Pre-flight check

It is easy to trust a plane is ready to fly if one thinks it is well maintained. We pilots build up practices to do a thorough inspection of the plane using a checklist as part of the pre-flight procedures. This includes things like checking the surface and controls, looking for water and contaminants in the gas, checking the oil, inspecting the propeller, tires, struts, brakes, lights, static port, and air-inlets, including the pitot tube and fuel air inlet.

Is this enough? NO. The PIC must validate that the plane is airworthy. This means the airplane is in a safe condition for flight and in compliance with approved data or approved altered state. Approved data includes the POH associate with the aircraft, any logged approved and logged alterations to the aircraft including equipment and any Airworthiness Directives (A/D). An A/D can be met either by complying with the A/D in one of the ways described in the A/D or through a specific approved request sent to the FAA administrator for an alternative (such as complete removal of the faulty equipment).

Prior to each flight, the PIC needs to verify that the plane is compliance. Included in this validation process is checking the engine log for 100 hour inspections, propeller log for 100 hour inspection and the airframe log for the annual. These are usual all done as part of the annual along with the ELT inspection (battery 50% of life or used more than an hour. Other things to check include the 24 month inspection of the transponder and pitot static system. These go together since Mode C transponder report altimeter readings.

Lastly, the oil changes are required to be compliant with manufacturer recommendations. This can be as often as every 20 hours.

Seems like alot to do. It is not if you familiar with the aircraft. For any aircraft new to you as a pilot, it is worth going through all this with the maintenance log books. It is good practice and, if something were to go wrong, you, as a PIC, can say that you completed a thorough inspection. Your passengers will thank you as well!

I'm back...and then I am not

I wanted to write. I got busy. I have been a pilot for eight months now. I fly once every three weeks. Until now. Ear drum rupture.

My last planned excursion was going to be free. Thanks to a good friend who needed to fly a plane to a FBO for maintenance, I was going to fly the entire trip under the hood for the price of lunch at Sheetz and, I hope, some good company. The weather fouled our plans, so we opportunistically trained me on a FAA certified simulator for another great price. Not free...but easily affordable. The sim was modeled after Piper Arrow, so I was able to start my complex endorsement work as well. Two birds, one stone. Love it.

What did I learn?

FLOW is important. The carb heat, landing gear, throttle, prop, mixture and flaps, IN THAT ORDER, left to right, to be managed in a well defined flow. There are some basic rules. They are simple, so this is where pilots mess up. In the end, its not simple, without FLOW and a little knowledge of how the specific aircraft works.

Land Gear: landing gear down for landing, landing gear up after positive rate of climb on takeoff.
Prop and Throttle: avoid high manifold and low RPM (sometimes not...but more on that later).
Mixture: Adjust for altitude over 3000 AGL, Full rich on take-off and landing.
Flaps: 10 degrees on take off (for this aircraft...it is truck).

How did I take off? Carb Heat off. Mixture Full Rich. Prop Full RPM. THROTTLE to the Wall. After positive rate of climb, gear up. Confirm (visually) Now back over to the flaps. Flaps up.
Climb out? Technically, throttle should be brought back before RPM. Keep the flow, right to left. Throttle to 25" MP. RPM to 2500. Adjust Mixture.
Cruise? Throttle to 24", RPM to 2400. Adjust Mixture.
Slow Cruise? Carb heat. Throttle to 18", RPM to stay. As plane slows, Throttle to 20". RPM to stay. Check Mixture. Trim.
Descent? Throttle to desired descent rate, assuming no airspeed change. RPM to stay. Adjust mixture periodically.
Landing? Reverse direction with one slight alteration. Carb Heat. Do this now while the exhaust temperature is still hot. Flaps (10 degrees). Landing Gear. Confirm. Mixture full rich. RPM full. Throttle as necessary.

Now. Every senior pilot is going to have a different flow. Every plane may have variants in the POH. Here are some considerations:

(1) On a carbureted engine like the Lycoming in a Cessna 172N, any RPM setting is not going to stress the engine for any throttle setting. Go ahead, ask Lycoming. I know one pilot that keeps the throttle at the top of the green (around 25") after climb out and does not move the throttle till landing. Cruise is around 2100 RPM to 2200 RPM. This pilot knows his plane. He is extremely precise with the mixture and its effects on fuel flow. For best performance and best longevity, this is where the time and effort make the most sense. I would only follow this procedure on his plane. I am too new to this business to do anything different than what is in the POH. If you are curious if this fore-mentioned pilot runs ROP or LOP, I do not recall. I will find out.

