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)

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)

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)

Quick CHO Trip

N677JA - C172S - 1.7 hours

Flying time: the ever-present Christmas list item for me.

This year was no exception, and it was with that in mind that I was sitting with a friend discussing plans Christmas night.  Originally, we were all going to try to do something after everyone was done visiting family (or working).  In the end, we decided on doing something on the weekend instead.  My suggestion, of course, was flying.

Since her sister was visiting from out of town and she wanted to get back to see her after the flight, I wanted to keep the flight short.  Charlottesville (CHO) is both a short flight and a good destination to get out and have dinner, so that's what we went with.

After we got to the plane, I started going through the preflight, explaining some of what I was doing in the process.  Also during said process, I went back into the plane to get something and ended up smacking my head on the extended flap.  That, of course, drew a few laughs as we waited for the fuel truck to show up.  Once the fuel truck had departed, we were on our way to CHO.

The weather was really clear, and the wind mostly calm.  I pointed out a few landmarks, and explained how to find airports at night.  Nearing CHO, I checked the weather, called into Landmark to check on the crew car, and then called the tower. The dinner spot was the usual: Timberwood Grill, where good food was enjoyed before we trekked back to the airport and headed home.

The flight back was the standard trip back from CHO, and after stashing the plane in its spot we headed home for warmth.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 88.2 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 14.0 (of 40)

Habits Versus Instructions

N571DS - DA40 - 1.1 hours

Similar to the last flight, this one was somewhat of a last-minute flight, where I was asked at 1500 if I wanted to fly at 1700.  Since my planned flight to Roanoke (ROA) got cancelled this past weekend because of wind, I was in need of a flight and jumped at the chance.  Since the flight school likes us to keep current in the aircraft by flying the type of aircraft every 60 days, I needed to fly the DA40 before 6 June.  Nick suggested Charlottesville (CHO), just to keep things simple, and I suggested the DA40 to keep me current.  Unfortunately, as my flight bag was still prepped for my ROA flight, it lacked the blinders.  That meant I didn't log any of the simulated instrument that I really should be getting.  I'll have to make that priority one after my hiatus.

Apart from an intimidating towering cumulus cloud in the direction of Manassas (HEF), and some associated wind, the lead up to the flight was normal.  I set up all three cameras - one looking out on each wing, and the third looking forward - the audio setup, and the aircraft in general.  The fuel truck also passed by, asking if we'd like fuel.  Given my luck with getting fuel recently, I accepted the offer.  The departure was normal, though I'm still getting used to using rudder alone to keep myself on the centerline.

[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
Once out of the SFRA, and climbing under the Class B airspace, I passed the controls to Nick so he could get a feel for the Diamond.  When he wasn't at the controls, he got some time picking the G1000 apart to find the various functions, which will definitely help in case he gets checked out at the flight school for either.  I called the tower about 15 miles out and was instructed to proceed straight in for Runway 21.  After landing, I brought the plane over to Landmark so that we could grab something quick from the vending machines and head back out.

[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]

After jumping back in the plane to head home, I called the tower and the instructions were the usual: "Runway 21, taxi via Alpha."  Getting closer to the runway, Nick switched the frequencies for me, and I let the tower know I was ready for departure.  This time, however, the instruction was not the normal "Runway 21, cleared for takeoff, climb on course," or even the "Runway 21, cleared for takeoff, left downwind departure approved."

Here's what I heard:
"Diamond 571DS, [wind], Runway 21, cleared for takeoff - break - northbound departure approved."
You can even hear me questioning the word choice of 'break' for the transmission in the recording.  'Break' is a non-standard term used to quickly convey messages to multiple aircraft: "Diamond 571DS, Runway 21, cleared for takeoff - break - Cessna 172DR, make straight in, Runway 21."  Given the way in which the message was conveyed, its use would not have made sense at all, but I somehow assumed he used 'break.'

My readback was "Runway 21, cleared for takeoff, north departure approved" (note the lack of direction - left or right - in my readback).  Here's where, as the part I missed turned out to be important, the controller could have ensured I heard the transmission properly by repeating or clarifying the last instruction.  Understand, however, that I am not trying to shirk my own responsibility for listening to and following ATC direction.  I'm simply stating that both pilot and controller are charged with ensuring messages are received and understood (AIM 4-2-1 (b) and 7110.65 2-4-3 (b), respectively).  From what I heard, the assumed use of the term 'break' seemed out of place, but the transmission as a whole seemed adequate and normal.  When I didn't read back exact what was stated, the controller could have helped to avoid the situation by repeating the missed instruction.

Of course, since I didn't ask for clarification, the tower controller didn't confirm the one part of the readback (and Nick was probably wondering where my comments about the use of the term 'break' came from), I ended up turning the wrong direction after departure.

What was actually said was:
"Diamond 571DS, [wind], Runway 21, cleared for takeoff, right northbound departure approved."

While the instruction I had assumed - "Runway 21, cleared for takeoff - break - northbound departure approved" - would have given me the discretion for a turn, the actual instruction required a right turn.  Since the traffic pattern at CHO uses standard left turns, and I have never turned right off of Runway 21, I made a turn to the left.  Nick actually heard the transmission properly and asked "you know it was supposed to be a turn to the right, right?"  By that time, the tower controller noticed I made the turn in the wrong direction, and instead of providing corrective action, advised me of my error and asked me to state my intentions.

Again, I'll take the hit for not clarifying, and for not following what was asked of me, but that last transmission irked me.  My intentions were known (northbound departure), and it was also clear that I turned the wrong direction (even if not known to me at the time).  Advising me of my error and asking me what I'd like to do wasn't going to solve anything.  Without the vantage point from the tower and radar, I didn't know the traffic picture, despite having a general idea that two planes were inbound.  My only response could be "let me know what you need me to do."  Because of that, what could have been precious seconds were lost.  In the end, I was provided a turn eastbound (though he initially stated westbound), and I managed to call the traffic in sight after Nick pointed it out.

