Fighting Weather

N329ME - C172S - 2.6 hours

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

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

Nope...

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

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

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

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)

Breakfast in Luray

N329ME - C172S - 1.4 hours

In an earlier post, I mentioned there were people I hadn't taken flying since getting my license.  Several of those people are in my own family.  While I've taken a few family members up - my grandma, my aunt and uncle, to name a few - none of my immediate family had been up with me until today.

A little while back, my dad proposed that my brother and I set up some activity for each month so that we actually see each other regularly.  What better to draw my attention than flying?

Originally, we'd planned on flying the day before, but it was supposed to be windy, so we delayed until today in hopes that it would be better.  I'd also planned on trying to get out earlier rather than later so that we could fit in an early lunch, or breakfast, and not get in the way of plans later in the day.  Luckily both of those worked out. It wasn't too windy and we were able to get out right on time to head down to Luray.

Front Royal - FRR

The departure was standard, with a little turbulence over the mountains.  On the way out, I pointed out Upperville (2VG2), Mount Weather, Front Royal (FRR), Skyline Drive, and a random assortment of other roads and landmarks.  The turbulence really didn't let up in the valley, but it didn't bother me too much.  Being a frequent flier of the commercial sort, it didn't bother my dad much either.

Final into Luray - W45

The approach into Luray ended up being a little high, so I ended up slipping the plane in during the approach.  I'm not sure how my dad had heard of that before, but when I mentioned what I was doing, he was familiar with it.  I also explained the whole "barn door" approach path indicator system and how it would let me know if I was high or low with about as much technology as smoke signals for communication, but it works, right?  The slip worked out well, and I ended up greasing in a nice landing on Runway 22.  Despite the nice landing, I ended up locking the wheels up slightly as the runway dips right after the touch down zone and we ended up getting airborne for a few feet.  Since I was braking and we lost contact with the ground, the wheels didn't have to work against the aircraft's weight and locked.  When we settled back on the runway the locked wheels took a second to catch back up.  In the end it wasn't a big deal, though it did catch me off guard.  In any case, I turned around and taxied back to the tie downs so that we could run into town for a few hours.

John, the airport attendant on the weekends, suggested a place called Uncle Bucks for breakfast.  Initially, I thought we'd just go back to Artisans Grill, but it was early enough that we could get breakfast.  Despite the wait, it was actually pretty good.  I had corned beef hash, and it was awesome.  I really can't remember what my dad ate, but my attention was taken by the amazingness of my own dish, to be honest.

After breakfast, we figured we'd walk around town before calling John to pick us back up, but the quick walk ended up being all the way back to the airport.  It was nice out, so why not?  The town is pretty small, and had some interesting small town sights.  On the outskirts of the town, we passed the entrance to Luray Caverns, and then continued past a petting zoo and corn maze back to the airport.  I still have yet to actually go into the caverns, though I've driven by them several times.

The flight back was uneventful.  I ended up filing a flight plan on my cell phone using DUATS, instead of bothering with Flight Service, on the phone or in the air.  Closer in to Leesburg, past Front Royal, the turbulence started to get worse, and my dad got to run his own mini-experiment with the altimeter, where he watched to see how much we actually "fell" when we dropped in turbulence.  It's really not that much, even though I explained that basic altimeters have some lag in their indication.  Unfortunately, when we made it back to Leesburg, I proved planes can fall quite quickly - onto the runway.  It wasn't a terrible landing, but compared to the nicer landing into Luray, it wasn't nearly as graceful.

I'll have to dream up an interesting destination for next time.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.4 - 38.6 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 4.2 (of 40)

They Just Hand Me the Keys Now

N329ME - C172S - 1.7 hours

Since my friend Jeanne is in town, she's been running all over Washington DC, exploring places I haven't been to in my entire life of living here.  One of the places she had yet to explore was the Udvar Hazy Center, which is an extension of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.  Since my roommate Mat is a volunteer there, we all piled into a car and used his badge to avoid the $15 parking.  As we were walking around, I got the idea that we should all go flying somewhere to get dinner.  I really wanted to take Jeanne flying while she's here, and I figured it was a good opportunity.  Standing in the midst of so many aircraft really wasn't helping my addiction, either, to be honest.  My dad and I had also planned on going flying today anyway, but we opted to wait until Sunday in hopes of avoiding the strong winds that were supposed to rip through.

