Commercial Stage One Check...Check

Today was finally the day for my commercial stage one check. As expected, it was rather simple. The ground portion was about 45 minutes and consisted of questions about emergency procedures, lost comm procedures, special emphasis areas and not much else.

The flight was pretty smooth. Completion standards for stage one aren't PTS, but you do have to demonstrate knowledge and the ability to complete the maneuver. I made two minor errors. First lazy eights. Basically a lazy eight consists of a 180 degree turn, with a bank and climb for the first 90 degrees and a descent and smoot rollout to beginning point and altitude. If done smoothly and properly, the plane will fly itself for 90% of the maneuver. One the first attempt, I just didn't pitch up enough and had to over fly the plane to get back to point. The second attempt was just fine.

The other slight error was during eights on pylons. Eights on pylons is a maneuver where you pick two points/pylons to circle within a certain distance of each other by adjusting with pitch vs. bank to maintain your points from the correct pivotal altitude (ground speed squared x 11.3 + field elevation). This is an over simplified explanation, but the Airplane Flying Handbook has about 10 pages explaining eights on pylons. Anyway, the second point was a little too close to the first point which made it too difficult to maintain the point smoothly. It was sloppy, but I told the check inspector what may mistake was and he said that knowing your mistakes and learning from them is 90% of the process with eights on pylons. I didn't have to do another one.

We did a power off 180, soft field and short field and all were fine. We returned to Gateway, where he had me do a soft field on point with 20 degrees flaps. The tower was just getting ready to do a runway change and we had about a 10 knot tailwind. To my surprise, I actually did land soft on the thousand footers. Nice.

Stage one complete. Next is stage two. It starts out with a couple of long cross countries in the single engine, then on to entirely multi engine for about 30 lessons. Between now and November 15th, I'll put about 40 hours in the Seneca sim and about 30 in the Seneca itself. I'm ready for multi.

Hold South On The Stage One Radial - EFC: Thursday, 13:00Z

My instructor turned in the paperwork for my commercial Stage 1 check last Saturday and we expected it to be schedule by Monday or Tuesday. For whatever reason, it was pushed back to Thursday at 6 AM. It's weird to be 2 days from ground school completion, but only on Stage 1 flying.

Stage 1 is not really a big deal. It's actually kind of touchy-feely from what I understand. Simple ground review of emergency procedures, commercial pilot privileges and limitations and some weather. The flight is just a review of high-performance maneuvers, simulated instrument flying and in-flight emergencies.

I don't like sitting around unable to fly while up for a stage check. When they want you to do something, it's RIGHT NOW. When you want them to do something, it's when we get around to it. All I have left to do after the stage one check are a day and night long cross country flight before beginning multi-engine flying.

Today, I flew the official "Pimp My Ride" plane, Archer N4182L. It really isn't that entertaining to fly, but it lands like a dream and the a/c is very nice. I also have to give 2 thumbs "way-up" to the soft-as-butter leather seats with lumbar support. Flying from Falcon Field (KFFZ) to Wickenburg (E25) isn't nearly as easy as from Stellar. Falcon's position is just barely north of the approach for Sky Harbor. Sky Harbor approach wouldn't give me bravo clearance and I had to hop around the Valley under the Class B shelf. That took me over Scottsdale and Deer Valley before I could climb above 4,500. I'm curious to see how it goes in reverse tomorrow morning, when I initiate flight following with Luke Air Force Base (KLUF) approach. Will I get clearance into Bravo? I doubt it.
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Here's an amusing video about a couple of pilots that decided to play Evel Knievel with extreme aft cg on a Saab 340. Sorry about the small size.

A New Formula

11,500(G1000/j) = air sickness bag
   Mexican Food              500ml

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The other day, my friend Dana called and said she was dying to go flying. She hadn't really done any flying since she got her CFI. In between, she'd been to Europe and then an unfortunate accident landed her in the hospital for almost a week. Needless to say, I indulged. My wife is also getting in to the flying thing wanted to come along.

Where to go? Hmmm. Well, I could spare about 6 hours. Where can we fly round trip in six hours within range of Phoenix? The coast is 2.5 hours each way, no time to spend on the ground. Vegas is 2.5 and really not much to look at during the day anyway. Grand Canyon? Maybe. How about Monument Valley. That sounded like a great idea.