To be honest, I'm very surprised that I made it out of that without getting the dreaded phone number (for the non-aviation readers, "the dreaded phone number" refers to ATC giving you a phone number to call to discuss the incident, and possibly corrective action).  I was really glad when I finally heard "frequency change approved" as it meant he had no further instructions for me, to include said dreaded phone number.

After switching frequencies, I went to set up the radios for the flight home, but they had already been set by Nick.  At that point, I didn't have anything left to do and just passed the controls to him so he could get more time.  Closer to JYO, I took the controls back and landed on Runway 17.  So far, that was one of the best landings I've had in the DA40.

[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
Despite the unfortunate departure out of CHO, it was nice to be able to go up for a quick flight.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.1 - 85.2 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 13.7 (of 40)

Chipping Away at the Instrument Requirement

N96178 - C172P - 2.3 hours

Initially, there was some talk that I would be flying someone around this weekend, but I never heard back about it.  By the time Saturday came and I saw how nice it was outside, the thought that I should have been flying resurfaced.  Not being able to suppress the thought, I called Phil to see if he would want to be a safety pilot for a few hours.

My initial thought was a quick trip out to Grant County (W99), because it has an interesting approach, and would be an easy flight out and back.  Phil brought up the idea of State College (UNV) again, from the times we've debated doing it in the past, adding that it would be a good spot for dinner.  Unfortunately, the dinner idea didn't work out as well as we had expected, as the restaurant we wanted to go to would have been closed by the time we got there.  Adding to that issue was that the wind at airports to the north and east weren't exactly the best.  While we both noted that I had previously put a plane down on a tiny runway with a gusty crosswind (note that the link refers to plans to go to UNV, as well), I really didn't want to deal with it.  We also looked at a few other airports, but as you've heard several times before, I knew there would be a car and a restaurant in Charlottesville (CHO), and the airport had an instrument approach along with favorable wind.

Phil and I preflighted and set up the equipment while waiting for fuel and oil.  For some reason, it seems that the new FBO, ProJet Aviation, is a little slow with fuel requests.  They were also the reason for our late departure on my last flight down to Raleigh (RDU).  Given that they're new, I'll give them time to adjust, but it's still somewhat irksome when seemingly nothing else is going on.

[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
Taxiing down to the runway, the bald spot the tire that we noted on the preflight was causing quite a rumble (you can see the camera shake in the takeoff video above). It wasn't bad enough to have to take the plane back, but it was definitely obvious.  After departing, we headed west to get out of the SFRA, and then south towards CHO.  In that process, I was able to throw the blinders on and log some time.  Getting closer to CHO, I called Potomac Approach for flight following and a practice ILS approach to Runway 3.  After being vectored around a bit for spacing from other traffic, I was turned inbound for the approach.

For some reason, I managed to park in front of the wrong hangar, despite having flown there too many times to make that mistake.  After moving the plane, we found the crew car gone (the people using it had kept it over the two hour limit), and the attendant unable to let us borrow the van "just in case he needed it."  The curiosity, however, was that he was also unable to drop us off because he needed to remain at the airport.  So, what exactly would you need to keep the van for when you're unable to leave the airport?  Even more of a curiosity was the fact that he dropped us off at the terminal to get a cab, which is arguably just about the same amount of time as driving us to Timberwood Grill.

The cabbie we got from the terminal partially ignored us and was on his phone most of the time during the ride, to the point where I had to interrupt him a few times to point him in the right direction.  A 1.5 mile journey for his minimum fee of $25.  Luckily the food was good and the cab ride back was much better.  It was cheaper and the cabbie was hilarious.

Heading back, there was a little bit of an issue with the comms that we somehow sorted out by the hold short point for Runway 3.  Shortly after departing the tower closed (as a normal, nightly thing - not because of the impending tower closures) and I picked up flight following back to Leesburg (JYO).  After a handoff to another controller, I isolated my comms (cutting Phil off from hearing me and ATC) and asked if I could get a touch and go at Dulles (IAD).  The controller initially declined the request, saying "they don't do that anymore," but later came back with "expect an operation at Dulles - proceed direct to Dulles."  I was given Runway 1L, which for anyone else flying into IAD is a punishment (because of the absurdly long taxi to the terminal), but was welcomed by myself as it meant I wasn't getting in anyone's way.  Checking in with the tower controller, I was met with "say request," which caught me by surprise, as it should have already been communicated that I would be doing a touch and go.  I responded that I would be doing a touch and go on Runway 1L, which was met with a slightly perturbed "and then what?"  After letting her know I'd be going to JYO, we landed, took off, and headed off in that direction.

[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
Phil got the landing at JYO.  For not having landed a plane since we last flew together back in January, it wasn't too bad.  In the end, I got 1.6 hours of simulated instrument time towards the 40 that I need for the rating.  Looks like I need to cut down on the joyrides and force myself to work harder at it, but at the same time, all of the joyrides are contributing to the total hours that I'll need later for the commercial rating and beyond.

As long as the weather behaves, the next flight should be at the end of next month down to Roanoke.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.3 - 82.0 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 1.6 - 12.1 (of 40)

Flying in the Snow

N9559V - C172R - 2.0 hours

After my trip to Italy, I had to jump right back onto another plane to head to San Antonio (SAT) for work, which meant I spent quite a lot of time in aircraft this month.  As I was sitting on the connecting flight through Atlanta (ATL) to Dulles (IAD), I ran the mental math and it came out to be about 25 hours in the back of commercial aircraft.  Of course, even though I spent all that time in aircraft, I couldn't log any of it.  After landing at IAD, I decided that I'd take a plane out before the month's end so that I could at least log a couple hours.

After blowing up Facebook asking people if they'd like to join on a trip to Charlottesville (CHO), Phil and I worked out a plan for what we'd like to do.  As with all plans down to CHO, we would fly down, grab some food from Timberwood, and fly back.  Since Phil's brother was down near CHO, we also diverted course slightly to fly over where he would be.

