Flight for Football

N5294W - C172R - 1.7 hours

Since this blog is about flying, I tend to keep references to my personal life to an absolute minimum. In this case, though, I'll make an exception to give the flight some context. My stepdad is the coach of the football team at the high school I went to years ago, and they made it all the way to the state championship this year. Since it was down in Charlottesville - and you know how much I love Charlottesville (CHO) - I figured I'd try and get a flight in. In order to log some instrument time, I invited my friend Woody (of Dodging Traffic fame) to come along, too.

I think I have finally hit my limit on flight narratives for Charlottesville, so I'll keep it short:

• We flew down. I logged instrument time.
• The game went into triple overtime. My stepdad's team won.
• We flew home. I logged more instrument time.

For being December, it was unseasonably warm, which also made the flight pretty pleasant. Today was a good day.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 128.8 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 1.2 - 31.9 (of 40)
Dual Complex: 0.0 - 7.7 (of 10)
Total Time in Aircraft: 1.7 - 197.5 (of 250)

Taxiway to the Edge of the World

N430AV - P28R - 2.7 hours

As the weekend approached, a flight instructor friend of mine asked if I'd want to split time in an Arrow to enjoy the nice weather. Not one to pass up an opportunity to fly, but also be able to log time toward the instrument rating requirements, I took him up on it. I had been wanting to get out to Hot Springs (HSP) for quite some time. It's a unique airport, being on top of a mountain, and is actually the highest airport east of the Mississippi River. This spot also causes it to be subject to various wind hazards to challenge you on approach. Today, being a windy day, meant that those challenges would be present for my first visit.

Since my friend is based out of Manassas (HEF), I got a break from Leesburg (JYO), and a refresher on the procedures down there. Apart from having to talk to controllers in the tower, and filing a flight plan, it really isn't too different. After departing, we flew directly out to HSP, and I was able to throw the blinders on to log instrument time. Closer to the field, I flew the ILS approach for practice, beginning with a hold for good measure.

Just before landing, the wind started to play games with my approach path and I ended up pretty low. It wasn't the prettiest final approach, but it got the job done. As soon as we exited, we brought the plane back to the runway to head back home. I have been into some pretty unique airports in my years of flying around, but I was not prepared for what I saw as I rolled up to the hold short line. The taxiway comes right up to a sharp drop off, giving you a pretty spectacular view as you prepare yourself to depart.

Once back in the air, I put the blinders back on to log some more time on the way back home. It was a pretty simple flight, but quite a visually memorable one. Of course, it didn't hurt that I was able to log time toward the simulated instrument, and complex requirements.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.7 - 127.1 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 1.9 - 30.7 (of 40)
Dual Complex: 2.7 - 7.7 (of 10)
Total Time in Aircraft: 2.7 - 195.8 (of 250)

Lancaster for Dinner

N172DR - C172R - 2.1 hours

I don't know why, but for some crazy reason, I decided that I needed to take a flight on a Wednesday. What other reason might one need? Any excuse to fly can be a good one.

I'd been told for quite some time that I needed to go to the airport in Lancaster (LNS) to try out the restaurant there, but never ended up going for various reasons. Tonight would be the night that I would do just that, though.

Validation for the "back in my day" speech...

As soon as I got to the plane, I noticed that my night would be made somewhat more difficult by the GPS being inoperative. Never being one to pass up a challenge, I just pulled out my paper maps, stuffed them in the side pocket, and made sure my iPad was readily accessible. The planes that I flew when I first started out had nothing more than VOR or NDB navigation, so the lack of GPS felt somewhat like a homecoming of sorts. As I've mentioned before, the lack of of movable map to show the airspace is somewhat bothersome, but having flown in and out of Leesburg (JYO) for just over 12 years now, I'm familiar enough with the landmarks that the feeling of apprehension is manageable.

After departing, I made my way up toward Frederick (FDK), carefully keeping below the Dulles (IAD) Class B airspace above me, while also making sure to be above the tower airspace at FDK. To navigate up there, I used mostly ground references - cities and towns - in addition to the VORs at FDK and LNS.

Once up at LNS, I landed on Runway 31 and brought the plane over to the ramp near the restaurant. If you haven't been to Fiorentino's, it's worth a stop. Since it's predominantly Italian food, it's a welcomed change to the typically all-American style of most other airport restaurants that I've been to. Some of those others are really good at that fare, but it's pretty standard for most small airports: burgers, sandwiches, chips and fries. If you're good at it, you're good at it, but it's also nice to be able to go somewhere to get something different.

Sunsets: Always better from the air

The flight home was a good one, without too much wind or turbulence. As the sun set and ground references were lost to the darkness, I transitioned mostly VOR navigation. The last moments of the lightness on the horizon had a spectacular orange glow, made more dynamic with the grey of the clouds and darker blue sky showing through them. I snapped a photo, but it truly does not do it justice.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.1 - 124.4 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 28.8 (of 40)
Dual Complex: 0.0 - 5.0 (of 10)
Total Time in Aircraft: 2.1 - 193.1 (of 250)

Commercial Long Solo Cross Country

N571DS - DA40 - 5.1 hours

One of the requirements of the commercial certificate is to fly a 350 nautical mile flight to three points, with one of the points being 250nm or greater from the original point of departure. I work in DC, but since the pope is visiting DC from Vatican City, we were advised to avoid the area since roads and public transit would be packed. What better reason to get as far away as possible, and knock out a requirement in the process?

