AOPA Fly-In at Indianapolis

So, Where Have You Been?

Sad... it's been about three months since I've rolled through these parts, with my last post being a brief one regarding pilot mental health.  Really, one should go to the article to which I linked and review some of the comments that were left.  As a clinical psychologist with specialized interest in working with men in therapy, I have heard just about all of that before.  It still bothers me, though. 

I have not had much to write about recently.  We will not soon forget the horrific winter we had that seemed to never want to end, which resulted in quite a few scrubbed missions.  I even had to cancel a flight for practice approaches and other fun at the beginning of May because of an icing threat at 2000 feet MSL.  Really?  In May?  As of this writing I have a whopping 26.9 hours for the year, with 4.3 of that coming within the last few days.  Most of what I have been able to do has been fun, but not really qualifying as adventure or anything like that.  

Off to Hoosier-land

I have been looking forward to the AOPA Fly-In in Indianapolis since these were announced months ago.  I have had a plane reserved for months to make sure that I had a seat for some stick time for this event.  I have wanted to partake in the fly-in experience for some time, and this provided a great opportunity.  I was one of the major instigators for a club fly-out to the event, though our fleet was rather small this time as illness, unexpected commitments, and the "NOTAM-W" (W for "wife" - a dreadful combination of AIRMETs Tango and Zulu coupled with communication malfunctions) for at least one member left us with just one club plane going and another member flying down in his own plane. 

Based on experience and comfort, it was decided that I would fly from DuPage (KDPA) to Indianapolis Regional (KMQJ).  I was jazzed, and preparations commenced.  

Flight Planning, Preparation, and Getting Night Current

AOPA released a NOTAM and other instructions, and both my flying partner and I put the waypoints in ForeFlight to ease our transition through the airspace.  We both had studied the published procedures so that we were not caught off guard by any instructions we were given.  It unsurprisingly amazing just how much easier the whole thing is when you know what to expect.  Despite these preparations, I still filed an IFR flight plan.  As we will see later, this was rather moot.  

As part of the preparations, I needed to get night current.  My flying partner for the Fly-In is not instrument rated, and though we expected very nice weather and his flying the route back, one just never can be too prepared.  I had several flights where my currency would have been updated get canceled due to weather, and thus my currency lapsed.  Even Tuesday before the flight out we got Thunderstorm threats and IFR conditions.  The man I was to fly with is instrument rated... in helicopters.  But the weather was poor and neither of us likes to fly in thunderstorms, we scrubbed.  That left flying Friday night before leaving Saturday morning.

Val and I hopped in our club's Archer N41598 and he flew us over to Rochelle (KRPJ), where we enjoyed a nice dinner and conversation about life, the club, flying and whatever.  We had never flown together before or had much time to talk, so it was nice.  I was particularly interested in his experiences flying helicopters in the military.  After sunset, Val headed out to the plane and took three laps around the patch to reinstate his own night currency.

After he shut down, we switched places (him the bench outside the FBO, and me the left seat).  I then took my own three laps.  As I turned final for runway 7, I noticed one of the things I really hate about landing at night at small airports... the dreaded black hole illusion.  I really dislike that feeling and the inability to judge distance from the ground.  There is no visual glide slope at RPJ, which of course exacerbates the problem.  There is an LPV RNAV procedure, but I don't think I was going out far enough to pick up its glideslope either.  That means I have a tendency to come in high, which of course is better than the alternative.  Lesson #1 from my first attempt: how about a flare?  I rounded out but landed flat and with a lot more feeling than I would have preferred (hard enough to wonder how many bolts I shook loose).  

I thought that over as I back-taxied on 7 (there are no taxiways at Rochelle), and reconfigured the plane for my next attempt.  Lap number 2 went much more smoothly as I flared over the numbers and on the mains just like the plane prefers.  Lap number 3 was similarly pretty good.  After taxiing over to pick up Val, we headed back for DuPage.  Landing number 4 for the evening was a bit long, but still passable and no bolts were shaken loose.  

The time was now 10:30 pm, and I had to be back at the airport at 6:30 am to leave for Indianapolis.  With an hour-plus drive each way, I had already rented a hotel room so that I was better rested for the day.  