We planned to Page, AZ. Page is at the far Eastern edge of Lake Powell and about 75 miles from Monument Valley. Sounds like a plan.

Our departure from Stellar was unexpectedly delayed and we go off the ground an hour late. Oh well. We decide that we can modify the trip as necessary.

Dana took the left seat for the first leg. She was grinning from ear to ear as the G1000 MFD lit up and she realized she was going flying again. Our route took us from P19 through the West transition over Sky Harbor and we went GPS direct from there, thanks to Phoenix approach. The direct route from Phoenix put us over Cottonwood, Sedona, just West of Flagstaff, over the Western slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, over the Little Colorado and Eastern end of the Grand Canyon in to Page.

Page has a very nice airport, with a 6,000' x 150' runway right on the shore of Lake Powell. Needless to say, it's a very scenic approach. There were several Grand Canyon sightseeing aircraft landing around the same time as us, but we had no difficulty with a straight in approach for runway 33.

Apparently, competition is rather fierce between the two FBO's there and we were PROMPTLY greeted by the fuel guy from Classic Aviation. He offered a courtesy car before we could even inquire and off we went to a Fiesta Mexicana, which was recommended by the FBO. It wasn't exactly a courtesy car. More like a salvaged title, green Ford Windstar with a 2 out of 4 speed automatic, bad struts and a power steering pump that sounded like a pissed off camel. (Yes, I've pissed off a camel before)

At lunch, we decided our time was too limited to make it to Monument Valley and that we would just head back to Stellar. The people at the table next to us were European tourists. I think this was their first experience with Mexican food. The husband and wife each drank 3 glasses of water after 1 chip w/salsa each. It was hilarious. Lunch was better than expected and we left looking and feeling like Happy Buddhas. Way too much Mexican food and way too much soda.

Anyway, we got back to the airport and there was a sign at the FBO that read, "We are away from the front desk momentarily. Please be patient." Umm...We don't have time to be patient. We got off the ground late at Stellar and now there's no one there to pay for our fuel! Nana and Papa are watching the kids and they have other things to do today. Crap. We can't leave without paying for fuel. 45 minutes later, we find someone who can take our money. He takes nearly 15 minutes to settle the fuel bill! Things move a little slower in Page, Arizona.

Well, at least the left seat was mine now. We taxied to back to runway 33. During the run up, Dana recognizes the voice of someone we knew from school that now flys a C206T on flight seeing tours. We chatted briefly over the Unicom, bummed that we missed her.

We departed right over the lake and did a 360 over Waheap Marina, the gateway for every Lake Powell houseboat vacation. There are ENORMOUS houseboats at the marina, some exceeding 100' in length. We resolve to get a group of people together for a week and rent one.

We turn back and fly just West of Glen Canyon Dam. What a sight. Thankfully, Dana scans as much as I do and we both simultaneously caught a Caravan converging on us. The pilot obviously didn't see us. I took evasive action and all was well.

As we were heading along the Eastern edge of the Grand Canyon, boredom set in and Dana started reading the barf bag. We started joking about it and all of the sudden my wife chimed in with a completely mortified look on her face. Apparently, she got a touch...ok more than a touch of airsickness a few miles earlier and lost her lunch. She didn't know that there were barf bags on board and puked in a McDonald's cup. She thought we could smell it! Dana handed her a barf bag and she transferred the contents and that was that. What's funny is that neither Dana or I knew that she had puked. I felt terrible.

So we're running about 45 minutes later than we were supposed to, so I decided to check and see if my cell phone had any signal. Get this: we're 25 miles East of the Grand Canyon, 25 miles North of Flagstaff (with a 13,000' mountain between us) and there's 3 bars of signal. Can you hear me now? Well yes, actually. I called to give my in-laws a heads-up that we were going to be later than expected. Don't you love technology?

We're making great time when Dana's bladder decides to protest two 32 ounce Cokes and water. Luckily, we're just north of Sedona and we decide to set down there.

Sedona is a challenging airport. It is at just under 5,000' on top of a mesa. Today was my first time landing there...and it showed. The winds were favoring runway 21, at least according to ASOS. We entered the pattern and on final, felt a pretty decent tailwind and decided to go around. Being on top of a mesa leaves little margin for error. Flying over the airport, I notice that the windsock still favors 23 and decide to try it one more time. Apparently, the mesa does some strange things with winds at Sedona because there was a 10 knot tailwind on final. I decided the 1st 1/3 of the runway was my go-round point and just as I was about to push the throttle for a go around, we settled down. Sedona airport is not for the faint hearted.

