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)
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)
This flight has been in the works for a while. I posted something up on Facebook back in December about wanting to go on a flight, which my friend Melissa responded to with "when???" For various reasons, we never got around to it for the next few months, until I asked one day if she was serious about going. Once she found out that Raleigh (RDU) was a possibility, we started to plan a trip to see a Carolina Hurricanes game.
Just like most of my other flights, there were a couple different ideas of what would happen, but in the end we settled on April 6th. Luckily, by the time she was looking into buying tickets, the extended forecasts were shaping up to give me an idea that the weather would be okay. At about that time I was also nudged into giving myself an upgrade with a DA40. Closer to the flight the forecast just kept getting better, and you could definitely tell we were both getting pretty excited about it. In order to pass the time, I ended up creating an electronic weight and balance form, and studying the DA40 POH and G1000 reference guide. The result of the latter, and not being used to flying low-wing aircraft, was a quick reference sheet I wrote up the night before the flight. Note the several semi-threatening reminders to switch the tanks.
The day finally came and I showed up at the airport, typically early and ready to go. I checked the weather, took a look at the wind at various altitudes, and otherwise killed time until the plane got back. Melissa showed up with some time to spare, and I'm pretty sure I all but pounced on the person who was bringing the plane back. Out at the plane, I got everything set and began preflighting. While everything was in order, the oil was low and I wanted the tanks topped off, which took a lot longer than it normally does for some reason. As I was waiting for that, I set up two of my cameras. I brought all three, but I couldn't find a good spot for the third camera without it being right in one of our faces.
Despite the delay, we were off soon enough and on our way south for warmer weather and hockey. The engine started right up and looked good in the pre-departure checks, so we were off in no time. After departing, I turned west and then south as soon as I cleared the SFRA. Staying under the Class B airspace kept us down in some light turbulence, but as soon as I was able to step up it started to lighten up.
After passing the Casanova VOR (CSN), I called Potomac to get flight following all the way down. I pointed out the few landmarks that we passed, along with most of the airports we flew over. Melissa got some time at the controls as well, though I think my assistance in keeping the controls where they should be put a damper on the experience (the plane was pulling to the left because I was heavier, and was burning fuel off of the right wing). Her not being able to see over the glareshield made the whole event pretty difficult, though I was able to point out what the artificial horizon is meant for.
Closer to RDU, I was given a descent and a vector west of the field for a downwind to Runway 5R. I'm not sure where the controller was from, but if you could imagine Boston combined with North Carolina that's what I would liken it to. After swinging around the airport, I set it down on Runway 5R. It wasn't one of my best landings, but I was told that it was better than some commercial landings. Tower had me roll to A6, which is close to Landmark, and contact ground for instructions to get to the ramp.
[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
After being marshalled in and shutting down, we were immediately confronted with two questions:
1 - Who was going to win the game.
2 - Whether or not we thought there would be more NY Ranger Jerseys than Carolina jerseys.
Naturally, we both answered in favor of Carolina in both cases while I made sure all of the equipment was okay to sit for the next few hours.
I had called for a cab over the frequency when I was about 15 minutes out, so our ride to the stadium was sitting outside when we walked in. I'm glad I thought to do that as our fuel and oil delay up at Leesburg (JYO) pushed us pretty close to game time. When we finally got to the stadium they were in the middle of the National Anthem, so we were a little behind, but not by much. The seats, though, were pretty awesome. We were low enough that it felt like we were on the ice, but high enough to see over the players' heads. The only unfortunate side to the whole deal is that Melissa's favorite player, Alexander Semin, was out for the night, and the team was having an off night in general. They ended up losing 4 to 1.
After catching a cab back to the airport we were met by the Landmark crew and a fuel receipt with "LET'S GO RANGERS" stapled to it on a sticky note. Looks like I owe that guy a dollar. Oh well.
The departure runway was still Runway 5R, so after a relatively long taxi back to the end of the runway, we set back off towards JYO. Once the departure controller found out where we were headed, he asked us about whether or not the cherry blossoms were in bloom. He had apparently just visited DC while visiting family and missed the peak bloom. Just before passing us on to Washington Center, he instructed me to take a few pictures for him. I think I'll have to surprise him by sending some pictures now.
I pointed out the various airports as we passed over them, to include Lake Anna (7W4) and the story of almost getting hit there last September, which she remembered as I mentioned it to her after that flight when we met up that night. The route back had more of a tailwind, so our groundspeed was much better, putting us back in the DC area relatively quickly. Potomac luckily gave me clearance into the Bravo to take more advantage of it. The crazy thing was that the wind was still showing 30 knots at pattern altitude back at JYO. It made the approach somewhat awkward, but not too bad in the end. After landing, I brought the plane back to the spot, shut down, and started packing up. Once everything was finally back in the flight bag, I had a little difficulty putting the plane back in its spot, but luckily had someone else there to help me out.
It was a long day of flying, and while the game itself was somewhat disappointing, the entire event was worth it.
