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Saturday, August 11, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Ft Lewis Flying Club is closing
I am posting this follow up to a previous post because I am troubled by the closing of the Ft. Lewis Flying club. This club has been operating for 47 years and now MWR feels that it needs to close.
The club has been loosing money but if allowed to make a few changes could operate at break even or maybe even a profit.
The changes required to sustain the club for at least a year are very simple and would allow the club to recruit more members aggressively amongst the soldiers and DOD civilians that work in the area, its my understanding that these options were never heard by the powers that be.
During a ground school lesson today I watched as 3 people were turned away from joining because they won't have enough time to complete their lessons before the club is closed.
Its my understanding that there has been more interest this summer than in previous years but they are being turned away still.
The club was loosing money partly due to a lack of members and partly due to other things that I don't have enough details to discuss currently.
I will continue to investigate this matter even if it does nothing to help save this wonderful club because I believe that the decision to close the club was made independent of the facts.
This could be a case of pure business or a lack of understanding about aviation and what it needs to survive. I just hope its not a case of my interest being more important than yours...if you know what I mean.
Soldiers want this club to survive, it can survive if allowed. If this club closes there will be hundreds of soldiers that might have become pilots that won't be able to afford it on the open market.
The training just costs too much for all but the Officers to afford off post and even those that could afford to pay as much as $40 more per hour someplace else would have a hard time traveling that far off post with our work load.
We have a wonderful resource on post now, help us keep it!
The club has been loosing money but if allowed to make a few changes could operate at break even or maybe even a profit.
The changes required to sustain the club for at least a year are very simple and would allow the club to recruit more members aggressively amongst the soldiers and DOD civilians that work in the area, its my understanding that these options were never heard by the powers that be.
During a ground school lesson today I watched as 3 people were turned away from joining because they won't have enough time to complete their lessons before the club is closed.
Its my understanding that there has been more interest this summer than in previous years but they are being turned away still.
The club was loosing money partly due to a lack of members and partly due to other things that I don't have enough details to discuss currently.
I will continue to investigate this matter even if it does nothing to help save this wonderful club because I believe that the decision to close the club was made independent of the facts.
This could be a case of pure business or a lack of understanding about aviation and what it needs to survive. I just hope its not a case of my interest being more important than yours...if you know what I mean.
Soldiers want this club to survive, it can survive if allowed. If this club closes there will be hundreds of soldiers that might have become pilots that won't be able to afford it on the open market.
The training just costs too much for all but the Officers to afford off post and even those that could afford to pay as much as $40 more per hour someplace else would have a hard time traveling that far off post with our work load.
We have a wonderful resource on post now, help us keep it!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Search for or list your plane for free
For those of you out there either looking to sell your airplane or searching for your dream plane, I'd like to introduce you to my airplane listings.
You can list your lane for sale by clicking the "sell my plane" link below. There is no charge to list your plane on this site. You can include photos as well as a complete description of your plane for thousands to see.
You can list your lane for sale by clicking the "sell my plane" link below. There is no charge to list your plane on this site. You can include photos as well as a complete description of your plane for thousands to see.
To search for your dream plane click on the "search now" link to view our current listings.
If you don't see your dream plane listed on our site you can add your name to our database of pilots searchig for a specific plane in a specific price range and we will help you find it. Click on the "find my plane" link below for more information.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Boeing 787 Rollout video
Here is a quick video of the new Boeing 787 during the public rollout on 7/8/07.
Monday, July 09, 2007
How fishing can be bad for your health
See what happens when a couple of fishermen get in the way of a PBY Catalina flying boat!
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Airbus A350 vs Boeing 787 video
Lets take a peek in to the design room for the Airbus A350 and see how they plan to beat Boeing and the 787 Dreamliner.
Boeing 787 Rollout Live Video
Today the Boeing 787 will be unveiled to the public at 3:30 pacific time.
You can watch this major event live from the Boeing web site or on select satellite channels.
For more information visit the 787 information page below or click on the live feed link at the bottom of this page.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
New web site is now open
I am proud to announce the opening of my new web site Lets Fly Washington!
The purpose of this site is to offer a place for pilots in Washington State to meet and share information about places to fly, rent airplanes, join a co-op to reduce ownership costs and just meet new people.
We will also be offering a page to sell your plane, search for planes forsale and to purchase shares of a plane through our co-op plan.
The site is still under construction so please feel free to offer suggestions and tell us about your favorite destinations so we can add them to the site.
