Instrument check-ride complete

This has been an interesting journey. While not getting too much in to my flying history, let me say that I have been trying to schedule my instrument check-ride since December 2013. I was cursed with bad weather that lasted until January and delayed the ride to the point of feeling the need for some refresher training.

I was able to get in the air just enough to knock the rust off and gain some more confidence. Did the confidence come from more flight time? Sort of. It was mostly the feeling of accomplishment knowing that even while fighting 30 knot quartering tail winds and bouncing my head off of the roof, I can still fly an ILS to the PTS standards and put it on the airport grounds. That might be a yawner for some but not for this rookie!

On to the check-ride......

I started by planning a flight from KPLU to KTTD and gathering all of the assorted performance related information, looking closely for reasons to be tripped up with non standard procedures of some sort. After cramming to the point of making myself crazy with stress, I showed up on the Tuesday after a week long vacation to Disney World. I was beginning to think that scheduling my ride for after vacation may have been a major mistake. The weather looked good until I arrived at the airport. The forecast was calling for improving conditions that would become flyable right about the time my oral would start. What actually happened was that it waited until an hour after my check-ride was cancelled to clear up in to a very nice evening.

Delayed until the next Tuesday, I studied some more and just tried to relax. My oral took place on Tuesday 18 Mar 2014. This process lasted about 2 - 2.5 hours and really was more of a discussion about flying. Of course there were the obvious questions the required a book answer but most were situation based and phrased as a question about a specific task along our planned route of flight. After answering the first question, your answer would lead in to the next question or probe deeper to see if you really understood the subject or if you were just reciting a memorized response. Not once did I feel like I was being set up or that the examiner was trying to play "stump the chump".

At the conclusion of the oral I was asked if I wanted to fly or not. A quick check of the weather showed that this was not going to be a good day for a flight with your local DPE. I don't remember the conditions exactly but the ceilings were below the personal minimums I had quoted during my oral and the winds were about 15 knots gusting to 28 or something with winds aloft around 30 knots at 3000 feet and nearing 50 at 6000 feet. Not exactly my idea of a great day for an exam. Rescheduled for the 25th of March and the 1st of April just in case.

The night of the 20th I was asked if I wanted to finish the test the next day due to a cancellation. You bet I said yes! After work on the 21st, I raced to the airport in terrible traffic with the stress of a full day of dealing with Soldiers and senior leadership weighing on my mind. I was actually hoping for bad weather but things were looking good. I filed my flight plan (KPLU-COTNY-SCENN-KTIW) and preflighted the plane.

Now for the gory details of the actual flight......

Things were going well except that the winds were picking up and I realized that it was going to get a little bumpy. During the run-up, the plane failed the mag check but I was able to burn it off and it passed on the second try. I received my clearance and started my take off roll. After climbing through 1500 feet I contacted Seattle departure. They responded with a similar tail number from the same school I was flying out of but never acknowledged my call. I was pretty sure that the plane they were asking for an ident had been sitting tied up as I moved out for my run up a few minutes earlier. ATC and I finally got on the same page with the DPE doing nothing more than chuckling a little. I was sure that I was OK but the nerves were starting to get moving. The plane that the controller confused me for was sitting on the ground waiting for a release while the controller thought he was already in the air.

Once we had the case of mistaken identity worked out, I asked to enter a hold at SCENN. This was actually one of the easiest holds I had performed during my training. Normally you arrive with the perfect teardrop entry but this time I was vectored to the west side of the field and entered via a parallel entry and had a pretty stiff wind to deal with. As I approached SCENN, the controller realized that he hadn't given me a proper EFC time. Idiot me decided that I had time to talk to ATC and copy the time on my board just as I reached my point. It actually worked out and  much to my surprise, I was only 5 seconds early after my first circuit. The DPE must have been as pleased as I was because I was told to request the ILS 17 approach. This approach went well and even though I was getting pushed around and bounced a bit. After conducting a low approach and going missed, I was vectored back to the localizer. This is where things started to get fun.

