Today I flew three non-precision approaches. I started with the VOR-A approach to Morgantown, followed by the GPS/RNAV Rwy 23 to Fairmont, and finished with the localizer-only approach into Clarksburg for a landing.
After takeoff from Clarksburg, I turned left and proceeded direct to the Morgantown VOR. My instructor showed me out to set up DME using the plane's GPS. You start by pushing the direct-to button (which looks like a D with an arrow through it) and twisting the knobs to enter MGW, which was the three letter identifier for the VOR. By having DME, I can fly to lower minimums on this particular approach. I then did my three steps, which are:
1. Set up the approach
2. Test the equipment
3. Brief the approach
Even though the approach doesn't require a procedure turn if you're coming from Clarksburg, my instructor told me to do one anyway. So I tracked outbound, did a quick 180 and got established on the final approach course. I followed all my altitude restrictions at the various fixes until finally my instructor told me to go visual and I saw that I was practically right on top of the airport. It was cool.
We then executed a missed approach but instead of flying the published missed approach, we flew directly to the initial approach fix for the GPS approach to Fairmont airport. Since we were already close, it gave me little time to set up the approach in the GPS and do my three steps. The actual approach itself was long. In-between fixes, I had plenty of time to make sure I had everything ready to go.
After flying the approach and going missed, we began getting vectors to the ILS approach for runway 21 into Clarksburg. I had even less time to prepare for this approach. Once I got established on the localizer, I thought that I was going to get to fly the ILS approach, then suddenly my instructor turned off my NAV1 effectively failing my glide slope. So I had to fly the localizer-only approach instead. Upon reaching 1800 feet, I was instructed to go visual. I then proceeded to successfully land the plane.
I did an excellent job on all three approaches. The only thing I messed up was not reading my descent and before-landing checklists before reaching the final approach fixes. I need to develop a way for me to always remember to do those. During my private course, I constantly forgot to start my time on takeoff. So I invented my own acronym which helped me 100%. All I need to do now is come up with an acronym for reaching the final approach fix.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Backcourse to Daytona Beach
Today I flew one of the most complicated instrument approaches- the Localizer Backcourse Approach to Runway 25R at Daytona Beach.
There are three reasons this approach is considered to be difficult.
1 - It encompasses a DME arc, which takes some extra focus to fly.
2 - All of the waypoints are identified by VOR radials which require extra effort to keep track of.
3 - It is a backcourse, which means that the needle indicating whether you are on course or not swings in the opposite direction as usual.
Here is the approach's plan view:
If you're wondering how well I flew this approach, here is the printout from the simulator that shows my flight path:
And here's is the same flight path that I enhanced through MS Paint. The black lines are the runways at the airport, the thin green line is my takeoff and flight before starting the approach, the thick yellow line is my approach flight path, and the thin red line is my missed approach flight path. I also identified JODAB intersection (which was my IAF) and TOMOK intersection (the missed approach fix) in blue.
You should be able to easily compare this to the approach chart above. The only thing that wasn't perfect was the holding pattern I flew on the missed approach. I did not apply enough wind correction so it wasn't a perfect oval.
After I successfully flew this approach, I then did a perfect VOR-A approach to Morgantown airport and finished the flight off with the ILS 21 into Clarksburg.
Hopefully tomorrow I will get to fly a real plane.
There are three reasons this approach is considered to be difficult.
1 - It encompasses a DME arc, which takes some extra focus to fly.
2 - All of the waypoints are identified by VOR radials which require extra effort to keep track of.
3 - It is a backcourse, which means that the needle indicating whether you are on course or not swings in the opposite direction as usual.
Here is the approach's plan view:
If you're wondering how well I flew this approach, here is the printout from the simulator that shows my flight path:
And here's is the same flight path that I enhanced through MS Paint. The black lines are the runways at the airport, the thin green line is my takeoff and flight before starting the approach, the thick yellow line is my approach flight path, and the thin red line is my missed approach flight path. I also identified JODAB intersection (which was my IAF) and TOMOK intersection (the missed approach fix) in blue.
You should be able to easily compare this to the approach chart above. The only thing that wasn't perfect was the holding pattern I flew on the missed approach. I did not apply enough wind correction so it wasn't a perfect oval.
After I successfully flew this approach, I then did a perfect VOR-A approach to Morgantown airport and finished the flight off with the ILS 21 into Clarksburg.
Hopefully tomorrow I will get to fly a real plane.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Non-precision with Precision
Today was my first flight learning how to fly approaches- in the sim of course. I focused on non-precision approaches. A non-precision approach is an approach that does not provide vertical guidance, only lateral guidance.
Today I flew three different approaches. I flew the VOR-A approach to Buckhannon, the GPS/RNAV approach to Buckhannon, and the Localizer-Only approach to Clarksburg. I am going to attempt to explain how these are flown, but keep in mind that this is the most complicated part of instrument flying.
Buckhannon/Upshur County Regional VOR-A Approach
This chart can be split into 3 parts: The heading, the plan view, and the profile view.
Heading
The heading consists of all the basic information and frequencies needed to shoot the approach. It shows the name of the approach, the name of the airport, the VOR frequency used to fly the approach, the approach course, the airport elevation, all the various frequencies for the airport, and other information that may be necessary.
Plan View
The plan view provides you with all the necessary information used for lateral guidance in order to get established on the approach course. When joining the approach course, you first need to fly to an initial approach fix, or IAF. In this case, the Elkins VOR is the IAF (as you can see in the small box describing the VOR). Then, depending on the direction you are coming from, you would execute a certain procedure turn. A procedure turn is exactly the same as a holding pattern entry, except you don't actually hold. The procedure turn area is depicted by the oval shape of the course.
After the course passes past the VOR, you can follow it all the way down to the runway (which is that tiny black line). Then, the course becomes a dotted line. The dotted line is the missed approach course. If you get close to the airport and still cannot see the runway, you must then go missed and follow that course.
Profile View and Airport Diagram
Once you have executed your procedure turn and have joined the final approach course (in this case, its 309 degrees), then you switch your focus down to the profile view. Notice the number 5400 underlined. When a number like this is underlined on the profile view, it is your minimum altitude. In this case, you cannot descend below 5400 feet until you cross the VOR.
Upon crossing the Elkins VOR, you can then start descending, down to 2820. Once you reach 2820 feet, you cannot go lower until you reach HEGAT. HEGAT is a DME fix (Distance Measuring Equipment). If your plane has DME, you can identify HEGAT as exactly 7.7 miles from the Elkins VOR (Which is indicated by the 7.7 inside the letter D).
Once you pass over HEGAT, you must then determine your final MDA (Minimum Descent Altitude). First, you must determine which category your aircraft lies in. If your aircrafts approach speed is 90 knots or less, it is category A. If the speed is 90-120 knots, it is category B, and so on. Cessna 172s are category A. So looking at the minimums (beneath the profile view) beneath the category "A" section, you can find the MDA. In this case, the minimums depend on whether or not you have DME (and can find HEGAT). Assuming you have DME, you can use the HEGAT fix minimum altitude, which is 2260.
Once you descend to 2260, you must maintain that altitude until you can see the airport. If upon reaching the missed approach point, or MAP, you still don't see the airport, you must execute the missed approach procedure, which is found in the heading of the chart. According to the profile view, the missed approach point can be identified by the 9.4 DME from the Elkins VOR. If you don't have DME, then you have to time the approach using the times in the bottom left corner based on your aircraft's speed.
The airport diagram is fairly self explanatory.
The GPS/ RNAV approach is very similar to the VOR-A, except instead of using the VOR, it uses waypoints defined by GPS coordinates. It is also a non-precision approach, so you have to descend to minimum altitudes after crossing certain fixes, just like the above approach.
The localizer approach is the same thing as an ILS approach, which I explained how to fly in an earlier blog, except that it implies that the glide slope is inoperative. Instead of being able to track a glide slope all the way down to 200 feet above the runway, you have to descend in increments and your minimum altitude is increased by about 500 feet.
All three approaches that I flew today I flew perfectly. Hopefully with my next flight I will be able to fly non-precision approaches in an actual airplane.
Today I flew three different approaches. I flew the VOR-A approach to Buckhannon, the GPS/RNAV approach to Buckhannon, and the Localizer-Only approach to Clarksburg. I am going to attempt to explain how these are flown, but keep in mind that this is the most complicated part of instrument flying.
Buckhannon/Upshur County Regional VOR-A Approach
This chart can be split into 3 parts: The heading, the plan view, and the profile view.
Heading
The heading consists of all the basic information and frequencies needed to shoot the approach. It shows the name of the approach, the name of the airport, the VOR frequency used to fly the approach, the approach course, the airport elevation, all the various frequencies for the airport, and other information that may be necessary.
Plan View
The plan view provides you with all the necessary information used for lateral guidance in order to get established on the approach course. When joining the approach course, you first need to fly to an initial approach fix, or IAF. In this case, the Elkins VOR is the IAF (as you can see in the small box describing the VOR). Then, depending on the direction you are coming from, you would execute a certain procedure turn. A procedure turn is exactly the same as a holding pattern entry, except you don't actually hold. The procedure turn area is depicted by the oval shape of the course.
After the course passes past the VOR, you can follow it all the way down to the runway (which is that tiny black line). Then, the course becomes a dotted line. The dotted line is the missed approach course. If you get close to the airport and still cannot see the runway, you must then go missed and follow that course.
Profile View and Airport Diagram
Once you have executed your procedure turn and have joined the final approach course (in this case, its 309 degrees), then you switch your focus down to the profile view. Notice the number 5400 underlined. When a number like this is underlined on the profile view, it is your minimum altitude. In this case, you cannot descend below 5400 feet until you cross the VOR.
Upon crossing the Elkins VOR, you can then start descending, down to 2820. Once you reach 2820 feet, you cannot go lower until you reach HEGAT. HEGAT is a DME fix (Distance Measuring Equipment). If your plane has DME, you can identify HEGAT as exactly 7.7 miles from the Elkins VOR (Which is indicated by the 7.7 inside the letter D).
Once you pass over HEGAT, you must then determine your final MDA (Minimum Descent Altitude). First, you must determine which category your aircraft lies in. If your aircrafts approach speed is 90 knots or less, it is category A. If the speed is 90-120 knots, it is category B, and so on. Cessna 172s are category A. So looking at the minimums (beneath the profile view) beneath the category "A" section, you can find the MDA. In this case, the minimums depend on whether or not you have DME (and can find HEGAT). Assuming you have DME, you can use the HEGAT fix minimum altitude, which is 2260.