Off to Indianapolis...

The next morning, Stan and I met and prepared our Archer for departure (see what I did there... I promise I did it without planning).  He was wondering why someone left their Halos in the plane.  "Because I knew I was going to be flying it again this morning" was my answer.  A good chuckle.  As with the previous evening, this was the first time I have ever flown with Stan.  It was another good chance to expand my relationships with members of the club and add to my list of flying buddies. 

I had filed EON then direct, but I got a mostly reasonable clearance of EARND ELANR EMMLY JAKKS VHP then direct.  I say mostly because the Brickyard VOR (VHP) is on the west side of Indianapolis near.. you guessed it, the Speedway.  We were cleared for takeoff and on a 180 heading for quite a while, then we were cleared direct JAKKS.  I was hearing a lot of that intersection, and it became clear that this was just how Indy Approach was routing everyone in.  

As we flew south of Lafayette (KLAF), Grissom Approach informed us that they were no longer accepting traffic at MQJ because it was full.  We advised Grissom that we wanted to go to our planned alternate Indianapolis Metropolitan (KUMP).  We were then advised that no IFR traffic was being accepted into this airport unless it had been previously filed.  Rather than arguing that it was my planned alternate, we canceled IFR and asked for flight following in.  Stan and I got to work on devising an alternate alternate since it seemed from what the controller was saying that we could have a hard time getting to UMP.   There were a few other machinations here, but the short version is that it was not that the field was full but that something apparently happened and that the holding patterns got stacked up.  By the time we arrived at Morse Reservoir, things had cleared up and we could still get to Indy Regional.  

Traffic was NUTS.  There were a lot of planes, one had to be very quick on the radio to get a word in, but the controllers at Indianapolis Approach all deserve a big raise.  They handled some craziness like champs.  The VFR procedure was well planned, worked pretty well in my view, and touchdown on runway 7 was pretty smooth.  With the guidance of the volunteers, we got ourselves to a parking spot along the taxiway parallel to 16/34.  

A Brief Public Service Announcement

My fellow aviators, can we please talk about radio discipline for just a minute?  Seriously, some of the things I heard yesterday really bothered me.  Of course we hear these things all the time, but I think for me hearing them all repeatedly and in such a compressed time it really got my goat.  

First, where specifically in the Pilot/Controller Glossary do we find such entries as "Tally ho" and "Here we go?"  While I am not the radio master and I surely could be more "correct," these phrases are confusing and honestly make you sound like a cowboy.  I don't want to share airspace with cowboys.  I realize that this is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition to earn the label of cowboy, but I have found it to be a pretty reliable indicator.  

Second, read the damn NOTAM.  There was at least one person who clearly did not know what he was doing.  He was insisting to go direct MQJ, but the controller sternly informed him that this was not going to happen.  When asked if he had read the NOTAM and procedures, he insisted that he had.  Based on the questions this pilot was asking, the controller clearly did not believe him.  I didn't either.  

Third, if you are going around for the third time and you've decided that you've had enough, by all means state your intention to depart and how you're going to do that.  But do not give us a commentary on the CTAF about how dangerous it is.  Based on what I was hearing on the radio, part of the problem might have been poor separation at times (which might not be that particular pilot's fault).  There was also a disabled aircraft off the south side of the runway, which was plenty clear but may have made some people nervous. 

Speaking of poor separation, do not push pilots to depart sooner than they are comfortable given the traffic situation.  More on that in a minute.  

I hope that some of these pilots went to the radio communications safety seminar that was given by some folks from the Air Safety Institute.  

A Few Words About the Fly-In

I'm bad.  I partook of very little of the offerings.  I did walk around the exhibits where I ran into an instructor who flew with me a few times during my private training.  He is now a jet jockey and is preparing to go to "Phenom school" in a week or so (jealous a bit).  It was nice to catch up with him and get a glimpse of the Eclipse he was showing off .  He told me that they have a hard time keeping pilots, and that anyone with ATP minimums would get strong consideration for a position. 