After we left the museum, we headed home to grab flight stuff and set off for the airport.  Since it was after hours, I got the keys from our flight school's lock box, and had hoped to find the extra headset I had asked for, but someone forgot to throw it in there.  Thinking they left it in the plane, I went up to preflight and explain the whole process to Jeanne, while Mat checked the fuel and explained anything I hadn't.  When I preflight, I tend to get into a 'mode' of sorts, so I can get pretty short since I'm concentrating so much on making sure everything is in order, which makes me a poor communicator of the finer aspects, unless I really try.  As I was making my final checks, Mat looked around to see if the headset was sitting around inside the plane, to no avail.  In the end, he gave his set up for Jeanne to use.

Jeanne at the controls

The departure was standard, out what I call the Southwest Exit, defined by Upperville Airport.  Heading directly south puts you in conflict with the SFRA, and also puts you too low over some terrain, so I head west first, and then south.  From there, once we were away from the airspace around Dulles, I let Jeanne take the controls for a while.  Surprisingly, she did pretty well, though the setting sun wasn't helping her see the horizon, which in addition to the turbulence, made keeping the plane level difficult.  In any case, we didn't dive, climb steeply, or bank too hard, so I'd call it a success.

Getting closer in to CHO, I called the tower and made a straight in approach to Runway 21.  After landing, we walked in to Landmark and picked up their crew car for a trip to grab burgers at the ever-so-awesome Timberwood Grill.



On the way home, Potomac helped speed up the return immensely as ASPER was able to clear me into the Bravo airspace so I could remain a little higher to better take advantage of the tailwind.  It was very nice of him since he had a departure push going out on Dulles' Runway 30, which meant they would be aimed right at me.  I set a new speed record for myself, getting from CHO to JYO in 0.7 hours.  For those averse to the concept of math, that's 42 minutes engine on to engine off.  Not bad.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 37.2 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 4.2 (of 40)

Ocean City - For a Few Hours

N329ME - C172S - 3.1 hours

Even before I had my private pilot's license, I've always wanted to fly to a vacation destination.  I don't know if it's been some repressed elitist thought in my mind, or not.  I imagine the following scenario in the case that it is:

Random person on beach: "It took us 5 hours to get here from Northern Virginia!  The Bay Bridge traffic was terrible!!!"
Me:  "Yeah, it did look pretty bad when I flew over it.  I managed to make it in one and a half."
*brushes imaginary sand off burned shoulders*

Potential elitist thoughts aside, I've always wanted to fly to Ocean City instead of drive.  My friend and Potomac TRACON/Smithsonian contact, Roscoe, also wanted to head out on a flight somewhere, so I started researching how to get to Ocean City.  Unfortunately, if you only look at the Washington Sectional, you'll see one of two very inefficient scenarios from Leesburg:

1 - Fly north of the Washington Class B airspace, to the border of Pennsylvania, up by the DuPont VOR (DQO) and follow the Delaware coast on down.
2 - Fly south of the Washington Class B airspace, to Fredericksburg, and then somehow work through, around or under Patuxent's airspace.

What you won't see is the efficient option three, unless you own a Washington Terminal Area Chart (TAC):

3 - Fly through the VFR corridor, under a BWI airspace shelf, between the BWI surface airspace and the DC Area Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ - pronounced 'freeze')

So, when I mentioned in the previous post that I wanted to "test an aircraft out before I took it through a potentially dangerous corridor of airspace," this is what I was talking about.  Flying into airspace you aren't cleared into ("busting the airspace" as pilots will say), gets you unwanted attention from the FAA, among others, depending on the airspace.  Flying into BWI's airspace is going to tick off some controllers, and the FAA.  Flying into the FRZ is going to tick off the DHS, the FAA because the DHS is riding them, and potentially the guy in an F-16 or Blackhawk sent to track you down (if it gets to that).  At its narrowest, that corridor is 2.6nm (just shy of 3 miles), so I tested the previous aircraft (N5294W) out to make sure I was familiar with it before putting my license on the line.  Luckily, N5294W has a moving map GPS that shows the airspace on it, so I could be sure to avoid it.

Well.
Life isn't that simple, is it?

