17 July 2015

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)

02 July 2015

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)