When we got up to the airport, there was a sign up on the desk saying "NO STUDENT SOLO," which I asked about, because the weather seemed to be mostly okay, despite a lower scattered layer of clouds than what the METARs and TAF indicated.  Apparently the conditions on the other side of the Blue Ridge mountains (towards Winchester - OKV) were marginal at best, which is where the practice area is.  I was warned to be careful about low clouds, and to keep it legal.  For those who aren't quite clear on why it would be illegal, the reason I've been doing all of this flying is to get my instrument rating, which, in simple terms, allows me to fly in clouds and poor weather.  It's a separate rating because it is more difficult to control an aircraft and navigate by looking solely at gauges and dials in the aircraft, and not out the window.  Until you have that rating, you have to keep away from clouds.

After another quick check of the weather both online and outside, Phil and I set off to take up a plane in the fleet that I had not yet flown.  Oddly enough, the last time I flew, I walked by it noting that fact and thought to myself "maybe next time."  Phil checked the fuel while I gave the aircraft its shakedown, and then after tossing way too many electronics into the aircraft, we set off towards CHO.

As soon as I could, I threw the blinders on after departure so that we could both start logging time.  Phil kept us clear of the clouds, while I brought us out towards Upperville (2VG2), and then slightly west of the normal course to overfly Wolftown, VA.  We had to descend a couple times to avoid the clouds, but they lifted as we flew south.  After practicing a couple turns around a point, which turned out to be the wrong point (house), we almost gave up to land at CHO when Phil got a text message with his brother's location in a field.  After turning around, we spotted them standing next to their truck and took a couple laps around them before heading back towards the airport.  On the way, tower assigned Runway 3, and then switched it to Runway 21 because the wind shifted.  The change in runway ended up saving us some time with a straight in landing.

The video picks up after passing Piney Mountain.  The banter in the background is both Phil and me negotiating my target on the runway, which ended up being the old numbers and the new thousand foot markers.  After that, you can hear me groan a bit as I realized I missed it, Phil asking if I'm going to get the nose up for once, and then me groaning a second time about letting the plane float.  The landing was pretty smooth, but in an effort to jump off at the first taxiway I pressed a little too hard on the right brake, causing it to skid.  You can hear me jokingly denying it and then reading back the taxi instructions before the clip ends.

[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
We passed a Gulfstream on the way in, and for the first time in the entirety of parking at Landmark, nobody came out to park me.  I, of course, took it as an opportunity to park wherever I wanted, and did just that.  The rampies were actually busy towing another plane, but one stopped by to check on us and see if we needed fuel before returning to marshal another plane out.  It was only after walking inside that we found that the crew car had just been taken by the pilots of the aforementioned Gulfstream.  I gave Keya a hard time about letting someone take my car, but her retort was something to the effect of "well I had no idea what to do with it since you haven't been around in so long."  Valid point.  It wasn't a huge deal in the end as she just dropped us off with their van.

Brief pause for Clint Eastwood burger consumption.

Getting ready to head back, I paid for the fuel, and then Keya asked me a ton of questions about the Superbowl in order to get some idea of how to fill her pool sheet out.  Phil and I walked back outside to set up all of the electronics again, started up and set off towards JYO.  Since I've started a tradition of my own signature departure from CHO, here's the video of it.

[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
After turning on course, I threw the hood back on to log more time, which amounted to 0.9 hours of hood time for the day.  Just 0.5 hours left before I could finish the rest of the instrument requirement in a simulator if I really wanted to, but where's the fun in that?

Getting closer to JYO, and after switching controllers, our radar service was terminated because the radar up at IAD wasn't picking us up in all of the snow.  For a second, we came back up, but then dropped off again, so I told the controller we'd cancel the radar services and just utilize the normal JYO Maneuvering Area procedures.  It added a couple minutes to the flight, but it also kept us from giving the controller a headache.  The clouds dropped back down again, along with the visibility because of the snow falling.  Similar to the rain video I got a while back, the snow looks like you're hitting light speed as it flies by.  It was somewhat unnerving to hear Potomac working an IFR flight on the ILS Runway 17 approach to JYO as we continued in visually, but we sequenced ourselves properly over the frequency, landing in between that IFR Cirrus, and another VFR Bonanza behind us.

Right before I shut down, I snagged the AWOS weather report for insurance in case anyone questioned how visual the weather really was:
KJYO 262115Z AUTO 32005KT 5SM -SN BKN038 OVC044 00/M02 A3026 RMK AO2

I wouldn't recommend buzzing around an area you don't know very well in conditions like that, but if you know the area well and have good tools for situational awareness, you can remain reasonably safe even in degraded conditions.  I'll put it this way: I'll take those conditions in the day over clear and moonless with a low altitude at night.

Another awesome flight for the books.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 2.0 - 76.2 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.9 - 10.5 (of 40)

More Comfort Food in Charlottesville

N5294W - C172R - 1.7 hours

Clouds west of JYO

The other night, I was hanging out with my friends Christina and Brittany and the idea of flying this weekend came up.  No plans were set in stone, so when the idea came back up I was somewhat surprised.  At first, since the flight would be between lunch and dinner, I figured we'd just fly down to Luray (W45) and back.  As the time came to head up to the airport, I changed my mind and decided and Charlottesville (CHO) because I needed food, and you all know what my go-to is by now.  Just like last time, the plan was to head to Timberwood Grill.  I've been there all too much over the past year, so I'm going to go on the record and say that trips to CHO are going to be drastically reduced for a little while.  I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of other destinations.

Sorry Timberwood - I still love you.

On to the narrative.

After getting to the airport, Christina, Brittany and I grabbed the flight book and headsets, and walked out to the plane in weather that I'd consider to be just about perfect.  After the preflight, they both climbed in the back while I set up my Garmin GLO GPS (which I just got in the mail on Thursday - I'll review it with ForeFlight eventually), ContourGPS, and the rest the technology.

The taxi out took a longer amount of time than normal because the nice weather brought everyone out.  Whereas there are normally only one or two people ahead of me, I ended up heaving two departures and two arrivals ahead of me by the time I finished my engine run up.  Once they had all done their thing, I was able to get up and out.  I got a video of the departure, but it was just downright ugly with the wind that had picked up so I didn't upload it.  This being Brittany's second flight ever - not just in small planes - the bumps weren't appreciated.  Reaching cruise, though, the bumps smoothed out.