(2) Why flaps and gear down at the same time? Simple, it cancels out the flare when 10 degrees of flaps is added. The aircraft just slows down and stays in near perfect trim. This is critical in instrument flying. Sure, gears could go down earlier. Many planes support gear down and higher speeds than 10 degrees of flaps. If a I remember correctly, the gear and speed should be adjusted at the FAF and held in a controlled descent until either the field is identified or a go around is initiated. In either case, a different configuration takes place at that point. Slow aircraft can adjust this model so they do not hang in the lane from the FAF to the field. One idea I am exploring is keeping the speed up, not going to gear down configuration until DA or reaching MDA. I shall see what my mentors have to say about this. It is still a controlled descent...just a tad faster.

(3) For the sake this discussion, I did not include gas tanks in the flow, just mixture. For example, Cessna 172 POH has the tanks set to Both for take off and landing. I believe the Arrow is Left take and landing, and right for second half of the flight. I need to confirm this. I also did not include other critical check list items such as fuel pumps. All important. However, for someone new to complex aircraft, the flow described above is critical to understand and deserves special attention.

So where am I going with this blog. Well. I am going to make an attempt to back fill lost lessons in both private and instrument training. I am also going to move forward with more exciting flights.

At the moment, I have some time to backfill. You see, I am grounded. Ruptured Ear Drum.

Will Obama's visit ground local operator during visit to Martha's Vineyard?

Boy, that would be a bummer? This has been a cold year for the island as it is. With a short summer and troubled economy, 10 days of no-fly TFRs would hurt local operations. AN open mind would permit some choices here. For example, the government can say 'sorry' and do what they have to do. The government could implement some sort of security plan that would restrict flights in and around the island to approved operations using a security coding scheme similar to three airports within the DC area (costly for one 10-day trip). However, the procedures could be repeatable for other future occassions at other locations. The government could take the money it would use to pay for such a complex security operation and hand it over to local FBOs, compensating them for their loss. Yeh, right!

Flying expenses and student/instructor tension

My instructor and I ran into some scheduling snags over the last month. With him going away for a large portion of the summer, we both decided it was in my best interest to pair up with another instructor. In addition, there were some personality issues that was inhibiting me from making some bigger steps towards being a certificated pilot. From what I hear, it is not uncommon. The aircraft is a terrible classroom. The instructor and student must 'gel' to get the most effective instruction. In the last couple of months, we were not communicating well. Add to that the stress of finances, lost opportunities and the general stress of flying, the efficiency of instruction was going south quickly. Time to move on.

The money issue is really starting to take its toll on me. My music earnings are half of what they should be. I can thank the economy for some of it. Some of it is due to my lack marketing efforts. Marketing takes time. For every five hours of marketing, I may get one gig, paying around $100. Consider each gig is minimum of four hours of work (regardless of how long I play) and there is always travel involved. It just does not seem worth it. I could justify the time in the past because I love to play. That being said, if I spend time marketing, then I do not spend time flying.

After dumping three grand into car repairs and tree removal, and forking out money for summer camp for my son, I am starting get anxious about flying. I cannot quit now, but the costs are prohibitive. I do not mind the instructor costs. I would pay instructor costs for any new endeavor, whether it be for golf lessons, drum lessons, whatever. The rental fee for a Cessna 172 runs around $115 to $135 per hour wet. Even at four dollars per gallon of gas, burning close to ten gallons an hour in training, that is still a jaw-dropping large fee. By the time I get my certificate, I will have flown close 65 hours. The notion that a private pilot license costs under $7000 is ludicrous. It is not possible unless a student enrolls in a three week 'all or nothing' immersion program.

I keep looking for a way to cut the costs of flying. In the end, if GA is to be 'saved', then the industry, as a whole, should change it's attitude towards student pilots, not trying to use them as a money bag to prop up the industry. In addition, I think, with all the controlled air space out there, the LSA market is never going to be very big. The money being dumped into does not seem justifiable. It may show some spots of success in states like Florida or in the western states with wide open spaces.

At this point, I would be better taking the family on a vacation in the west for two weeks and finishing up my flying out there where rental and instructor fees are lower in cost. Get'er done!

Ahh, the voice of reason

In Government Executive, the DHS inspector general stated that GA terrorism threat is "mostly hypothetical". Richard Skinner also said "The current status of [general aviation] operations does not present a serious homeland security vulnerability requiring TSA to increase regulatory oversight of the industry".

