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.