Pilot Certificate

My permanent certificate arrived today! Actually it looks like a plastic credit card. But now I'm a card-carrying pilot, and I can exercise my privileges to act as pilot in command of an airplane, single engine land.

I'm a Pilot!

Random thoughts about the day...

Woke up at four AM, couldn't get back to sleep.

Left house early, got the airport early, took off for Easton with 7 miles of reported visibility and saw that the visibility was worse than expected. Returned to airport to wait for better visibility. Waited for 10 miles of visibility.

Tried again, visibility was better but not great, really glad I had GPS. I didn't even pick Easton up out of the haze until two miles out.

Landed, parked plane, tied down, examiner waiting at the door.

Long discussion about the way he does the exam. Forms to fill out, logbooks to inspect, etc.

Finally started, covered lots of stuff, map symbols, frequencies, LAHSO, aeromedical, scuba diving, static port blockage, equipment required for day or night or mountain flying, required inspections, required endorsements, scuba diving, VFR cruising altitudes, why I planned my cross country as I did, gotchas in the complex airspace near BWI, light gun signals, equipment and classes of airspace, sharing costs of flight, required documents aboard, weight and balance, short field takeoff performance, density altitude, and on.

Had lunch, more questions over lunch.

Finished oral portion, abbreviated preflight check of plane, taxied out.

Soft field takeoff, trip around pattern, slip, normal landing, touch and go, trip around pattern, short field landing, takeoff, depart for cross country.

Climb to 2500, checkpoints made on time, found KRJD, then started air work, slow flight, stalls, steep turns, hood on, unusual attitudes, lost procedures, tune and track to VOR, engine out descent to land at a private grass strip (with go around once landing was assured), return to Easton, soft field landing, taxi to parking.

I got a late start, it took a lot of time in the oral portion, and by the time he gave me my temporary certificate, it was getting toward sundown. So I filed for SFRA return, took off, and hustled back to Fort Meade, making it in as the sun was going down. I was again really glad for the GPS - I had a very hard time finding the field in the haze. By the time I got the plane tied down I couldn't even see the tach/hobbs meters - I wasn't planning for a night flight so I didn't have a flashlight. I wound up using the light from my cell phone to see the numbers.

But finally, I'm a pilot.

Solo 10

I realized last weekend that my landings were not pretty, poor in fact. It seems I worked so hard on cross country and other check ride preparation that I simply haven't made many landings lately. So today I went out on this amazingly warm November day and I did 10 trips around the pattern. By the time I did those last few, it was all much smoother and I'll be much more confident when I go for the check ride.

Practical Test Postponed

KBWI 111126Z 1112/1218 03009KT P6SM -RA OVC070 FM111300 04013G21KT 5SM -RA OVC025 FM112100 05015G25KT P6SM -RA OVC035 FM121000 03015G25KT 6SM -RA BKN025 OVC035

Lesson 30

There's a club rule that says that students must have flown with an instructor with the previous 30 days to fly solo. In order to be able to fly solo over to Easton for my check ride, I needed to fly with an instructor, so I decided to try something different today. I sent a message to the instructor (which he apparently didn't read) about going to Gaithersburg, 20 miles to the west. I had never flown west from Fort Meade, so it seemed like a good idea to use the lesson for familiarity with flight in that area. When he drove up today, he asked me what I wanted to do today. He said he'd never been to Gaithersburg/Montgomery County airpark before, but we can make that flight. I'm glad he also grabbed his GPS because we wound up needing it for the flight.

So we took off and headed straight out and he showed me the landmarks to look for to stay clear of BWI's class B and the FRZ. While the wind was calm at the ground, it was sure zipping along at altitude and it gave me trouble for the whole flight. We did a touch-and-go, and then saw just how much the airplane was struggling to gain speed because of the uphill slope on the runway, then it only slowly climbed out. Not fun.

We turned on course to go back to Fort Meade, and I came in way high on the landing. Then we had to do one more takeoff/landing so I did what was probably my best soft field takeoff ever, again climbed slowly, came around, and landed again.

Boy was I rusty and glad I wasn't trying that flight alone. Boy was I glad for a little practice before my check ride. I think I'll make a few trips around the pattern before I fly to Easton on Wednesday for my check ride. A few more landings wouldn't hurt.