Hours: Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 3.5 - 79.7 (of 50) Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 10.5 (of 40)
I normally embed my flight videos right into my posts, but that's because I upload the raw video to Contour or YouTube as I'm writing. Since I edited video from three cameras together into one for the Dizzy Yet? flight, I uploaded it well after publishing the flight narrative. For now, I'll probably post the flight narrative with a couple videos, and then follow that up with the edited video in another post, as with the case here.
I know some of you probably saw the Facebook or Twitter links to it, but for those of you who haven't seen the finished product, here it is (make sure to switch it up to 720p HD):
I learned a lot making this video, so the videos in the future should be better.
I was supposed to go on a flight with my friends Matt and Mike this past weekend, but weather got in the way of that twice. Saturday afternoon was cancelled because of low clouds and rain, and Sunday was cancelled because of wind and turbulence. Of course, having just received my new mounts and camera, I was itching to go play with the new toys.
As I've mentioned a few times in previous posts, the commercial pilot license requires a certain amount of solo night flight experience, and a part of that is 10 takeoffs and landings at a towered field. I've passively thought of my options since learning of the requirement, and my general conclusion was that none of them were particularly good. Charlottesville (CHO) requires about 45 minutes just to get there, though the tower stays open all night. Martinsburg (MRB) is closer, but the tower closes earlier than I'd need it to. Dulles (IAD) would be great, but the A/FD says "no flight training after 2200 local," and you'd be nuts to try to request pattern work there. After some thought, though, I remembered that Frederick (FDK) now has a tower, and it stays open long enough to fit in 10 landings after dark.
At first, I figured I'd wait and just take care of the flight later, but between the days getting longer and the potential for controllers to be furloughed in the near future, I thought the best time would be now. I booked a plane, packed my stuff, and set off towards Leesburg (JYO).
Before preflighting, I set up the three cameras so that I could get some video of it from multiple angles. The video that came from them wasn't the best, but the angles worked out pretty well for the flight itself. They'll all look better with a day flight, too. You know, being able to actually see things makes video that much better.
Here's the ContourGPS shot over the nose:
[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
I imagine that the ContourGPS will always be up somewhere on the windscreen so that it can get a clear shot up to the GPS satellites, so you'll always have that typical angle to look forward to. The next angle, shot from the ContourROAM is out the right window, which caught some pretty cool reflections off of the right wing. You can see the sunset reflected, and the moon as I turn north.
[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
The final angle I got with the new ContourROAM2 was of the panel, which included my back. Phil shoots from this angle with his GoPro, and the end result is pretty cool looking. I'll try it out the next time I fly during the day. Unfortunately, I didn't bother getting a larger SD card for the new camera, so it cut out just before I landed back at JYO.
[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
I also managed to get myself a copy of Adobe Premiere Elements 11, so the video edits in the future should be a heck of a lot cooler. Don't get me wrong, Windows Live Movie Maker is a decent starting point (not to mention, it's free), but it can't pull off what I'd like it to. We'll see what I can put together as I learn more about the program.
The flight up to FDK was nice and quick, and I was worked into the pattern behind another aircraft to begin what I saw as my own version of the Daytona 500. In order to pass the time, I made each lap a game of judging how well I got the nose up in the flare. After three times around, I told the controller taking over for the last controller that I was going to be doing seven more laps so that he knew what the plan was. He worked me in between a couple others who showed up for pattern work, and another couple of IFR arrivals. The last few trips around the pattern were under the guidance of the first controller. Getting closer to the 10 landings mark, I actually lost count, despite making tick marks on the scratchpad of ForeFlight. After an insurance lap, just in case I had double counted a lap, I let the controller know on the upwind that I was done bothering her for the night and was heading back to JYO. As she and I exchanged salutations, another pilot in the pattern checked to make sure I was spacially-oriented well enough to get home with "you dizzy yet?"
With the assistance of ForeFlight, I kept myself below the Class Bravo airspace as I got closer to JYO. The landing, which would make 12 for the night, was a simple straight in approach to Runway 17.
[Video got lost when Contour closed down for a while.]
I'm off to mess around with Premiere Elements 11 to see what I can to do these videos. So far, I haven't found a feature to correct my bonehead error of not properly leveling the ContourGPS, so I'll try to make sure it's level next time.
Hours: Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 76.2 (of 50) Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 10.5 (of 40)
I joined the ranks of the more technologically advanced back in February when I got my ContourGPS. Since then, I've been gotten a few new mounts for it. The first one is the suction cup mount, which I've used for quite a while now, and you have all seen the results in the videos. It gets great shots over the nose of the plane, mounted up on the windscreen. Since the view from the inside is pretty normal these days (just look on YouTube), I started to look into ways to mount a camera externally. I've seen a few people mount cameras externally using the 3M tape that came with the camera, but I'm not so sure I'd trust tape against the relative wind and turbulence. Beyond that, the planes I fly are owned by other people, and I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate tape residue all over their planes. Looking around at the automotive mounts, I thought I'd found what I was looking for: a roll bar mount.