I started getting set up for this non-precision approach when, much to my surprise, I suffered a simulated gyro failure. It isn't like I wasn't expecting it to happen but I also had a controller that was as busy as I was. My last vector was taking me to the localizer at nearly 90 degrees but there was no follow on turn to intercept or further clearance. I asked the controller of he intended to take me across the approach course and received an immediate turn and clearance. My problem was that I was now partial panel and crossing the localizer. Not a big deal really but I did fly some S-turns trying to get back on center line. The controller didn't tell me and I didn't ask to contact tower before the final approach fix either. The tower controlled reminded me that I need to ask if I don't receive a frequency change before the crossing the final approach fix. The stress is starting to increase at this point. I was beginning to wonder if the examiner would approve of the way I was trying to deal with some of the quirky things that were going on. My approach was pretty good and I locked in 20 feet above my minimum descent altitude, started my circle to the west and made a low approach to runway 35.

My final approach was the GPS 35 approach from the initial approach fix (IAF) named FESAS. Other than the winds beating me up a little, this approach was pretty simple. Just remember to conduct a RAIM check, run the before landing checklist, and make the "approach active" call out. This was a touch and go that, even with the gusty crosswind, was one of my better landings. We canceled our IFR flight plan at this point and headed back VFR.

The last task was unusual attitudes. I won't get in to this one because by check-ride time, I'm sure that your instructor has just about made you puke and fear that the wings are about to rip off practicing these.

The DPE finally let me know how I was doing when she said that all I needed to do to pass was to get us home safely.

I am now an instrument rated private pilot.

BruceAir: More Skidding Stalls

Are you worried about practicing stalls because they might develop in to a spin?

Do you carry a little extra speed on short final in an attempt to avoid stalling at low altitude?

While I haven't had Mr. Bruce Williams as an instructor yet, I have followed his advice on numerous message boards, watched his videos, and read his blog entries. I am hoping to take a flight or ten during the summer of 2014 to go over spin and unusual attitude recovery as well as some basic aerobatics. You can bet that I will post my lessons learned as well as my observations of his training style.

My suggestion is that if you are afraid of stalls and spins, get with Bruce or someone like him and stall and spin the plane until the recovery is second nature. Being able to recognize an impending stall or spin, and reacting properly, takes more than reading about it in a book.

This is a lesson that I look forward to.

BruceAir

Nearing the end of my IFR training

After what seems like forever, I am nearing the end of my IFR training. I've been at this for months but illness in the family, military duty, bad weather, and all around life has gotten in the way.

I should be taking my check ride in the next week or so as long as the weather holds and I can get on the schedule after I return from a trip to Texas for work. 

Here is the flight that I had on Saturday, January 25th 2014. It was an interesting flight as ATC was very busy. I requested the GPS 35 with a full procedure ILS to 17 after. Tacoma Narrows Airport was too busy to support that at the time so I flew it in reverse.

A Sarcastic View of Pattern Flying

Why is it that student pilots are being taught to fly traffic patterns that would be too large for even a Boeing 777? AVweb's Paul Bertorelli explores the question in this not-so-gentle but humorous video. 
Viewer discretion advised.

Latest edition of "Say Again, Please" released

As published in General Aviation News

Latest edition of ‘Say Again, Please’ released

The fifth edition of “Say Again, Please” has been released.

Talking on an aviation radio and understanding air traffic control instructions can be one of the most intimidating aspects of flight training. In “Say Again, Please” Bob Gardner explains how the ATC system works and teaches readers what to say, what to expect to hear, and how to interpret and react to clearances and instructions.

 This new edition has been updated to reflect current rules and operating procedures, according to the publisher. Chapters cover communication etiquette and rules, understanding radio equipment, emergency situations, and both VFR and IFR communications and clearances.

Also included is a concise summary of the FAA’s communication facilities and their functions, airspace classifications and definitions, and the FAA’s recommended shorthand for copying clearances.

