Big Country Flying

Confidence Restored

2007-03-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

My brother is visiting us in San Diego this weekend, so I decided to take him up to KCNO to see the Planes of Fame museum and grab some lunch at Flo's. After my last flight, my confidence was a bit shot, so I approached this flight very methodically.

Since neither my brother or I are small guys, I had gone to the airport Friday night and run the weight and balance on the plane (a Cessna 172 with the 180HP engine). We were fine on max gross, but very very close to the front edge of the envelope for balance. Very close. So, I decided to put some ballast in the plane. I put about 60 lbs of water (the cheap 2.5gal drinking kind you buy at the store) in the trunk and that moved us comfortably inside the evelope.

As we arrived at the airport Saturday morning, some low clouds and haze were still hanging around, so we took our time doing the preflight. We finished up just as the skies cleared, copied the ATIS, then called MYF ground requesting the northbound departure with Miramar Class B transition.

This is a very interesting departure.

The San Diego airspace is very crowded with Class B. MYF and sits inside a corridor under a 4800MSL shelf, with more restrictive class B north (for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, KNKX) and south (for Lindbergh KSAN). You normally have to depart the airport eastbound staying under the shelf or westbound under an 1800MSL shelf and over the water, then pick your way around the Class B to get going in the correct direction. If you are heading up the inner valley, this is a significant deviation from DIRECT TO, so it takes a few minutes. However, the controllers around here are very friendly and will often let you transition the Class B.

The normal eastbound and westbound departures, shown in red below, are mostly flown from 28R, with 28L being used for closed pattern, small plane arrivals, and some departures. The Miramar transition, shown in green, is normally flown from 28L. I normally request the Miramar transition on ground control when I call for taxi so that they give me 28L and to allow them time to set up the transition. As I was taxiing, ground control passed me my clearance: "Cleared into the San Diego Miramar Class B airspace, upon departure make a climbing left 270 overhead the field, cross Hwy 52 at or above 2700, upon frequency change contact Miramar tower on 135.2."
This transition is easy to fly, saves you 10 minutes or so of deviations, and sets you up for flight following.

Departure was normal, executed the transition, picked up flight following, and we were on our way to CNO. With the large number of aircraft up Saturday and the haze cutting into visibility, the traffic calls from SOCAL were invaluable. The flight up to CNO was uneventful with the exception of having trouble finding the airport visually due to haze. A timely vector from the tower controller set us up on a base leg for 26R and a decent landing followed.

After a visit to the museum and some Patty Melts at Flo's, we loaded up the steed and launched for home. Once we were stable on altitude and once again under the watchful eye of the wonderful SOCAL controllers, I let my brother follow me on the yoke for a while to demonstrate how the plane maneuvered.

We were given another Class B transition over Miramar, but they held us at 3500MSL (3000AGL) until we were almost on top of the airport. The controllers flew me overhead MYF while descending and fly an extended left downwind for 26L to stabilize my approach. I came in with airspeed right on the mark, slightly high on the glideslope, on centerline, and with some timely power adjustments managed to put the wheels down at the top of the numbers with one of those greasers that makes you wonder whether, in fact, you have landed or are still flying. Just goes to prove it's better to be lucky than good.

This flight was great because, after destroying my confidence during my last flight, this trip restored my faith in my ability to pilot an airplane in a professional manner. It also allowed me to spend some quality time with my bro and see the sights.

If you have a minute, dig into the April issue of AOPA FLight Training. In it, you will find a great article by k about her first solo. K, congrats on being published.

Y'all have a great week.

BC

The Old Dominion (Redux)

2007-04-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

As a new Hoo, I join with the rest of the Old Dominion in writing that today we are all Hokies.

Hokie Flying Club

Hiatus

2007-08-30T04:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the absence, folks. With getting the new house straightened out and starting the full time MBA program at UVA, I haven't had time to sleep, much less blog.

I did manage to sneak in an hour of flying at Eagle's Nest airport in Waynesboro, VA. I am now checked out in C172's for rental and, when I can squeeze some time out of the schedule, plan to go flying.

I am told W13 is the shortest paved runway in the state of Virginia, and it is definitely the shortest runway I have landed on. Although I flew into a few 2500ft runways, most of the runways I used in SOCAL ranged from 3500 to 12000 ft. I think it will be good for my technique to get used to landing on shorter runways.

Not much time. Class is starting in a few minutes. Marketing. Fun.

Cheers,
BC

The Long Taxi

2007-07-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

I did it! I have finally departed SOCAL and arrived in The Old Dominion.

Vital Stats:
Distance: 2564.3 SM
Days: 4
Hours behind the wheel: 36.4

I've been to Tuscon, Las Cruces, godforsaken West Texas
Odessa, Abilene, more of Texas that I seen,
Texarkana, Little Rock, Memphis in my truck,
Knoxville I'm almost there
I've been everywhere

Safe and sound in the Virginia countryside. I'm going tomorrow for my check flight at a local FBO and should hopefully be back to flying soon.

All the best,
BC

Waking them up...

2007-07-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, a Piper crashed in the mountains east of San Diego. As reported, the first indication of the accident was when a Sheriff's helicopter on routine patrol saw the wreckage. Although the plane probably crashed Friday, it wasn't spotted until Saturday and it made the local news Saturday night without identifying the type of airplane or the victims.