The mount comes with a hose clamp in a rubber sleeve, which keeps it in position and avoids scratching the strut. Since the included hose clamp is meant for a three inch bar, I bought a larger clamp and wrapped it in electrical tape. The ContourGPS is marketed as resistant to water, mist and spray, but I'd prefer not to find out how resistant it really is, since it was rather expensive. Because of that, I opted to hold off until I bought one of the basic models. Though all Contour cameras all have the option for a case, I could capture more video with a second camera, so why not get another?
The ContourROAM is slightly less expensive than the ContourGPS, is waterproof to one meter, has a wider angle lens, and has an instant record switch. The latter means I don't have to worry about it being on or off before trying to start recording, which has caused issues in the past. The still picture mode also allows a higher picture frequency than the ContourGPS (one picture per second, rather than every three seconds), which means the time lapse videos will seem a lot less jerky. My thought was that flights would be shot externally on the ContourROAM, and internally on the ContourGPS.
I tried to use the roll bar mount plus ContourROAM setup on my flight back in August, but it wasn't sitting correctly and seemed loose in the clamp. I wasn't about to lose the camera that I had just bought and potentially damage something on the ground, so I opted to hold off on using it. The roll bar mount is for round tubes up to three inches, but the Cessna strut is larger and flattened to be more aerodynamic. Because of that, the mount sits on top of it, instead of around it. I'm still working on a solution for it, but whatever I come up with has to be absolutely secure. Beyond that, I'm still trawling the regs to see if it would be in violation of something, but if you recall, the GoPro commercial did have externally-mounted cameras on an Extra. As to whether or not they had special approval for that or not, I have no idea.
The ROAM2 in its assorted colors
For now, though, I have two more suction cup mounts on the way from Contour. One will be used with the ContourROAM to snag different camera angles, and the other will be used with a ContourROAM2 I'm hoping to snag in the near future. I have plans to add more, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. In the end, I'm hoping to have an array of cameras for an idea I have to add more to what's written here.
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)
One of the facts of life when it comes to flying is currency. Since I've been flying regularly since I had my biennial flight review (BFR), it hasn't been much of an issue. I haven't been flying much lately in order to save for a trip to Italy in two weeks. I needed to fly before the trip, though, in order to keep my currency with the flight school. If I didn't, my currency would've expired in the middle of the trip, requiring me to fly with a flight instructor the next time I went flying, to meet the flight school's requirements.
As I mentioned in my last post, I used this excuse to schedule a short flight out to Winchester (OKV), except this time the wind cooperated.
The preflight was one of the coldest excursions I've been on lately, but it was somewhat negated by new gloves I got for Christmas. As I got everything set up inside, I tried to set up the ContourROAM on the headband for my head lamp, but the band wasn't strong enough and it got in the way of my headset. I left it there and got some video from it, but nothing interesting came from it. I'm thinking of hooking it to my headset somehow for future flights. A daylight flight wouldn't hurt, either.
The departure was pretty standard, apart from me forgetting to check the carburetor heat initially. As I cleared the Class B airspace to the west, I noticed my groundspeed was about 80 knots, which was about 30 knots less than my indicated speed, meaning I had a significant headwind. If the wind is fast enough, you can drop your speed, put the flaps down and fly backwards. For those of you who can't comprehend that, the plane is still moving forward, but the Cessna 172 can still remain airborne down to about 40 knots. If the wind is faster than 40 knots opposite the direction you're travelling, you're actually moving backwards over the ground. Unfortunately the wind wasn't strong enough, so I only got the plane down to about 18 knots across the ground, but it looked like I was sitting still at 5000'.
I ended my experiment when I realized I was at 5000' only 15 miles away from OKV. Closer in, I lined up with the runway and brought it in. You can actually see a glow around the approach lights because they're reflecting off of some snow that had melted and frozen earlier in the day. Later on, as I was in the middle of my flare, I apparently had a subconscious thought to get the nosewheel up, which you can see in the video. That caused me to float, which I luckily salvaged by adding a little throttle. I have to say, I'm actually kinda proud that I got the nose up.
[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and they went missing.]
After fully stopping - the FAA requires three full stop landings at night, after all - I went around for another landing. The second landing wasn't nearly as good as the first. If you watch the video, make sure to have the sound on so that you can hear a sound an airplane shouldn't make. As I cross the threshold, some wind kicked the plane around a little. I didn't think much of it after that because it hadn't been gusty, but as I was in my flare and settled on the runway, another gust pushed me to the right some, sideloading the right tire. It wasn't a pleasant noise.
[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and they went missing.]
The flight back home was amazingly quick, mostly due to the wind that was now at my back. I hooked in from the northwest to land on Runway 35 and call it a night. This one was much better than the second landing. I touched down on the aiming points, and vacated at the first available exit. I'm not sure why I chose to jump off so quickly, but I did.