The communication requirements for entering, departing, and transiting each class of airspace is explained in detail by following along with the author on “simulated” flights. A full-color sectional excerpt is provided for the example flights, so readers can review the map while reading the explanation for flying and talking in each area.

Price: $19.95.

First Solo Cross Country Flight

I shared this through the Lets Fly WA web site but since it is currently down, I figured that I would re-post it here.
This flight was from Auburn (S50) to Hoquiam airport, better know an Bowerman (KHQM) with a great little cafe right on the field and a nice walking trail with great views.

Enjoy and be safe!

Flying the VFR transition over Sea-Tac Airport - KSEA

Well, after months of fighting the weather, mx issues and scheduling.... I finally made the trip. My route was OLM-PWT-SEA-S36-PAE on the way up and on the way back it was PAE to OLM direct.

I got myself all worked up trying to make sure my calculations and everything were spot on and it all worked out almost perfectly. I was a matter of a couple of minutes off of my ETA, working with ATC was a great experience and made life easy and I learned a lot.

The only complaint that I have is that I only took 2 photos.... I forgot that I had the camera with me and then I dropped it under the seat during an unplanned bump.

The first pic is to the north of SEA and the second is to the south just before I crossed the numbers for the VFR transition.

Today was a very good day. :)

Training must slow for lack of funding

I was worried that this would happen. My training has been progressing pretty well but now that I have made it to the cross country stage I have burned through a little over 3/4 of my funding.

At the current burn rate I only have about 4 more dual flights ahead of me before I am out of money.

I have been on 1 cross country and have a second that I've been fighting the weather on for the last couple of weeks but that still leaves the night training and then the solo cross countries to go before I am through.

Grrrrr.......

I have been working on my solo skills so I hope that I won't need much polish on my landings, ground reference, and basic air work when its time for the check ride prep.

I will say this though, there is nothing like the feeling of taking off with the right seat empty. It doesn't matter if you stay in the pattern or travel to the local training area, the feeling of freedom is like nothing you've ever felt before.

I've felt the scary excitement of direct fire combat and this feels much the same. The rush of leaving the ground, the gentle twisting and turning through the air and the sometimes not so gentle return to earth.

Its not a hobby, its a passion and it is good......

Nose wheel shimmy keeps me on the ground

The weather today wasn't good enough for the x-country I hoped to make, I figured I would take the time for some pattern work though since the weather was just good enough at KOLM for some landings.

Everything was fine on the first take off run, the trip around the patch was easy enough and the touch down was one of my best.

After setting the nose wheel down the problems began. The plane started to shake like my old truck going too fast on a logging road and nothing I did made it any better.

I went to full throttle to for the next take off but it got worse so I pulled the power and asked for a full stop. The shaking only stopped after I was below about 20 Knots and never came back during taxi.

The front strut was serviced in the last 72 hours and had 3 or 4 hours on it since then. I told the FBO and the CFI that had it next and they were looking at it when I left.

I wonder if I was just being too nervous about it but I felt that it was in the "something isn't right" part of my take off plan that requires pulling the power back and returning to the hanger.

I think I did the right thing by not flying anymore....

First Solo

To sum it all up: It was GREAT!!!!

After the day I had on Friday I didn't think there was much of a chance of it happening today. When I got to the airport the weather was about as good as I could hope for but my plane was sitting there in pieces.

The school has a second 172 but its got the 180hp conversion and I had never flown it. I thought that maybe I'd go flying in that plane but never guessed that it would be so smooth to fly.

After doing a couple power off stalls, slow flight and steep turns we headed back to the field for some T&Gs.

Things were going pretty smooth and I was taking the normal ribbing about not liking to pull the power out while close to the ground, more right rudder on climb out and some tips for engine out practice.

We had already been at it for about 1.5 so when I was told to make it a full stop I figured I was done.

After we got back to the school Steve jumped out and said have fun.

During my run up I double and triple checked EVERYTHING to make sure I wasn't going to do something stupid.