By Sunday night, the story was running on the national wires identifying that two Navy personnel had been killed in a Piper after departing MYF. My heart goes out to the families of the two victims. Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

This one hit a little close to home. When I first heard about a plane going down, my primary concern was for the members of my clubs, hoping it wasn't one of them. Once the national story hit, the only thing I could think is that my wife and/or parents would hear about it on the news and be out of their minds before they could reach me. I put in a few phone calls at midnight east coast time to let them know about the accident and that I was safe on deck. An ounce of prevention and all that.

The accident aircraft was not a part of either of my flying clubs.

When I first started flying, I filed a VFR flight plan for every flight, including local hops. As I have become more comfortable flying, I've stopped doing this, only filing for cross country over the mountains or when flying out of one club that requires it. The VFR flight plan, like flight following, is an insurance policy. It's free (for now) and may make the difference between being rescued or not. I think it's time I rededicate myself to filing on every flight. It can't hurt.

I also think this is a good chance to plug support for AOPA (and every other aviation alphabet group except the ATA) in the fight against user fees. If I try to file and/or use flight following on every flight for safety, how differently will I and other pilots feel about it if we have to give up our AMEX number just to talk to a controller?

Six days and a wakeup and I'm home.

Short Final

2007-07-15T13:12:00.001-07:00

My original plan for leaving San Diego and moving to Virginia included a bit of a detour by way of Oshkosh, WI, where I planned to check out the show and meet up with some other bloggers. However, I haven't seen the Chief Photographer in six weeks with one more week to go, so I have decided to forgo Oshkosh. No offense, but as much as I like airplanes I like my wife even more.

I have five working days left as a full time Naval Officer. There are two projects I have to put some finishing touches on and I have some admin drills to close out, then I will be departing SOCAL on Friday afternoon to begin my drive back to Virginia. Three and a half days of driving will land me in Charlottesville to begin the great adventure of being an unemployed business school student.

The transition from full time military to grad student and then to the civilian business world will be challenging. If you count my four years at the Naval Academy, I have been in the Navy for 16 years, all of my adult life. In some ways it has been difficult, with long deployments and little communication with home. In other ways, it has been extremely rewarding to work with outstanding professionals who dedicate their lives to serving their fellow citizens. I won't be leaving the Navy entirely, however, as I have joined the Navy Reserve to be a part time sailor.

I am looking forward to starting this next phase of my life. I have to learn a new language and how to dress (uniforms are easy). Luckily, my wife is an experienced professional with an MBA of her own and does a good job of looking out for me.

Five days left. The gas is full, three down and locked, on centerline, on airspeed, on glideslope...

Another burger run

2007-07-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

I had set up a meet today to fly with a few friends. K and C both work in my office. K is a PPC with about 250 hrs who hasn't flown in about 9 months due to work on his house. C is the guy who showed up to take over my job as I transition to grad school. He got his PPC in August 2001 right before GA got shut down in September 2001 and never went back up. In fact, his last GA flight before today was his PPC check ride. It was a great day to not only go flying, but to show them around my club at MYF.

We had planned to go to CNO, see the museum, and hit Flo's for a gut bomb, but the weather prevailed against us. Atypical for July, the marine layer has been burning off late and closing in early over the past week, and it did it again today. By the time it burned off, it was too late to go to CNO and have time to stop for fear we wouldn't make it back before the low ceilings closed in again. Instead, we decided to make a quick burger run up to F70, a nice and easy friendly flight.

After showing them the details of an Archer, we loaded up, fired up, and called for taxi. Taxiway H and A to 28R, number 2 behind a bunch of arrivals and an IFR release, then a downwind departure over Cowles Mountain. North over Lake Jennings and Barona at 3500, transition RNM at 3500 climbing to 4500, cruise up Pauma Valley and start our descent into French Valley. I did a 5 mile 45 entry to left traffic Rwy 18 and made a fairly decent landing despite the crosswind.

After a good burger and discussing some possible future business plans, we saddled up and headed back. Same route back, cleared for the visual 28L, and one of the best landings I have made in a long time. The crosswind was 8 kts from the left. I maintained a good lineup in slip, flared correctly, the stall buzzer chirped, the left main chirped, the right main chirped, then the nosewheel settled as I gracefully slowed down and made the turn onto Taxiway G.

K enjoyed the flight and is definitely interested in getting back into flying. C is extremely interested. He needs an updated medical, probably a few practice flights with a CFI, and a BFR to get up to date. They both have the card of one of my favorite CFI's, the guy who soloed me back in the day (and also happens to be a friend of K).

I don't know how many more flights I will get in SOCAL. I am down to 11 days before I depart for the East coast. I may try for one or two more, we'll just have to see.

Disappointment

2007-07-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

I had most of the day off from work today, so I decided it would be a great time to go fly. Southern California is VFR almost every day in the summer, but today Mother Nature decided she was not going to cooperate.