[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and they went missing.]
Luckily the planes on the row behind the spot for N96178 weren't there, so I was able to just pull the plane through. In the end, the flight was only 0.9 hours, which surprised me. The Hobbs meter's last hours digits were 64 when I left, and when I landed it was still 64. I thought the Hobbs didn't even record the hours until I realized that I'd gotten back within an hour, having left at 64.0 and gotten back at 64.9.
So, now I have my my night currency, flight school currency, and sanity back. We'll see what 2013 brings.
Hours: Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 74.2 (of 50) Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 9.6 (of 40)
Phil and I have had plans to go flying for a while now. Originally, it was a flight back in May, but that got cancelled so I flew out west on my own. I'm pretty sure there were a few plans in between, but more recently we were thinking of helping a friend get home to Upstate New York. Those plans also got cancelled as well, so like the flight back in May, we thought we'd head up to State College, PA. Yesterday, we decided that flight would be a little longer than we would've liked, so we cancelled those plans as well and opted for a challenge instead.
To be honest, that last paragraph reminds me a little of this:
Back in February of 2010, I went for a flight out of Harford County Airport (0W3), right after one of the Snowpocalypse storms. If the 2000' x 40' runway wasn't enough of a challenge, some of the snow plowed off of the runway was piled at the ends. It wouldn't be enough to force pilots to hit a 2000' x 40' target, though. Why not add in a 24' telephone line 500' from the runway, and some giant trees just beyond that? This is also not mentioning that I hadn't flown since August of 2008 prior to that. Despite it being a challenge, I really enjoyed it. I think that was the reason I enjoyed it, actually. It's a challenge.
We started the day early in weather that could only be described as "severe clear." Clear weather, however, makes no mention of temperature or wind. While it wasn't too incredibly cold, it was cold enough to put frost on the wings. The wind only added to the chill at a steady 6 knots. Phil preflighted the plane while I de-iced the wings of our plane, and several other aircraft on the way to put the de-ice bottle back inside. Back outside, I got the interior all set up with Phil. In the last flight narrative, I made fun of myself for the amount of technology I bring with me, but we essentially doubled it this time. Phil had his GoPro, iPad, Dual XGPS150, and the audio setup. I had my Contour, iPad, Garmin GLO, and audio setup as well. Why not?
After starting and heading down to the end of Runway 35, I called Potomac to get my SFRA flight plan activated. Apparently they didn't get it, though, so instead of bothering with Flight Service, Phil and I gave up the plan of a shortcut through the SFRA and just departed north, up and around it. On climb out, my iPad was not agreeing with the Garmin GLO for whatever reason. Phil ended up getting it sorted through cycling the power on both. Once that was all sorted, I threw the blinders on so that we could both log time (and I could continue to chip away at the 40 hour instrument time requirement).
Because we didn't get an SFRA clearance, we flew a route that would hug the outside: DINUW LINSE TAFFI 0W3. In order to log another approach, I flew the RNAV (GPS)-B off of TAFFI.
One of the issues with flying GPS approaches is that you never know whether or not the GPS database in the aircraft is up to date when it comes to renting from flight schools. It all depends on the school, really, but the one I rent from tends to be pretty good about keeping the aircraft up to date. The ever-so-trusty N172DR has a KLN-89B, and looking at the unit, it seems pretty simplistic. If you're a flyer of an aircraft with a simpler-looking GPS, don't discount it too much as a lot of them have some pretty neat features buried in them. Unfortunately, most of the CFIs don't know a lot of the features and normally only show you how to use the Direct-To feature. That's nothing against them, really, as some fleets have different equipment in just about every plane, but it's tough to utilize the tools in front of you if you've never been shown how. If you're not going to be shown the neat features, you might as well go learn them on your own. The KLN-89B actually has a free simulator that's out there on the internet. Unfortunately, I can't find a link from the manufacturer, but I did find a link through Software Informer. If you fly with a different unit, there's probably a free simulator out there somewhere as well. To be honest, the only reason I knew the KLN-89B had a moving map and an approach database was through the simulator in the link.
So, all that to say I was able to load the GPS approach after TAFFI through a little homework. Since the GPS was only going to give me lateral navigation, I flew the approach with step downs. Looking at the track in CloudAhoy, I didn't do too poorly. At the far left, you can see a very subtle bend in the track, which is my turn over TAFFI. After that, the more obvious turn in the middle is SNAZI, where you can see I turned a little more than necessary, and had to adjust closer to the field in order to land on Runway 10. I'll review CloudAhoy in another post, but check out the screen capture in Debrief Mode.
When I began the approach, I checked BWI's ATIS as noted on the approach plate, as there's no weather station on the field. It noted the wind was 040 at 9, meaning a nice crosswind for the approach, but nothing too unmanageable. After the little sidestep at the end of the approach, I brought the plane in for what I thought would be a nice showing of my landing skills. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. The 9 knot wind wasn't so much of a 9 knot wind as much as it was a gusty 9 knot wind. It wasn't until I landed and checked the weather that I found out how gusty exactly.