Check Ride Postponed

High winds aloft (45 knots), low ceilings (1500 overcast), no check ride today. I'll try again in a couple of weeks.

Solo 9

This was more check ride prep. I didn't want to go for the check ride without a relatively recent flight.

So on this beautiful Fall day, I went solo over to Easton. I frequently have trouble spotting the airport and this time was no exception. I wound up north of the field and then I had to work my way back to the field. I landed uneventfully and taxied back for takeoff.

After departing Easton, I went northeast to find Ridgley. I found myself southeast of Ridgley near Denton by the time I spotted Ridgley. I made a landing at Ridgley and taxied back for takeoff. Then I returned to Easton, landed, taxied back for takeoff, and returned to Fort Meade. My landing at Fort Meade was ugly (off center and poor crab-to-slip technique) because of a variable crosswind, so I taxied back and went around the pattern once again. This time I managed the wind correction better, but balooned and had to add power to smooth out and save the landing. As I was going back to take off again I watched another plane make some very scary recoveries from gusts, with severe wing rolls on short final, before the pilot went around.

I wanted to see the Eastern Shore area again and get more landings in today and I managed that. I fumbled the radio work at Easton the first time, but did much better the second time. And I have mixed feelings about the Ridgley approach - I got off course but recognized Denton and Ridgley. I hope this keeps me from showing up to the check ride rusty.

Lesson 29

This was check ride prep. It was a beautiful clear Fall day.

We went over to Easton and stopped at the FBO where I'll meet my designated examiner. Then we flew south to Cambridge to be sure I can find the field and my checkpoints. Then back north, overflying Easton, coming up to Ridgley. Then we did the usual maneuvers, steep turns, slow flight, stalls. Those were uneventful. Then a little hood time with unusual attitude recoveries. The instructor used the hood time to remove my awareness of my exact location, then pulled the power on me at about 2800 feet and had me set up for an engine out landing. I could see Ridgley in the distance and I could have made it to Ridgley, but he wanted me to set up for a grass field that was closer. So I spiraled down, still wound up high, and slipped it. I still find slips unnatural and I fought to keep my airspeed up. About the time I was able to let the slip out, I was on short final and nicely lined up to land. So we put the power on again and climbed away.

Then we were going to land at Ridgley until we heard an announcement of parachute jumpers. So he had me change to Easton. But the emergency landing had me not quite sure of my relative location, so I turned west until I could gather my thoughts and figure out which direction to turn to find the airport. I eventually found landmarks that I recognized, called the tower, and turned toward the field. We made an uneventful approach and landing, taxied back for takeoff, and returned to Ft. Meade. When we departed Ft. Meade at the beginning of the flight, the wind was calm. During the flight, the wind picked up a lot. As we approached Ft. Meade I was fighting updrafts and I had the nose pitched way down to keep from climbing. I brought it in to land with a stiff headwind, got lucky with no gusts, and set it down.

This is my last lesson before attempting the check ride.

Lesson 28

Stage III check today. At least it was a beautiful Fall day with light winds and only scattered clouds. We flew over to the Eastern Shore, did some unusual attitude recoveries under the hood, tracking to a VOR under the hood. Then some steep turns. Then S-turns, which I hadn't done in two years, but they came out OK. Then turns around a point - also for the first time in two years, but it was really easy.

Then we went to Ridgley to do a couple of trips around the pattern. One simulated engine-out landing, a normal landing, a short field takeoff, and a soft field takeoff. Then to Bay Bridge airport, where we refueled because the pump at Tipton was broken. Then another soft field takeoff and return to Tipton.

Next up - a final (hopefully) flight with my regular instructor.

Passed the Written Exam

98%.

Solo 8

Now this is how flying should be!

It's a beautiful Fall day with calm winds, no clouds, and great visibility. I retried my round-robbin trip to the Eastern Shore. I went first to Easton, then to Ridgely, then back to Easton, overflying the field, then turned south to Cambridge. Once I had the field in sight, I turned back to Tipton. With easy landings at Easton and Ridgely and Tipton, great sights along the way, and about the calmest day I've ever had flying, it was a fantastic trip.