KMYF 051953Z 26006KT 3SM HZ OVC003 20/17 A2990 RMK AO2 SLP121 T02000167

KSAN 051951Z 28007KT 6SM HZ FEW005 OVC006 20/17 A2991 RMK AO2 SLP126 T02000167

KSAN 051908Z 051918 22008KT 5SM HZ OVC008
    TEMPO 1922 3SM BR BKN006
    FM2200 25010KT P6SM BKN011
    FM0300 21005KT 6SM HZ OVC010
    FM0600 17004KT 5SM BR OVC009
    FM1100 18005KT 4SM BR OVC007
    FM1700 19006KT 6SM HZ BKN010

Sigh............

Proficiency flying

2007-06-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

Due to schedules and trying to wrap things up at work, it has been nearly two months since my last flight. Since it had been a while, and since I will have to do a proficiency check at the new FBO in Virginia to get renting privileges, I decided to do a basic Private Pilot proficiency flight.

Although I prefer flying the Pipers, I decided to do my flight in a 172 since that is what I will be flying in VA. I grabbed a 172 from KMYF and launched yesterday afternoon. Right downwind departure from 28R, overhead KSEE, then down into the southeast practice area for some maneuevers. I started by getting the plane trimmed out and flying well at 90kts. A set of clearing turns while I positioned the plane to make sure I was well clear of the Class B, then right into a set of steep turns. The steep turns went much better than I was expecting (it's been a while), with 45deg AOB, airspeed within 5kts, altitude within 50ft. Two sets of steep turns, then it was time for slow flight. Clean slow flight, turns in slow flight, transition to dirty slow flight, another set of clearing turns, pitch to a 60kt power off glide, then right into a power off stall. I recovered within 100ft, then did some basic maneuvering while I got the plane cleaned up and flying right. With some good maneuvers under my belt, I decided to head to SDM for some landing practice.

Winds at SDM were shifting +/- 40 degrees of runway heading at 10G14, so I was going to get some good crosswind practice. My first landing I ballooned a bit, but a touch of power and the right landing configuration and I set it down softly. The second had no balloon, but I landed a bit flat. Three, four, and five were good.

I was on downwind for number six when tower asked me to make a left 360 for spacing because a G5 was on the straight in. No problem, start a slow left turn out towards PGY. As I'm halfway through my turn, the G5 tells tower that, instead of straight in, he wants to overfly and fly the pattern because he's too high. Tower clears him for that and asks me to do another circle. No problem, circle again. As I'm finishing my second circle, tower clears me touch and go #2 following the G5, caution wake turbulence, maintain visual separation. I acknowledge the clearance and set back up on downwind. I get to the point where I would normally turn base, and the G5 is still on downwind way ahead of me flying a pattern that would make a 747 proud. A few S-turns, and the guy still hasn't turned base. Tower finally asks him to turn and I slow down to 70kts flaps 20, still doing S-turns on downwind. After the G5 passes me on final, I turn base (very far out from my normal base), then turn final and slow to 60kts flaps 30, still doing S-turns to give this guy space. I see his tires chirp, then tell tower I'm going to land a bit long for wake turbulence. No sweat, 26R is 8000ft. The G5 is taxiing all the way to the end of the runway, and man is he going slow. At 100 AGL, just as I'm about to call my own go around, tower tells me to go around because the G5 still hasn't cleared the runway.

Cram, clean, climb, xwind, downwind, GUMPS, base, final, touch and go number six (pretty good), and I'm outta there. As tower is clearing me for frequency change and thanking me for my help, I thank them for the practice and tell them to thank the guys in the G5 for me. Tower was doing their best, but the G5 managed to screw up the whole pattern.

Back to MYF, looking for the runway in haze, cleared to land 28L, change clearance to 28R, runway in sight, wheels down, taxi and shutdown. Another 1.8hours in the book and some proficiency regained.

Two notes from today:
Just because you fly a G5, you don't own the world. I think he flew the oversize pattern because he was still too high even after overflying the airport. If you're too high, advise the controllers early and figure out a way to lose your altitude (such as a hold over PGY) and let the rest of us keep flying. Instead, he hogged the whole airport for a good five minutes while the rest of us sat on the sidelines.
Piece of advice: Know where the Class B is and understand why it exists. During this 1.8hr flight, I heard two separate aircraft get scolded by the tower controllers for surrounding Class B violations. Although it is a serious issue, everyone including me makes mistakes and I'm not going to throw any stones about that. However, one of the guys started talking back to the controller on the radio and giving him a lot of grief while making improper acknowledgements about the Class B violation, his landing clearance and sequence, and his instructions after landing. The other pilot just knicked the edge of a low shelf (probably due to wind drift), took immediate corrective actions when informed, and apologized profusely. Guess which one got told to call the number?

Cheers,
BC

I'm not dead!!!

