Diary of a Student PilotPart 4
Diary of a Student PilotTo shorten page loading time, this diary is divided into 5 parts. This is Part 4. The Table of Contents spans all parts. The parts are as shown in the following table.
| Part 1 | Preamble to Lesson 13 |
| Part 2 | Lesson 14 to Lesson 29 (including Solo!!!) |
| Part 3 | Lesson 30 to Lesson 46 (including first solo x-c) |
| Part 4 | Lesson 47 to Lesson 60 (including long x-c & written) |
| Part 5 | Lesson 61 to Lesson 71 (including Checkride!!!) |
| Buying an Airplane - the Epilogue | |
Funny how it worked out. Last night I was sitting in Mom & Dad’s front room at the lake studying for my written. Suddenly, I got the idea I should work out a flight plan to Blairstown, NJ. I’d decided Saturday that Blairstown would be good since Jamie said that was where I’d probably take the check ride. The trip is exactly 50 nm so just qualifies as xc. Today was a clear one and the FSS said it’d hold so I blew out at 3:00 and took 7AJ. While I was finalizing my plan, Greg dropped the bomb that Bob was retiring 23E and 7AJ ‘cause he didn’t want to continue paying the insurance. That’s gonna make it tough to get a plane.
The flight down went well. I tended to be a bit left of course. Should have been a mile or two south of Spring Hill but found it right under me. I need to look in front of the plane a bit more! Found Flying Dollar without trouble but got to it later than I’d figured. Never did spot a fire tower I’d planned on using. When laying out my plan, I’d totally missed on the chart what must be Sunfish Pond sitting up on the ridge. Pretty dumb since it’s distinctive, easy to see and right on my flightpath. Anyway, I hit it and found 1N7 just beyond it. One other good landmark that isn’t on the chart is a ski slope just before the pond. Easy to spot a from a long way off.
As I started my descent, I saw a glider entering the pattern so I went out beyond the downwind leg and did a 180 to get back to it. Landed no sweat and taxied in. A guy with an Arrow came in behind me. The pilot shop was open but unattended. The restaurant was closed. Guess small airports aren’t big on being open like a real business.
Someone finally showed up at the FBO so I bought a new A/FD, then did my flight plan and headed out. Took off on 25 and headed back. It was a bit more hazy but again, no big problems. Held altitude and heading pretty well but was still off to the left. When I was doing heavy searching for landmarks, I lost a bit of altitude; need to work on that.
By the time I found Seamans, I was several miles too far south. As I entered the pattern at Seamans, I finally figured what was with the heading - The DG had precessed 25º! Another lesson graphically learned! Nice landing. This is really fun! (Back to Contents)
This was the big one! I’m still on a high from it. (Pardon the pun!) Since the last x-c was only 1.6 hours, I’d suggested to Greg that I take longer ones to build up the time. Since I was planning to go to Grand Canyon this week, he suggested I plan one to there, then Capital City. He said it’d give me the time plus some controlled airspace experience. Sounded like a good idea so I started to plan that. Yesterday, the forecast for the weekend was for clear and cool; perfect flying weather. I figured since the trip Greg had suggested was 250 miles, I’d might as well go for my long x-c. As a result, I spent last evening planning both. I figured I wanted to be ready whether of not he let me do it. Since my brother Dave lives in Oswego, NY, about 100 NM from us, I’d figured long ago that Oswego County (then N00, now FZY) should be one of my stops. In order to fill out the 300+ NM, I’d picked Lock Haven (LHV), the former home of Piper.
Woke at the lake to a beautiful day and, as I drove down, Elk mountain was clearly visible. Not a cloud in the sky. Called David to see if he’d be around but they were going to the NY State Fair. Damn. Greg was up flying when I got there so I got the briefing and planned the first legs of both trips. The bad news was that both trips had me going near Williamsport and they were IFR. Everywhere else was clear and >10 miles. The briefer said it’d burn off. Greg came in and it wasn’t tough to talk him into the long x-c. I went out and pre-flighted so I’d be ready. Greg had me call LHV and N00 directly for field conditions and both were clear. Called the FSS and IPT had cleared up so I filed and was off on my great adventure.