Back in June, I joined one of the DC-3 crew members on a flight in his Baron down to Elizabethton, TN (0A9). The airport is nestled in between a few ridge lines, with one right under the base turn to 24, making it slightly more challenging to get in and out of. The flight down in the Baron left enough of an impression on me that I figured it would be fun to visit again. Its distance from Leesburg (JYO) being 273nm made it perfect for the long cross country. As if any more reasons were needed, I also remembered that the airport had a pilot shop, and I was in dire need of a replacement mic muff, since the one on my now 12 year old Clarks had all but fallen apart.

I had the tanks topped off as I got myself situated, briefed, and so on. While I'd initially given them a hard time for being slow, ProJet has definitely improved on its timeliness of getting out to fuel planes. In any case, I knew I'd be spending a lot of time in the plane alone today, so I spent a while getting everything situated so that I could reach it - iPad, charts, pen, paper, and various things to take pictures with. Once everything was set, I brought the plane to the runway and headed toward 0A9.

The flight down was a long one, which I helped pass by calling Potomac for flight following around the time I passed by Shenandoah (SHD). Despite being above clusters of scattered clouds, I was still able to pick out several landmarks on the way down: JMU, Virginia Tech, Mountain Lake, and the scenic mountains in general. As I got closer to Britol (TRI), I dropped flight following and brought the plane into 0A9.

After refueling, getting a new mic muff, and expressing shock over the low fuel price they had down there, I set back off toward Pulaski (PSK) and Blacksburg (BCB). To be honest, the stop through PSK was simply to "connect the dots" if you will. Back in college, I'd flown with Phil from PSK to Pineville, WV (I16), so my flight map had a random flight that had been seemingly orphaned from the rest. After an admittedly firm and ugly landing at PSK, I hopped over to BCB to visit Virginia Tech and grab food.

The walk around campus took up a decent amount of time, but it was worth it. Owens dining hall hasn't changed much, and the food was still as good as I remembered it being (not even kidding - it's nationally recognized).

The final leg was relaxing, but also interesting. In order to take advantage of the wind I saw in the forecast, I brought the plane up to 11,500. While I'd been about that high in a Cessna 207 before, I'd never taken the DA40 that high. After a little while, though, I brought it back down to 9500 as the wind was actually stronger there. Closer to JYO, Potomac asked me to drop it a little lower to get under the arrivals for Dulles (IAD), which also set me up to stay below the Class B airspace.

With the plane back in its spot, I had 5.1 hours more time under my belt, along with the long solo cross country requirement of the commercial certificate.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 5.1 - 122.3 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 28.8 (of 40)
Dual Complex: 0.0 - 5.0 (of 10)
Total Time in Aircraft: 5.1 - 191.0 (of 250)

A Flying Lunch

N728SP - C172S - 2.7 hours

While my parents have, in the past, given me money towards flying for my birthday, they've never joined on one of those flights. This year, though, the present was a flight to one of the local airport food spots for lunch. While my dad has flown with me before, this year also added the opportunity to bring my stepmom along.

It took me a little while to figure out where I wanted to go, since the logistics of getting to spots surrounding an airport can occasionally be tough (or expensive, as Phil and I found out a few years ago), but I eventually settled on Kay's At The Airport. I'd never been, but the DC-3 crew went there a little while back, and they gave it a good review so I thought we should try it out. As the name implies, it's at the airport, which in this case is Cambridge (CGE).

The flight out was a little bumpy in the climb out, but once we got a little altitude we were fine. It was in the climb that I decided against the VFR corridor between DCA and BWI, as that wouldn't have been pleasant. Instead, I asked Potomac for a Class B transition over Baltimore (BWI), which was approved and we were on our way.

Closer to CGE, we had to time our approach in between some jumpers using the landing area adjacent to the runway. I've never had to do that before, so that was new. It added a little stress to the approach, but having my parents tasked with sky watch made things easier.

Lunch took a little while since I hadn't called ahead for reservations, but it was good. Being in Maryland and quite near the Chesapeake Bay, I had to go with crab cakes. I highly recommend them.

After lunch, we jumped back in the plane to head home. This time, though, I decided to take the southern route back home, slipping between Patuxent River airspace and the SFRA. Unlike the VFR corridor, it has no altitude restrictions, and it avoided the alternate attempt to get a Class B clearance during the busy international arrival times for Potomac. It was slightly longer over the ground, but it didn't add to much more time in the air.

So. Much. Airspace.

Definitely a good flight, and a good opportunity to share my enjoyment of flying with the parents.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.8 - 114.5 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 28.8 (of 40)
Dual Complex: 0.0 - 5.0 (of 10)
Total Time in Aircraft: 2.7 - 185.9 (of 250)

Richmond for Dinner

N80399 - C172M - 2.5 hours

Prior to this flight, there was some talk among the Clipper Crew to take the DC-3 out for a bit, but those plans got delayed, and I really wanted to take advantage of the weather. Phil agreed to sit right seat so that I could log the never ending simulated instrument time to help chip away at that requirement. Along those lines, at some point during the flight, he asked me how long it had been since I actually flew a plane by looking out the window. Apart from short flights and takeoffs and landings, it has been a while.

We chose to fly down to Chesterfield (FCI) to meet up with his brother and sister in law for dinner. The flight down was simple, and Phil kept me out of the way of some other people taking advantage of the nicer weather, to include someone doing aerobatics down near Warrenton (HWY). Once we were down at FCI, Phil coordinated with his brother to get us a ride to dinner. The Cracker Barrel isn't exactly gourmet dining, but I think we all appreciated it. I definitely ate too much. Oh well.

The flight back was slightly calmer, and we finished it off by taking a few laps around the pattern in order to keep night currency. These landings were witnessed by a few members of the Clipper Crew who had been working in the hangar, so I got a ribbing from them via text as we were putting the plane back in its spot.

