Yep- just because it was a gorgeous evening. True airpseed woulda been about 97 knots for the conditions yesterday.



Excuse the hell outta me, captain. I musta relaxed a second to take the fucking picture.

And never mind on the IAS question. I now see you were still climbing.

Yeah- we quit at 10,500 or so and turned back towards home. We did a low approach down the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at KSC; the folks in the NASA tower are really good about giving the OK to do the approach. We followed one of the NASA G-IV's.

Only on the Space Coast can you do that (or some flight sim, I suppose).

Knocked out a solo today finally. Cross winds were stronger than I’d have liked but the weather has not been cooperative. All went well. In the pattern, on climb out had ATC tell me to follow the plane on xwind then silence until cleared for touch and go. I’m used to having them call my turns. Is being told to follow common? I’m used to them calling the turns when it’s congested.

Next to work toward the XC’s.

In the pattern, once you are cleared it is for the full pattern except for landing clearance.

It is ultimately your responsibility to maintain your spacing with other planes in the pattern regardless of the airspace, controlled or not.  The tower will give you advisories, but it's up to you to keep your place.  For example, if the aircraft to follow flies a long upwind, you will have to as well.  I was taught NOT to turn crosswind or base toward another plane, to wait until the traffic you are following is under your wing on the reciprocal leg unless you are a LOT slower than they are.

Class D will say something like "traffic to follow is a Cessna departing just ahead on upwind, make right closed traffic, runway 21, cleared for takeoff" meaning they expect me to keep him in sight and stay behind him in the pattern.  Other aircraft sometimes fly the pattern differently than you expect - the ATP students are all out here flying 747 patterns so you gotta watch them, stay sharp, and adjust accordingly.  You might not be able to just fly your "standard pattern" when there are other planes out there with you.

If they want something non standard, they will specify.  For example "traffic to follow is 3 miles out for a right downwind, for now fly straight out and I'll call your crosswind, right closed traffic runway 21 cleared for takeoff".

And then on midfield downwind tower will start giving advisories and possibly a landing clearance, such as "N12345, traffic to follow is a Comanche on the opposite downwind to base, Cessna on short final is no factor, number 3, runway 21, cleared to land".  Again, it's your responsibility to find the Cessna and the Comanche, fly your own pattern, and maintain adequate separation, avoid a collision, land 3rd.

Here is a tip that will save your life.  If you are unsure of what the tower is granting you, or asking of you, ASK.  "Tower please confirm fly straight out until you call crosswind?"  Also, if you are following someone and you LOSE SIGHT of them, do NOT wing it......CALL IT.  "Madison tower, I lost my traffic to follow in the ground clutter, can you call my base please?"  They will give you a position report "your traffic is 1 O'Clock, wing up 1 mile base to final", and if you still having a hard time, they will continue to assist and call your turn if you request it.      

YES!  The radio is there for a reason, use it.

I was once cleared in the pattern following a Cessna. When the Cessna turned final I lost visual because they went from a clear sky background to woods.  I made a call to Madison that I lost the traffic. ATC broke me out of the pattern and I got a brief vector to resequence.

With all the C19 stuff going on, I’d guess many of us are not flying as much as we would like and need to knock some rust off. I can’t imagine how airline pilots go from not flying for 1-2 months and then stepping back into a 737.

Today I knocked some rust off. I left some of it in the pattern at the Dells where on my first pass a young student pilot hit the numbers and was back in the air before my wheels touched down.  She was nailing it and doing a great job. We shared the pattern so I got to see her good flying, and she got to see mine.  

It was a good flight. The summer thermals are back!  My flight wasn’t long enough to climb above them.

Hope everyone is well and flying as much as you can!

And yes, I spent about 20 minutes cleaning the exterior and interior touch points before and after the flight.  Crazy times we live in.

That all makes sense. Thanks for the comments. I guess I've been spoiled by our ATC's in the past. I did lose sight of the one in front of me and was about to ask where they were but regained visual when they turned base. About a month ago, someone messed that up and got way too close to one of our instructors/students. Man she was pissed (understandably). I learned that lesson vicariously from that event.

