Cleared for the Visual

Back at it...for now

2008-05-21T21:09:00.002-04:00

Well, Its been about 9 months since I lasted posted and I apologize. Ive been really busy here in Houston, and since I dont have internet in my apartment I havnt had much of an opportunity to get on here. Regardless, here is an update.

Been flying like a maniac. Gotten over 1200 hours in the jet now and counting. Things are great. Making decent money, totally comfortable in the airplane, and really love it here. However, the corporate culture in America is backwards. Why fix something if it aint broken. Well, apparently the company I work for is too expensive for our parent major and we are being undercut. And to add to that, we have been running a branded operation on the west coast that hasnt been too lucrative. It is just starting to make money lately thanks in part to a great fuel hedge. However another major west coast regional is making an attempt to buy us out. Not sure if the deal will go thru at the BOD level, but they also want us to give up our scope and CBA. Our union is working hard to protect our jobs. In my estimation, I will be happy if I am not furloughed by October. Kinda messed up huh? Just long enough for me to live out my lease and move back to VA. I think Id be pretty depressed if I was living in H-town and having to work at home depot. Anyone have any good corporate positions available?

finally

2007-09-24T08:19:00.001-04:00

So, the bids for October were released last week. Looks like I slid in under the bar here in Houston. I got the last relief line for October. This is huge for me. Not only will I have more of a set schedule for the foreseeable future, but Ill be able to pick up open time on my days off to supplement my income. For example, lets say I am sitting around on a Tuesday with nothing to do, and I see in open time a day trip worth 6 hours. I can call scheduling, pick up the trip, and as long as my total line value is above 75 hours to begin with I get paid the 120+ bucks for the trip. what it comes down to is the fact that I have alot more control over how much I make, and when and how much I fly.....Its good news. I paid my dues on reserve. 5 Months on reserve and I am pretty much ready to move on to life as a lineholder.

2007-08-31T14:30:00.000-04:00

househunting

2007-08-31T14:23:00.000-04:00

So, I finished my trip Wed, and Thurs morning I was on the 710 to IAH to look for an apartment. I was lucky enough to get a window seat, but unlucky enough to have a person right next to me. I was out of uniform, but had my badge, however it is interesting to see the difference in the way I am used to being treated compared to how I was treated yesterday. When I am in uniform I am given an extra ouce of courtesy, a free bottle of water, a nod in the terminal by passing pilots, a free headset on the flight, etc. Out of uniform its a whole different world. I almost felt as though the gate agent was initially annoyed that she had to deal with me.....nevber felt that in uni....oh well.

On a positive note I did find a place. Not the newest, not the most "hip", but its clean, and safe, and the price was right. I initially tried to do it alone, but quickly realized that was impossible unless I wanted to pay market price. I stopped at an apartment finders office and within an hour I was putting pen to paper on a lease. And it didnt cost me a dime. Anyone who needs help finding a place in Houston go see Jamie at texas apartment locators.....Shes great.

Anyways, that is all for now. I drive down sept 8.

KCHS

2007-08-28T18:52:00.001-04:00

Today was a short day.....Woke up in Buffalo to a gorgeous sunrise. I did my morning walkaround and was treated to a gorgeous sky. My first flight duties include opening all the access panels on the aircraft to look for who knows what. It is actually a TSA rule, and I have never found anything, but I do it daily. I made my way around the aircraft, looking closely at the skin or the plane, checking all the static wicks, checking the brake wear indicators...checking the tires for thread showing.....making the sure the engines are both there....and finally making sure the lights work. Its a routine by now, but one that I cant do half-a$$. I have found missing static wicks, tires that needed to be changed out, and a fuel leak from the number 1 engine. Always something as these aircraft get older.

We departed BUF and headed down to Newark. I had an hour to grab a coffee and a bananna and headed down to the gate to meet my new captain. Crew scheduling woke my original capt up at 430 to tell her that she was reassigned and was going to be leaving us. I got lucky as my new captain is a really nice guy. We sat in line in Newark waitin to go to Charleston SC. I think we were probably 20th or so in line for departure. The major airline at NEWARK has a large bank of departures that leave around 9 am so it was rush hour when we were set to leave. Once airborne it was a nice ride down the coast. We went out on the NEwark 7 Departure to white intersection, then to Salisbury VOR, down over FRanklin VOR and cleared direct to Charleston. Coming through 8k we had the field in sight. The capt anticipated a chop and drop for the visual appproach, so he slowed down below 250, dropped the gear, put in flaps 9 and opened the speed brakes. One below 200 knots we put in flaps 22 and were ready to accept a visual approach clearance. A "bug smasher" ahead of us said he couldnt see the field so the approach controller assumed we couldnt see it either, but since we were higher and on a steeper angle we were able to see down on the field fairly well. So, he gave us that clearance as we slowed to flaps 45 speed and configured to land. It worked out really nicely. I was impressed. Always something to learn on each leg.......My turn to fly tommorrow, then up to Halifax for a turn and home. Goodbye Newark...hello Houston.

Im back

2007-08-27T20:27:00.000-04:00

I apologize for my absence. Ive been a pretty busy guy. Crew scheduling has kept me busy, flying anywhere between 80 and 100 hours a month. I have about 400 hours of jet time now, and am finally comfortable enough in the jet to make the easy stuff easy, and the challenging stuff doable. My captains have been very willing to add assitance and advice when I ask them. Like they told us in training, come to work with a smile on your face, a dream in your heart and a willingness to learn and you will be fine. I have taken that to heart. I am extremely happy with my choice of employer, and for once in my life I am in a great position to make positive steps forward in a career I love. I decided to base change, and move to Houston so that I can live in base, and afford to do so. Houston is pretty cheap, and I can get into a one bedroom apartment near the airport for not a lot of cash.

Today we did 4 legs, I flew us from BWI to EWR, then up to BUF. Great weather to fly in the northeast today. We picked up the airport from about 20 miles out. at 25 miles I was coming through 8000 ft and cleared direct to the outer marker for the visual approach. Those are some of the hardest approaches to do in the jet. I did some quick math and decided we were mildly high so called for flaps 9. For some reason we really werent that high, nor were we fast. I am still trying to figure out drag devices in unusual situations. Needless to say I got too savvy and overshot the final. Then got high and unspooled( a little) on final. So, I ended up diving down to recapture the glide. It all worked out in the end, but thats one example of situations where I am still learning. You cant learn if you dont make mistakes, right? Tommorrow we head back to Newark, and then down to Charleston SC. Its a long overnight so Ill need to find a way to kill some time. hopefully we have good weather......

2007-05-28T21:52:00.000-04:00

The first pic is the divert, and the second is when we finally got in. Fun stuff.

advise ready to copy....

2007-05-28T21:43:00.000-04:00

We departed Jackson Mississippi on a routine flight to Houston. We took off with a concern for our landing weight so we opted for a lower altitude to get a better fuel burn and make sure we were below Max gross landing weight when we reached Houston. As luck would have it we couldnt have had enough fuel on board. ATC advised us that Houston arrivals were holding and we could slow it up as much as possible. A huge thunderstorm was hammering the field as we approached it. We were given the dreaded, "Jetlink, I have holding instructions, advise ready to copy." We held at an intersection on the arrival, about 100 miles from the airport. We held as long as we could before we (along with everyone else) was forced to divert for fuel. We chose Alexandria, LA. It was my leg so I prepared for a visual approach to the south runway. A routine landing and a load of gas, and we were on our way. Sure enough we held for another 20 minutes, before being released from the hold and sent through some nasty weather and onto a downwind for 8L at Houston. I shot the ILS to near mins with rain and mist. It was a real challenge.

Anyhow, moral of the story is, during thunderstorm season, dont leave any gas behind, and make sure your weather radar is working properly. Lesson learned.

Choo Choo

2007-05-17T11:01:00.000-04:00

Sitting in Chatanooga Tenn waiting for my 230 van ride to the airport. We arrived last night around 10pm....15 minutes early. We touched down on runway two...flew a nice visual approach in night conditions. It was the captains leg, which was fine with me. I was exhausted. It was a 5 leg day. The only thing that made life easier was that we kept the same aircraft all day, so no lugging my bags around all over the terminal. We started with a brownsville turn. Then it was up to Mobile. Thunderstorms were once again all over so we picked our way through them. The arrival back into Houston was intense. The frequency was so busy, and I think I counted 12 guys in front of us between the two runways. We were put on a 40 mile final. Fun stuff. Its nice to be able to fly into the relaxed atmosphere of a class c or d airport, and then come home and mix it up with the big guys. You have to be on your A game or you will get a stiff tounge lashing by the controllers. Its always funny to hear, unless its you.

Today we leave KCHA at 330 back to Houston. Then its down to Saltillo Mexico for the overnight. Mexico is fun to fly into, but Saltillo is a "special" airport so itll have to be the captains leg untilI get off high mins. Ill get my 100 hours and off high mins within a week so I am not worried. Until then........

On the Road

2007-05-10T21:56:00.000-04:00

Ok, so at last an update. Finished IOE last week. Did a trip out of Houston. It included a pretty low ILS at Jackson, Miss. A really fun visual approach to Little Rock, and a trip to Mexico. I started reserve this past Tuesday in Houston. I was originally assigned Newark, but got switched to Houston for May. No problem, the flying is just as fun. The first day was a deadhead to Nashville. We grabbed a plane from there and headed up to Newark, then down to Raleigh for an overnight there. We left Raleigh and flew up to Cleveland, down to Knoxville and back to Houston. Then we headed to Kileen Texas for an overnight. What a great night flight. A light show like I havnt seen in a while from 18000 ft. We snuck in just before the heavy stuff started on the field. Kileen is also Ft Worth regional. Alot of military aircraft in the pattern this morning. Interesting. Today we started the day by heading back to Houston. Then we were down to Monterey Mexico for a quick turn back up to Houston. When we sent the in range report in flight, I was notified that I would be headed to Wichita. Unfortunately it was a deadhead up to Kansas. So, here I sit. I have a 620 am showtime for a 720 departure back to Houston, where I will rejoin my original crew. I guess they needed someone to bring an airplane back to Houston. The original crew must be tight on flight times.

Reserve is rough. You dont know your flying schedule, and you never know where you will end up. So, you live out of a suitcase and put in your time. I should have a line in 2 or 3 months, and an easier commute when I am in Newark. Lets hope so.

Ask and ye shall receive

2007-04-20T21:08:00.000-04:00

So, I apologize for my absence and lack of activity on here. Its been a busy few weeks. I spent my 3 weeks off before IOE working the dispatch desk at the flight school. I finally got the call a couple weeks ago from crew scheduling. My first trip for IOE was a 3 day. day one was newark to detroit, back to newark, and back to detroit with an overnight in detroit. Day 2 was a short hop to cleveland, then to philly, then to cleveland, then down to Indy. An overnight in indy. Day three was a nice easy trip up to Newark, then a memphis turn. Its an absolute blast flying this aircraft. The weather was horrid though. The first trip was all snow, ice and wind. The following week was day trips with some more weather and most of all wind. I couldnt catch a break. So, needless to say I am still on IOE with emphasis on landings. The checkairman are very particular in what they want. On speed, on centerline, in the touchdown zone. Not too much to ask. So, I am almost there. Praying for some more good weather this week and some good trips to finish up strong. Most of my class is finished with IOE....all the Houston guys. I think i am the only newark guy and I am still working at it. oh well.

In the midst of my stress of training, this past week has been fairly traumatic for myself, as well as the entire country. The tragedy at Virginia Tech has had myself and alot of friends very upset. I spent many years in Blacksburg as a student and to see such a tragedy happen in a place that brought many of us so much joy is heartbreaking. Read below an email from a friend of ours who lives in Blacksburg. Its an unbeleivable read......

Saved by the blood

This means different things to people. We sometimes say that we were saved by the blood of Jesus when he died on the crossIt was about 9pm on April 16th, and Gil, Nell-Marie, Ellen and myself were in the hospital room in Roanoke. Gil said, Can I have a tissue theres blood inside my nose. We got him one, and as he cleaned the dried blood from inside his nose he said Its not my blood its from the guy who was on top of me.his blood was everywhere on my face, in my eyes, my nose, my mouthâ€¦it was all over.â€ He said that the reason he was not killed must have been â€œall that bloodâ€ that covered him. â€œHe must have thought that I was already deadâ€. It was the blood of the student who had been seated behind Gil when it all started.I thought about Godfrey Birtle, a British singer we know, who wrote and sings a tremendous song titled, â€œIf it wasnâ€™t for the blood, Iâ€™d be dead!â€™ The recovering heroin addicts at Betel, in Birmingham, UK where our church goes and ministers to the guys and women who are living new lives in Christ know this song well! All of the residents there at Betel have overcome the odds of addiction and deathâ€¦they exclaim, â€œIf it wasnâ€™t for the blood, Iâ€™d be dead!â€ And, they sing it with such passionâ€¦itâ€™s difficult for us to recognize just how literally, they mean those words!Almost 12 hours to the minute before Gil asked for the tissue that night, the carnage began. It was Monday morning, April 16th, about 9:20 am, when Gil, the Professor, and 13 other graduate students were interrupted, (the class began at 9am) by someone who opened the wooden door to the classroom (a smaller room about 20â€™ by 30â€™ in size) and took up a â€œshootersâ€ stance at the front of the room and began firing his semi-automatic 9mm pistol directly at students on the front row. He moved from his left to his right. Gil sat on the last chair in the front row, on the shooterâ€™s right.Gil dove for the floor, at the side wall of the room, by a radiator. (This building was built in the 1950â€™s) He felt the student next to him dive for cover in the same way landing on top of him. Not fully covering Gil, but â€œscissoredâ€ across his body. The shooter emptied the first 15 round clip and ejected it, and inserted another one. He moved about the room shooting. Gil felt a bullet strike the guy on top of himâ€¦then he felt some searing pain in his neck. He later speculated that the bullet went through the body of the person on top of him, before it entered his mastoid bone just behind and below his left ear. The surgeon later indicated that he thought it was a direct shot.Then the shooter left the room, and they heard shots being fired nearby. Lots of gunshots. Gil motioned a student nearby to get his phone out of his book bag and call 911. The guy retrieved Gilâ€™s phone and dialed and told the police what was happening. It is about 9:25 or so.Gil told us that, â€œI donâ€™t recall having fearâ€¦I only recall praying and thinking about my wife and my sonâ€.Gil and a couple of others strategized, that the best thing to do was to remain in the positions they were in and â€œplay deadâ€ because the shooter was right outside the door and might very well returnâ€¦so, thatâ€™s what they did. Gil was underneath the bleeding student from Indonesia. No talking, nothing was heard from him.Just when they thought the terror might have endedâ€¦the shooter comes back in the room! Where are the police, Gil thoughtâ€¦why arenâ€™t they here protecting us? The South Korean student, (23 years old) came back firing at people strewn about the room. 10 shots, or more. Gil recounted that at one point, the shooter was standing right beside where he was lying underneath the Indonesian and felt 3 or 4 more bullets impacting into the body above him. â€œThump, thump, thumpâ€â€¦but none seemed to hit Gilâ€¦Then the shooter left and shot some more outside (actually across the hall in another classroom) Then SILENCE. Finally, no more shooting.They remained in position for a time and gradually, when the police came, they got upâ€¦but only two of the 14 people got up. Only two of them, Gil and his friend named Nathaniel could walk out. Lee, another student was later seen safely outside. The others were either deceased already or badly wounded. At this writing, 11am on the 17th, Gil still doesnâ€™t have a definitive listing of who might have survived. The Professor was killed.The shooter shot himself before the police could engage him.Itâ€™s about 9:50 am, by this time, and the police lead Nathaniel, and then Gil, down and out of the building, and into a brown Explorer. They were taken to â€œtriageâ€ there on campus along with the other injured students.Nell-Marie called me at about 10:15 and gave me the unbelievable news. I was watching the report on TV when she called. She was calling to tell us that Gil was ok and not involved, right? Of courseâ€¦but no, thatâ€™s not what Nell-Marie said. â€œGilâ€™s alrightâ€, she said, but, â€œhe was right in the middle of itâ€¦it was in his classroom.â€ She had spoken to Gil only minutes before. â€œBut, heâ€™s ok!â€I hung up and dialed Gilâ€™s cell phone. He answered, â€œHi, Billyâ€, seeing my caller ID light up. He sounded quite normal. I was relieved. There was noise in the background, but I could hear him clearlyâ€¦he said that, â€œI donâ€™t think I was shot, but a bullet grazed my arm and my neckâ€. Iâ€™m ok. (actually, the bullet grazed his back and entered the base of his skull, we were to find outâ€¦the bullet was still lodged against his mastoid bone in there as we spoke.) So I knew at the outset that he was in the classroom where shooting happened, but nothing elseâ€¦no more details, until laterâ€¦then our connection went badâ€¦I redialed and began talking againâ€¦Gil said somethingâ€¦â€It was...heâ€¦.shotâ€¦â€ and then he couldnâ€™t speakâ€¦he was unable to get out anything but sobs..I pictured him there with the phone in his hand, trying to imagine what he must have been feelingâ€¦.â€Iâ€™ll be there in two hours!â€ I saidâ€¦â€Iâ€™ll find Nell-Marie and Iâ€™ll see you by one oâ€™clock.â€ He said, â€œOkâ€, and we hung up.Nell-Marie learned that they had taken Gil to the Lewis Gale Hospital in Roanoke, by ambulance, along with a Professor, from the triage area on campus. It was too windy for helicopters to fly.I arrived about 1:30, and found Nell-Marie in the emergency room waiting room. She had not yet seen Gil.Momentarily, someone came out to identify us, and Nell-Marie got connected. They took her back to Gil. 20 minutes later, a nurse came out to say that Gil was being X-rayed at that time because there was a bullet still in his head! What? But she assured us that it was not in a dangerous place neurologically and that they might even leave it in thereâ€¦of course, they took Gil into surgery about 2:30 and removed the bullet..a 9mm slug, in tact and placed a drain in the wound. So by 5:30, Gil was in recovery and wide awake. By 5:40 pm, he was wheeled into room 526, where we got to see him for the first time. He looked ashen, washed out, serious and tired, but remarkably good. He was alert and fully aware of everything.Then he talked and talked, freely giving us every detail. Thatâ€™s where we learned that he was â€œsaved by the bloodâ€ of the Indonesian student.I suggested to Gil that if I were the Dad in Indonesia and found out that my beloved son was killed in this wayâ€¦I would have so many unanswered questionsâ€¦I would feel so helpless. I would be comforted to know, perhaps, that you (Gil) survived because of my sonâ€™s bloodâ€¦that my sonâ€™s death in some way â€œsavedâ€ or shielded you from that fate. Gil agreed. And, perhaps he will someday get the chance to give his story to the parents from Indonesia.

