Documenting My Journey to Professional Pilot Since 2005
Documenting My Journey to
Professional Pilot Since 2005
Tim's
Aviation Adventures - The Book, now in development, to be released March 2012
2011 Year in Review has been added to 31 DEC blog entry
[February 17, 2012]
Hog Hunting & Scud Running
3.1
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A co-worker has wanted to conduct an aerial recon of some foothills about 75 miles to the east near the Mexican border for some time. He is a hunter and has heard numerous accounts of bands of wild hogs roaming the area. We launched out in less than stellar weather this morning, 1500ft ceilings and the freezing level on the deck, believing that the clouds would clear by mid-morning. I succumbed to the "let's go look and see" which led to "well let's go a little further." About 20 miles east of KFHU we climbed to 7500 and got between to layers of clouds. Before long the top layer was gone and we were in bright sunshine but below us was solid undercast, no ground in sight. We were only at 7500MSL/3000+AGL but it felt as if we were in the stratosphere with no ground reference. We were very fortunate to find a hole in the undercast just short of the target area. I ducked down under a low cloud deck flying at 500ft off the deck we made several sweeps of the foothills always keeping a way out open to flats west of the hills. As my passenger identified hogs we marked them on the Garmin 396 GPS for further ground investigation. By the second pass the overcast was starting to roll down the west side of the hills and my portal to blue skies on top was quickly starting to close. Mike was happy with the two passes so we broke off the search and climbed up through thickening haze. Back on top we headed home but by the time we were within ATIS range conditions at home had deteriorated substantially, KFHU was now low IFR with 300ft ceilings. While instrument current and equipped I was not keen on shooting an ILS approach almost down to mins in ice laden clouds. I decided to divert to Douglas-Bisbee which was reporting marginal VFR conditions. Once again we found a hole to drop down through the clouds. We landed on RW 17 and hung out in a deserted terminal building that looked as if it had been stuck in a time capsule from 1950. Wing-X Pro for my IPAD2 earned its pay today providing up to minute updates on weather conditions at the surrounding airports. As soon as KFHU started reporting MVFR we loaded back into the TriPacer and launched scud running at 1000ft. Just over Tombstone airport we hit a wall of rain and quickly deteriorating visibility from some fast moving goo. It looked as if our path was blocked. I backed out with a 180, flew south for a few miles and made an end run around the scud. Contacting Libby Approach I only needed to say my call sign, they knew exactly where I was and had watched me on radar try to find a clear path home. They cleared me into the airspace, I was the only show in town. We were close, but not home free yet. Five miles out I was in rain but locked on the ILS beam and ready to default to it if visibility went south. Short final I breathed a sigh of relief, we made it! Some uncomfortable situations but I always kept an out with multiple options and plenty of fuel. Always keep your options open and never feel committed to anything.
[February 16, 2012]
CAP Instructor Training
2.0
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More right seat training in the 182 with a concentration on landings of all types. Becoming very comfortable now. A great drill that hones landing skills and especially crosswind technique is to fly the length of the runway at just a few feet off, never landing, and holding the centerline while side slipping. For some reason it is more difficult for me to identify nose yaw from the right seat. But there are accommodation tricks to solve this problem. I found a few glare shield screws that provide me with a clue that I am correctly lined up when in a side slip for a crosswind landing.
[February 15, 2012]
EDF F-16 Maiden Flight
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I have expanded my foray in electric ducted fan jets with a mammoth 48" long F-16 by Airfield from Nitroplanes.Com. Today was the maiden flight which is always an anxiety filled event. The jet rocketed down the paved runway at the RC field while I slowly inputted up elevator. Nothing happened. Running out of runway I put in all of the elevator and the F-16 leapt ballistic skyward. Knowing a stall was imminent I pushed the nose quickly over. That was exciting. With things under control I took the jet around the pattern a few times exploring the flight regime. In slow flight I found the aircraft very mushy and unresponsive with a habit for the nose to come up. A positive sign that the CG is too far aft. The landing was uneventful and was almost hands off thanks to the rearward CG. I completed another flight before a attempting a third takeoff. On this takeoff run the right gear collapsed leading to a skidding stop which did some damage to the air intake and wing tip. Back to the work bench for repairs and tweaking of the CG.
[February 10-11, 2012]
Weekend Flying
3.9
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Back in the Tri-Pacer for a little flying and landing practice in Benson on Friday. Saturday I helped a fellow CAP member get instrument current while spending some time getting reacquainted with the Squadron's 182 after having been gone for maintenance for over four months. It was good right seat training while I worked maneuvers and landings in preparation for becoming a CAP Instructor and Check Pilot.
[February 1, 2012]
The Most Beautiful Airplane Ever Made?
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This is a great story of my dad's first flight in an airliner which just happened to be the legendary Lockheed Constellation. At the time of the story, 1961, the days of the radial engine airliner were almost over as the Boeing 707 was quickly ushering in the jet age across the world. The last scheduled passenger flight in the 48 states was made by a TWA L749 on May 11, 1967 from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Missouri. However, Constellations remained in freight service for years to come, and were used on backup sections of Eastern Airlines' shuttle service between New York, Washington, and Boston until 1968.