First
leg was to Lock Haven. There’s not a lot out that way and the Williamsport VOR was
almost directly in my path so I flew to that first. Greg normally forbids me to use VOR's
for x-c work; wants me to rely strictly on dead reckoning and pilotage. Actually, I flew
the heading and used the VOR as a backup. From there, it was easy to find checkpoints. LHV
was landing 27 which has a right pattern so I looped out over Lock Haven University, my
son Don’s alma mater, to enter the downwind at a 45. After landing, I did my planning
and decided I’d get to Oswego with about 45 minutes fuel remaining. Seemed prudent to
fuel up so I did that. Lock Haven has the Piper Museum so I figured I’d check it out.
It was closed but the old woman who works there opened it for me! Nothing outstanding
there but it was nice and the lady was great. Turns out she worked for Piper for 40 years!
After
a nice break there, I headed for Oswego. Went by LHU again and shortly thereafter, looked
at Mansfield State University, my son Steve’s alma mater. Funny looking at the two
stadiums the kids graduated from only minutes apart! Brought back fond memories. Contacted
Elmira approach and they gave me advisories over the TRSA. Vectored me at one point to
avoid a lot of glider traffic. At one point, he stopped getting altitude info so
instructed me to stop altitude squawk. Released me from the vector when I was still SW of
Watkins Glen so I was able to correct my heading and pick up my original course at Watkins
Glen. Looked into the glen itself as I passed - neat! Watkins Glen is an amazing site from
any angle! Navigation up here is real easy because the Finger Lakes are great landmarks!
Hit N00 head on and landed on 33. Terrain is weird there and I felt very low when at
pattern altitude. Also, the threshold is invisible from the key position due to a hill.
Traffic was quite heavy but no problems. There were two buildings with “Oswego County
Airport” signs on them and I picked the one that was closed. There was a closed
restaurant which was disappointing for a guy who figured he’d eat there!. The open
building had a nice lounge but only a candy machine for nourishment. Not even a soda
machine! The guy who fueled me said he was going across the field to a machine so he got
me a drink, too. Finished my planning, hung around talking to people and headed south.
Called SYR approach as soon as I was out of the pattern, thereby neglecting to open my flight plan! Never gave it a thought until I terminated service south of SYR. It was 1/2 hour after takeoff but I called and opened anyway. A little embarrassing but safer than continuing without it. Contacted BGM approach and they followed me ‘til I requested frequency change at Seamans. When I spotted the Nicholson bridge, it was dead ahead. Neat how that happens. Beautiful landing on 04. Exhilaration and exhaustion at the same time. What a wonderful day!!!! (Back to Contents)
Last week’s weather sucked so I didn’t get out, therefore it’s been 14 days since I’ve flown. I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms! The plan was to do a dual lesson in 76F and then my last solo x-c. Woke to a bright morning but, as usual, the ceiling came down as I approached 9N3. Took 76F and headed east with Greg. Found a hole to go up through and climbed to 6500 MSL - the highest I’ve been so far. Did some VOR work and he showed me how to use the DME. That’s a nifty little tool! My major problem was holding altitude; kept climbing. For the most part, we were on top of BKN or OVC. Eventually, he talked to me about emergency descents and then demonstrated it through a hole. Wow, 2000 fpm vertical speed. He took it back up and had me do one. We were at Crystal Lake so he had me simulate an emergency descent and landing there. Just did a low approach and then headed back to 9N3. Ended up terribly low and slow on short final. Damn! Lousy ending. (Back to Contents)
After the dual in 76F, the plan was to solo to POU. Checked FSS and, as expected, the wx wasn’t good. Actually, it wasn’t too bad here but MVFR there. Apparently the remains of hurricane Hortense. Nothing like hurricane season; glad my long x-c is behind me! Asked Greg to sign me off for landings at WBW. Took 609 for some solo work. Started with pattern work which I haven’t done in eons. At Greg’s suggestion, did short field and soft field work. Eventually tired of it and flew over to WBW and landed on 24. As I entered downwind, encountered some mild turbulence; enough to be a bit disconcerting. Landed no problem, parked and went into the club. I was alone at first but then others came in. Hung around for an hour or so chewing the fat. A couple bumps going out. Flew out over Dallas, then back to 22 at 9N3. Over the lake, encountered some rough air which really tossed me around on short final. There was a plane waiting to take 22. In spite of the gusts, greased the landing and heard Greg on the radio, “Nice landing!” It was he who was waiting for 22. Glad I didn’t know it; I’d probably have messed up! Good ending for the day! (Back to Contents)