Done

2007-03-09T11:47:00.001-05:00

....at the schoolhouse. At least the hard part is over. I passed my Embraer 145 Second in command proficiency check Wed afternoon. Ive never been so excited as I was that afternoon. The whole process was incredibly stressful, but in the end it was by far the most rewarding feeling Ive ever experienced.
I had some issues at the very end of the syllabus, and had to get some additional training in order to get through to the PC. My biggest problems involved speed control on non precision approaches and the descent from MDA to the runway via the PAPI lights. Papi's, or precision approach path indicators, are lights positioned next to the runway that help to guide a pilot to the runway. they are most useful when on a non precision approach in helping to determine when to start towards the runway. A typical non precision approach will have you out 10 or 12 miles on the localizer(a radio nav aide that keeps you on the extended centerline of the runway). At specific intervals the approach calls for stepdowns. These stepdowns are based on traffic concerns, and most often are based on terrain. For example you will be at 3000 until 10 miles, then go down to 2000 until 6 miles, then to 1500 until 4 miles. At 4 miles you are at your final approach fix, and start the descent to the MDA-minimum decent altitude. The MDA might be as low as 400 feet above the earth. You hold that until you see the runway or reach your missed approach point. AT that point you either "go missed" or land the aircraft. A complicated non precision will really make it tough on you in bad weather.
Anyhow, the ride started with an area departure with a 600 RVR takeoff(low vis). then it was steep turns, and a stall. Then the Autopilot came onfor a coupled ILS and a full missed approach procedure. Once we were on the missed I had an engine fire and had to secure the engine. Then it was back around for a single engine ILS to a full stop. After that we did an aborted takeoff and an engine loss at rotation. He gave me my engine back and it was a non precision to a full stop landing. I didnt do my best flying ever but it was good enough. As always, its a license to learn under a knowledgable captain.
So, i am sitting idle in the hotel waiting for my loft to be scheduled. It is a real line flight in the sim, in real time, with an emergency thrown in for good measure. Its not graded so its a good learning experience.
After I do loft I will get to go home. Been here 7 weeks and I am ready to head home. Then its a wait for IOE---my first chance to fly the real thing.

Done

2007-03-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

A year later

2007-03-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

Today is the one year anniversary of the passing of my friend David. Its truly amazing how quickly time passes, and how much life can change in a year.

I remember sitting miserably at my desk at the mortgage company and getting an email from another friend informing me that David needed a liver. I knew he had been sick but was unaware that his illness had escalated so rapidly. I remember heading to the hospital after work with a friend and seeing Dave lying there unconscious with extremely labored breathing and a rising fever. Despite efforts beyond comprehension, the medical team at INOVA Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, VA could not get Dave stabilized.

On March 3, 2006 Dave passed away due to acute liver failure; a side effect of a medicine he had been prescribed for a positive TB test. He will not be forgotten.

A month after Dave passed I was laid off from my work at the mortgage company. It was obvious that I was leaving eventually, but I was hoping to have a couple extra months of income. The way things worked out was uncanny. I immediately started teaching at the flight school. Filled my schedule full of students, and made my way to Florida to fly twins. When I came back all my students were waiting for me. I got my time in my logbook, and got a good job with an airline I am excited to fly for. Timing in this industry is everything, and I cant help to think that Dave had something to do with my brilliant successes.

Ground school has not been easy. I worked about as hard as I could have to learn the material I needed to learn. I passed indoc and systems. Breezed through the FTD's, and am working my way through the sims. For some this has been a struggle, but for me its been not so bad. Dont get me wrong, its been hard, but it has always worked out to this point.

So, on the eve of the biggest checkride of my life.......I dedicate this post and my performance tonite and tommorrow in the sim to Dave. He has been with us all since his passing, and hes been hard at work making the lives of each individual in our circle of friends a little better. He was, is, and always will be a great man, a true friend, and will live on forever in spirit.

Sim 3--stage check

2007-02-28T14:25:00.000-05:00

My sim partner and I geared up for what would prove to be a hell of a night in the sim. We were on sim 3...its a training gate and we had to pass it in order to move on. If we were unsat we would need to redo the lesson before moving on. As luck would have it I was slated to go first. I settled into the right seat and built my nest. I adjusted the seat and rudder pedals, stowed my flight case and assumed my duties as FO in the sim. We quickly ran through our ground ops and were making a low vis taxi to 22R at Newark. First item on the agenda was a 600 RVR takeoff. No problem, I assumed the centerline, advanced the thrust levers and began the roll. We were soon at 80 knots, then at rotation and I was on the gauges. We popped out the top of the low fog layer and climbed to 5000. It was time for a steep turn to the right. 180 degrees, 45 degrees of bank. Not too tough. My pitchiness and problems holding altitude have seen to diminish. Then it was the stall series. We did a clean stall, takeoff config stall, and landing config. Again, all within the standards set forth.
My instructor then said, if you can do a non precision approach you will move on in the training. thats where the trouble started. I have previously nailed all my approaches. Not this day though. I set up for the localizer to 22l at Newark. We were on vectors, and I was quickly being turned onto the localizer.....I was also handflying the whole thing. It was tough. I got slow, then fast then slow again, missed my stepdowns. I opted to go around and asked for vectors back around for another try. This time I really lost it. Went full scale on the localizer and went around. It was bad news. But, I never gave up. I asked to go back around and tried again. this time, I made it down, went visual, saw the papi lights and made a nice transition to the runway for a full stop landing. I was soaked.....tense......and somehow got it done. But It was a handful.

the rest of the lesson was fun. We did some V1 cuts, then did a single engine ILS. We did a couple aborted takeoffs and ran the QRH for engine and apu fire on the ground, as well as for an emergency evac. Then it was and engine fire in the second segment of the climb. We were between 35 feet and 500 ft agl when the firehandles lit up. We climbed, ran the QRH and secured the engine. The instructor gave us the engine back and then took away our hydraulics. The aircraft uses hydraulics for aileron, rudder, speedbrakes, thrust reversers, nosewheel steering, and brakes. So, our landing was a handful. we did an ils in "manual reversion"...no hydraulics...heavy airplane. We stopped on the runway by making slight applications of the parking brake. It was interesting.

anyhow, I have today off and its back in the sim tommorrow night for lesson 4. We are slated to fly the DME arc to saltillo mexico. Should be a real handful.

Final push

2007-02-23T22:38:00.000-05:00

With only 6 training sessions left before my EMB-145 SIC checkride the heat is most definitely on. Ive spent the last 5 days learning procedures in the non motion flight training device(FTD). The "box" was great for learning flows, procedures, and profiles. I have to admit that in the fully air conditioned room, I left there sweating each and every night....a literal sweat stain on the back of my shirt. Intense stuff.

We passed the stage check last night with an 8 year captain. The check focused on checklists and flows, abnormal engine start procedures, PRM approach procedures, and non precision approach profiles--both with and without the autopilot. We had our work cutout for us.

The PRM stands for precision runway monitor. When there are two runways in use closer than the minimum prescribed lateral distance, the FAA has made a legal way for approaches to both runways to proceed. A zone of no transgression has been established, and a monitor frequency has been set up that all pilots are to monitor(in addition to the normal tower freq). If either aircraft enters the no transgression zone the tower issues the non-offending aircraft "breakout instructions". It was an interesting excercise.

The non precision approaches were alot more interesting. the first was done via the autopilot. Not much problem there. The second was handflown. That was alot tougher. With multiple stepdowns on the localizer approach the workload was high. We managed.

Handflying the ERJ is much different than what I am used to. It is much heavier and a hell of alot faster. The roll and pitch of the aircraft has a slight lag to it. They say that the FTD is much harder than both the sim and the actual aircraft, so I am hoping my handflying skills get better as I go on. I have mastered the automation, but my handflying skills worry me. We will see.

Ive got 12 hours to get it right.

TRAINING

2007-02-20T14:16:00.000-05:00

Entering week 5, the heat is up and the pace is high. Training consists of 4 phases. The first week was basic indoc.....blah. After you take and pass the indoc exam, you start systems for the aircraft. Everything from powerplant, to landing gear, to pnematics and electrics....you are expected to know about by the end. There is no spoonfeeding here. You are expected to read the manuals they give you, and use the slides in class as a guide for what to study. I would estimate a 70/30 self taught to classroom ratio of information. It has been intense. At the end of systems another test is taken. This is a much harder test than indoc. Anything in the manuals is fair game.

There has been a strong initiative in the training department here to up the bar for systems knowledge by new hires. Our class was the first to receive a new and improved version of the test. Half the class didnt pass(with an 80). Most were within a point or two so they retrained the guys and they all passed on the second try.(diff test). Well, we warned the guys in the class after us to study hard, yet they still managed to fail 6 guys. Alot of guys are being hired in the regionals with low times and dont realize what it takes to get through training. The mindest isnt there to study hard and not go out, etc. Guys come here expecting a vacation of sorts. That is about the furthest thing from what its like.
Anyways, After systems you get into the FTD. Its a real cockpit with working avionics and flight controls. It doesnt move and there are no visuals so its a good way to learn procedures and how to fly the autopilot. After the FTD, you go into the full motion sim. Thats where you learn to fly the airplane for real. I am just a few ftd sessions from getting into the sim. I cant wait.

My advice for anyone going to airline training for the first time:
1) expect to work hard
2)dont even think about going out partying...you have plenty to do with that free time
3)do not get involved in politics between staff and students. Take care of yourself and you will be better off
4)get to know your classmates. We have a tight knit class and its proved invaluable for study groups, moral support, sanity.
5)read whatever they give you to read. What you need to know is in there.
6)Keep the focus and pressure on for the duration you are there....Its hard to do and some lose focus towards the end and bust.....training is an endurance event....like a marathon.

Just some advice from someone in week 5 of a 6 week training course. Hope this helps someone.

Week 2

2007-02-03T20:52:00.001-05:00

Week two behind us.....thank god. Couple of things about training. All you have to worry about is going to class and studying.....but then again all you have to worry about is going to class and studying. My point is that there isnt much time here for doing anything outside of the classroom or the books. For me the hardest part has been being a prisoner at the hotel and the training center. I am sneaking out for a jog at night but other than that I have been in my room with a book in my lap.

The beginning of the week was CRM. We looked at several airline crashes and determined the crews roles in the disasters. Pretty interesting stuff.

Wed we started systems training. All I have to say is....this plane is way too smart. Its friggin badass. So far we have looked at the electrics and the powerplant. I will have two rolls royce AE3007 engines at my disposal...producing a combined thrust of over 10000 lbs. The electrics are a mind of their own. The electrical distribution logic is the brain of the operation and is the final authority over whether a particular configuration will work. I cant really get into specifics because its so complicated, but take my word when I tell you that I never dreamt Id get to fly something so badass. The powerplant is nice too. A high ratio bypass turbofan engine with a whole lotta beef behind it. The aircraft has so many failsafes built into ever system, that anyone who flies commercially should feel pretty safe about it. Even human error is cut down by the fact that the airplane just wont let you do it sometimes. Pretty cool.......as my instructor says...brazilian magic.

Ive got one more week of systems. The final written exam is on Monday next week, then its into the flight training device for 10 days of training, and then the sims. I am scheduled to fly the aircraft for the first time Mar 10. Its looking like Newark as my base, which is a-ok with me.

For all the hype systems gets, I am doing surprisingly well. they boast a firehose style of teaching, but I am retaining everything with little or no problem.

week 1

2007-01-27T16:40:00.000-05:00

Pretty good week. Week one of training is behind me. It consisted of Basic indoc, which is basically policies and procedures for the company. Pretty dry material, but we are required to take a written test at the end of it so I had to pay attention. Passed the written yesterday with a high grade, so now its on to CRM training. We have the weekend off, but Mon and tuesday will be spent examining how crew resource management has failed and succeeded by examining past accidents. Should be interesting.

There are 16 people in the class. Average age is around 26, and I think I am the only guy from the mid atlantic/east coast.

Systems starts on Wed. I will be up to my ears in fuel and electric systems. Have to pass my systems exam before I get to go on to the FTD and Sim. Gotta stay focused and keep working hard....one day at a time.

BRING IT!

2007-01-17T20:01:00.000-05:00

Only a few days till I start training and Ive gotta say I have never been this excited about anything......ever. All the arrangements are in place and I am chomping at the bit to get rolling. I have my flows down for the most part, and am absolutely confident that I will be successful in training. The sequence for training is about 2 weeks in ground school to learn systems, company policy, and other "stuff" that they feel we need to know...then its into the FTD and eventually into the SIM, where its really gonna get fun. Ill keep you posted.

Rain.....

2007-01-12T08:35:00.000-05:00

With about a week or so left as a flight instructor(at least an active one) I am trying to tie up loose ends, figure out where my guys are gonna go, and at the same time make some money. so much to be done. I was scheduled for what probably would amount to around 30 hours of flying in the next week. After perusing the local forecasts for the weekend it looks as though only about a 3rd of that will take place. Rain is forecast for the entire area for Sat and Sunday. I am slated to fly a student of mine down to KFCI(near Richmond) on Sat to pick his father up. They have tickets to the Indy Baltimore game so the flight has to take place. The agreement was that we will go IFR if we need to, and we will use it as a lesson in IFR flying if the clouds arent too low. We are also using the experience for him to knock out some x-c time towards the 50 hrs of PIC x-c needed for the instrument rating. He also needs 10 hours of dual in the arrow before he can rent it. So, three birds with one stone....not bad.
So, looks as though the weekend wont be as nuts as I had hoped for, but should be productive nonetheless.

And oh yeah, I passed 1300 total time yesterday in the pattern at Hagerstown Regional. Another milestone.

Lots to do before I head out of town on the 21st.

Cleared direct Mehan

2007-01-09T08:59:00.000-05:00

Flew with my instrument student the other night. We hadnt flown in a couple weeks so we figured an easy IFR trip somewhere would be in order, with approaches at both ends. We departed Leesburg at night, under clear skies and pretty heavy winds aloft. Our clearance was direct Still, Martinsburg, v 166 to Westminster VOR, direct Martin State. Martin State is a Class Delta airfield about 15-20 miles north of Baltimore/BWI. We were treated to a nice tailwind on the way up there. Winds from 240 at around 40 knots at 3000 ft. My student and I were hoping for an ILS approach at Martin, however when we checked in with the Approach controller he advised that we could expect vectors to the visual approach at Martin. I requested the ILS, however the ILS was out of service. We opted for a localizer approach into the airport from the NW. "you can expect the Localizer 15 at Martin..." were our instructions. It was soon direct Mehan intersection, and to cross Mehan at 2600, cleared localizer 15 approach. Those that know me, know why this approach was so unique. Specifically the initial approach fix that we were cleared direct.

I suppose with the number of fixes out there the odds were in my favor that Id have one named after me........

The ERJ

2006-12-28T19:46:00.000-05:00

Jetlink

2006-12-28T19:27:00.000-05:00

3 AM Wed morning it began........I boarded a 6 am flight from IAD to IAH on a CAL 737-300. Arrived into IAH(houston-george bush airport) around 830 am. Nice touchdown on 26L and subsequent taxi from hell to get to the gate(those who frequent IAH know what I am talking about). Hopped off the plane and into a shuttle that took us over to Express Jet headquarters. All I have to say is that place is one class act. Everyone there is super cool. The HR rep took us to a room, that I would get to know very well, and gave us all a briefing on the company. Then it was hurry up and wait. 25 of us there to interview so it took them a while to go through paperwork. Once it was all sorted the sessions started. There were three rooms; a jeppesen chart room, a "what would you do" room, and finally an HR room that would decide our fates. I was hit with some very good hard questions in all of the room, but it seemed as though the HR room was where it all happens. I really think your personality and ability to interact with the HR woman and one of the company managers plays a large role on whether or not you get the gig. Anyhow, after a short talk I was told to wait in the hall while they reviewed my bidding. The HR person soon came out and handed me a binder and a poster and said they would like to offer me a position and would I accept. I gladly said I would. Never been happier. Now its just a waiting game to get the final confirmation on the background check and the piss test. Not that I have much to worry about but you know how it goes. Anyways, I am thrilled to soon be a part of the express jet family. It is a dream come true and I have many people to be thankful to.....Once I get a chance to start actually flying I am going to make a video that Ill be sure to post on here. Looks like Cleared for the Visual is about to get a little more interesting.