Once you descend to 2260, you must maintain that altitude until you can see the airport. If upon reaching the missed approach point, or MAP, you still don't see the airport, you must execute the missed approach procedure, which is found in the heading of the chart. According to the profile view, the missed approach point can be identified by the 9.4 DME from the Elkins VOR. If you don't have DME, then you have to time the approach using the times in the bottom left corner based on your aircraft's speed.
The airport diagram is fairly self explanatory.
The GPS/ RNAV approach is very similar to the VOR-A, except instead of using the VOR, it uses waypoints defined by GPS coordinates. It is also a non-precision approach, so you have to descend to minimum altitudes after crossing certain fixes, just like the above approach.
The localizer approach is the same thing as an ILS approach, which I explained how to fly in an earlier blog, except that it implies that the glide slope is inoperative. Instead of being able to track a glide slope all the way down to 200 feet above the runway, you have to descend in increments and your minimum altitude is increased by about 500 feet.
All three approaches that I flew today I flew perfectly. Hopefully with my next flight I will be able to fly non-precision approaches in an actual airplane.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Holding Patterns
This blog is covering two separate lessons both of which happened about two weeks ago.
The first lesson was in the sim. This lesson was basically my introduction to holding patterns. I started out with some ground going over the different types of holding pattern entries and how to interpret an ATC non-published holding clearance.
A published holding procedure is one that is depicted on an chart. A non-published holding procedure is one that ATC can assign that is not depicted on any charts and as a pilot, I must interpret what entry I must use and which headings I need to fly in order to satisfy the clearance.
Here is a basic holding pattern:
You fly inbound for one minute, execute a 180 degree standard rate turn (which should take one minute), fly outbound for one minute, and then another 180 degree turn back to the inbound leg. The result is a four minute delay for ATC to work with towards traffic spacing and weather avoidance.
There are three different ways to enter a holding pattern. There's direct, teardrop, and parallel entries.
A direct entry is just simply flying to the holding fix, and then beginning the holding pattern right away. It is best used if you are flying a heading that is close to the inbound heading.
A teardrop entry is used when you are coming at the fix from the opposite direction and on the opposite side of the inbound path as the hold. Upon crossing the fix, you fly 30 degrees off the outbound heading for one minute and then turn back to the inbound course.
A parallel entry is used when you are on the same side of the inbound course as the hold and you are coming from the opposite direction. It is the most complicated of the three. Upon crossing the fix, you turn and fly the outbound heading parallel to the inbound course for one minute, and then turn towards the inside of the hold about 240 degrees to intercept the inbound course.
Before you can identify which entry you need to use, you must first figure out your aircraft's location in reference to the holding pattern. This is fairly easy with a published hold. Here is an example of a published hold on Clarksburg's ILS approach:
As you can see, the headings are clearly illustrated (211 inbound, 031 outbound) and the hold is executed on the fix FONTZ intersection. So imagine you are flying your aircraft directly to FONTZ. If your heading is south, that means you are coming from the north and you would do a direct entry. If coming from the south, you would do a teardrop entry. If coming from the west, you would do a parallel entry.
Figuring out what entry to use becomes difficult when you are instructed to fly a non-published hold. Imagine that the hold above is not published. This is how ATC would instruct you to hold at FONTZ:"577SP, hold northeast of FONTZ intersection on the 031 radial, standard turns, expect further clearance in 10 minutes."
The best way to deal with non-published holds when they are assigned is to just draw them out on paper. I would draw a small circle to represent FONTZ, then I would draw a line coming from FONTZ at 031 degrees to represent the 031 degree radial. Since ATC said right turns, I would draw the oval as if flying on that radial to FONTZ and then turning right (right is standard, left is nonstandard). This result in a replica of the above published hold. I would then draw my aircraft headed for the fix in order to figure out which entry to use.
All this while maintaining altitude and heading.
As far as my first holding performance is concerned, I did excellent on my direct and teardrop entries in the sim. However, my parallel was a little all over the place. When I actually got in the plane and flew these holds, only my direct was good. My teardrop and parallel entries were both sloppy. I did get a second chance on those however, and did okay.
One more thing that you must take into account when flying a holding pattern is wind. a tailwind on the inbound course can cause you to fly a longer outbound leg and a shorter inbound leg. Say that you start your time for the inbound leg and it only takes 45 seconds until you reach the fix. If this happens, you extend the outbound leg by 15 seconds. In other words, fly outbound for 1:15 in order to make your inbound leg exactly one minute.
You also have to apply wind drift correction in the instance that you might have a crosswind. If flying the inbound course you are having to correct five degrees, then the rule of thumb is to correct three times that amount on the outbound leg. So you would correct for 15 degrees.
Holds are a little bit tricky but in the end its all about being able to realize your aircraft's location in relation to the holding pattern and basically having the ability to know where your plane is as if you are looking at your flight path from above.
The first lesson was in the sim. This lesson was basically my introduction to holding patterns. I started out with some ground going over the different types of holding pattern entries and how to interpret an ATC non-published holding clearance.
A published holding procedure is one that is depicted on an chart. A non-published holding procedure is one that ATC can assign that is not depicted on any charts and as a pilot, I must interpret what entry I must use and which headings I need to fly in order to satisfy the clearance.
Here is a basic holding pattern:
You fly inbound for one minute, execute a 180 degree standard rate turn (which should take one minute), fly outbound for one minute, and then another 180 degree turn back to the inbound leg. The result is a four minute delay for ATC to work with towards traffic spacing and weather avoidance.
There are three different ways to enter a holding pattern. There's direct, teardrop, and parallel entries.
A direct entry is just simply flying to the holding fix, and then beginning the holding pattern right away. It is best used if you are flying a heading that is close to the inbound heading.
A teardrop entry is used when you are coming at the fix from the opposite direction and on the opposite side of the inbound path as the hold. Upon crossing the fix, you fly 30 degrees off the outbound heading for one minute and then turn back to the inbound course.
A parallel entry is used when you are on the same side of the inbound course as the hold and you are coming from the opposite direction. It is the most complicated of the three. Upon crossing the fix, you turn and fly the outbound heading parallel to the inbound course for one minute, and then turn towards the inside of the hold about 240 degrees to intercept the inbound course.Before you can identify which entry you need to use, you must first figure out your aircraft's location in reference to the holding pattern. This is fairly easy with a published hold. Here is an example of a published hold on Clarksburg's ILS approach:
As you can see, the headings are clearly illustrated (211 inbound, 031 outbound) and the hold is executed on the fix FONTZ intersection. So imagine you are flying your aircraft directly to FONTZ. If your heading is south, that means you are coming from the north and you would do a direct entry. If coming from the south, you would do a teardrop entry. If coming from the west, you would do a parallel entry.
Figuring out what entry to use becomes difficult when you are instructed to fly a non-published hold. Imagine that the hold above is not published. This is how ATC would instruct you to hold at FONTZ:"577SP, hold northeast of FONTZ intersection on the 031 radial, standard turns, expect further clearance in 10 minutes."
The best way to deal with non-published holds when they are assigned is to just draw them out on paper. I would draw a small circle to represent FONTZ, then I would draw a line coming from FONTZ at 031 degrees to represent the 031 degree radial. Since ATC said right turns, I would draw the oval as if flying on that radial to FONTZ and then turning right (right is standard, left is nonstandard). This result in a replica of the above published hold. I would then draw my aircraft headed for the fix in order to figure out which entry to use.
All this while maintaining altitude and heading.
As far as my first holding performance is concerned, I did excellent on my direct and teardrop entries in the sim. However, my parallel was a little all over the place. When I actually got in the plane and flew these holds, only my direct was good. My teardrop and parallel entries were both sloppy. I did get a second chance on those however, and did okay.
One more thing that you must take into account when flying a holding pattern is wind. a tailwind on the inbound course can cause you to fly a longer outbound leg and a shorter inbound leg. Say that you start your time for the inbound leg and it only takes 45 seconds until you reach the fix. If this happens, you extend the outbound leg by 15 seconds. In other words, fly outbound for 1:15 in order to make your inbound leg exactly one minute.
You also have to apply wind drift correction in the instance that you might have a crosswind. If flying the inbound course you are having to correct five degrees, then the rule of thumb is to correct three times that amount on the outbound leg. So you would correct for 15 degrees.
Holds are a little bit tricky but in the end its all about being able to realize your aircraft's location in relation to the holding pattern and basically having the ability to know where your plane is as if you are looking at your flight path from above.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Fly for Fun
Today's flight was not a lesson. Rather, I flew with my friend all day in his own personal plane. Even though I spent half the day as a passenger, and my friend is not a flight instructor, I still learned a lot.
The first thing we did was takeoff from Fairmont airport. Almost immediately I realized that my friends Cessna 150 was nowhere near as powerful as the 172s I was used to flying. He used up almost all of the runway and we still were dodging trees after takeoff. It took the plane about two minutes to climb above all the surrounding terrain. My friend then informed me that he was going to show me the difficult approach to Maley Field. Because I was in the plane and it had full fuel, he decided not to land at Maley and to just instead fly a low approach. In order to successfully land there, you have to clear the trees on top of a mountain by only about 10 feet, and then lower full flaps and put the plane into a full side-slip in order to descend quickly enough to get to the runway on the other side of the mountain. It's a very terrifying but fun approach. Here's the video I took of his approach:
Next we flew around for a good twenty minutes waiting for his friend to takeoff so that we could fly in formation to Moundsville, WV. After enjoying the smooth, morning air at 5500 feet, his friend finally took off and we began looking for his plane in the sky so that we could fly alongside him. We also tuned to 123.45, which is the pilot-to-pilot chatter frequency, and began coordinating our formation flying.
Formation flying works like this: you have one lead plane that flies the route, and the other planes are maneuvering planes who focus on flying with the lead plane. Since there were only two of us, his friend was the lead plane and we were the maneuvering plane. It was a pretty cool experience, being so close to another plane in the sky.
Once we got to Moundsville, we split up and both landed at Moundsville airport. It was a very small and quiet airport, and the FBO was deserted. After I used the bathroom, we got back in our planes and headed out again.
