-800-WX-BRIEF and got a standard briefing for the flight home. The weather in the Tampa area had cleared somewhat from the morning's broken skies and it now appeared that I could depart VFR and pick up my clearance once airborne. The alternative was to try to raise ATC on the ground or call the Lockheed-Martin 800 number for clearance. This could result in having to wait on the ground for a while until ATC had cleared the sky around me and with a busy Tampa International nearby, the big jets always get priority.
Arriving at the airport, we had calm winds and few clouds. I completed my preflight and set the altimeter to the airport elevation of 68 feet. I set the local CTAF on the radio and tuned 119.9 in the standby frequency for Tampa Approach. I then entered my route in the GPS: X39 direct OCF direct Craig. Runup showed no problems, so I announced my intentions on the CTAF and departed on runway 32 just as the sun was setting.
Climbing through 1000 feet, I completed the climb checklist, announced a departure to the north and turned the plane direct to Ocala. Then switching the radio to the ATC frequency, I listened for traffic and called, "Tampa Approach, Skyhawk 7-2-1 Victor Alpha".
The controller instructed an airliner to slow to 170, waited for his response, then acknowledged me by saying, "Skyhawk 7-2-1 Victor Alpha, Tampa Approach".
I requested my instrument clearance, "Approach, 1-Victor Alpha has just departed Xray three niner. IFR on file for Charlie Romeo Golf. I'd like to pick up my clearance, please."
The controller gave me a squawk code for the transponder which I acknowledged and entered into the device.
A minute later, the controller radioed, "November 1-Victor-Alpha, radar contact three miles north of the Tampa North Aeropark. Cleared to Craig as filed, climb to 6000 feet." I repeated the clearance and altitude then set 6000 as the warning in the autopilot and as the bug on the altimeter.
I leveled off at 6000 feet and before I reached Ocala, the controller cleared me direct to Craig.
Just past Ocala, I could see a cloud layer building ahead of us. It looked like a thin layer that covered a wide area ahead. Eventually, the horizon disappeared and I was completely on instruments.
There weren't many aircraft flying this evening so the radio was quiet except for the occasional frequency change to accommodate handoffs to different controllers.
I could see the lights of towns and cities below causing bright spots in the cloud layer, but the ground was otherwise completely obscured.
I listened to the ATIS for Craig and learned that CRG was landing on runway 32 and was IFR with a ceiling of 009 broken. I pulled up the plate for the ILS 32 approach, briefed it, loaded it into the GPS and followed ATC's instructions for descent to 2000 feet into the clouds.
I slowed the plane to 90 knots for the approach and was vectored by ATC to the final course.
The controller cleared me for the ILS 32 approach which I repeated. I activated the vector-to-final in the GPS and set up the auto pilot to line me up which it did wonderfully. Once established inbound, ATC handed me off to the tower.
I called, "Craig Tower, Skyhawk 7-2-1- Victor Alpha, 4.9 miles from runway 32 on the ILS with whiskey, full stop. The tower immediately cleared me to land and I continued to hand fly the approach. We popped out of the clouds at 800 feet with the approach lighting directly ahead of us. I greased the landing - a very smooth landing especially considering it was at night.
I made the turnoff and was advised by the tower to taxi to the ramp and monitor ground on point-8. I thanked the tower and then advised him that the ceiling was now down to 800 feet.
Flying in IMC is a pleasure for me. I get a great sense of satisfaction from flying an approach through the clouds and navigating directly to the runway. Popping out of the clouds to see the runway right where I expect it makes me just a bit proud.
1.6 hours of Night cross-country with 0.7 in actual IMC and one instrument approach...a good day of flying by any measure!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Down through the clouds - without an instrument approach
My trip from Craig Airport (KCRG) to the Tampa North Aeropark (X39) on Christmas Eve, started with a hitch and got more complicated as the flight neared completion. The aircraft was far from ready when I arrived at the airport. It had been flown two days earlier for 3.5 hours and was left without refueling. When I arrived at the airport, only a skeleton crew was available and they were focused on repairing both of the air charter jets that were down for unscheduled maintenance.