Drove out to Seamans after dinner for my pre-written test. Greg was going night flying so he set me up with the test and left. His is tougher than he FAA’s; 100 questions and he’s hand picked a lot of hard ones. In the end, I got a 98. One I honestly got wrong, on one I knew the answer and marked the wrong one. Not too bad. (Back to Contents)
Had a heck of a time scheduling the exam. I took the test at Sylvan Technologies. They give it in Scranton but not at a time that worked for me. I ended up scheduling it in Allentown. The test started at 9:00 and I was supposed to be there 1/2 hour early. They were giving a number of tests at the same time - nursing, SAT, GMAT, Fireman... Signing in was a bit hectic but, overall, it wasn’t a bad experience. There was another student pilot there. Test was computerized and the questions I got were pretty easy. Didn’t touch my E6B and never used the distance scale on the plotter. In 35 minutes, I’d answered all the questions. Used another 45 minutes or so to double and triple check. I finally figured out that I’d done what could be done so I finished up. Had only one wrong for a score of 98. The category of the missed question was H04 - airplane performance. It’s illogical for an engineer to miss one of those so I looked through the Gleim book to see if I could psych out what I missed. Turns out I screwed up on a cross-wind chart! Calculated headwind, not cross wind. Talk about stupid!! (Question was 3688) On balance, can’t bitch about a 98 but what a stupid way to blow it! (Back to Contents)
This was the first flight in 3 weeks! Told Greg not to be too tough on me. Started with pattern work; normal, soft field, short field, short field over obstacle... Eventually departed to northeast and did power-on stalls. I think I’ve finally got them nailed. We were about 7 miles from the field at 5200 feet when he gave me an engine out. I went through the checklist and started to pick a field but he said we could make it back to Seamans. I didn’t see it so he told me which way to head. Finally he pushed the nose down and I saw we were closer than I’d thought and very high for it. Did a long straight in for 22 and he showed me s-turns to get down. In the end, I let the speed fall a bit so we were lower than comfortable so he gave it a small shot of power and we put it on the runway. Not a bad day; weather was crystal clear and the lesson went well. (Back to Contents)
Another perfect flying day. Drove out after church and finished my flight plan. Greg had looked it over yesterday and signed me off ‘cause he was going to be flying when I arrived. Pre-flighted and gassed up 94609 and launched at 1:45. Headed for Duchess County (POU). Hit it dead on and on time. Traffic at POU was heavy; not surprising considering the beautiful day. Controller told me to report downwind for 25. When I reported, he told me to extend my downwind, he’d call base. I was loosing my altitude slowly so I wouldn’t end up to low. I wasn’t even to the normal position to turn base when he told me to tighten up my pattern and turn now. As I turned onto final (which, of course, was shorter than normal) he cleared another guy to position and hold! Not “Cleared for takeoff, no delay” but “Position and hold”. By the time he was on the runway, I was planning for the go-around. I called, “Tower, 94609 on short final for 25.” He cleared me to land just as the other guy lifted off. Wow! I asked him where to taxi for something to eat and he sent me to the County ramp. Had a tough time finding someone who knew where a restaurant was but eventually someone pointed me to the back of a place just off the field. Had the obligatory cheeseburger and fries. Finished my plan for the return during lunch.
After lunch,
I launched and headed for Mohonk Mountain House which is near POU. This is a resort where
Linda and I had spent a long weekend in late summer. It’s a huge old place on a
mountain overlooking the Hudson valley. Did a couple of turns around it at 3000 MSL and
took pictures. The place is even more impressive from the air! I’d figured on
spending 15 minutes there but actually spent only a few. Trip back was uneventful except
that I was consistently too far north and I didn’t compensate adequately. I was
supposed to cross between Carbondale and Forest City but I came in at the north end of
Forest City. In any case, got back no major problem. I do have a hell of a time holding
altitude when distracted with navigation. I’m concerned with that for the check ride.