Third time must really be the charm.

Merry Xmas

2006-12-24T14:23:00.000-05:00

Merry Xmas everyone. Hope that everyone is having a nice holiday with family and friends, and that everyone is being safe out there. Whether you are on the airways tonite, or sitting at home with family and friends, I wish you all the best.

Got a gig

2006-12-22T19:46:00.000-05:00

So, I had a phone interview with Ram Air Freight based in RDU yesterday. The guy I spoke with told me he would recommend me to be hired to the chief pilot. Sounds like a great opportunity. I will initially start off in the Piper Lance, a strong and reliable aircraft. With all my Arrow time it should be a breeze for me to transition. Once a slot opens up I will move into either a seneca, a baron, or a cessna 402. Its nice to have this lined up, because it really takes the heat off the express jet interview. EXJET is still my number one, and I am still preparing for the interview as though the job was mine.....but a little of the pressure is off. Did I say "a little".....? Cause I am still stressed...lol.

Ram air will be a great spot for me to hone my skills as a pilot flying single pilot IFR missions in all types of weather and at both day and night. Here is a pic of a Lance.

Skylane IFR

2006-12-20T18:02:00.000-05:00

I blasted off the other afternoon with a buddy to go to Norfolk international to pick up a buddy of his. We launched IFR into severe clear skies, but an airmet for moderate turbulence along most of the route. It was definitely a bumpy ride, but got better as we made out way south. We were cleared direct casanova, then haney intersection,Richmond Vortac, wakes intersection, direct norfolk. Nice easy trip. Once airborne we were routed west of dulles and then on course to the south direct to Haney intersection. about 15 miles from Haney we were cleared direct WAkes intersection. That took us right over Richmond and a great view of the city. As soon as we were handed off to Norfolk approach control we were assigned a heading and radar vectors to the visual approach to runway 23 at Norfolk. Nice ride in. Sun was setting, ships pulling into the harbor and a nice manly sized a/c carrier steamed into port.

The trip out was fun for me. I sat left seat with Dan in the back. His buddy sat up front with me. I was single pilot IFR all the way home. I loved it. Clearance was norfolk 3 departure, radar vectors to hopewell vor, richmond, coatt 4 arrival and then direct leesburg. I was on vectors for most of the first part of the trip, but as soon as it got dark I was cleared direct to Falko, a waypoint on the arrival. I was at 6000 ft and doing about 100 knots over the ground, right into the wind. It was a long ride home. Once over falko I resumed the arrival and was cleared direct baron intersection, direct Mixnn intersection. This put us on the east side of Dulles, very close to the FRZ that surrounds wash DC. The dreaded no fly zone.

Once abeam Dulles, I spotted the field and got radar vectors around the north end of the field at 2000. My last clearance was, "traffic, 2 o clock passing right to left at 3000, heavy 767 inbound for dulles, caution wake turbulence, you are cleared visual approach to leesburg". AWESOME!

What a great night to fly and put all my skills to test. Even stuck a nice xwind landing in the 182 at night....if I do say so myself. It is nights like this that I live for.

Ive been hitting the books extra hard in anticipation for my interview. Ill keep you all posted.

Good news at last

2006-12-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

So, I have been pretty busy the last few weeks at the airport. Quite a bit of stress on me for a variety of reasons, but it looks as though it has all paid off. I am happy to report that most of it is very good news indeed.

I will start from the top....

Robbie, my older (former) student pilot is set to take delivery of a new cirrus SR22 this week. We were under a time constraint to get him his license, and every time we tried to fly weather or something else would get in the way. In any event, Robbie finally got it all together and went to take his private pilot checkride with a local examiner here at Leesburg. Ive never seen a guy so nervous and tense as he was that day. But apparently he did fine, and is now a licensed private pilot. Next on his agenda is cirrus training at Leesburg in his plane, as well as me getting checked out in the aircraft. I will get a day of factory training by a cirrus instructor so that I can feel comfortable in the airplane when we do his instrument.

I also passed 1200 hours. So that makes me officially eligible for alot of 135 single pilot ifr work that is out there. Its mostly freight gigs that involve night runs in barrons, senecas, lances, c210's and caravans. I am sitting at about 1240 right now and 138 multi.

As quickly as I reached part 135 mins I also got a letter from express jet---the regional for continental airlines. I interview on the 27th and am very excited. The other two interviews with comair and eagle were practice sessions for this one. As sad as I was to have not been previously selected at comair or eagle, I am very thankful to have had that practice. Invaluable. The gouges seem to be very jeppesen focused. They ask rather obscure symbology questions, and expect you to have a very indepth working knowledge of the charts. They also provide carrier service to Mexico, so a great portion of the interview involves looking at Mexican approaches and departure procedures. I have been lucky enough to get my hands on an approach plate from Saltillo Mexico that they use on the pilots proficiency check. Hopefully I will get that presented to me in the interview. The very nice thing about the interview process is that I will get to know immediately afterwards whether I was selected or not. No waiting on pins and needles for days wondering.

Everyone keep me in their prayers....perhaps the third time will be the charm.........

Cessna 182--The "Skylane"

2006-11-24T18:50:00.000-05:00

Today was absolutely gorgeous. I woke up at 530 am and left in the dark for what I figured to be a windy and cold day. I was dead wrong. Temps topped 65 and winds werent any stronger than an occasional gust to 12...right down the runway. After the last couple of days and the massive nor'easter that moved up the coast I figured today would get the backlash of wind that usually follows. As it turns out there really wasnt a frontal passage associated with that.....so...no wind. nice.

I started the day with some pattern work with Gene. We worked on his landings for an hour or so. Then I had the opportunity to fly the Cessna 182 Skylane over to Front Royal. Jim has been kind enough to let us fly his airplane out at Leesburg while hes been too busy to fly. So, the nice weather was here and he wanted to fly so I took it back out to FRR for him. What a great day. The winds were mellow, the temps standard, and visibility was greater than 30 miles. I knew I needed to make a short field landing at FRR so I took the opportunity to do some slow flight, a power off stall and some maneuvering to get used to the heavier feel of the Skylane. I did a couple touch and goes at Winchester and then headed over to FRR. Before I landed I needed to figure out how to get home via the public road system, so i flew the route Id drive from the airport to I66. A good idea as it turned out to be confusing enough. Some solo stick time in a different airframe was just what I needed. Break me out of the routine.

The afternoon sent me out with Sean to work on ground reference, steep turns, and forward slips and traffic patterns. We hammered out some problems he was having with his landings. Winchester was a bevy of activity and it made it tough to work the pattern. Touch and goes were the only option since there was a line of aircraft waiting to depart. I usually try to do full stop and taxi back when working the pattern to give them a chance to breath. It worked out though.
The rest of the weekend is looking good. Not alot on the schedule but Im sure something will materialize. I am about 15 hours from part 135 single pilot mins. Good stuff.

2006-11-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

Read a news article stating that comair lost 12 of its jets. What that means is that Delta outsourced its regional flying for 12 of those jets. All just another cog in the wheel to get out of bankruptcy. Maybe things do really work out for the best after all. At this pace Comair furloughs could be right around the corner. hmmm.....

Interview #2---NOT

2006-11-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

Anyone seen Borat?.....................Not. If you saw the movie you will know the reference I am getting at. Anyways, Got a letter today from Comair....Thanks but no thanks is the basic gist of the letter. I suppose there is solice and Cliche in the fact that the experience of the interview was worth the trip.....but geez. What do they look for in these interviews. I felt that most of my answers were pretty straightforward and correct, but I guess it wasnt good enough. So, its back to the drawing board. Third time is the charm right?

I flew with a guy tonite that hasnt flown in 10 years. He is a retired airline captain from a major airline flying airbus 310's. He loved flying and when he retired he got into sailing. Now he misses aviation so much that he wants to get back into it. We hopped into a cessna 172 and took off into an overcast sky but with decent vis. Somehow he had a way with Potomac approach control and they treated him to a class bravo clearance and flight following for the 25 mile flight to Winchester regional. Arrival into Winchester was interesting. He flew a downwind wider than I have ever seen....Airbus 310 style. He wanted to fly final alot faster than 65 knots, and he wanted to flare 50 feet in the air. All classic mistakes made by former airline pilots. I also had a hard time getting him to set power to idle once we were over the runway.

Anyhow, one of the last things he told me what to never quit. He said he was in his 40's flying charter work before he got his dream job. To keep working hard and keep pushing forward and it will pay off. Right now it sure feels like I am sitting idle, but maybe the old saying of "its always darkest before the dawn" is about to ring true. I sure hope so.

The Dream

2006-11-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

I have met many different people while instructing, but there is always one thing that we all have in common. People come to the airport because they love airplanes and they love to fly. Some people are luckier than others. Some get to take lessons while other watch, some get to own their own aircraft while others rent, and some get to pursue the dream of being a pilot of something larger and faster while others have to settle for weekends in a cessna or diamond airplane. A student of mine told me other other night that I was getting to do something that he always wanted to do....become an airline pilot. I suppose I have been fortunate enough in this life to be able to easily attain my ratings, safely fly over 1100 hours, and spend my nights and days at the airport introducing others to aviation. Its a dream of a lifetime, and I am getting to live it....however, I have had to make significant sacrifices enroute to where I am right now. Money is only the tip of the iceberg. CFI's are routinely underpaid, and for what we do on a daily basis it is hard to make a living. CFI's are also routinely asked to put their license on the line while giving instruction and signing logbooks. From students that go out to solo, to people you sign off to fly the flight school aircraft, to people whom you arent even giving instruction but find yourself in the right seat.

I wont go into details right now because of pending legal action, but I can tell you that life isnt fair at times. As a country song I listened to tonite said, "god is great, but life aint always good". An incident took place recently involving an aircraft, a brand new owner and a relatively experienced flight instructor. By the grace of god noone was injured, but a mechanical annomaly caused something very serious to happen. Even though this particular instructor had zero time as PIC in this particular make and model, and the pilot/owner had at least some time in this make and model, the CFI is still going to take the heat. A very unfair practice, but oftentimes takes place in the world of GA. In this situation the FAA hasnt placed blame on the CFI, but other channels are trying to do just that. I am hopeful that this will work itself out, but its still hard to say at this point.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that I have given up alot to chase "the dream", and I work hard and try to be safe in what I do. Its just not fair for me to have to deal with situations such as this, but I guess its part of the gig. I didnt make this bed, but I am being forced to lie in it.

So, any new cfi's out there that are willing to hop in an airplane to log the time be wary. Go get some instruction of your own in new makes of aircraft. A couple extra hours is not worth the heartache and hassle of something mush more serious happening. And those that are out there just flying around on the weekends, enjoy and savour the experience. It gets very routine at this level and some of the magic has left what we do. I would give anything to restore that "feeling" again...the feeling of being excited at flying traffic patterns for an hour or just making a trip to the practice area for a short flight after work. Be safe out there.

Interview #2

2006-11-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

The trip started out of Reagan National Tuesday afternoon. I boarded a Delta MD88 and departed off of runway 1 into an overcast sky of around 5000 ft. A nice smooth flight and a left downwind and visual approach into the Cincinatti Northern KY airport. I quickly grabbed my bag and boarded a van to the Hotel. I settled in and ordered some dinner and hit the books.

The next morning I met in the lobby for the van to the Comair headquarters. There were 9 others also headed to the interview; all with their blue/black suits on and an armful of paperwork. We were greeted at HQ by a senior captain/ IOE checkairman/part time recruiter. He gave us about an hour long briefing on the company, benefits, the hiring future, and what would go on that day. He did his absolute best to make us feel comfortable and relaxed. With a room full of male pilots going for an airline interview....thats a hard thing to do.

I was scheduled to interview in the morning, and take the cognitive eval test in the afternoon. The other half of the room went to the cog portion first. I was glad to interview before lunch.

A very pleasant senior Captain called me in. I met with her and a guy from HR. They were both awesome and made me feel comfortable. They started in with questions on "why comair?, "tell me about a time you had to think quick in the airplane..", "what would you do if the captain was drinking within the 12 hours rule?" "how would you continue to have success at the regional level?", "Would you ever take the controls from the captain if he was flying and you felt unsafe?". All very basic questions that they used to gauge how your thought process worked. Then it was on to the approach plate questions. She showed me a plate from the arrival into Laguardia. Asked me about holding speeds, and tried to trick me up with some information on the chart. She failed. I knew exactly what she was getting at. Then it was a departure procedure out of JAX, radar vectors to SAV....whats the Departure frequency? Easy. Then, brief me on the ILS runway 4 into LGA. I was a bit flustered at this point due to nerves but I think I did ok. It is all stuff I know how to do. Then she asked me about the fuel system on the Duchess. Lucky for me I had reviewed the schematic on that the night before so it was no problem.

Anyways, it was back on a 737-800 out of Cinci to DCA. I was glad to be home. Anyone who reads this please think about this in the next week. I will find out If I was succesful in the next week, or later if I wasnt successful. I really wouldnt mind working for Comair, and even though the current situation isnt the best, it cant get any worse, and can only get better. AMEN.

comair

2006-11-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

Been busy......stll flying alot even though the weather has been getting bad. I got an email last week for another interview...this time with delta connection Comair. They operate the CRJ 200 and 700....50 and 70 seat regional jets. It would be a great place to start a career...not my number 1, but I wont be picky. I soloed Katie last week. She was probably my easiest pilot so far. Very sharp young lady. Did some flying in the cougar with 20 knot winds...hit my head on the ceiling a half dozen times. The heavier twin handles the crosswind a lot better than the cessna. Went with a guy IFR to hagerstown the other night in the Seneca. That was a blast. Its business as usual at the flight school though. One of the instructors has left and another one is part-part time so I am handling most of the students....not a bad gig.

2006-10-27T23:18:00.000-04:00

2006-10-27T23:08:00.000-04:00

x-country flight plan

2006-10-27T22:53:00.000-04:00

So, I am sitting at home on a Friday night pondering my good fortune. I was pretty bummed after the eagle interview, but as the old saying goes, when one door closes another door opens. I spent yesterday in the airplane all day...literally. I maxed out my duty day of 8 hours of flying, and capped my day with an IFR trip up to KFRG. Farmingdale, Long Island, NY. Our clearance was JYO-martinsburg-v214 to baltimore-v268 to smyrna-v16 to kennedy-direct. We took off to the north in the 172 and was soon instructed by potomac approach control to go direct Wooly intersection. we picked up v214 at wooly and was soon overhead of BWI at 5000. We stayed on the airway and once passed smyrna, hopped off the airway for a practice ILS approach at Millville municipal. What a great approach that was. Then it was back onto the airway direct to cedar lake VOR and gave a call to atlantic city approach. We passed about 40 miles west of Atlantic city. The casinos made it easy to spot. Next was mcguire AFB approach and the voice of a young airman greeted us on the horn. Heavy airforce jets crowded the freq. We watched as newark arrivals from the south passed offshore and crossed out path as they maneuvered for runway 4 at newark. Crossing Dixie intersection which is about 15 miles southeast of the Verazano bridge into long island, we contacted NYapproach. It was go time. My student was so pumped. WE passed overhead JFK at 5000. Departure control had numerous aircraft coming off kennedy which were turning NE directly under us. Most were heavy international departures on the canarsie climb--and I think kennedy 4 departure. Pretty friggin cool. Departure stopped their climb at 4000 until they passed underneath. You can blame me when your airline ticket prices go up. IT costs fuel to level off and then start the climb again. We took a visual approach into FRG....we were number 3 for the runway and cleared to land on 32. the sun was setting and the scene could not have been more perfect.

The trip home was pretty much the reverse, except it was night and I was tired. But we still made it home around 1030, and got in our 3 approaches along the way. I think Brett learned alot, and I sure did too.

Another guy of mine needs a copilot to help him get back from California in his new Mooney. Hopefully Ill be flying back from LA to DC in a mooney this time next week. What good fortune. A real cross the country x-c. a test of everything Ive ever learned, both IFR and VFR. Ill post more on that, but in the meantime enjoy these pics.

Morning Dew

2006-10-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning for my 7 am flight to a lovely AWOS report of less than 1/4 mile, and 100 overcast in fog. I called Rob and told him the fog would burn off around 10 per the forecast and that we should fly later once it cleared up. Bob Kierein, the flight service guy, and the weather channel all declared that the fog would clear out around 10 once it warmed up. It never did.

The formation for fog is mainly due to a close dew point/temperature spread. Take a look at the Dulles metars from this morning. You will see that the temp and dewpoint started off eaqual but never had a chance to break apart. After the rain we had the other day and the light winds as this cold front approaches the air is laden with moisture.

