Monday, October 4, 2010

Skyhawk Solo

Flew a bit on Saturday. Took the Skyhawk up and flew around Solberg for a bit - mostly just patternwork, but I also took it on a trip around Round Valley Reservoir, just to play around with the procedure for leaning the mixture. Let's face it: using an Exhaust Gas Temperature gauge is very different than how you lean a 152 (which has no EGT gauge).

Anyway, that flight gave me a little more insight into how the plane handles. I've only ever flown in a Skyhawk with an instructor before, which is great, but half the time I'm busy listening to what "that guy in the right seat" is telling me. That means I'm not spending as much time listening to what the plane is telling me.

What'd the plane tell me on Saturday? That it's used to carrying a heavier load!

See, I think I overshot pattern altitude just about every time I went around the pattern - that plane just wanted to keep climbing. Then, on base, what seemed like a reasonable distance to turn final always, without fail, was too close and I was too high. Plus, because of that darn placard next to the flap switch ("Avoid slips with flaps extended"), I was afraid to slip to get the plane down (checked the manual when I got home -- turns out the reason to avoid slips is because it can cause elevator oscillations. But the slips aren't prohibited, so that tool's still in the kit)!

Consequently, my landings were not nearly as precise as I wanted them to be. More practice is needed.

But it was a beautiful day, with a little bit of wind to practice in, and I felt really good about the day overall. Part of that may be related to the fact that it was my first solo flight in a very, very long time. That was a big confidence-booster.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

To go or not to go? That is the question...

So I joined a flying club not too long ago. Took my orientation flight last week - had a great flight, despite having very few hours in a Cessna 172 (and none in a 172SP). Oh, and it's been a long time since I flew a plane with an electrical system, so dealing with the new plane, the radios, the avionics, and an instructor talking to me about this and that the whole time... well, it felt a little overwhelming. But still, I had a great time, it was a successful flight, and the instructor was great.

So I put myself on the schedule for today - this afternoon, from 1400-1700 - to do some more practice and get used to the plane.

Got to the airport and it was pretty windy. As in, the windsock couldn't decide whether it wanted to stand straight out, or just at about a 45 degree angle with the ground. About the only thing it seemed sure of was that it really wanted to point straight across the runway.

Now, in my primary instruction, I remember an instructor telling me that a windsock standing straight out means you have about 15 knots of wind. Whether that's at all accurate or not, I can't really say for sure, but it seems like a reasonable benchmark. So I can say that today had at least 8-10 knots of direct crosswind, with gusts closer to 15. I also remember from my primary instruction (and from reading the plane's manual) that while a Cessna 172 has a maximum demonstrated crosswind capability of about 15 knots, I have a maximum demonstrated crosswind capability of closer to 8. Maybe higher... I'm sure I've improved a great deal, but I'm still not the most comfortable with my crosswind technique.

So, the decision: go or no-go? While debating, I even stood there and watched a couple other planes flying around. A Diamond DA20 was taxing by, and I watched them hold short of the runway while another plane came in (some manner of Cherokee, I think...?). Yep, sure enough, both planes were having to crab an awful lot, and both the landing and the takeoff were pretty unsteady. That pretty well sealed the decision in my mind.

So here was my thinking:

1) Other planes - with pilots who are (probably) far more experienced than I - are flying, but it's kind of rough.
2) That crosswind is a little stiff for my own personal limits.
3) While pushing my own personal limits is not necessarily a bad thing, and yes, I probably could have handled it...
4) I really don't want to bend the bird. Ever. But especially not with me being so new to the club.
5) Old adages come to mind: "It's better to be on the ground, wishing you were in the air than it is to be in the air, wishing you were on the ground."

So in the end, I think it was a good decision. Do I regret not flying? You bet I do - I always do. But I'd rather rue the decision to NOT fly than to rue the decision to go flying in conditions that may be just beyond my ability. And I'm okay with that.

Monday, August 30, 2010

I'm Back...?

Well, it surely has been a while. And I still don't have a lot to say. Guess that's why this has fallen by the wayside. But no worries - nobody reads this anyway. If anyone ever did, they surely gave up on it long ago, despairing of ever seeing another post again.

Well, joke's on you, doubters... maybe.

Anyway, here's the skinny:

I got my license. I met up with an old friend from college. She turned out to be more than a friend. I moved to New (Freaking) Jersey with her. I was unemployed for months. I landed a job helping to replace the state's aging child support software system. I got promoted. I worked as a Business Analyst. I got another job as a BA with another company. The new job's in Delaware.

Somewhere in the middle there, I started flying again (a bit at a time), and even went so far as to get a tailwheel certificate up at Andover Flight Academy. My new profile picture was taken a few weeks ago, when I took a lesson in their beautifully-restored Stearman. That was a ride, let me tell you!