The Lights of Richmond

The only debrief item I noted for the flight was that I should be more mindful of allowing other people to rush me. The Runway 16L runup area is closed for expansion and nearby taxiway work, so the controller asked if I would be ready upon reaching the runway as there would be another aircraft behind me. Instead of saying no, or coming up with an alternate solution, I simply agreed, ran the engine up very briefly on the taxiway, and then called ready. While I checked the engine briefly, I should have given it my full attention with a complete run up. The controller would have understood, or at least given me an alternate instruction had I said no and opted to take a moment to check things over before departing.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.5 - 114.5 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 1.6 - 28.8 (of 40)
Dual Complex: 0.0 - 5.0 (of 10)
Total Time in Aircraft: 2.5 - 183.2 (of 250)

The Long Instrument Cross Country

N944DB - P28R - 5.0 hours

While I've been planning multiple variations for my long instrument cross country for some time, I never actually got around to flying it. Usually, it came down to an issue where I had other plans for flying, and that meant that there wasn't enough left in the month's flying budget for the longer flight in addition to the extra cost of having a CFI in the right seat. About a month ago, though, I was checking my progress against the requirements of the instrument rating and commercial pilot certificate and noticed that I'm getting rather close to both (as such, those who have read earlier posts here will notice the new additions to the hours section at the end of this post). Given my tendency to plan things out in great detail, I began to plan out the time between now and commercial minimums.

Aforementioned Simulated Aircraft

As one could probably tell, given my lack of updating this blog despite having flown a decent amount, flying the same aircraft that I've been flying for 12 years has been wearing on me. It's not that flying itself is getting boring; it's that one of my jobs allows me to fly simulations of some rather complex aircraft, and in comparison, a Cessna seems rather dull. Luckily, to satisfy my need for something different, the commercial requirements require 10 hours in a complex aircraft, and the school I rent from has an Archer to fit that purpose. In order to get my instrument rating I also need more instrument time, so on top of the new aircraft and a route to satisfy the long instrument cross country, I figured I'd do a significant portion with the blinders on. So, apart from getting to experience something new, I'd be able to maximize my flight dollar by knocking off several requirements in one long flight.

In order to get as much time in the Arrow as I could, while still getting the instrument cross country done, I planned out a flight that somewhat followed the shape of Virginia. This would allow me to depart Leesburg (JYO) and fly a route that provided flexibility for the approaches I wanted to fly. As planned, the routes were KJYO CSN V286 CCV V1 ORF [VOR 23] KCPK - KCPK FKN V266 SBV V136 PIGGS [ILS 34] KROA - KROA MOL V143 HOAGE [RNAV 17] KJYO. I had figured that the initial VOR approach into Chesapeake (CPK) would get the VOR approach out of the way, but also allow for a circling approach at a relatively calm airport if needed (though the forecast showed the wind favoring Runway 23 anyway). After that, Roanoke (ROA) had an ILS, an LDA, and a few RNAV approaches that I could fly, which allowed me to fly the opposite approach - ILS or RNAV - at JYO.

After getting back from my earlier flight, I grabbed the book and checklist to go familiarize myself with the plane for about an hour before the flight. The flight school I had worked at back in 2009 had a fleet of Archers and a couple Arrows that had a similar layout, so it wasn't entirely unfamiliar even though I had never flown them. After coming to grips with where everything was and getting all of my accessories situated - kneeboard ready, blinders readily available, and iPad within reach - Tim met me at the plane and we set off toward CPK.

Potomac TRACON (PCT) cleared us via STILL CSN WAIKS, despite my well-intended filed route. We were cleared to CSN well before getting to the STILL intersection, and it was about that point that I began to see how sluggish the Arrow can be in the summer with full fuel and two people in it. Passing through 5000, PCT asked us if we could give them our best rate to 6000, which we acknowledged, and then joked to each other that we were essentially already giving it to them, despite it being rather paltry. Just prior to reaching CSN, we were given a vector to the southeast, and then direct to CPK. Closer to CPK, Norfolk TRACON sent us to the ORF VOR and cleared us for the approach.

The approach clearance came a little late, which resulted in needing to turn back toward the approach course, but that also allowed me to get rid of some extra altitude, so it wasn't unwelcome. The rest of the approach wasn't bad, and having Tim calling the altitudes and managing the radios made things a lot easier. After switching to the CPK common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), we were somewhat surprised by the lack of traffic in the pattern as it was such a nice day. After taking the blinders off, I maneuvered for landing and brought the plane in. For my first landing in an Arrow, it wasn't terrible, but managing the heavier controls made things interesting.

After taxiing off the runway and back down to the runup area, we began to set up for the next leg of the flight. Unfortunately, we couldn't raise anyone on the clearance or approach frequencies for a clearance while still on the ground, so we planned on departing VFR and picking up our IFR clearance in the air. While we were on the ground hoping for a response from the controllers, I snapped a picture of the altimeter. I know I've flown to Ocean City (OXB) a few times, which is close to sea level, but I don't think I ever paid attention to how close to sea level the altimeter showed that we were. To me, seeing it so low was novel enough for a picture.

Soon after, we were airborne and flying the noise abatement departure procedure, as there are houses pretty close to the airport on the west side. Tim called for clearance while I maneuvered toward the FKN VOR to begin my planned route. Unlike with PCT earlier, Norfolk cleared us "as filed," which made things easier as I didn't have to write down a full route clearance and set a new flight plan into the GPS. Approaching Suffolk Airport (SFQ), we were vectored away from it in order to avoid parachute jumpers. Later on, after FKN, we were given direct ROA, with a vector around restricted airspace near Blackstone Army Air Field (BKT). Closer to Lynchburg (LYH), we were handed off to Roanoke TRACON, who noticed the remark on the flight plan requesting the ILS or RNAV approach, and were cleared for the ILS approach to Runway 34. I chased the localizer and glide slope more than I would have liked, but I ended up generally where I wanted to be when I took the blinders off, so all was not lost. The landing, too, wasn't too graceful, as I chopped the power a little early and the nose dropped some just prior to touching down.