We taxied to the ramp for a brief shut down for kidney relief and, after a nice short-field takeoff, were on our way back to Stellar.

The flight back was uneventful. We did the East transition over Sky Harbor and set down at Stellar at 5:00, an hour later than planned. Dana was nice enough to tie down and turn in the paperwork, allowing us to get home as soon as possible.

I don't feel sick. Do I look sick?

THE BAG.

Lake Powell, just North of Waheap Marina

Glen Canyon Dam

Eastern edge of the Grand Canyon, where Little Colorado meets The Colorado

Approaching Sedona

Some perspective of Sedona Airport's mesa

One last cool shot of Sedona.

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I've really become fond of the G1000 cockpit. Some of the things I really like are the digital audio replay, XM radio and NexRad, automatic altimeter activation and general ease of use. Really, the only thing I don't care for is the awkward transponder controls. In my limited experience opinion, there are too many steps to change squawk codes on the G1000.

I'll reserve judgement until I've used it for IFR flying. I need more time to be proficient for IFR use of the G1000.

Dorothy, Are We In Kansas? Wind Makes A Decision For Me

That is the question. The wind does blow here, but like rain, lightly and infrequently unless accompanied by a thunderstorm.

The last few weeks have been the exception. The weather is weird here, which I believe is a sign of a fairly significant El Nino this winter. For anyone that isn't familiar with it, click the link and it will take you to a NOAA site that introduces El Nino and its sister La Nina.

For Arizona, El Nino usually means the summer heat makes an early departure, frequent (well, for AZ at least) rain systems and plenty of snowfall for the Southwest. It usually wreaks much havoc on California, where mudslides and rivers such as the Russian swell past flood stage. The effects here are pleasant. Unfortunately, it means heat, drought and much suffering in areas of the world from Australia to East and Southeast Asia.

My point is, these weird winds we've been having seem to be a piece of the El Nino puzzle. Today, the winds were worse than last week with winds of 22 knots with occasional nasty gusts.

The wind hit around noon today, coming from the southwest. It was from the remnants of a tropical depression from the Gulf of California. Usually in El Nino years do tropical disturbances have any affect on Arizona weather. Normally, they turn out to the cold waters off of Northern Baja and die quickly.

Today was the day for my check out in either a Diamond DA-20 or the pimped out Piper Archer I mentioned yesterday. I was going to follow John and Pedro's advice and go with the Eclipse, but the winds were just a little to gnarly for an 1100 pound aircraft with a 35' wingspan. They offered me a block deal to check out in both, with the Archer being first and I bit.

Did I mention that this Archer is pimped out? Just the air conditioning alone made my day. It burns a lot more fuel with the a/c on, but it's a wet rental, so who cares? It was nice to enjoy on the hot ground. I haven't flown a Piper aircraft built in the New Millennium, much less the 3rd quarter of the previous century and there were quite a few differences. Most striking is the overhead console with the primer, magneto and lighting switches. No need for a sun visor. It felt like being in a George Barris chopped Mercury.

Oooh...and the high back leather seats with lumbar...check.

It's a good thing I was comfortable, because the takeoff roll was like a long road trip. This pig is heavy. 180 horses felt like 120. The extra weight from the A/C, Nav equipment and other options make this thing fly like a dump truck...albeit a comfy dump truck. I have it reserved for my next trip to Wickenburg and will see how I like it on cross country flights.

The check ride was unusual. The winds aloft were pretty wicked. We were doing slow flight at 4,500' and, when I looked at the Garmin 430, it showed our ground speed as 20 knots. Just because the winds are strong, it doesn't mean they can't change. This pig would drop like a lead balloon. The CFI was amused by it and I was not. He wanted me to continue to see how low it would go and I said, "I demonstrated slow flight and I'm paying for you and the plane. If you want to come back out and have fun, have at it." I recovered and we headed back to Falcon to do three landings. The runway was 22R with winds 260 at 22 knots. That's about 14-15 knot crosswind and about a 17 knot crosswind and within crosswind limits for the Archer. I couldn't believe how easy this plane corrects and greased all three landings. It must be the extra weight up front from the compressor and condenser.