KIAD 191605Z 18003KT 2 1/2SM BR OVC002 18/16 A2986 RMK AO2
KIAD 191552Z 00000KT 1 3/4SM BR OVC002 17/16 A2986 RMK AO2 SLP110 VIS W 3/4 T01720161
KIAD 191512Z 12003KT 1 1/2SM BR OVC002 17/16 A2986 RMK AO2 VIS W 3/4
KIAD 191452Z 00000KT 1SM BR OVC002 17/16 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP115 VIS W 1/2 T01670161 50001
KIAD 191352Z 00000KT 1SM BR VV002 17/16 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP116 VIS W 1/2 T01670161KIAD 191340Z 12003KT 1SM BR VV002 16/16 A2988 RMK AO2 VIS W 1/2
KIAD 191311Z 00000KT 3/4SM BR VV002 16/16 A2988 RMK AO2
KIAD 191310Z 00000KT 1 1/4SM BR VV002 16/16 A2988 RMK AO2 VIS 1/4 WEST
KIAD 191255Z 00000KT 1/4SM FG VV001 16/16 A2988 RMK AO2
KIAD 191252Z 00000KT 0SM FG VV000 16/16 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP115 T01610156
KIAD 191152Z 00000KT 0SM FG VV000 16/15 A2987 RMK AO2 SLP114 T01560150 10156 20128 53003 $
KIAD 191052Z 32003KT 0SM FG VV000 16/15 A2987 RMK AO2 SLP112 T01560150 $

The problem with this weather is that only the most sophisticated airliners can make it into the airport. Visibility is the controlling factor in shooting an instrument approach in the part 121 world. Larger airports with category 2 or cat 3 approach systems have RVR transmissometers installed for particular runways. RVR is runway visual range. It measures how far you can see when looking straight down the runway. There are usually 3 RVR sensors--touchdown, midfield and rollout. Only two need be operational before the required weather mins go up. Today was one of those days where the RVR was right on the edge. 1/4 mile vis is equal to about 1200 rvr. Imagine landing at 130 knots only being able to see 1200 ft in front of you. And then best part is, if you are inside the final approach fix and the rvr goes below mins you are still authorized to continue on down and take a look and land if possible.

Next time you are in the back of an airliner and you dont see the ground until you are over the runway, tell him/her good work. Your flight crew had their work cut out for them. Here is a wikipedia definition of RVR.

From Aeronautical Information Manual 7-1-16
There are currently two configurations of RVR in the NAS commonly identified as Taskers and New Generation RVR. The Taskers are the existing configuration which uses transmissometer technology. The New Generation RVRs were deployed in November 1994 and use forward scatter technology. The New Generation RVRs are currently being deployed in the NAS to replace the existing Taskers.
RVR values are measured by transmissometers mounted on 14-foot towers along the runway. A full RVR system consists of:
Transmissometer projector and related items.
Transmissometer receiver (detector) and related items.
Analogue recorder.
Signal data converter and related items.
Remote digital or remote display programmer.
The transmissometer projector and receiver are mounted on towers 250 feet apart. A known intensity of light is emitted from the projector and is measured by the receiver. Any obscuring matter such as rain, snow, dust, fog, haze or smoke reduces the light intensity arriving at the receiver. The resultant intensity measurement is then converted to an RVR value by the signal data converter. These values are displayed by readout equipment in the associated air traffic facility and updated approximately once every minute for controller issuance to pilots.
The signal data converter receives information on the high intensity runway edge light setting in use (step 3, 4, or 5); transmission values from the transmissometer and the sensing of day or night conditions. From the three data sources, the system will compute appropriate RVR values.
An RVR transmissometer established on a 250 foot baseline provides digital readouts to a minimum of 600 feet, which are displayed in 200 foot increments to 3,000 feet and in 500 foot increments from 3,000 feet to a maximum value of 6,000 feet.
RVR values for Category IIIa operations extend down to 700 feet RVR; however, only 600 and 800 feet are reportable RVR increments. The 800 RVR reportable value covers a range of 701 feet to 900 feet and is therefore a valid minimum indication of Category IIIa operations.
Approach categories with the corresponding minimum RVR values.
Nonprecision 2,400 feet
Category I 1,800 feet
Category II 1,200 feet
Category IIIa 700 feet
Category IIIb 150 feet
Category IIIc 0 feet
Ten minute maximum and minimum RVR values for the designated RVR runway are reported in the body of the aviation weather report when the prevailing visibility is less than one mile and/or the RVR is 6,000 feet or less. ATCTs report RVR when the prevailing visibility is 1 mile or less and/or the RVR is 6,000 feet or less.
Details on the requirements for the operational use of RVR are contained in FAA AC 97-1, "Runway Visual Range (RVR)." Pilots are responsible for compliance with minimums prescribed for their class of operations in the appropriate CFRs and/or operations specifications.
RVR values are also measured by forward scatter meters mounted on 14-foot frangible fiberglass poles. A full RVR system consists of:
Forward scatter meter with a transmitter, receiver and associated items.
A runway light intensity monitor (RLIM).
An ambient light sensor (ALS).
A data processor unit (DPU).
Controller display (CD).
The forward scatter meter is mounted on a 14-foot frangible pole. Infrared light is emitted from the transmitter and received by the receiver. Any obscuring matter such as rain, snow, dust, fog, haze or smoke increases the amount of scattered light reaching the receiver. The resulting measurement along with inputs from the runway light intensity monitor and the ambient light sensor are forwarded to the DPU which calculates the proper RVR value. The RVR values are displayed locally and remotely on controller displays.
The runway light intensity monitors both the runway edge and centerline light step settings (steps 1 through 5). Centerline light step settings are used for CAT IIIb operations. Edge Light step settings are used for CAT I, II, and IIIa operations.
New Generation RVRs can measure and display RVR values down to the lowest limits of Category IIIb operations (150 feet RVR). RVR values are displayed in 100 feet increments and are reported as follows:
100-feet increments for products below 800 feet.
200-feet increments for products between 800 feet and 3,000 feet.
500-feet increments for products between 3,000 feet and 6,500 feet.
25-meter increments for products below 150 meters.
50-meter increments for products between 150 meters and 800 meters.
100-meter increments for products between 800 meters and 1,200 meters.
200-meter increments for products between 1,200 meters and 2,000 meters.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runway_visual_range"

My next stop

2006-10-14T11:02:00.000-04:00

Passed over

2006-10-14T10:51:00.000-04:00

So, as quickly as I thought I was airline bound the hope was snatched from me. I received an email from American Eagle mgmt stating that the Captains selection board did not take me. I was pretty bummed as Eagle wouldve been an awesome place to work. With crew bases in LGA, BOS, and SanJuan on the top of my list I wouldve had the awesome priveledge to fly for AAL as their regional carrier. Anyhow, Its back to work here at the flight school. I have several more resumes out there, and if all else fails I will go fly freight when I get part 135 mins. That includes 1200 total time, 500 x-c, 100 instrument and roughly 100 night. I am at about 1070 total time right now. there is an outfit in Richmond that Id like to go fly at. Learn how to really fly a twin aircraft.

In the meantime I am writing this while my student preflights the aircraft. His private pilot checkride is on the 22nd of this month so we dont have much time to get him up to speed. Hes got alot of time scheduled so that will be good for me. the frost has set in as well. We broke out the glycol solution to clean the wings this morning, and will probably be doing it for a few months now to come. It is very important to clean off the frost, snow and ice from the wings before attemting to takeoff. If it is bad enough it could potentially disrupt enough airflow so that the airplane never gets airborne. I broke out the fleece jacket, and will need to find some gloves in the next week. Summer is officially over i guess.

Keep your fingers crossed.....air wisconsin and continental express are my main focus right now.

1000 and in interview

2006-10-12T10:32:00.000-04:00

Long time since I have been able to post anything. The flying has been good. Found a little twin time along the way, and have been succesful in getting a couple of my guys through their checkrides. I passed 1000 hours last month, and subsequently landed an interview with American Eagle in Dallas last week. I attended the interview at the American Airlines training academy. I breezed through the HR and tech portions of the interview, and dominated the sim session. I am still waiting to hear on the background check and the captains board. Ive been a stress ball the last two days, and I really hope I get a class date. Its been a long tough road, and it is about time that something pans out for me.

900 hours

2006-08-18T15:58:00.000-04:00

Some news to report. I passed 900 hours somewhere in the traffic pattern last week. I am at 930 total time, and have had the good fortune to be able to add to my multi engine total as well with flights in the cougar. The Grumman cougar(GA7) is a nice aircraft, and there arent very many of them around. I heard once that there were only 150 made. A guy even commented while we were arriving into Teterboro last week that "you dont see many cougars". Good stuff.
I have gotten to fly the airplane solo as well which has been a real treat.

I pushed through my third pilot last week as well. Chris passed his private pilot checkride a week before he leaves for college.

While teaching primary students to fly is fun. It carries a certain level of frustration at times, and it is always nice to take a step back and get an easy fun flight. Today I worked with an FAA employee in the g1000 skyhawk. It was a real treat. We flew VFR to Charlottesville and got a chance to work with all the glory of the G1000. We dialed in the autopilot, and took the time to set up a flight plan and get approach to vector us onto the ils for an autopilot coupled approach. Upon reaching the Decisions height we went manual for a touch and go and were on our way back to Leesburg for a GPS approach to a straight in landing on runway 17.

Weather has been gorgeous and I will be at 1000 hours by mid September. I think it is time to get some resumes in the mail.

800 hours

2006-07-26T10:17:00.000-04:00

Passed another milestone last week. 800 hours total time. I was somewhere over carroll county, md on my way back from Lancaster when I passed the mark. Larry and I were on his first student x-c since he soloed. It was hazy but a good time.

Lately the weather has been either crystal clear or hazy beyond belief. Its extremely frustrating to have to bag 4 flights a week because the visibility gets so bad...mostly due to haze. The high humidity is really to blame. After the thunderstorms pass through it usually clears up considerably until the rain that just fell evaporates. Kinda interesting to witness the convection taking place.

Last night was interesting. A fellow pilot and I ferried an aircraft up into Hagerstown, MD for maintenance. We were racing to get in before a storm hit up there, and then raced to get out of there. We won that race, but nearly lost the next one. Arriving into Leesburg I checked the AWOS(automated weather observation system). The AWOS reported broken at 5000, thunderstorm, rain, and gusting winds. It was an interesting arrival. I watched as a wall or rain moved from se-nw directly towards us. It engulfed route 7 at the rate of about 1/2 mile a minute. It was a fast moving cell with alot of moisture. We lined up on a 6 mile straight in final to the south runway, and landed uneventfully. As I pulled out the mixture control knob to shut down the engine the skies opened and visibility dropped to 2 miles.

I have a multi engine student starting next week. He wants to make trips to Teteboro, NJ, myrtle beach, and BKL in cleveland. I am extremely excited about building some multi time, getting to fly a twin, and to get to fly into some very dense airports. And I dont have to pay a dime. Good stuff.

Passed my first checkride....

2006-07-14T11:56:00.000-04:00

...as the recommending flight instructor. I sent my guy Justin for his private pilot checkride last week with a local examiner. I have to admit I was just as nervous as Justin was. My part of the checkride involved a)making sure Justin was well prepared, and b) making sure I filled out all the paperwork correctly. It was my first time, and I really worked hard to make sure it all came together. Justin did fine and he is now a private pilot....licensed to exercise all the privelages associated thereof.

I also soloed Jim last week. He did great. We did a few landings in the pattern, and then I hopped out. I took a few pictures of Jim while he flew in the pattern. He used runway 35, and winds were fairly calm. It was a perfect day to solo. When we got back in the office I cut the shirttail out of Jim's shirt and decorated it. It is hanging on the wall here in the flight school.

So, that makes two solos....one passed checkride, and I am at a 100% first time pass rate for private pilot checkrides. I need 5 checkrides, and an 80% pass rate and I wont have to pay anything to get my CFI certificate renewed in June of 2008. The FAA says that if you do not have 5 signoffs, with at least 4 first time passes within two years, you can either take a cfi refresher course in person or online(3-400$) or you can participate in a diff type of program. If you choose to not refresh your certificate and decide to instruct down the road, you will need to take another cfi checkride. Doesnt sound like fun to me....so, it might behoove you to make sure you take care of getting that refreshed. Also, passing an instructor addon checkride counts as starting over the two year clock. So, I passed two instructor addon rides in FL so I got a new lease on life...its now 2008 vs 2007.

anyways, thats about it for now. Teaching is going good. If you know anyone who needs an instructor shoot me an email.

Boomer town and a stationary front

2006-07-06T10:06:00.000-04:00

Last week we endured the wrath of a stationary cold front that stalled out and ran the length of the east coast. The north/south frontal boundary ran up the coast, and was fueled by some very moist tropical air sent northward and up the face of the front by a low pressure system in Florida. This setup was the recipe for about 3 days of non stop rain, flooding, and consequently no flying for me.

This week has been better. Flying has resumed. The only factor we have had to deal with has been the thunderstorms that usually make their arrival around 3-4 pm daily. You sit back, wait them out, and then enjoy the cool calm air after the storm passes.

The flying lately has been rather benign. Nothing crazy to report. I am sending my first student for his checkride on Saturday. Larry finally soloed last weekend. He was pretty excited, as was I. Its a wild experience to say "ok, go ahead and drop me off at the terminal and do three landings to a full stop". I really enjoyed seeing the excitement and smile the experience brought to him. I remember my first solo. To be able to provide that kind of experience to someone else, and to have used my skills to teach that person how to do something so very difficult and intense is just as exciting for me.

back in town

2006-06-26T09:46:00.000-04:00

Ive been back in the area about a week now, and am settling back into the routine of being a flight instructor. One part of the routine I really am not enjoying is the fact that when weather moves in, I get screwed.

As I am typing this, the entire east coast is sitting under a stationary front, that is being fed from the south with tropical moisture laden air. Humidity is near 100%. Ranfall totals yesterday were 6 inches at Dulles. The beltway was shut down due to a mudslide that yielded nearly 5 feet of debri and shut down the nation's capital's biggest road all night long. A local airport that was built on the Patuxent flood plain is covered in water. Most of the aircraft based there have water up to the door.

I suppose the fact that I cant fly(and make money) is minor compared to what alot of other people are being subjected to. However, I really am beginning to get frustrated. Larry is ready for his presolo stage check. Jim is as well. Randy is just learning to land and needs all the positive reinforcement he can get. anyways, I guess I will wait it out and see what happens the rest of the week.

Last week I learned a couple valuable lessons. 1) always do a thourough preflight, and 2) always have a sick sack in reaching distance. I picked up 2 aircraft from maintenance last week. One had a spider nest in the pitot tube that took 45 mins to clean out. The other(the pa28 arrow) has take over the pitot vane. I didnt preflight as thorough as I should have and ended up with glue residue partially blocking the pitothole. My airspeed indications were erratic, and before I knew it the airplane was airborne. So, I flew the pattern sans airspeed indications. I fell back on my experience and knowledge to successfully and safely make a normal landing. It wasnt really an event of any sort, but sent me into survival mode nonetheless. Glad that I am armed with those skills when I needed them.
That morning I was flying with a student and he decided it was going to be a rough landing. As I was flaring he decided to show me what he had to eat.....all over his chest and out the window and down the side of the aircraft. It took about an hour to clean.
And the icing on the cake was when Randy and I had a bird strike on the downwind while working the pattern the other morning. The airplane was fine, but the poor bird took a real beating.

just about done

2006-06-14T10:32:00.000-04:00

I guess its been close to a week since my last post. Alot has happened. Flew home last Friday on an Airtran 717. Not a bad jet, and the arrival into Reagan-national was pretty interesting. One of my best friends got married over the weekend, so that was the occasion. We all had a blast and it was great to see everyone in one place.
Got back to Ft Pierce Sunday night pretty late. I had about 8 hours left to fly in 3 days. So I relaxed on Monday. Yesterday I hit the airways again. Tropical storm Alberto was kickin pretty hard. I had wanted some actual instrument weather so took advantage of his wrath to go fly. Antoine, the Frenchman, and I boarded the Duchess for what was supposed to be a round robin.....Jacksonville-cecil field, then on to Cross city, then back to Ft pierce. As we neared Jax-cecil we asked Jax approach control for the vor approach to runway 9. He said weather was VFR, then changed that comment with "cecil field is reporting 1 mile, heavy to extreme weather, right over the field". I tried to get holding but he opted to vector us out west and then back into the field. We saw the airport as it emerged from the torrential rain showers. We asked for a visual approach and he informed us that we needed to do an approach since it was still reported IFR. This was probably my one and only chance to request a contact approach. I was about to until he came back saying he talked to the tower and it was VFR....hmmmm...I couldve told him that. Anyways, a contact approach is when a pilot is in pseudo ifr and can remain clear of clouds and reasonably navigate to the airport. Something I learned alot about on my CFII checkride. Usually happens when a pilot is in low vis but is familiar enough with the airport and terrain to make it safely to the runway. Anyways, there was some pretty severe weather moving northeast so we opted to make a beeline back to FT pierce. We hit some pretty decent weather over Daytona and Malbourne. Vis in Vero and Ft pierce was down to about 4 miles in haze so we flew the VOR14 approach at FPR. not a bad flight. The evening flight was to Tamiami. A nice airport south of Miami. Smooth air, decent vis. We were on radar vectors the whole way. Not a bad way to navigate. Makes it easy. The leg home was mine and as we cruised at 6k west of Miami I enjoyed a pretty wild sunset....a bright pink sky...and a sliver of sun between two layers of clouds that lingered over the middle of the state towards Tampa. Its been a blast down here. Time has flown by, but I managed to log 95 hours of twin time, and sit at 715 total time and 105 multi. not too bad.
Its back to work on Saturday. Got some students lined up for the week. Have a couple new ones starting up. Get to use my new ratings too...CFII and MEI.