I also had a chat with a friend from college that is involved in maintaining a Harpoon.  It was nice to see him and talk about how things have been for us since college.  We know about each other's doing from social media, but in person is always better.  

Our club president and I attended a seminar given by Mark Epner, who is president and one of the founders of Leading Edge Flying Club at KPWK.  He gave a very nice presentation on how LEFC does things, and they have a very strong membership at an airport where AvGas is very expensive.  Yet they make it work and have aircraft that have a lot of the gizmos that I appreciate as a pilot.  I seriously considered joining them when I was shopping for a club.  Both of us got some very good ideas to help us think about things regarding our flying club and how we can work to make it stronger. 

The airshow was interesting if brief.  Plus EAA had their B-17 there and people were getting flights.  I showed a picture to my daughter, and she smiled big as she remembered our visit to the bomber as well.

We did not get there in time for the breakfast I paid for, but we did get lunch with a HUGE pork tenderloin.  I've never had one of these outside of the Hoosier state, but I'm sure they exist other places.  

Departing

It was time to depart, and Stan and I headed over to the plane to make our way out of there.  It was his turn to fly and I would help out as he asked.  We had already decided that I would request flight following at the appropriate time.  Of course, there was a line to depart.  One of the most frustrating things about this was the pressure that pilots were exerting on each other to hurry up and take off.  Someone claiming to be a CFI stated that this was pilot controlled, that there was no hold-short line and that multiple aircraft could be on the runway at the same time.  So, as one plane began the takeoff roll, another would taxi into position and follow.  At times, the separation was well under 1000 feet.  Feeling this pressure but not flying, I said to Stan that he should start his takeoff roll when he felt it to be safe and appropriate and not a minute before - no matter what others are saying.  I don't know if what that CFI was saying was accurate, but legal is not always the same as safe.  

I confess to really watching that all checklist items were done because it was a higher pressure situation, and having two people checking things out couldn't hurt.  I know that Stan appreciated this, and had I been flying I would have as well.  As one might imagine, the traffic advisory was going crazy.  We had a plane pass underneath us; I can only assume he departed right behind us and passed underneath to get by us.  Really?  

As we crossed pattern altitude and got a little ways from the airport, I called Indy Approach to request flight following.  Unfortunately, we got dropped with the handoff to Grissom.  Then Grissom dropped us instead of handing us off to Chicago Center.  Approach never accepts VFR flight following hand offs, so that was expected.  I don't know what was going on, except that apparently workload did not allow for coordination between sectors.  

The flight back was a bit more bumpy, but all in all things went well.  We made it back to DuPage and Stan got us on the ground safety even in the face of some interesting winds.  

Final Thoughts and Milestone

This was a great time.  We had a lot of good flying that was full of challenges that were handled competently, saw some interesting things and otherwise just had a good time.  The three of us from the club who were there spent a lot time discussing flying,  the club and life in general.  I also enjoyed getting to know members with whom I have had very little interaction.  

I also hit an aviation milestone.  When I shut the engine down at MQJ, I hit the 300 hour mark... literally.  I have exactly 300.0 hours, with 239.9 PIC.  Once I cross 250 hours PIC, I hope to get connected with Lifeline Pilots down in Peoria to do some charity flying for those needing non-emergency medical transport.   That will be another great excuse to fly.

The Flying Shrink and N41598 pose for a picture at KMQJ before we departed

Out to Pasture - The Chanute Air Museum

I have been looking forward to the chance to take a flight down to Rantoul, Illinois (KTIP) in order to visit the Chanute Air Museum.  This airport was the site of Chanute Air Force Base from 1917 to 1993, and the museum memorializes the history of the base and the city.  Most interesting to me, it has a number of military aircraft (and even a few nuclear missile silos!) on display.  While it was fascinating to learn about all that the museum has to offer, it was also disheartening to see all the aircraft that had clearly seen better days.  Faded paint, corrosion, flattened tires, bird deterrents, and painted glass to protect the cockpits corrupted planes that were far from their prime.  To the staff's credit, there are active efforts to restore these planes so that they can be seen in their former glory.