I have already done the ground portion of the Diamond check out and with the same instructor, it shouldn't be more than a 20-30 minute flight to finish up. Hopefully, I'll have a day where my schedule and the weather cooperate. I'm really excited about flying the Eclipse.

Decisions, Decisions

For my extra-curricular flying, I've been flying Cessna 172's from Angel Air. They are very nice aircraft, all 180 horsepower SP's with GPS, leather and autopilot. However, they are fairly expensive to rent. They have a generous fuel reimbursement rate and that makes them great for long cross-country trips, but my weekly trips to Wickenburg are 1/2 tank trips at best, so the fuel isn't a factor.

I found another FBO at Falcon Field (KFFZ) in Mesa. Falcon Aviation has several planes for rent including a few older 172's, 172XP w/210HP mod, 182P, a few Warriors, an Arrow, an Allegro (fun little light spot plane that looks like a 3/4 scale Cessna 152) and the two that I'm particularly interested in: A 2003 Archer III and a 2005 Diamond DA-20 Eclipse.

The Archer is loaded like a Cadillac with AIR CONDITIONING (I'm in Arizona, after all), dual Garmin 430's, slaved HSI, Stormscope, electric trim and a full leather interior. Not a bad place to spend a few hours. Plus, they just lowered the price.

The Diamond Eclipse is a lot of fun. It's like a motorized glider. It has Dual Garmin GPS, 125HP Continental engine (5.5 GPH!!!), Traffic Information Service, electric flaps and trim and is a whole lot of fun to fly. I've flown one before, but it was an older model with a Rotax engine. The new Eclipse climbs at 1,000'/min, cruises at nearly 140KTAS while sipping only 5.5 gallons of fuel per hour. I can't wait to get checked out in it.

My dilemma is this: which one should I check out in first. Money is tight (duh, I'm a student pilot) and I can only afford to get checked out in one. The practical, creature comfort loving side of me says Archer. But, the Archer is really just a dolled up version of what I fly all the damn time. It's like a Cadillac Escalade vs. a Chevy Tahoe. Same thing with a few more HP and doo-dads.

The thrill seeking side of me says Eclipse. I don't need to haul passengers and gear, it flies 25 knots faster and is $20 and hour less expensive. With the cooler weather coming, the canopy top won't be a factor either.

Any suggestions?

Life Is Good

!PRC 09/068 E25 AP LGTS OTS WEF 0609142200-0609281300
!PRC 09/067 E25 OPEN 1300-0200 DLY WEF 0609142200

As I mentioned in earlier posts, my real job takes me to Wickenburg, a small town Northwest of Phoenix on the road to Las Vegas. It's only about 100 miles from my house, but I have to contend with Phoenix traffic. With no traffic, it's 1:45. With heavy traffic, it's taken me as long as 3 hours. For a 24 hour trip, that's 6 hours of driving. Although my daily driver is a an Audi A3 and I love it, 5-6 hours of drive time for a 24 hour trip is brutal.

Wickenburg Airport (E25) has been closed for the last 5 weeks and just reopened with a new 6,500' runway. The lights aren't installed yet, so it's day VFR until October. That's fine with me. I can leave after ground school at 2pm, be there by 2:45 work all afternoon and in to the evening, leave the next morning at 10am and be back in time for ground school at 11.

It's a pleasant flight and with the weather cooling off, one that can be done at 4,500' without having a heat stroke.

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Since I finally started flying for my commercial training last week, things have been happening very rapidly. We've been doubling up lessons to catch up and I'm already at the end of stage 1, which is commercial maneuvers. I did power off 180's yesterday for the first time and nailed them all. It's a fun maneuver. I'm getting better at Chandelles and Lazy Eights.

With a little luck, I'll have the stage one check ride by Friday. Stage 2 is FINALLY multi engine flying. By this time next week, I hope to be flying in the Piper Seneca. I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm extremely satisfied with my instructor. He really knows his stuff. His father is a 767/777 pilot at Delta and he's pretty much an aviation savant. Actually, I call him Rain Man with a personality.

Life is good.

Back To The Beginning

Today was my first commercial lesson. It was basically a stress-free refresher before beginning practice for the commercial maneuvers (Chandelles, Steep Spirals, Lazy Eights, Eights On A Pylon and Power Off 180's).

I think the purpose is to make sure that the former instrument student didn't forget how to fly an airplane. As an instrument student, I viewed myself more as a pro-active passenger/programmer. I'm not making light instrument flying. I'm just saying it's different and there are things you forget how to do well...like landing.