I'll have to try to fill in the gaps of some of my flights and other travels as we go here, because there are some stories worth telling in there. For the most part, my life's fairly dull, but once in a while, I surprise even myself.

The most recent flying-related event in my life was that I joined a flying club: Blue Sky Aviation Association. That should open up some more flying opportunities for me, and some more stories to share.

Happy flying!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Studying

Wow. I haven't had to study for stuff like this since... well, college, really. That was quite a while ago... I'm coming up on four years out in the "real world."

Yeah, I haven't flown in a while. It's because I'm trying to study for the final exams. I honestly don't even know what else is required by the club, but I guess I'll find out.

I wish I had more to say, but I really don't. Trombone Troupe and the Ithaca Community Orchestra have started up again. That's about all that's going on in my life lately. Yeah, I'm boring. Sigh.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Oh, Dear...

Yup.

So today's frustration of a student pilot is that I'm all set to do my studying and get ready for my review flights, and I can't find time to DO any of it. I'm still full time at work, and the past two nights have been taken up by Red Cross trainings. This past weekend was pretty much devoted to family, since my sister had her birthday and my grandmother from Tennessee was visiting. So when the heck do I have time for the studying?

And let's be honest - given the choice of studying or games... :-[

But anyway, it was a great visit with the family. I went up to visit my sister on Thursday night, because she was hosting us all for supper, and then they all came down here on Sunday afternoon for supper (we went out. I don't want to subject my family to my cooking!). We even got my cousin at Cornell into the party on Sunday - and she's from my mom's side of the family; the grandma in question is my dad's mother. Good sport, that cousin o' mine. Then again, she got supper at ZaZa's out of the deal!

I have such mixed feelings about the Red Cross. I love the opportunities to help people who've been hit by disasters, yet when I'm on-call, I dread getting called. I love the kind of work we do, but sometimes the people I work with drive me nuts. The classes I just took are great cases in point. Monday night was "Fulfilling Our Mission" (there's some subtitle there about "Translating Your Compassion Into Effective Community Action" or some such dumb, let's-use-way-more-words-than-we-need-to title). I liked the old title better: "Intro to Disaster Services." It said what the class was about. Anyway, National Headquarters decided that the old course was too old, so they're making us take this new one. Waste of time, if you ask me. The second class, last night, was on the new Client Assistance Cards (CACs. Yes, "cacks." I don't name 'em) - basically a debit card the Red Cross gives clients now, instead of paper disbursing orders. Better class, but more annoying classmates.

I apologize to any of my classmates that may read this, but it is absolutely infuriating to hear so many questions asked on a topic that THE CLASS IS DESIGNED TO ANSWER ANYWAY. If they just had the patience or presence of mind to WAIT FOR THE COURSE TO EXPLAIN, they might find that their question will be answered. Seems like I learned that concept... oh, in about kindergarten. But that's just me. Another concept I learned that it seems the other folks in this class missed was that if you actually pay attention, you might learn something ("You can observe a lot by watching" -Yogi Berra). I was amazed at how often people asked a question that was just answered. Sigh.

Well, anyway, now I'm trained in how to translate my compassion into community action or whatever. Problem is, my compassion was wearing pretty thin at the end of last night.

Haven't been doing any flying (other than simulated), either - and that's probably got me a little cranky. I was reflecting on this a while back - it doesn't matter how bad my day goes if I've flown. If I've gone flying - even just patternwork or whatever - it's a good day. I need to get myself up there again, apparently!

In other news, I'm seriously trying to plan out how to spend my vacation time. I have two weeks to use up, and I'm thinking I'll use 'em like this: rent a car. Drive across the country to a flight school I'm seriously considering. Take some introductory lessons. Sit in on a couple classes, maybe. Drive home by a different route. Take lots and lots of pictures.

I think I'm up for a nice, long road trip. It would probably be cheaper to fly it, but what the hell? This sounds like a whole lot more fun. What kinda car should I rent, d'ya think?

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Good News/Bad News. Good News First.

Good times this weekend... met by one hell of a heavy day yesterday.

Friday, the club had a "Tailwheel Barbecue" at a member's place. He's got his own grass strip, which is pretty awesome, I have to say. So anyway, anyone who had a taildragger was invited to fly in... although, I'm not tailwheel certified (haven't ever even SAT in one!), nor were there any seats left available, so I drove over. Kinda glad I did - everyone that flew in had to fly out in a hurry because we got hit by a pretty nasty storm. According to one of the pilots, by the time he got back to KITH, he was fighting 40-knot winds! Not my idea of a fun flight, thanks - in that Citabria he was flying, that's almost flying BACKWARDS on final!