Yes, this is the big EMB-145

Getting closer to CHO, I called the tower and was instructed to call back when I reached the downwind for Runway 3.  As I entered the downwind, a Piedmont (regional carrier for US Airways) Dash 8 called in and was cleared to land ahead of me.  I turned in behind it, landed, caught the first exit and brought it in to the Landmark ramp.  I had the Contour running the whole flight, but I didn't upload any of it because nothing truly interesting happened (and I'll admit the landing wasn't the best, either).  After parking, an American Eagle (regional carrier for American) Embraer 145 taxied out to the runway, prompting Brittany to comment that "it's so BIG!"

As usual, I was greeted with "you gonna want the crew car?"  As much as I like being recognized, this is more evidence that I need a break from CHO.  In an effort to break the norm in some way, I actually switched it up at dinner and got an Al Capone burger.

ForeFlight running with a Garmin GLO
and iPod on the aux input

On the way back, I spent a little more time testing ForeFlight, while we listened to my iPod through the aux cable I bought a while back.  For those who are wondering how that works since pilots need to listen for other pilots and air traffic control, the aux input is overridden any time someone speaks, either in the aircraft or over the frequency.  That ends up making listening to music frustrating at times, but it's worth it for longer flights, especially at night.  Having GPS input on ForeFlight really makes it that much more worth it, as well.  Now, every plane I fly essentially has a moving map GPS.  Granted, I can't shoot approaches with it, but it really helps.

As we got closer to Leesburg, the bumps picked back up as a result of the wind having increased and the lower altitude.  The JYO traffic frequency was really busy with one in the pattern, a MedFlight helicopter inbound, and two other aircraft approaching from the north.  The two approaching from the north had apparently gotten really close to each other, and there was an interesting exchange between the pilots that clogged up the frequency for a while.  I compensated by making my calls really short, but I still ended up getting stepped on a couple times by the other pilots.  Despite all of the radio traffic, I managed to get in during a break in the traffic.

You'd think that it was easy from then on, but it wasn't.  The wind really messed with me, with gusts making it difficult to hold a proper speed down to the runway (which you can definitely see in the graph to the right of the video below).

Enjoy said video of me getting my butt kicked all the way down final:

[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and the video was lost.]
Didn't expect that greaser of a landing at the end, did you?

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 66.8 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 7.5 (of 40)

Storms Can Be Nice

N5294W - C172R - 1.7 hours

Short final on last year's flight

There are very few things in the world that I would prefer to do more than flying, so when it comes to what I do on my birthday, an airplane is likely involved at some point.  Last year, my friend Jason and I flew down to Bridgewater (VBW) and ended up catching a glimpse of a B-17.  This year, I took the day off from work in order to relax and fly.  My friend Ashley managed to leave work a little early as well so that we could fly and be back in time for a dinner out with some more of our friends.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't have the same plans.  Fortunately, a little patience, good company, and a nice pilot lounge ended up working out.


After we arrived at Leesburg (JYO), we grabbed the keys for the plane and walked out to preflight.  One of the instructors had just gotten back in and gave us a weather update that there were storms over the ridge heading towards us.  Ashley and I had been checking the weather all morning, mostly because the ceilings had been so low the last couple days, but I was definitely aware that the weekend's second front was passing through.

We continued on to the plane to check it while watching the weather.  The guy said there was a storm, and I believed him, but a lot can be said for actually seeing the weather.  I figured we could at least get our stuff situated in the plane while keeping an eye on the sky.  Unfortunately, as can be seen in aviation lore and AOPA magazines all over the place, pilots make bonehead moves and press on despite weather issues.  Because I kept walking towards the plane after the instructor had warned me of the storm, I'm guessing he got the feeling I was going to try to beat it, so he walked out, iPad in hand, to show me the latest radar images (the center + is IAD, with JYO's + slightly northwest of it):

What he hadn't seen was the fact that I did actually check the weather, and that the radar loop was still running on my phone, so his concern was understandable.  It's nice to see that we'll look out for each other, but there's a sad side to that coin as well: despite all of our training and warnings of "get-there-itis," pilots still give other pilots reason to express their words of caution.  I told him my plan was to preflight, watch the weather, and set things up so that as soon as the front passed, we could go.  That seemed to restore some of his faith in me, and before he walked back inside we talked some about his iPad's ForeFlight setup.

After we had set up out headsets, my camera, and everything else, the wind picked up and the the rain arrived.  Ashley and I retreated to the pilot lounge and watched TV while the storm blew over.  I also kept an eye on the weather using ForeFlight's radar overlay and looking out the window.  As soon as it passed, though, we walked back out to the plane to give it one more look and set off towards Charlottesville (CHO).

The departure was standard, and as soon as I could, I put the blinders on to log some simulated instrument time.  Over Upperville (2VG2), I called Potomac to get flight following, and give Ashley a feel for who to call and when.  Before I put the blinders on, I got to see some of the coolest clouds I've seen to date in the low areas and valleys.  They're not as obvious in the picture here, but you can see them in the video.  Ashley took this picture about half way down to CHO, and you can see the clouds almost seem to be resting right on top of the trees.  Storms can be violent, but the clouds and smooth air that were left behind were really nice.

As soon as I got handed off to CHOWE (the radar controller serving CHO), I asked for a practice ILS approach to Runway 3.  It had been immediately rejected, but I thought I heard "roger" so I waited to hear back.  A new controller stepped in soon after, and after I reported to him that I had the weather information at CHO, I asked again about the approach.  This controller came back with a slightly longer answer of "Not approved - can't do opposite direction anymore after DCA screwed it up the other week" (referring to the incident at DCA on 31 July).  Since I couldn't try the ILS to Runway 3, I asked for the RNAV GPS Y to Runway 21, which was approved.  You can see the tail end of the approach here in the video:

[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and the video was lost.]
The whole approach can be seen in the time lapse video at the end of the post.

