Beckley

Today was my first real cross country from Clarksburg to Beckley and back. It took approximately one hour each way. Basically, we flew to Beckley and back in less time than it would take to drive to Beckley. It was fun and the scenery was awesome.

Cross country flight is all about multitasking. Not only do I have to fly the plane, I have to time the flight between checkpoints and compare that to my estimated time, use my e6b computer to calculate ground speed, and then use that to find an estimated time to my next heading. All while maintaining altitude and heading to stay on course.

For the flight down to Beckley, I flew at 6500 feet altitude. The total distance is 100 nautical miles, and time enroute was 61 minutes. Some of my visual checkpoints included: Sutton Lake, Birch River, Summersville Lake and airport, and the New River Gorge.

Visibility was practically unlimited. At some point near Summersville, we could see in the distance the John Amos Power Plant in Nitro. I took a look at the map and we found that it was roughly 50 nautical miles away. We could also see windmills on top of the Appalachian mountains roughly 25 miles away. So from 6500 feet, I could see a very large portion of West Virginia.

Summersville Lake was interesting, it was almost completely dried up. You could see the mud where the lake once was, but obviously for some seasonal reason or another they have drained most of it. You could walk across some sections of the lake.


The New River Gorge looked AWESOME from above. It really is- a gorge! I always thought it was a river between two giant mountain ranges- But its more like a deep crevice cut into a large flat plateau. The keyword is flat. The area surrounding the gorge is practically flat.

Beckley airport has no control tower- but it should. It's a big airport! Two full sized runways, a terminal, and several taxiways. It was a little strange roaming free here.

This cross country was a great experience. My next flight should be my night flight which we are planning for Thursday.

X-Country in the Sim

Today was my first ever cross country flight. Except, I never left the airport. I flew from Clarksburg to Parkersburg in the AlSim 200 flight simulator. My instructor played some tricks on me during the flight to try and see if I was paying attention.

I plotted and planned the trip using only crossing VOR radials as checkpoints (the program in the Sim didn't have any references on the ground, just terrain). I planned it out nice and easy to where every checkpoint was about 10 miles apart. Everytime I would reach the checkpoint, I would restart the timer, write down the actual time, compare the actual time to the estimated time, and recalculate the time enroute to the next checkpoint. there is a lot of multitasking involved.

Upon first taking off from Clarksburg, my instructor failed my engine and forced me to land back on the runway. he then informed me that I forgot to check my gauges before takeoff and that my oil pressure was nonexistent, so he failed my engine. Several times throughout the flight, he would put an Airbus on a collision course with me to see if I would catch it. I did, every time. He also dropped my oil pressure back down to zero again, but this time I caught it. We then discussed procedures for a diversion to an alternate airport in a case like this. On final to land, there was another plane on the runway. So I had to go around.(Lol...)

After landed safely at Parkersburg and closing the flight plan, my instructor let me screw around for a couple minutes. I did a barrel roll, a backflip, and a 90 degree steep banked turn. I then landed the plane going about 200mph and crashed off the end of the runway.

It was a good lesson, but definitly not a substitute for the real thing. I will probably do my first real cross country to Beckley this weekend.

Cruising in the Clouds

Today's lesson plan originally involved one whole hour of instrument flying. Typically, I would have done this hour wearing the IFR hood so I couldn't see outside. Fortunatly, there were plenty of clouds today and my instructor actually went and filed an IFR flight plan. I got 1.0 hours of ACTUAL instrument time on top of my 1.7 hours of simulated instrument time.

Flying through the clouds was just awesome. Not only is it cool to see the clouds in all of their beauty, it was also pretty awesome to see how fast you are actually flying past them. It was a truly amazing experience.

We practiced most of the things in our lesson plan- stalls, slow flight, etc. Believe it or not, doing maneuvers in actual instrument conditions was a lot more difficult than when I'm just under the hood. I think I might know why- with simulated instrument maneuvers, I'm not tempted to look outside. However, with actual instrument maneuvers, I'm wanting to look outside for visual reference and it delays my reaction time a little when I realize I need to look back down at my instruments.

I started feeling a little bit sick, so we climbed up to 5000 feet above the clouds- and it was awesome. It was so awesome that I actually handed the controls over while I took a short video:



After a short recovery time, we dove back down into the sea of white. I learned procedures for inadvertant flight into the clouds- in which you simply make a 180 degree standard-rate turn and fly right back out of the clouds.

