One Week Later

Sun bronzed and full of lobsta', time to go home.  The weather all week was gorgeous, highs near 80 and lows in the mid 60's with lots of sun.  I had it in the back of my mind to depart VFR, and go out over New York City so the girls could see some of the sights.  The class B over NY only goes up to 7,000 ft, so a West bound VFR flight at 8,500 in the sunshine should get quite a view, and it would avoid dealing with the NY approach controllers, who have a bad reputation on line for being brusque.

The night before, I slept poorly and woke early.  With everyone up and dressed, we waited for the 8am taxi - no show.  I called the taxi company, and they said they had no record of my request.  Finally one arrived, and we made it to the airport and into the Bonanza about 30 minutes behind schedule, except that I really didn't have one.  My goal was just to head South of West and land somewhere around 5pm and spend the night, no pushing for a 1 day journey against the forecast headwinds.

As we climbed over the West of of the Island, I called Cape Approach (repeatedly) until I finally got an answer, and asked for VFR advisories.  When flying with radar advisories, the controllers have you on their screens, and will help you see and avoid other airplanes.  What they will not do is give you a route to fly, or an altitude to cruise.  You should tell them what altitude you are using (although they can also see it on their scopes), and you must follow the cloud avoidance and airspace rules for visual flight.

Reaching 8,500 about the time we reached the Rhode Island coastline, I set the autopilot to take us over Groton Connecticut, then New London, then La Guadia, and Newark Airports.  Turning towards Long Island, I suddenly couldn't see anything.  We had flown straight into clouds.  I immediately told the a/p to take us back North, and after a minute of white out, we were back in the clear.  I asked NY approach to give us clearance down to 6,500 feet into their Class B airspace, expecting a rebuff, but they gave me that clearance, and we descended and turned South under the cloud layer above.

As we flew North of La Guadia airport on the North coast of Long Island, it was getting gloomier and it became clear I needed to go even lower.  I asked now for 4,500, expecting a rebuff this time for sure, but after a short delay I was cleared down to 4,500 and at that low altitude we flew West over The Bronx, with the Statue of Liberty visible on the left side through the darkening gloom, and all the skyscrapers of Lower and Mid-town Manhattan.  We left the NY area over Morristown NJ, the town where my wife was born.

Freed from the sight-seeing requirement, I asked for an IFR climb through the overcast to VFR over-the-top.  VFR pilots can legally (in the US) fly over a cloud base, they just can't fly through the clouds.  I was asking to temporarily switch to IFR rules in order to get through the clouds, and then switch back to VFR.  The NY controllers once again went out of their way to make things easy, and approved me to climb, just asking that I tell them my planned VFR altitude.  The NY area controllers are unjustly maligned.  One was a bit sharp edged, all the rest were wonderful.

We headed west at 8,500, until nearing Pittsburgh bladders and caution suggested a pit-stop for lunch, so with no breaks in the under-cast, I once again switched back to IFR, and asked for an approach into Johnstown PA, the site of a famous flood in the middle 19th century.  After a little confusion on the part of the controller, I was cleared for the RNAV/GPS approach to runway 22.  We broke out of the clouds at about 500 feet above the runway after a less-than-stellar approach on my part, but it all worked out and we got lunch nearby while the airplane was being fueled.

Prior to leaving the FBO, I checked the weather, and I found thunderstorms moving Northwards over Kansas and Kentucky, threatening our planned route.  So I filed an IFR plan to Champaign Illinois, planning to stay North and land in central Illinois for the night, and then to angle southward the next day.  Cleared Direct Champaign, we blasted off once more and climbed through the rain and clouds to 10,000 feet to stay above most of the weather in the way.

A hundred and fifty miles East of Champaign, it became clear that the weather had beaten us to it.  I compared my maps and the radar picture, and decided to divert to Terra Haute Indiana, which was at the end of long clearing like a mountain valley in the clouds, with thunderstorm peaks on the left and on the right.  After a fast descent, we landed at 5pm at Hollman Airport, and received a ride from one of the great linemen to a hotel in downtown Terra Haute where we all slept solidly following a steak dinner with a few adult beverages.

