Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Getting Some Cloud Time

Yesterday I actually got out to do a little flying in actual instrument conditions.  As Ms. Dr. Flying Shrink will tell you, this makes me giddy. I was definitely happy to get some time in a soup warm enough in which to fly before our long and no-doubt cold winter sets in. 

I was scheduled to take our club's Arrow out for a stroll, but unfortunately it remains down for the annual inspection that seems like it will never end.  I guess this is the joy of the club having an older plane that seems to need some TLC. It's gotten a lot of love, and so it should be leveling out soon.  I'm told that one can spend a year or two with undetected gremlins.  I was going to scrap the whole thing, but cloud time sent me to the schedule to find that our very capable Archer was available. 

I blasted off from DuPage (KDPA) around 10:45 into marginal VFR conditions, and before long was chugging along in the clag at 3000 until I was clear of O'Hare's arrival stream.  Up to 6000 and eventually heading toward Illinois Valley (KVYS), I continued to run mostly into and occasionally out of clouds.  I briefed the RNAV 18 approach and made said request to Chicago Center (nice to have those folks back up and running).  I allowed the auto-pilot to do its work while I briefed and set up, and then took over hand flying as I arrived at the initial approach fix.  I kept the needles relatively pegged the whole way down to the minimum descent altitude (despite having vertical guidance, this was an LNAV+V approach and therefore non-precision).  Sweet.

Although I had the runway clearly in sight, I executed the published missed as communicated to Center.  Flying the missed approach gave me the chance to enter a hold that conveniently served as the procedure turn for the RNAV 36 back in.  Two currency birds with one stone. 

While flying the missed, there was a helicopter on approach to 36 and then some other traffic, so I was sent to 5000 MSL despite a holding pattern of 2500.  That made things "fun" later.  While I got myself turned around and fully prepared to do a few laps around the holding pattern, I was instructed to descend and start inbound.  This gave me about 6 miles to get down 2800 feet, but since the Archer flies like a rock that was not too much of a problem.  I don't like idle descents, and fortunately this was avoided. 

I was again on my way inbound and the needles were pretty close to pegged.  Breaking out about 1500 feet AGL, I went ahead and executed the dreaded downwind landing (5 knot wind) as sometimes you just don't get a choice, and these are of course different.  Landing at 75 knots ground speed verses 60 is quite a difference in picture and performance.

After taxiing to the ramp, I attempted to call Chicago Center and Kankakee Radio to obtain my IFR clearance back to DuPage.  After no success, I elected to take off and obtain my clearance in the air. I was about to regret that. 

An Expensive Lesson

I departed 18 and headed south since there were rain showers directly to the east that didn't look like fun trying to punch through VFR.  I called up Chicago center, and after making radar contact asked me if I could maintain visibility and avoid hitting anything until I was at or above 3000.  

"Unable."  

Yeah, so that's the wrong answer.  Turns out that this whole blasting off without an instrument clearance in marginal conditions - or at least with ceilings below the minimum vectoring altitude - will result in hanging one's cowl in shame as he returns to the airport.  I don't recall learning that at any point in my instrument training; only that one had to be able to fly VFR or out of controlled airspace and obtain a clearance before entering controlled airspace or IMC.  

I wonder if I had a growl in my voice as I announced my positions in the pattern.  

After I returned and taxiied to the ramp, I called up IFR Clearance Delivery.  I spent about 10 minutes on the phone with them - 7 of that was on hold.  Don't they know the hobbs meter is running?  This is one of two reasons why I don't like calling on the ground.  The other is waiting for release when someone has not cancelled IFR. 

Return Trip

With clearance now firmly in hand, I again took off from VYS and turned on course toward PLANO.  It was a different controller on the Center frequency, so I was glad that I could avoid reliving my embarrassment.  Motoring along at 5000, I took a few pics of my view out the wind screen.



Somewhere over Ottawa, Illinois


Conditions were very marginal at DPA due to low ceilings and light rain, and I was vectored for the ILS 10 approach.  I was told to expect a circle to 2R, which made no sense to me given that the winds were 110 at 8 according to the ATIS.  However, I figured I would take that up with the tower.  A King Air was vectored in front of me... I can't imagine why.  They could fly the approach at 90 knots to clear out the stall horn, right?  

Again I was pleased with my flying of the approach as I was always within 1 dot and I broke out looking at the runway right where my needles said it should be.  It's a very comforting feeling.  