After we taxied over to Landmark and shut down, Tim gave the line guy the fuel order and I snapped a picture of the plane and walked inside. By then we were pretty hungry, so we grabbed a crew car and set off in search of food, which ended up being Sonic right down the road. That trip turned into another trip as we'd been handed the wrong order and drove off without checking it. After scarfing food, joking a bit with the staff, and settling the fuel bill, we went back out to the plane to head home.

Tim, working the radios again, called for clearance. Like the initial clearance from JYO to CPK, this one was altered, but it was also altered to the point that the whole clearance was just a single fix, so it was a simple change. We were given Runway 34 for departure as well, which meant a relatively immediate turn after departure because of terrain. The Arrow climbed slowly through the now hotter air, though some updrafts off of the terrain assisted at times. The associated turbulence, however, wasn't as welcomed.

The leg home was rather uneventful. We flew right up the eastern side of the Shenandoah Valley, and as soon as we crossed over into the Piedmont we were sent up to the initial approach fix for the RNAV approach to Runway 17 at JYO. The approach went relatively well, but an intermittent GPS position issue knocked my vertical guidance out and I had not caught it. The result was that I was slightly below path for the latter part of the approach. For future approaches, I'll have to be more mindful of the flags. In order to mesh better with traffic in the area, we broke off the approach and circled around to land on Runway 35. This landing was better than the one at ROA, but it'll take me more time to get used to the Arrow.

Rolling out long, we jumped off on the taxiway that put us right near our parking spot, shut down, and put the plane away. Despite the sluggishness in the climb, the Arrow was an enjoyable departure from the norm. In the end, the flight was 5.0 hours, which means that I have another 5.0 hours in it to finish off the commercial requirement. Having knocked out the long instrument cross country, 3.9 combined actual/simulated instrument, and my biennial flight review (BFR), I'd consider it a success. Now all I need to do is rack up 12.8 more hours of instrument time and I can go take care of the instrument rating. Having that will really open up the possibilities for flying days to begin taking a closer aim at the commercial requirements. Along those lines, I need to finish the aforementioned 5.0 hours in a complex aircraft; fly a solo cross country trip with a leg length of greater than 250 nautical miles between JYO and some other airport, stopping at another airport on either the way out, or the way back; and finish up the remainder of the 69.3 hours between what I have now and the 250 hour minimum. So close, yet so far away.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 5.0 - 112.0 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 3.9 - 27.2 (of 40)
Dual Complex: 5.0 - 5.0 (of 10)
Total Time in Aircraft: 5.0 - 180.7 (of 250)

HGR Maintenance Run

N242AV - C172L - 0.8 hours

For some reason, I've been pretty lucky on the draw when it comes to ferry flights, and this one was no exception. As I was wrapping up at work yesterday, I saw a message from one of the local flight schools requesting a pilot to sit right seat on a flight up to Hagerstown (HGR) to pick up a C172L and fly it back to Leesburg (JYO). Since I'm checked out by them in their carbureted 172s, I jumped on the message. They needed the aircraft back by 1000, so it would an early departure and pick up, but that also meant that the extra flight worked well with my flight in the Arrow in about an hour. Apart from the odd tachometer that I mentioned earlier, it was a normal flight down from HGR.

An Aside for Safety:

This morning was a very, very nice day, so a lot of what some pilots call (somewhat derisively on occasion) the "weekend warriors" came out to fly around. While I'm subject to glancing up at the sky and thinking "you know, today would be a perfect day to fly," the urge should be tamed by asking yourself if you are prepared to fly. Before even departing today, we had someone gesture at us mockingly for being at the "wrong end" of the runup area, but what he had not seen was that the other two aircraft previously ahead of us that forced us to take that spot had already moved on. It just seemed very odd to me, because if I see someone farther back in the runup area, it's a reasonable assumption that there were previously aircraft ahead of them.

On the way back, I had a Bonanza depart the pattern opposite direction of the established direction of traffic in the pattern. Granted, he could've been IFR, and IFR is vastly easier off of 35, but it's always best to fit into the established flow of traffic where possible. In his defense, it did look like he waited appropriately for a gap in traffic, he made his radio calls clear, and he side-stepped the departure to avoid my approach form the north. Listening to the frequency when I was taxiing in, I also heard someone ask if he had room to depart in front of the other ferry pilot on short final. If you have to ask, I'd argue that you're better off sitting short of the runway. I know I don't usually fly that early, and I fly on days that usually aren't as perfect, so it might just be that I'm not used to that crowd, but all of those oddities in only a couple hours was pretty alarming to me.

I guess what I'm getting at is: use your brain. If you don't want to, stay at home.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 107.0 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 23.3 (of 40)

More Ferry Flying

N242AV - C172L - 1.1 hours

After getting a message about the flight school needing help picking up an aircraft from Warrenton (HWY), I called them to offer to help. They needed me to fly another pilot down to HWY to jump in one of their other aircraft to fly it back to Leesburg (JYO).

Though it's an incredibly short flight, I threw the blinders on for the flight down so that we could both log some time. The flight down was simple, as was getting set up for the approach to the field, though I found out mid-flare that the yoke gets rather heavy in that phase of flight, despite being on top of the trim. The resultant landing wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't my best. The plane also has a very odd digital tachometer that was tough to get used to.