"When I enlisted in the Air Force in 1961, I was placed with the other recruits on a chartered Lockheed Constellation to fly from Idlewild (now JFK) airport in NY to San Antonio, TX for basic training. We got as far as Baltimore, when an engine fire forced an emergency landing at Friendship airport. We spent 3 days at the old Southern Hotel on Redwood and Light streets in Baltimore waiting for a replacement aircraft to take us to Texas. That by the way, was my first flight in an airplane. When the stewardess started crying, I knew we were in trouble, but I was too young and dumb to get scared. I just looked out the window at the pretty blue and yellow flames coming out of the engine. Ah, the ignorance of youth."
Check out this vintage video highlighting a typical flight in the Constellation.
[January 28, 2012]
Carson Gets the "RV Grin"
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The local EAA chapter hosted a Young Eagles event at the airport this morning. I went to volunteer but they had more than enough people. The turn out was pretty good on both the kid side and the number of aircraft. Beside the standard fare of Cherokees and 172s there were a few noteworthy aircraft including a Cessna 185, a Diamond motor glider, and an RV-7. I brought Carson back to the airport and signed him up for a flight in the RV. He took one of the last flights of the day and returned after the 15 minute flight with the famous "RV Grin." Maybe we need to order a kit and build one?
[January 21, 2012]
Back to Phoenix
4.4
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My third trip to Phoenix this month. Today was a whirlwind tour of Phoenix with stops at Glendale and Falcon Field. Both new fields for me. Coming into Phoenix I picked up flight following with Albuquerque Center in the hopes of going direct to Glendale after a handoff to Phoenix Approach. Between Phoenix and Tucson we had two Long-EZs fly under 1000ft under us on to points southeast. About 10 miles from Phoenix Class B a hot mike from another plane on the frequency cut off all contact with Albuquerque. After listening to the hot mike pilot discussing panel features to his apparently young passenger we knew the chances of the problem getting fixed were pretty slim. I am not sure how an issue like this gets resolved but in my case I called Phoenix Apprch directly and explained what had happened. They picked me up without issue. Going to Glendale direct ended up to be wishful thinking. Phoenix asked if I wanted to execute the VFR transition route or remain under Class B. Since I was not familiar with the transition I opted for the latter. I descended down to 3500 ft while traveling west before turning north to make a b-line for Glendale. Glendale is a nice (as most Phoenix metro airports are) single runway airport with a terminal building housing a restaurant, lounge, and pilot shop. The pilot shop had some of the most reasonably priced books and merchandise I have seen so I took the opportunity to buy a few books for me and die-cast planes for Carson.
After attending a CAP Pilot meeting we loaded back into the Tri-Pacer for the flight across town to Falcon Field. Once again I stayed below Class-B while threading my way to Falcon. The approach and landing at Falcon are noteworthy for the handling. Still five miles from the airport the tower controller instructed a waiting aircraft to continue to hold for landing traffic (me). I thought this was odd since I was still a few minutes out. As I closed on the airport in an extended left base for runway 4L I could see three aircraft waiting to takeoff. At this point the controller changed his mind and decided to release the first aircraft for takeoff while at the same time instructing the second aircraft to line up and wait. I began to turn final with on aircraft just lifting off and the other sitting on the end of the runway. A few seconds later I was told to go around which I promptly executed. I turned crosswind at the midfield point and returned for a second attempt, this time without incident. Most likely ATC trainee based on how ugly things got for a few minutes. We taxied over to Falcon’s restaurant, Anzio Landing. The restaurant has a very good menu selection and is one of the better aviation decors I have seen. Our mission at Falcon was to have lunch and attend the Short Wing Piper Club meeting. So we were in and out. Falcon Field is also home to the Commemorative Air Force, Arizona Wing. CAF maintains an excellent museum on the field. On departure we followed a beautifully restored Stearman Kaydet to the runway. There are lots of interesting planes in Phoenix due to income of many of its high-profile residence. While winds were tame in Phoenix and Tucson, Sierra Vista was another story. The ATIS reported winds from 230 at 25 gusting to 30knots. We were in for a bumpy ride. I decided on an extended approach to 26 with no flaps and extra speed. This worked well as we came through the shear level on final. I flew the airplane all the way into ground effect and then began the wrestling match with the wind. Side slipping the Tri-Pacer is not easy because the rudder and ailerons are interconnected with bungee cords. This creates and added tension that you must overcome manually with brute strength while at the same time executing the balancing act of the slide slip maneuver. After a few hundred feet it was over and we were down without incident. While maybe not the highest winds I have landed in, it was definitely up in the top 10. I gingerly taxied the TriPacer to the fuel pump ensuring the correct yoke placement for wind direction. Tri-Pacers are known for getting overturned by strong quartering tailwinds and sharp turns due to the gear’s narrow stance. We had no problems on this day other than the removed fuel caps being blown off the wings during refuel along with spraying gas. Without a doubt it was windy!