In any case, here's the video of me fighting the crosswind down to the runway. Closer in, you can hear Phil say "nosewheel," anticipating me hitting nose first as I bring it in typically flat. I think I managed to hit the mains first, but wound up airborne again. I couldn't get it to settle and the end was coming up quickly, so I went around. Note the telephone line and giant trees at the end that I mentioned earlier, too.
[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and all was lost.]
After going around, I wrapped the pattern back around to try the approach to Runway 28. In the video, you can see that the wind sock shows the wind somewhat favored Runway 10, but the last time I flew here I used Runway 28, so I figured I'd try that.
The second approach wasn't any better than the first, so I went around. The third attempt, however, was good enough to set down. I won't say it looked pretty because it really didn't, but I at least made it down to the ground, despite a gust picking the right wing up slightly, causing me to drag the right wheel while trying to brake. Thankfully, I had Phil to dump the lift by raising the flaps when I called it.
The video picks up on final, and you can definitely see how close you come to the trees and the telephone lines this time around. Contour changed the style of the videos as well. I'm not so much of a fan of the new overlay, but it is what it is. Just make sure not to pay attention to the speed display. It's not very accurate, which you can see as it still displays 70 mph when I'm pulling off the runway.
[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and all was lost.]
As I exit, you can barely hear me coordinating with the aircraft holding short of the runway, who I later joked with about the luxuries of longer runways. Because I don't have any specific audio editing software, or audio hosting for that matter, I made it into a short YouTube clip:
After that departure, we headed back to JYO and I put the hood back on. Closer to Frederick (FDK), I remembered that they now have a tower and that I would need to avoid their airspace, or call them up. I opted for the former by climbing above it. The controller seemed to have his hands full with a couple pilots still adjusting to the relatively new tower, and I didn't feel like adding to his workload. After turning south, I handed the controls over to Phil so he could get in a landing. Compared to my landings, his was nice and smooth.
Here's the evidence:
[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and all was lost.]
After I got home and checked the weather, it turns out that BWI's weather information updated right after I flew the approach. This report matches more of what I felt:
For the non-pilots among us, this is saying that the weather at BWI (KBWI) today, at 1454 UTC (171454Z), had wind from the northeast at 12 knots gusting to 21 knots (04012G21). The rest is sky conditions, temperature and pressure.
Definitely an airport I would return to - wind or not. I loved the challenge.
Hours: Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.8 - 74.2 (of 50) Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 1.3 - 9.6 (of 40)
I'd have to say that autumn is my favorite season of all of them. It's not too hot, it's not too cold, and although it's a little rainy around where I live, the leaves changing colors is pretty cool. When I woke up this morning, I didn't think I'd go flying, but I did note how awesome one of the trees in my neighborhood looked. When someone I met at work mentioned going flying, I knew exactly where we would be going.
No, not Charlottesville.
One of the better places to go around here, if you're looking to check out the fall colors, is Skyline Drive. To the west of the ridge line that Skyline Drive follows is the Luray Valley, which is part of the Shenandoah Valley. If you've ever been on Skyline Drive and thought it looked cool, you should see it by air.
Because Marcy and I wanted to actually see the colors, we were presented with a little time issue. Meeting up at Leesburg (JYO) would've meant losing daylight after work, so I agreed to fly down to Manassas (HEF) to pick her up, and then continue to Luray (LUA). This, of course, presented me with a little airspace issue.
The direct path would really get me in hot water with Dulles Tower, as you can see in the picture on the left. Another option was to head out of the SFRA (the blue hatched arc with a white background in the picture) to the west and remain outside almost all the way until HEF. That option would take more time, but it gave me more room to work with. The final option is somewhat less obvious, unless you're really looking, and you're really comfortable with ATC and airspace. The four blue lines near the center of the picture are the runways at Dulles (IAD). The thick blue circle surrounding it is the airspace that starts at the ground and continues up to 10,000'. The next ring out is airspace that starts at 1,500', which you can see over JYO. As long as I stay under that 1,500' shelf of airspace, west of the floor airspace, and talk to Potomac Approach for clearance into the SFRA, I'm golden.
If you look closely, I even have a good landmark to keep me out of the floor airspace (aviation term for airspace that starts at the ground): Route 15. What you can't really see are the Bull Run Mountains, which I've talked about before in past posts because they're tall enough that you can't fly over them with legal clearance, yet remain below the Class B airspace. So, if I stay at 1,300', west of Route 15, and east of the Bull Run Mountains, I'm set. It really isn't the most ideal route - I don't really like being kept that low to the ground, and being close to airspace always makes me a little nervous - but it shaves enough time to make it worth it. I definitely wouldn't try it at night.