The barbecue itself was pretty fun. Wander around, look at planes, eat yummy food, and chat with other pilots. Score!

Saturday, I did some patternwork, just to keep the skills up (and my solo currency!). Then, that night, I had a gig in Elmira with Ageless, so that's one more thing to keep me busy.

Sunday... well, most of Sunday I frittered away reading or playing games, but then I realized that the weather was clearing. So I called up the Club and booked my night cross-country! Woo! One more step closer to that elusive certificate!

We took off a little before 10pm and headed for Sodus (KSDC), where we did a stop-n-go, then off to Syracuse (KSYR) for a touch-n-go (with accelerated approach, which was a new thing for me), then back home. Sodus is a little strip in the woods, it seems. I mean, there's neighborhoods you fly over on base and final, but for the most part, there's not much around. Syracuse, however, is a pretty good-sized town, and very brightly lit. Sodus was fairly easy to find - turn the lights up (pilot controlled lighting - yay!), and it's the only bright spot around. Syracuse was easy to lose amid all the lights of the city. Crazy.

Best part of the flight: looking down at a traffic jam on I-81 and being able to go, "Nyah-nyah!"

:-D

Well, we didn't get back until 11:30ish, so I wasn't out of there before midnight. Home at 12:30, shower, and bed by 1, to get up at 7 for work. Okay, 7:40. I overslept. Anyway, got to work, and our accountant was the next one in. He came in, and as he's pouring his coffee, he tells me about a member of our congregation who died on Saturday. She was 77, in great health, and always very energetic and cheerful. Died very suddenly and VERY unexpectedly. That was a bit of a blow, I have to say.

This was a lady who, when she learned I was leaving the youth ministry here, asked where I was going next. At the time, I'd been thinking grad school for music, but I'd just changed my mind and decided I'd go to flight school. So I told her as much. Her eyes got huge, and I could tell she was thinking, "Flight school? Why? You have so much potential in music, and I thought that's what you really wanted to do!" (which is what a lot of people say/think/think-I-don't-know-they're-thinking when they find out). But as I explained it to her - that this was a lifelong dream that I finally had an opportunity to pursue - she was immediately supportive. Every time I saw her after that, she would ask me how flying was going, where I was in the training, how much longer I expected it to take, and - most importantly - was I still loving it. She always showed a great deal of interest in it, and was supportive. I don't think she ever knew it, but I really, really appreciated that from her.

Bill, our assistant custodian here, grew up in this church and knew this lady all his life. He was a real hellion as a kid, always causing or getting into trouble. His comment on this lady was (and I'm paraphrasing here), "As a kid, everyone was always pretty down on me. I caused a lot of trouble, so they were always upset or yelling or whatever. Somehow, she always had something nice to say about or to me."

Bill suggested we all go in on a brick for the memorial garden outside the church that has her name and the phrase "Life done right."

I'm in. She'll be missed.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

'Nother Update. Just 'cuz.

Okay, this working full-time thing is kind of a drag. How do so many people DO it?

At least I'm done at the liquor store for now. I'm all caught up, which means I can head for home ("HEAD FOR THE HILL!" Heh. For some reason, I found that very funny just now...) at 4:30 instead of 9. Nice switch.

I was about to complain about how I still have to get up early to be at work, but that means only getting up around 6:30 or 7 - and I can already hear any teacher that reads this: "That's sleeping IN, man!" So I'll avoid complaining.

Actually, I was thinking about life in general today, and I realized that for all my complaints, I actually have a really damn good life. I have a comfy, safe, affordable apartment to live in. I have a job that pays enough for me to live - and honestly, there's a good deal of slow time at work where I just surf the web or play games or whatever. The work I do is of benefit to the people at the church. It can be challenging, but it's never impossible. I get to pursue my dream of flying, and it's oh-so-close. My whole future is ahead of me, and to be honest - it's lookin' good. :-)

So where am I in flying now? Well, I'm still waiting for that night cross-country, and we've got some maintenence issues. One plane just got back from inspection or overhaul or something, and they started out on a night trip, only to get some engine roughness (not a happy thing!), so they landed the plane in Sodus, NY and caught a ride home. That one's now back in for repairs. The other plane, as far as I know, is still unflyable at night because of burned-out lights. Boo. Oh, well... I'll get that flight in eventually. In the meantime, I should just try to get some practice in to keep my skills sharp.

Okay - rented another movie last night: 300. Woah. I'd stand by a review I saw that said, "It was the manliest movie ever made. It's like, 100% man," if not for all the... uh... woman-parts. Yeah. That's a safe way to put it. But anyway, BADass flick. I'ma prolly buy it. While I'm at it, I'll pick up Peaceful Warrior. How's that for a range of interest?