My instructor then started failing my instruments. First, he failed my attitude
indicator and my heading indicator. I then had to divert my attention to the altimeter to see if I'm gaining or losing altitude, and the actual magnetic compass to see what direction I'm turning. Then, he failed my magnetic compass and told me to do a 180. I had to time a standard-rate turn using the turn coordinator (a standard rate turn is a turn that takes exactly two minutes to make a complete 360). By starting the timer and turning at standard rate until the timer read one minute, I was able to do a complete 180.


Then, he failed my altimeter and told me to climb from 4500 to 5000. I figured that by starting the timer and focusing on the vertical speed indicator (keeping my climb at 500 feet per minute), I climbed for exactly one minute and leveled off at 5000.

My instructor told me that I will be an excellent instrument pilot as long as I can get over the whole motion-sickness ordeal. Here is another video flying through the clouds (instructor at the controls):



I finished off the lesson by flying my first ILS approach (my instructor did most of the work on the approach, so I didn't get credit for it). I actually got vectored by ATC to merge with the glide path to the runway.

Not many private pilot students get to experience a flight like this. It was a very awesome lesson.

Flying Alone

Today's flight was awesome. It was my first solo flight away from the airport's traffic pattern. I had some maneuvers I had to focus on doing, which I did, but I also had a little fun exploring and enjoing the view.

I started out practicing slow flight and stalls for about 15 minutes, and then my ground reference maneuvers for about 15 minutes. All the while knowing that Fairmont is just a few miles to the east...

So my curiosity got the best of me. I have never flown over Fairmont before and I figured since I had already finished most of my maneuvers, it wouldn't hurt to explore a little. I had no trouble whatsoever finding the city of Fairmont. Cruising flight is so easy- I only needed one hand. So guess what I did with the other? I took some video. Here it is:



I then cruised back over to the practice area. It was so relaxing and enjoiable that I felt the need to take even more video:



Having to focus on learning so much- you rarely get to actually sit back and enjoy the flight like I did today. With no instructor calling out maneuvers for me to execute, I was able to do whatever I wanted. And it was soooooooo sweet... :)

I finished everything thing off with three landings at Clarksburg. I cannot wait until I get my license and can do this more often. It's totally worth $125 per hour.

Tracking to Phillipi

Today's lesson was partially done with instrument reference. I learned how to track to and from a VOR station. I also worked on short field takeoffs and landings.


My instructor started the lesson by telling me to fly to Tygart Lake- without looking outside. I was able to track to an intersection over the lake by following the Clarksburg VOR until the needle for the Elkins VOR centered (see pic ->)

I then worked on slow flight and stalls- some with instrument reference, and some with visual reference. After about 30 minutes of practicing slow flight and stalls, my instructor had me put the IFR hood back on so I couldn't see outside, and told me to fly a certain direction for a while.

I then had to use the VOR indicators to triangulate my location. I tuned both the Clarksburg and Elkins VORs and lined up the needles and used my sectional to pinpoint my location. I pinpointed our plane right next to Phillipi airport.

I then did three stop-and-go landings at Phillipi- which is an actual short field. It was fun actually landing at a different airport. It was in a very remote location on top of a mountain. I had fun landing and taking off there.

The next thing my instructor did was put me under the hood and tell me to close my eyes and put my chin to my chest so I couldn't see anything. He then proceeded to turn and pitch in all sorts of different directions- attempting to skew my senses. Then he would tell me to look up and recover. If the plane was nose low, you pull out on the power and pitch back to correct. The plane is nose high, you apply full power and push forward (to prevent a stall). This is called "Recovery from Unusual Flight Attitudes", and it is meant to simulate an instance where I am distracted by my maps and navigation and forget to look at my instruments or outside, and all of sudden realize that somethings not right. It was a piece of cake. Fun, too.

I then tracked to the Clarksburg VOR to get back to the airport, and executed a perfect short field landing. Today's lesson was a lot of fun.

Flyin' Solo Part Two

Today I flew a complete flight from start to finish all by myself. The lesson was to solo in the traffic pattern for a whole hour. I was able to land seven times in that hour.

My first landing was all screwy- I was nervous from being in the plane alone again and put my flaps in at the wrong places- Came in kinda high and fast. The result was a relatively bouncy touchdown. Definitely not my best.