Yeah, our school is burning through clorox wipes. I feel a little guilty taking lessons, but we've talked it out and agree to the risks. It won't be so bad when I'm more routinely going out on my own. It's sad how empty the school is these days, I hope the owners come out well after all of this.

ETA: the 'silver lining' to all of this is for the most part there has been little traffic out there. Other than the little bit of congestion at the home field Saturday, there have been hardly anyone else out there in my AO.

Yesterday was a beautiful day for flying. ATC said at one point (when trying to figure out what a pilot wanted to do) that there was a lot of GA traffic, limited staff, and therefore limited VFR services.

I knew about the staffing issues ahead of time. That’s why I flew immediately outside of their airspace, did pattern work at a non-towered airport, and did my sightseeing well clear of C. When I made the call for inbound it was direct to the field, no city tours etc.

Well, on top of the covid stuff, we also had our baby almost two months early. Luckily he was big for his age, required little help, and got home quickly.

If I can steal enough consecutive sleep to not feel like a zombie, I am going to try to sneak out to the field and take a few laps around the pattern for shits and giggles and hit my checkride maneuver list in the practice area in the next week or so.

Ain't parenthood great?

Congrats, man; you have a lot to be happy for, despite all this beer bug bullshit.

By the way: you can kiss sleep goodbye for a long time.

Well- anything going on in the new pilot world?

I'd hate to see the thread die (if it dd, would it be added to the CV stats? ).

None for me. Haven't flown since Mar 26th. Going to try to get some hours in next week.

I should be halfway through my IFR training right now.  Instead I'm waiting for the airplane to get out of maintenance so I can fly this month.

I have concluded that flight within a family/household is fine.  I wipe the airplane down and take precautions.

But no visiting family on long XC's has definitely cut down on the flying.  Right now I feel like I'm back to checkride prep -- flying to remain proficient at the basics.

First flight since March 22nd. Brought my CFI along so I could knock the rust off. Did some simulated soft field TO and landings. Practiced some stalls. Overall good training day with gusts up to 17.

Felt pretty good. Im excited about it again (had a bad couple of months with Covid and my best friend killing himself)

That's great! Glad someone is flying.

I'm down for awhile- stress fractures in my ankle and I'm wrapped in a cast and walking boot.

I feel you brother. I had ankle surgery #4 for 2019 in Dec. That had me sidelined for over a month.

I’m sorry for the loss of your friend.  

After my first two flights with 1.7 hours in the logbook we went to Costa Rica for spring break. I dislocated and broke my left ankle while surfing. We were 30KM from the nearest hospital. With my ankle at a 45 degree angle the surf instructor sped us back to town. The doctor was nice but didn’t speak English. He said something in Spanish and all of nurses in the room grabbed my body, arms, and leg. One quick pull and the ankle was straight. Then they gave me a shot of painkiller, a cast, and kicked me out the door without even crutches. Our surf instructor negotiated payment in exchange for surf lesson (at least that’s what he told me).  We stopped at a drug store to buy crutches and he signed my cast. I had surgery the day after we returned to the US. I declined the Costa Rican doctor's offer for surgery down there. I didn’t get back into an airplane for 3 months.

Welcome to the party pal!

Yeah- this one might be the flying ender- at least as I know it now. I already get a special issuance medical and if I have to get my ankle fused or cut on in any way, that will put the aggravation over the top.

I hope you are able to get this past your medical.  Good luck!

Wish I were flying more thread bump!

With all of my "mission" flights gone I am left trying to get up to keep proficient.  I am hoping to go flying this weekend.  But it reminds me of my 25NM range flights before my checkride, which were pretty boring as a solo pilot.

Yeah, it sucks.  Can't fly to visit family.  Can't take friends up.  Can't fly out for breakfast or lunch.  It limits us to family only flights which are essentially local tours (which we have done countless times before).

We are considering an extended family visit in a driveway where we all maintain social distancing and do not have contact.  That is still in the consideration category.

Crazy times.

This weekend I might try to do a long XC with stops along the way so there are a lot of landings at new fields.  I can see new airports without having to get out of the airplane.

My son and granddaughter went on an awesome X-C starting yesterday.

Eastern IL to Custer County, SD near Mt. Rushmore... in a Robinson R44.