2007-06-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

It's just been a month since I have had time to blog. So, what have we done in the past month that has limited my time to blog:

1. Hosted a visit from my parents.
2. Took said parents on a burger run from KMYF to F70, the French Valley Cafe. Since my mom can't walk so well (recovering from an injury), I loaded her into a 172 (two doors!) and flew her up while the Chief Photographer drove my dad. After a nice sightseeing flight and a squeaker of a landing, we had a great lunch. I then took my dad on a sightseeing flight while the Chief Photographer and my mom drove back. Great day!
3. Bought a handheld. It's a basic talk/listen only (no nav), but it's great and I'm able to sit in the cell phone lot at KSAN and listen for my parents/friends flight to arrive so I don't have to pay too much money to the parking gods.
4. Hosted a visit from an old friend from back east.
5. Bought a house in Charlottesville, VA. It cost us a little more than the handheld did, but CP loves it and it has a great view of the Blue Ridge mountains.
6. Packed up all the household goods in the house in CA and let the moving company take them.
7. Drove CP, two cats, several plants, one car, and a bunch of clothes from California to Virginia.
8. Painted three rooms (one four times) in the new house, plus other assorted new home maintenance items.
9. Took delivery of the household goods, started unpacking, set up the entertainment system and one office, installed the washer and dryer.
10. Bought a lawnmower. It cost a little more than the handheld, but not as much as the house. I tried to convince CP that I needed a lawn tractor, but she wasn't buying it.
11. Flew JetBlue back to San Diego. It was a nice flight (except for some pretty significant turbulence) and I will definitely use JetBlue again.
12. Set up camp in the (now empty) bedroom of my house in Coronado, where I will play bachelor for a few weeks while finishing up my active Navy service.

CP and I are now officially residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia for the next few years. J and K, watch out!!! I may have to fly down by JGG later this summer.

As you can see, there has been little time for blogging.

During my temporary bachelor hood, I plan on doing a decent bit of flying with a few friends and making a few training videos for one of my flying clubs before I leave. At least if I am doing something productive I can't get into too much trouble.

Hope everyone is doing well. I am now back on frequency and hope to post a little more often.

Cheers,
BC

The Good, The Bad, and the (just plane) Weird

2007-04-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being a day late and a dollar short on this post. Since the beginning of April, I have been to Virginia, bought a house, returned to San Diego, worked a lot, went to Honolulu, worked a lot, and finally drug myself home last night. Whew!!! Anyway, you can thank United Airlines for missing my post deadline. Like K, I haven't been flying too long, so most of my (mis)adventures are already written up. I'll just give you a brief synopsis and a link to the previous post in case you missed it.

The good: My best flight so far has probably been my trip to Las Vegas. This is what flying is about. I was able to to use the airplane as a form of transportation to get from Point A to Point B, do some great desert flying, practice my navigation, etc. This definitely improved my confidence as a pilot.

The bad: Flying into KPSP on my long solo cross country. The original post is here, but that is only a partial story. It was my early days of blogging and I was nervous about putting things up. As Paul Harvey says, here is the rest of the story (assuming you have read the original post). The controller called my final late because he was shooting the breeze on the tower control frequency with other pilots about the shiny jet at the hold short line (a Navy T-45). I could hear the whole conversation, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise to request my clearance to final. When he finally turned me to final (after overshooting), I banked to the left. As I turned, I spotted some very close traffic, too close in my book, that I previously hadn't seen due to our separate approaches to the runway. Had the controller not unnecessarily delayed my clearance to final, the separation would have been adequate. I immediately steepened my descent to gain vertical separation and called "N12345, Close Traffic" on the tower frequency. The tower controller immediately responded that I shouldn't be making unnecessary transmissions on his frequency. I finished the landing to make it legal for my logs, then cancelled my previous request to fly closed pattern and requested a straight out departure. I wasn't going to hang around that idiot's airspace any longer than I had to.

The just plane weird: I would have to say that my weirdest flight so far has been in The Crooked Indian. The radios didn't work right, the plane flew crooked, and I felt like I was leaning to the left the whole flight. I haven't flown that airplane since, which hasn't kept the Chief Photographer from hitting me in the head for other reasons, some of which may be my fault.

In other news, we are in the process of setting up our move back to the Old Dominion. The Chief Photographer picked out a great house with a nice view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so she will be moving at the end of May. I will remain under SOCAL/LA Center airspace until mid-July, then I will head to Washington Center to begin grad school. I have found a nearby airport to rent airplanes when time and money allow, so I will be doing some sightseeing flights up and down the Shenandoah Valley. Additionally, the Chief Photographer finally agreed that I could buy my very own airplane. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have to wait until I am out of graduate school and employed again before I can buy it. You can't win them all, but I'm going to start keeping a closer eye on airplane prices.