[January 19, 2012]
Flight Simulator Updates
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Early this month Microsoft released the beta version of FLIGHT, the successor to Flight Simulator 10. I was lucky enough to be chosen to take part in the beta testing and have logged several hours flying the new simulator. This early version of the program allows you to fly either a A5 Icon or a Stearman biplane around Hawaii. My first impression of the new graphics is simply stunning. The look is very different from FSX and feels much more polished and integrated. The planes are very well modeled graphically as well. I am not so convinced with the flight modeling and the simulator has a somewhat “game” feel to it. This is a big concern of most hard core flight sim fans as the new program has been positioned and developed to appeal to a wider audience. By doing so the fear is that the new development team will compromise realism for entertainment. My initial impression is that this may be the case. FLIGHT appears to be an entirely new build with little if any of the legacy architecture apparent from the front end. I’ll keep you updated as the software develops.
I have also been spending some time with a new piece of hardware I stumbled across last month. FSTHROTTLE is a new company which builds custom throttle quads modeled after real Boeing and Airbus counterparts. I found FSTHROTTLE on Ebay while trying to purchase a used GoFlight throttle quad. The FSTHROTTLE hardware was so impressive in both build and price that I quickly forgot about the overpriced GoFlight module. Making contact with Ricardo of FSTHROTTLE I was able to work out a complete custom build of a two axis Boeing throttle. After about four weeks the new throttle arrived and was even more impressive in person. After a few hours of tinkering with configurations I was able to set the throttle up with my two and four engine airlines using FSUIPC. I am currently flying Captain Sim’s 707 and iFly’s 737 with the new throttle and it is a hoot. FSTHROTTLE’s customer service is first rate, Ricardo was very responsive to all my requests. I highly recommend FSTHROTTLE’s products and give them a five star rating. Check out their products at fsthrottles.com
Another flight sim project that has been on the back burner for ages has been building a fighter stick mod for the simulator. I purchased Saitek’s X-52 pro flight control system back in 2009. The system includes a HOTAS flight stick and separate throttle modeled after the latest military fighter equipment. What I could not figure out was how to mount the equipment in a reasonably quick and easy way inside my generically yoke configured simulator set-up. Last year I came across a game chair set-up that gave me a clue on how I might proceed. I sketched up a rough diagram which sat for another couple of months. This month, with some new found free time, I finally got out to the local hardware store to but all the supplies required to make the concept a reality. In a nut shell I created two small platforms that securely hold the stick and throttle next to the pilot. The platforms are mounted to my simulator seat via a quick release support system made out of plastic plumbing pipe. The flight stick mount does not interfere with the yoke which saves me from making any major modifications to the existing hardware. When I want to fly a military jet in the sim I can install the fighter stick mod in less than five minutes. The added realism flying Aerosoft’s F-16 or Section8s F-86 Sabre is remarkable and has made the whole project very worthwhile. You can see pictures of the build by clicking here. I am still in the process of spray painting all parts in aircraft grey.
[January 15, 2012]
Tough Mudder Transit
3.1
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A perfect reason to fly presented itself today. I had signed up to participate in the Tough Mudder (http://toughmudder.com/events/arizona-phoenix/) endurance race with a group of folks at work. The race was being hosted at the old General Motors proving grounds in Mesa which is directly adjacent to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (KIWA, formally Williams). Round trip by car would have taken seven hours, by plane it was less than three. One adventurous soul from the group volunteered to fly with me. He had not flown in a small airplane before so it was a new experience for him. I decided to complete the flight planning old school with charts, flight log, and E6B since I need to be proficient in this method for teaching students. With the forecast tailwind I calculated 1:04 enroute. The actual flight took 1:09 and was uneventful save for the five helium balloons that passed just off our right wing as we turned from downwind to base for runway 12R at Gateway. This was my first trip to Gateway and I was impressed with the size of the airport and the quality of the FBO. While we did not have time to try it out the restaurant it looked high end and was happening at 0900. The race took longer than anticipated (they always do) and it was not until 5PM that we arrived back at the airport. Fortunately I had remained night current so making the flight was not going to be a problem legally. This is a perfect example of why you should always remain current. You never know when you are going to need it. The flight back was mostly in the dark. I passed some of the time acting as a radio relay for Albuquerque Center and an aircraft out of ATC radio contact. Passing near Mount Lemon we did run into some light chop which gave the TriPacer a good shake followed by a brief rain shower, a little unsettling for my new passenger. The trip home into headwinds ended up taking 1:30, total round trip time was 2:40 shaving some four hours of the drive. Well worth it.
Oh in case you are curious about what the Tough Mudder entails, check out this ABC video http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/tough-mudder-15461971
[January 12, 2012]
Certificated Flight Instructor & Master Wings!
4.5
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Almost six years to the day that I received my private pilot certificate I passed the checkride for my flight instructor certificate from the FAA.