Next up - Stage III check, a final flight with the instructor, and then the check ride.

Solo 7

I planned to visit the Eastern Shore airports today, KRJD, KESN, KCGE. Conditions on the Eastern Shore were marginal when I took off, but I was expecting improvement by the time I arrived, or maybe they would be better than reported, as has happened to me before. I also planned to turn around if I wasn't comfortable with the conditions.

I noticed that it was hazy as I climbed in the pattern at KFME, not great visibility, but OK to proceed. I left the pattern toward KANP and I decided to turn around if by the time I passed the drag strip I couldn't see the East River. I picked up the East River and continued the flight. As I approached KANP, I decided to turn around if I couldn't see the far shore of the bay. I picked up the far shore, including my usual landmarks at Kent Island and beyond, so I pressed on.

I arrived over Kent Island, checked in with ATC as clear of the SFRA, then switched to KESN tower and ATIS. At least I thought I had the ATIS frequency. After a minute of not hearing anything, I checked the frequency and saw that it was right. I fooled with the intercom system, checked the frequency again, and discovered that I was off because it's so hard to read that dim radio frequency in the bright sunlight. I had a 9 where I should have had a 4. I fixed it, and then the ATIS reported 1000 foot broken ceiling and ILS approaches in use. That did it. I turned around, called ATC and asked to return early because of poor conditions at my destination, got cleared for return to the SFRA, and returned to KFME.

I did three landings at KFME and called it a day.

Lesson 27

I've had about enough of these lessons. I'm anxious to finish!

It was a clear day, few clouds, winds mostly calm. Kind of hot.

The goal of today's lesson was to get closer to finishing my minimum IFR training requirements, along with check ride preparation. We took off and I put my foggles on almost immediately after departing the airport area.

I flew under the hood for a while, eventually climbing to 3000. Then the instructor told me to take the foggles off and he pulled the power and asked me where I planned to land for this simulated engine out landing. I looked around, pointed to a field, and then he said no, he wanted me to land at an airport that was nearly directly below us and that I hadn't seen. It turned out to be Bay Bridge airport. I did two complete cirles to lose altitude and then lined up to land. But I did a bad job of managing altitude and we wound up way high - I floated and got the wheels on the runway but we quickly decided that we had to add power and climb out again or risk running off the end of the runway.

Then I had to find Ridgely, where I entered the pattern and I did another power off landing. We turned it into a touch and go, and the next thing I knew we were on a collision course with a crop duster working a field to the west, so I had to dodge it, all the while looking for the other traffic in the area that included flights that were dropping parachute jumpers and an airplane towing a hang glider.

We departed to the south, contacted Easton, landed, taxied back, and took off again. We continued south, approached Cambridge, landed, turned it into another touch and go, and returned to Fort Meade with me under the hood.

So now I lack only 0.2 hours of hood time and that's the last of the minimums necessary for me to take the check ride.

Solo 6

My long cross country flight is done. I went from KFME to KSBY to KOXB to KFME.

The only part of the flight that went as planned was the fact that I landed at the airports that I intended to land at. The weather forecast called for hot, humid weather, but sky conditions mostly clear over the Delmarva and light winds. OK, I had the light winds. But there were so many clouds, what I would call a scattered layer, that I had to fly at 2000 for most of the trip when I had planned for 3000. So I couldn't see as far as I had hoped. And I didn't have that insurance altitude that I like to have.

The first leg to KSBY was uneventful, save for the lower altitude. I was able to stay on course, mostly, by watching the ground, referencing the map, and using the VOR on the field. I had a little trouble spotting the airport, but eventually I found it and landed. The controller sent me straight in. I need three landings at towered fields on my solo cross country flights, and on my last flight I did only one landing, so I did a trip around the pattern, landed, got my stuff ready for the next leg, and took off again.

I had never been to KOXB. It's a short flight from KSBY and the airport is right next to the ocean, so I knew that I just needed to look for it south of the hotel strip. I tuned the CTAF, learned that traffic was using 14, and then I had to find the airport. I decided to fly well south of the field and turn north to overfly it above pattern altitude and then set up for a 180 turn and arrival into the pattern. But there were clouds at 1000 so I found myself at 900, suddenly worried about staying out of the nature preserve. So then I turned north, at 900 feet, found the airport, skirted well west to avoid departing traffic, and once past the field turned back to enter the pattern, where I did an uneventful landing.