The takeoff from Moundsville was fun. It has a short runway which ends in a drop off
into a deep valley. Upon takeoff, my friend held the plane in ground effect until the ground suddenly dropped out from underneath of us. It was a lot of fun. We then went and found his friend's house in Moundsville (which was the reason we came here in the first place). After taking some pictures of it, we headed over and took some pictures of the Hare Krishna Palace as well.
Then we split up again. They headed back, and we headed up towards Washington County airport in Pennsylvania to get some fuel. My friend lives and works in Washington, so he can get cheaper fuel there. While he was fueling up his plane, I called up Windwood Fly-In Resort to get permission to land at their private runway.
After meeting a few of the guys my friend works with at the airport, we headed out, and this time I was in the left seat. After we got into the air, we went to put in Windwood in his GPS. As it turns out, Windwood is not in the GPS. So I handed the controls over to him for a minute while I pulled up the map on the GPS and picked out a place where I though the airport was located, and we began tracking directly to that point.
At this point in the day, the air was no longer smooth. It had become slightly bumpy. After about twenty minutes of climbing, the plane was finally able to reach our cruising altitude of 5500 feet. We passed directly over Morgantown and got to see Cheat Lake and other great scenery. After another twenty minutes, we began flying in the Appalachian Mountains.
This was the first time I had ever flown over mountains this large and I learned something new. Typically with large mountains, you have something called mountain waves. Basically, the wind hits the mountains and blows upwards vertically. This is otherwise known as updrafts.
So while flying and maintaining a level attitude, the aircraft began climbing faster than the plane can climb under its own power. So I pitched down to maintain 5500. So the plane is flying downwards while the wind is blowing it upwards. What else happens when you fly downwards? An increase in speed. I had his plane doing speeds much faster than normal cruise speed for the plane. Since I don't know the technical name for flying in these updrafts, I am going to call it mountain surfing.
Upon reaching the point I had marked on the GPS, we looked around and did not see Windwood. So I turned and began flying down the valley keeping an eye out for the airport. Just when we were about to give up and just enter in the coordinates of the airport into the GPS manually, I spotted it directly underneath of us. So I pulled back the power, and began descending towards the runway. It was a very skinny runway, only about four feet wider than the planes wingspan, but I still lined up his plane and landed it just fine. My landing was a little bouncy because I had never flown a 150 before, but it worked out fine.
We parked the plane and walked up to the lodge and had a very delicious lunch at their aviation-themed restaurant. I had a Cessna, which was grilled chicken on a croissant roll, and he had a Lind Burger, a 1/3 pound cheeseburger.
We put some oil in the plane and I hopped back in the left seat again for the flight back to Fairmont. After a quick survey of the 3000 foot runway and the surrounding obstacles, we decided it would be best to take off from runway 24, because runway 6 had trees at the end that his plane would probably not be able to clear.
We began the takeoff and as we got about 3/4 of the way down the runway and still had not rotated, both him and I seriously considered aborting the takeoff. But he saw an opening and took the controls from me and at the end of the runway turned slightly left into an open field where we circled around and gained some altitude. We then had to fly down the valley a little before we could clear the mountain range and head back to Fairmont. Once we got high enough, we "surfed" along the mountain waves all the way back to Fairmont.
Flying today was a ton of fun. Not only did I enjoy flying all over WV and PA, but I also learned a lot, especially about low level flying and maneuvering (which is something I would never learn in part 141 training) and formation flying.
The first thing we did was takeoff from Fairmont airport. Almost immediately I realized that my friends Cessna 150 was nowhere near as powerful as the 172s I was used to flying. He used up almost all of the runway and we still were dodging trees after takeoff. It took the plane about two minutes to climb above all the surrounding terrain. My friend then informed me that he was going to show me the difficult approach to Maley Field. Because I was in the plane and it had full fuel, he decided not to land at Maley and to just instead fly a low approach. In order to successfully land there, you have to clear the trees on top of a mountain by only about 10 feet, and then lower full flaps and put the plane into a full side-slip in order to descend quickly enough to get to the runway on the other side of the mountain. It's a very terrifying but fun approach. Here's the video I took of his approach:
Next we flew around for a good twenty minutes waiting for his friend to takeoff so that we could fly in formation to Moundsville, WV. After enjoying the smooth, morning air at 5500 feet, his friend finally took off and we began looking for his plane in the sky so that we could fly alongside him. We also tuned to 123.45, which is the pilot-to-pilot chatter frequency, and began coordinating our formation flying.
Formation flying works like this: you have one lead plane that flies the route, and the other planes are maneuvering planes who focus on flying with the lead plane. Since there were only two of us, his friend was the lead plane and we were the maneuvering plane. It was a pretty cool experience, being so close to another plane in the sky.
Once we got to Moundsville, we split up and both landed at Moundsville airport. It was a very small and quiet airport, and the FBO was deserted. After I used the bathroom, we got back in our planes and headed out again.
The takeoff from Moundsville was fun. It has a short runway which ends in a drop off
into a deep valley. Upon takeoff, my friend held the plane in ground effect until the ground suddenly dropped out from underneath of us. It was a lot of fun. We then went and found his friend's house in Moundsville (which was the reason we came here in the first place). After taking some pictures of it, we headed over and took some pictures of the Hare Krishna Palace as well.Then we split up again. They headed back, and we headed up towards Washington County airport in Pennsylvania to get some fuel. My friend lives and works in Washington, so he can get cheaper fuel there. While he was fueling up his plane, I called up Windwood Fly-In Resort to get permission to land at their private runway.
After meeting a few of the guys my friend works with at the airport, we headed out, and this time I was in the left seat. After we got into the air, we went to put in Windwood in his GPS. As it turns out, Windwood is not in the GPS. So I handed the controls over to him for a minute while I pulled up the map on the GPS and picked out a place where I though the airport was located, and we began tracking directly to that point.
At this point in the day, the air was no longer smooth. It had become slightly bumpy. After about twenty minutes of climbing, the plane was finally able to reach our cruising altitude of 5500 feet. We passed directly over Morgantown and got to see Cheat Lake and other great scenery. After another twenty minutes, we began flying in the Appalachian Mountains.
This was the first time I had ever flown over mountains this large and I learned something new. Typically with large mountains, you have something called mountain waves. Basically, the wind hits the mountains and blows upwards vertically. This is otherwise known as updrafts.
So while flying and maintaining a level attitude, the aircraft began climbing faster than the plane can climb under its own power. So I pitched down to maintain 5500. So the plane is flying downwards while the wind is blowing it upwards. What else happens when you fly downwards? An increase in speed. I had his plane doing speeds much faster than normal cruise speed for the plane. Since I don't know the technical name for flying in these updrafts, I am going to call it mountain surfing.
Upon reaching the point I had marked on the GPS, we looked around and did not see Windwood. So I turned and began flying down the valley keeping an eye out for the airport. Just when we were about to give up and just enter in the coordinates of the airport into the GPS manually, I spotted it directly underneath of us. So I pulled back the power, and began descending towards the runway. It was a very skinny runway, only about four feet wider than the planes wingspan, but I still lined up his plane and landed it just fine. My landing was a little bouncy because I had never flown a 150 before, but it worked out fine.
We parked the plane and walked up to the lodge and had a very delicious lunch at their aviation-themed restaurant. I had a Cessna, which was grilled chicken on a croissant roll, and he had a Lind Burger, a 1/3 pound cheeseburger.We put some oil in the plane and I hopped back in the left seat again for the flight back to Fairmont. After a quick survey of the 3000 foot runway and the surrounding obstacles, we decided it would be best to take off from runway 24, because runway 6 had trees at the end that his plane would probably not be able to clear.
We began the takeoff and as we got about 3/4 of the way down the runway and still had not rotated, both him and I seriously considered aborting the takeoff. But he saw an opening and took the controls from me and at the end of the runway turned slightly left into an open field where we circled around and gained some altitude. We then had to fly down the valley a little before we could clear the mountain range and head back to Fairmont. Once we got high enough, we "surfed" along the mountain waves all the way back to Fairmont.
Flying today was a ton of fun. Not only did I enjoy flying all over WV and PA, but I also learned a lot, especially about low level flying and maneuvering (which is something I would never learn in part 141 training) and formation flying.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Perfection in Turbulence
Developing perfection in turbulence is impossible. I'll spend some time stabilizing the plane in perfect straight and level flight, and because of convective turbulence from the heat, and wind turbulence, the air changes, and the plane is no longer stable. This requires me to give much more concentration than in smooth air.
Today I took off in a 15 knot crosswind. As soon as the wheels lifted off the ground, the plane "weathervaned" into the wind about 45 degrees. I was kind of surprising, I've never taken off in such a high crosswind before. Basically, the plane turned sideways by itself.
I tracked to TYGAR intersection over Tygart Lake, and climbed high to 6500 feet in an attempt to avoid convective turbulence. Convective turbulence results from the sun heating the earth, and then the earth giving off radiation and heating the air around it. So the higher you go, the less effective the heat it is. Think of a fire, and how the air above the fire is kind of wavy. The earth does the same thing on a much larger scale.
Unfortunately, we still had to deal with wind turbulence up there. It was difficult to perfect maneuvers in these conditions, but I was able to stay within 100 feet of altitude and 10 degrees of heading. When flying in this type of turbulence, I'm on edge the whole time. The plane constantly jerks left and right, drops, and banks. I have to immediately correct for these sudden changes. I like to relate flying in turbulence to riding a mechanical bull.
I did slow flight, stalls, and steep turns with all my instruments, then I did compass turns and timed turns with my attitude and heading indicators failed. Once again, these maneuvers required a much higher degree of concentration than usual, thanks to unrelenting winds aloft.
I flew visual for the 10 miles back to the airport. It was nice to be able to enjoy the view again a little bit, even if the plane is bouncing me around. I chose to do a no flaps landing, thanks to the 15 knot crosswinds. I came in fast, mainly because with a crosswind faster is better. Thankfully I have a 7000 foot long runway which gives me plenty of time to let my speed bleed off before I touch down.
When taxiing back to the school, we got to watch someone else take off in their Cessna and weathervane into the wind. It was pretty cool to watch. Here's a video from YouTube, watch how the plane weathervanes and flies sideways immediately after takeoff.