The flight back was similar, though without time under the blinders, obviously. The occasional short flight can be nice. It's definitely interesting to have a 'mission' of sorts.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 107.0 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.4 - 23.3 (of 40)

To Grandma's House We Go

N172DR - C172R - 0.8 hours

Earlier this morning I'd gotten a message about a local flight school needing an aircraft moved from Warrenton (HWY) to Leesburg (JYO). I immediately jumped on the opportunity, but soon thereafter I got some unfortunate news about a family member's health. In an effort to keep my earlier commitment while also being able to stop by and visit with said family member, I rented the trusty N172DR so that I could fly to Winchester (OKV) and spend time with family that would have otherwise been spent driving nearly two hours round trip. Granted, the flights together took up nearly 50 minutes, but that extra time made all the difference. Additionally not having to worry about the stresses of traffic, and the traffic lights on Route 7 was a lot better for my own sanity.

While it's good to remember to run the IMSAFE checklist to ensure you're fit to fly before any flight, it was even more important to do so today given the reason for the flight. A flight such as this one could put several pressures on a pilot, while the potential to be upset by the state of a family member could also serve as a major distraction. In my case, I kept in mind that I could always drive. JYO is conveniently on the way out to OKV for me, so continuing the drive if I felt out of sorts was not out of the question. The flight was not a matter of seeing family or not. It was simply a way of spending more time out there. Additionally, despite the unfortunate news, other than wanting to be with family as soon as I could be, there was no immediately time-sensitive concern as there would be if there had been a car accident or similar.

The flight itself was pretty standard. It was a little hazy and there were a few low clouds for the flight out, but nothing major. Now, off to take a C172M down to HWY.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 107.0 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 22.9 (of 40)

More Instrument Time - Less Weather

N172DR - C172R - 3.0 hours

My friend James and I have been talking about flying off and on for years. I actually met him when I lived out in Phoenix, which was partially the reason this blog came into existence (trip reports for my family/friends, as I'd intended to get my additional ratings out there back in 2008), and even though we worked at the same flight school, we had never flown together until today. Since we had been talking about flying and my last flight didn't go as planned, I figured we would try it again.

We flew up to Reedsville (RVL) through the use of VORs only. I'd planned on this, but we found that the GPS ended up being INOP when we got to the plane. As I was under the blinders for the flight, I was guided around a few cells all the way up to RVL, shot the LOC Runway 6 approach, flew the missed with one lap around the hold, and then flew the approach again for more practice. To get the cross country time, I touched the wheels down on the runway and then set off towards home.

Adding to this non-GPS challenge was some sort of issue (my guess is vacuum-related) that made my artificial horizon gauge unreliable. It's always an interesting situation when you've developed a good trust in your instruments, and then they start wandering on you. As I was flying the first LOC approach, I noticed that when the gauge shows wings level, I felt like we were turning, and the turn coordinator and directional gyro confirmed this. I never thought I'd get actual partial panel experience, but it was actually neat to see it in a controlled environment.

The route back was by VOR again, and finished with the ILS Runway 17 approach back into Leesburg (JYO). Another 2.7 hours of simulated instrument in the book, so I'll call that a success.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 3.0 - 107.0 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 2.7 - 22.9 (of 40)

Fighting Weather

N329ME - C172S - 2.6 hours

As I've been in an endless struggle to accumulate more simulated instrument hours, I plotted out a couple flights that would help me to that end. Given the weather we've been having lately - lower clouds with rain - I figured a route to the south and a route to the north would give me the best chances. The mountains to the west could get dicey if the clouds got too low, the airspace to the east is relatively foreboding, and the north/south option gives me an option to use the opposite direction if we departed and found the weather to be less than desirable in the initial direction (it's summer, and storms are regular).

Of course, that plan of having a backup worked in our favor, as a storm began to develop over Warrenton (HWY), which is where we were headed. Phil pointed this fact out to me since I couldn't see it under the blinders, so I turned back to the north to pick up the Martinsburg VOR (MRB) and continue in that direction to Reedsville (RVL). Unfortunately, weather developed in that direction, too, and cut us off from the airport as we began the instrument approach to the field.

Nope...

After turning back around to head home, I decided to pick up an ILS approach into Hagerstown (HGR) to get a break and use the facilities, and then head back to fly the ILS into Leesburg (JYO).

Despite not accomplishing the goal of flying the approach into RVL, I still picked up 2.4 hours of simulated instrument, so I'm now over half way there.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.6 - 104.0 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 2.4 - 20.2 (of 40)

Anyone Available for a Ferry Flight? Yep.

N950ME - C172M - 1.4 hours

There are some times during the weekend where you simply find yourself with nothing left to do. Granted, this doesn't happen often for me between my day job forcing a lot of my activities to the weekend, my PMDG job contributing to that, PMDG Flight Ops activities (flying around in a DC-3, obviously, usually takes priority over just about anything else), and various other activities like visiting family and keeping the fridge stocked. To be clear, I have nothing against any of those things (besides maybe my day job), but it does mean that I'm rarely simply sitting there trying to come up with something to do.

Luckily, today was one of those days, and I saw an email go out from the school I got checked out with back in April. They needed a pilot to help chase an aircraft from Manassas (HEF) to Stafford (RMN), in order to bring him back from his ferry flight. I immediately called the school to offer to help out and was told to head down to the field and coordinate with the other pilot.

Once there, we waited out some isolated, typical summer storms and set off to RMN. The weather on the way over was still pretty hazy, and there were still isolated rain showers in spots, which was an interesting experience, and offered some pretty cool sights.