My first take off was nice and smooth with an easy turn out and set up on the downwind. I must say that I was right on the numbers and I actually held it off as long as Steve had been trying to get me to during my other landings. The takeoff was normal but the second landing was a little bouncy.

I had too much speed over the fence and skipped a little but it wasn't a big deal. My take off was a little rough though..... Some how I got my foot stuck under the right rudder at about 100 feet AGL. I wasn't too happy with that and lowered the nose to pull the power back and set her down on the remaining 3000 feet of runway when my foot popped out from under the pedal.

I pitched back up and continued around for my 3rd and last landing, It wasn't as good as the first but better than the second.

As I headed back to parking I looked over at the empty seat and started looking forward to my next trip by myself. :)

I count that as a great day!!!

Getting ready to solo

Here it is almost 3 years after I started flying and I was finally told to expect to solo soon. YAY!!!!!

The delay was for reasons out of my control as most of you know but it still seems like a long time coming. When I flew today it was a matter of my CFI saying I want to see slow flight, power on and off stalls and steep turns, other than that I'm just going to sit here while you are in charge.

This didn't sound like much when we were on the ground but as we got in to the flight and added flight following, some extra traffic and a little haze it started to be a little much.

Nothing was different than the last flight really, it was just that it was my plane this time and he was just sitting there smiling at me every time I looked over.

My air work was OK but nothing special, I made a few mistakes and wasn't as crisp as the last time but he didn't complain and I tried to explain why things went how they did so he knew that I understood what I could have done either differently or just plain better.

I feel that any issues with my flying was more due to nerves and the stress I put on myself for wanting to do well. On the way back to the field it got a little more interesting.

My CFI never really tells me what to do but does offer suggestions and a hint if it looks like I'm starting to fall behind with my tasks. Today he just let me do things my way even if I fell behind and would help a little to get me caught back up but it was mostly up to me.

I was cleared for a straight in to RWY 17. I never really liked straight in approaches because I haven't really learned where the key points are. I still need the different legs of the traffic pattern to help settle in to a smooth flow and make sure I'm on speed.

My CFI says "no flaps on this one"...... No problem really but again not only going straight in but now removing the cues associated with adding 10 deg of flaps and looking for 75 was missing.

He wanted me a little high to practice a forward slip to landing but I was high and very fast. A simple reminder to watch my speed was all it took to get back in line again and it was a pretty smooth landing. I think it was my best of the day if you remove the parts before being on short final.

The take off for my next T&G was fine except that I still have an issue with the sight picture in the 172. I am still trying to use the 152's cowling even though the 172's is more rounded and slopes forward. It will take some getting used to still.

The next T&G is pretty normal but I flared a little high and had a bounce.... or two.....

The third and last time around the pattern was an engine out landing that went pretty well, I was in pretty tight and had some altitude to dump. In go the full flaps with a nice forward slip at the end and there we are. The last one had a little bit of a bounce in it but not bad.

I did however land a little long and I missed the call to turn out at RWY 8 so I was helped out by my CFI on that one.

All in all it wasn't a bad day but I bet I won't solo on Friday like I was hoping. We'll see how the pattern work he outlined for me goes and I'll cross my fingers but I'm thinking Monday or next Wednesday might be more realistic.

Fly safe!!!

Time Today: 1.1

Total Time: 22.5

Gotta love N40TP

Well, I've had 3 flights in the Cessna 172 N40TP and I am really enjoying it. I was having some problems with nerves in the 152 and it was really holding me back but the solid feel of the 172 has really gotten me over the hump.

Today I was out working on power on and off stalls when I got caught with my eyes on the panel when they should have been outside. Steve promptly covered the panel with his jacket and told me to try again but this time do it by sound and feel.

I must say that I was in trim and didn't have a problem at all. It was a great feeling!

As we headed back to the airfield, we stayed about 4000 agl and I was told to perform a circling approach for an engine out landing.

I put her in to a standard rate turn at a glide of 65 knots and a 500 fpm decent rate. Each circle worked out to 1000 feet lost and put me right over the numbers on each pass.