Next lesson is my stage check, and hopefully I can knock it out either Sunday or Monday.
Today I took off in a 15 knot crosswind. As soon as the wheels lifted off the ground, the plane "weathervaned" into the wind about 45 degrees. I was kind of surprising, I've never taken off in such a high crosswind before. Basically, the plane turned sideways by itself.
I tracked to TYGAR intersection over Tygart Lake, and climbed high to 6500 feet in an attempt to avoid convective turbulence. Convective turbulence results from the sun heating the earth, and then the earth giving off radiation and heating the air around it. So the higher you go, the less effective the heat it is. Think of a fire, and how the air above the fire is kind of wavy. The earth does the same thing on a much larger scale.
Unfortunately, we still had to deal with wind turbulence up there. It was difficult to perfect maneuvers in these conditions, but I was able to stay within 100 feet of altitude and 10 degrees of heading. When flying in this type of turbulence, I'm on edge the whole time. The plane constantly jerks left and right, drops, and banks. I have to immediately correct for these sudden changes. I like to relate flying in turbulence to riding a mechanical bull.
I did slow flight, stalls, and steep turns with all my instruments, then I did compass turns and timed turns with my attitude and heading indicators failed. Once again, these maneuvers required a much higher degree of concentration than usual, thanks to unrelenting winds aloft.
I flew visual for the 10 miles back to the airport. It was nice to be able to enjoy the view again a little bit, even if the plane is bouncing me around. I chose to do a no flaps landing, thanks to the 15 knot crosswinds. I came in fast, mainly because with a crosswind faster is better. Thankfully I have a 7000 foot long runway which gives me plenty of time to let my speed bleed off before I touch down.
When taxiing back to the school, we got to watch someone else take off in their Cessna and weathervane into the wind. It was pretty cool to watch. Here's a video from YouTube, watch how the plane weathervanes and flies sideways immediately after takeoff.
Next lesson is my stage check, and hopefully I can knock it out either Sunday or Monday.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
A Beautiful Bumpy Day
The weather was perfect today. Hardly a cloud in the sky, temperatures above 70 degrees, and no wind. Unfortunately, a nice warm day like this brings convective turbulence, so it was still very bumpy. Luckily, this lesson was very short.
I started by tracking outbound from the Clarksburg VOR. Then my instructor had me pinpoint my exact location using the Morgantown VOR. Then I had to figure out my distance from the Morgantown VOR by flying 90 degrees to the course and timing my time between radials and using a formula to calculate time and distance to the station. I did pretty well the first time, so he didn't have me do it again.
Next, I flew a DME arc 18nm around the Morgantown VOR, successfully. Then since everything was done, we headed back to Clarksburg. I was hoping I would get to shoot a nice fancy ILS approach, however, there was traffic inbound and I had to stay at 4000 feet as long as possible and then drop it fast down to the airport. It was a slightly difficult landing due to the turbulence, but I still put it down nice and smooth.
This lesson only took about 48 minutes, which saved me some money.
I started by tracking outbound from the Clarksburg VOR. Then my instructor had me pinpoint my exact location using the Morgantown VOR. Then I had to figure out my distance from the Morgantown VOR by flying 90 degrees to the course and timing my time between radials and using a formula to calculate time and distance to the station. I did pretty well the first time, so he didn't have me do it again.
Next, I flew a DME arc 18nm around the Morgantown VOR, successfully. Then since everything was done, we headed back to Clarksburg. I was hoping I would get to shoot a nice fancy ILS approach, however, there was traffic inbound and I had to stay at 4000 feet as long as possible and then drop it fast down to the airport. It was a slightly difficult landing due to the turbulence, but I still put it down nice and smooth.
This lesson only took about 48 minutes, which saved me some money.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Crazy Geese
Today's lesson was no different from the last time I flew.
I did slow flight, steep turns, constant speed climbs and descents.
I flew some partial panel, vacuum pump failures and altimeter failures, doing some timed turns and compass turns as well.
The only interesting thing that happened on this flight was when my instructor pointed out a flock of geese flying at about the same altitude as us off my left wing. We were flying at 4500 feet. Typically birds don't fly more than a couple hundred feet above the ground. I guess these geese found some nice winds or something and were flying very high up.
I did slow flight, steep turns, constant speed climbs and descents.
I flew some partial panel, vacuum pump failures and altimeter failures, doing some timed turns and compass turns as well.
The only interesting thing that happened on this flight was when my instructor pointed out a flock of geese flying at about the same altitude as us off my left wing. We were flying at 4500 feet. Typically birds don't fly more than a couple hundred feet above the ground. I guess these geese found some nice winds or something and were flying very high up.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
VORs, VORs, VORs
VOR = Very High Frequency (VHF) Omnidirectional Range
It is a small navigation facility that transmits 360 different radio signals in all directions. These are what is used for navigation. I began my lesson today by learning all about VORs.
I learned the different types of VOR stations, and the different ranges they provide. I then learned how DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) measures your distance to a VOR station, and how to measure yourself in case your DME fails. It's a lengthy process that I will have to do for my checkride, but will probably never ever do again.
I then learned how to fly a DME arc. These are important to learn for certain instrument approaches. A DME arc is basically an arc that you fly by staying the same distance from the VOR and flying a constant radius turn around it.
I then hopped in the sim put all I learned to the test. I spent most of my time perfecting the useless method for measuring your distance from the VOR without DME. Basically, you turn to a heading 90 degrees from the VOR and time how long it takes to cross 10 radials. Then you use formulas to figure out time and distance to the station.
I then flew DME arcs around the Morgantown and Parkersburg VORs and then flew the ILS approach into Parkersburg, and practically destroyed the plane on the runway. It's funny how its so much harder to land on the sim than it is in real life.
It is a small navigation facility that transmits 360 different radio signals in all directions. These are what is used for navigation. I began my lesson today by learning all about VORs.
I learned the different types of VOR stations, and the different ranges they provide. I then learned how DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) measures your distance to a VOR station, and how to measure yourself in case your DME fails. It's a lengthy process that I will have to do for my checkride, but will probably never ever do again.
I then learned how to fly a DME arc. These are important to learn for certain instrument approaches. A DME arc is basically an arc that you fly by staying the same distance from the VOR and flying a constant radius turn around it.
I then hopped in the sim put all I learned to the test. I spent most of my time perfecting the useless method for measuring your distance from the VOR without DME. Basically, you turn to a heading 90 degrees from the VOR and time how long it takes to cross 10 radials. Then you use formulas to figure out time and distance to the station.
I then flew DME arcs around the Morgantown and Parkersburg VORs and then flew the ILS approach into Parkersburg, and practically destroyed the plane on the runway. It's funny how its so much harder to land on the sim than it is in real life.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Nailed it!
Today's flight was fairly uneventful, mostly reviewing the same maneuvers again. Constant rate climbs and descents, constant speed climbs and descents, steep turns, slow flight, and stalls.
I then did all the same maneuvers again with my attitude and heading indicators failed (except for steep turns of course, which are impossible with a partial panel).
I practiced compass turns. When using the magnetic compass, there are some errors that need to be compensated for. Say you are flying on a east/west heading. If you turn to north, you must undershoot your turns to the north, and overshoot when turning south.
For instance, when turning north from east, you will roll out on a heading of 030 degrees, thirty degrees before north. Once you stop turning, the compass will right itself to the correct heading of north.
Every maneuver I did today I nailed. For example, my instructor failed my altimeter and had me climb 1000 feet to 5500. I climbed at 500 feet per minute for two minutes. Then my instructor pulled the cover off and the needle was dead on 5500. He was pretty impressed with that.
Next lesson is just the same thing again: more review with full and partial panel.
I then did all the same maneuvers again with my attitude and heading indicators failed (except for steep turns of course, which are impossible with a partial panel).
I practiced compass turns. When using the magnetic compass, there are some errors that need to be compensated for. Say you are flying on a east/west heading. If you turn to north, you must undershoot your turns to the north, and overshoot when turning south.
For instance, when turning north from east, you will roll out on a heading of 030 degrees, thirty degrees before north. Once you stop turning, the compass will right itself to the correct heading of north.Every maneuver I did today I nailed. For example, my instructor failed my altimeter and had me climb 1000 feet to 5500. I climbed at 500 feet per minute for two minutes. Then my instructor pulled the cover off and the needle was dead on 5500. He was pretty impressed with that.
Next lesson is just the same thing again: more review with full and partial panel.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Flying with a Stopwatch
Today's lesson started out by filing another IFR flight plan. I called 1-800-WX-BRIEF and talked to the briefer and gave him all the information necessary. It went smoothly, except when I forgot the phonetic identifier for the letter R. I was spelling out the word STORE, and I said, "STORE, Sierra, Tango, Oscar, uhh... I forgot R..." It's Romeo- the briefer quickly reminded me. When filing an IFR flight plan, you have to spell out everything with the phonetic alphabet in order to avoid any errors.
I picked up my IFR flight plan from Clarksburg Ground, took off, and began flying to STORE intersection. Once we got close, we cancelled IFR. It may seem stupid that I would file an IFR flight plan just to turn around and cancel it a few minutes later; but it's good practice for me to learn how to file a plan and copy a clearance.
I did some slow flight, stalls, and steep turns. Then my instructor failed my vacuum pump again, which caused me to lose my attitude and heading indicators. I then did slow flight again and for the first time, stalls. Stalls without my artificial horizon were fairly difficult; but I did them successfully.
I then started flying by using the stopwatch. My instructor kept my attitude and heading indicators failed, and then he also failed my compass.
So now I have no way of knowing what direction I am flying. Then I would have to do a 180. So, how can I do a perfect 180 degree turn without any kind of heading indication? The answer lies in a standard rate turn.
A standard rate turn is a turn that takes exactly 2 minutes to do a complete 360. It is indicated on the turn coordinator by a white line in either direction. So by starting the time, and turning at standard rate for exactly one minute, I will have turned a complete 180.
My instructor then gave me my compass back, but then he failed my altitude. I was then told to descend 1000 feet. So, using the stopwatch and the vertical speed indicator, I descended at 500 feet per minute for two minutes.
We then headed back inbound, I tracked the localizer and glide slope down to the runway and landed.