So we went out and did some stalls, 50 degree banked turns and some slow flight. Yawn. At least I remembered how to do them all properly.

Then we returned to Gateway where my instructor informed me that we would be doing some touch and goes. Good information to have when I call the tower.

So we get in the patter and he tells me to do a soft field landing. Where is HG Wells when you need him? How the hell do I do a soft field. Finally about half way down wind the squirrel cage starts spinning and I begin to remember. I line up for final on 12R and tower tells me to sidestep to 12C just to ruin my concentration, I'm sure. I grease the landing...until he tells me to transition to a soft field take off. As I reach down to take flaps for 40 to 25 degrees, I push in the yoke too far. Then as I take off, I completely blow through ground effect. How embarrassing. Oh well, that's the point of a review flight, right?

Then he tells me to do a short field on the next one. Instead of closed traffic, tower had instructed me before landing to fly runway heading. We're about 4 miles out and I'm about to call the tower and say, "just wanted to confirm that we're to fly runway heading" and they finally tell me to turn crosswind. Some people might think, what's the big deal? Well touch and goes are quite an investment at KIWA. The runways are all 10,000 feet long and one turn in the pattern is a ten minute investment. Extending upwind 4 more miles adds 5 plus minute to that.

So I'm mid-field downwind for 30C going through the mental checklist for a short field landing, which I haven't done in over 3 months and the tower calls me and says to extend downwind and they'll call my base. CRAP. Now I'm going to have to recalibrate my approach. Sure enough, they extend my downwind to the Utah border before issuing the landing clearance. I actually touched down on the 1000 foot markers. The landing was a little harder than I wanted it to be, but would have passed PTS. I flared about 3 feet higher than I should have. We do a stop and go and one more short field with the same result. I flared too high.

Since this was my first flying event involving PTS maneuvers in over 90 days, I wasn't too upset with myself. The most important thing I learned to do when things don't happen the way you plan them is: Be Patient. Bad decisions happen quickly. Good decisions take time.

Today was a long day. I woke up in a strange hotel room, worked all day and drove 100+ miles to be at school on time. I got to see my kids for a half an hour before bed time. I feel bad about that. I'm afraid my wife will learn to live without me. This is hard. I know it will be worth it, but damn, it is hard.

I Can't Let The Day Go By Without Saying Something

There is nothing that I can write that hasn't already been said by those directly affected by the events of 9/11/2001 or by those with more skill.

9/11/2001 is a day that everyone will always remember exactly where they were, what they were doing and the fear, anger and desire for full and immediate reciprocity. It was a day that brought every American together.

Ever since then, a line from the Gordon Lightfoot song titled "The Ballad of The Edmund Fitzgerald" reminds me of 9/11:

And all that remains are the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

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May God bless the sons and the daughters of the victims of 9/11/01.

Could Our Flight Home Be More Perfect?

We had a nice weekend. We decided to go to Disneyland, since we hadn't been there without kids in over 10 years. The crowds were very light, probably because it was the weekend after Labor Day.

Sunday, we headed to Long Beach and enjoyed Sunday Brunch at the Queen Mary. It's a decent brunch, a little overpriced. My wife and I are both into ships and ocean liners and have a special place in our hearts for the Queen Mary. The things that have been done to her in recent years are a pretty undignified. We really enjoy having brunch in the Grand Salon.
Being in a room on an ocean liner that has seen the likes of Sir Winston Churchill, Clark Gable, Bob Hope, Edward-Duke of Windsor and so many more is something special.

After Sunday brunch, we headed back to John Wayne for the trip back to Phoenix. The weather brief identified some stationary thunderstorms 80 miles west of Phoenix. I decided to reroute via San Diego and Yuma. The weather en route was all VFR and I hoped to get in a little sight seeing in San Diego, so I filed VFR.

SNA was really busy, so it took us the better part of a half hour to get a departure clearance and take off. Once airborne, the view was spectacular. We headed out just south of Newport Harbor.



Then we headed Southeast staying about 3 miles off shore past San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, San Onofre nuclear generating station and Camp Pendelton. ATC assigned the 9,500 I filed for. The view from 9,500 was amazing.