After landing and shutting down, I brought Ashley to Timberwood for what was originally going to be dessert or something light, but the delay put us more in the dinner mood, so we got burgers instead.  After dinner and the drive back, we were back up in the air to head home.

The flight back was pretty peaceful, and I got more simulated instrument time.  Since it was getting dark, and not being able to see terrain is unsettling, I took the blinders off to have extra eyes looking to make sure we were headed in the right direction.  Adding to the tense setting, I managed to forget to stop by the rest room before departing CHO.  Luckily it wasn't bumpy.  You know the rest.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 65.1 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.9 - 7.5 (of 40)

Comfort Food in Charlottesville

N1090V - C172S - 1.9 hours

My friend Christina helped kick this blog off with Let the Cross Country Begin, but she hasn't flown since for a number of reasons.  Earlier in the week, though, she asked if she could bring a friend along for a trip down to Charlottesville (CHO).  Part of it would be something to do while their respective guys were out for their own entertainment that night, and the rest of it was to introduce her friend Brittany to flying.  This flight would make two introductions to small planes this week for me, and it was really a first time in a plane of any size for her.

As life is always interesting for me, we showed up to the airport with my request of two headsets sitting in the lock box, but no keys or book for N172DR.  Luckily, there were a few planes that would be back slightly after we'd intended to leave, so I we waited until one got back and just took that one.  The one that came back first, however, was of course one of the G1000 172s that I love so much.  As you may remember, I've come to terms with them because of the cool technology (and it could've saved my life), but for my average flying I still find it unnecessary.  In any case that's what we had, and I would, of course, live it up.  I had one of the nicest planes in the fleet.  Why not?

Just to ease any nervousness that might be building closer to departure, I made sure to explain what I was doing as I walked around, taxied out, checked the engine, and put the plane up in the air.  After departing, Christina asked if we'd be able to see Upperville (2VG2) as we flew out, so I adjusted course to overfly it.  Naturally, comments were made about RESTRICTED being written all over the runway.

The sky was remarkably clear, so I pointed out a few planes on the western arrivals into Dulles, aided by the G1000 traffic display.  They were all RJs of some sort, but Christina and Brittany were both able to spot one of them as it passed over.  The delay earlier had also put us closer to sunset, so we got to watch that on the way down.  Sunsets are so much better up in the air, as you can see evidenced to the right.

On the way down, I called Potomac Approach to get flight following, which makes the whole flight into CHO a little easier.  As usual, I talked to ASPER, MANNE and CHOWE before getting passed on to tower.  The wind at CHO was from the south, so I was instructed to make a straight in approach to Runway 21.  The straight in approach really makes the flight all too easy, but I'm not complaining.  The landing is below.  As usual, I'm pretty proud of myself for landing with enough nose up attitude to get the stall warning to go off (that's what that annoying sound is right before I touch down, if you didn't know already), since that's not a norm for me.  The large plane on the ramp is a C130.  I have no idea why it was there.


[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and the video was lost.]

For the first time ever, I walked in and Keya wasn't there, but the rest of the ramp crew was.  By now, you know the story.  We stole the car, drove to Timberwood, and a Clint Eastwood was eaten.  I also asked the waitress if the picture my friend Melissa and I had drawn last time we were there was up somewhere, and it apparently made an appearance for a while at the server station.  I'll admit to being a little proud of that one, too.

After dinner, we headed back to the airport, paid for fuel, and set back off towards Leesburg (JYO).  By that time, it was dark, but we were off in no time, after a quick wait at the end of the runway for a landing ERJ for American Eagle.  On the way back, Christina made a comment about how it would be cool to land at Dulles (IAD), which I took and ran with.  I had checked the ATIS a few minutes earlier and they were in north ops, so it wouldn't have been out of anyone's way, necessarily.  I don't have the LiveATC recordings, but it went something like this:

N1090V: "Hey Potomac, Cessna 1090V, how busy are you guys right now?"
CHOWE: "You're only in my airspace for another few miles.  What do you want?"
N1090V: "I'm just checking to see if I could get a touch and go at Dulles."
CHOWE: "Cessna 1090V, contact Potomac on 126.65.  I've passed your request on to him."
N1090V: "Awesome.  Thanks.  Potomac on 126.65, Cessna 1090V."
N1090V: "Potomac, Cessna 1090V, 5500."
TILLY: "Cessna 1090V, Potomac, roger.  Confirm your request for a...touch and go at Dulles?"
N1090V: "Affirm, Cessna 1090V.  We can take 1L to stay out of the way."
TILLY: "1L is closed, but you might be able to do 1C.  I've passed it on to a Sup.  Can we even do that?  We'll let you know."
TILLY: "Cessna 1090V, Dulles tower said they'd take you on 1C.  Expect visual 1C, fly heading 060, descend and maintain 5000."
N1090V: "Expect visual 1C, heading 060, descend and maintain 5000, Cessna 1090V.
TILLY: "Cessna 1090V, fly heading 090, descend and maintain 3000.  I'm sequencing you number 3 behind a 757 and an ERJ."
N0190V: "Heading 090 and down to 3000, Cessna 1090V."

After unkeying the mic, I laughed about being behind one of the most dangerous aircraft to possibly be behind, in terms of wake turbulence.  At least I had a buffer with the ERJ between me and it.

TILLY: "Cessna 1090V, traffic 9 oclock, 3 miles, eastbound turning to final, ERJ, 3000.  Report traffic in sight.
N0190V: "Traffic in sight, Cessna 1090V."
TILLY: "Cessna 1090V, follow that traffic, cleared visual approach Runway 1C."

As I got closer, I heard the controller ask a Southwest 737 if he wanted Runway 1R or 1C.  The pilot took 1C so I kept my speed up on the way in, which you can hear in the video.  You can also hear a few remarks by me, along with Christina and Brittany.  One of them is me explaining why the G1000 kept yelling TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC (plane in the Runway 30 hold block left had its transponder on - comment at 01:45), and the other one is me confirming that, yes, we are, in fact, a big deal (comment at 2:10).  For those familiar with the area, the video starts over Westfield High School.