Son just told me the wx is low so its doubtful they'll see Mt. Rushmore from the air.

If flying to regain proficiency is the goal, one real quick way to get your pilot brain back up to speed is to fly between two high traffic airports that are very close together. IIRC you’re in central WI? Fly over to MKE. Land, then fly to UES, then back home. You will work harder on that trip than any long cross country, and it will probably not even cost as much. Proficiency is all about brain speed, and nothing gets that kicked into gear like a fast paced, high workload trip. My final evaluation flight for instrument students was to have them fly IFR from our tower controlled field to another tower controlled field 11nm away. If they could stay ahead of those legs, they had it down. And this would be a real good time to hit MKE, I’m guessing the traffic is a little light there these days.

Great suggestion!

I am based at MSN. I was planning a flight to several nearby uncontrolled fields to do something similar to what you suggest.  It would be a quick 45 minute flight but most of it approach and departure with a lot of radio work.

I was scheduled to fly this afternoon but the door handle broke. Bummer.

If I’m reading you right, you’ve picked up a terrible habit.   Your left hand should be on the yoke, and your right hand on the throttle.   All the way from pattern to parking.    

Your right hand needs to be on the throttle, because thats your primary control, to keep you out of trouble, and to finesse the landing in gusty conditions.  Try trimming very slightly nose high, so when you pull of the last of the power, it will be roughly neutral.  

Grooving in bad habits is something you have to continuously guard against.  Only You.  Nobody else is going to care enough, and nobody will be watching you.  
Try to figure out why it made a difference, then force yourself to do it right.

Yeah, I changed it back quickly. It did help me get a "feel" for what my left hand was doing, even if only for a few landings. Kind of like the LIGHT BULB came on.. Thanks for the advice!

I just read that again and watched your landing video.  BoR is right.  Once in the pattern or on approach for me left hand on yoke and right hand on throttle.

I was once landing at a smaller airport over the numbers in flare when a gust pushed my left wing over the grass.  I was on the throttle immediately.  If there was an ounce of hesitation my left wheel could have touched down in the grass.

I never use my right hand on the yoke.

A friend got his CFI and CFII last year and he said that flying from the right seat was a total metal exercise and threw him for a loop.  And before that he teased me when I was flying an IMC ILS approach from the right seat and gave the airplane back to him because my hands weren't in the right spot.  LOL

Have you been flying a lot lately?

EDIT and if the right hand on the yoke thing was history, sorry to bring it back up.

That is funny.  I’ve only ever flown a tricycle gear airplane once, and I could not stand trying to manage the throttle with my right hand!  ??

A friend of mine just soloed today at C29.

We all remember that day!  

Started flying in High School, had to quit for financial reasons. Suddenly and inexplicably for the bug to start flight training again. Now that I have the money, I don't have the time. Will probably have to wait until my second kid is in 5K next year so that I can devote the time to flying 2x a week on my off days while the kids are in school. Looking forward to it!

What's a better approach to student training; pay as you go, buy bulk time on an account?

I paid ahead in $1,000 chunks because I got 5% credit.  Those $1,050 blocks go quick when you are flying 2-3 hours a couple of days a week!  Good times.

I would never pay the whole thing ahead of time.  Too many variable.  And my friend who soloed today was making zero progress with his first school and switched to a guy who seems awesome.

I was pretty ready for the checkride in March. Covid and a baby happened. Doing some cramming both in the plane and oral exam book, and should hopefully punch the ticket in the next couple of weeks.

Also was ready to make an offer on an rv10. It was listed, I asked for the details within 6 hours, the guy took 2 days to get back to me to say he had just gotten the deposit.

You're actually in a position right now to save a TON of money later once you start the actual flying portion of your training. The flying part can get knocked out real quick, and it is very easy to let your flight progress outpace your knowledge progress, and then you are wasting very $$$ time in the airplane when your brain knowledge isn't quite ready.

So if you're serious, then start a good ground school program now. Complete the course and complete the written test. Get yourself to the point where you could pass the checkride oral, which means really knowing how to interpret charts, regs, aerodynamics, weather, plan actual cross country flights etc. These days a lot of this information and instruction is even free online somewhere. Then, when your schedule and budget are ready start the flight training portion. You will be amazed how quickly you can progress if you already have all the background knowledge down. If you do that then on behalf of your future flight instructor's, I thank you.