After that I did pretty well on my landings- I remembered to put the flaps in at the right times and I've developed better control of the plane in ground effect (which has always been tough for me in the past).

The only obstacles for my second solo was traffic and a tailwind. In spite of it being Veterans Day and therefore no military training traffic, there was still plenty of General Aviation Operations going on. At one point, I had to fly right traffic instead of left, which I am not used to. Also, even though there was a 3-5 knot direct tailwind, tower still had everyone landing and departing runway 21. As a result, my ground speed was much faster than what I was used to over the runway.

All in all, it was a good flight. I was able to comply with all ATC instructions and, other than my first landing, touch down smoothly every time.

The most important factor: I didn't crash the plane. :)

Stage Check

Today was my first time flying for a grade. I performed all the maneuvers I usually do and was given a grade out of five for each maneuver. I got mostly fours, one five, and four threes, for a total overall grade of 3.67.

My lowest scores were given for my ground reference maneuvers,emergency procedures, and my power-off stall. For my S-Turns, I had trouble losing altitude. For my turns around a point, I kept drifting in towards my point. Because I was so worried about how I would do, I accidentally started my turns around a point to the right (I'm used to doing it to the left). I got a three on my emergency procedures because I didn't use the checklist. I bombed my power-off stall because I pulled in the flaps too quickly on the recovery, before I had gained enough speed.

All in all, the primary reason I didn't do well on those maneuvers was because I was nervous. Had I just relaxed as usual, I would've done much better.

Ironically, I was most worried about maneuvering slow flight, and that's what I did best on.

Short and Soft

This particular lesson was very brief- only 0.8 hours long. It consisted of four takeoffs and landings to a full stop- two of which were done by my instructor for the purpose of demonstration. I learned short and soft field takeoffs and landings.

Short field takeoff and landing

For a short field takeoff, you start by adding in 10 degrees of flaps. Then you taxi to the very end of the runway (pretending the runway is very short, when in fact, its 7000 feet long). Once you get lined up, you apply the brakes and full power. Now, suprisingly, even with full power, the brakes are good enough to keep the airplane from moving. You check the engine gauges (because in a real life situation, if you didn't notice a problem until halfway through takeoff, a short runway won't allow you to abort), and then you release the brakes, lift off at the normal 55 knots, and then climb a Vx which is a steep angle climb out. Once you clear the imaginary 50 foot obstacle, you can then execute a normal climb at Vy, which is best rate of climb.

Short field landings are slightly more difficult than regular landings- you must go five knots less than usual on approach. You have to clear an imaginary 50-foot obstacle at the threshold of the runway, and then touch down within two hundred feet of a certain point on the runway (usually about 1000 feet down, picked out by my instructor). Then you must stop in the least amount of distance possible using aerodynamic braking (full back elevator).


Soft field takeoff and landing

Soft field takeoff had me kind of nervous at first- so many things can go wrong here. First, keep in mind, we are pretending the runway is made of grass and dirt and not concrete. The primary objective is to keep as much weight off the nosewheel as possible, so it doesn't dig into the ground and cause the propeller to hit. You start out with full back elevator during taxi (in essence, riding a wheelie) and slowly taxi onto the runway WITHOUT touching the brakes. Using brakes on grass might cause the plane to dig into the ground. Then once you are lined up, apply full power, and basically ride a wheelie all the way down the runway (being careful not to scrape the tail). Now, the plane will become airborne before it has enough speed to climb, so as soon as the plane lifts up, you apply forward pressure and level off with the runway, wait for your speed to accumulate best normal lift-off speed, and then climb out. Sound scary? Yes it does. Its not that bad though. Here is a video of someone doing a soft field takeoff (notice how he hovers right over the runway until his speed builds up):



A soft field landing is basically the same as a regular landing with two minor differences: 1, you have to bump it a little bit of power in the flare, and 2, once you land, you must keep the nosewheel above the ground, basically riding a wheelie until you stop, and keep holding full back elevator to keep the weight off the nosewheel.

One interesting thing did happen to me today- during my climb out after my soft field takeoff, I notice a very large flock of birds flying right across my flight path. I immediatly nosed over to pass under them. I even noticed the birds before my instructor did. Had I not seen them, I would have ran right into the flock. It was a very interesting experience, to say the least. Reminds me to keep my eyes outside the plane as much as possible.