Thunderstorm Tag

It's vacation time in the Cooper household.  Searching for somewhere cooler, I rented a house on Martha's Vineyard from a friend, and Thursday morning after the July 4th fireworks, I loaded Thing 1 and Thing 2 in the back seats, 80 lbs of baggage (carefully weighed and arranged) in the baggage area, and with Sally in the right hand seat, we blasted off from Dallas only 30 minutes behind schedule.

I filed IFR to Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport (KSIK), filing IFR starting at the Paris (PRX) VOR, with 7,000 feet planned.  The DFW arrivals controller didn't seem to understand that it is perfectly OK to file from a fix and gave me grief (he needs to re-read his controller handbook (http://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/order/atc.pdf)). But after handing off to Ft Worth Center, I was given "as filed" and a transponder code - the pay off for good planning.  I filed PRX - MEEOW - LIT - KSIK, but shortly after PRX I was asked if I wanted to go direct.  Of course I did, and I asked for 9,000 as the bumpy air reached 7,000 feet.


Closing on KSIK, I heard an FAA plane checking the instrument approaches to KSIK mention to the controller that the runway at KSIK was closed.  I called up and talked with her, and she nicely checked with the airport, and confirmed yes, the runway was closed while the manager cleaned up the runway from the previous day's firework display (there was a NOTAM, but it was supposed to be open by my planned arrival time).  And the FAA plane also chimed in to say that they also had no gas at KSIK - rethink time.  I changed my destination to Paducah/Barkely Regional (KPAH), and picked up 25 gallons of overpriced 100LL there, for nearly $2 per gallon more than I had planned.

After a rapid refuel and bathroom stop, we took off again, filed IFR to Allegheny County airport in Pittsburgh PA.  I'd filed to 9,000, but on the climb out there was a layer of summer cumulus cloud starting right at 8,000, so I stayed at 7,000 for a few minutes.  But Sally had complained of feeling ill on the climb out from Dallas, so I decided to ask for and climb to 11,000 where the air was smoother, and visibility enough to go around the tallest clouds.


Nearing Cincinnati (CVG), my cockpit radar display showed severe storms over Cincinnati and stretching south over Kentucky.  ATC gave a re-route over the MXQ (Midwestern) VOR, and a small deviation right kept us in the clear.  That storm killed 2 people on the ground once it reached Tennessee.  We also went around some smaller pop-up storms trying to form, and landed at KAGC still 30 minutes behind schedule.


Checking the radar composite on the ground, I saw a line of new thunderstorms forming East of Pittsburgh, and made an IFR flight plan to go around to the north.  But I forgot to click the "file this" box, so when I asked for my clearance from the ground controller, he couldn't find a data strip.  But he did give a transponder code and set me up for VFR with flight following, which was actually even better, as it turned out.


A fuel injected Bonanza can be hard to "hot start", and mine is no exception.  If you re-start within about 10 minutes it will fire right up, but any longer and it is a bear, because the fuel in the lines evaporates.  I finally got the fires lit with a flooded start (you deliberately over prime and then slowly pull out the mixture until reaching the "just right" mixture and then it will start).  We taxied out, and were given take off clearance.  I did my usual "slow throttle push" - and the engine choked up and died on the runway.  The tower asked if I needed a tug, but since the engine was still hot and flooded, I quickly got it going again, and asked to taxi back to the run-up area.


This time I did a full power run up, and since everything checked out OK, I asked to take off again.  Slowly twisting the throttle up to full power, we took off perfectly normally, and turned on course now over an hour late.  Climbing to 7,500, I could see the storms ahead, but they looked better than the radar picture showed (the XM weather radar display can be up to 20 minutes delayed).  I went North about 10 miles, and went around the Northern edge.  The radar showed some storm patterns to the North (my left hand side), but there wasn't anything there.  An advantage of flying VFR in these conditions is that you do not need clearance to deviate or to change altitude.  A disadvantage is that you can't punch through any benign cloud, but I was able to easily remain VFR at all time.