On the way back, the other pilot offered to let me log hood time, both to help me get the time, and to help him log time and not just sit there. We were nearly all the way back to HEF when we decided to see if the controller could give us a practice approach to the field, which actually took us all the way back over RMN. It was extra time, though, and time that I needed, so neither of us complained.

After bringing the plane back in and getting it tied down, we added our entries to the logbooks and then headed home. I, of course, stopped by to say good night to the 3 on the way out.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 101.4 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.7 - 17.8 (of 40)

OC Day Trip

N571DS - DA40 - 3.9 hours

Today's trip was a change from the original plan of flying to Lynchburg (LYH) on somewhat of a mission, to a trip to the beach. Since there aren't any pictures and nothing truly interesting happened, I'll keep it brief:

• The wind in the morning was ridiculous: 31015G21KT at Hagerstown (HGR), and similar at Leesburg (JYO) and Ocean City (OXB)
• The route of flight was JYO-HGR-OXB-HGR-JYO
• I finally met the guy I've been renting cars from each time I've flown over to OXB after hours
• Potomac TRACON's (PCT) radio coverage between BWI and Salisbury (SBY) - a new sector for them, taken from Washington Center (ZDC) - is weak to the point where I had to relay radio messages from a military helicopter conducting low altitude operations to PCT. Hopefully that brings good pilot karma for later.
• I also learned that P-40 has a cap of 5000 feet as long as it isn't "supersized."
• The Shark on the Harbor is as good as I'd remembered it.

Oddly enough, this flight was longer than some of my other flights recently, and it's probably one of the shorter posts. Still, the in-depth play-by-play gets old to write, and it's probably tiring to read, so I had to shake it up a bit and just hit the highlights. I'll save detail for the more interesting and technical flying.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.9 - 101.4 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 17.1 (of 40)

Dinner and an Approach

N5165M - C172R - 1.1 hours

Today was primarily a last minute decision to take advantage of nicer weather and fly. This time, the plan was to fly up to get dinner at a restaurant in Hagerstown (HGR) that the DC-3 crew frequents with Phil and his friend Brittany. The flight up to HGR is pretty simple as you don't really have to even turn much if you're departing Runway 35. There is a tower there, though, so there is a little extra radio work. The flight up and back was barely 1.1 hours total, and part of that time was added by flying an approach to Runway 17 at Leesburg (JYO).

Phil, in keeping with his constant challenges (makes him a great safety pilot), "failed" my GPS and had me keep the blinders on until right above minimums. Despite chasing the needles some when I got closer to the airport, I ended up settling on the localizer and glideslope nicely and removed the blinders with the field right ahead. Can't argue with that.

Short flight - short post.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 98.5 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.5 - 17.1 (of 40)

Renting from Redshirts

N950ME - C172M - 1.3 hours

For Christmas, two of my friends got me a gift card for flying time at a flight school one of them uses. While it is a competitor to the flight school I've used for nearly 12 years now, said other school has a location at Manassas (HEF), while my long time flight school does not. The convenience here is that the DC-3 got moved to HEF, and there have been days when we've returned from a trip and I stop and think "you know, I really want to go flying on my own now." Until recently, that would have meant driving all the way up to Leesburg (JYO), but these thoughts usually came at a time too late to request that the keys to one of the aircraft get left in the lock box. With a checkout at HEF, it would mean walking across the ramp and right into a plane.

With that in mind, I scheduled a checkout with one of the instructors at the school to get checked out in their C172M. The checkout itself was the standard flight school checkout of taking the plane out, doing some slow flight, stalls, landings, and then bringing it back in. The addition of the flap 40 setting in the older M model was now, along with the flap toggle instead of the flap lever. Other than that, the main challenge was the wind of 21015G22 at Culpeper (CJR). Bringing it back in to HEF was a little more challenging as the wind of 19014G22 meant a 30 degree crosswind. I forgot to hold the crosswind correction in on the rollout, so the wind came up a bit, but the reminder from nature was enough to get me to do it from then on.

Nice and simple, and now I'm set and ready to use their aircraft to build time and enjoy some flying of my own after the DC-3 trips.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 98.5 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 16.6 (of 40)

A Night Trip to the Beach

N677JA - C172S - 2.9 hours

Today was planned to be a quick flight out to Ocean City (OXB) with friends for dinner, a trip to the boardwalk, and then back home. It was also planned to be in the DA40, but it was being fussy and wouldn't start, draining the battery in the process. Luckily, other aircraft were available, so I was able to swap into one of the 172s.

Taken before the change in plans...

The trip out brought us up toward Frederick (FDK), above some of the Dulles (IAD) arrivals, but below some of the departures. That was definitely a cool experience, as we had an Icelandair 757 fly under us, and an Air France A380 pass over us. Passing Baltimore, the Orioles game was clearly visible, though not in any detail since the stadium is pretty far from BWI, and the fact that games merit a temporary flight restriction (TFR).

After landing at OXB we snagged the rental car I'd arranged, drove to a restaurant on the bay called The Shark on the Harbor and stuffed ourselves full of good seafood. After consuming everything from oysters to shark, we made our way for a quick trip to the boardwalk. Since it's April, though, just about everything was closed, and it was eerily quiet.