Cheers,
BC

A few electrons short of a full charge

2007-04-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

I had a promise to keep to the Chief Photographer. She has only made a few flights with me and I am trying to get her to fly with me more leading up to the inevitable day when, post-MBA and employed, I beg for an airplane. However, she didn't want to do any more $100 hamburger runs to the French Valley Cafe. She wanted to "go somewhere."
Accordingly, I planned a flight to Santa Catalina Island. Catalina is one of the Channel Islands off the coast of California near LA. Having been at various times a smuggling station, ranch, mine, etc, it is now under conservation and has one airport, two towns, and is a favorite destination among Southern Californians. The plan was to fly over in the morning, take the shuttle to Avalon for the day, then shuttle back to the airport and fly home in the evening. I reserved a Warrior out of KMYF and called it a plan.
Knowing the problems that can crop up with rental planes, especially club planes, I went to the airport Friday night to preflight the plane. It looked great, it had just come out of annual, and the gas was clean and filled to the tabs. Perfect!
Saturday morning, we went to the airport, did the preflight, loaded up and started up. I noticed a slight buzz in my radios, but nothing that is unusual for we pilots who fly older airplanes. We taxied out to 28R, did the runup, cleared for takeoff, let's go! Everything looks normal on the takeoff roll, liftoff, all conditions normal, we're on our way.
As I passed 500AGL or so, the buzzing faded away. I figured there must have been a little moisture in the contacts or something and it had cooked off. I climbed to 1500MSL, turned north along the coast, then called SOCAL for flight following since I would be conducting an extended overwater flight. I flew north of the 1800ft Class B shelf, started climbing to my cruise altitude of 4500MSL, and SOCAL was passing me my squawk and ident.
I dialed in the squawk, but the ident light didn't light when I hit the button. Funny. Hit it again. Zip. Cycle transponder off and back on. Nada. Do it again, same thing. "Cherokee 12345, SOCAL Approach, I have you on primary target but negative transponder. Please reset." "SOCAL this is Cherokee 12345, roger, standby." I shielded the top of the glareshield from the sun streaming in the passenger side windows and saw what I had feared, the ALT warning light on the panel that I had been unable to see due to the glare. A quick look at the Alternator output meter, reading zero, and I realized my alternator had tripped off the line.
Okay, Country, think. What's next. Airplane is trimmed and flying fine (aviate), you know where you are (navigate). Alternator master off, back on. The meter jumps up, the buzzing comes back for about three seconds, and goes away as the alternator trips back off. I call SOCAL (communicate), tell them I have lost my alternator and that I need an immediate return to KMYF. As I call them, the lights on COM2 (the radio I was working) go out, but come back on when I release the transmit button. SOCAL hears me and responds, but I am definitely wearing down the battery quickly. COM1 Off, transponder off, lights off, everything off but COM2. SOCAL clears me through the Class B direct KMYF without restrictions (Miramar was closed), do you want to declare an emergency? Acknowledge clearance, negative emergency, and as I acknowledge my clearance the lights on COM2 stay on. Good. I'd like to keep at least one radio working as I fly through Class B with no transponder into one of the busiest GA airports in America on a Saturday morning.
I point the aircraft directly at KMYF, start descending to pattern altitude, and focus on aviating. I tell the Chief Photographer that we have lost the alternator but that the battery will keep the radio going for a while and that the engine will keep running forever. Request quiet now as I make the approach. Approach and landing checklists complete. Switch to tower freq (already dialed in, just hit the button), briefest of transmissions to save the battery. Tower clears me to land #1 28R. Hit the speeds, hit the points, landing a little firm in my opinion but nothing that would get me yelled at by a CFI. Cleared to taxi same freq no restrictions. Ack the taxi clearance, back to the line, shut down. Done.
In retrospect, I probably should have declared the emergency. When I think of "declaring an emergency," I think of crash trucks rolling and the Feds landing on your head. Being without electricity in the cabin is no big deal, for some pilots it's their normal mode of operation, just not in Class B and busy Class D airspace. What I really needed was priority handling and the shortest route home. The controllers were great and gave me exactly the help I needed, but declaring the emergency would have formalized this process, especially in airspace as busy as we are. When do I declare the emergency, when the radios won't transmit anymore? Too late then. Declaring an emergency is free, may cost you a little paperwork (emphasis on may), but can get you the help you need when you need it.
I will probably also buy a handheld. Many folks say it is handy for VFR and a must have for IFR. As much flying as I do in and around Class B airspace, having no radios is not a good option.

Aftermath

We secured the plane, called the owner and the club to let them know it was grounded, then found another plane (an Archer) and flew to Catalina. It was a beautiful day and I was going to fly, by God. By the time we got there it wasn't worth taking the shuttle into town due to limited time. Instead, we had a relaxing $100 lunch at the Airport in the Sky, took some pictures of this classic airport, and headed back out. We circled the island to enjoy the view, then headed home. A nice finish to a bad start. I'll post some pictures once we download them from the Chief Photographer's camera and she has time to do some of her fancy photographer stuff to them.

Cheers,
BC

Crab cakes

2007-03-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. My wife says I have a big (although sometimes cold) heart, so my big stomach is a requirement to supply that. This being the case, I am a big fan of gastronomical tourism, but not of the $200 pate and $500 bottle of wine variety. My tourism is usually limited to out of the way BBQ joints and restaurants dotted across the south, with the occasional "nice" restaurant thrown in for scenery.

Living on the left coast, my wife and I miss the flavors of home, most especially sweet iced tea and really good barbecue. We can usually make do, but lately we have had a hankering for one food we have not been able to find: crab cakes and hush puppies. Last night, we satisfied our desperation and the Chief Photographer treated myself and her parents to dinner at Lynnhaven Fish House.

Although it is not my usual backcountry fare, it is an excellent restaurant with delicious food. She-crab soup, crab cakes, and hush puppies for all. A most excellent meal for which I heartily thank my long-suffering wife.

If you ever find yourself in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area, stop in to Lynnhaven Fish House and give it a try.