Landing at Hartford-Brainard (KHFD) just after 8pm, I was tired, like a balloon deflating.  I felt my concentration going on the runway as I started to relax.  Pulling up my "pilot-stockings", we taxied to the FBO, and I shut down after 9 hours for actual flying, and 90 minutes on the ground.  I can see why the FAA limits commercial flying to set number of flying hours in a given 24 hours period.  I was very, very tired.  After 2 days rest staying with relatives in Hartford, we flew the last 45 minutes to Martha's Vineyard.

First Solo!

D2 just had his first solo!  Last Saturday morning, we flew to Mesquite, because it's uncontrolled (no control tower).  After two or three touch and goes, I told D2 to take me to the fuel pumps, where I got out and told him to do two solo touch and goes and then land and pick me up.

I had my handheld radio with me, and a new headset adapter I'd just bought from Sporty's, so I was able to put on my headset and listen to his radio calls.  Apart from messing up his call sign a couple of times, he made all the calls, and made good circuits in the pattern and good landings.  I did have to get on the radio one time, when just as D2 was turning onto the downwind another pilot announced that he was entering the downwind.  I could see that they were close, so I advised the other pilot that he was very close to an aircraft being piloted on his first solo, at which point the second pilot said that he was only on his second solo!

After picking me up, we flew North to McKinney where I again got out and had D2 do another set of touch and goes, this time at a controlled (towered) field.  I called the tower, and advised them that D2 was doing his first solo, and asked him to watch out for my student and keep it simple.  Instead, the tower first gave him right traffic instead of left, then cancelled and had him do left traffic.  At one point they had him delay his crosswind for traffic, on another he had D2 turn crosswind early for sequencing.  and on yet another he had D2 extend his downwind for sequencing.  It seemed like he went OUT OF HIS WAY to make it harder!

Fortunately, D2 coped with all off this.  One time he wasn't sure what the tower wanted him to do, so he asked.  D2 is a tri-lingual Brazilian, and English isn't his first or second language,it's his third.  Combined with the normal radio-phobia of many students and unfamiliarity with ATC requests and terminology, he did very, very well.

Finally we flew back to AeroCountry where D2 keeps his Cessna.  By that time to winds were picking up, and I had to help on the landing, but I think it won't be long before D2 is signed off to solo from AeroCountry as well.

It's nice to know I really can instruct.  :)

D2

I've been flying more as an instructor than as a private pilot this past two months.  Partly it has been because my Bonanza wasn't back (it is now), and partly because my new primary student, "D2" is anxious to advance, so we have been flying a good deal.

D2 owns his own airplane, a Cessna 172.  That permits us to fly whenever the conditions (and schedules) allow.  When he came to me, D2 had about 30 hours with 2 other instructors, and had basic aircraft control down.  He'd done take offs, steep turns, stalls, slow flight and some instrument "blind" flying, but was frustrated that neither of his previous instructors had taught him how to land.  Since I know both of those guys, I think I can understand why.

D2 is a perfectionist.  His airplane is pristine, inside and out.  It takes him 30 minutes to pre-flight his airplane, and afterwards he is still wiping it down as I leave.  I don't do anything to discourage his "anal" behavior, I'd far rather see that than the slap-dash pre-flights and flying that I've seen from some others.  I just try to arrive 20 minutes after he does, so that I can do my own double check and help push the airplane outside.  His instructors were both similar people (they might be where he learned to inspect every rivet), and I can imagine them thinking something like "that turn wasn't quite coordinated we need to make that perfect before working in the pattern".  My view is that he needs to be able to fly to private pilot standards by the time he takes his test, and with more practice which will come from flying more, those last few mistakes will go away.

I don't think that means I'm willing to accept more "sloppiness" - before he can have his test scheduled he will have to be flying to standards - I'll give him a simulated test and if he fails a task, we'll work on the parts that need work before handing him over to a DE.  But I am willing to accept that a 50 hour student can't fly to the level to perfection that a 500 hour pilot can.

So we have been going round and round, up and down at all of the local airports, towered and uncontrolled.  He can now do a complete pattern, and if the winds are not too strong, can land without help every time.  But if there's a little summer bumpiness, it seems to throw him off, and we haven't tackled crosswinds yet beyond a quick (and not very good) demonstration by me.  And he needs to be able to make all the radio calls himself, because once he solos, I won't be there to make them for him.