I flew up to Tucson this morning in the TriPacer ready for the final step on my journey to Flight Instructor. The checkride was scheduled for 10AM but I arrived 2 ½ hours early in order to get one more flight in with my instructor to ensure that I was as sharp as I could be. The weather was perfect for the checkride, very light winds and an overcast sky at 12,000ft. The sun had been a real distraction when flying performance maneuvers early on in the training so the overcast was an added blessing. The checkride had been scheduled originally for Wednesday but was delayed a day due to the FAA Examiners schedule. It had been over a week since I had last flown the Piper PA-28R. This was another valid reason to get back in the airplane before the checkride. Sam and I blasted off in the Arrow to the practice areas south of Tucson and went through the entire checkride sequence. Following the oral exam in Scottsdale the FAA Examiner had provided me with a list of maneuvers to be performed. I was allowed to sequence the maneuvers and tasks as I saw fit. This kinda felt like getting all the questions before the test but I was not about to complain. We tightened up a few weak areas before heading back to Tucson for landing practice. I felt comfortable and confident. I was ready for the checkride. The FAA examiner arrived only a few minutes after our return. We went off into a private office where the examiner took a look at my weight and balance and current weather information. I was surprised to find that we were just on the edge of being outside the weight range at our CG point. Fortunately we squeaked by. We did another quick check of the aircraft/engine logbooks to ensure all systems were legal. Walking out to the aircraft the Examiner inspected the airworthiness certificate and registration before loading into the aircraft. He gave me the standard disclaimer that he was along for the ride and I was the PIC. I provided a quick safety brief before going through the start procedures. Of course the fuel injected Arrow humbled me right from the get go by refusing to start. This was my first hot start of the airplane and typical fuel injection vapor lock required me to make three attempts before she finally came to life. After a run-up I provided the takeoff briefing and went right into a soft field take-off before departing for the practice area. First up was commercial steep turns once we arrived in the practice area and conducted several clearing turns. Steep turns are either great or horrible and you know right away how it is going to go. If you don’t get the right amount of back stick in as you roll through 30 degrees you usually spend the rest of the 360 turn trying to correct the vertical oscillations. Maybe because of nerves I put too much back stick in as we went through 30 degrees and we started to climb. On a CFI checkride you act as the instructor and have to talk through each maneuver as you demonstrate it. I knew right away the mistake I had made and pointed it out to the examiner, “okay so as you can see I pulled back a little too much which results in a climb, this is a common student mistake, by steepening the bank and/or releasing some of the back pressure you can correct this problem.” I was able to get the aircraft back within tolerance before rolling out but it was not pretty. From the steep turn we went into a chandelle to the left which went off without a hitch and on to slow flight which I had dialed in pretty tight. With the airplane dirtied up I went into a departure stall followed by a secondary stall. The next task was instrument flight, I was a little nervous on this task because Sam and I had not practiced it during our training with the exception of that morning. Flying under the hood was no problem but explaining all of that primary and secondary instrument mumbo-jumbo during turns, descents, and climbs had confused the heck out of me when I was an instrument student and did not make much more sense today. For me I use the attitude indicator as my primary instrument for everything and just radial scan the six pack to ensure the AI is telling me the truth. I managed to fumble my way through the convoluted explanations as the Examiner told me to climb, descend, and turn around the area while under the hood. Out from under the hood the Examiner threw a surprise in by pulling the throttle back and declaring an engine out emergency. I quickly put the Arrow into a best glide at 100mph and found a dirt strip conveniently off my right wing. I talked through my quick flow to isolate the fuel problem and attempt engine restart while spiraling down. We were much lower than during practice and I was only able to complete one spiral before dropping the gear and rolling out on final approach. The set-up was perfect and we would have easily landed at the dirt strip. At about 500AGL I got my engine back and was told to move on to the next task. Moving closer to Tucson I completed turns around a point and then eight on pylons. Without wind these maneuvers were pretty simple and easy. Performing these two ground reference maneuvers can cause some negative transfer and confusion. For turns around a point distance from the ground object and altitude must remain constant, with eight on pylons you don’t care about distance or altitude as long as you keep the ground object pinned to a point on your wing. With maneuvers complete we headed back to Tucson for landing practice. The first was a normal landing followed by a short field takeoff. Next up was a short field landing. This one turned out ugly because the flight school trained me using approach speeds higher than VS0 1.3. This was the same problem I had with my commercial training. (I believe the approach numbers are padded by instructors for added safety margin). In my opinion a short field is a landing where you drag the aircraft in, in this situation when you pull the power the airplane lands instantly with no float. In my training we had excess airspeed so a target point 100 ft PRIOR to the landing point was chosen to dissipate the speed during flare. I used this incorrect method on the checkride and soon found myself floating over my touchdown point. With only 100ft allowed beyond the touchdown point I knew I needed to force the Arrow down which I did with a thunk in a three point landing. The final landing was a soft field which I was determined to do well after the last “arrival.” We touched down ever so lightly, that was pleasing. That was it, I was done after only 1.5 hours of flying. We put the Arrow to bed and debriefed with the Examiner providing feedback on the flight. He commented that I needed to teach the maneuvers more. This was a surprise to me as I felt like I was talking non-stop during the entire flight, but maybe not. The Examiner printed out my temporary certificate, congratulated me, and headed out. I was still in shock that I had passed the checkride on my first attempt. The CFI checkride is notorious for first time failures somewhere in the range of 80-90%. A very daunting statistic for any first time applicant. I somehow made it unscathed after so many checkrides over the last six years to the top of the mountain. I know hold what is considered the Doctorate of aviation, the flight instructor certificate. It was a journey that took six and half years to complete, yet it feels as if I have only arrived at the real starting point. With credentials achieved my focus will now turn towards broadening the scope of my experience and flying larger and more complex aircraft. I will devote much effort this year to honing my teaching skills and developing a curriculum that leverages all aspects of technology to include cockpit digital video, GPS flight tracking with Google Earth integration, and simulator use. I believe flight training today does little to exploit available technology. The training I offer will be distinctly different in this respect and hopefully will set me apart from the rest of the pack.