Disclaimer: I received no commercial compensation for the above post.

The Old Dominion

2007-02-24T09:17:00.000-08:00

Location: ORF VORTAC 293/4.4DME, 7 MSL.

After spending the better part of a day strapped in the cattle car section of a Long Beach Death Tube, I finally arrived back in the Old Dominion last night. In conjunction with a work trip that I had to make to Norfolk, we are going to do some house hunting in Charlottesville. It will be nice to finally be in an area where a normal house doesn't cost $600K and involve an hour-plus commute to work.

Although normal winter delays prevailed, it was a good flight. I sometimes wonder if every pilot has the same internal conversation I do:
"Gee, it would be nice if I were flying this thing myself. Then again, I can barely fly a Cessna. I sure am glad there is someone significantly more competent than me flying this thing."

Off to go look at real estate.

Hasta,
BC

Bad Flight

2007-02-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days where I wonder if I should be allowed to fly airplanes. I'd rather not go into details here, just suffice it to say that within ten minutes of takeoff I had decided that I had had enough and returned to the airport. I have filed an ASRS report. To top it all off, some a**hole in a Pitts couldn't listen to his clearances from tower and was flying the pattern every way except correctly, almost screwing up my landing.

On the upside, it was one of the best landings I have ever made and I was able to back up the controller when they gave me clearance to land on the wrong runway. There must be some points given for grace under pressure.

Snow and Flying

2007-02-05T15:48:00.000-08:00

The Chief Photographer and I had a wonderful vacation in the mountains of Colorado hitting some downhill, even a black diamond and some moguls (me) and some snowshoeing (the Chief Photographer and her friend K). The snow was wonderful champagne powder that is a pleasure to ski and I only fell twice, both on moguls. Here are a few pictures of the lovely views.

After returning home and getting caught up at work, I went out this past weekend for a little flying. Nothing exciting. 1.1 hours of complex time, NZY to SDM, five landings, back to NZY for 1 landing. I did put the gear up on every takeoff and remembered to put it down for every landing, so I consider this a success.

I'm hoping to get up at least once more this month, taking the Chief Photographer to Big Bear for lunch. Big Bear is an airport up in the mountains east of LA. Due to it's high density altitude it is difficult to get in and out in the summer, but the winter provides plenty of lift and great views of the snow covered mountains, not to mention good Chinese food. After that, it's big iron back to the Old Dominion to start looking for a place to live.

Have a great week.

Cheers,
BC

Near-minimum approach in snow

2007-01-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

Me? Are you kidding? No, it was the Delta pilot flying into KDEN taking the Chief Photographer and I on our annual ski vacation to Keystone resort in Colorado. Today we were swishing down the slopes cutting through fresh powder from last night and breathing the crisp mountain air.

I'll post some pictures when we get them.

Cheers,
BC

Airplane Maintenance

2007-01-18T20:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. My dear Uncle Sam forced me to fly left rear (way rear) seat on some big iron to the Republic of Texas to earn my paycheck. Thanks, buddy.

When I returned, I found out that my primary flying club had decided to do a maintenance standown and pulled all the planes off the line for upkeep maintenance, including oil changes, deferred repairs, and corrosion control. Being a good club member, I went out to the airfield and spent my three day weekend working on airplanes.

Positives:
I learned a hell of a lot about airplanes and maintenance and upkeep.
I got to make a positive contribution to the club.
I spent time with a bunch of guys who, like yours truly, enjoy flying for the fun of it.

Negatives:
Have you ever sneezed paint dust for three days?
Why do you think they say "keep the shiny side up." The "non-shiny" side is a pain in the butt to clean.

In short, I learned a lot about the planes and got to make a positive contribution to my club.

Cheers,
BC

Another Runway Incursion

2007-01-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

Looks like some bloke screwed the pooch on this one. Not enough info yet to tell if it was the charter pilot or the controller.

Revised Goals

2007-01-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you for your comments on my previous post. After much debate and discussion with a few other pilots here locally, I have decided not to pursue my instrument rating. I would like to address a few of the points brought up by some of the comments:

Between school and a new job following, it will probably be at least five years before I am in a position to use an airplane as regular transportation. Until then it is recreational flying only. The most I would use an instrument rating for is to punch through the ceiling on a MVFR day when I should probably be home studying.

IFRPilot and FD: You are definitely correct about the IFR rating improving your flying skills. In this arena I do have one advantage over many other Private Pilots. Having learned to fly here in SOCAL, in and around a lot of Class B, C, D, TRSA, etc, and with a TRACON and ARTCC close at hand, I am very comfortable flying under ATC direction using instrument navigation for VFR flight. I had a Class B endorsement as a student and have flown many a mile in what I call "IFR-lite" routing, using airway navigation and flight following around and through controlled airspace and cross-country, even going so far as to use instrument charts and instrument approach guidance where possible to improve my navigation.

By the way, I did say TRSA. If you think those didn't exist anymore, fly to Palm Springs (KPSP).

I have also done some good follow-on hood training to supplement my VFR Private Pilot training, with one full IFR flight and some practice approaches (PAR, VOR, VOR/DME, and ILS) under my belt. As long as I continue to practice this, it will help me in the event of the dreaded VFR into IMC (which I go to great lengths to avoid).