I contact SoCal and ask about the possibility of a little VFR tour of San Diego. She asked how low and where we would like to go. I replied "as low as we can go" and she asked, "How about 2,500 feet?" Duh...that would be just fine...more than just fine. Anyway, started descending just south of Carlsbad and stayed over the water until La Jolla, then went direct to the Mission Bay VOR. From there, we went over Mission Bay and Sea World to Lindbergh Field, where we crossed mid-field. Then we went south over San Diego Harbor and followed it south to just past the National City Naval Shipyards, where we turned Eastbound and began our climb back to 9,500 towards Yuma.

My wife took some excellent photos, here are a few to enjoy.


Sea World


Lindbergh Field (KSAN) Mid-Field 2,500' MSL


Star of India


USS Ronald Reagan (CVN76) & USS Nimitz (CVN68)


Ronald Reagan


Coronado Bridge

Point Loma

Downtown San Diego (Lindbergh at the top)

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Well, that's out trip to Southern California. I'd post photos of Yuma, but you would be more bored than your probably already are.

Total Hobbs Time: 7.9 hours PIC Cross-Country. Nice.

New things learned this trip:

1. When flying an IFR flight plan, be prepared for major changes en-route.
2. There are many holes in the National Airport Security System. (more on that later)
3. My wife really does enjoy flying with me :)
4. Having an instrument rating adds flexibility and confidence.
5. Ask and sometimes ye shall receive. Thanks SoCal!

This trip was a blast. I'll be working on my commercial single and multi engine for the rest of this month and October, with plenty more cross country flying ahead. I'm looking forward to it.

Hard Earned R&R Begins With IFR

My wife and I haven't had a weekend without the kids in nearly a year and the stress level has been high. Between working a full-time job, going to school full-time and my wife's schedule as a full-time mom to three children, we don't get to spend much quality time together.

A few weeks ago, we decided a weekend away together was just what we both needed. I actually talked my wife into taking a 172 to California. I planned on having my instrument rating and thought a kick-off IFR cross-country would be in order.

I wanted the trip to include the busiest airspace possible and chose John Wayne/Orange County Airport in Santa Ana. It's a pretty busy class C airspace airport smack dab in the middle of some pretty congested airspace between Los Angeles and San Diego.

We departed Stellar about 9:30 and picked up our IFR clearance shortly after takeoff. I filed for 10,000 feet and our route was pretty direct. Just after Blythe, LA Center asked if I could accept 12,000 for about 50 miles. I accepted and was told to expect 12 thousand in 20 miles. A few minutes later, she came back and asked me to report when ready to copy amended clearance. I didn't get 12 thousand and was assigned direct Palm Springs (PSP) instead of Thermal (TRM). Palm Springs approach directed me to an intersection (I forget the name) over Banning. From there, we're handed off to SoCal approach and receive vectors for the remainder of the flight. Our route took us over Moreno Valley, Hemet, Lake Elsinore and then direct to El Toro before turning north to SNA.

The marine layer had just burned off and visibility was quite good for Southern California. SoCal tells me to expect vectors for the ILS 19R approach at SNA. I intercept the glide slope 5 miles out and start riding it down. There is a LOT of commercial traffic and the tower is very busy so I tell them that I have the field in sight and would be willing sidestep to 19R for a visual approach. The controller says he owes me lunch and assigns the visual. A departing American 757 put some wake turbulence in our path as we landed, but with some correction, the landing was smooth. Welcome to SNA. Ground directs us to Signature Flight Support and we start an enjoyable weekend in Orange County.

FlightAware is a really neat service that let's you track ANY IFR flight, not just commercial ones. Here's the info page on our flight. Cool, huh?

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If you ever want to fly into SNA for the weekend, Signature offers a 50 cent per gallon discount on fuel Saturday and Sunday...not that 100LL is cheap there. However, they do have on-site Hertz (which saved us a ride to the main terminal) and first rate service. It's the nicest FBO I've been to yet.

Here's a few photos from the outbound trip


Sidestepping to 19L - American 757 Departing 19R


Some wake turbulence from the departing 757 makes our landing a little tricky.


A Skywest CRJ-700 in United Express livery taxis past...soon RJ...soon.


A United 757 - It sure is exciting to be out there with the big airliners.

You Are Orderd To Surrender Your Pilot's License

...and take this temporary license with instrument add-on!

It's finally over. Well, the rating portion at least. I don't think a good pilot ever stops trying to master instrument flying. I plan to fly IFR at EVERY opportunity to stay sharp and become more skilled, not just proficient.