But we are getting close.  Just needs those radio calls, and a nice smooth morning with little wind, and he can make his first solo.  That will help his confidence tremendously, and we can build on it from there.

Fire in the Cockpit

My Bonanza finally came out of annual after 3 weeks, but not intact.  While it was in the hangar, one of the mechanics was working on some electrical issue, and turned on the avionics - at which point my Garmin 430W started to smoke and the circuit breaker popped.

Fortunately, this happened on the ground, not in the air where it would have been much more serious.  The shop took out the 430W, and sent it to the Garmin dealer at TKI, who sent it to Garmin for repair.  After 10 days or so, I got a nice surprise - Garmin repaired it for free, probably since they had just upgraded it from 430 to 430W last summer, although if they hadn't touched the power supply it might have been in a gray area from a warranty standpoint.  I will only have to pay for shipping.

So on Monday, hopefully I will get my Bonanza back intact, after a month of being down for annual.  Not quite the experience I was hoping for!

I want my Baby Back.....

It's annual inspection time.  Once every 12 months, a privately owned aircraft in the United States must under go a detailed safety inspection, just like a car in most states.

Of course, it's a much more detailed and lengthy inspection, especially for an aircraft that the shop you choose hasn't seen before and has no history with.  That's the case with my Bonanza, which has been laid up in the hangar for 3 weeks and counting.  All the insides are outside, it's up on jacks so that the shop can test the retractable gear, and all the spark plugs are out (all 12).  The shop also has to check and make sure that all applicable FAA Airworthiness Directives (ADs) have been met, which can take some time on a 45 year old airplane.

Commercial aircraft undergo a similar check, but since they fly more, they must be inspected every 100 hours of flight.  I've flown my Bonanza nearly 80 hours since last April when I bought it - slightly higher than the average private airplane, but not much.  Airliners typically have A, B and C checks - the C check happens on the ramp and takes very little time.  The A check means putting it in a hangar for a week or two, and stripping it down, often replacing engines and other major assemblies.

The annual is also time to take care of those niggling "squawks" that you list as the year goes on - internal lights that won't work and can't be fixed simply, small brake fluid or fuel or oil leaks, things not big enough to warrant immediate attention, but that need to be fixed.  So my airplane has been "out of service" for for 22 days and counting.  Thank goodness I'm instructing, or I would have been grounded for almost a month.

But I want my baby back........

Instructing

It's different from just being a pilot, or from being a student.  You would think that would be obvious and not need comment, but just as the actual fact of being married is different from your expectations, being the CFI responsible for not only the safety of flight, but also efficient transfer of knowledge, is very different from what you might think.

I've done some instructing before.  Prior to even having an instructor's license I taught my oldest daughter (Thing 1) the basics of aircraft control, and even had her able to fly a full traffic pattern and approach, everything except the final moments of touchdown on the runway.  Then she lost interest and hasn't flown since.  I have an instrument student "D", but he can already fly safely.  My responsibility is only instructional - to teach him how to fly and navigate only using instruments.

My new basic student, "D2" already has 30 hours or so, and has had 2 prior instructors.  He's not happy with how quickly they were progressing, I suspect because he is a perfectionist, and since I know the other 2 instructors, who are the same way, I can see how they would keep on polishing and polishing the same skill over and over, and not move on once it became "good enough".  In this sense, good enough means he can perform the skill to PPL standards most of the time.  I believe once we add further skills, the current stuff will become second nature and just need practice before the test.

So yesterday we started on traffic patterns and landings.  If we'd had an office space or a desk, we could have (and should have) gone over the traffic pattern procedures with him in advance, but since I hadn't flown with him before I didn't know if he was good enough yet.  Well, he is, so we did 3 circuits at Mesquite.  By the 3rd one he was picking it up, but it was starting to get dark and the cloud base was dropping. So tomorrow it's back to pattern work, but this time with a thorough pre-flight briefing since I can have a firm plan.. 

We're both learning here.