I'd love to include a video or two of your favorite trips as well!
Don't let the name fool you, Lets Fly Washington is for everybody that loves aviation and we will accept listing for any type of aircraft from any location so don't be shy!
My training hits a snag
I showed up t the airport on June 13th like planned but just before I walked out to pre-flight the plane, my instructor and I were informed that after 47 years of operation the Ft. Lewis flying club was shutting down.
After talking about this a little and trying to figure out what was in our future, we both decided that we just didn't feel like flying that day.
The club will remain open until September 15th 2007 and they have reduced their prices in an effort to keep the students they have.
The price change will allow me to squeeze in a couple more lessons than I could have before the doors are locked on us but I'm still too far from getting my PPL to finish before they shut down.
I spent a couple of weeks in the field for gunnery in my M1A1 tank so I had some time to think about what to do about this situation.
Most of the clubs are a either little out of my price range or just too far away to fit my work schedule.
I might try to pick up one of the planes from the club after they close but I'm not sure what the Army plans on doing with them.
THIS SUCKS!
After talking about this a little and trying to figure out what was in our future, we both decided that we just didn't feel like flying that day.
The club will remain open until September 15th 2007 and they have reduced their prices in an effort to keep the students they have.
The price change will allow me to squeeze in a couple more lessons than I could have before the doors are locked on us but I'm still too far from getting my PPL to finish before they shut down.
I spent a couple of weeks in the field for gunnery in my M1A1 tank so I had some time to think about what to do about this situation.
Most of the clubs are a either little out of my price range or just too far away to fit my work schedule.
I might try to pick up one of the planes from the club after they close but I'm not sure what the Army plans on doing with them.
THIS SUCKS!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Flight Lesson #7
Back on May 30th I had lesson number 7 with my primary instructor. The day was pretty mild except for some wind from 280 at about 7 knots. Everything started out pretty well until I reduced my cross wind inputs as I rotated the nose wheel off the runway.
At that point the left wheel picked up off of the ground and I skidded sideways a little just below takeoff speed. The plane picked up off of the ground and floated in ground effect for a little while as my instructor reminded me to lower the nose to gain speed before starting my climb.
After this little "event" the flight became more normal as we headed out to the practice area off Ketron Island. We started off with a power off stall that went pretty smoothly, did a couple power on stalls without trouble and jumped in to a couple of steep turns using the beautiful Mt. Rainier as an aiming point.
After doing the basics my instructor pulled the power and asked where I'd land. This wasn't a big deal as I had about 3,500 feet to figure it out. I trimmed for best glide and started looking for the little private strip in some guys backyard that's out there. I couldn't find it but I did line up pretty well on a large open area on one of the smaller islands near Anderson Island.
I recovered from the "emergency" and headed back to the field for an introduction to forward slips and a few touch and goes. This is where my problems began.
The idea and application of the forward slip wasn't an issue for me but the transition to landing fouled me up so bad that I don't really want to even log those landings. My pattern work seemed to be ok as my instructor never commented on being too wide or not making proper turns to base or final as in the past. I kicked the plane in to a slip and dropped my excess altitude like I should have but as I crossed the numbers I found myself fighting the wind and getting behind the plane. I reduced power but didn't account for the loss of down force on the elevator and let the nose drop. Pulling back a little too quickly to recover caused me to flare at about 25 feet above the runway and down we went. BOUNCE!!!
We did it again with much the same result and again with not enough pulling on the yoke from me but my instructor was quick to jump on the controls to save the nose wheel. At this point I'm really bad off and can't seem to do anything right and start getting frustrated. Once more around and everything looks fine, sinking a little fast as I cross the numbers and starting to drift to my right, I try to go around but my hand slips off the throttle and BANG the runway meets us.
My other lessons left me with a feeling of excitement but this one gave me a sense of dread. I will tackle these issues again on June 13th but this time I will be in command of that little plane and not feel like a passenger on the roller coaster from hell.
At that point the left wheel picked up off of the ground and I skidded sideways a little just below takeoff speed. The plane picked up off of the ground and floated in ground effect for a little while as my instructor reminded me to lower the nose to gain speed before starting my climb.
After this little "event" the flight became more normal as we headed out to the practice area off Ketron Island. We started off with a power off stall that went pretty smoothly, did a couple power on stalls without trouble and jumped in to a couple of steep turns using the beautiful Mt. Rainier as an aiming point.