Flight was 2-1/2 hours; I’d needed 2 to finish my x-c requirements. All around, a
good day. After replaying it in my mind, though, I think I mis-read the altimeter at POU.
Pattern altitude was 1166; I think I was at 1660. Also in retrospect, I think I was too
far out on downwind. That might be why he told me to tighten up. (Back to
Contents)
Spent the morning at a fly-in at AVP. Linda and I drove down and I listened to the handheld in the car. Radio traffic was phenomenal. They had a heck of a crowd there. They were giving airplane rides for $5.00 but had to quit apparently due to traffic. Rumor was the tower asked them to stop but my guess is they were just spending too much time due to delays to make any money. I timed one trip and it was almost 20 minutes. With 3 people paying $5, that doesn’t make much sense. Talked to a guy from WBW who came in a Cherokee 140. He’s thinking of selling it. Intriguing!
I left and got to Seamans before Greg, who I’d seen at AVP. I pre-flighted and was just ready to roll when he came. I did two circuits while he finished up with the other guy. Did a short field, then a short field landing with a T&G. Next time around, Greg called me in. Picked him up and headed north for steep turns. Finally feel better about them. Did a few emergency descents and then came back to the pattern. Mostly soft field with a couple of engine outs for fun. Also 2 emergency descents and landings. Not a bad day. I sure do love to fly! (Back to Contents)
Nothing remarkable. Did some hood work and, for the most part, did pretty well at it. Last maneuver, however, I messed up pretty badly. (Back to Contents)
Last night flight needed for the check ride. I needed 1.1 hours and got 1.5. This was probably the first time I went flying without looking forward to it, though. It was a great night; clear as a bell with almost a full moon but I just wasn’t hyped. I think all the crap in work’s getting to me; just felt like vegging out. However, wanting to get the requirement behind me, I went. We flew over to MPO to try another airport. Turning on the lights with the mic was a kick! I had a terrible tendency to make the pattern too big. Greg says it’s because I’m referencing from the size of the runway so a big runway throws me off. That must be what happened to me at POU! Twice during the circuits the lights went out and had to be turned on again. Neat! Really nice night for a flight but my pattern work had me depressed. (Back to Contents)
Not a good day. Still a little bummed about last night so started on a down note. He had me start with steep turns. First 360 degrees (left) was great; almost letter perfect. Rolled into a right and it went downhill from there. Couldn’t hold altitude and never rolled out at the right point. I just kept screwing up one after the other. Not terrible but certainly not what I’m capable of! Eventually quit that and did some engine outs. Did two over around Crystal Lake and would have lived through both - probably even would have saved the plane. Did the third in the pattern and I did a beautiful landing.
We’d planned to do a ground briefing but I told Greg I just wanted to talk. Told him I think I need to back off; I’ve got too much on my mind with everything in work including the travel. I’m just not thinking enough about my flying. I actually think I’m getting worse! We agreed to drop back to one lesson a week and not press for the check ride. I really feel a bit like a failure, but something’s gotta give and this is the only option. (Back to Contents)
My first experience with frost - what a pain! The hanger’s been rented out and was supposed to be available Nov. 1 but it isn’t. As a result, the plane was left out and covered with frost. Took Greg and me about an hour to get it off using towels. I finally suggested he get some hot water and that worked! Then we had to sit for a while to warm up the engine. Phoenix is sounding better!
I suggested we fly to a couple other airports to work on patterns. Went to Spring Hill and Cherry Ridge. Did a second landing at Cherry Ridge ‘cause I didn’t like the first. Second wasn’t much better. That’s a tough place ‘cause you can’t see the runway as you pass the threshold on downwind.
As we were coming in to Seaman’s Greg said my flaps didn’t work; come in without them. Had to go around twice to get it down. Even at that, he applied some heavy input to slip it down.
Dropped him off and just tooled around to have fun. Killed the engine a couple of times to see what I could do. My tendency was to come in too high. Funny ‘cause last week I did them well. I wonder if it’s ‘cause of the weight. As I reached the state park it started to snow. Scared the hell out of me so I high-tailed it back and quite. (Back to Contents)
Last week I got done out of my lesson due to weather - low ceiling an visibility. Bummer! This week, I had to be in Peachtree City, GA (near Atlanta) for a sales meeting. Saturday, there was free time for a golf tournament. I looked in the yellow pages and called Falcon Flight School at Falcon Field (FFC). Reserved a C172 and my friend Kurt Emmrick and I drove over in his car (he’d driven down from Charlotte.) The CFI was a young (28) guy named Brad Fiddler. Nice, friendly style.