However, this P-51 Mustang was absolutely awesome!  There was no one to ask if this aircraft was airworthy, but she sure is beautiful.

This F-4 Phantom II peaked my interest as my father was a mechanic on these while serving in the Marines in Vietnam (although this is the Air Force version).  He does not tell many stories about the war itself (common amongst veterans, as it turns out), but he does talk about the thrill of running one of these bad boys up to make sure that everything was operating properly after maintenance.  He also mentioned a few shenanigans about "re-assigning" parts from Navy planes.  

This F-15 is in need of some restoration, but I remember dreaming about flying one of these or an F-14 Tom Cat (thanks, Top Gun) when I was about 12.  Honestly, I still do.

The museum also has a T-6 Texan and a B-25 Mitchell Bomber that are in the midst of restoration, a Skymaster, a number of other fighters,  a C-130, many other vintage aircraft, and even a room full of old Frasca simulators.  The entire list can be viewed here, thought honestly I don't recall seeing all of these aircraft.  Makes me wonder if I missed part of of the museum.  Eh, guess I'll just have to go back. 

Over the City and Above the Woods

I was accompanied on this flight by my mother, who flew with me several months ago along the Chicago shoreline.  This day we would be flying in that Diamond Star DA-40 that I wrote about a few weeks ago.   I initially planned to take the school's G1000-equipped Skyhawk since I knew that she could get in and out with little problem (and I have around 70 hours in type), but because of bad weather Thursday morning it did not fly and thus had too much fuel on board.  I really need to work on my contribution to weight and balance.

I picked up my IFR clearance: cleared from Waukegan (KUGN) to Rantoul (KTIP) via vectors JORJO - BACEN - BLOKR - RBS - DIRECT.  Some of these are points on the JORJO1.RBS departure procedure.  This took us over the metropolitan Chicago area just west of O'Hare (KORD).  We saw plenty of aircraft coming and going from KORD and KMDW.  

Departing runway 5, I was turned on headings that essentially took me along the shore line of Lake Michigan until I was turned southwest.  Before long, we had broken through the clouds and were skimming along at 7000.  This was the first time my mother had the experience of going through clouds and being essentially VFR on top (except that there were more clouds and the overcast layer hardly made for a good horizon).  

As we began our descent into Rantoul, we had to fly an approach in order to come down through the scattered to broken layer.  Smooth sailing and a very gentle touchdown on runway 18 earned some accolades from the very satisfied passenger.  

Great Hosts

The folks at KTIP were great.  They set us up in a courtesy car, and suggested a nice little home-cookin' Mexican place called Sol Azteca.  The food was very good; seemed very authentic, tasty, fast and very reasonably priced.  I'd highly recommend checking this place out if you are out that way.  

After lunch and visiting the museum, we needed to spend a little time at the FBO while we waited out some storms that were passing through the Chicago area.  Soon, we were off and on our way back to UGN... maybe.  

The Pink Dot

Picking up my IFR clearance, we were cleared to KUGN via PNT - PLANO - OBK - DIRECT.  We had more time above and through the clouds as we motored along at 8000 MSL.  Based on my weather check at the FBO, I knew that I was going to need to fly an approach into Waukegan, and that I'd expect Runway 5.  I was all set up for that and briefing the approach by the time I crossed PLANO, and as I checked the ForeFlight weather from the Stratus I see the... dreaded... pink... dot.  UGN had gone LIFR due to fog with 200 foot overcast  However, I was flying a non-WAAS aircraft and there is only an RNAV approach into runway 5.  There was no point in flying this approach as the non-precision minimums were far higher than the weather.

I began considering my options when ATC advised me that two jets had just gone missed from KUGN.  Having checked the weather at other reporting stations, I decided to fly the ILS 16 approach into Chicago Executive (KPWK).  Although I had only flown this particular approach in a simulator, I am very familiar with this airport since I did my private training primarily from this location.  My approach and landing were quite solid, and we taxied to Signature and shut down to enjoy their very comfortable accommodations while I sorted out what I was going to do next.    