Successfully completing a flight instructor checkride also counts for several credits towards the FAA Wings program. Today's flight allowed me to achieve my first MASTER wings phase. I have also completed phase 4 for BASIC Wings and Phase 3 for ADVANCED Wings.
[January 6, 2012]
CFI Oral Exam with FAA FSDO
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Today I drove three and half hours to Scottsdale for my CFI oral exam with the FAA. I arrived 10 minutes early at the office with two bags full of books, advisory circulars, lesson plans, aircraft log books and training aids. No one was going to accuse me of coming to the exam unprepared! My FAA examiner took me back to the office meeting room which was equipped with a large white board. We started off by reviewing my endorsements to take the test, my AFI written exam results (FOI results were not required because I already held a ground instructor certificate), my logged flight time and the FAA form 8710. Convinced I was qualified to take the practical test we jumped right into the material. The FAA examiner used Joan Bonesteal’s book “Flight Instructor PTS Oral Study Guide” to formulate the questions. Joan is apparently a Phoenix local and a DE who frequently visits the FSDO (more on her later). The first subject was fundamentals of instructing. I was allowed to use my lesson plan notes which was a huge bonus for me. FOI subjects contain a number of lists and they sometimes have a habit of blending together. The lesson notes allowed me to quickly determine the particular list being discussed at which point I was able to hold my own with my knowledge on the subject. It was just getting the kick start that was so immensely helpful. We discussed the learning process and then moved into flight instructor characteristics and responsibilities. With the dry FOI stuff out of the way we moved on to Area 2 of the PTS. We spent considerable time on the principles of flight. I was asked to explain how a wing creates lift, explain aircraft stability, left turning tendency (finally got to use a small toy gyroscope I had purchased from the Air & Space Museum some three years ago specifically for this purpose, demonstrating gyroscopic precession), and the four forces that act on an aircraft. I used the whiteboard and my training aids, a small model airplane, to assist and augment my explanations. These visual aids were very helpful to the process. Occasionally the examiner would ask questions to determine the depth of my knowledge. CFI training has definitely increased my depth of understanding of aerodynamics and is an area where CFI students should concentrate a large portion of their efforts. Logbook endorsements were the next area of discussion. I was required to explain student endorsements required for solo and to take the practical exam. From endorsements the examiner went into certificates and documents. I was asked how I would go about providing a flight review. There is an excellent AC on the subject that provides much more detail than what is contained in the FAR. The King School CFI practical test video also gave me several good ideas on how to answer this question. I was also asked to list the logbook entries required for a student that I had provided two hours of ground instruction on VOR navigation to. Pretty straight forward. One question that almost got me was “is it necessary for a student to take their logbook on a flight.” My initial response was “no” but the answer was based on my own circumstance and not that of a student. For a certificated pilot it is best not to carry the logbook in case of a catastrophic event, but for a student the logbook must be carried because it includes the necessary endorsements to fly. I quickly realized my error and changed my answer. It was a trick question. Before breaking for lunch I was asked to explain a spin and how it occurs and where a pilot is most likely to encounter a spin. After three days of spin training this was a relatively easy set of questions. I once again used my training aids to assist in the explanation. The first session lasted only about two hours before heading off to lunch. When we returned in the afternoon for part two of the oral I was instructed to prepare a lesson plan to teach the chandelle maneuver to a student. I was initially given 30 minutes to prepare and ended up asking for an additional 15 minutes. The examiner left the room while I prepared the lesson. This is where ASAs “Lesson Plans – Train as you fly” came in handy. The book provides not only a training outline for each commercial and private maneuver but also provides examples of what you should draw on the whiteboard. I ended up copying the books drawings to the whiteboard verbatim. I figured in 45 minutes I was not going to improve on what the author had already spent some time creating. I completed a very thin lesson plan which would guide me during the presentation and then assembled my training aids. When the examiner returned he was impressed by the drawings on the whiteboard. I decided not to disclose my source. The presentation lasted about 30 minutes. I discussed the standards, how to perform the maneuver, the aerodynamics at play during the maneuver, and finally common errors that pilots make while performing the maneuver. Once again the toy airplane was an excellent training aid for this task and I often overlaid the plane onto the whiteboard. With completion of the lesson the oral was done, about 3.5 hours total. I believe I got off pretty easy compared to some who have had 5-8 hour orals. I guess I got lucky.