Since Kurt’s got his license and a 1/2 interest in a Warrior, I bowed to his seniority and asked him to fly first. I climbed in the back. He had a little trouble at first due to the time since he’d flown a Cessna. Then he was fine. He flew us over the Atlanta racetrack and Atlanta Center. Then he flew us over the course where the other guys were golfing. Kurt flew for 0.6 and then I did the same. Headed South and then West just looking around. Brad remarked that I held altitude very well. Coming in, there was a pretty stiff crosswind which goofed me up a bit. Ended coming in slow and hit pretty hard. Would have preferred to do it again but Brad had another student so we quit. Great way to spend a free afternoon on the road, though. I’ll do it again! (Back to Contents)
The whole thing began on Friday. Jim Sample, another student at Seamans’, had suggested we get together for lunch. Ate at the Woodlands, then visited the pilot’s club. It turns out, Jim’s a bit frustrated with Seamans’, too. Trouble getting planes and we both think the training’s going slowly.
Had 4 hours scheduled Saturday. With things in work fairly stable, I was eager to get on with the program and get my ticket. Got home Friday night and Linda said Greg had called; I was to call him before coming out. Called him after dinner and found that 609 is down for service. #$%&^@$^#! Won’t be in service at all this weekend.
Woke to a beautiful, calm, sunny morning. Perfect flying weather. Drove down to the pilot’s club to see if I could bum a ride somewhere. One of the guys asked if I wanted to go for lunch and, of course, I did!. Preheated his Cherokee 140 for about 1/2 hour and headed out. We headed to Sullivan County to take a look at his cabin. He said to stay at 3000 feet. Really enjoyed flying the low wing. Feels a lot more open and there wasn’t really a problem looking down; the wing’s far enough back so you can look down at a shallow angle forward of the leading edge. I wasn’t very comfortable flying so low over the plateau since there were very few open areas. When we got near his cabin, however, he took the plane and flew lower yet. Did several turns so he could “check the thermostat”. Then he went over Lopez and did the same thing. Just a bit disconcerting. There’s a lesson for me there concerning flying with my guests!
I took the plane back and flew us to near Williamsport (IPT) and he took it in. Had a nice lunch there, got gas, and headed back. He took off and I flew ‘til we were coming in over Edwardsville. Did the whole thing with the Loran. That’s a nifty device! Nice flight!
There were lots of folks at the club. One of the guys gave me a demo of his new Garmin 195 GPS. WOW!!!!
Got talking to the guys about my frustrations at Seamans’. Plane availability is really tough. Clido suggested I fly with him in Columbia’s Warrior. After today’s flight in the 140, that sounds nice. Gotta give that some thought. (Back to Contents)
Back in the saddle again! Visited my son Steve and his wife Krista in Raleigh for turkey day and tried to get a plane from RDU but, of course, no CFI available. Had a lesson scheduled for yesterday but it was a wx washout. Wx this AM was crummy but cleared by noon which worked well with my 1:00 appointment. Did an hour or so ground work with Greg, then pre-flighted 609. Stall horn still has not been fixed and they still don’t have a fuel sampler in 609 - had to steal one from 76F. This is getting out of hand!
Wind was damned strong and gusty from 310. Perfect for x-wind work! Also a great wind for ground reference. Did turns around 2 different silos (didn’t want to piss off only one farmer! ), then s-turns. The turns around the points were OK, I guess, and the s-turns went quite well. Then he had me climb up to 3000 ft. and did an emergency descent to Crystal Lake, then one to Clifford. Crystal Lake was long; would have overshot. Clifford was good. Then an engine out - got that one right. Finally some stalls including with turns - no problem. For the final act, he had me at 4000 ft over 9N3 and pulled power to 1500 RPM and had me take it in. Still a screaming x-wind but the landing was good. Not a bad day.
Had a long talk with Greg about my frustration with Seamans’. Told him I’m only hanging in there for him but I’m about ready to defect to Columbia Aviation. (Back to Contents)
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