I was a little high even with full flaps while on short final until the good old forward slip was used. I think I surprised my CFI with that because I started the slip before he suggested it, he seemed happy.

After a not too bad landing we called it a day. My next flight is in a couple of days and I have been told that I might solo on the next flight after that. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Its been almost 3 years, 2 schools, 2 CFI's and 3 planes with a Iraq deployment and divorce thrown in the middle but the first big milestone is within my grasp.

Time Today: 1.4
Total Time: 21.4

Switching from the C152 to the C172.

The 152 I've been training in has been hard to schedule and I just never seemed to "click" with this one like I did with good old N94939.

Today I was introduced to the 172P, N40TP and fell in love. She's a little rough around the edges but she handles like a dream and has plenty of get up and go.

I will be using her for now and am luck that its still only $89.

That's not much more than the 152 so it won't break the bank too quickly.

Today's lesson:
Airframe transition, Slow flight, Steep turns, Power Off Stalls and T&Gs.

Time Today:
1.7

Total Time:
20.00

Getting Better Again, Phew!

Well, today was my second flight since getting back in the air and today was much better. I wasn't nearly as nervous until we started in to the stall phase of today's plan.

I don't know what happened or when it happened but I became very scared when it comes to stalls or anything that makes it feel like I'm going to fall out of the sky.

I can ride motorcycles fast, jump off rock faces, scuba drive and have been in combat without feeling this nervous.

Today was pretty good though because I had a couple of near perfect power off stall that were completely straight ahead with no surprises.

After that I felt normal again and more relaxed than I had during any time on the previous flights. I'm BAAAACCCCKKKK!!!!! I hope :)

As we returned to the airport after I had one of the smoothest landings that I can ever remember. Today was a good day.

What I did today: Slow flight, steep turns, power off stalls and engine out procedures.

Time Today
1.4

Total Time
18.3

Back in the air again!

Hi everyone!

Today was my first day back in the air sine I returned from Iraq and it was GREAT!

Am I a top notch pilot?

Will I be the next instructor at Top Gun?

Not so much.......

I couldn't remember everything I needed to about the aircraft checkout process from the FBO or even the airport procedures or layout.

Good thing that I had Steve my instructor right there next to me the entire time.

In truth, I was pretty nervous today, I had forgotten how bumpy it can be in a Cessna with a little wind and not the nicest of days this week.

I actually felt pretty off and a little spooked as the plane was being tossed around because it has been so long and I really didn't feel in control of anything.

The Olympia airport (KOLM) is fairly busy and today was no exception, there was a Army Black Hawk, a Luscomb and a Piaggio Avanti to name just a few that I was sharing the pattern with.

Because of the poor weather today I spent some time just flying around getting used to being back in control of an airplane again before returning for a few touch and goes.

I felt a little better by the time we got back to the airport and was starting to have a little more fun again but was still a little nervous.

After a few firm but decent landings I was done for the day.

On my way back to the office I was talking to one of the guys hanging around the FBO and he commented on my landings and compared them to a different student that was also doing a few T&Gs at the same time.

He liked my landings while the other guys were pretty poor as far as he was saying, the best part was that he didn't know I had been out flying yet so he wasn't just being nice.

I'm back in the air so keep your ears open for N856DA and we'll see you out there!

Post 9/11 GI Bill and Flight Training

OK, after more research and some feed back from the VA this is what I've found.

The newest version of the post 9/11 GI Bill is a great option for flight training but only if you are going for the full college experience and doesn't pay for any training that is outside of an actual degree program. (this couldn't be confirmed by even the VA at this point)

The Montgomery GI bill still pays the 60/40 split that they have for years but only applies after you have your PPL.

I wanted to give this update because there are so many veterans in the Pacific Northwest and I know my unit has been pushing the change to the post 9/11 plan. You aren't required to change plans but if you enlisted for the 9/11 GI bill you can't go back to the Montgomery so make sure you know what you want to use the money for before you enroll.