The flight home was similarly quiet, as we were all pretty tired. The controller gave us a slightly quicker route through the airspace over Baltimore, which saved us some time and allowed us to get back home sooner in pursuit of sleep. Great flight, and if you're ever out by the airport in Ocean City - admittedly not quite near the rest of the touristy stuff - check out The Shark on the Harbor.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.9 - 98.5 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 16.6 (of 40)

Practice Approaches

N571DS - DA40 - 2.4 hours

I've been wanting to get some time under the blinders, along with some approaches in recently. With that in mind, I sent a message to Phil to see if he'd be up for sitting right seat while I attempted to follow imaginary lines in the sky by reference to the instruments inside the airplane alone. The route I came up with was Charlottesville (CHO), a hop over the Blue Ridge Mountains and an approach into Shenandoah (SHD), and then a trek back to Leesburg (JYO). Through all of this, the plan was to just string it all together without getting out of the plane. Luckily, that all went as planned.

Departing JYO, we flew to the Casanova VOR (CSN) and followed the V140 airway to just prior to WITTO, where we were cleared to the HOODE intersection and onto the RNAV Z Runway 21 approach at CHO. After briefly setting the wheels down so that I could log the flight as cross country time, we were vectored to OLAJO and onto the RNAV Runway 23 approach. We flew the missed approach toward GABEL, but Potomac vectored us back toward JYO before we got there to avoid wasting time. Closer to JYO, the controller vectored us in for the ILS Runway 17 approach to round out the flight. Luckily, Phil took a few pictures of the flight as having the blinders on makes for boring imagery and flight narratives.

Here is one crossing the ridge between CHO and SHD:

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.4 - 95.6 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 1.9 - 16.6 (of 40)

Charter Day

N677JA - C172S - 3.2 hours

"Any chance you are flying to Philly today [laughing emoji]"

As a pilot, a text like that is a great way to start a morning. Of course, after figuring the details out, we planned to meet up at my place to drive to Leesburg (JYO) and fly up to Philadelpha (PHL) so that my two friends could attend a fashion show and avoid having to drive on 95 with an impending snow storm the following day. The end plan was for me to fly them into PHL, drop them off in town in the crew car, head back to the airport to eat and sleep some, and then drive back out and pick them up whenever they were ready.

To keep things easy, we all met at my place and drove together to the airport, stopping by Starbucks for some caffeine. This proved to be somewhat of a critical error, as the coffee made the last part of the trip up to PHL rather painful as we were getting vectored around instead of finding a restroom. It seemed like a good idea at the time. We'd originally been scheduled to fly the DA40, as it is slightly faster than the C172, but the cold weather can take a toll on the battery, making it a tough plane to start. Since neither I nor one of the other instructors could get it started, we swapped the DA40 out for one of the newer 172s and we were on our way. Our route of flight brought us up toward Frederick, over Baltimore, towards Havre de Grace, and then over southern New Jersey before being turned in towards PHL and landing on Runway 35. The ground controller was really helpful in directing us toward Atlantic Aviation. While I knew where I was going, I'd never seen the airport from the ground, so the extra attention from the ground controller was a reassuring as taxiways at larger airports can be slightly tougher to navigate as there are more of them, and more aircraft on them.

It was pretty cold out, so I sent the ladies inside to warm up, and change for the show while I closed up the plane and prepared everything for the late night departure. Despite needing to run inside myself, I stayed out to take in that odd sense of familiarity juxtaposed with the strong foreign feeling that you get when flying small planes into larger airports. Even so, the plane seemed to fit in nicely as I appreciated the cold bite in the air, the moon hanging low, the warm glow of the sunset, and the APUs howling away in the distance.

After they had changed and were ready, I snagged the crew van and we set off into the city. The van being a typical soccer mom minivan, we joked about dropping them off around the corner so that nobody would see them, but the part of town wasn't the best so it ended up being door-to-door service. On my way back, I stopped off at the apparently famous Tony Luke's to grab the necessary Philly cheesesteak, and when I finally got back to Atlantic, I devoured it. The place definitely lived up to all of the hype from the locals. With the hunger satisfied, I grabbed my laptop and took care of work for both the day job and for PMDG before taking some time to lay back, relax, and rest for the trip home. My experience with Atlantic the whole night, I might add, was rather good. I'd definitely go back if I ever have a need to go back to PHL.

I started getting texts around 0230 to coordinate being picked up, and ended up making it into town around 0320. We departed a little after 0400 and made it back to JYO just before 0600 as the sun was just breaking over the horizon. Needless to say, the flight back was rather quiet, both on frequency and in the plane. Despite being incredibly tired and in need of warmth and a bed, I'd say that it was an enjoyable day for all of us.

I have a feeling that if you ask me several years from now how I feel about airport appreciation time - the time spent at an airport while being on call, or waiting for your next flight - I probably won't be as enthusiastic, but this time I actually enjoyed it. I had a 'mission' and I was able to help some friends get to where they needed to go. I don't think I could ask for more than that.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 3.2 - 93.2 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 14.7 (of 40)

A Day of Flying

N571DS - DA40 - 0.6 hours || N677JA - C172S - 1.8 hours

After the wind foiled a couple of attempts to get back up in the air - a typical late winter issue in the DC Area - I finally met up with an instructor to get my insurance ride out of the way. For those unfamiliar with aviation, the main entities to keep satisfied are the FAA and the insurance company. The FAA only requires me to fly with an instructor every two years, while the insurance company requires that I fly with an instructor if I go two months without flying. I've been enjoying the DA40 since initially getting checked out in it, so I decided to use it for my ride with said instructor. The original plan was to use it again in the evening to fly some friends around. Unfortunately, someone beat me to the later reservation, but I at least took the DA40 around the pattern for a few laps to get reacquainted. The later flight would have to be in one of the 172s.

After taking the plane around the pattern five times, I brought it back to its spot, tied it down, and ran off to get lunch. With food in hand I began to plan the next flight, which I'd be flying some friends. The original plan was OXB, but we ended up heading down to CHO to watch a UVA basketball game in Historic Downtown with another group of friends.