The summer should be a good one. The airlines are definitely within my grasp. Exciting Stuff.

Cleared direct Seminole....

2006-06-08T10:16:00.000-04:00

...was our clearance after passing over Ocala VOR last night. We were on an IFR flight plan from Ft Pierce to Tallahassee. We took off from FPR around 7 and enjoyed a nice sunset from 6000 ft on a heading of about 322. I found it interesting that the VOR nearest to Tallahassee(home of FSU) was named Seminole.......Maybe they can get a VOR named Hokie down in the Blacksburg area. I think there is a Gps waypoint on the approach into Blacksburg named Hokie, but it sure would be nice to get something bigger.
Anyways, we landed at TLH after flying the NDB rwy 36 approach. I dont have alot of experience with ADF navigation, and flying NDB approaches so I am using the time I have left here to get more familiar with them. The planes back home dont have ADF's in them so I never had to do an approach for my checkride.
The NDB is a non-directional beacon that will allow you to track a needle inbound or outbound to the beacon. The ADF is the equipment in the airplane that consists of a compass card and a needle that will always point to the station. The level of precision is alot less than that of a VOR or a GPS so the approaches can be a challenge, especially when executing the approach in actual instrument conditions(clouds).
My time down here has been extremely well spent. I passed my CFII(instrument instructor) checkride yesterday. So now my resume reads CFI, CFII, MEI. I am taking the instrument ground instructor written on Monday so that when I get my ten checkrides with an 80% pass rate I can get my golden seal on my instructors certificate. Ive learned a tremendous amount down here from the people Ive flown with, the airspace, the weather, and the twin engine airplanes we have been flying.
Today we are climbing back into the Duchess for another 6 hours. Probably do Key West and maybe Peter Oknight in Tampa. Weather again is clear skies and its already up to 86 degrees.
Im hopping on an airtran flight to DCA tomorrow for a wedding this weekend. Then its back down here to take that written and finish the flying. My three weeks have flown by, but what Ive learned here and what Ive experienced will stay with my for the rest of my life.
The wonderful thing about aviation is that for the most part everyone has the same goal, and everyone wants to see you succeed. There is the occasional bad seed you run across, but as a whole the aviation community is one big family. Thats they way I like it.

2006-05-31T18:02:00.000-04:00

I can teach twins

2006-05-31T00:39:00.000-04:00

"You fly very well, and that xwind landing was very nicely done", said the examiner as he typed up my new temporary airmans certificate. I am officially licensed to teach students in multi engine aircraft. Just the next step in this venture of mine.

The checkride wasnt bad. Started off with about a 2 hour oral exam, and then we went flying. We went out over the Atlantic for some airwork, then over to Vero Beach for some landings. All in all it was about a 4 hour ordeal with about a 1.1 hr flight. The icing on the cake was the return to Ft. Pierce. Winds were 040 at 15gusting 20. We landed runway 9 so we had a 50 degree xwind component. It was probably the best xwind landing Ive ever pulled off. I think I really impressed the examiner.

Then it was off on a x-c up to Tallahassee FL in the Duchess. A nice evening flight up there and then a night flight back. I flew the first leg up, and we got the visual approach to runway 36. The way home was Adams leg. I was tired, and sat there staring out the window for traffic. A bright star caught my eye. It stood out from all the rest. Mixed in with the various constellations a bright star stood out, shining down on me. Perhaps it was a planet; it certainly wasnt the north star as we were headed south. Maybe it was just a bright star.......or maybe it was a sign that there might be someone from above looking down and taking care of us.

I cant help to think that perhaps that star was David's way of communicating to me that he was there. It was almost as though I could feel his presence in the back seat of that beat up old twin engine airplane. I had a patch with his name and number on it(ktown team made them for their rugby shorts) in my pocket, and have been flying with it all week in my bag. Dave was with me on my checkride today, and he helped me to fly better than Ive flown ever.

As I sat there and thought good thoughts about the day I had just enjoyed on this earth and in the air, and found comfort in the thought that Dave was with me, I looked forward to my future and imagined where my life will take me. Will I end up in the left seat of a 777 some day, or perhaps I will end up in corporate and charter aviation. Whatever or wherever I end up, I will enjoy the journey that is going to take me there. My training for a career in aviation has been amazing, and the people Ive met and things and places Ive seen from the air have left a lasting impression on me that I will never lose.

Tomorrow morning I have an 8 am departure to Key west. We are going VFR and plan to fly the coast at 500 feet. Ill try to get some pics that actually post this time. For some reason I couldnt get the last batch to post.

Instrument instructor checkride is next week.

Space Coast express

2006-05-30T09:18:00.000-04:00

For the second time in as many flights I flew to Key West international. Yesterday morning we climbed into the Beech Duchess for a 4 hour round trip and and airport hamburger in Key West. The flight down was nice. We filed for victor airway 3 which goes overhead Miami international. ATC wanted no part of that and sent us direct to Key west almost immediately to keep us west of Miami approach's airspace. We flew at 8000 ft right over Lake Okkachobee(sp?) and then out over the Gulf of Mexico for a visual approach to runway 9 at Key West. The leg home was my leg and we climbed to 11000 ft to try to get over some build-ups west of miami. We ended up penetrating several buildups and got bounced around a bit. Miami arrivals were coming overhead at 13000 on the downwind to Miami international. Saw a 757, and a bunch of southwest 737 aircraft......you are now free to move about the country.
The evening flight was kick a$$. we flew up Victor 3 to Daytona beach....right over the airport and the speedway, then east on a victor airway that sent us about 8 miles off shore. We had a nice haze layer and little or no horizon so it was a good instrument flight. We passed abeam Kennedy space center and got a look at the Vehicle Assembly building and the launch pads. The arrival into Savannah was awesome. We were vectored onto a right base for runway 9, then cleared for the visual into the Savannah airport. The leg back was mine, and again we were bounced around in some cloud buildups. Radar vectors to the ils runway 9 at fort pierce concluded a 5.7 hour flight.

Today is my multi engine instructor checkride. I am nervous about the oral, but I think I will be fine. The flight should be a more fun learning experience than anything else. Here is a pic from the final into runway 9 at Key West. Enjoy....

Free light show

2006-05-27T11:02:00.000-04:00

"66366, miami center squawk 3014, turn right heading 360 to join victor 3 northbound..." was all I heard as we departed Ft Pierce last night and was met with a tremendous light show at our 12:00 and 20 miles over the Melbourne VOR. Miami Center informed us of an area of severe to extreme weather over the airway we were to fly. I replied with...."roger that center, we are looking at it.....we'd like to go gps direct to a fix and then on to gainesville for an approach and then to jacksonville Craig municipal for a full stop." This took us west of the storm and gave us a great show as it passed us off the right wing.

Lat night was my first timebuilding flight in the Duchess--BE76. What a sweet airplane. We went to Gainesville for the ILS and low approach, then we went to JAX-Craig(kcrg) for the vor rwy 14 approach. Then on departure from CRG we picked up clearance and shot approaches at Daytona, Titusville, melbourne, Vero beach, and then back at Ft pierce. It was a hell of a night. Even had a door pop open on our takeoff roll from ft pierce. My door----unnerving to say the least and resulted in an aborted takeoff. 5.1 hours total in the airplane....today is a day trip...probably to Key west, and then maybe back up for Fuel and then north to shoot approaches at Titusville-Space coast so i can get a look at Kennedy Space center.

My MEI checkride is scheduled for Tuesday. I still have a written to take for the CFII(instrument instructor) and most likely the checkride for that around June 7 or so. Anyways, I feel absolutely comfortable in the new airplane now. It was tough for about the first 2 hours, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The Duchess is a very forgiving twin, and flies great on one engine.....is a breeze to land as well.

And then there was 600

2006-05-18T14:26:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I hit 600 hours in airplanes. Seems like I was just posting that I passed 500. The hours are adding up quickly. My students are progressing. Im having a blast. Ive got my guys landing the airplane now safely, and some smoother than others. This is by far the most rewarding job I have ever had. I leave Monday for FL. I will try to post some pics from FL when I get down there.

Pattern A

2006-05-03T10:08:00.000-04:00

"Ok, Larry, today we stay at home and work the traffic pattern." Larry was excited and very eager as I sent him next door to file a flight plan with flight service. We walked out to the airplane after I explained the traffic pattern to him.

"Larry, downwind power setting is 2000 rpm, 100 knots and 1200 feet. Abeam the numbers we bring the power back to 1700 and put in 10 degrees of flaps below 110 knots. when the runway is 45 degrees off our landing gear we turn our base and put in another notch of flaps....20 degrees. We leave the power in and let the flaps slow us down. On the base I like 80 knots and as we turn final, last notch of flaps and then power as needed to maintain 65 knots and a stabilized approach to the runway....this is where all good landings begin."

Larry was doing great. We took off nicely, he maintained Vy(best rate of climb) until 1200 feet. He pushed the nose over and leveled off, accelerated to 100 knots then brought the power back to 2000 rpm. he flew a nice pattern but it still left something to be desired in the flare.

Larry and I flew about 10 patterns and he had 2 decent safe landings...the rest were either assisted by yours truly or were complete scheauwwws. anyways, for his first real pattern work i was happy at the overall effort. his patterns were square, his descents stabilized and procedures were good. I am sure the flare will come in due time. hes flying with a different instructor this weekend as I will be out of town, so hopefully that will help him.

Reading Railroad

2006-05-01T16:25:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was special for myself and a couple friends of mine. I flew myself, my buddy Chris and 2 of our friends up to Reading, PA (KRDG). the Kutztown Univ. up in PA was holding and alumni weekend for grads, and specifically the rugby team that our fallen friend Dave played on had invited us all up for his induction into their hall of fame. It was a really special day and I was glad I could attend.
The morning started at 7 am. I arrived at the airport and printed out the information I would need up at Reading from the internet. I stopped into the Flight service station to file my ADIZ flight plan and get a weather briefing for our flight from JYO to RDG. I planned for a VFR(visual flight rules) route on a heading of 056 direct. The weather was spectacular. Light winds and high pressure dominated. visibility was greater than 50 miles and hardly a ripple in the air. I loaded up the airplane with fuel to the tabs(17 gallons a side). Weight and balance dictated that I not take full fuel due to the fact that I had 2 120# females in the back seat, some bags and a 190# male in front along with me. No problem though. We lifted off and climbed to 3500 enroute to RDG. We transitioned between EMI and LRP, using GPS primarily but backed up the nav with VOR signals. Our arrival into Reading was uneventful. A slight crosswind on runway 36. Winds 040 at 12kts. The heavy airplane sat into the x-wind rather nicely and the thump of the wheels and deceleration was a welcome feeling for my backseat passengers.
After a great day of rugby, food and some adult beverages we were wheels up around 1030 am the next day. The 22 kt headwind from the day before now became a 27 kt tailwind at 4500. After we leveled off GPS showed a groundspeed readout of 152 kts. Not bad for a PA28R-200. Coming back into JYO was uneventful as well. We had to circle north in order to get set up on a left downwind for 35. Winds were calm....a welcome site for my pax.

Student load here has been tremendous. Ive got several guys on my schedule who are hard at work here at the flight school. I am having a blast, and really learning alot. Next up is 3 weeks in Florida to get my MEI and 100 hrs of multi.

Reading Railroad

2006-05-01T16:25:00.000-04:00

Red Baron

2006-04-22T09:04:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the delay in any and all updates. Since my being laid off I have been extremely busy....even more-so than before. Its true what people say about things happening for a reason. My untimely departure from my former emplyer was a tremendous blessing in disguise. I have had the opportunity to work full time at the flight school now, and am extremely happy about it.

So, lets back up. Almost immediately after coming on full time my schedule was filling up. I have 3 new students, not to mention the students I was already working with. I also have 2 commercial students in the arrow, as well as 4 people who are planning on starting up in June. Things have worked out even better than I couldve hoped for, affirming my decision to make this a career. Things just fit too well right now.

Last week saw some good stuff happen. I started the week with some private students. Ive been working with Larry on teaching him to land. If any cfi's out there can give me some tips on teaching the landing id appreciate it. Hes at about 8 hours right now. Then I put Justin under the hood for some stalls and slow flight. Our asst chief attended a conference with a group of local DE's(designated examiners--guys who do the checkrides) and they all stated that the number one thing that private candidates dont do well are stalls and slow flight. So, I have vowed to work on that with my guys. We did a landing at Carroll County and then headed home. Tuesday I did a night flight with a guy from the Royal Navy stationed in DC on govt business. Funny listening to him on the radios. I worked with him in the pattern at Frederick, and then tried to score a landing at Dulles. The controllers wanted no part of us as it was still early and there were still several departures heading off of KIAD. So, back to Leesburg we went for a few more circuits.

Wed evening I re-soloed a guy who had soloed a year ago. I met him in Jan, and subsequently had electrical failure with him in the airplane that same day. He went on a stage check last weekend and had another electrical failure in the airplane with our chief pilot. Its not our planes....it must be him. He did great on the solo, and next up is the long dual x-country flight up to Lancaster and then to New Garden(N57). New Garden is a small little airport west of Philly, just outside the Philly Class Bravo airspace.

Thursday I was charter pilot for a couple who wanted a ride to Bay Bridge airport for lunch. We were wheels up around 1030 and headed northeast. We went direct Gaithersburg, direct to Tipton/Ft Meade, direct to Lee-Annapolis, then east across the Chesapeake Bay landing on runway 29 at Bay Bridge. It was a nice trip. We could see the Washington Capital building, the Washington monument and the runways at National airport. Visibility was greater than 30 miles at 2000 ft. Pretty nice.

I flew two more flights after I got back from Bay Bridge. So, long story short. Ive got 539 total time now, with a ton of dual given. The logbook is filling fast. Ive never had so much fun in my life, and nothing has felt as rewarding. I think Larry's solo will be next. That will be a real solo;The first person I have taught to fly start to finish.

Yesterday I rode back seat in a Beechcraft Baron. What a sweet airplane. My chief was giving some instruction to a new owner in order to meet insurance requirements. We got to altitude, shut down an engine, feathered it, and flew around on one engine for a while. then it was stall time, emergency descent and the localizer approach into Winchester. They dropped me off so i could wait for the Arrow to get out of maintenance. The 5 hours wait for the arrow was worth the ride in the Baron.

I will post some pics tomorrow of the Baron and of my trip to Annapolis.

2006-04-12T13:54:00.000-04:00

ATC

2006-04-11T15:08:00.000-04:00

I talk to ATC every day, and most of the time they are very helpful. From time to time though they can have attitudes, and you forget that they are people just like you and I. You forget that they can have bad days, good days, and sometimes they just dont feel like talking. I try to always exchange pleasantries with ATC, and when they do me a favor I always thank them. They perform a service to pilots and passengers alike, and are always appreciated. I found this link on another Blog....it was overheard on an Air Canada flight into Vancouver...I hope you all enjoy.

http://www.futurastudios.com/atc-marry-me.html

Le Chandelle

2006-04-10T16:48:00.000-04:00

Chandelle....a French word meaning a sharp climb or evasive action, or something like that. Chandelle is also a maximum performance maneuver that every commercial pilot candidate must perform. When I say commercial, I mean the commercial rating...not the guy in the front of the airliner taking you to Florida. The FAA has a commercial pilot certificate, requiring a pilot to have 250 hours of total time to include a night requirement, some instrument time, a couple cross country flights and training in specialized maneuvers outlined in the practical test standards.

Tonite's Commercial candidate will endure my wrath while learning to perform the Chandelle. This is a maneuver designed during the early war era of flight in which was used to allow the pilot to reverse course 180 degrees and gain the maximum amount of altitude possible. I think this was used in dogfights early on, and probably came in useful if a pilot became boxed into a canyon or valley.

The maneuver as I teach is is split into two sections. The first section is 0-90 degrees. You roll into a 30 degree bank, apply full power, begin to pitch up. I teach constant bank and changing pitch. The pilot is maintaining the 30 degrees of bank, and is increasing his pitch attitude simultaneously. In the second part (90-180 degrees) the pilot is maintaining the max pitch-up attitude but beginning to roll out of his bank. Ideally you complete the maneuver 180 degrees from where you started, and with your airspeed just above the stall speed. You may get a few indications of an impending stall, but you dont want to stall it. Recovery is simple...maintain your altitude and level off back at cruise airspeed. Piece of cake.

Teaching this maneuver is a blast. I absolutely love teaching in the PA-28R Arrow. The airplane is a hoss, and with 200 hp and a three bladed prop it will really get you somewhere.