We taxied to our crossing point on the runway which is at the end, and we got stuck behind two planes waiting to take off. There was a Baron up front, and a King Air behind him. There was a small twin engine Bonanza coming in to land. We noticed that he was about 30 feet above the runway and that he did not have his landing gear down. The Baron holding short started shouting on tower's frequency, "No landing gear! No landing gear!!!" The Bonanza applied power and went around.
It was funny because the entire time the Bonanza was in the pattern, my instructor was talking about how he knew the guy and how he was a terrible pilot. Needless to say, when the guy started blaming his aircraft for the near-miss, my instructor was laughing and rolling his eyes.
I picked up my IFR flight plan from Clarksburg Ground, took off, and began flying to STORE intersection. Once we got close, we cancelled IFR. It may seem stupid that I would file an IFR flight plan just to turn around and cancel it a few minutes later; but it's good practice for me to learn how to file a plan and copy a clearance.
I did some slow flight, stalls, and steep turns. Then my instructor failed my vacuum pump again, which caused me to lose my attitude and heading indicators. I then did slow flight again and for the first time, stalls. Stalls without my artificial horizon were fairly difficult; but I did them successfully.
I then started flying by using the stopwatch. My instructor kept my attitude and heading indicators failed, and then he also failed my compass.
So now I have no way of knowing what direction I am flying. Then I would have to do a 180. So, how can I do a perfect 180 degree turn without any kind of heading indication? The answer lies in a standard rate turn.
A standard rate turn is a turn that takes exactly 2 minutes to do a complete 360. It is indicated on the turn coordinator by a white line in either direction. So by starting the time, and turning at standard rate for exactly one minute, I will have turned a complete 180.
My instructor then gave me my compass back, but then he failed my altitude. I was then told to descend 1000 feet. So, using the stopwatch and the vertical speed indicator, I descended at 500 feet per minute for two minutes.We then headed back inbound, I tracked the localizer and glide slope down to the runway and landed.
We taxied to our crossing point on the runway which is at the end, and we got stuck behind two planes waiting to take off. There was a Baron up front, and a King Air behind him. There was a small twin engine Bonanza coming in to land. We noticed that he was about 30 feet above the runway and that he did not have his landing gear down. The Baron holding short started shouting on tower's frequency, "No landing gear! No landing gear!!!" The Bonanza applied power and went around.
It was funny because the entire time the Bonanza was in the pattern, my instructor was talking about how he knew the guy and how he was a terrible pilot. Needless to say, when the guy started blaming his aircraft for the near-miss, my instructor was laughing and rolling his eyes.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Partial Panel
Today I practiced instrument maneuvers with a partial panel.
But first, I learned how to file an IFR flight plan. I filled out the form, which looks like this:
I then called 1-800-WX-BRIEF which is the universal phone number for Flight Service.
I got on the line with a briefer and read off all the items on the form in order, and he filed my plan into the Air Traffic Control system.
Before takeoff, I called up Clarksburg Ground control and asked for my IFR Clearance. Clearances are often tricky, because they are full of information and read to you very fast. You have to copy it down and then repeat it back word for word. Fortunately, there's an acronym for that:
C leared to (an airport, or intersection)
R oute (Usually as filed, unless they need to reroute me around congestion)
A ltitude I am cleared to
F requency to contact Departure
T ransponder squawk code
Basically this is what I will hear, read as fast as you can read it:
"577SP, you are cleared to TYGAR intersection as filed. Fly runway heading, climb and maintain 3000, expect 5000 after 10 minutes. Departure frequency is 121.15, squawk 5252."
I am then expected to read that back word for word, to assure that I didn't mishear anything.
I filed my plan out to an intersection over Tygart lake. I took off and followed my assigned route to the intersection, where we then canceled IFR and continued on VFR. I did a quick recap of climbs, descents, and steep turns.
I then went partial panel. This means that my instructor covered up some of my instruments, as if they had failed. These failures aren't random- typically they fail in a pattern. For instance, two of the six primary instruments operate on a vacuum. These are the attitude indicator and the heading indicator. So those two instruments will quit working if the vacuum pump fails. This is the most common failure.
So now that I no longer have my attitude and heading indicators, I have to look at the altimeter to see if I am climbing or descending, the turn coordinator to keep the wings level, and the magnetic compass for heading (which is practically unreliable and its amazing we've gotten away with using it so much for navigation).
I had to do climbs, descents, level flight, and airspeed changes all without my two main control instruments. I then got my instruments back and headed out towards Fairmont and tracked the localizer down to the runway.
But first, I learned how to file an IFR flight plan. I filled out the form, which looks like this:
I then called 1-800-WX-BRIEF which is the universal phone number for Flight Service.
I got on the line with a briefer and read off all the items on the form in order, and he filed my plan into the Air Traffic Control system.
Before takeoff, I called up Clarksburg Ground control and asked for my IFR Clearance. Clearances are often tricky, because they are full of information and read to you very fast. You have to copy it down and then repeat it back word for word. Fortunately, there's an acronym for that:
C leared to (an airport, or intersection)
R oute (Usually as filed, unless they need to reroute me around congestion)
A ltitude I am cleared to
F requency to contact Departure
T ransponder squawk code
Basically this is what I will hear, read as fast as you can read it:
"577SP, you are cleared to TYGAR intersection as filed. Fly runway heading, climb and maintain 3000, expect 5000 after 10 minutes. Departure frequency is 121.15, squawk 5252."
I am then expected to read that back word for word, to assure that I didn't mishear anything.
I filed my plan out to an intersection over Tygart lake. I took off and followed my assigned route to the intersection, where we then canceled IFR and continued on VFR. I did a quick recap of climbs, descents, and steep turns.
I then went partial panel. This means that my instructor covered up some of my instruments, as if they had failed. These failures aren't random- typically they fail in a pattern. For instance, two of the six primary instruments operate on a vacuum. These are the attitude indicator and the heading indicator. So those two instruments will quit working if the vacuum pump fails. This is the most common failure.
So now that I no longer have my attitude and heading indicators, I have to look at the altimeter to see if I am climbing or descending, the turn coordinator to keep the wings level, and the magnetic compass for heading (which is practically unreliable and its amazing we've gotten away with using it so much for navigation).
I had to do climbs, descents, level flight, and airspeed changes all without my two main control instruments. I then got my instruments back and headed out towards Fairmont and tracked the localizer down to the runway.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Improving my Scan
Today's lesson was quick and easy, only moderate turbulence below 4000 feet. Needless to say, we did most of the lesson at 4,500 feet where it was smooth.
I practiced constant speed climbs and descents, where you climb without changing your speed. Imagine driving your car on a hilly road and you are attempting to maintain the speed limit. You have to give it more gas going uphill and let off going downhill. The same applies in a plane.
I worked changes in airspeed in level flight, which is slightly more difficult than it sounds. You have the plane trimmed and flying nice and easy at 4,500 feet going 120 knots, and all of the sudden ATC tells you to slow to 90 knots for spacing. So you have to pull back on the power. Then the plane wants to nose over to maintain 120 and you start losing altitude, so you have to pitch back and retrim. Once the plane stabilizes, your airspeed is now 100. So then you have to repeat the process to get down to 90. Its basically trial and error.
I did slow flight perfectly, and we moved on to steep turns. I was still having some trouble with them, but I'm getting better. I tend to lose too much altitude.
We returned to the airport and I executed a perfect landing. Which is fitting- it was my official 100th landing.
I practiced constant speed climbs and descents, where you climb without changing your speed. Imagine driving your car on a hilly road and you are attempting to maintain the speed limit. You have to give it more gas going uphill and let off going downhill. The same applies in a plane.
I worked changes in airspeed in level flight, which is slightly more difficult than it sounds. You have the plane trimmed and flying nice and easy at 4,500 feet going 120 knots, and all of the sudden ATC tells you to slow to 90 knots for spacing. So you have to pull back on the power. Then the plane wants to nose over to maintain 120 and you start losing altitude, so you have to pitch back and retrim. Once the plane stabilizes, your airspeed is now 100. So then you have to repeat the process to get down to 90. Its basically trial and error.
I did slow flight perfectly, and we moved on to steep turns. I was still having some trouble with them, but I'm getting better. I tend to lose too much altitude.
We returned to the airport and I executed a perfect landing. Which is fitting- it was my official 100th landing.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Learning Everything from Scratch
Today I flew my second instrument lesson. No clouds to hide in this time, so I had to wear a pair of Foggles (aka. View Limiting Device, aka. IFR Hood). 
It basically limits my outside view so I can only see the instruments in the plane.
I did basically all of the same maneuvers as before; slow flight, stalls, climbs and descents, and standard rate turns. I also did steep turns as well.
Steep turns were especially difficult for me to do. Even flying visually, steep turns were difficult. Now they are even harder with no reference to the actual horizon. Its like I'm learning everything all over again.
Basically in order for me to do these maneuvers correctly, I have to develop a scan. There are six pertinent instruments I need to focus on:
Airspeed Indicator - My speed through the air (Top Left)
Attitude Indicator - My artificial horizon (Top Middle)
Altimeter - Shows me my altitude (Top Right)
Turn Coordinator - Shows direction and quality of a turn (Bottom Left)
Heading Indicator - Shows my current directional heading (Bottom Middle)
Vertical Speed Indicator - Shows the speed at which I climb or descend. (Bottom Left)
Because I'm new at instrument flying, I have a tendency to omit certain instruments from my scan. For instance, during a steep turn, I'm too focused on maintaining 45 degrees of bank that I neglect my altimeter and I lose altitude.
When I take my instrument checkride in the distant future, I probably won't actually do any of these maneuvers. The only reason I'm doing them now is to help develop my scan. Eventually, when I start flying approaches under the hood, I will have to add the localizer and glide slope to my scan as well. Tricky...
We returned to the airport and I decided that now was a good time to take my fiance Kala up to be my first official passenger as a private pilot. She was terrified, but she had fun. We basically flew out to Tygart Lake for a few minutes and then came back. She took a series of videos on her cell phone of the flight:
The camera shaking on that last video is due to the bad shimmy dampener on the airplane. A bad shimmy dampener basically allows the nose wheel to shake and vibrate out of control when pressure is put on it (typically when using the brakes).
Well, that was my second instrument flight (plus thirty minutes of fun flying).
It basically limits my outside view so I can only see the instruments in the plane.