The key thing to remember is that the backing analysis is attempting quantify risk, making it measurable against other areas of security risk. There is always risk. It is matter of determining the level of effort and cost associated with further mitigation of each risk. Richard Skinner uses the word 'serious' as a very lax reference to the weight associated with the risk. In the end, he provides a distilled conclusion not in opposition what many pilots call 'common sense'.

132 Ways to Restrict our Freedom

In his New York Time article A Threat in Every Port, Dr. Lawrence Wein provides a summary of his path analysis on bomb delivery to a US city. In his final sentence, he writes:

But its bigger task is to turn that analysis into action, initially by stepping up the screening of air cargo, better monitoring domestic flights by small planes, and improving the ability to detect highly enriched uranium and fissile material at sea.

The second item, monitoring domestic flights by small planes, does not sit equally with the other suggested actions. Consider that land borders are the LEAST controlled elements of our nation. They are hard to secure. Immigrants and illegal substances make it into this country every DAY. Once in, a van can move substances just about every where. For example, it could be driven into a parking garage of a major building in a big city without much notice. A small plane entering class B airspace without a clearance is going to get noticed. Most cities reside under class B airspace. Perhaps he thinks this is an easier target. However, the author states the terrorists will find alternate paths, so easy does not always mean cost effective. Within the last few years, a small plane can not get close to the monuments in DC. A few years ago, a disgruntled citizen drove a farm tractor into the tidal basin, IN THE MIDDLE OF MORNING RUSH HOUR!

I would like to see some domain experts weight the 132 paths. I think it is necessary before recommendations are made. Before this is done, such analysis can only be deemed incomplete.

I can think of quite a few benefits to increasing land border security. It seems to me, this would be a better use of American dollars than going after GA.

This suggestion does not mean GA cannot be involved in the security of America. I have yet to see a comprehensive online training course offered to pilots on how to notice suspicious behavior and provide guidelines on how to help provide security of small air fields. There does not exist a 'hotline' concept or set of procedures for reporting suspicious behavior other than reporting unsafe, accident or incident activities that violate regulations. Let us use the best and most widely spread GA resources, namely FBOs and pilots. Many of resources are already in place to do this. The communication channels and procedure are not!

Ah hah

After a scheduling mishap on Monday, I decided to return the airport on Friday to get some practice time in the pattern. Geoff, my other instructor, wanted me to do no-flap landings. I did not recall doing that, so I invited him up to come up with me after I went out for a 'warm up'. I picked up Geoff after performing 3 short field take-offs and with standard landings. Other than repeatedly forgetting carb heat, I was doing a fine job...until Geoff got into the plane.

I started a normal takeoff with Geoff. We went around and I executed a fine no-flaps landing. I had gone through all the check lists properly (except that carb heat). Geoff was thinking that one more time around would do it since I was flying so well. That is when things went south. On a no-flaps landing, the trim is considerably different. I did not retrim the plan for take-off. So when Geoff asked me to show him a soft field take-off, naturally I botched the procedure. The trim made it difficult to keep the nose down while building up airspeed in ground effect. I had to apply more forward pressure than I was expecting to.

After fixing the trim, I proceeded to do a soft field landing. In prior soft field attempts, I did not have a much of problem. I never bothered to practice them. With higher density altitude and 225 extra pounds in the airplane, I did not demonstrate anything but a THUD. Geoff flew the next round, demonstrating to me what he wanted to see. I watched closely to everything including the power settings. Geoff then had me go around again. In my second attempt, the soft field take-off was fine, with the plane now trimmed properly. The second landing...THUD. So much for soft! At this time, our empty stomachs and the heat were annoying us so we called it a day.

I tried to analyze the situation, asking questions about how much power (1700 RPM maybe) is required for a soft field landind. Geoff kept saying "provide as much power as necessary". I needed to fly the plane on to the runway. It is like flying with the wheels on the ground.

I went out again on Sunday night. This time, the density altitude was higher and the weight was lower. The power setting requirements for a soft field were completely different. It is at this point that the message Geoff attempted to convey to me sunk in. I did not need as much power and my landings were SOFT. I was having a blast, and remembering carb heat.

I was going to go for four landings until bambi decided that 34 Right was a place to park him self. I hear all sorts of deer strike stories. None of them sound good. I kindly notified the tower, waited until they had me and the deer in sight, and then proceeded back to the tie down spot, scaring the deer into grass towards the adjacent runway. I doubt the deer lived past that night. Once deer get into an airport area, they are often terminated.