I managed to wait too long before reserving the plane, so N5294W wasn't available.  The only other aircraft available had types of GPS that I wasn't completely familiar with.  Luckily, they're all reasonably similar, so adapting in my case would only take a few minutes.  Beyond that, I flew the flight in Flight Simulator to get an idea of what the terrain and cities would look like, in general, supplemented by going on Google Maps and drawing in extra landmarks on the chart.  While a familiar GPS would have added a good bit of situational awareness, I still felt equipped to make the flight without it.

In order to get through the corridor correctly, I departed Leesburg, headed direct to Gaithersburg (GAI), then direct to a VFR GPS reference point called VPONX, then direct another VFR GPS point called VPOOP (yes, VPOOP - in reality, it's "VFR Point" OOP), then direct Easton (ESN), and finally direct to Ocean City (OXB).

On the way out, we talked to the Potomac Approach position assigned to watching the SFRA, along with two other controllers when closer to BWI.  Once we were clear of the Class B airspace, I asked for flight following (ATC keeps an eye on you and issues traffic advisories as they can).  The last Potomac controller I talked to set me up with the service, and then passed me on to Patuxent Approach, which helped me make sure I wasn't in conflict with anything going on at the Naval Air Station (fast moving jets plus slow moving Cessna could cause problems).  Closer in to Ocean City, the controller dropped me to the local airport frequency so I could coordinate landing with anyone else in the area.

After landing, we grabbed a rental car that we coordinated prior to departure.  The guy who rented it to us just said "leave $20 under the driver's mat - the keys are in it."  That's one of the big differences between Northern Virginia and Eastern Shore Maryland, I guess.  In Northern Virginia, it's a credit card for insurance, a lockbox for a key, a contact number, your SSN, and a signed contract.  In any case, the car got us to the boardwalk for a quick run up to Malibu's (a local surf shop), and a small dinner, before running back to the airport.  If the Fractured Prune right by the airport had been open, I definitely would've stopped there, too.

I'd intended on departing with some daylight left, because the thought of flying the corridor at night made me uneasy (a lot of my references were on the ground and likely unlit), but the walk on the boardwalk and dinner took a little longer than expected.  Since it was definitely night before we even departed, I took advantage of the situation and took a lap around the pattern for night currency, and then headed west, talking to Patuxent to get flight following again, which is where things got interesting, in a good way.

While on Patuxent's frequency, I got to listen in on the controller setting a flight up for a Precision Approach Radar (PAR) approach, along with a pilot getting denied several times over because he was being demanding and impatient (wanted direct to the field, wanted to land opposite traffic flow, and so on). When I was switched to GRACO (a Potomac TRACON Sector for BWI), I opened my SFRA flight plan back to Leesburg, but I also requested clearance into the Bravo to avoid the FRZ as much as possible.  The controller had me climb up to 6500', and once at 6500', direct to the Baltimore VOR (BAL - a navigation radio beacon at BWI), and a heading of 290 (WNW) after BAL.  Getting closer in, two aircraft departed BWI.  Departure (the controller I was talking to) kept him at 5000', then direct PALEO (a navigation fix) to stay clear of me.  That aircraft passed a few miles in front of me.  The second aircraft was on a heading of 155 and was kept low as well, until he was clear of me.  He passed about 1500' below and nearly right under me.  To be honest, that was pretty cool.  Just before passing BWI, I was switched to WOOLY (another Potomac sector for BWI) and on again to MULRR (a Potomac sector for IAD). That controller called out traffic on my right side, and then got snippy on an interaction where he was trying to figure out what I was doing.  Apparently, nobody clued him in on the fact that I was assigned a heading of 290, so he asked.  Static in the transaction made it sound like he said "turn from your assigned heading direct Leesburg," but after hearing my readback, he came back with "no, I was asking if you were on an assigned heading, or direct JYO."  Oh well.  From there, I went over to IADFE (final approach controller for IAD), and the controller there kept me above the arrivals into Dulles.  Soon after checking in, I was sent direct to Leesburg.  Once clear of the finals for Dulles, I was given a descent and a switch to the airport frequency in order to land.

Overall, a good flight. I got 3.1 hours of PIC cross country time, with 1.7 of that at night.  Potomac saved me a lot of hassle and went a good bit out of their way to make sure I was set up tonight.  I'm headed out to the TRACON on Thursday, so hopefully I'll be able to pass a thanks along for the hookups.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 3.1 - 28.4 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 3.6 (of 40)