At this point, and for a few more years, I'm flying just for fun. Rather than pay for the instrument rating twice (once now and again a few years from now to get really proficient again), I have decided to use my scarce flying dollars to achieve the following goals before I leave SOCAL:

1. 150 total hours
2. Tailwheel endorsement
3. High performance endorsement (in a T-34)

This will set me up to have a lot of fun in the next six months while giving me the endorsements to fly just about any plane I could possibly rent in the next few years.

Thanks again for all the great comments. Keep flying safe!

Rethinking the Instrument Rating

2007-01-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

In getting ready for my transition from employed Navy guy to unemployed graduate student (in August), I have been thinking about whether or not to go ahead and get my Instrument rating.

In the two years I am in grad school, I will be lucky if I have enough time to maintain my VFR currency, much less IFR proficiency (yes, I used different terms for a reason). Following my graduation, I will hopefully be starting a new job that will place significant demands on my time, again limiting my ability to stay IFR proficient. So, if I am not going to be able to maintain my IFR proficiency and, therefore, will not be using my Instrument rating, should I wait to get it until I can actually maintain and use it?

Pros: Having my Instrument rating will let my fly IFR if I can maintain it and may reduce my life insurance rate.

Cons: If I can't maintain it, I won't be comfortable flying with it nor will I be able to fly it safely without significant retraining once (a few years from now) I am able to spend more time flying.

If I don't get my Instrument rating, I will probably spend my remaining time flying for fun and, maybe, getting a few more endorsements such as high performance, tailwheel, and possibly flying a T-34.

What do you think? Your thoughts are welcome.

Christmas by the Numbers

2006-12-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

During the Christmas break, I have managed to do a lot of flying and completed a few significant milestones in my flying hobby. Here are the numbers:

Total hours: 101.5 (I passed the magic 100hr mark on Thursday)
Hours in 2006: 90.3
Night hours: 14.4 (I completed the night checkout required for one of my flying clubs)
Complex hours: 10.4 (I completed my initial complex checkout)
First flights: 4 in the past week (6 total)
Max crosswind landing: 15kts (at night, with a CFI holding my hand)

On Christmas Eve, I took my best friend up for a sightseeing flight over SOCAL. We launched right at sunset, so we got to see the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean and then view a lot of Christmas lights, including the Del Mar racetrack, from the air.

This past Thursday, CFI K and I went up to finish my complex checkout, night checkout, and work on the crosswind landings. Since we needed to burn some time, we flew up to SBD. It's a former military airfield, so it's the first uncontrolled airfield I have flown into that has 10000ft runways. When we called up the AWOS, the winds were high and gusty with a 15kt crosswind component, right at our limits for the CFI's. What better way to work on crosswind landings?

We made the first approach at Flaps 20, 70 kts. On downwind, I had to hold about 25 degrees of crab to stay on track. As we turned final, I was hunting back and forth across the track with the nose waving around. I got it over the numbers, then plunked it down, promptly rolling out the crosswind correction (BAD IDEA). We managed to keep the airplane under control without overloading the gear, stopped, then took off again. As we took off for the next circuit, we debriefed what I had done wrong. On the second pass, again at 20/70, it was squirrely again and we encountered a little wind shear, so I went around. The third pass was him demonstrating how to do it, so I got an example. For the fourth through seventh passes, I used flaps 10, 80kts, and was able to fly acceptable approaches. After seven laps around SDB we had had enough, so we turned for home. We flew to SDM, shot three patterns there, then flew back to NZY for three more patterns and called it a day. I was wiped out, but I had successfully completed my complex checkout, night checkout, and a BFR (based upon some ground work we did and all of our flying during the checkout phase).

Yesterday, another first flight. I took one of the Chief Photographer's friends and his 13 year old son up for some sightseeing. The son wants to be a pilot, so the flight was a Christmas present from his Dad (pro rata, of course, per the FAR's). The son, E, seemed to truly enjoy the flight and is excited about learning to fly when he gets a few years older.

That's all the flying for this year, folks. I plan on settling back, watching some football, and enjoying some chili and cornbread. Y'all have a great New Years and we will see you in 2007, when I hope to get my instrument rating and move back to the Old Dominion.

All the best,
BC

Sightseeing in SOCAL, Rant, Christmas Greetings

2006-12-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

I took my father in law for his first flight in a small plane yesterday, a sightseeing tour around San Diego. We went straight out from 28L at MYF, turned northbound and went up the coast at 1500 as far as Del Mar racetrack. We turned around and cruised southbound looking at Torrey Pines and Mt Soledad before dropping to 500ft.

Flying at 500ft over the ocean with cliffs for a beach isn't the most comfortable experience, but you get used to it. In San Diego, this "shoreline transition" lets you through the Class B while letting your passengers see Sunset Cliffs.

Once we cleared Pt. Loma southbound, we flew over Coronado (NZY was closed, so the Class D was now Class G), down the Bay, around the city, up to Palomar observatory, then back to MYF for a straight in to 28L that then became an offset to 28R.

My father in law, a retired economics professor from Norfolk, VA, really enjoyed himself, so I was happy.