[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and the video was lost.]

The rest of the flight was remarkably short.  The tower controller had me fly heading 330 until I had JYO in sight, and even so, he kept me on the frequency until pretty close to turning final.  At that point, I was turned over to JYO's frequency.  You know the story from there.  The FlightAware track is below.  For the record, I'm not a fan of the new high contrast lettering, and it's clearly the end of the world.  The circles around JYO are from the previous flight, which was all pattern work.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.9 - 58.2 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 6.6 (of 40)

IR PIC XC Complete

N172DR - C172R - 1.7 hours

For those of you scratching your head, wondering what the heck the title is supposed to mean, it means "Instrument Rating Pilot in Command Cross Country Complete."  Basically, in order to get the rating, the FAA wants you to have 50 hours of flight time to destinations more than 50nm (57.5 "regular" miles) away.

After the last flight, I was looking at the numbers and noticing that I was only 1.4 short of the 50 hour requirement, so I figured I might as well put that one out of the way.  At first, I'd assumed that I'd leave a few hours in there for the long cross country, but I just wanted to get it all over with.  That requirement is now out of the way, so all I have to do now is knock out a ton of sim time, along with a ton more time in the aircraft with horse blinders on, and then go take a checkride.  Easy, right?

We'll see how it goes.

Melissa rode along with me again on this milestone trip, and since we were going to be flying later in the day, on a Sunday, we eventually settled on Charlottesville for the trip.  It's shorter, it's easy, I know it, and it's safe.  Originally, I'd planned on departing in time to see the sun set, but by the time we both got ready, got to the airport, and got the plane ready, the sun had dipped below the horizon.  Even though it had disappeared, the sky was still a nice orange, so all was not lost.  Melissa also set up the Contour on the glareshield as I was preflighting, too, so I got the full taxi out, run up, and departure.  It's still in the testing phase, though, so it's still not perfect.  For one, I took 3M Command Adhesive to stick it to the glareshield, so it's still not properly mounted (the mount should be here in a few days), and I haven't tuned the camera settings to my liking.  In any case, there's a good bit of video captured prior to it getting too dark.

On the way down, I talked to the MANNE and CHOEA sectors of the Potomac TRACON, along with Charlottesville Tower of course.  As soon as I checked in with CHOEA, I was given the ATIS info and the arrival runway, which was Runway 3.  Once I was on tower's frequency, I was instructed to make right traffic, and flew over Route 29 to enter on the downwind.  As I entered the pattern, the tower controller, who was working a combined tower and ground, was giving instructions to a Colgan SAAB 340.  As usual, I don't like to be the little plane that gets in the way, I made a closer turn in to the runway, came in a little fast, and bled off the speed over the runway so that I could land, slow and exit the runway quickly.  That all worked out pretty well as I exited right before they called ready for departure.  Given the amount of wind, I'd say it was a pretty good landing.


The camera recorded nearly the whole flight, before it died on right base into Charlottesville.  Oddly enough, it actually split it into two videos.  I'm not sure if that was a file size limitation, or if it somehow got bumped in the turbulence, but it split the file.  Oh well.  Weird things always happen when adapting to new technology.

I took my normal taxi route to the Landmark ramp, which apparently somehow confused the tower controller, as he revised his earlier taxi instructions for Landmark.  It was the same tower controller I always talk to and I was in my normal plane, but I guess he had never paid attention to what I'd done before.  In any case, I made it in, parked and shut down.  The ramp guy parked me right in front of the door to the building (I felt a little first class right about then, no lie), and as I opened the door I was greeted with "the crew car should be here - no fuel?"  Even though our flight school worked out a deal to avoid the ramp fee at Landmark - CHO because the aircraft is based at a Landmark at JYO, I felt like I should give them something for letting me borrow their car all the time, so I had them put some fuel in it.  When I walked inside, Keya met me with similar, in that I knew the drill for taking the car, and we were off.

I haven't yet decided if I like the fact that I've come here so often that I'm recognized and understood or not.  On the one hand, I like being a regular because it's nice to actually develop relationships with people, even if only simple ones, and it's nice to have a go-to.  On the other hand, being a regular means you're also somewhat predictable (evidence in the comments when I got out of the aircraft and walked inside), and I'm not sure I like being predictable like that.  It's not a big deal, really, but it's something I've obviously thought about.

At the grill, Melissa noticed the kid's menus had horses on them, and asked if I wanted to take one to color.  Of course, being an occasional large child, I did.  The hostess made note of the move and gave me a hard time about it as well.  At the table, I colored the horses while Melissa chastized me for my lack of proper shading - with Crayons, mind you - while the server, Chris, got the drinks and took the food order.  Melissa tried to steal my burger twice in the time we were there: once when we were ordering, and once when it came out.  In the end, I managed to end up with my Clint Eastwood burger, despite her efforts.  As we got ready to leave, I decided to finally get the names of the servers I liked and write them down so I can request them next time, which Chris helped with.  As a thanks, we left the drawing.  He said they'd hang it up if we left it, so we'll see what happens with it next time I'm there.

After taking care of the fuel and getting the plane set, we were off again.  Tower got us set up with flight following from Potomac while we were still on the ground, waiting for a US Airways regional jet to land.  As the RJ was exiting, we got the standard on course takeoff clearance, and we were off.  As usual with my departures out of CHO, I made a short field takeoff.  I find them fun and they keep my skill up for if I ever need to do one in the future.  I kinda want to see what it looks like from the ground, though.

The flight back was calmer, though still bumpy in parts.  As we got closer to JYO, I asked Potomac (ASPER), if I could get cleared into the Bravo.  The controller let me know she'd advise me as I got closer, and eventually cleared me in, VFR at or below 5500'.  Keeping it up at 5500' was nice, as we had a 20 knot tailwind, which put us up at about 140 across the ground.  Once we were about 20 miles out I called the field in sight, but she held on to us until we were about 5 out.  From there, I made a non-standard left base entry (nobody was around) and landed on Runway 35.

You know the rest of the story.

