Why did I not fly today?!

It is not that windy: KHEF 071255Z AUTO 29009G14KT 260V320 10SM BKN065 05/M05 A2955 RMK AO1

I have been having trouble sleeping so I have been staying in bed longer. This has cost me two opportunities to fly this week already. With these fast moving fronts, the opportunities requires me be ready to get the airport when on short notice. I just want to fly the pattern. Sunday was a beautiful day to fly. I designate most Sundays as family day and I have not flown on Sunday as of yet.

The weather man last night stated that the low pressure area in the north east was pushing wind down to the Mid-Atlantic region. Normally, low pressures tend to suck the wind into the center from the tracks parallel to the isobars, not pushing it out. However, the weatherman said something about rapid heating and cooling of the ground that results in a change to the direction of the wind. My guess is the lifting action of the heat from the ground is offsetting the wind. It is pretty dry here so the cloud cover is high and sparse, allowing more sun to penetrate the atmosphere and reach the ground. The thunderstorms have been quick and weak. I think the high winds has helped keep the tremendous updrafts of thunderstorms to a minimum. I remember hearing recently that thunderstorms do not occur if the rising moisture cannot reach to -10 degree Celsius point in the atmosphere.

Anyway, I plan on flying the next two days: solo pattern work and a cross country to Chesterfield County, VA. Stay tuned.

trust but verify

It is not a coincidence that ATC provides clearance for runway 16R while I hold short of 16L once out of every 6 flights in the pattern. A minor slip of the tongue does happen and can easily go unnoticed. It takes a short 'verify clearance for 16 R, 2 9 Echo' prior to take-off to avoid incident.

If requested by ATC to make a short downwind leg to get in front of approaching traffic, do not be afraid to: (1) request a long downwind if safety is a concern OR (2) move the aiming point farther down the runway (on a suitably sized runway) as long as the pilot can still get the plane off the runway in short time after landing for arriving traffic. The ATC is managing space, trying to be respectful to each aircrafts constraints (fuel, speed, training or commercial, etc.). Pilots ultimately are responsible for the safety of the passengers and aircraft.

ATC is usually cognizant of flight training. In the case of a short downwind request, I often wonder if the ATC has a secondary purpose--placing new trainees in different scenarios. Either way, ATC is in integral part of training and often very helpful.

Today's training, another day in the pattern, was very beneficial. Not only can I land the plane with some confidence, many little things were sured up including the following.

• Remember to turn the transponder to Mode C prior to take off.
• Remember to check the directional gyro one more time prior to take off while on the lined up on the runway (since the direction is well known). It takes a second.
• Be aware of the the foot on the brake when taking off while using right-rudder.
• Use of the side slip in a cross wind landing as well as more rapid loss of altitude while maintaining airspeed around 75 knots. This proved helpful in a shortened downwind.

Now the repeated pattern lessons are complete.