On the ground (boy that's a long taxi on the runway to the midfield turnoff), I set up for my flight home. I got my flight log out, got some water, taxied back to the departure end of the runway, and took off. First time ever over the ocean.

I turned downwind in the pattern, then departed to the northwest. I was hearing all sorts of chatter on the radio, including some discussion of parachute jumpers in the area. And I had to dodge a small flock of birds. And I had to dodge a banner-towing airplane. Then it got interesting.

Going to and from KSBY, I had the luxury of following a VOR radial. But not from KOXB. I set out on my heading, only to realize that the gyro had drifted. I then went through a series of attempts to get the compass and gyro aligned, only to realize that I wasn't waiting long enough between turning to the compass heading and setting the gyro - the compass turning errors were getting me. All the while I was hearing all of the activity at KOXB, and surprisingly also the traffic at KFME. By the time I sorted out the compass/gyro situation, I had lost my ability to pick out my selected landmarks for navigation and I realized I was not on the course I had planned. I turned west, knowing that I would eventually reach the Chesapeake Bay if I didn't sooner or later figure out where I was. I was also worried about drifting into KSBY or KESN class D airspace and I couldn't climb above their airspace because of the clouds, so I was looking around a lot to find the airports or other traffic.

Well I eventually was able to orient myself with landmarks and the flight was uneventful from that point on. I reached the area between Easton and Cambridge, called Potomac approach for my transponder code, entered the SFRA, and cruised into Tipton's pattern where traffic was taking off to the east for a change. I made a nice landing with the stall horn coming on and was relieved that my long cross country flight was done without any more drama.

I take my hiking GPS receiver along on these trips. I can't use it in flight; it's not approved for aerial navigation. But it does a nice job of recording the track. It turns out I was (mostly) headed in the right general direction for that period when I was unsure of my exact location, but the track isn't quite straight for that part of the trip when I was messing with the gyro.

OK, now I need more simulated IFR time, check ride prep, and then I can go for my FAA check ride.

Stage II Check

At long last, I did my stage II check today with the chief flight instructor. I had to plan for a flight to the Eastern Shore, then to Atlantic City, then to Hagerstown, then to Baltimore, then back to home base. He didn't even look at the flight plan, maybe because he arrived late and then he had a lesson immediately after mine.

We flew over to the Eastern Shore, did a couple of landings at Easton, then we went to Ridgely, did a landing and a couple of simulated engine-outs, and then did some of the basic maneuvers, including hood work. Then it was an uneventful flight back to base.

I botched the initial approach to Easton, approaching from the wrong side. He also said I wasn't aggressive enough getting the nose down on one of the stalls. And on one of the three simulated engine-out tries he said I would have come up short so we did a go around.

So, room to improve, but I passed the stage check. Now I get to fly my solo long cross country flight.

PS: It seems I neglected to mention some things that I should have... We had to dodge some clouds here and there. That's not a big deal, but I was inclined to descend to get at least 500 feet below them, but the instructor didn't seem so concerned about them. Maybe he was testing me. Maybe he wasn't so worried because he's an IFR pilot. On one of my unusual attitude recoveries, I had to quickly add power (he left me nose high). When I did, it sounded and felt like something suddenly rattled the engine. That was my first experience with carbeurator ice.

Solo 5

Pattern work today to brush up on landings. It started out with light but direct crosswinds that increased as time passed. Wind at pattern altitude kept pushing me toward the runway and had to crab a lot to keep from drifting toward the runway on downwind. So the downwind-to-base turns took forever, and then it was hard to avoid overshooting the base-to-final turns. And then the landings were interesting, with winds variable from calm to 7 knots, always with a crosswind, sometimes with a slight headwind, sometimes with a slight tailwind.

So I got six landings in and called it a day before the conditions got any worse.

Lesson 26

Another long layoff from flying ended today. I had been on vacation for two weeks and other events meant that I didn't get to fly for a month. I wanted to prepare for my next stage check, and ultimately, for the check ride. So we flew over to the Eastern Shore with the plan to let me get familiar with some new airports and practice diversions.