Separate Rant: Why do some people act like their lives and plans are more important than yours? My wife took a call from a fellow club member (at MYF, not NZY) who told her to tell me to change my reservation time so he could go on a cross country (in such a tone that she thought he was the airplane owner). When I returned his call, he told me he needed me to shorten my reservation to support him leaving early on a XC for Christmas (no please or anything) while also complaining to me that another member hadn't cancelled their reservation in the plane that he really wanted to support his Christmas weekend(huh?). I was going to change it anyway, so I told him I would shorten it and that I may be back a little earlier than planned if he wanted to come out to the airport and wait for the plane. "No," he replied, "just call me when you get back and I'll come out there." What am I, your secretary? I don't think so.

I flew my flight, didn't call him to tell him the plane was back (he can figure it out for himself), then went home. I thought the interaction was over. Nay, nay, readers. He calls my house last night by accidentally redialing the wrong received call in his cell phone. When he realizes that he's talking to "the guy about that plane," he tells me he decided not to take that plane because it was "trashed". I got very defensive because I leave planes cleaner than I find them. It turns out, his definition of "trashed" has nothing to do with dirty, it has to do with the fact that the plane is older and doesn't have a GPS. Give me a break!

I do have to say that this clown is not indicative of most of the members of the flying club at MYF. Most of the members at this club are outstanding pilots who love to fly and who take reasonable care of the airplanes. You have a few who don't call in their squawks, but this A$$H0L3 is well beyond the norms (outside six sigma for you stats geeks).

End Rant.

Now, for a Christmas greeting. To all of my readers out there (however few they may be) the Chief Photographer and I wish you all a very merry Christmas. Enjoy the day with your family and friends and enjoy your presents. Most of all, remember that the best present you can get is the affection of your friends and family.

Merry Christmas from all of your friends at Big Country Flying Service!

Abuse at the hands of a CFI

2006-12-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday morning, I need 5.9 hours in a 172RG to complete my initial complex checkout. Having flown a bunch of patterns during my last flight, the CFI (K) and I decided to do some work towards my Instrument at the same time we are cooking off complex hours. Best to kill two birds with one stone. Accordingly, we decided to file and fly IFR from NZY to AVX (Catalina Island) for lunch, then go back over SOCAL and do some airwork. I was in for a day of abuse.

I now understand why single pilot IFR, especially without an autopilot, is a dangerous proposition and VFR into IMC is a dramatic way to commit suicide. I can't say that I was task saturated, I was so far past the point of saturation that, had I not had the CFI as safety pilot, I would have been in serious trouble. Granted, it was my first time flying long-term instrument flight and attitude control, but it was damn hard.

We filed NASNI4.NASNI SANM1 at 6000 for the VOR-A into AVX. Of course, when we called clearance delivery, it was an entirely different beast. Cleared to AVX via NASNI4.NASNI Vectors to MZB V23 OCN V208 PACIF V27 SXC direct AVX, climb and maintain 2000, expect 6000 five minutes after departure, squawk 1234, contact Departure 125.15. Lucky for me, I had been practicing my clearance copy skills. I was able to copy and readback correct without needing a repeat. WHEW! We were cleared for takeoff, wheels up, then the hood came on.

No amended clearance, so we flew our first route. I noticed one thing right away: scan fixation. I had read about it, told myself not to do it, and found myself doing it anyway. Altitudes off, fix altitude. While fixing altitude, ignored heading. Headings off, fix heading. While fixing heading, altitude drifts off, fix altitude. Very painful.

After working our way to AVX without getting in an unusual attitude, I briefed our approach (at least I got one thing right), then flew a hold over the VOR, then direct to the airport. Because it was pretty rough, he didn't make me go missed and let me see the field. We entered the pattern, configured for landing, then went for it. However, there was a steady 15kt crosswind. I'm okay up to about 8kts, but 15kts is well outside my normal boundaries, definitely a good exercise to do with a CFI in the plane. The first approach was so bad that, at about 15' AGL, I went around. There was no way I was going to salvage it. On the second lap, I managed to get the plane on the runway without veering off the side, but it definitely is not going on record as one of my better landings.

After a nice lunch at the airport in the sky (and paying the dude in the tower $20 for the privilege of having landed there), I did a nice crosswind takeoff and we headed back to shore. We flew up to the northeast practice area where we did slow flight, stalls, steep turns, and an emergency gear extension. For not having done the maneuvers in that model plane, they went surprisingly well. After I demonstrated that I could control the airplane, we headed back to NZY to call it a day. When we got back to the field, we set up for a few touch and goes on the crosswind runway to practice my crosswind skills some more, then called it quits.

I logged 3.2 hours of complex time, so I have 2.7 hours left to finish my initial complex cert, which I plan to do this coming week. Having demonstrated that I can fly the plane, we will use that time to work on my instrument scan and basic attitude instrument flying.

My in-laws are in town from Norfolk, VA (Yeah VA!!!), so I am going to spend this nice SOCAL CAVU day taking my father in law on a sightseeing flight.

Cheers,
BC

Wave off

2006-12-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

Waved off from Wharton Business School. Details on my MBA Blog.

Going flying tomorrow!!!

Cheers,
BC