I did basically all of the same maneuvers as before; slow flight, stalls, climbs and descents, and standard rate turns. I also did steep turns as well.
Steep turns were especially difficult for me to do. Even flying visually, steep turns were difficult. Now they are even harder with no reference to the actual horizon. Its like I'm learning everything all over again.
Basically in order for me to do these maneuvers correctly, I have to develop a scan. There are six pertinent instruments I need to focus on:
Airspeed Indicator - My speed through the air (Top Left)
Attitude Indicator - My artificial horizon (Top Middle)
Altimeter - Shows me my altitude (Top Right)
Turn Coordinator - Shows direction and quality of a turn (Bottom Left)
Heading Indicator - Shows my current directional heading (Bottom Middle)
Vertical Speed Indicator - Shows the speed at which I climb or descend. (Bottom Left)
Because I'm new at instrument flying, I have a tendency to omit certain instruments from my scan. For instance, during a steep turn, I'm too focused on maintaining 45 degrees of bank that I neglect my altimeter and I lose altitude.
When I take my instrument checkride in the distant future, I probably won't actually do any of these maneuvers. The only reason I'm doing them now is to help develop my scan. Eventually, when I start flying approaches under the hood, I will have to add the localizer and glide slope to my scan as well. Tricky...
We returned to the airport and I decided that now was a good time to take my fiance Kala up to be my first official passenger as a private pilot. She was terrified, but she had fun. We basically flew out to Tygart Lake for a few minutes and then came back. She took a series of videos on her cell phone of the flight:
The camera shaking on that last video is due to the bad shimmy dampener on the airplane. A bad shimmy dampener basically allows the nose wheel to shake and vibrate out of control when pressure is put on it (typically when using the brakes).
Well, that was my second instrument flight (plus thirty minutes of fun flying).
Thursday, February 24, 2011
No Windshield Wipers
Today was my first flight towards my Instrument Rating. It was in the clouds and rain.
The weather today was 7 Miles visibility and overcast clouds at 2000 feet with light rain. Technically, you can still fly in these conditions with Visual Flight Rules, but its risky. You have to stay 500 feet below the clouds which puts you at about 2500 feet above sea level, only 200 feet above the mountains. You would share that altitude with some radio towers.
So my instructor filed an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) Flight Plan, which would enable us to fly in the clouds. Since you cannot actually see anything, Air Traffic Control must stay with you throughout the entire flight to ensure that you aren't going to hit any other planes that are flying in the clouds.
Not much has changed from VFR. We did some checks and he had me do some zigzagging on the taxiway in order to make sure that all of the instruments are working correctly. Other than that, everything leading up to takeoff was the same as usual.
We picked up our IFR Clearance from Clarksburg's Ground Frequency and did a normal takeoff. We were then advised to switch to departure control. They are the ones who will watch us and warn us if we are getting too close to any other aircraft.
We flew out to STORE intersection (Yes, there are roads in the sky that intersect!) and asked ATC for a block altitude around the intersection. We basically got clearance to do whatever we want between 4000 and 5000 feet.
I did climbs, descents, slow flight, stalls, and unusual attitudes. I no longer have the same degree of finess with these maneuvers now that I can't look outside. I guess having a real horizon instead of a fake one really makes a difference.
Afterwards we headed back and I got to fly the ILS (Instrument Landing System) Approach to the runway.
Basically, I have an instrument with a vertical line that shows me whether or not I'm lined up with the runway (called the localizer), and a horizontal line that tells me if I'm lined up with the glide slope down to the runway. If the localizer is left or right of center, it means I'm off course. If the glide slope is high, it means I'm beneath the glide slope. If the glide slope is low, it means I'm above the glide slope. In this image, the plane is to the left of the course, and slightly high.
After tracking the localizer and glide slope down, I looked at my altitude and realized that I was only 1000 feet above the runway, and I still couldn't see it.
I guess the clouds were a lot lower than they thought. Finally, I could see the MALSR lights by the runway at about 800 feet above the TDZE (Touchdown Zone Elevation). I could hear the rain start hitting the plane again once we got below the clouds. As we got closer, I could see the runway perfectly and I executed a perfect landing.
That was a fun flight. I intend to go get as much of my Instrument training as possible in Actual IFR conditions vs. simulated.
The weather today was 7 Miles visibility and overcast clouds at 2000 feet with light rain. Technically, you can still fly in these conditions with Visual Flight Rules, but its risky. You have to stay 500 feet below the clouds which puts you at about 2500 feet above sea level, only 200 feet above the mountains. You would share that altitude with some radio towers.
So my instructor filed an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) Flight Plan, which would enable us to fly in the clouds. Since you cannot actually see anything, Air Traffic Control must stay with you throughout the entire flight to ensure that you aren't going to hit any other planes that are flying in the clouds.
Not much has changed from VFR. We did some checks and he had me do some zigzagging on the taxiway in order to make sure that all of the instruments are working correctly. Other than that, everything leading up to takeoff was the same as usual.
We picked up our IFR Clearance from Clarksburg's Ground Frequency and did a normal takeoff. We were then advised to switch to departure control. They are the ones who will watch us and warn us if we are getting too close to any other aircraft.
We flew out to STORE intersection (Yes, there are roads in the sky that intersect!) and asked ATC for a block altitude around the intersection. We basically got clearance to do whatever we want between 4000 and 5000 feet.
I did climbs, descents, slow flight, stalls, and unusual attitudes. I no longer have the same degree of finess with these maneuvers now that I can't look outside. I guess having a real horizon instead of a fake one really makes a difference.
Afterwards we headed back and I got to fly the ILS (Instrument Landing System) Approach to the runway.
Basically, I have an instrument with a vertical line that shows me whether or not I'm lined up with the runway (called the localizer), and a horizontal line that tells me if I'm lined up with the glide slope down to the runway. If the localizer is left or right of center, it means I'm off course. If the glide slope is high, it means I'm beneath the glide slope. If the glide slope is low, it means I'm above the glide slope. In this image, the plane is to the left of the course, and slightly high.After tracking the localizer and glide slope down, I looked at my altitude and realized that I was only 1000 feet above the runway, and I still couldn't see it.
I guess the clouds were a lot lower than they thought. Finally, I could see the MALSR lights by the runway at about 800 feet above the TDZE (Touchdown Zone Elevation). I could hear the rain start hitting the plane again once we got below the clouds. As we got closer, I could see the runway perfectly and I executed a perfect landing.
That was a fun flight. I intend to go get as much of my Instrument training as possible in Actual IFR conditions vs. simulated.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
No Pink Slip For Me
Today I took my Private Pilot FAA Practical Test.
I started out the day right getting up at 5:30am to get ready. My fiance was awesome because she got up at the same time in order to make me a good breakfast while I was getting ready. She made bacon, eggs, and waffles. Very delicious.
I showed up to the airport around 7am, before my instructor. I finished up weight and balance, performance data and cross country. The examiner was expected to show up at 8am, but he was a little bit late. I sat there and talked to my instructor in the mean time, all the while my nerves were getting the best of me.
I wasn't very nervous about the oral part of the test, but the flight part had me very much on edge. The examiner showed up, and I stood up and shook his hand, and immediately gave him his $250. He liked that.
So off to a good start already, he began going through all of the paperwork and then started asking questions. He began with questions about the sectional map and he had me go over my cross country with him. He then started asking other questions about the plane itself and he had me explain some of the maneuvers. I nailed pretty much every question right on the nose. After about 15-20 minutes of me completely owning the oral part of the exam, he decided it was time to go fly.
I went out before him and got most of the preflight inspection done. We got in the plane and I ran through the checklist and got everything set to go, went to taxi and the plane wouldn't go anywhere. I realized I had forgot to remove the chock on the wheel. I opened the door, stuck my leg out and kicked it away. I didn't think it was a big deal and it didn't really affect the safety of the flight or anything, so I wasn't too worried.
I taxied up to the runway, ran my run-up checklist and got everything ready to go. We had to wait awhile for a couple planes to land, because the airport was really busy today. He had me do a short field takeoff, which I did perfectly.
I followed my cross country course towards Parkersburg, timing my distance to each of my checkpoints. After my second checkpoint, which was the town of Salem, WV, he had me calculate my ground speed and then he diverted me to Buckhannon. That was fairly difficult because Buckhannon airport was on the other side of the fold in my map. So I had to unfold the map all the way and it took up the entire cockpit. I found the distance and the heading and calculated time enroute using my previously calculated ground speed. Afterwards, he quickly helped me clean up the cockpit and get my map out of the way. All was well.
He then told me to exchange the controls while I put on the IFR Hood to do some instrument maneuvers. He had me do a 180 degree turn, which he counted as a clearing turn. I did climbs and descents and turns under the hood. He then did unusual attitude recovery. I did not have a problem with any instrument maneuvers.
He then had me do steep turns. I started with one to the right, and I accidentally descended below PTS standards on altitude. I told him that I knew that I did not bump in enough power and that I would like to do it again. He said not to worry about it and to do a steep turn to the left this time. He covered my instruments with a clipboard so I could not tell if I was losing or gaining altitude. I used the trick the chief flight instructor of the school taught me to fly a steep turn with hands off, and I listened to hear if the plane was speeding up or slowing down. If the sound of wind going past gets quieter, it means I'm losing speed and therefore climbing, and vice versa. I did well even though I couldn't see my instruments.
Then he had me enter slow flight which took me a little longer than usual to get set up, but I did. I did two 90 degree turns in slow flight and then a power off stall. He suggested I use more rudder to help maintain heading during the maneuver. I then did a power on stall which I didn't have any trouble with. In order to get down from 4500 to 2500 for ground reference maneuvers, he had me pull the power out, pitch for best glide, and slip the whole way down. I did slips to the left and right. As we descended below 3000, the air got extremely rough. Turbulence was horrible.
We then flew down towards Weston where he had me do turns around a point around a red hangar on a private airfield. He then failed my engine at only 1000 feet above the ground, so I had to run through my checks very quickly and lined up the plane to land at this small private airport. As I was getting closer I turned to him and said, "Did you want me to land here?" He said "Yep." As I got my flaps in and was coming in to land, he told me to go around and I did. I thought it was strange he would have me land at a private airport without prior permission. He then told me to head back towards Clarksburg. All this was done with the worst turbulence I have ever flown in.