I took my time with the preflight, since I was slightly ahead of schedule, but still managed to get out ahead of a couple inbound aircraft. Once airborne, I coordinated my departure path with one of those inbound aircraft as flying the standard pattern would have meant cutting him off. I've noticed I've gotten a lot better at spotting traffic, for reasons I'm sure you already know if you've been following the blog for any amount of time. After I was clear of the traffic, I called Potomac up and got cleared into the SFRA. From there, I turned southbound to follow Route 15 down to Haymarket.
IFR really means "I Follow Roads" right?
(Route 15 runs right up the middle of the image)
Closer to HEF, Potomac passed me over to tower, who set me up on a left downwind for Runway 34R. If the pilot or ATC-side of you thought that last sentence was odd, mine did too. In the world of ATC, however, never forget two words: operational advantage. While putting me on the left downwind for runway 34R made me cross the final of 34L, it kept me away from two helicopters using 34R.
After landing over a construction team still working on extending the runway, I taxied off to the main terminal. Unfortunately, the main terminal doesn't have any parking spots painted on the ramp, so I asked the ground controller if she knew anything about the parking situation. She said she didn't, but offered a frequency for one of the FBOs next to me. The person who answered the call at APP Jetcenter was the GM, as I found out later. He gave me instructions on where to park, and even came out to marshal me into a spot as all of the other rampers were busy with other aircraft. I was pretty impressed, especially having been a ramp agent and supervisor myself.
I decided to try something new with the videos. I've always wanted to be able to add the voice communication to the recordings I take, but everything gets drowned out by the sound of the engine. I actually bought a cable to work with my voice recorder a while ago, but just got it (story and review of that will come at some point). With it, I'm now able to record the audio and then overlay it using the same program I use to create the time-lapse videos. This is the result:
It gives it an interesting new feel, and now I don't have to try to explain the things I find funny on frequency.
The rest of the flight was pretty simple. After taking off, tower kept me on runway heading for departure traffic on Runway 34L. Once that traffic turned southbound, I got my turn on course and frequency change to Potomac. Despite listening in to the frequency for a few seconds and calling when it was clear, the controller snapped back with "all VFR traffic standby!" As I've mentioned before, controllers often work combined frequencies, so you can't always hear the other traffic on the frequency. While the tone did seem a little unnecessary, I shrugged it off. In any case, I continued on my way to LUA, climbing under the Class B airspace. After crossing the mountain ridge, I descended into the valley to get a closer look at the colors and continued inbound to the airport.
After landing on Runway 4, I parked the plane on the North Ramp and got a ride into town from Kenny for dinner at Uncle Buck's. If you haven't flown in during the week, you probably haven't run into Kenny, but he's a great guy, just like John. They have a good crew down there.
The flight home was pretty quiet, and the landing at JYO was uninterrupted as there aren't many people who fly later in the day on weekdays. After landing on Runway 17 and parking the plane back in its spot, it took a while to get all of my technology out. It hadn't occurred to me until just now how much I have in there: the Contour, the iPad, the Garmin GLO, and a voice recorder. That's all on top of the other normal items.
No idea where the next trip will take me, but I'm not going unless I can get some simulated instrument time. Yes, that's an invitation to my other pilot friends.
Hours: Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.9 - 72.4 (of 50) Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 8.3 (of 40)
Right after graduating from Virginia Tech, I took a job at Dulles Airport (IAD) working the ramp for the summer. While I was there, I met a few other pilots working the ramp along with me. One of them was a guy named Woody, and through the wonderful invention called Facebook, we've managed to stay in touch over the years. Since we're both trying to build time, we've mentioned flying a few times, but never actually followed through. This time, though, it worked out.
The plan was to sit right seat and log PIC time while Woody got some simulated instrument time on a cross country flight around central Virginia. The original plan was to fly from Potomac Airfield (VKX) to Louisa County (LKU), Lake Anna (7W4), Chesterfield (FCI), Williamsburg (JGG), and then back to VKX. The last renters left the plane at Maryland Airport (2W5) the night before, though, so the departure point had to change. Luckily, that airport is outside the Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ), so we didn't have to deal with that nonsense. Once we got to the airport, Woody changed the plan to 2W5, Gordonsville (GVE), LKU, 7W4, Newport News (PHF), and then back to 2W5. I had no objections, so I jumped in, set the ContourGPS in the mount, the Garmin GLO up on the glareshield, and the iPad in my lap.
I tried something slightly new this time since I had both cameras. Yes, both. You haven't been formally introduced to the new one, but if you were paying attention to my post about my new pilot bag, I briefly mentioned it. I used the ContourGPS for the time lapse portions, and the new ContourROAM for videos of takeoff and landing. Thinking back on it, I should've reversed that, but you know what they say about hindsight...
First Leg: 2W5-GVE - 0.8 hours
Say what you want about the random music. I figured something needed to be done for the completely silent cruise portion.