After doing the basics my instructor pulled the power and asked where I'd land. This wasn't a big deal as I had about 3,500 feet to figure it out. I trimmed for best glide and started looking for the little private strip in some guys backyard that's out there. I couldn't find it but I did line up pretty well on a large open area on one of the smaller islands near Anderson Island.
I recovered from the "emergency" and headed back to the field for an introduction to forward slips and a few touch and goes. This is where my problems began.
The idea and application of the forward slip wasn't an issue for me but the transition to landing fouled me up so bad that I don't really want to even log those landings. My pattern work seemed to be ok as my instructor never commented on being too wide or not making proper turns to base or final as in the past. I kicked the plane in to a slip and dropped my excess altitude like I should have but as I crossed the numbers I found myself fighting the wind and getting behind the plane. I reduced power but didn't account for the loss of down force on the elevator and let the nose drop. Pulling back a little too quickly to recover caused me to flare at about 25 feet above the runway and down we went. BOUNCE!!!
We did it again with much the same result and again with not enough pulling on the yoke from me but my instructor was quick to jump on the controls to save the nose wheel. At this point I'm really bad off and can't seem to do anything right and start getting frustrated. Once more around and everything looks fine, sinking a little fast as I cross the numbers and starting to drift to my right, I try to go around but my hand slips off the throttle and BANG the runway meets us.
My other lessons left me with a feeling of excitement but this one gave me a sense of dread. I will tackle these issues again on June 13th but this time I will be in command of that little plane and not feel like a passenger on the roller coaster from hell.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Aerobatic teams from around the world
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Fw 190, P-51 and Me 109 over Berlin
Its been many, many years since this collection of planes flew in the skies over Berlin.
Watch this piece of aviation history as a Fw-190, Me-109 and a P-51 Mustang wow the on lookers at the Berlin airshow.
aviation, flying, pilot, video, Air Show, aerobatics, P-51
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Flying a P-51 Mustang
For Mustang lovers of all ages, you need to watch this video of a man's dream come true.
I would love to trade places with this man even for a moment.
Anybody own a P-51 out there?
aviation, flying, pilot, video, documentary, aerobatics
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Pulling too many G's for this poor guy
This poor guy just can't seem to keep his eyes open!
aviation, flying, pilot, video, documentary, aerobatics
Friday, May 11, 2007
For pilots from the Pacific Northwest
I found a new site that flyers from the great Pacific Northwest should check out.
They have a forum area, name that northwest airfield game and is a cool place to just meet people from this area.
They have a forum area, name that northwest airfield game and is a cool place to just meet people from this area.
Check them out today!
Shop for Pilot and Aviation Supplies on-line
We've opened an on-line shop for pilot supplies, gifts and aircraft supplies in partnership with the Let'sFly co-op ownership program.
Not only can you shop for charts, study materials, tugs, etc. but you can also look for your dream airplane or even list your plane for sale for free!
We offer products from the following providers:
aviation, flying, pilot, movies, supplies, Pilot Supplies, planes, shop, Student Pilot
Not only can you shop for charts, study materials, tugs, etc. but you can also look for your dream airplane or even list your plane for sale for free!
We offer products from the following providers:
- Jeppesen
- ASA
- Gleim
- CH Products
- AvComm
We also have listings for airplanes from the following manufacturers:
- Atec
- AMD
- Beechcraft
- Bellanca
- BushCaddy
- Cessna
- Cirrus
- Piper
- Legend
To search for your dream airplane follow this link:
To list your airplane use this link:
To shop at our pilot store follow this link:
aviation, flying, pilot, movies, supplies, Pilot Supplies, planes, shop, Student Pilot
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Flight Lesson # 6
Today I was able to get an early start and get in the air by 1030 Seattle time. We still had some things from Jeppesen lesson #5 to work on so we headed out to the practice area to do some ground reference maneuvers.
These actually weren't as hard as I thought they would be for my first try but the wind was only at about 4knots so I shouldn't pat myself on the back too much just yet.
We started with the rectangle and even though I was being blow from side to side, most of the time I was able to keep a pretty good track while turning to the left. Going to the right was a little harder but I started getting it after a couple of laps.
The "S" turn was a little harder because I lost sight of the road we were using and decreased my bank a little too much to make it on every pass.
The turn around a point wasn't too bad but I only did it in a left turn so I can't say too much about my skill on that one. I just held a constant 45 degree bank and had it locked in nice and tight.