At about 2 miles from touchdown and just before breaking out, the tower asked me to pick my speed up.  I was miffed by this because I am set up stable at 90 knots and preparing to slow once I have the runway in sight.  I said I'd keep my speed up and probably waited until about a mile out before slowing the the Vref of 66 knots.  I have a bad habit of getting high once I break out,  but other than this I was pleased with the approach and landing.  

2.6 in the log book along with 2.0 actual, a hold and three approaches.  Not bad.  

Now, if I could ever get that long cross country in... 










Friday, October 10, 2014

Do you even fly?

It has been a strange year.  As of this writing, I have less than 70 hours in the log book for the year.  This is pitiful.

Most recently, I was scheduled to fly from DuPage/Chicago (KDPA) to Burke Lakefront (KBKL) in Cleveland for my sister's wedding.  Depending on timing, I was planning to use one direction of this trip to satisfy the long cross-country requirement for the commercial certificate.  This requires the pilot to be the sole occupant of the aircraft, for there to be at least three points of landing, and the straight-line distance between two of those points has to be at least 250 nautical miles.  I have a number of flights where I am missing just one of these requirements, including this one where the straight line distance between KPWK and KISZ was 239 nm (GRRR). In this case, though I was planning to just jog south and then to destination. 

Well, except for the weather.  Since I had been watching the forecasts all week, it was no great shock to me on Friday morning that I was going to be driving.  DuPage was IFR and raining, but flyable.  Burke was forecast to have winds 20 gusting 35 from 70 degrees off the runway.  In case that was not enough, a very long and wicked line of thunderstorms and other convective nastiness was strung from Kentucky to Canada.  I flew the Sonata instead.

You mentioned Commercial?

Yes, yes I did. 
Always more to learn...
If you've used Gleim, you know that you'll be doing a lot of reading.  I finished the ground school months ago, and passed the written exam with a 95%.  Acceptable, but the perfectionist in me is not satisfied.  Chris over at Photographic Logbook totally understands, I'm sure.  

On to the flying.  This is coming along, and though surprisingly weather has not been a factor in my training, life and travel have.  Between work, travel in the summer with the family, and my instructor off to OSH, this has gone more slowly than I would have liked.  I have done all of the maneuvers, and it's now just about tightening to PTS.  Oh, and there are a few cross countries that have to be wrapped up.  And, I think one more solo night landing at a controlled airfield.  That last part just floors me... what difference does it make, anyway?  I think it's harder at uncontrolled fields to be honest.  

I did have a mock check ride, and the oral was actually relatively strong.  A few areas for me to work on include better understanding of the controllable pitch propeller, better presentation of information overall, and high altitude operations (beyond the Ox regulations).  Flying?  Well, it was ok.  Actually, it was about what I expected.  The navigation portion was actually pretty good, but some maneuvers - maneuvers that I had not performed for awhile - were not really there.

The owner of the school where I'm training really questioned me about why I'd transition to and fly the 182-RG that they have on the line when I have access to a perfectly good Piper Arrow (in which I have just shy of 100 hours in type).  Apparently the retractable Skylane is a PITA to land, and even the very experienced chief pilot informed me that it took him a solid 50 hours before he felt comfortable landing it.  Hmmm... and I need to be down in 100-200 feet of the agreed touchdown spot?  So, I took our club's Arrow to a nearby uncontrolled field and performed all the performance take offs and landings and 180 degree power off, and I'd say that it all seemed to be within PTS or darn close.  I guess when I said that I could get in the Arrow that day and be pretty close I was not really blowing smoke.  I think a few more hours of practice with these maneuvers will be sufficient. 

Have I mentioned that Skip at Skill Aviation is a very honest guy, and if you're in the Chicago area and considering training then you should talk with him.  He has been quite generous to me with his time and knowledge.  It says something when a person makes a recommendation clearly not in line with his financial interests.  

So, what's left?

- Tighten up all maneuvers
- Day VFR XC with instructor on board (at least 100 miles between two landing points)
- Night VFR XC with instructor on board (at least 100 miles between two landing points)
- Long solo XC as detailed above.  Sigh.  Would have been nice to knock that out last weekend.  
- 1 more solo night landing at a controlled field.  
- Study for the oral.  

I hope to have this wrapped up by the end of the year, but we will see.  It's not like I'm up against it for a BFR or anything or that a job depends on it.