We flew toward Easton, then diverted to Cambridge, where I had to do a power off, no flap landing. That was different. Then I had a few minutes to check the chart and then we took off and flew to Easton. We did a touch and go, then departed toward Ridgely, navigating by using the chart and following a railroad. Then we did some unusual attitude recoveries. After one of the times when I was looking down while he flew the plane around to set up the next unusual attitude, he pulled the power on me over a bunch of fields, with a grass strip directly below, and I had to set up to make an emergency landing. We descended pretty low, then I was allowed to add power and climb away.

Then he told me to proceed to Ridgely, but of course in the rush of dealing with the unusual attitudes and emergency landing, I lost track of where I was. So after we sorted that out, we proceeded to Ridgely, where we promptly encountered traffic that included a biplane that was too close for comfort until I did a 360 degree turn. Then I had to do yet another power off landing, which was pretty ugly on that narrow strip.

Finally, we returned home with me under the hood.

Solo 4

Not much to report, I had planned to go to the practice area to do maneuver practice, but visibility was much worse than reported by the AWOS. I made 3 landings with the instructor, then he got out and I did 5 more landings solo, 1.4 total hours, 1.1 solo.

Lesson 25

Well I took a long break from flying, nearly four months. But I went back up today, this time for a refresher flight out to the practice area to do maneuvers, followed by some landings. When I scheduled this, I was hoping for a nice Spring day. Instead it was temperatures in the 90s and a bit humid. But at least the wind was light.

I feared I would be really rusty. But the takeoff and trip out to the practice area went smoothly. I started with steep turns, feeling my own wake at the end of the second turn. I did slow flight, which was pretty easy. Then a couple of stalls, nice & easy. Then the instructor did something new. For the unusual attitude recoveries, I had my foggles on. I did the recoveries, but it was really weird. I kept the foggles on for the return trip, taking them off once on downwind. I was afraid this was where the rust would really show, but I brought it in for a squeaker of a landing. The second time around was OK, but the instructor remarked that I was slower than he liked. Last time, he pulled the power on me so I had to land it "engine out". I misjudged when to turn in so I wound up on final high. I had asked before the flight about slips, so this was a good time to do one. I still came in high and floated and missed the midfield turnoff, but if I ever have to do a true engine out landing, I hope it's as smooth as that one today.

So I'm cleared to solo again. It worked out much better than I expected and I'm looking forward to that next flight.

Medical Exam Renewal

I got busy, the weather got bad, and I stopped flying for a while. My medical certificate lapsed, so I renewed it this week. Much easier than last time. I'm going on vacation in 2 days, so I'm hoping to get back into the air when I get back.

Solo 3

Today I flew my first solo cross-country flight. I went from Fort Meade (KFME) to Salisbury (KSBY). It was a cold, clear day with light winds when I took off. But first I had to deal with the fact that the AWOS at FME was out of service. I wasn't sure whether I was doing something wrong when I didn't hear the AWOS, so I shut the engine down and asked for help. We tried a different airplane and concluded that the AWOS was off because of a power outage the previous day and no one was around to get it going again. The instructor advised me to tune to BWI for the local wind and altimeter settings.

I took off and proceeded on course. It was a little bumpy at times, and I had a tendency to drift off course. But I found my landmarks easily and spotted SBY at least 20 miles out. I checked in with the tower, entered the pattern, and got clearance to land. The wind was stronger than I expected from the forecast and it turned into a challenging landing. Not the hardest I've done, never out of control or scary, but challenging to keep it on center line. I touched down and easily made the first turnoff.

I asked the tower to do a few trips around the pattern and the controller agreed. When he cleared me for the first takeoff he reported much stronger winds and gusts than I expected, stronger than reported on the ASOS, so I decided to simply return to FME. On climbout I advised the controller that I was cancelling my landing intentions and he cleared me to proceed on course.

I had no trouble navigating back to FME. I had to tune BWI ATIS to get the wind and altimeter info. I spotted the field, reported to ATC, switch frequencies, entered the pattern, and landed.

All in all, it was pretty uneventful.