So, once again, I had some 'ah hah' moments: checklists (keep on them) and do what ever it takes to fly the plane (power, trim, yoke pressures) on to the runway. Obviously, these are broad statements about concepts that I have encountered in prior flights. There comes a time where things start coming together, when the words become actionable, when and a student pilot just 'gets it'. I believe I am at the moment.

Oral Exam Preparation: Day One

Today, I started preparations for the Oral Exam. We started preparations by going over some of questions concerning aircraft maintenance and pilot certification. I even read through a couple A/Ds.

I have been able to take advantage of knowing every maintenance issue with the plane I fly since I am almost exclusively the only pilot using the plane. Any maintenance and A/D compliance does not go unnoticed. However, if I ever rented another plane, I would definitely have to add in extra time to inspect the aircraft logbook. N2229E's log book is organized and without error. I wonder if other logbooks have the same organization and completeness. As with most regulations, compliance can mean many things. In general, compliance does not address intricacies of indexing and organizing records. Rather, it addresses methods of compliance and completeness.

After some ground school, we went flying. It was distracting having an instructor in the plane again. It increased my work load and made me appreciate the work load I will incur when taking on passengers. During the flight we covered the following items.

(1) Slow flight with standard 2 minute turns.
(2) Power-off Stalls
(3) Power-on Stalls
(4) Instrument Flying, with lost procedures, turns to headings, airspeed changes and altitude changes.
(5) Soft Field Take off
(6) Short Field Take off

I made some minor mistakes, listed below.

(1) In a short field take-off, flaps are not required in the 172. The round out (Vr) is 55 KIAS, hold the speed at 59 KIAS as soon as practical until clear of the obstacle. Weight and density altitude determine the length in distance to reach these INDICATED speeds. I used flaps and then needed to apply soft field techniques. This is not a bad thing, as short fields are often soft fields. However, I need to recognize the difference.
(2) When doing pattern calls, saying 'turning to base'. Use 'entering' only when entering the pattern like 'entering at 45 to downwind for runway 22'.
(3) I tend to use long base approaches to establish a nice stable approach. If an Engine fails and there is wind, I will not make it. My instructor wants me to pull it in a bit tighter.
(4) I tend mush around a bit while preparing to make altitude changes. If a altitude change notification is given by 'ATC' to descend or ascend, immediately establish a 500 FPM vertical velocity through power changes and trim. Do not exclusively dive and do not pull up. Both cases change the forward velocity of the plane, faster or slower respectively.
(5) I usually respond to unsighted traffic calls with 'looking for traffic'. The correct phraseology is 'negative traffic'.

If today's flight was my check ride, would I have passed? Yes. However, I am not going to settle for that. I want to be instrumented rated, which requires an increased level of accuracy. As my instructor says, he wants me to "kick some ass". I am on it.

Milk it for what it is worth

A River snakes through the mountains in large S turns.

I went on my long cross country flight on Friday, May 22. My route began at Manassas, leaving through Fluky towards Cumberland, Maryland. From Cumberland, I flew down to Luray and then back to Manassas.

The cross country flight represents a balance between meeting the 14 CFR 61 requirement, learning new things and enjoying the benefits of flight. My plan was to make every penny spent on this excursion have significant value. I flew to airports that I had not visited, while not venturing too far from Manassas. I wanted to meet new people and have a complete experience. Looking back, my plan worked out perfectly. It was the people that I met on this trip, not educational elements, that made this trip memorable.

Starting with the perhaps the more boring elements of the trip, lets look at the flying challenges. These airports embody the challenge of a cross country flight, crossing over mountains and confusing terrain. These airports are much smaller than others that I had visited. Luray has a small runway (3125 x 75 ft) with trees on the south end and does not have any lighting such as a PAPI or VASI. Cumberland's runway is about two thousand feet longer than Luray, but the airport is nestled up against mountains in a small canyon and the runway is on a little hill. As I approach Cumberland, I recall the runway rising to meet me. Cumberland has a PAPI and I was on the glide slope during the approach.

I flew on a warm day, around 25 degrees Celsius. That made it a bit more fun, as I had to take off and land on a shorter runway with a higher density altitude. I did not worry about landing. The Cessna 172 that I fly has 40 degrees of flaps, if needed. I can put the plane on the numbers and stop within 150 feet. Takeoff is different story. I did not have any trouble. I just had a pause as I stared down Luray's runway 4 at the trees on the other end. I pushed in the throttle, held the brakes firm and prepared for the take-off. I was off within 1000 feet without issue.