Half way

2006-04-10T09:29:00.000-04:00

Last night I totaled up a page in my logbook. I officially broke 500 hours in airplanes. I am at 504.1.

KLNS-v143 mulrr-aml-d->KJyo

2006-04-08T09:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was very eventful. I was scheduled to do a BFR for a gentleman, then head up to lancaster, PA(klns) with a guy who needed to pick his airplane up from the shop. I was supposed to fly the plane back to Leesburg from KLNS. We were wheels up enroute to KLNS at 410 pm We were enjoying the 35 knot tailwind we had at 3500 ft. The GPs was showing a groundspeed of 147 knots. Not bad for a Cessna 172.

After landing I dropped off Charles and taxied over to get some dinner with a friend at the terminal restaurant. I amused myself while I waited for her by watching the crew of a USAir beech1900 unload the PAx and luggage. I made a quick call to Flight service to file my flight plan and get a briefing. Bad news. Severe weather warning on the DC area for all night. The first briefer told me not to try to come back until noon the following day. I made a second call after dinner and the briefer confirmed that same news. So, I made the prudent decision to spend the night up in Lancaster and leave first thing in the morning to get back in time for my desk shift at the flight school.

I woke up this morning in the Holiday Inn express to low ceilings and moderate rain showers. It looked like I would have my work cut out for me, but at least I had slept in a Holiday Inn Express, right? I called FSS and got the weather for my destination, departure point and enroute...and chose to file an IFR flight plan. Since all my charts were in the airplane I had to come up with something off the top of my head. I proposed a wheels up time of 0630, 6000 ft and a route of klns-westminster vor-martinsburg vor-direct to leesburg. My clearance was quite the opposite. I was told to fly victor airway 143 which runs from lancaster vor to martinsburg vor. I was to stay on that airway until MULRR intersection. I could identify that with a cross radial off the Westminster VOR. then I was to go direct to Armel vor and the direct to JYO. My takeoff clearance was to fly the runway heading and maintain 6000 ft. I was soon up in moderate rain beating on the windscreen. Climbing at 79knots I was soon in the clouds. I didnt break out on top until about 5500. I leveled off at 6000 and was soon given a heading to fly to intercept the airway at delro intersection. I stayed on the airway until MULRR and anticipated a heading to fly to get into Leesburg. I had my ipod in one ear and was jamming out to some music when ATC came on directing me to first fly heading 230 "vectors for the localizer 17 approach"...but quickly ammended that yo fly GPS direct to STILL interesection. That is the Initial approach Fix for the approach...where it all begins. I was soon cleared for the approach and intercepted the localizer inbound. the approach calls for you to maintain 3000 until established and inside STILL. Then descend to 1800 until the Final approach Fix-WARDE Int. after WARDE you can go to 1100 until 3 miles from the runway...and if you have dme you can go down to 820. I didnt need to worry about going that low as i saw the runway around 1100 ft and canceled IFR. I made a normal straight in approach to landing and taxied in, tied down and made a dash for the office. Its a cruddy day here.

Chapter 2

2006-04-05T13:55:00.000-04:00

So, Last Friday I learned a very valuable life lesson; make sure you know who your friends are...and be wary of those who are out to get you.

Friday's weather was spectacular. The sun was out, it was 70 degrees and I didnt have to work. I was called into the boardroom around 10 am on Friday morning and told that "I had other priorities and that my mind wasnt at the company"....The Branch manager and company VP, along with my dept manager proceded to bring up 4 or 5 small things I'd done in the last few months, and told me my work was unacceptable and that "effective immediately I was terminated". Well, I have to admit this didnt come as any shock to me. The management of George Mason mortgage in Fairfax VA is as bad as it gets, and when they heard that I had plans of pursuing a career in aviation and would be leaving in May, they took it as a threat and looked for a way to get rid of me. They acted very aggressively towards me in the boardroom, as though they expected a fight from me....but i simply and quietly walked out of the room. I packed up my desk and walked outside. I was free!

I spent the rest of the day enjoying the weather. I made a few calls and within an hour I had applied for unemployment and was on the schedule full time at Aviation Adventures in Leesburg, VA. I am not in chapter two of this journey.

May 14 I am hitting the road south and will attend Ari-Ben aviation in Ft Pierce FL for 3 weeks of timebuilding. Ill leave Ft Pierce with 100 hours of time in a multi engine aircraft, and be able to instruct in multi engine aircraft back up north in VA. The magic ticket to the airlines is multi-time. Most require at a minimum 100 hours. By spending this time in FL ill meet those mins. Im very excited.

I am planning trips to key west, FLL, PBI, MCO, Tampa, and as many other small airports as I can squeeze in.

I am still pretty bitter about the whole firing thing.....but I am sure that in a year I will look down from the right seat of the CRJ-900 that I am FO on and laugh at the people still at GMMLLC......the office is a large building sitting under the rigth base for 1R at KIAD. anyone know how to drop blue ice?

Ten miles.....not necessarily in the air either

2006-04-02T14:32:00.000-04:00

So todays been a pretty good day so far. I started the morning off with a ten mile run in downtown Washington DC. The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Miler was organized to benefit the childrens miracle network, and with over 10000 strong in the race it was a huge success. This weekend was the peak of the blossoms, so downtown was packed with tourists, but we managed to run a ten mile course weaving through the streets of dc and over the memorial bridge, and then back down rock creek parkway to finish up along side the Potomac River. I finished at a respectable 1 hour 53 minutes. Not bad for a "clydesdale".....

I am at the airport now killing time before my afternoon flight. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and the winds are light. Its going to be a great day to fly. I have my jamaican buddy scheduled for some airwork and landings so we will see how it goes.

This morning i kept myself amused while running by watching the jets depart from DCA. They were in a north operation and were climbing out right overhead, while keeping the east bank of the potomac to their right. Prohibited areas over the capitol, mall, and white house make it an interesting departure for most airliners out of DCA. The arrival into national is even better from the north. In good weather the jets will fly the River Visual to rwy 19. Some of the smaller RJ's or turboprops might take a straight in to rwy 15 or 22. I highly suggest stopping by gravelly point and checking it out sometime. For aviation buffs its a good time.

2006-03-30T08:16:00.000-05:00

2006-03-30T08:12:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics from the ride we took the other night....chris jami and myself in the captains chair. Spring weather is among us here...im excited for the weekend. time to do some great flying. enjoy!!

First timers

2006-03-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

So I guess spring is supposed to be here by now huh? Well, Mother Nature is having second thoughts on that I guess. The forecast for the weekend is for rain and snow tomorrow. And possibly on Sunday as well. It is pretty annoying when you are only able to fly with students on the weekends and the weather consistently does not cooperate. Whether it is the wind, the clouds, or now precip and freezing temps….its enough to make a guy like myself want to move to Florida. I think I can handle thunderstorms and hurricanes better than I can deal with a winter full of gusty crosswinds and ice filled clouds. But I digress.

The weekend is slated to be a good one, if the weather cooperates. I am scheduled to work the dispatch desk on Sat morning until around noon. I’ve got one of my better students lined up for a flight to tune him up for his re-solo. He’s new to town and needs a new solo endorsement from myself. Easy flight. Late afternoon I have a new student who has about 30 hours, but wants to finish his license. This should be an interesting flight. Flying with new people always keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Speaking of new pilots, I took my friend Chris and Jami up in the airplane last night. We loaded up the c-172 and headed west towards Front royal and Winchester. We were headed into Winchester (kokv) for a touch and go and I asked Jami if she wanted to try a landing. She was excited so I said I would handle the rudders and the power, she could do the flare. I carefully watched her and coached her every movement. As we came over the grass I said, keep bringing us down; we crossed the threshold at a beautiful height and I explained that ill being the power back and I wanted her to level off, then I told her to keep the airplane at this height and not let it sink. She started to instinctively flare the airplane. I was in utter amazement. Granted she did not have to worry about maintaining airspeed on final, or putting in flaps or steering on the ground after touchdown, but she still did a whole lot better than a lot of students I’ve seen. I think we might have a new student on our hands. I gave her a logbook with her first 1.5 in it.

It was great to get back in the left seat and I enjoyed being the sole manipulator of the controls for a change…..

We took our friend Dave flying as well. We had a picture of him on my clipboard propped up on the instrument panel in cruise flight. As his girlfriend sat next to me I watched as she held the picture in her hands. Dave had been flying with me once before, and he wanted me to take him flying back in January. I guess he finally got to go back up with me again.

things that go bump in the day

2006-03-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

Wheels up and back in the sky once again. Right on schedule, the weekend arrived and the winds fired up. Saturday saw the worst of the weather pass through. Winds on the surface were gusting once again to 27. But more dangerous were the winds aloft. Moderate to severe turbulence below 8000 ft all over the region, and a mountain wave that, according to a pirep, was quite severe. A driver of a Cessna 172 reported a descent over 500 fpm while trying to cross the ridge. He had full power and was pitching the aircraft for Vx…or best angle of climb. Not sure how he got out of it, but that alone was enough for most of the instructors, myself included to cancel our flights.

Sunday was forecast to be better, however the forecast changed and those winds hung around. The severe turbulence was gone, and the mountain wave wasn’t as vicious so I decided to give it a shot. My first flight of the morning paired me with a private pilot….from Jamaica….that hadn’t flown in 4 years. No problem. I told him it would be bumpy but if he didn’t mind a few bumps we could go. So we headed out and I showed him the preflight. We hopped in the airplane and departed off runway 35. I requested a vfr climb to 3000 and a class bravo clearance, and Potomac departure was able to accommodate. I wanted to get out of the low level bumps as soon as I could. It worked, sort of. We headed over to Winchester and flew around. Let him get used to the airplane, as all his ppl training was done in a Cessna 150. He came to me with .8 of an hour in a 172. We did an hour in the practice area and headed back. I briefed him on the landing, and asked if he wanted to try to land it. We agreed that I would help him on the controls as it was a pretty gusty crosswind. To be exact I wrote down the winds…280@16knots gusting to 27. The wind was 70 degrees off the runway heading(350) and nearly exceeded our xwind capability of the aircraft. We were almost test pilots. He did a great job on final until over the grass. We went below the trees and lost our wind. He had let us get slow and the windshear bit us. I felt the sink, called for some power, he didn’t respond so I took controls, went full power and got out of there. he asked me to do the landing the next time around and I totally greased it. My biggest fear was botching another landing with a student, for the second week in a row.

My second student is a guy that ive been trying to fly with for a while now. We first flew together back when we had the electrical failure, and have only had one other flight in the pattern between then and now. So we headed out into the wind. Nice takeoff and climb out. Headed west via rt 7 and used some pilotage to have him find Winchester airport for me. We did a few maneuvers in the area and then headed over for a couple landings at Winchester(kokv). Winds were 16 knots but right down the runway. Made it nice and easy for him to have good landings. Made my job easier too. We departed the airport back to Leesburg and I wanted him to learn how to enter and exit the ADIZ. He made his intial call up to Potomac and we were rudely dismissed. As we circled outside the ADIZ we watched the airliners entering the downwind for rwy 1L at KIAD. The controllers were busy. One large jet after another, and no sqwawk code for us. So I tried two more freqs before we finally got a code. So, my teaching moment was kinda ruined and I had to kinda ad-lib to get us back home. But at least got to see what to do when that happens. I will say it again, the ADIZ is a good thing for national security, but damn it’s a pain in my a$$ every day that I fly. Nine times out of ten it’s a piece of cake with no problems. But that tenth time it really bugs the crap out of you. Some controllers act as though they are god…..and treat smaller GA aircraft as though they aren’t worth their time. Ok, end rant.

So we ended the flight with a pretty wild time on final, and a pretty long touchdown. But it was a safe landing on the centerline and the plane will fly again.

Overall not the best weekend of flying, but I did get some time in the logbook. Broke 490 total time, so I am slowly getting closer to the elusive 1000 hrs. I have a pretty good feeling that once I start teaching full time I will fill the pages in my logbook pretty fast.

Total time=490.7 Multi time 9.8 1hr PIC multi. That is soon to change.

Arrow Time

2006-03-14T14:18:00.000-05:00

It’s been a pretty crazy couple of weeks for me, but I think the dust has settled and we are all moving forward. There is definitely something to be said for having someone on your side upstairs. This past weekend was tremendous for me as far as the flying goes. Sat morning I made my way out to the airport for a 10 am show with a student who was signed up for his first lesson ever. Huge responsibility for me. My first student from scratch. He was excited, motivated, and ready to fly. I took him out, showed him the Cessna we would be flying, and we started in on the preflight. I had him read the checklist item and I showed him what we were looking at. After the preflight, we climbed in and I taxied us out of parking. Once on the main taxiway headed out to runway 35 I let him take the controls. I showed him how to taxi using the rudder petals to steer and to keep us on centerline. We did the run-up and then we took the runway. I had briefed him on the takeoff. I kept us going straight with my feet and kept an eye on the airspeed. When we hit 60 knots I had Ahmed gently pull back on the yoke. Before he knew it we were airborne. He was really pumped. I let him fly us west staying under the Dulles class B airspace, and had him climb us out up to 3000 as soon as we could. Once clear of the ridge and the ADIZ boundaries, we went up to about 4000 to get above the thermals. Nice smooth air for his first flight. We did some turns, climbs, descents…..he had a huge grin on his face. After about an hour we headed back to Leesburg. After a brief delay getting back into the ADIZ we got our code and I had him descent us down to around 1500. He was a little unnerved by the thermal activity as it was a nice warm day in the DC area. I took over a mile outside the pattern and landed us on runway 35. He complimented me on the landing…..glad he didn’t know otherwise. I had a little bounce to it. I guess its all good right? So he’s signed up for his second lesson. He’s all set to get started. I am as well.
My afternoon was a checkout in the arrow. The PA28R-200. Retractable gear, constant speed prop. We headed off on a x-c he had planned up to Chambersburg PA—N68. A nice little skydiving strip. We landed, taxied in, and right before departure back out we were bombarded by about 6 parachuters. Pretty cool to see. After departure, we headed over for a landing at Hagerstown (khgr) and then a landing at Frederick (kfdk). Full stops at each. Then we headed home for a nice smooth landing back at Leesburg. As usual, a gorgeous sunset on the way back southwest bound. Something I have really found enjoyment in. Nothing better than a nice sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains at the end of a long afternoon of flight instructing.

Sunday was the morning of my 8k race in DC. St Patty’s day 8k to benefit the Special Olympics. I used the opportunity to raise money for the family of my friend who had just recently passed. I was very successful, and thank all those that helped me with my effort. I also had an excellent run, finishing at my best time to date.

The afternoon I spent with my commercial student. We went up in the Cessna to get him back in the saddle. It’s been a while since he’s flown so we went through the PTS and did all the maneuvers he would need to know. For not having flown in a while he did exceptional. After the airwork I told him to take us to Winchester (kokv) for some landings. We were on the edge of some weather and it was moving in. On about a 3 mile left base for runway 32 at Winchester I asked him what he thought about the weather. He said “Let’s go back to Leesburg”. I concurred. I told him that’s exactly what I am looking for him to do with his commercial training. Start making good decisions based on experience and knowledge that he has….no longer relying as much on a cfi for guidance. Growing exponentially as a pilot, and eventually a CFI. We are going to get into the Arrow next time. I am excited to teach him about the gear and the constant speed prop. It’ll be a real experience for me.

the morning after......

2006-03-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

With the passing of a good friend, come many mixed feelings that each personal interprets and processes differently. I experienced a whole spectrum of feelings. It started with doubt and disbelief. How could the lord take someone so young and strong so quickly? It didn’t seem fair, and certainly could not be true. It was as though we were all waiting for Dave to walk into the party at any minute. Then those feelings of disbelief and shock blended into feelings of sorrow and grief. We realized that he was not coming back and it was a hard thing to deal with. But, but the grace of god we were all blessed with a large group of friends and a family to lean on. We cried, we laughed, we told Dave what a punk he was…..and at the end of the day it made us feel better. Now that the wake and the funeral have passed we can move on with the mourning process and move forward. This is my first death of someone so close to me as an adult, and it was very difficult. But seeing a church filled with close to 1000 people, from as far away as Korea, it really touched my heart. My feelings are slowly turning now to a mixed feeling of great joy in knowing that Dave is with the lord in an awesome place, but very sad in that we will never live with him on this earth again.

In my attempt at gaining some assemblance of normalcy, I went out to the airport Saturday morning to work my dispatch shift. A guy called looking for a flight review. I offered to do it for him in his own aircraft. He flew a TB-20….a Trinidad. A very nice aircraft that would’ve been a joy to fly if it were a hair bigger. But I enjoyed messing with the avionics and letting him show me how to operate the autopilot. His BFR consisted of the standard ADIZ departure. Once over Winchester we did some stalls, slow flight, steep turns. Being an obvious master of his own airplane, I decided to shift gears and see if this guy really knew how to use his avionics. What a blast. 6 miles south of the Martinsburg VOR we set up the radios to fly the ILS approach to runway 26. We crossed the Initial approach fix and turned outbound before making the procedure turn inbound and intercepting the localizer. The winds were strong and you could see the autopilot was crabbing the nose of the airplane quite a bit to the right to maintain on the center of the localizer. We reached mins and cut off the autopilot and put the bird down in a fabulous x-wind landing. Dip the right wing to maintain runway centerline, but straighten the nose with left rudder and land on the right wheel. A complex yet graceful maneuver when done with finesse.