As I was mainly along for the ride as a safety pilot, Woody was at the controls for the departure. I only briefly took the controls so that he could put the blinders on. For not having flown under the hood in what he said was a while, he did a good job, especially with a directional gyro that precessed terribly. For the non-pilots, the directional gyro is like a compass, but without some of the errors present in magnetic compasses. The problem of the gyro is that over time it precesses, which essentially means it drifts away from the real heading, so you have to update it by comparing it to the magnetic compass. It's really not as complicated as it sounds, but it's something we have to pay attention to. As we got closer to GVE, I "vectored" Woody towards the runway. After he took off the blinders, he set the plane down on GVE's short, less-than-level runway. Arriving at the ramp, he shut the plane down and we jumped out to get our Virginia Aviation Passports stamped (the same type of passport used as an excuse for a flight down to Richmond in February). The stamps for smaller fields like GVE are normally kept in a mailbox, but in searching for said mailbox we ran across an airport building halfway through a renovation, and a giant garden spider (the black and yellow ones that make webs with zig-zags in them...you know...those).
After getting the stamp, we jumped back in the plane to head to LKU, which is close to Lake Anna.
Second Leg: GVE-LKU - 0.3 hours
The flight over to LKU was slightly more eventful. As anyone who reads the blog regularly knows, I end up doing at least one short-field takeoff on most flights. Half of it is because I find them to be fun, and the other half is that you never know when you'll need to do one. Well, today we needed one. GVE's runway is only 2300 feet long, it dips in the middle with trees close to the ends, and we were in a P model with two heavier guys in it. I've taken off from shorter, but not with that combination of issues. It wasn't my best short field takeoff, but I'll blame it on having to fly from the right seat, which I've done before, but I don't do it often.
The fun didn't end there, though. After takeoff Woody put the blinders on, took the controls, and put us on course to LKU. As we were climbing, I noticed a Piper opposite direction, about 500 feet above us (01:45 in the video - the wide angle lens on the camera makes it seem farther away than it was). It caught me a little by surprise, so I reached forward and put pressure on the yoke to halt the climb temporarily. As soon as they passed, Woody continued the climb. Closer to LKU, Woody brought us around the pattern and set down. We parked by the main airport building, which had an attached hangar with a Civil Air Patrol glider in it. After walking inside, I spotted the passport stamp sitting on a counter, so I grabbed my stamp, walked back out to the plane, and grabbed a picture.
Next up was 7W4.
Third Leg: LKU-7W4 - 0.3 hours
The departure from LKU was relatively simple compared to GVE. The runway is nearly twice as long and two and a half times as wide, so it was nice and easy. Just like the last leg, though, it was pretty short, time-wise. Still, Woody was able to pick up some time with the blinders. Things got interesting as we got closer to 7W4, however. Because the ramp is at the east end of the runway, pilots like to save time by departing to the west, and arriving to the east. As I switched the radio to the airport frequency, I heard a pilot call and say he was departing Runway 26. So, just like the approach to LKU, we would make our way around the pattern to land west. What I didn't hear, however, was a second plane make a call to indicate he was taking off behind the first plane. It wasn't an issue, but it surprised me when I saw two bright yellow crop dusters rise off the runway and turn north. The landing was uneventful, but it wouldn't be the last time we saw those crop dusters, or the last time they would surprise us. Woody rolled out to the end of the runway, where we turned around and taxied back to the east end to shut down and search for the stamp. While he made a call ahead to Atlantic Aviation at PHF to reserve a crew car, I found the mailbox and stamped both of our passports.
Fourth Leg: 7W4-PHF - 0.9 hours
As I mentioned earlier, that wouldn't be the last time we'd see, or be surprised by those crop dusters. This time, the surprise made the Piper incident earlier pale in comparison. As Woody was running preflight checks, I monitored the airport frequency. When we were ready, I called to announce the westbound departure, which was what the flow of traffic was: the two crop dusters departed to the west, and we landed to the west. After the call, however, one of the dusters called and said they'd remain clear and circle away from the airport, because they wanted to land to the east (to save time, as mentioned earlier). I took his word for it, though I did check the pattern legs quickly to be sure. While we were rolling down the runway, I spotted one of them crossing our departure path, north to south, rolling to make a knife-edge pass and turn westbound. I called the traffic out to Woody, who turned north to avoid turning towards him. Since I remembered the duster had a buddy who wasn't making radio calls, I searched ahead of our turn and spotted him at the same altitude (both of them had been down on the treeline) to the east of the field. You can just barely make them out in the video. As I mentioned with the Piper, the wide-angle lens makes them appear farther away. If you can't see them, use full screen and 1080p. The annotations help to mark where they appear a few seconds ahead of time.
Once we were clear of that mess, I switched to Potomac Approach to coordinate getting over to PHF. In order to take the most direct route, we would fly through Richmond's Class C airspace, so we were required to be in contact with them. We passed the cruise time by discussing the ATC hiring process, and the overall poor quality of the pilots that Potomac had to deal with. A couple pilots either weren't paying attention or just had a poor grasp of English, which we found entertaining. The controller, not so much.