Deliberation

Sitting on the ground at PWK, I started to review options.  The organization from which I had rented this plane recently stopped operations at PWK, so this removed one option.  It was a 45 minute cab ride home, and I could have taken my wife's car and my mother to retrieve my car from UGN.  I finally got a hold of the owner of the school, who said that he had just come in not long ago on the ILS 23 approach with a slight tailwind but no problems, except that it was right down to minimums.  "Do you think you can do it?"  

I thought this over for 20 minutes, and decided that the two-axis autopilot that I had been using all day because of my low time in the plane could fly the approach - it didn't know it was dark and down to minimums, after all.  Though I had hand-flown the other two approaches, this seemed to be the time to allow the computer to earn its keep. 

Earning a Manhattan

We loaded up in the Diamond Star and were cleared vectors to UGN.  I briefed the approach on the ground because it is a VERY short flight (it was all of 16 minutes according to my track at Flight Aware), and I just wanted to hit the highlights for review in the air.  I had everything loaded up and ready to go when I was cleared for takeoff.  

I was a bit worried because PWK had been marginal VFR and then went IFR with a 600 foot overcast as I was preparing to leave.  There was a guy who really wanted to depart VFR to the east out over the lake, and the controllers were really trying to talk him out of it.  I hope they did because that would have been pretty high risk.  But I hoped that these changes did not reflect further deterioration at my hoped-for destination.  

Here was the METAR from my weather briefing: 

KUGN 042252Z 02004KT 4SM BR OVC002 18/18 A2996 RMK AO2 SLP138 P0001 T01780178

Now doesn't that look like fun?  I know some of you are jealous.  

As I am passed off to the departure controller, it occurs to me that I am flying in pretty solid IMC in the dark and flying my first night approach in actual IMC (although I have flown quite a few approaches to minimums in simulated conditions during night flight).  I saw myself as focused, but my mother informs me that she knew I was a bit nervous.  She was thrilled by the whole thing and really enjoyed the entire day of flying, but I had to tell her that I was pretty focused and needed a sterile cockpit until we were on the ground.  She understood and was quiet.  

"419AM, turn left heading 260 to intercept the localizer.  Cleared ILS 23 approach, maintain 2500 until established."  It's on, and I'm in the soup past my eyeballs.  Two miles from the final approach fix, I am passed off to tower and am cleared to land.  I peak up and see only clouds through the windscreen, but I am on path and glideslope, but a bit fast.  

Descending through 1600 for 930, I am able to see the ground.  At 1100, I am very happy break out and see the runway.  The controller then states that "things are clearing here if you'd like to circle to land on runway 5, that's approved."  Was this guy crazy?  It was pitch black out, I just broke out and he thinks I might like to circle to land.  Umm... no.  I'll take that five knot tailwind when I have a plane that can be stopped in well under 1500 feet and I have 6000 feet of runway.  "9-Alpha-Mike will stay with 23."  

Although I floated a bit because I was a bit fast, I had my third gentle and on-centerline touchdown of the day.  "Oh, yeah!" I failed to mention to my mother that this was the first time I had flown an approach at night in actual instrument conditions.  I did offer to send her home in a cab and I'd go by myself, but she insisted on going with me.  However, she claims to have not been worried the whole time.

Reflections

I have to say that I would have been far less anxious had I been flying my club's Arrow or Archer because I am so much more familiar and comfortable in them. The only part of the flight I've really spent time reflecting on was my decision to fly the short flight and approach into Waukegan.  It worked out well, and the flight was never in any risk beyond the typical risks of flying in these conditions.  But was we know, night IFR is the riskiest flight in which most GA pilots will ever engage.  Add to this that I was flying a pretty new-to-me aircraft and I had a passenger, and it seems that it was "pretty interesting" to say the least.  

However, I had been using the auto pilot all day because I was not yet totally confident in my ability to hold altitude solid in this plane.  I always use it while briefing an approach or doing some other task with high cognitive demands.  So although I prefer to hand fly most of the time, this last flight was not the time to decide to give it a go (although as I mentioned above I hand-flew the other two approaches).  It obviously worked out just fine, and fortunately I was overall pretty well practiced in approaches and night current.