Alright, Fine!

I took the written yesterday and got a 90.  Y'all happy?

I've got just under 30 hours and, now that I've passed the written, I can do my solo cross-country flights.

Why'd you get those extra 20 points? You're just gonna forget it 10 minutes after you pass your checkride.

Congrats!

We scrubbed my checkride Tuesday due to weather. Hoping to reschedule in the next week or so.

Bought a plane in a purchase of opportunity as well - going to be a 50/50 partner in a maxed out RV-6a. 180hp, cs prop, electronic ignition, dual alternator and redundant electrical system, dual Garmin g3x, Garmin autopilot, gtn650, gtx345r, almost-14 mod, extended slider canopy, anti-splat nose gear, etc. The partner will be one of my wife’s former co-workers. I will keep my flying club membership for now, and be looking to buy into or form another partnership for a traveling plane (likely an a36 or an rv10 but who knows) in the next year. That way I can have my solo traveler for work and then a family plane for vacations, etc.

Sounds like a great airplane you bought!  Hope you can crank out that checkride next week!

RV-6A is a great airplane. An acquaintance owns one and I've flown it a few times. Very well-mannered airplane.

Sorry about the checkride. Hope the wx breaks soon for ya!

I finally had my check ride last Friday.  I was ready to go back in late February, but the apocalypse shut the airport down for 11 weeks.  That added about 15 hours To my log book and $3k to the total, but it was worth it.  Everything went just fine on the check ride, and all of my stress was for nothing.  

I’ve got the PA-12 booked for Wednesday afternoon to take the old man for a ride!

Got a good pic with my instructor afterwards:


Attached File

Congratulations!

I took my Dad up yesterday afternoon for my first flight with a passenger.  We just flew around for an hour, then came back and did a couple of landings.  I was a little high on final for the second one, but managed a perfect forward slip to about 8’ off the ground and then set it down perfectly.  He actually said twice after landing; “Boy, that was a nice slip!”  

It was great.  Our hobbies/interests have never really been very compatible before, so hopefully we’ll be able to do this together for a while.

That's awesome. You'll have memories of that forever. My dad had a Musketeer and I enjoyed going with him, got my own license when I was 16. It was the only thing we ever did together besides work. He wasn't the complimenting or warm type but it moved me a little to hear him in the pattern when I returned from my check ride. He showed up to see me pass. That was cool. I could use it whenever I wanted too, as long as I refueled it. That was some cheap flying.

Just got done with my first solo cross country!

Was little nervous beforehand but nothing too bad.  Got to the airport just in time to see the plane I would be taking landing as I drove up.  Come to find out, the previous student did the exact same flight I had planned
My instructor asked if I wanted to fly the pattern with her a few times or just go.  I elected to just go.

Was a 55nm flight from 16X to F35 — Propwash to Possum Kingdom.  Everything was pretty uneventful, which I guess is a good thing.  Flew out at 4500’ and it was nice and cool — descended to pattern altitude, 2000’, and about burst into flames.  Landed at F35 and did my smoothest landing ever... when there was no one around to see it I pulled off to the ramp  area and got ForeFlight setup for the return leg and tried to figure out why my stratux was dying, although it behaved better in the return leg.  I then took off and did a loop around the lake... because I could... then headed back to Propwash.

Flew the return leg at 3500... at least initially.  It was too damn hot down there, so I climbed to 5500 and it was MUCH nicer. I’m just had to remember to descend before I hit the DFW Bravo (which I did)

Got back to Propwash and, for the first time ever, there was another plane in the pattern! I had to laugh a bit at that.  My landing there sucked, of course, floated a lot and then bounced a little.  Taxied back to the hangar and my instructor comes running out.  Apparently while i was out she had heard about a plane going down in Boyd... which was a town I had just flown over luckily it wasn’t me.

Another 1.6 hours in the logbook and 33.8 total.  Still need to do another 1.5 of night and the long cross country then some checkride prep.

Only thing better than the first solo X-C is the checkride.