The second time down the localizer was a real treat. The Martinsburg airport lies in between the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are ridges to the east and west of the airport. Field elevation is 700ft, and the tops of the ridge reach about 2k. Not the Rocky Mountains but big enough to set the scene for a great sunset. As we came down the final to the west runway, the orange ball of sun sat teetering upon the ridge waiting to set. As soon as the sun dips below it is only a matter of seconds before it disappears behind the horizon. The absolutely gorgeous sunset and the chance to fly in the plane reminded me how luck I am to be alive and to be able to chase my dream. The setting sun was somewhat metaphorical in symbolizing the end of Dave’s life, and the eventually beginning of our lives anew. Bringing with us the strength, wisdom and inspiration that Dave left us with. His 29 years of life allowed him to see and do much more than many people see or do in a lifetime. I anticipate spending my next 30 years in much the same way. And when we meet again, I will tell him about all the great places I have flown and foreign lands I have seen. And how he inspired me to be a better person. For this I am thankful.

UPDATES

2006-03-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

Its been a couple of weeks since I last posted on here, and I apologize for that. There isnt too much to report. I am axiously awaiting my last day at my job(may 12) so that I can head down to Ft Pierce Florida to fly a be-76 beech duchess around for 100 hours. When I get back I will be a full time CFI and probably be working at the Outback again to make ends meet. I was a cook there in college. Its decent money and I do alright at it, and nothing lasts forever right? Why is northern VA so damn expensive. Ive been weathered out quite a bit in the last few weeks due to winds, but I did get a chance to take my student into KIAD-dulles international a few weeks ago one late weekend night. the tower let us land and taxi back on rwy 1R. Huge thrill for my student. Had an A320 land while we were taxiing back. Pretty cool to be that close.

Anyways, not too much new to report in the world of aviation for me.....but I do have some rather sad news to report to my friends here. A very good and longtime friend of mine, Dave, passed away Friday March 3 at around 630 in the evening.

Dave had been living in Korea and was exposed to TB. When he returned to the states he went for a physical and the strain was detected using one of those TB tests noone ever thinks is worthwhile. No big deal right? Give him some antibiotics and the strain would die off before ever developing into full blown TB. So, the DR gave him some meds and said, hey, be careful this hurts x percent of patients livers. Great news doc, but it might help to tell him that he needs to have blood drawn every month to check for liver enymes(damage).

Two weeks ago Dave's liver began to fail. He got very ill and went to the hospital. The ER docs sent him home with some medication, thinking he had the flu. A few days later he was incoherent, delirious, and his urine was dirt-brown. Dave was in some trouble. He was quickly sent to the ICU and a plan was devised. He improved with some meds, and the idea was to try to regain some liver function using mass amounts of IV fluids. Two days after being sent to the general hospital floor, he was back in the ICU. This time he was out of consciousness. He had moments with his eyes open, but his pain was so severe the doctors chose to sedate him, verses giving him pain meds as to avoid further liver damage. Dave needed a liver, in a bad way.

He would never even get a a chance to accept one.

Last night we all stood vigil outside ICU 1 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. His parents, relatives, church people, friends, rugby team, and girlfriend were there praying beyond belief that he would pull through. Around 5pm Daves fever shot up to 106. His breathing was labored. He needed to be put on a ventilator. The cause of the fever was his brain squeezing under tremendous swelling out the bottom of the skull. This was the end for Dave. At 6 pm EST, March 3 Dave was removed from the ventilator to determine if he could breath on his own. He was pronounced brain dead.

Dave was 28, in excellent physical shape. He was an excellent rugby player, a smart kid, a friend to all, a great boyfriend, and a better son than his parents could have ever asked for.

More than all that though Dave was our friend. We all shared special moments with the guy in the last 15years, and we will miss him so very much.

Dave's parents, his sister and her husband and their newborn and 14 month old, and Dave's girlfriend were so thankful that we were all there for them. They had no idea that Dave had so many people that loved him. He is in a better place now..........

................We will miss you buddy.

We celebrated Dave's life like he would've wanted us to.....we toasted a pint in his memory last night.

Dave Bailey 12/24/76 - 3/3/06

Arctic Blast

2006-02-19T15:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday saw a FROPA- or frontal passage and the obligatory winds and dropping temps. Wed and thurs last week were gorgeous. Warm temps, sunny skies. I didnt even need a jacket when I left my house that morning. Yesterday was a standard saturday for Feb in Northern VA. The wind from the backside of the coldfront, and the dropping temps made it very unappealing to our customers to go fly. This morning I was greeted with a metar that read something like this....m11/m18. In plain English this means temperature minus 11, dewpoint minus 18. It was damn cold. I showed up for a 9 am student around 830. I knew we would need to preheat so i left instructions for my student to meet me at the plane and I headed out to do the dirty work. Today was the first day we needed the preheater(to warm the engine oil and engine block to help start easier). So, I had to go look around the hangar till i found it. I eventualy did and it was a miracle that it worked. So, I got the preheat operations rolling on the line while the first wave of students headed out. We headed out to do our thing for an hour or so.

I am starting to get bored of watching stalls, slow flight and steep turns. my students just need practice and thats what I am here to help with.

Tomorrow morning I am taking my mom and two cousins up in the airplane for a scenic. Its going to be fun to actually get to fly the airplane for a change.

I absolutely love to fly, and without a doubt am enjoying every single second that I spend out here at the airport. to alot of people this is a hobby, but to me this is home. I am pretty sure some of you who read this will concur and feel the same way.........why else would I have been out here on a sunday morning freezing my a$$ off just to go in an airplane. Sometimes I feel as though Im the luckiest guy around.

Three More

2006-02-12T17:36:00.000-05:00

My Office

2006-02-12T17:26:00.000-05:00

Ive been seeing alot of office talk on various blogs so I thought I would give you all some insight as to what my office looks like. A couple pics of the flight line and some snow, the view from desk duty, and the cockpit of my favorite bird to give instruction in. Enjoy!

SNOW!!

2006-02-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I am not going to complain.....but we have about 10 inches on the ground right now. This winter has been very kind to us thus far so I am not the least bit irritated. It sure looks nice..all white and pretty....but I am sitting at the dispatch desk of the flight school with nothing to do. no flying, no customers...and worst of all no students for me to fly with. I am watching the snow removal crew do a full working over of the runway and taxiways from my desk here. The airport is still closed, as are most of the GA airports in the area. KHEF-Manassas is only open with 15 min prior approval, and Dulles is alternating runways for snow removal and treatment. On my way in to work this morning I was eavesdropping on the approach control freq. and heard a controller tell someone that everyone(all arrivals) was going to land on RWY 1R. And funniest of all was that she had a line of about 15 aircraft inbound. Awesome.

Temps right now are just above freezing and the sun is partially out, so mother nature is helping with the snow removal. I am lucky enough to be indoors while the rest of the gang is outside cleaning planes, although I kinda feel as though Id rather be out there. Most of the cessnas on the field are sitting with several inches of snow and ice on the wings and tail. this is making them all look at though they are taildraggers with a nosewheel. The added weight on the tail is causing the nose wheel to lift off and the tail to touch the ground. It looks kinda funny, but certainly cant be good for the plane. The ironic thing about all this is that John over at http://freightdogtales.blogspot.com was just ranting about the golf tourny biz-jets and the great weather he was having. Glad you were enjoying it. I, my friend, was digging my car out of several inches of snow this morning.

So, the airport is back open. The aircraft are clean and operations have began again here at the Leesburg airport. Its one of those nuisances that come with winter flying in the mid atlantic states. They way I look at it, I could be up in New England where they were predicting a blizzard. At least I got to make a few bucks working the desk, and Ill get to fly the sim before I leave here tonite. Good stuff.

Checkride Prep

2006-02-07T09:03:00.000-05:00

The winds that had been pummeling us for the last couple days had subsided enough for me to get out with a student last night. We had a really deep seated low pass over us Saturday leaving us without even the option to do instrument training. Ceilings and Vis were about 300 overcast and ½ mile. Sunday, as the front passed by, gave way to clear skies but horrendous winds. As is the norm where I fly, when the winds blow they blow across the runway. For some reason the airport was designed perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. Oh well. Just another part of flying in Leesburg-KJYO.

So, we departed runway 35 at Leesburg for what was to be part of the three hours of training with a CFI in preparation for the Private Pilot practical test. The FAA requires that all candidates for the PPL practical spend 3 hours within 60 days with a CFI in preparation. For the student that flies regularly this isn’t usually a big deal and happens by default. But for the individual who likes to drag his heels this can be a legitimate concern.

My student also needed some hood work, or flight under simulated instrument conditions. The FAA requires 3 hours of basic instrument instruction for the private license. That’s also time for the CFI to have some fun doing unusual attitude recovery. This allows the CFI to get as close to aerobatic flight as permissible then leave the controls in an unusual attitude, either nose low bank or nose high bank with varying power settings. It is the student’s job to look up and recover the aircraft. Good learning tool for the student and CFI.

The FAA states that a student also must have 3 hours of night flight. If you ask me that’s just barely enough for a low time pilot to get into trouble. But, that’s the regs so Ill abide by them. Night landings are tough to master, even for the seasoned pilot. For the second time with as many students we went around on the first approach back home. Not that a go-around is bad…in fact I teach my students when in doubt to go around and give it another shot. There is no shame in a go-around…only shame in bent metal.

So, hopefully Ill have this kid ready for his test in the next month or so. He will be my first sign off, even though I didn’t do most of the dirty work. I will still get the signoff and, hopefully, a “passed test on the first try” result on my record.

Night Flight

2006-02-02T12:10:00.000-05:00

The allure of a regional airline is not for everyone, and for some a spot in the right seat of a 50 seat regional jet cant come soon enough. I am one of those folks who is stopping to catch my breath along the way. I am enjoying every minute of every flight that I take with my students and using every opportunity I have to impart my knowledge upon that particular student. I have been teaching for a couple months now and it has been an absolute blast. I learn something new every time I fly, and I still believe that I learn more than my student does each flight…believe it or not.

Last weekend was a long one. I flew with a student up to Frederick (KFDK) to do some landings and work on some maneuvers. We were north of FDK and had to pay special attention to the airspace around P40-President Bush’s special use mountain cottage airspace. After experimenting with some engine out procedures and a quick touch and go we headed back to JYO. We were southbound into the ADIZ at 2500 msl and treated to a spectacular sunset over the blue ridge mountains.

We taxied in and parked in a transient spot. Requested fuel and went in to finish our flight planning for the night flight that we had planned to York PA.-THV. I used the opportunity to teach my student about night flying, traffic scanning at night, vor navigation, and flight following. We found the airport no problem, and his flight planning worked out nicely. We did a couple touch and goes there and discovered that there were no taxiway lights. So, finding the turnoff of the runway was a real challenge. We headed back to Leesburg at 4500 msl. Tracked the FDK vor and then checked in with Potomac to get our code back into the ADIZ. After some runway confusion about which was in use we entered the left downwind for runway 35 at JYO. Nice landing late at night and a perfect end to the day.

I am headed to Florida to build some multi time in May, and when I get back Ill be at 600 and 100 multi. Those are mins for a lot of regionals right now. I am tempted to start applying but I think I want to teach for at least a little while. Who knows. I guess its probably better to get that seniority number and move forward. Really exciting fun stuff.

Got Wind?

2006-01-16T09:33:00.000-05:00

The winter season in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA and WVA provides an awesome opportunity to not fly very much at all. A low pressure system moved through the region Friday and partially on Saturday. It brought warmer temps and lower celings. The freezing level(which is usually around sfc-2000) was way up around 9000 ft msl. Might be a good chance to work on some instrument skills if I had some time. So, my schedule was set for the weekend. Two students saturday, one on Sunday. Saturday morning I was set to work on CFII stuff in the clouds, but that nice warm low pressure system decided it was time to push through. As is typical with all cold front passages, the wind on the leading edge and back side is usually pretty viscious. The isobars are packed so tightly together that the winds are just ripping apart anyone who dares to fly. This is a look at the metar for KJYO-Leesburg airport for Sunday the 16th. These are just the morning, so as the day warmed you can imagine how bad they got. The highlighted portion shows the wind direction, followed by wind speed in knots.
KJYO 151500Z AUTO 30024G35KT 10SM CLR M01/M11 A2984 RMK AO2
KJYO 151440Z AUTO 29028G39KT 10SM CLR M02/M11 A2985 RMK AO2
KJYO 151420Z AUTO 30028G34KT 10SM CLR M02/M10 A2985 RMK AO2
KJYO 151400Z AUTO 29027G35KT 10SM CLR M02/M11 A2984 RMK AO2
KJYO 151340Z AUTO 30026G37KT 10SM CLR M03/M11 A2983 RMK AO2
KJYO 151320Z AUTO 29030G36KT 10SM CLR M03/M11 A2983 RMK AO2
KJYO 151300Z AUTO 30024G34KT 10SM CLR M03/M11 A2982 RMK AO2
KJYO 151240Z AUTO 29025G36KT 10SM CLR M03/M11 A2980 RMK AO2
KJYO 151220Z AUTO 29025G38KT 10SM CLR M03/M12 A2979 RMK AO2
KJYO 151200Z AUTO 29033G41KT 10SM CLR M03/M12 A2977 RMK AO2
KJYO 151140Z AUTO 29027G34KT 10SM CLR M03/M12 A2977 RMk

Todays prog chart shows that low system moving off to the northeast in its typical fashion. There are still some remnants of the tightly knot isobars that rocked us.

There were a few small planes that dared to takeoff and land this past weekend. We watched one cessna 172 come in to land, he had what looked like full aileron and rudder inputs into the wind, and he touched down, rode a wheely, lifted off again at least three times. Some pilots like to say that wind is alright..."im good enough to handle the wind, etc"...it must be an ego thing. its one thing if you are flying a large jet with someone paying you to get them there, but to rent a cessna for an hour to joyride in an airmet for moderate turbulence and a viscious x-wind just doesnt make sense. anyways, today is much nicer and people are flying again. I dont think I could take another day of that bone-chilling wind.

Is my headset broken?

2006-01-11T20:04:00.000-05:00

Sunny Saturday. Weather looks great for a VFR flight in one of the old 172s from Leesburg to BVI--just north of Pittsburgh to pick up a friend. Well, as luck would have it snow showers, ice, low vis, and ceilings enroute prevented me from departing. So, sitting at home I thought of my options. I really didnt want to waste the gorgeous weather we were experiencing at my home airport, and i had the plane reserved, so i decided to head out for an hour, put my ipod in my ear and shoot some approaches from the right seat since i am currently working in the CFII. I walk into the flight school and find a middle aged gentleman standing at the desk looking lost, but noone was at the desk to greet him. I walked over and introduced myself. As it turned out, he had just moved to northern VA and was looking for a flight school to finish his private pilot at. He was also looking to go flying. So, I wasnt scheduled for anything other than my own joy ride, and offered to take him up. Great, I thought. Someone to pay for my flight. So we departed the ADIZ and headed west towards KOKV-Winchester regional where I was to have him do a few landings and learn the area. Once outside the ADIZ we set up for steep turns....looked great. Then into slow flight and a power off stall. On recovery I noticed his flaps were sluggish. Then almost simultaneously my headset got weird. I thought maybe it was breaking on me(lightspeed headest too). then I noticed the radio stack was dead and the intercom was on its way out. The ammeter showed a large discharge. We were experiencing electrical failure. Returning to leesburg was not an option since the ADIZ notam states that two way radio comm must be established with Potomac Tracon and a discrete transponder code must be used. So, what to do? I took control of the airplane and had my new student run the emergency checklist. Nothing fixed the problem.......so time to land. I knew the area so it was no problem. except for the crosswind at winchester. this would be a test of my skills. I knew from my preflight weather briefing that winds were from the south, so we entered a 45 to the left downwind for runway 14. I flew a wider than normal pattern to give me a long final with a shallow descent. It worked beautifully. 75 mph all the way in, over the numbers into the sideslip, power to idle and the upwind wheel squeaked down followed by the downwind wheel and the nose. I stopped the airplane, taxied in and tied her down. We would be waiting for a few hours for a ride.

Whats ironic is that my DE on my PPL checkride in that same airplane simulated and electrical failure to show me what the overvolt light looks like and what the ammeter would look like. I got to do it for real with a student. Im sure he wont soon forget this lesson.

So, my first real emergency with a rather impromptu student, worked out for the best. I reacted like a CFI should, and kept calm in a mildly tense situation. Its all apart of the learning experience and is a reason why I think all aspiring pilots should instruct for at least a little while. And to think, I almost flew the same airplane to Pittsburgh in marginal weather, but that voice in the head said no. I can see why he said no now.

17.9 hours

2005-12-15T13:00:00.000-05:00

Teaching student is by far one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do. Specifically teaching my current student to land is even harder. My student has about 18 hours now, and was handed down to me from another guy who left the school. I have been working with him trying to figure out what bad habits he has, and how on earth I am going to break those habits. Let’s see, where should I start?