Navigation was fun. My plan was to head to Airlie from Manassas and then up to Cumberland. This put me clear of the SFRA and the lower ceilings of class B. I missed Airlie and then started my trek about 10 miles to the west. This means that I will arrive south of Cumberland without correction. Guess what! The wind correction was off and I arrived about 5 miles south of Cumberland. I had much better success with Luray, except that the NDB I used as a guide was not giving accurate readings on the ADF. I had to ignore it. I could not even hear the station identifier clearly, so it was not usable. At one point, I used a VOR to verify my position. I had dialed the frequency incorrectly. If I had to not verified the station identifier, I would have been a bit confused. Coming back into Manassas is fairly easy. I get a bit agitated as I near the SFRA. I often just turn off my course and head to Warrenton. I know the route and distance from Warrenton well and I can provide Potomac Approach with an accurate identifiable position.

That sums up most of the educational elements of the trip. I found the cynical pilot sitting on the bench watching traffic at Cumberland amusing. He questioned my right pattern approach to runway 23. My answer: It is an uncontrolled airport, I wanted to stay clear of the power plant and the hospital, I wanted to assess the runways before landing, I announced my intentions during the approach and landing, and there were no planes in the area at the time. No problems that I can see.

In Cumberland, after chatting with the cynical pilot for a bit, I was ready to search for a snack. At the same moment, a couple from Cleveland were on a similar pursuit. Mark and Yvonne, a professional pilot and a professional photographer, graciously invited me to join them. I rarely ever turn down an opportunity to meet new people. This was perfect. Mark and Yvonne were finishing a days worth of aerial photographer, ready eat and then return to Cleveland. We had a wonderful time trading stories (not all pilot related). Though Mark's fish dinner was forgettable, I hope the occasion was memorable for them. I snapped a picture of them, decked out in their nice polo shirts with their company logo (as Mark is pointing out in the picture). Check out their website: Focal Plane . I am sure they would love visitors. Yvonne snapped a picture of me in front the Cumberland terminal. Thanks again Yvonne!

Yvonne and Mark

Ready to leave Cumberland

In Luray, I met an old friend of Geoff Petterson, the owner of the plane I fly, named Kenneth Painter. Ken recognized the plane immediately. We chatted for a bit and then were distracted as state trooper, enjoying his one holiday week-end off in the year, came in to show us the sophisticated control for his radio-controlled nitro-fueled helicopter. It is a nifty device. After a bit of stalling, I decided to get off and return to Manassas. Thanks to the Ken for his hospitality. I will return there again, with friends!

The Single Hanger at Luray

Departing Luray

Touch and Gos

I see people do touch and gos all the time. My instructor always has me do full stop landings. I was not sure if that was policy, insurance or wisdom, but I listened. The other day, by myself, I decided to do one touch a go. This was not some sneaky attempt. I really felt that I should practice this maneuver. Why? Well, I had it in my head that perhaps it is maneuver that could be used to get off the runway quick while still having sufficient speed when, lets say, a deer or another plane meanders onto the runway. I discovered touch and gos just do not work well in that setting. In a small plane like the Cessna 172, it is easier and safer to just stop in a hurry. There is less danger smashing into a deer while slowing down on a runway then pulling out of ground effect too soon and stalling 50 feet above the runway. So, that will be my last touch go for a while.

At the same time, I heard a pilot announce that he is coming into airport area to land from the South. I was taking off to the South, but my intention was to North. I had already announced this earlier, but he must not have heard me. I kept heading south a little longer and got above pattern height before beginning my turn. I still did not see him. As a reached 90 degrees into my turn, I saw the other plane. It was a large turbo prop or small ject (probably a Citation but it had a Canard look to it) also turning parrellel to the runway. The pilot had announced he was entering downwind. I was not sure if the plane I saw was associated with the call, . It was downwind, but high and another mile out. The pilot must have noticed me or heard my call when I began my turn, so he inquired about my intentions. I told him I was on a downwind leg at two thousand and heading North. I made sure he new I was a Skyhawk. I also stated that I had him in sight. He sped way ahead of me, looped in front of me and did a long final (suitable for a much faster plane).

There was little danger in this situation. Thinking back, I wish I had waited 20 seconds more before turning to the North. Had he been a slow plane closer into the airport, this could have been a more dangerous situation. Proper communication in this situation was critical.