After that we did a couple of power on and off stalls with out a problem and then in to a steep turn to the left with a whip back to a turn to the right. I actually like doing those.
My problems started on the way back to the airfield..........
I called inbound at my normal marker but nobody was home....I try again and nobody answers but now I'm getting a little close to the departure end of the runway so I make a turn away from the field and contact ground to wake up the tower. Stay with me, this is where it started to become fun.
I was in a Cessna 152 and there was a 172 also requesting touch and go clearance from the tower. After the tower started paying attention to us they mistook the 172 for my 152 and cleared me for the # 1 slot. This forced the 172 to go long on the downwind over an active military range!!! I was a little flustered trying to keep up with the radio and the pattern work so I got a little wide on down wind, a little fast in to the base leg and a little high at final.
I worked it out and passed on that landing but was still a little off balance and had a hard time keeping my speed where it belonged. Once again I came in to base a little fast and on to final a little high but this time I made it work out. One the next pass I got a little tighter on the speed and hit the reference points pretty well. I extended the downwind leg a little because I was too high but this gave me a chance to get the plane set up for a proper speed in the final. I was pretty happy with this one even though I chopped the power a little sooner than I should have.
The last attempt looked pretty good as well until my instructor pulled the power as I crossed the 180 point and asked what I was going to do now.
I went with a 10-15 degree bank and no flaps until I knew I could make the runway, set 10 degrees made for 70 knots to counter the wind, hit 20 degrees about a quarter mile out, 30 degrees just before the fence and landed just long of the numbers. I asked the instructor how much was me and how much was him....he said it was all me on the landing and that he just helped keep me from over banking. I think he was pulling my leg but I'll take it.
Before my next flight I need to catch up on the ground lessons a little so I hit the presolo test on about my 9th flight.
Wish me luck!
Total time 6.8 hrs as of 10 May 07
These actually weren't as hard as I thought they would be for my first try but the wind was only at about 4knots so I shouldn't pat myself on the back too much just yet.
We started with the rectangle and even though I was being blow from side to side, most of the time I was able to keep a pretty good track while turning to the left. Going to the right was a little harder but I started getting it after a couple of laps.
The "S" turn was a little harder because I lost sight of the road we were using and decreased my bank a little too much to make it on every pass.
The turn around a point wasn't too bad but I only did it in a left turn so I can't say too much about my skill on that one. I just held a constant 45 degree bank and had it locked in nice and tight.
After that we did a couple of power on and off stalls with out a problem and then in to a steep turn to the left with a whip back to a turn to the right. I actually like doing those.
My problems started on the way back to the airfield..........
I called inbound at my normal marker but nobody was home....I try again and nobody answers but now I'm getting a little close to the departure end of the runway so I make a turn away from the field and contact ground to wake up the tower. Stay with me, this is where it started to become fun.
I was in a Cessna 152 and there was a 172 also requesting touch and go clearance from the tower. After the tower started paying attention to us they mistook the 172 for my 152 and cleared me for the # 1 slot. This forced the 172 to go long on the downwind over an active military range!!! I was a little flustered trying to keep up with the radio and the pattern work so I got a little wide on down wind, a little fast in to the base leg and a little high at final.
GO AROUND TIME!!
I worked it out and passed on that landing but was still a little off balance and had a hard time keeping my speed where it belonged. Once again I came in to base a little fast and on to final a little high but this time I made it work out. One the next pass I got a little tighter on the speed and hit the reference points pretty well. I extended the downwind leg a little because I was too high but this gave me a chance to get the plane set up for a proper speed in the final. I was pretty happy with this one even though I chopped the power a little sooner than I should have.
The last attempt looked pretty good as well until my instructor pulled the power as I crossed the 180 point and asked what I was going to do now.
I went with a 10-15 degree bank and no flaps until I knew I could make the runway, set 10 degrees made for 70 knots to counter the wind, hit 20 degrees about a quarter mile out, 30 degrees just before the fence and landed just long of the numbers. I asked the instructor how much was me and how much was him....he said it was all me on the landing and that he just helped keep me from over banking. I think he was pulling my leg but I'll take it.
Before my next flight I need to catch up on the ground lessons a little so I hit the presolo test on about my 9th flight.
Wish me luck!
Total time 6.8 hrs as of 10 May 07
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Ever wonder what being in a Pitts looked like?
See what it looks like to be in a Pitts during some crazy maneuvers.
aviation, flying, pilot, movies, documentary, aerobatics
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