1) On the takeoff roll, he is reluctant to add full power right away. I watch him eat up half of the runway using partial power before he adds max power. This is fine on a 5000 foot runway, but makes me nervous if we go somewhere shorter. He also doesn’t believe in centerlines like I do. He has a tendency to veer off the runway centerline on the takeoff roll. I have to at times add right rudder to keep us aligned……
2) On the climb out he is good, except that he is a bit absent minded and flustered, and has a tendency to miss his xwind altitude. We turn our xwind at 900 ft msl…..and all too often I have to remind him. His xwind turn is pretty good. But when he turns his downwind he blows through his altitude (1200 msl) and doesn’t configure the aircraft like he should. Can be a bit frustrating.
3) Once we sort out the airplane on the downwind, the fun is just starting. Our base turn is a diving high speed affair. A little scary. It usually takes some coaching from me to sort out the issues on base and final but he usually recovers alright.
4) The last part of the puzzle is the landing flare. Or rather lack there of. He feels as though he needs to land on all three wheels……I do not concur. Those of you who know how to land know that it is customary to land on the main wheels and let the nose wheel fall…this is done through the use of backpressure on the yoke/elevator. Initially he will start to flare normally. Then he will either put in too much backpressure---in which case we balloon 20 feet in the air, run out of airspeed, and drop like a rock. Or, he lets out the backpressure and we drop like a rock and land on all three wheels at once. Not a real healthy thing for the airplane.

Anyways, I just wanted to share some experiences I have had in the pattern the last couple of weeks. Ill keep you updated.

Finally Makin Money

2005-12-13T12:52:00.000-05:00

So, Again I apologize for the long gap in posts. Ive been keeping very busy on the airways and in the traffic pattern. I took two of my college friends down to VT for the Boston College game. It was a 745 game on a Thurs night, so i took a half day from work and was wheels up by 2 pm. We landed at BCB in the PA28R-200 Arrow right in front of N1VA---the governors jet. We went downtown for some food and to relive old times. The game was awesome but really cold. We won of course in what was one of teh best games of the year from a hokie fans perspective. We ended up walking back the 2 miles to the airport but it was alright...it warmed us up. An IFR departure into the cold black sky and up to 7000 I went. with temps hovering around freezing at that altitude i was on the lookout for ice. Sure enough like clockwork we began to pick up ice. So back down i went and out of the clouds and ice. the rest of the ride home was uneventful to say the least.. Just another night on the airways.

So, I have my first student since passing my CFI. Pete is a hand-me-down from another instructor who has since left the flight school. He has about 15 hours under his belt and is working on his private rating. Hes motivated and makes my job easier in that regard...but he has some stuff to work on. Nonetheless...this has been a tremendous challenge......I will let you know when he solos.

Comin' to your ci-tay

2005-10-22T10:43:00.000-04:00

So, its been a while since I have posted on here so I figured Id do a recap of what I have been up to. Ive been a busy guy. I started working the desk at the flight school. Hoping to get a student lined up soon. Between my day job, working at independence air and the flight school...I havnt had much time for flying. But I did take some pretty cool IFR flights. I went down on 9/11 to see my hokies play Ohio Univ for the home opener. The game started with a b2 flyover...that was pretty cool. The flight down was even cooler. We departed VFR and picked up flight following down to BCB. Potomac approach cleared us up to our cruise altitude and into the Class B airspace. We were at 6500 and over some 4000 ft mountains. Always makes me nervous flying over mountains but its a calculated risk. I was in the right seat and Dan was in the left. His wife erin was in the back. We were about 30 miles SW of JYO and could see we couldnt maintain VFR, so i asked for a popup clearance from approach. The cleared us to join Victor airway 143 which goes from \CSN vortac to MOL vor. After some confusion and the inability to pick up the airway we ended up going GPS direct to BCB. We were in and out of the clouds and had a really nice sunny flight on top of most of the crud below. Some convective stuff made our ride interesting with some bumps, and flying on instruments from the right seat was interesting. Its all good though.

The flight home was interesting. We had to wait for the VA TEch police to let us into the airport since we came back after the FBO closed. We did a preflight and everything looked good. We taxied out and did a run up after we got our clearance back to JYO. after the runup and right before takeoff we got a low voltage light on the annunciator panel. So we taxied back, advised ATC and did a quick trouble shoot. We found a popped breaker and reset it. the warning light went off and we did another runup. the breaker held and we departed uneventfully. I later found out that this is a common problem and about half the time the breaker will pop again. I guess we were just lucky that night.

We were cleared up to 7000 but we at max gross wt, and had a hard time gettting up there so we stayed at 6000, much to the shagrin of ATC. I was PIC and made a decision they would have to deal with. The rest of the flight was normal. ATC had us relay a clearance to an aircraft on the ground at shenandoah while we were abeam the airport. A couple of "time-builders" heading out for some IFR training. My night landing left a little to be desired, but we all made it home safe.

Last weekend we took a cessna out to harrass the Gold Cup horse races inVA. We found the event and did a few laps while we watched the partiers below. We headed back to JYO and were greeted with a direct xwind at 15 knots or so. I need to get out and work on my xwind landings, especialy from the right seat. Always learning.

I am headed back down for another game in Blacksburg this Thursday. The hokies are playing tough and they have a big game against Boston College this week....shoudl be a good flight and a great game.

2005-09-03T19:25:00.000-04:00

2005-09-03T19:22:00.000-04:00

2005-09-03T19:18:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-02T19:58:00.000-04:00

When I started blogging on here, I wanted to use this to keep a journal of my flight training. I am going to go a little off topic here. The effects of Hurricane Katrina have not only touched those in the city of New Orleans, but I believe they have touched the world. Last Monday the city of New Orleans and the gulf coast, Biloxi and Gulfport and points 100 miles inland were hammered by a massive category five Hurricane. Hurricane Katrina came ashore with 160 mph winds and leveled cities and towns, and left the city of New Orleans under water. I am at a loss for words and would like to express my feelings through this blog. I have been watching the news, monitoring CNN.com and listening to the radio. The feeling of helplessness and pain that I felt for the people affected bythis tragecy is like nothing Ive ever felt. This rivals the events of 9/11 in so many ways, but in so many other ways it is so much worse. with tens of thousands of people without homes(literally) and seeing them struggle to wade through feet of standing sewer water to get to a place that wasnt even safe broke my heart, and the heart of this country. I watched on Fox news this afternoon pictures of the superdome, and the houston astrodome, and the despair on the faces of so many. Then there were the people who were above the law and looted the city, shot at police and helicopters, and killed each other over abag of ice. I demand nothing less than the death penalty for those individuals....that behavior is inexcusable. Around 4pm today the USARMY rolled into New Orleans bringing rations and help. The cavalry had arrived. Ive never felt so proud of our armed forces as I did when the national guard convoy carrying1000 troops and over 9 million MRE's. The 300 helicopters went into action plucking people off rooftops and delivering them to safety. The hours immediately after the hurricane passed the coast guard sprang into action.....I believe this was what they were trained for, and this was indeed their finest hour. God bless the men and woman who were the real heroes in this rescue effort. An effort is underway right now transporting busloads of people to various states' stadiums and centers. The outpouring of support from the rest of the country has been immense: the airlines, the state govts, the sports teams, and the networks. All have been amazing. And when I got home today I watched Condoleeza Rice(sp?) announce that we have received offers of money, supplies, and help from the world. Most notably was Sri Lanka...who is still recovering from their own disaster in the tsunami. I felt a tear fall from my eye when I heard that. Across borders, oceans, and cultural differences the one thing that binds us all together is the human spirit. It is amazing to witness the outpouring of love, money, and energy for people we dont even know. God bless those effected by the storm, and may god be with you in the rebuilding of homes and towns.

First Nephew

2005-08-24T19:38:00.000-04:00

Landon was born around 8:30 pm on 8/23/05. The 7lb11oz healthy baby boy was delivered in fairfax hospital, VA. This ranks up there with one of the highlights in my life. Probably as cool as the day I became a liscenced pilot. Landon was a stubborn little guy, and didnt want to join us...but mom hung in there and made it happen. We all figured it would be close to midnight when he would be born, but he decided he had enough and made a run for the door. We were all pleasantly surprised when he came when he did. We rushed to the hospital in time to get a look at him and hold him before they kicked us out. Meredith is recovering for the next few days and will be bringing baby home before the weekend. Thank god for a healthy baby, and a safe delivery. My first nephew has no idea what he is in store for.......solo at age 16, ppl at 17, comm-sel at 18.......commercial airliner at 21. Oh yes, I have my work cut out for me.
(btw...ignore the time stamp on the pic)

2005-08-24T19:37:00.000-04:00

c177rg cardinal checkout complete

2005-08-21T21:55:00.000-04:00

So, I had probably the best day of flying in some time today in the cardinal. An airplane i struggled with last week felt like an old friend today. We headed out of leesburg up towards Frederick. started with some steep turns, then the stall series, then some gear emergencies. Cessna landing gear systems are different and not what i was used to so learning how to operate the emergency gear extension system was crucial. We then headed back to Leesburg for some landings. I greased the first x-wind landing and then we headed back for a power off landing. I was well within 200 ft of my intended landing spot. Then we finished up with a couple of engine failures on takeoff. when we cleared the trees Ray pulled the power and i landed with no flaps and on the remaining runway. It was a new experience for me and a real eye opener. things really happen fast.

I also got another endorsement. The FAA requires that anyone who wants to fly an airplane with an engine over 200 horsepower, needs to receive and log ground and flight instruction in the operations of a high performance engine. Since the Cardinal was 225 hp we did the training and I was signed off to fly high performance aircraft. Pretty cool huh?

xc trip KHEF-MRH

2005-08-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

So, a trip to the beach was in order since summer was quickly coming to a close. I decided to meet a friend down at Emerald Isle in the outer banks North Carolina. I was to take the warrior(pa28140) from manassas(khef) to moorehead-beaufort airport in NC. I filed IFR and got my clearance. The clearance was "arsenal 1 departure to csn, radar vectors to HANEY int, Harcum VOR, Cofield VOR, Newbern VOR, direct. I was in the clouds most of the way at 7000ft. With a nice tailwind I made it down in just over 2 hours. not too bad. As i passed Cherry Point MCAS I picked up the airport. was cleared for the visual and canceled IFR. I landed runway 3 and taxied in to meet my buddies. The way home was equally as fun. I picked up my clearance and departed runway 26 from moorehead. Climbed up to 6000 and was soon cleared direct to cofield and then to Richmond, brooke vor, and casanova before being cleared for the visual approach into manassas. It was a real learning experience for me since i had to divert around several buildups that wouldnt have been a whole lot of fun to fly through. Summer time presents a unique hazard in thunderstorms, and after i flew through the first buildup i decided it would be better to circumnavigate the weather rather than fight to keep wings level and altitude in check while flying through. All in all a great trip. Logged over 5 hours of flight time, 2 landing, vor tracking, 1 hour of actual instrument, and got some great experience talking to ATC. Regardless of what anyone says, Wash Center will, and does, help you out when you need it.

Cardinal c177rg checkout

2005-08-14T17:27:00.000-04:00

Washington DC is sitting under some of the hottest weather we have had in a while. Combine the heat and humidity(95 degrees) and some really bad haze and you have a less than ideal day to go flying. None-the-less....my instructor Ray and I headed out to the Cardinal for our first flight since my CFI checkride. He showed me the subtle differences in systems from the Arrow, and the similarities I could relate from my days in the Cessna 172. After a thourough and sweaty preflight we climbed in. I got my ADIZ clearance, and we checked the AWOS. Wow, 2800 ft density altitude. This is gonna be interesting. The higher the density altitude(pressure altitude corrected for non standard temps) the worse(or better) your performance. In this case our performance was much worse. He told me to fly by feel and get to know this new bird with the bigger engine and way nicer avionics. She was equipped with a Garmin 530, dual display, autopilot, TCAS(traffic collision avoidance system) and some nice radios. We headed up to DMW-carroll county MD. My first landing there was terrible. Its been a while since ive bounced an airplane. I bounced the cardinal, about 3 times before we settled down. The next landing was much nicer. we did a soft field takeoff out of there and headed over to 2w2-clearview airport. We are talking about some work. the runway is 1800 ft long, and one side has a slope so you better hope the wind is blowing downhill. We dragged it in over the trees, and put it down in the first 500 ft. rolled to the end and took off on the downhill. I rotated at the published airspeed(55 kt) and climbed out....barely. we cleared the trees by no more than 100 ft. interesting. there was some serious pucker factor. we came back in for another landing and takeoff. these were both much better. One thing i learned about cessna retracts is that you dont pull the gear up while trying to clear something. the mechanical drag of the gear in motion destroys performance. lesson learned. the arrow you got rid of the gear and drag when you were clear of the runway. I experienced a real practical application of short field technique. its just not the same when there is actually an extra 3000 ft of runway in case you mess up. its one shot or no shot. The we headed back to JYO-leesburg. he yanked the power on me abeam the numbers. i forgot how those cessna wings like to fly......full flaps and a slip on the base and I greased her in. So, what did I learn? bigger engine means better performance, but also means more to do. Cowl flaps are there for a reason, and density altitude and hot temps are serious business on a short runway. Oh yeah, and dont pull up the gear till you are clear of anything. Cant wait to take this bird onto the grass strip next weekend, and then on a x-c trip somewhere.

Savannah to Dulles on a crj-200

2005-08-08T18:21:00.000-04:00

So, my day starts off yesterday(Sunday) in lovely Savannah Georgia. My plan was to take the 1230 flight home which still had seats open. However I decided to stay longer. After some careful thought I figured trying to get on the 730 flight was my best option. There were 4 seats and two listed. So, I showed up an hour earlier than departure and learned there were actually no seats on the 7:00 flight but the 930 was wide open. So, they book me on the 930 and I wait. An hour or so passes and its getting close to boarding time, and I don’t see anyone in the gate area. I soon learn that the flight was canceled and that I would have to come back in the morning for a 6 am departure. Lovely. As I called my friend to come scoop me I sat pondering what would happen to me in the morning. There were seats, and there were plenty of flights, but you really never can tell when flying stand-by. I woke up this morning and was so tired. I made my way to the airport-ksav- and was given a seat. 11b. great, no window but it would do. I figured I could sleep most of the flight. Not so. The departure was great. Nice smooth rotation and we were quickly at altitude in the crj-200. one of Bombardiers finest. I settled in for the hour or so flight. As we passed over Richmond(which I identified with a skillfull eye) and joined the arrival routing, the woman behind me decides its bathroom time. this is where the story gets good. She decides that she was too big to get out of the seat unaided and every time(total of 3) she uses the back of my seat as a crutch. She would use my chair to support her weight and launch me backwards as she climbed out. The flight attendant has been doing her best all flight to help this poor woman, but is obviously at her wits end. The lady cant buckle her seat belt….so the FA brings her an extension, being as political as she can…..but I could tell she didn’t get much sleep and was worn out. She finally gets settled(I think) and I can see the runway at Dulles to my left out the window. We are on a downwind leg for landing to the south on 19Left. She decides its bathrrom time again. Runs in there coughing up a storm. The flight attendant comes back again. (mind you were in a critical phase of flight close to the ground) and tells her to sit down. The lady responds frantically that “shes seen shows in tv about airline tragedies”. Im not sure what that had to do with her seatbelt not being on, but nonetheless as the aircraft settled in over the runway and began the landing flare she went into nervous shakes, and ultimately let out a huge shriek as the wheels touched down. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer flight……….minus this lady. I didn’t want to stare on the plane so I got a good look at her in the terminal. It was an interesting sight.

Anyways, that was my Sunday/Monday. 6 hours in the terminal, 1 great flight, 1 freakin weirdo lady, and a non-rev nightmare and im home. Who could ask for more?

2005-08-03T12:27:00.000-04:00

I AM OFFICIAL

2005-08-02T19:45:00.000-04:00

Saturday July 30th, at 830 am we departed Leesburg airport for Frederick municipal airport to take our checkrides. Myself, another commercial candidate and his instructor climbed in the arrow and departed IFR to FDK. ceilings were low so we requested the ILS approach to runway 23. For those that dont know, and ILS is an approach to landing in low visibility conditions which gives you runway centerline guidance and keeps you on a 3 degree glidepath to the runway. You are allowed to descend to within about 200 feet of the ground before being required to fly the missed approach. Anyhow, we broke out of the clouds right at decision height(dh) and landed uneventufully. We parked and I met the examiner inside. She ran me through about a three hour oral exam. We talked about everything from runway markings to lesson plans to aerodynamics. It was thorough and a good learning experience for me. The clouds were still hanging around so I sent in my buddy to get his oral out of the way. I went and grabbed a crabcake sandwich. Oh how i wish i were done.

The flight started uneventfully with a softfield takeoff with a tailwind at high density altitude. we climbed out and went north of the field to do some airwork. We started with steep turns, slow flight, stalls and then a lazy eight. then we did eights on pylons, turns around a point, and then back to the airport for a power off landing. After the engine out we came back around for a soft field landing on a short field. I was officially a CFI. To date of the coolest feelings I have had in aviation.

So, nowI am on to my multi engine rating and to find a couple students. Exciting stuff.

I was offered a position flight instructing at the flight school I trained at. I will start in a few weeks.