Yeah.  That's the runway, and that's the end of the video.

50 hours of PIC XC done.  Now it's just the instrument time, and the long cross country with multiple approaches.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 50.4 (of 50) 
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 4.9 (of 40)

Charlottesville? Twist my arm...

N65410 - C172S - 1.7 hours

On my way out the door with my friends Ashley and Katelyn, I ran into my good friend Roscoe, as he was up at the airport to check out a Sport Pilot Seminar that was going on.  It was just about to start and would go for a few hours, so I told him I'd be glad to come back in a few hours to go on a flight if he wanted to.  He agreed, so I set off for a shopping experience with the girls to kill some time.  In that time, I also sent a message to a buddy who just moved down to the area, Aaron, to see if he'd like to join, which he did.

Still looks new

Back at the airport I was told I by Tim, one of the CFIs, that I should go collect Roscoe from the Landmark hangar where the event was going on.  On the way back from the hangar, we ran into Aaron in the parking lot, so we all ran in to prep for the flight.  The evening's flight would be in one of Av-Ed's newer (in terms of acquisitions) 172S models, N65410.  I've never flown this one before, so I gave it a closer look than I would N172DR or one of the other usual suspects, but it's newer and pretty well taken care of, so everything was in order.

After Roscoe and Aaron climbed in and got situated, I got the plane started and off towards Runway 17 for our southwest departure to Charlottesville.  Since Roscoe works out at Potomac TRACON, I made sure to give them a call as I was heading out.  I called up ASPER (Dulles' north-side departure sector that works JYO departures and arrivals) first, but he dumped me right onto CHOEA (CHarlOttesville EAst).  At this point, I was over Upperville, well north of CHOEA's airspace, but they must've worked something out.  Anyway, after giving me a code and a few more miles for me to get closer to his radar range, he picked me up and I continued on my way to CHO.

Heading down to CHO

As I got closer, the controller asked if I had the weather information for CHO, but because I was out of its broadcast range, I hadn't picked it up yet on my second COM radio.  Just to make sure it wasn't the radio, I told him I was going to jump off of his frequency to check it with my primary radio.  Getting nothing, I went back over to his frequency and told him the situation, which prompted him to rattle off the weather for me.  Of course, as soon as he finished, I picked up the information on the second radio, which was still tuned to that frequency.  Joking with him about it, I also called the field, as I had Piney Mountain in sight.  For those of you unfamiliar with that area down there, Piney Mountain is just north of the airport, and the TRACON actually has one of their radar sites on top of it.  From there, it was straight in Runway 21, contact the tower.  Tower advised me to let him know when I was on a 5nm file, and at that point I was cleared to land.  That landing was probably my best one that day.  I actually got the nose up some, and the stall warning horn went off right as we touched.

I shut down and the ramp guy must've recognized me because he asked if I would be needing the crew car this time.  Inside, the ladies at the counter got my information and made fun of each other for even making me go through the motions because I'm apparently a regular now.  Can you guess where we went with said crew car?  Timberwood Grill, of course.

Locking up in CHO

Roscoe and Aaron both got burgers while I got the crab bisque, half to change it up, and half because I promised a friend I'd cook her dinner when I got home, and I wouldn't live it down if I showed up full.

The flight back was pretty hazy, but it was getting dark, so it wasn't too bad.  The dusk actually made spotting traffic a lot easier, and there was a lot of it.  Before departing, I had tower coordinate flight following for us, and when I was cleared for takeoff I made a short-soft takeoff just because I could, and I find them fun.  After departure, it was CHO's normal "climb on course," so I turned downwind and climbed up out of the pattern heading back to JYO.

As we got closer to JYO, you could start to see some departures out of Dulles climbing above us, though we couldn't hear them on our frequency.  I did, however, hear an arrival check in past Winchester that would eventually pass right over me closer in.  At about that time, the controller also called another aircraft 800' below me, opposite direction, type unknown, which would have been startling, but the plane we were flying had a traffic display in it, and I had noticed the plane on the display a few seconds before.

The rest of the flight was pretty quiet.  The wind had shifted, so I made my way in to land on Runway 35.  The landing was pretty flat, as usual, but not bad.  After we shut down, we all put the plane back in its spot and headed home.

I think one or two more flights will put me right on the edge of the 50 hour pilot in command cross country (PIC XC) requirement.  Some of that time will come as part of a long cross country later on that's a requirement for the instrument rating, so I plan on cutting my cross country flights just short of the 50 hours and picking up some hours in the sim, with some regular flights in between.  I'll probably still make blog entries for the sim time, commenting on what I've learned, but don't expect anything really, truly interesting to happen in those posts.  Don't fret, though, because we all know I can't go too long without actually getting in a plane.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 46.4 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 4.9 (of 40)

Yes, Charlottesville Again

N172DR - C172R - 1.7 hours

The last time I flew with my buddy Phil was back in college.  That's way too long in my book, so we tried working out a flight over Thanksgiving, but that fell through.  Since he's back here for Christmas, I figured it would be a good time to finally get that flight in.

Originally, we were going to keep it to a shorter flight but since Phil's brother's fiancee lives down near Charlottesville, we ended up settling on that as the destination, and Phil's youngest brother James would also be joining us.

Phil on the preflight

At the outset, it was an interesting morning with higher winds and lower clouds, but neither would be problems for the departure.  The forecast said the clouds would lift some, but the wind would continue.  Here at Leesburg, it was straight down the runway, but the forecast at Charlottesville showed an increasing crosswind as the day progressed.  In any case, it wasn't too worrying and we met up in Leesburg to get everything set.

In the time between my last flight in October and this flight, the FAA changed procedures out of Leesburg where we no longer need to file a flight plan to fly in the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), which saves me a little time.  In the end, it really saves me the worry of forgetting to file.

Departure shot

When I first got back in the air back in July, my goal was to start to pick up better habits that I'd never really concentrated on in my private training.  Part of that was to always use the correct control positions for the wind during taxi, and I definitely used that taxiing around today.