OK, so now that I've thrown that out there, what is a soldier supposed to do so they can afford training? I know the club shut down on my post and now we have to pay higher prices and travel much further for training. Both of these changes cause a huge problem for most service members.

With the pull back on student loans and such, how is a service member supposed to pay for the PPL so they can take advantage of the GI bill benefits? Grrrr

Must complete Private Pilot Lessons before deployment

I hate to say it but my lessons have come to a halt once more.

Not only have I had to work more than normal and had some MAJOR personal issues to deal with, now I'm out of cash and running up on a deployment with my Army unit to Iraq.

I hope that you all will understand the need for this request but I'd really like to get further along with my training, but when each hour of flight instruction costing about the same as a full days pay it can be hard.

This was a goal of mine before I deployed to Iraq the first time back in 2004 and I started my training in November of 2006 but have been hung up by weather, club closures, personal problems, Army training schedules and money problems.

I don't expect anything from anybody but a little help wouldn't hurt as I only have 6 months before I head back to the sand box for one more year at war.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Army, Washington

Forward Slip and Engine Out Video

Just thought I'd share this with you all. No, its not me but this is what it should look like.

aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary

Flight Lesson # 11

Well, its been awhile since I've posted and as you can see I've skipped talking about a couple of lessons. I had lesson number 11 on 13 November 2007 after a little over 2 months off due to some personal issues and the closing of the club at Ft. Lewis. I am now training with Glacier Aviation out of KOLM with the same instructor that I had over at KGRF.

The last 2 flights I had at KGRF were simple review before I had my first solo but my life went in to a tail-spin the week I was supposed to take my pre-solo written test and do the deed.

This flight (#11) made me nervous but I was excited and ready for the challenge. As I climbed into my "new" airplane (N856DA) I saw that even though its roughly the same year of C152, things are a little different. I only have one radio to work with so that's a little harder to manage than my last plane but I'm ok with that. The cockpit is in better condition but the plane requires a little right rudder most of the time during flight.

Most of our time was spent getting familiar with the different plane, a much busier airport and knocking the rust off after a long break from flying.

My takeoff from KOLM was pretty smooth and we flew to the training area to the north over the southern part of the Puget sound where we did a few steep turns, slow flight and power off stalls. My first stall was pretty bad, as the stall broke I found that I was out of trim and the nose slipped off to the right pretty quickly. I wasn't quite fast enough setting the plane back to level and didn't release enough back pressure to break the stall correctly.....arrgghh!!!

This is something I've never had a problem with before but by the second one I was back in the game and did a pretty good job of making corrections on my own.

We headed back to KOLM (after trying to find it *wink*) and I made my first T&G from a straight in approach. I was still carrying a little bit of power during the landing but other than that I did pretty well. I found that the pattern is a little harder to fly properly without knowing the area but I didn't get too wide on any of the legs. My next landing was a little better than the first and my third was even better than that.

Overall both my instructor and I were pretty happy with the flight after such a long break. My next lesson will review power on stalls and emergency procedures with a forward slip to landing thrown in here and there.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Army, Washington

Flight Lesson # 8

I had to take about 2 months off from flying due to health problems in the family and military training.

After my last lesson I was a little worried about how I'd do in the air. I found that I was a little rusty on the basic "stuff" but after screwing up my power on and off stalls the first time, I came back strong on the second try. I felt a little behind but was focused on the task at hand and things got better with each task I tried.

Still had a little problem with turns around a point and "S" turns but they are getting better as well.

For those of you that remember my last lesson, the upcoming touch and go's are what bothered me the most about this lesson. Much to my surprise, not only my radio work around the airfield but speed and altitude control were much better. I made 4 landings, including a simulated engine out landing with little problem. These had to be some of the best landings I've made so far and without any hands on help from my instructor.

I am behind on my postings by a couple of weeks but will try to get back on schedule. I have also completed my 9th flight and am getting ready for my pre-solo test. I'll fill you all in on lesson 9 and my test results as time allows.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to share your adventures with me.

aviation, flying, pilot, flying lessons, Student Pilot, Army, Washington