With the oral complete the examiner inspected the Arrow’s log books looking at AD compliance, 100 hour and annual inspections, and additional inspection requirements for ELT and pitot static. We went back to his office to print my letter of discontinuance since we would not conduct the flight portion of the practical until the following week. The examiner also provided me with a list of maneuvers that he wanted to perform during the check ride. I was given the freedom to arrange the maneuvers in any order I liked. It was a great feeling to have the oral behind me and still an additional week to focus on the check ride for which I now knew exactly what it would entail. My instructor told me the oral is the most difficult portion of the practical and where the majority of failures occur. I have heard of first time failure rates between 70-80% for the CFI. With this in mind I was very happy to be well on my way to passing. I have my eyes on the prize. Just one more hurdle to cross……
[January 1, 2012]
Instrument Currency and Discovery Flight
2.9
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I am told it is good luck for the year if you fly on New Year’s Day so I put in almost three hours in the TriPacer to hedge my bets. The morning started with retaining instrument currency by flying the obligatory hold and six approaches. Libby has a variety of approaches which makes meeting the requirement while maintaining variety possible. My approaches included 2 ILS, 2 localizers, and 2 VORs. On each I found the runway right where it should be upon removing the hood at DH or MDA. Having previously determined my power and trim settings for precision (500FPM) and non-precision (800FPM) approaches helped immensely in reducing workload. If you know these setting you can dial them in and just focus on keeping the needle centered. The setting will give you the same airspeed and vertical descent rate every time. Later in the afternoon I took a co-worker and her son up for their first flight in a small plane. As is always the case I enjoyed sharing in what was a new experience for them.
[December 31, 2011]
500 Hour Milestone & Year in Review
2.1
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The weather these last three days has been gorgeous in Arizona. A high pressure has brought blue skies, no wind, and 70 degree temps, absolutely perfect flying weather. I flew up to Tucson again this morning for CFI training. With only .3 hours to go for the big 500 milestone I wanted to ensure I reached it before the New Year. While the flight to Tucson takes only 30 minutes the overall time required when you factor in the drive to the airport, pre-flight, and run-up is almost exactly the same as driving, 1 hour and 20 minutes. But why drive when you can fly! 2011 is in the books, happy New Year!
At the end of 2010 I set the following goals for 2011:
1.
1. Glider
certification
2.
Instrument
Ground Instructor certification
3.
Complete
CFI training and pass the checkride
4.
Achieve FAA
Wings Advanced and Master levels
5.
Attend the
Reno Air Races
6.
Land a
plane in 8 new states
7.
Log 50
hours of flight time and exceed 400 hours total time mark
The year began with completion of my final FAA written exam for Instrument Ground Instructor. I moved on to glider training in February at Shebley Aviation. The school was a disappointment but the glider experience was amazing and the ultimate goal of receiving my private pilot glider certificate was achieved over the course of four days. At the end of the course the school owner allowed me to fly his North American Navion to Needles, California. It was my first new state of the year.
March was a flurry of flying activity and new adventures. The month started with my annual CAP Form 5 checkout followed by attendance at the Airline Transport Orientation Program (ATOP) hosted at Continental’s training facility in Houston, Texas. My ATOP class would be one of the last to train at the Continental facility as the legacy carrier would merge with United later in the year and cease to exist. I logged time flying the Boeing 737-800 simulator on an instrument approach to KSFO and picked up my high altitude endorsement during the weekend course. While in Texas I also rented a Cessna 172 allowing me to add Texas to states I have landed a plane. A few weeks later I was in Tampa, Florida for a grand cross country adventure. Renting a Cessna 172 in Tampa I flew to Key West with Christina and on to the Bahamas for probably the biggest flying adventure to date. My new GoPro HD camera captured stunning flying footage of the many exotic airstrips we visited.
Flying activities slowed after the Florida trip with little activity of note through the start of June. About that time I decided to return to school. Graduate school was not even on the radar scope at the end of 2010 but that would change mid way into 2011 after attending my wife’s college graduation (18 years after starting school, no fault of her own just the result of marrying a soldier and constantly moving). The event provided one of those moments of internal reflection about continuing my own education. If aviation was going to be my second career it would probably be a good idea to enhance my resume with an aviation degree from the country’s premiere aviation university, Embry-Riddle. With an extended campus presence on Fort Huachuca and tuition assistance available from the Army it appeared to be the perfect opportunity to exploit. I started school in May and by December had completed five courses and 15 credit hours. The classes have really expanded my aviation knowledge in simulations, human factors, and Part 121 and 135 operations. My only regret is not having started school earlier.
Civil Air Patrol flying really started to pick up around this time with range clearing missions, equipment ferry flights, and NORAD exercises. Many of the range clearing missions would last 5+ hours allowing me to bank a large number of flight hours. On one such mission I was retasked for a real world search and rescue. We would ultimately locate and direct US Border Patrol ground units to 11 illegal aliens lost in the desert and without water.
I was introduced to the world of aerobatic flight in July, attending a three day course in Chandler, AZ flying the Great Lakes Biplane (which has since gone back into production by Waco). The first family X-country occurred in July with a flight in a glass DA-40 to Las Vegas for the holiday weekend. I specifically chose the DA-40 for another new airplane experience. It was also a good time to get reacquainted with the Garmin G1000.
Attending the Reno Air Races was on the To-Do list for September but a conflict with a work related trip to Europe required me to defer the trip to 2012. It turned out to be a fortunate decision as Reno would experience a tremendous tragic event with Jimmy Leeward’s P-51 crashing into spectators and killing 11. As of today the 2012 Reno Air Race will go on and I intend on being there.
As fall arrived new opportunities presented themselves for sharing use in a Piper TriPacer. This opportunity greatly reduced the cost of flying at just the right time. The CAP aircraft went into maintenance in September and never came back out due to multiple issues. On November 11th I embarked on an ambitious solo cross-country to Monument Valley. Logging a total of nine hours I covered four states and landed at over 11 airports.