While I've been to CHO more times than I can count, I hadn't flown with my friends Saba and Kristin before, so I was excited to be able to share the experience. We departed into one of the best sunsets I've ever seen - on the ground or in the air. Pictures, as always, don't do it justice, but Kristin and Saba both took a bunch of great shots. I often brag about how much better flying is than just about anything else, and this was certainly something to be added to the list of experiences in support of that.

The flight was short, made slightly shorter by the straight in landing on Runway 21. The landing was one of my better ones, and I'm pretty sure I caught it on one of the cameras. I'll have to take a look and add it later (I have a lot of catching up to do with the video, as Contour's temporary disappearance ended up deleting all of the videos I had uploaded there). After letting Landmark know our fuel order, we went inside to catch a cab to Historic Downtown to meet up with some friends at Citizen Burger. The food was great. The company was even greater. To cap it all off, the Cavaliers managed to win as well. While I'm no avid UVA fan (go Hokies), it was nice to see an in-state school win against a basketball powerhouse like Louisville.

After the game, we got a ride back to the airport, paid for fuel, and set off back to JYO. The flight back was a little more bumpy, but not terribly so. The highlight of the flight back was when Potomac Approach pointed our airplane out to a Dash 8 who was on approach to CHO. While I wasn't in contact with Potomac, I was listening in, I chimed in after the controller and the pilot of the Dash had finished their exchange to let them know that it was likely me that was being referenced. The controller checked and verified that it was my aircraft that he'd seen on the scope, and then gave both of us pilots an update on what each plane would be doing. While neither of us were at all close to each other, it's an anecdote supporting the use of flight following, or at least paying attention to the air traffic frequency for the area, if it's known.

The rest of the flight was very normal, and actually pretty quiet. I set the plane down on Runway 35. It definitely wasn't one of my best landings. As usual, I caught the nosewheel before settling down on the mains. Typical. It wasn't too bad, though. After putting the plane back in its spot, we braved the cold back to our cars and set off to warmer beds. We were all pretty worn out.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.8 - 90.0 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 14.7 (of 40)

So, I've Been Slacking

At the end of the move Rush (great movie by the way), Niki Lauda is preflighting a Lear and James Hunt happens upon him on his way to fly somewhere interesting. The two engage in their typical act of giving each other a hard time, and as part of that conversation Niki encourages James to get into flying because it would add some structure to his life. James then makes a comment about how he thought Niki was going to get poetic about flying. Rather, as the calculating Austrian noted, flying was simply another structured environment into which he could stretch his skills. I can't say I blame him. To a certain degree, I look at aviation the same way.

I've never really sat down to analyze my interest in flying. To me it's always been a passion, but I never understood why. I'd imagine that, for most people, a true passion is just something that's ingrained in them; something that doesn't quite make sense in a logical fashion, but something that has a certain gravity to it. Any time someone's asked me why I got into aviation, I've usually deflected the question with a joke about how, as a kid, I saw Peter Pan fly on his own, tried to do the same myself, fell flat on my face, and realized that I'd need a plane to help me out. I don't think I've ever been able to explain it, and that probably makes more sense knowing that my parents say that I've been enamored with aviation ever since I was a little kid. Occasionally, though, I let myself wander and make decisions that pull me away from flying, which was a partial cause for my lack of flying in 2014. Life is a journey, though, and it's not usually one without mistakes.

Quite a number of things happened in the past year, and none of it personally aviation related. Let me first qualify that by saying that I mean "personally aviation related" in the sense that I made no personal progress towards my ratings. More specifically, I haven't logged a flight since the last post on this blog. I have, however, spent a lot of time in and around planes.

A significant portion of my aviation-related time was spent as part of a crew flying a DC-3. While my stick time is limited to cruise legs here and there, it's my goal to eventually work up the ladder to get the ratings necessary to add bars to the jacket and shoulders, and sit up front. As it stands, though, I'm the radio/nav guy with one bar. I don't object to that in the least, however, as it gives me the opportunity to fly around in a DC-3 and hang out with with a great crew. I had alluded to getting to meet the crew in a post back in October of 2013, but I'm kinda surprised I didn't write more about it since then. If you're interested in following along with those adventures, the plane has a Facebook page. I imagine I'll be including a post here and there about my adventures in that part of my aviation experience. Over time, I have a feeling that it'll become more dominant, just as I have a feeling that I'll eventually drop the "(In Training)" off of the blog title. For the people who believe in continuous learning, worry not - I agree with that mentality, but I do also think that it's worth dropping the qualifier off as soon as I work my way into a professional flying job of some sort. While I doubt that I'll be going into any airline flying, there are definite opportunities around me, which I'm rather lucky to have.

Additionally - and probably slightly more significantly - I accepted a position with Precision Manuals Development Group, or PMDG. Like the DC-3, I've also mentioned PMDG here on the blog before, as I'd started to help them test their software back in 2013. The current position is a paid one, which has afforded me more of an opportunity to get back up and flying (though I haven't made any posts about the flights yet). Unlike most of my other jobs, this one also has a lot of potential to let me grow into using some of my other talents.

The first two projects I helped with as a member of the team were updates to existing products - the 737 and 777 - to bring them into new simulators (Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D, and a reboot of Microsoft's FSX in Steam). Next up is a ground-up rebuild of the 747 product, and an entirely new project: the DC-6.

Like the DC-3 opportunity, I'm really excited to see where this goes. On that note, I'm headed off to discuss just that with the owner. Look for some posts about the recent flights sometime in the near future.