The engine gave me fits trying to start, which is surprising for a fuel injected aircraft. Finally, I got it started and taxied over to the fuel depot for refueling. The end result was a departure that was about 40 minutes behind schedule.
The weather at Craig was clear with few clouds. But prior to departure, I checked the METARs for Brooksville, Vandenburg and Tampa International to get some idea what the weather was like at Tampa North. Nothing looked promising. Brooksville was reporting 900 feet and overcast, Tampa was 1400 and Vandenburg was about the same. The past few hours of METARs showed increases in the ceiling and that was promising and the TAFs suggested there would be some clearing later in the day, so I expected that we'd eventually be able to land.
I picked up my IFR clearance and ran through the runup. The winds favored runway 32 for departure and I picked up my clearance and a departure heading of 280. The tower handed me off to JAX approach who cleared me to 5000 feet and cleared me direct to OCF once I had passed 2000 feet.
Headwinds slowed our progress somewhat, but it wasn't too bad. About 20 minutes into the flight, I came upon a solid white layer of clouds below me that reached up to envelope the aircraft from time to time. Using the NEXRAD capabilities of the G1000, I kept tabs on the nearby airports as I flew along. The situation had not improved much.
Closer to the destination, the clouds near our altitude thinned out only to reveal a solid layer further below. South of Ocala, ATC dropped me down to 2000 feet and that put me in and out of clouds. Tampa Approach asked me for my flight conditions and I had to tell him that I was in and out of IMC.
ATC then said, "November one-victor-alpha, cleared direct Xray-three-niner, if you aren't already direct". A few minutes later, I received clearance to descend to 1600, then minimum altitude that the controller could give me. Unfortunately, I was still in the clouds and there was no instrument approach into this airport.
The controller asked me for the conditions, and this time I told him that I was getting glimpses of the ground, but I had zero forward visibility. He asked me what I would like to do if I can't see the airport when I arrive and I replied, "I'll divert to Crystal River, Charlie-Golf-Charlie". There is a single, non-precision approach to Crystal River, but more importantly, that's just a few miles from my Dad's house and if he handn't already left for my sister's house, I could catch a ride with him.
A few minutes later, the controller asked me if he could make a suggestion. I told him that I would love to hear any suggestion that he might have. His idea he had really surprised me - it was a great idea and definitely not something that was ever taught in flight training.
The controller suggested that I fly the ILS to Vandenburg, but once I was safely below the cloud layer, I could go missed, cancel IFR and fly VFR back to Tampa North. He could not legally give me an altitude below 1600 feet on and IFR plan, and I couldn't cancel IFR when I was still in the clouds, so the key was to find a legal way to get below the clouds. With the ceiling at 1600 feet and 1600 feet being the minimum altitude, we had a challenge that the controller found a very creative way of overcoming.
I could legally decend below the clouds on the Vandenburg approach and since the ceiling was at 1600 feet, I could legally fly at 1100 feet - still 500 feet below the clouds and over 1000 feet above obstacles on the ground.
As I flew along, I reduced speed to 85 knots to give myself lots of time to spot the airport. ATC called me to say that they were showing me at 1700 feet - but my altimeter showed 1640. I dropped down to 1560 to take advantage of the apparent fudge factor. But, the greatest advantage I had was the GPS.
The GPS took me directly over the airport and just as I passed the airport, ATC told me that I was passing it and asked me what I wanted to do. I had just spotted the airport's new hangers as I flew over, so I immediately told ATC that I had the airport in sight, was dropping lower and canceled IFR.
I dropped the 500 feet to pattern altitude very quickly made a quick pass to see if I could spot a wind sock, then lined up for the downwind for 32. I never spotted the sock, but the winds at Brooksville would have favored runway 32, so I assumed that this was the case. Crossing the fence, my engine was pulled to idle, but there was about an 8 to 10 knot tailwind, so I sailed along wasting runway as I finally greased the landing.
This was a unique flight in that I learned a new trick from the air traffic controller. The flight took about 1.6 hours with .6 of that in solid and challenging IMC...all cross country.