The year ended with the beginning of accelerated CFI training and specialized spin training. I would ultimately achieve 3 ½ of the 7 goals by year end with a total of five achieved with in the opening weeks of 2012.
While I did not visit eight new states I was able to add five states to the list including California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Texas. In addition the Bahamas became my first new country.
The more conservative flight time goal was smashed with over 145 hours logged. The 400 hour total time milestone was passed in June and the 500 hour mark was achieved on the last day of the year. The busiest flight month was July with 19.6 hours logged. August and December were close behind with 19.4 and 19.5 hours respectively.
2011 was a year of many new aircraft experiences. New aircraft flown in 2011 included the Schweizer 2-33A glider, the Ryan Navion L-17, the Great Lakes 2T-1A-2 biplane, Diamond DA-40 Diamond Star, Piper TriPacer, and the Super Decathlon.
The biggest flying cross-country adventures of the year were Key West/Bahamas in March, Las Vegas/Grand Canyon in July, and Monument Valley in October.
Looking forward
to 2012 it is becoming harder and harder to top the previous year’s
accomplishments. For the most part all of my training is complete. The focus
now turns to expanding the experiences and maybe flying further than before.
Other goals include working on school and realizing a dream I have had for some
time, creating a non-profit part 61 school to teach active duty war veterans how
to fly.
Goals for 2012:
1. 1.
Establish Veterans 2 Aviators non-profit Part 61 flight school
2. Finish five ERAU graduate classes
3.
Fly to
Oshkosh and AirVenture 2012
4.
Land a
plane in five new states
5.
Attend
Reno Air Races
6.
Expand
my glider flight experience
[December 30, 2011]
Rough Day
3.0
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I flew up to Tucson for CFI training today. The training starts with a flight in the Arrow 28-200R. We practice Chandelles, Lazy Eights, and Eight on Pylons. Not my day, every maneuver is off in one way or another. It was one of those flights where you just wish it would end. On the positive side, flying from the right seat is feeling much more comfortable. I am surprised that it only took a few hours of flying for this to occur. After the flight we spend about six hours reviewing technical subject areas. The amount of material that must be learned is daunting. On top of that my teaching skills stink. CFI training is tough! I arrived home around 4:30PM and have four new technical areas to study before returning at 7:30 in the morning. There is just not enough time in the day.
[December 17-18, 27, 2011]
Spin Training & Endorsement
3.0
_________________________________________________________________________
When I prepared for CFI training the last thing I wanted
was a "check the block" approach toward the spin endorsement. In aviation
what you don't know WILL kill you, spins are a perfect example. I remember
at Shebley when a CFI candidate lacked a spin endorsement it was remedied with a
quick flight in the 172. I'm certain the CFI to-be learned nothing from
the experience. Talking with experienced CFIs the general consensus is
that this is typical for the industry. I did not want to be one of those
CFIs. If you recall back in June-July of this year I went up to Chandler
Aviation with the intention of getting the spin endorsement but was told that
they would not provide the training and endorsement unless I was 75% of the way
through CFI training. I instead took their introduction to aerobatics
course of which spinning was a staple. We spun the Great-Lakes Biplane
every which way except inverted so the mystery behind spins was removed. I
am not scared of them but they sure make me feel ill in short order. Fast
forward to this
month, my CFI has out-sourced me to Marcus Paine of Unusual
Attitudes based out of Marana. Marcus is an airshow performer and Alaskan
bush pilot. I spent a total of three days with Marcus discussing stalls
and spins in extreme detail. The bottom line is a spin is nothing more
than one wing being more deeply stalled than the other, a lateral imbalance,
created by yaw. What develops is a dog chasing his tail with one wing
trying to fly its way out while the other wing holds it back. It is
autorotation for airplanes and can become a very stabilized state (all the way
to the ground :( ) once fully developed. We dissect every aspect of the
aerodynamics of stalls and spins and then go out and experience them first hand
in Marcus' Super Decathlon. The Decathlon is an awesome tail
dragger. After not having flown a tail wheel aircraft since my endorsement
in a J-3 Cub back in 2009 I was very apprehensive that my skills would not be up
to par but I quickly found the Decathlon much more stable than the J-3 in
landing and takeoff. You still need to have "happy feet" but the tail is
not going to switch ends with the nose if your skills are not perfect. On
the first sortie Marcus introduces me to the falling leaf exercise. The
exercise is designed to teach recovery from an incipient spin by using rudder to
lift the down wing. The engrained response of lifting the wing with the
aileron has to be trained out of the pilot as this response only increases the
AOA on the more deeply stalled wing and just aggravates the situation. In
the falling leaf exercise I stall the aircraft, induce yaw to drop a wing and
then stop the roll with opposite rudder. On subsequent sorties Marcus has
me create a spin and then recover 180 and 360 degrees before the spin fully
develops. Recovery from a spin is a simple affair. Power to idle.
Opposite rudder, stick to neutral. Pull out. That's all to it.
On the final sortie Marcus talks me through aggravation of the spin by making
all the wrong corrections. I place the aircraft in a fully developed spin
and then add power, push the stick forward and try to lift the wing. The
spin wraps up really tight and the rotation rate becomes twice that of the
vanilla spin but the recovery process works as advertised. The final step
is talking Marcus through a stall, spin and recovery. This is the first
hint that getting my CFI is going to be challenging. While I know all the
right terms and concepts in my head they don't come out quite as polished.