My friend Dana came by my house last night and helped me cram for the oral exam. She just earned her CFI last Tuesday (congrats Dana!) and her willingness to help made all of the difference today. Even though she's leaving the country today on vacation, she went out of her way to be here for me. Good friends are hard to come by and I consider her a great friend.

The oral portion went extremely well. It lasted just under 2 hours and we covered my flight plan to John Wayne (KSNA), weather, aeronautical decision making, departure, en route and arrival procedures, emergency procedures, rules and regs, instruments and systems, charts and navigation aids, types, service volumes and instrument flying scenarios.

I really felt good about the oral exam. He asked me questions in all of the areas I was confident in and the ones Dana helped me sharpen up on last night. I would grade the oral exam an "A".

However, I was not really that proud of my performance during the flight portion. A fairly significant thunderstorm rolled through during the oral exam. Weather was clearing quickly and didn't appear to be a problem. A check of the METAR, TAF and radar confirmed that the storm was moving rapidly to the east. Outlook VFR.

Pre-flight went well. I took advantage of the rain and cleaned all of the windows while he quizzed me on antennas and systems on the aircraft.

He briefed me on the plan for the flight: Go do maneuvers and unusual attitudes, followed by an ILS - missed, partial panel VOR-missed and GPS 30L all at Gateway. Apparently, the ILS at Casa Grande is out of service. Good. I hate doing the ILS there. The hold is a nightmare.

OK. Time for start up. ATIS indicated that the IWA VOR was out of service. CRAP! Hmmm. He asks me what I want to do. I suggest the VOR approach at Coolidge. It's a VOR/DME approach that terminates 24NM from the Stanfield VOR (TFD). He said "good choice" and amended my "clearance" to use the GPS for the IWA VOR by intercepting the 180 radial to the 12.5 DME from Stanfield and arc Southeast to intercept the 071 approach course for Coolidge.

I intercept the radial with no problem. It hit 12.0 DME and start the arc. However, I started to turn the wrong way. I had to remember that the approach was DME "FROM" not DME "TO" and quickly corrected. I got to the 12.8 DME before correcting the arc. Whew...PTS standard not broken. The rest of the approach went well. I went missed at 24 DME and executed the missed. My only other faux paux was no figuring out the type of entry for the missed hold before executing the missed approach. I figured it out with a mile to spare and the hold was nice, but being ahead of the game is what instrument flying is about. I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER.

We left the hold and did basic instrument maneuvers and three unusual attitudes. All was well with that.

Then it was time for the ILS approach. However, he took me pretty close to the airport before giving me the instructions to do the ILS. I called up Phoenix approach and she vectored me almost directly to the final approach fix (SNOWL). I got a little behind the eight ball. I wasn't trimmed for 90 knots yet and the glideslope wasn't going to wait for me, so I had to suck-it-up and multi-task. I got about 1/3 deflection on the localizer and glideslope, but got it all under control with 4 miles to the airport. I hit DA and went missed. Smooth and no problem. I just wish I could have gotten ahead. This was the WORST ILS approach I've done since my first try. I COULD HAVE DONE MUCH BETTER.

After going missed, he requested vectors to do the GPS 30L approach at Gateway. They declined the request and vectored us east and told us to contact Phoenix approach. I think he was trying to rattle me a little. He did a good job and I let it get the best of me for a few minutes. I couldn't find the 30L approach plate. Static stuck a few pages together and it took me way too long to find the approach.

I programmed the approach for vectors and activated it. Then I called Phoenix approach and the controller did a great job getting me there. While on the way there, he asked me what the minimums are and I correctly indicated that the opposite runway was in use and we would have to circle, increasing our minimums from 1720 to 1800. He failed my vacuum instruments. He tried to rattle me about 3 or 4 times on this approach and it still worked out okay. When we hit about 1800 feet and he told me to go visual. We circled and made left traffic for 12R. Super smooth landing. We taxied back and he told me that I could sweat it out while he did some paperwork.

I knew that I had passed, but didn't feel as good about it as I would have liked. I get back into the briefing room with him and he asks me how I think I did. My answer: Well, I know the flight was within PTS standards, but I'm better than that and today's flight wasn't. I could have done MUCH better. He said, "Good answer" and we spent about a half hour talking about the pluses and mostly minuses of the flight.