The flight down was a little bumpy, made slightly worse by being kept low by clouds.  We talked to Potomac TRACON on the way down, and since Phil had requested a quick circle around his brother's fiancee's house, when Potomac dumped us on Charlottesville tower, we told them what was going on and that we'd give them a call when we were back inbound.

Circling the house, Phil and James got video and photos of their brother Francis and his fiancee Andrea running around the yard with one of the family dogs.  In the process, I was brushing up on turns around a point, with moderate success.  After a few laps, I called the tower to tell them we were back inbound, and he cleared us to land on runway 3 since we were the only traffic at that point.  As we got closer, though, a few departures had an opportunity to get out, so he extended our downwind and re-cleared us.

At the airport, we waited a few minutes for Andrea and Francis to show up.  They had apparently made the wrong turn and ended up at the terminal.  It's all the same at the small airports, right?  We figured it out though, after a quick walk from where we were over to the parking lot over by the terminal.  As ever, our destination from there was Timberwood, where I'd have an opportunity to change it up and get a Chuck Norris burger, instead of my usual Clint Eastwood.

Switching from ASPER to JYO CTAF

After paying for the fuel, Phil got the ATIS while I gave the plane a quick shakedown.  Ground got us out to the runway, and tower gave us the usual "climb on course, cleared for takeoff."  This time, however, there was more than the usual amount of traffic being called out.  A Cessna and a Colgan SAAB were both inbound to the field, coming from the north.  We ended up spotting the Cessna, but the SAAB was further out, and was well enough right of course that it wouldn't be a problem, so we switched over to Potomac and talked to them all the way back up to Leesburg.

Middleburg, VA

The landing was a little flat - as they almost always are with me - but I thought it was pretty good.  Phil got video of it (Phil also has video of one of my worst landings ever), so we'll see what that looks like when it's up.

I ended up getting 0.7 hours under the hood on the trip down and back, thanks to Phil also being a pilot, so there's some of the 40 down, though I still have a good bit left.  Hopefully, I'll get the long cross country with multiple approaches taken care of soon to wrap up the XC time, and burn some hood time.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 41.9 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.7 - 4.9 (of 40)

Charlottesville? Again?

N144ME - C172S - 1.6 hours

A few weeks ago, when I met up with my Washington Center (ZDC) controller friend, Julie, we decided she needed to get back up in the air.  At first, my plan was to meet a friend for breakfast, then run to the airport for a flight out to Luray or similar, and then run out to Strasburg to visit the grandparents.  Breakfast ran late, so I was late to the airport, and I had booked the plane later than I had thought, so I royally screwed up there.  After calling the grandparents, though, they decided that it was better to visit another weekend anyway, which freed up more time for a longer flight and a longer trip in general.

During the week, we were looking at several destinations, but the last two we were looking at were Luray (W45) and Cumberland (CBE).  Cumberland looks like a nice flight with some cool terrain around the airport, and I know Luray has a few things in town, but I wasn't sure about the availability of cars to get us around on a Sunday.  I did know, however, that my frequent flight spot Charlottesville would definitely have a car for me, so we headed in that direction.

Rolling on 17 JYO

The guy in N144ME before us got back a little early, but something happened to the software the school uses to track its aircraft, so that ended up negating an earlier departure.  In the end, I just grabbed the keys so that I could preflight while they worked out the computer issue.  Everything checked out with the plane and Julie managed to grab the book while I was finishing up, so we jumped in and taxied down to Runway 17 to head down to Charlottesville.

Final 21 CHO

On the way down, Julie got some time on the controls and called a few co-workers up in a few different sectors of ZDC.  The trip down was pretty smooth, but smooth means hazy, as the pilot folk reading this should already know.  I kept it high and fast coming in to Charlottesville to see if I could beat my time from the last flight.  I managed to make it in at 0.7 hours, tying the last flight.  As we walked in, I grabbed the crew car from Landmark to head into historic downtown for the first time in a long time, and grab food.

Charlottesville Historic Downtown

Driving towards downtown, I remembered why I hated the drive down to Charlottesville: stop lights, and an endless amount of them at that.  In any case, I managed to remember how to get downtown without too much of an issue, even though I hadn't been there in three years (not that it's too hard anyway).  I'd forgotten how short the walk is from end to end, but I missed the local feel of the whole thing.  We walked in a few stores to look at what they had, and ended up running in to Great Scott's Popcorn to get a snack.  I think I've only added butter, Old Bay, and maybe salt and pepper to popcorn, so the flavors they had there were quite the experience, and they were actually rather delicious.  Definitely worth a stop if you're down there.

Can you see the excitement?

When you have the crew car, you're only supposed to have it for two hours, max, so we made our way back towards the airport, stopping at Timberwood for lunch.  Our server, who I've had before but have forgotten her name again, made sure we were in and out and back to the airport with a little time to spare on the two hour mark.  It isn't that she's not memorable, it's that I'm horrible with names.  I guess I should work on that.

Unfortunately, when we got back, there was a crew waiting on the car.  We were definitely back within the two hour limit, but the guys seemed pretty irritated.  I can understand that to a certain degree, but relying on the crew car is luck of the draw.  I flew down to CHO and flew back without having ever left the FBO because someone took more than the two hours (Turning into a Charlottesville Regular has that story).  Stuff happens.  Even so, I still feel slightly bad, because some pilots get worked hard, and the last thing they want to do is sit in an FBO waiting on someone else to give them an escape.

Before we left, Julie, being a controller, was able to get us up in the tower last minute for a quick tour.  The controller there had been there forever, and had his quirks, but he also had cookies and a cool view of the airport.  We stayed up there for a few minutes and then decided to head back home while there was still a little daylight left.  On the way out we had to hold short for an inbound SAAB 340, but after they were off, we were off.  The trip back took just under an hour, and I got a few minutes of night PIC.  As an added bonus, Julie handled all the radio work and some of the flying until we got back closer to Leesburg.  I think the next time we head out, we'll have to hit somewhere northwest, or southeast.  Looking at my flight map, it's decidedly lacking in those two directions:

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.6 - 40.2 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 4.2 (of 40)