I struggle my way through but realize this is an area that I am going to have to
work at. After the final flight Marcus provides me with the spin
endorsement required of all CFI candidates. While the training was
expensive I believe it was money well spent, after all it could someday save my
life as well as the life of my student.
NOTE 10JAN12: While watching the 31DEC episode of Flying Wild Alaska
I had Tivo'd and was surprised to see Marcus featured on the show providing spin
training in a Super Cub to one of the female pilots assigned to Era.
[December 20, 2011]
Flight Instructor Training Begins
_________________________________________________________________________
Today was my first of nine sessions with Double Eagle Aviation in Tucson Arizona. I am taking another accelerated course, this time for Flight Instructor. Almost all of the national courses I have investigated are 30 days or more in length, with a full time career I just can’t afford to step away that long. My instructor, Sam, comes highly recommended by the Chief Instructor from my commercial training at Cochise College. The course syllabus is broken down into the sections and tasks of the CFI PTS manual. Since section 1 of the PTS of mostly concerned with knowledge and section 2 is focused on flight skills Sam has designed the course to tackle both sections simultaneously. Each day starts with a flight in the school’s complex aircraft, a Piper Arrow 28R-200, an aircraft I have flown before (Nov 2009). The focus of the flight is to perform the maneuvers in section 2 of the PTS. I fly from the right seat which is a totally new experience for me. Sam allows me to perform the maneuvers which are both private and commercial PTS to gauge my level of skill. I have not performed many of the maneuvers since commercial training back in the early part of 2010 but they are not new and after a brief refresher I am quickly back in the saddle albeit from the right seat. The flights typically last about 1.5 hours in which time we cover about 8 to 10 maneuvers.
After the flight we debrief and then begin to review the tasks in section 1 of the PTS. Sam has provided me with student’s lesson plans for section 1 so that I do not have to make my own. I find out early on that the provided lesson plans are not much different than Gleim’s outline in their practical test prep manual (which I highly recommend purchasing). I study the tasks the night prior and Sam quizzes me using the PTS to determine my comprehension. These sessions last about 3-4 hours and cover 4 to 5 tasks. Training starts promptly at 0730 each day (requiring me to leave the house at 5AM) and wraps up around 1 to 2 in the afternoon on most days. After class I make the hour and half drive home and then spend the rest of the day studying for the next day. I sent Chris and the kids back east to visit with the family during the holidays which gives me a quite house free from distractions to concentrate on the task at hand. There is a lot of material to cover, much of it is not new but the depth of comprehension required is much greater than previous certificates. Fundamentals of flight covers aerodynamics and I imagine this is a major stumbling block for most candidates. This is an area where you really have to come to a firm understanding of the forces acting on the aircraft because it is an essential foundation for describing what is happening to the aircraft in every maneuver you perform with a student. I had plenty of “ah-ha” moments as I worked through this section. Some material like endorsements and recreational pilot requirements is completely new. While my FAR/AIM is well tabbed out I am introduced to a plethora of Advisory Circulars that amplify many areas of the regulations. The days are long but I am happy to have finally embarked on achieving the goal of becoming an instructor. While 500 hours of flight experience is relatively miniscule for one to believe they have the wisdom to teach the art of flying to others, I feel the quality of the flight time I have amassed in six years is top notch. My goal from day one has been to expose myself to as many different experiences as possible and I believe I have achieved this from additional ratings and endorsements to over half of my total time being cross-country flying. To quote Horace, “remember that you are mortal, so seize the day.” To translate this for pilots: get out of that local airport traffic pattern and make every flight hour count!
[December 18, 2011]
Still Dumb After All These Hours
1.0
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I took Carson up for a short one hour flight. There were some widely scattered cumulus which we flirted with before flying on the edge of some virga. Returning to the airport I decided to do a touch and go on the shorter runway, 21. We touched down briefly before climbing back up. All seemed normal until about 250 ft up. The aircraft just stopped climbing. I was at every bit of 80 MPH yet the climb was lethargic and almost nil. I enriched the mixture to no avail, the RPM stuck at 2100. We were flying into rising terrain so while I was holding altitude on the altimeter in all actuality I was descending. At this point my heart rate began to accelerate. I put in half flaps to lower the stall speed and to hopefully provide additional lift. I glanced back at the airport and started a gradual right turn ensuring I did not get any slower. I could make runway 8 if I could hold the altitude I still had. Carson picked up on what was going on and exclaimed “hey we are not climbing.” As we came through a heading of 270 for the downwind I realized my error, carburetor heat. I had failed to turn off the carb heat on the climb out, robbing the engine of the needed climb horsepower. With the heat off the engine surged to 2500 RPM and we climbed up to a safe altitude. Afterwards I kicked myself for one, not following the troubleshooting flow for such an incident and two, taking so long to figure out just what had gone wrong. Had I not climbed as high as I did I would not have had the luxury of time to finally come to the realization of what was wrong. The flow had it been executed would have revealed the problem in a matter of seconds. So even after 500 hours of experience I am still making dumb newbie mistakes!
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