Some people say "A pass is a pass". Yeah, it's better than busting...but I am a better pilot than I demonstrated today. I rate today's performance in the plane a "C". I could have and should have done better. Bottom line.

Today's flight DID make me a better pilot. That I am grateful for.

Things I learned:

1. Relax with the DE. Don't let your actions be based on what you think he/she wants you to do. Let your actions be instinctive. Trust your judgement and follow through.

2. Fly the plane first. Don't worry about ATC. Do what you have to do before acknowledging them. They make you wait, right? They can wait too. When the plane is flying right and you're ready, talk to ATC.

3. Be ready for challenging situations. DE's do it because it does happen. Don't say or think "I've never done that approach before". Just do it and do it right. That's flying.

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Well this was certainly long-winded. I'm glad today is over. Tomorrow, my wife and I are flying in a 172 to Santa Ana, CA aka John Wayne/Orange County Airport. We're both looking forward to it. I plan on keeping my limitations high.

An instrument rating doesn't make me an expert.

G1000, Here I Come

In an earlier post, I wrote about my flight with a CFI from Angel Air to brush up on crosswind landings. Today, he told me that he was very comfortable with my flying and that I can get checked out in the G1000 with one hour ground and one hour checkout!

We spent about 20 minutes going over a brand new (only 30.4 hours!!!) 172's G1000. It's straight forward and he was surprised how quickly I situated myself. Me too. If you're used to Garmin 430, it's pretty straightforward. I really like how the transponder automatically goes from standby to ALT. Well, I also like the XM radio, terrain avoidance/warning system, integrated radar and uh...EVERYTHING. Plus, the new plane smell is OH SO FINE.

It's going to be a real shock to get back in a crap weasel Cadet for my instrument check ride. The good thing: If you can fly a mangy, crap aircraft with 20,000 flight hours well, you can fly anything well.

When I first got checked out there, I needed 3 hours ground/3 hour flight to get checked out in the G1000. That kept me from doing it. 1/1 is much easier to swallow. Since their G1000's only cost $10 more per hour, I'm going to do it in the next week or so. There's no sense in doing it before the trip to California. NexRad, traffic and terrain avoidance would be nice, but I wouldn't be ready for IFR conditions in it. The one thing I think will be most challenging to get used to with the G1000 is scanning technique.

Oh, You Again

After a week of life in slow motion, everything has to pick up, huh?

My instrument check ride is finally scheduled for Thursday morning. I'm pretty excited, but worried about proficiency. I haven't had an instrument flight, other than the short GPS redo for my end of course flight last Wednesday. I guess we'll see how it goes.

As far as the ground goes, I'm going to get my stuff together over the next few days; brush up on damn acronyms, instruments and service volumes. I'm pretty sure I'll have the same DE as last time, which helps with my comfort level. He really makes you feel comfortable, but still knows what to look for in a good pilot. His pass/fail rate is no higher than any other DE, but I really think highly of him.

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To add to the stress factor this week, I have the stage one commercial exam tomorrow. I'm not too worried about it, though. Most of the stuff in stage one is either review from private and instrument with some common sense regs added. After the test, I have to go on an overnight business trip through Wednesday afternoon. Hopefully, I can spend Tuesday night in the hotel studying and get home early enough Wednesday to do my flight plan and study a bit more.

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Friday, my wife and I are going an a little cross-country to Orange County (KSNA) to enjoy a relaxing weekend in Newport Beach. The good part is killing two birds with one stone. I'll use my IFR flight plan from Stellar (P19) to John Wayne (KSNA) for my Instrument practical test.

I was hoping to take my wife to Avalon airport on Catalina Island, but she's not too hip about flying over the ocean in a small plane. Oh well, with my commercial cross countries coming up, I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to get there.

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There's been some wacky tropical weather in Phoenix the last several days and it's expected to continue through the end of the week. My confidence level with crosswinds in a 172 has not been that great so I took advantage of the winds today and went flying with a CFI at Angel Air to brush up my 172 crosswind skills in the 172.
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We did 14 crosswind touch and go's at 3 different airports (Chandler, Falcon and Phoenix Regional). We did 10, 20 & 30 degree flap landings and they were all picture perfect. I don't get it. The weight difference between flying solo and with a passenger is the only thing I can figure. Most of my confidence issues were during solo flights. I guess I'll find out next time I solo in the 172.