On the way back to the airport, we received the ATIS broadcast, which reported winds at the airport of 260 degrees at 15 knots. This is a pretty decent crosswind. He asked me to do a regular landing first to get a good idea of how bad the winds were. I went full flaps, got the plane lined up, and then it drifted away from the center line a bit. I still managed to touch down on the upwind wheel first. He then had me takeoff immediately with a soft field takeoff, which was also very difficult with a crosswind, but I pulled it off and he said it was a good soft field takeoff.
I then did a soft field landing. Soft field landings are the main maneuver I was concerned with doing well on this flight. Now I had to do them in a bad crosswind also. I pulled it off, though. It wasn't the best soft field landing, but he said it was good considering the conditions. I then did a normal crosswind takeoff.
For the last landing, I had to do a no flaps landing. This would be easier, since you are supposed to land with no flaps whenever a bad crosswind is present. I landed just fine, once again with the upwind wheel first. I did apparently have a bad habit of straightening the wheel as soon as I land, and he told me I needed to keep the crosswind correction in from where I already had the upwind wing low in the flare.
I then started taxiing back. I ran my after landing check- flaps up, lights off, transponder on standby- and we pulled up behind a King Air that was waiting to takeoff. Just sitting on the taxiway with hands off the controls, you could watch the yoke shift back and forth and in and out, which is the result of the wind blowing the control surfaces of the plane all over the place. That's how bad the winds were gusting. While we were waiting, he said, "You did pretty good considering how bad the wind was..."
So I asked, "Does that mean I passed?"
A nice big smile and warm feeling came over me when I heard him say, "Yep."
We went back inside, he did the paperwork, and I got my Temporary Airmen Certificate. My instructor was happy, I was happy and my mom, dad, and fiance were very happy. My fiance even got me a congratulations cake (which she ordered before she even knew if I had passed). She has been awesome to me through this major event in my life and I couldn't have done it without her.
No pink slip for me!
Now to start instrument...
I started out the day right getting up at 5:30am to get ready. My fiance was awesome because she got up at the same time in order to make me a good breakfast while I was getting ready. She made bacon, eggs, and waffles. Very delicious.
I showed up to the airport around 7am, before my instructor. I finished up weight and balance, performance data and cross country. The examiner was expected to show up at 8am, but he was a little bit late. I sat there and talked to my instructor in the mean time, all the while my nerves were getting the best of me.I wasn't very nervous about the oral part of the test, but the flight part had me very much on edge. The examiner showed up, and I stood up and shook his hand, and immediately gave him his $250. He liked that.
So off to a good start already, he began going through all of the paperwork and then started asking questions. He began with questions about the sectional map and he had me go over my cross country with him. He then started asking other questions about the plane itself and he had me explain some of the maneuvers. I nailed pretty much every question right on the nose. After about 15-20 minutes of me completely owning the oral part of the exam, he decided it was time to go fly.
I went out before him and got most of the preflight inspection done. We got in the plane and I ran through the checklist and got everything set to go, went to taxi and the plane wouldn't go anywhere. I realized I had forgot to remove the chock on the wheel. I opened the door, stuck my leg out and kicked it away. I didn't think it was a big deal and it didn't really affect the safety of the flight or anything, so I wasn't too worried.
I taxied up to the runway, ran my run-up checklist and got everything ready to go. We had to wait awhile for a couple planes to land, because the airport was really busy today. He had me do a short field takeoff, which I did perfectly.
I followed my cross country course towards Parkersburg, timing my distance to each of my checkpoints. After my second checkpoint, which was the town of Salem, WV, he had me calculate my ground speed and then he diverted me to Buckhannon. That was fairly difficult because Buckhannon airport was on the other side of the fold in my map. So I had to unfold the map all the way and it took up the entire cockpit. I found the distance and the heading and calculated time enroute using my previously calculated ground speed. Afterwards, he quickly helped me clean up the cockpit and get my map out of the way. All was well.
He then told me to exchange the controls while I put on the IFR Hood to do some instrument maneuvers. He had me do a 180 degree turn, which he counted as a clearing turn. I did climbs and descents and turns under the hood. He then did unusual attitude recovery. I did not have a problem with any instrument maneuvers.
He then had me do steep turns. I started with one to the right, and I accidentally descended below PTS standards on altitude. I told him that I knew that I did not bump in enough power and that I would like to do it again. He said not to worry about it and to do a steep turn to the left this time. He covered my instruments with a clipboard so I could not tell if I was losing or gaining altitude. I used the trick the chief flight instructor of the school taught me to fly a steep turn with hands off, and I listened to hear if the plane was speeding up or slowing down. If the sound of wind going past gets quieter, it means I'm losing speed and therefore climbing, and vice versa. I did well even though I couldn't see my instruments.
Then he had me enter slow flight which took me a little longer than usual to get set up, but I did. I did two 90 degree turns in slow flight and then a power off stall. He suggested I use more rudder to help maintain heading during the maneuver. I then did a power on stall which I didn't have any trouble with. In order to get down from 4500 to 2500 for ground reference maneuvers, he had me pull the power out, pitch for best glide, and slip the whole way down. I did slips to the left and right. As we descended below 3000, the air got extremely rough. Turbulence was horrible.
We then flew down towards Weston where he had me do turns around a point around a red hangar on a private airfield. He then failed my engine at only 1000 feet above the ground, so I had to run through my checks very quickly and lined up the plane to land at this small private airport. As I was getting closer I turned to him and said, "Did you want me to land here?" He said "Yep." As I got my flaps in and was coming in to land, he told me to go around and I did. I thought it was strange he would have me land at a private airport without prior permission. He then told me to head back towards Clarksburg. All this was done with the worst turbulence I have ever flown in.
On the way back to the airport, we received the ATIS broadcast, which reported winds at the airport of 260 degrees at 15 knots. This is a pretty decent crosswind. He asked me to do a regular landing first to get a good idea of how bad the winds were. I went full flaps, got the plane lined up, and then it drifted away from the center line a bit. I still managed to touch down on the upwind wheel first. He then had me takeoff immediately with a soft field takeoff, which was also very difficult with a crosswind, but I pulled it off and he said it was a good soft field takeoff.
I then did a soft field landing. Soft field landings are the main maneuver I was concerned with doing well on this flight. Now I had to do them in a bad crosswind also. I pulled it off, though. It wasn't the best soft field landing, but he said it was good considering the conditions. I then did a normal crosswind takeoff.
For the last landing, I had to do a no flaps landing. This would be easier, since you are supposed to land with no flaps whenever a bad crosswind is present. I landed just fine, once again with the upwind wheel first. I did apparently have a bad habit of straightening the wheel as soon as I land, and he told me I needed to keep the crosswind correction in from where I already had the upwind wing low in the flare.
I then started taxiing back. I ran my after landing check- flaps up, lights off, transponder on standby- and we pulled up behind a King Air that was waiting to takeoff. Just sitting on the taxiway with hands off the controls, you could watch the yoke shift back and forth and in and out, which is the result of the wind blowing the control surfaces of the plane all over the place. That's how bad the winds were gusting. While we were waiting, he said, "You did pretty good considering how bad the wind was..."
So I asked, "Does that mean I passed?"
A nice big smile and warm feeling came over me when I heard him say, "Yep."
We went back inside, he did the paperwork, and I got my Temporary Airmen Certificate. My instructor was happy, I was happy and my mom, dad, and fiance were very happy. My fiance even got me a congratulations cake (which she ordered before she even knew if I had passed). She has been awesome to me through this major event in my life and I couldn't have done it without her.
No pink slip for me!
Now to start instrument...
Friday, February 11, 2011
Am I Ready?
Today I took my final stage check with the school's chief flight instructor in order to ensure that I am ready for my Private Pilot Checkride. The stage three check is intended to simulate an actual checkride in every way possible in order to properly prepare me.
He started with the oral part of the test, which I didn't have any trouble with at all. I believe that my grades were a 5/5 on everything except for a couple 4/5s. I'm not nervous about my checkride oral at all. I know that I know my stuff.
Then came the practical. I started by following every single item on the checklist. I was told to do a short field takeoff. I remembered to everything including starting my time. As I intercepted my course, I looked at the stopwatch and it had not actually started. Thankfully I had asked for the actual time from his watch and wrote it down before takeoff.
So I did my cross country portion and was only 30 seconds off on my estimate. I then started doing maneuvers. I remembered to do clearing turns, and then I did slow flight. I didn't have any problems with slow flight or my power off stall.
Then I did steep turns. After seeing me do a couple, he decided to show me a new trick for doing steep turns. He said that all you have to do is start banking and once you reach 30 degrees, add a little bit of power and two swipes of trim. He then demonstrated that after that you can complete the steep turn almost without ever touching the yoke. Awesome.
Then I did my ground reference maneuvers which I didn't have any problems with whatsoever. Afterwards we headed back to the airport where I started with a soft field landing. He did not like the way I would play with the throttle on final. He said it would be better for me to set power and then keep it that way all the way down. My soft field landing was not very good. Neither was my soft field takeoff. I mainly had trouble keeping the plane lined up with the centerline. I then did a go around followed by a short field landing which I did excellent on.
One interesting thing that did happen was that for my last landing, tower cleared us for touch-and-go only, because there was another aircraft landing just behind us. As soon as I landed, he told me to brake and try to make the next taxiway. I said to him, "But we were only cleared for a touch and go.." He ignored me and started commandeering the controls to get the plane on the next taxiway. I stated my concerns a second time, with which he responded, "Who is the Pilot-In-Command right now?" "You..." I said. I was fairly confused as to why he disregarded ATC. I apologized for questioning his command. Then tower came over and let us have it as we were taxiing back. This all seemed fairly unusual, but whatever.
He went over my flight with me afterwards, and showed that I had gotten eight 5/5s, two 4/5s, and 5 3/5s. My overall stage grade came out to be a 4.5. I then voiced my concerns about my checkride. He said that if I fly the same way I did today, that I would most definitely pass. My brain works better with numbers, so I asked for a percentage chance. My instructor, the assistant cheif instructor, and the cheif instructor all agreed- 95% chance of passing for me.
I can only hope I don't do something stupid and fall within that 5%.
Checkride on Tuesday the 15th.
I'm very nervous.
He started with the oral part of the test, which I didn't have any trouble with at all. I believe that my grades were a 5/5 on everything except for a couple 4/5s. I'm not nervous about my checkride oral at all. I know that I know my stuff.