Closer to PHF, we passed over Busch Gardens on the way to land on Runway 20. Since we couldn't spot the Lear landing on the crossing runway, tower had to ask us to do just about everything possible to delay our arrival, to include entering on a 6 mile final, s-turns, and a tight 360 turn on short final. You'll see all of it in the video. What you can't see, however, are the training aircraft that were on the ramp for ATAC, which is a firm that provides training for military pilots by flying aggressor or foreign aircraft to show the pilots the capability of their potential enemies.
We parked at Atlantic as an AirTran 737-700 prepared to depart. Woody grabbed the car, and we sped off to get burgers at Red Robin. As we were sitting at lunch waiting for our food, we pulled up the weather to see if anything had changed. Of course, more storms were going to be passing through as part of another frontal system, similar to the ones last night. The mutual debate continued when we got back to Atlantic. After a call to a flight briefer, we decided it would be best to at least move in the direction of home, and if necessary, land to avoid an approaching storm. This being the strategy, we identified both West Point (FYJ) and Tappahannock (XSA) as bailout points. If you look at the image to the right, you'll see that the band of storms to the south would have arrived much later, while the storms to the north would pass through much sooner. Had we waited for the northern storms to pass, we would have had to try to beat the southern storms out. By departing earlier and stopping in XSA, we cut the wait time for the northern storms and avoided having to try to beat the southern storms out. I point that out mostly to clarify that there was a definite plan to the idea, and not simply "let's see how far we can get before the storms get here."
Getting ready to head home
Fifth Leg: PHF-XSA - 0.8 hours
Tower sent us out right behind another aircraft that would remain in the pattern. By this point, Woody was getting slightly tired of flying, so he passed the controls over to me after turning crosswind. In an effort to continue to let us both log time, I put the blinders on. Woody called Potomac for route guidance, and limited weather info since the storms were clearly visible to the north. As we flew over FYJ, we heard "Cessna 64181, do you have weather radar on board?" The controller's tone conveyed both concern and surprise that a small plane would be out braving the weather. We took the hint and turned northwest bound to skirt the back end of a storm and land at XSA. I didn't mess with the camera as I was flying, which is why you have a time lapse approach and landing. There are a few cool shots of the weather as we passed by it, though.
It took us a minute to find XSA, as there weren't many identifiable landmarks around it, which you can see in the video, but we made it in the end. The red-roofed terminal building made it easy to spot once we got closer. After landing, I brought the plane back to the ramp, parked it, and we both tied it down in preparation for the storms. Inside, one of the airport attendants and a local Virginia State Trooper kept us company while we reviewed the weather and developed a new plan of attack. Luckily, some of the storms had dissipated, and the storm that was supposed to pass over XSA passed well north. Because of that, we were able to leave slightly earlier than we had thought.
I grabbed a drink, and we set off for 2W5 after Woody filed an SFRA flight plan.
Sixth Leg: XSA-2W5 - 0.6 hours
I ended up flying the whole leg to 2W5 from XSA, getting more time under the blinders. Unfortunately, the camera died on the way there, despite my efforts to charge it at PHF and XSA. What you see for the landing video was shot from the ContourROAM up in the mount. I cut the base turn a little early so I ended up high and fast down final. I salvaged it by I bleeding speed over the runway. The landing was flat, but it wasn't too bad in my book. After the taxi back, I parked the plane at the grass tie downs and helped prepare the plane for its overnight stay.
In the end, we both logged about 3.7 hours, each getting a good amount of time under the blinders. I got 0.8 hours of simulated instrument time, which definitely helps towards the instrument rating. This trip also gave new meanings to the term safety pilot, as this was the first time I ever flew safety for someone and actually had to call traffic to avoid a collision. Later on, we both learned the importance of a safety pilot for weather avoidance as well. Despite the traffic issues and the added stress of the weather, I really enjoyed the challenge of the whole trip.
When you're required to have a safety pilot, always make sure you have one, and a helpful one at that. A safety pilot isn't there to be a conversationalist to help pass the time, either. He or she is there to keep you out of trouble. I'm not saying the flight should occur in complete silence unless there's a conflict, but don't bring along your pilot buddy who can't keep their eyes out, or one who shows poor decision making skills.
Beyond that, always remember your tolerances. In ground school, you always hear people say "personal minimums," but I like the term tolerance. How much risk are you willing or capable of tolerating? To some people, the radar image shown above would have kept them on the ground, and I wouldn't blame them. Given the information I had, and the additional safe spots for landing, my risk tolerance was slightly higher because I knew I had options in case the risk became too great.
Every time you put the aircraft in the air, you're accepting risk. How much risk you tolerate is up to you. If you are willing to fly with a higher tolerance, just make sure you cover as many bases as possible to remain safe when that tolerance is reached. Flying VFR doesn't mean you shouldn't have alternates, both in the form of airports, and in the general form of other options.
Hours: Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 3.7 - 70.5 (of 50) Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.8 - 8.3 (of 40)
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)
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.