The engine gave me fits trying to start, which is surprising for a fuel injected aircraft. Finally, I got it started and taxied over to the fuel depot for refueling. The end result was a departure that was about 40 minutes behind schedule.
The weather at Craig was clear with few clouds. But prior to departure, I checked the METARs for Brooksville, Vandenburg and Tampa International to get some idea what the weather was like at Tampa North. Nothing looked promising. Brooksville was reporting 900 feet and overcast, Tampa was 1400 and Vandenburg was about the same. The past few hours of METARs showed increases in the ceiling and that was promising and the TAFs suggested there would be some clearing later in the day, so I expected that we'd eventually be able to land.
I picked up my IFR clearance and ran through the runup. The winds favored runway 32 for departure and I picked up my clearance and a departure heading of 280. The tower handed me off to JAX approach who cleared me to 5000 feet and cleared me direct to OCF once I had passed 2000 feet.
Headwinds slowed our progress somewhat, but it wasn't too bad. About 20 minutes into the flight, I came upon a solid white layer of clouds below me that reached up to envelope the aircraft from time to time. Using the NEXRAD capabilities of the G1000, I kept tabs on the nearby airports as I flew along. The situation had not improved much.
Closer to the destination, the clouds near our altitude thinned out only to reveal a solid layer further below. South of Ocala, ATC dropped me down to 2000 feet and that put me in and out of clouds. Tampa Approach asked me for my flight conditions and I had to tell him that I was in and out of IMC.
ATC then said, "November one-victor-alpha, cleared direct Xray-three-niner, if you aren't already direct". A few minutes later, I received clearance to descend to 1600, then minimum altitude that the controller could give me. Unfortunately, I was still in the clouds and there was no instrument approach into this airport.
The controller asked me for the conditions, and this time I told him that I was getting glimpses of the ground, but I had zero forward visibility. He asked me what I would like to do if I can't see the airport when I arrive and I replied, "I'll divert to Crystal River, Charlie-Golf-Charlie". There is a single, non-precision approach to Crystal River, but more importantly, that's just a few miles from my Dad's house and if he handn't already left for my sister's house, I could catch a ride with him.
A few minutes later, the controller asked me if he could make a suggestion. I told him that I would love to hear any suggestion that he might have. His idea he had really surprised me - it was a great idea and definitely not something that was ever taught in flight training.
The controller suggested that I fly the ILS to Vandenburg, but once I was safely below the cloud layer, I could go missed, cancel IFR and fly VFR back to Tampa North. He could not legally give me an altitude below 1600 feet on and IFR plan, and I couldn't cancel IFR when I was still in the clouds, so the key was to find a legal way to get below the clouds. With the ceiling at 1600 feet and 1600 feet being the minimum altitude, we had a challenge that the controller found a very creative way of overcoming.
I could legally decend below the clouds on the Vandenburg approach and since the ceiling was at 1600 feet, I could legally fly at 1100 feet - still 500 feet below the clouds and over 1000 feet above obstacles on the ground.
As I flew along, I reduced speed to 85 knots to give myself lots of time to spot the airport. ATC called me to say that they were showing me at 1700 feet - but my altimeter showed 1640. I dropped down to 1560 to take advantage of the apparent fudge factor. But, the greatest advantage I had was the GPS.
The GPS took me directly over the airport and just as I passed the airport, ATC told me that I was passing it and asked me what I wanted to do. I had just spotted the airport's new hangers as I flew over, so I immediately told ATC that I had the airport in sight, was dropping lower and canceled IFR.
I dropped the 500 feet to pattern altitude very quickly made a quick pass to see if I could spot a wind sock, then lined up for the downwind for 32. I never spotted the sock, but the winds at Brooksville would have favored runway 32, so I assumed that this was the case. Crossing the fence, my engine was pulled to idle, but there was about an 8 to 10 knot tailwind, so I sailed along wasting runway as I finally greased the landing.
This was a unique flight in that I learned a new trick from the air traffic controller. The flight took about 1.6 hours with .6 of that in solid and challenging IMC...all cross country.
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