Then came the practical. I started by following every single item on the checklist. I was told to do a short field takeoff. I remembered to everything including starting my time. As I intercepted my course, I looked at the stopwatch and it had not actually started. Thankfully I had asked for the actual time from his watch and wrote it down before takeoff.
So I did my cross country portion and was only 30 seconds off on my estimate. I then started doing maneuvers. I remembered to do clearing turns, and then I did slow flight. I didn't have any problems with slow flight or my power off stall.
Then I did steep turns. After seeing me do a couple, he decided to show me a new trick for doing steep turns. He said that all you have to do is start banking and once you reach 30 degrees, add a little bit of power and two swipes of trim. He then demonstrated that after that you can complete the steep turn almost without ever touching the yoke. Awesome.
Then I did my ground reference maneuvers which I didn't have any problems with whatsoever. Afterwards we headed back to the airport where I started with a soft field landing. He did not like the way I would play with the throttle on final. He said it would be better for me to set power and then keep it that way all the way down. My soft field landing was not very good. Neither was my soft field takeoff. I mainly had trouble keeping the plane lined up with the centerline. I then did a go around followed by a short field landing which I did excellent on.
One interesting thing that did happen was that for my last landing, tower cleared us for touch-and-go only, because there was another aircraft landing just behind us. As soon as I landed, he told me to brake and try to make the next taxiway. I said to him, "But we were only cleared for a touch and go.." He ignored me and started commandeering the controls to get the plane on the next taxiway. I stated my concerns a second time, with which he responded, "Who is the Pilot-In-Command right now?" "You..." I said. I was fairly confused as to why he disregarded ATC. I apologized for questioning his command. Then tower came over and let us have it as we were taxiing back. This all seemed fairly unusual, but whatever.
He went over my flight with me afterwards, and showed that I had gotten eight 5/5s, two 4/5s, and 5 3/5s. My overall stage grade came out to be a 4.5. I then voiced my concerns about my checkride. He said that if I fly the same way I did today, that I would most definitely pass. My brain works better with numbers, so I asked for a percentage chance. My instructor, the assistant cheif instructor, and the cheif instructor all agreed- 95% chance of passing for me.
I can only hope I don't do something stupid and fall within that 5%.
Checkride on Tuesday the 15th.
I'm very nervous.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Final Review
This flight was actually split into two different flights because we weren't able to finish everything on the first day.The first flight was a short cross country to Elkins airport. Because the DPE lives in Elkins, it is most likely that I will have to fly down and do my checkride there. So I took this flight to go to Elkins and practice there in order to get a feel for the airport.
Elkins airport is really cool and is nestled in a large valley between two large mountain ranges. Unfortunately, the airport it self is surrounded by smaller hills that psych me out and make me want to fly in high on approach. I have to convince myself that it's okay to fly really close to the mountains on final.
My biggest problem during this flight was the ten knot crosswinds. They made it very difficult to practice short and soft field landings. I only really got one landing at Elkins and then I had to go around twice because I kept coming in too high. This was due to many factors: the mountains, the wind, I was in a different plane than usual, and being unfamiliar with this airport.
After awhile, we decided to practice those another day and headed out back towards Clarksburg. Along the way, my instructor said to go into slow flight, and I did. He then informed me that I would have failed my checkride. I had forgotten to do clearing turns. My instructor said that the DPE will try to trick me this way on my actual checkride and that I cannot forget the clearing turns.
The next flight the following day was with calm winds and very high ceilings, which makes for perfect flying weather. The air was nice and smooth. This time around, I remembered my clearing turns. I practiced stalls, steep turns, slow flight, short and soft field landings and takeoffs, and ground reference maneuvers.
Those were my very last flights with my instructor before my checkride. All I have left to do is my Final Stage Check with the chief flight instructor at the school. He will determine if I am ready, and the I will go take my checkride. I'm very, very nervous.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Reviewing Maneuvers
Most of my first review flight consisted of reviewing some old maneuvers and ensuring that I could execute all of them within PTS standards.
PTS standards are the standards with which I must comply in order to pass my checkride. Here is an example:
For a steep turn, I must maintain a bank angle of 45 degrees plus or minus 5 degrees, I must maintain altitude plus or minus 100 feet, I must maintain airspeed plus or minus 10 knots, and I must roll out on the appropriate heading plus or minus 10 degrees.
Basically, If I start the maneuver at 3500 feet and end at 3601, I am out of PTS standards. Typically in this instance, if my DPE (the guy giving me my checkride) deems me worthy, he will let me try again. But he has the authority right then to declare my checkride failed. (Of course, if he really likes me, he might just ignore the one foot difference.)
After practicing all the maneuvers, I know that I am capable of staying within PTS standards. The question is whether or not I will be able to do so under pressure. I'm really nervous about my checkride and I can only hope I will do alright.
My instructor says the only thing he really wants me to work on is my soft field landing. Unfortunately I'm not touching down smooth enough, and since I am simulating a landing in grass and mud, a smooth touchdown is a must.
PTS standards are the standards with which I must comply in order to pass my checkride. Here is an example:
For a steep turn, I must maintain a bank angle of 45 degrees plus or minus 5 degrees, I must maintain altitude plus or minus 100 feet, I must maintain airspeed plus or minus 10 knots, and I must roll out on the appropriate heading plus or minus 10 degrees.
Basically, If I start the maneuver at 3500 feet and end at 3601, I am out of PTS standards. Typically in this instance, if my DPE (the guy giving me my checkride) deems me worthy, he will let me try again. But he has the authority right then to declare my checkride failed. (Of course, if he really likes me, he might just ignore the one foot difference.)
After practicing all the maneuvers, I know that I am capable of staying within PTS standards. The question is whether or not I will be able to do so under pressure. I'm really nervous about my checkride and I can only hope I will do alright.
My instructor says the only thing he really wants me to work on is my soft field landing. Unfortunately I'm not touching down smooth enough, and since I am simulating a landing in grass and mud, a smooth touchdown is a must.
Long Solo XC
I'm about a week late in blogging this flight. I've been busy with classes and never really had the chance to write it so I'm writing it now.
This flight was considered my long solo cross country. However, I made it shorter than my first solo cross country. I flew from Clarksburg to Parkersburg, then to Buckhannon and back to Clarksburg. All in all, I flew 1.6 hours. That's a lot less than the 2.5 hours on my first solo cross country to Beckley.
The flight started out nice and easy, I made it to Parkersburg fairly quickly and easily. Then I had to go find Buckhannon. I had flight following through ATC and was talking to Clarksburg Approach and they told me to announce when I had the airport in sight. I saw a nice runway in the distance and told ATC that I had the airport in sight, and they terminated my radar services and advised for me to change frequencies. I announced on Buckhannon's traffic frequency that I was coming in for a landing.
As I got closer and closer, I realized that wasn't a runway. It was a road. I started looking around, no runway in sight. Ugh. Just so you know, it had been getting kind of dark.
So I got out my sectional map, tuned to the Elkins VOR frequency and turned the OBS to the radial the airport is on. My navigation instruments told me to turn left, so I did. All of the sudden, I saw it. I then applied full power to speed up and get there faster and continued my landing without any more problems.
I then returned to Clarksburg and landed fine. It was a good flight.
This flight was considered my long solo cross country. However, I made it shorter than my first solo cross country. I flew from Clarksburg to Parkersburg, then to Buckhannon and back to Clarksburg. All in all, I flew 1.6 hours. That's a lot less than the 2.5 hours on my first solo cross country to Beckley.
The flight started out nice and easy, I made it to Parkersburg fairly quickly and easily. Then I had to go find Buckhannon. I had flight following through ATC and was talking to Clarksburg Approach and they told me to announce when I had the airport in sight. I saw a nice runway in the distance and told ATC that I had the airport in sight, and they terminated my radar services and advised for me to change frequencies. I announced on Buckhannon's traffic frequency that I was coming in for a landing.
As I got closer and closer, I realized that wasn't a runway. It was a road. I started looking around, no runway in sight. Ugh. Just so you know, it had been getting kind of dark.
So I got out my sectional map, tuned to the Elkins VOR frequency and turned the OBS to the radial the airport is on. My navigation instruments told me to turn left, so I did. All of the sudden, I saw it. I then applied full power to speed up and get there faster and continued my landing without any more problems.
I then returned to Clarksburg and landed fine. It was a good flight.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Stage II
Today was my first time flying in a month. And it was a stage check. The weather has been so bad over the past 2-3 weeks after Christmas and I haven't been able to go up. Needless to say, I was a little rusty.
I started the flight with a soft field takeoff, and then I intercepted my course towards Zanesville, OH. I was about to reach my top of climb checkpoint, and I went to check the time, and crap. I forgot to start my time on takeoff. I even spent a lot of time trying to remind myself to do that. I tend to forget about starting the stopwatch on takeoff. so I invented an acronym for myself- FLTT like flight- flaps lights transponder time. In spite of that, I still forgot. I remembered the flaps, lights and transponder, but not the time.
I flew to my first couple checkpoints, then I was diverted back to Clarksburg. I did power on and off stalls, and then went to the airport for a soft field landing, and short field takeoffs and landings. I got fours on everything, except departure and soft field technique, for which I received threes. I got a 4.0/5 for my total stage check grade.
Only three more lessons, then I will take my Stage 3 check, and then if I do well, I can take my checkride. I should have my license by the second or third week of February.
I started the flight with a soft field takeoff, and then I intercepted my course towards Zanesville, OH. I was about to reach my top of climb checkpoint, and I went to check the time, and crap. I forgot to start my time on takeoff. I even spent a lot of time trying to remind myself to do that. I tend to forget about starting the stopwatch on takeoff. so I invented an acronym for myself- FLTT like flight- flaps lights transponder time. In spite of that, I still forgot. I remembered the flaps, lights and transponder, but not the time.
I flew to my first couple checkpoints, then I was diverted back to Clarksburg. I did power on and off stalls, and then went to the airport for a soft field landing, and short field takeoffs and landings. I got fours on everything, except departure and soft field technique, for which I received threes. I got a 4.0/5 for my total stage check grade.
Only three more lessons, then I will take my Stage 3 check, and then if I do well, I can take my checkride. I should have my license by the second or third week of February.
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