AvGas

Much flying has happened over the last two months, and many things have been accomplished. However, today was the day to prove that the last 1.3 years of flight training have been leading somewhere.

My FAA check pilot (Mike Shiflett for the SF Bay folks) showed up about 20 minutes early…just as I was planning to do my final review of airspace, systems, etc. Mike is a very laid-back guy, and started things off with questions about me, my work, etc. All in all about a 10 minute period of time for me to jab while he went over my logbook and reviewed the application. After that we spent about 5 minutes reviewing the aircraft logbooks, and then 15 minutes on the oral portion…yes…you read correctly, 15 minutes. Granted, I answered about 25 questions in those 15 minutes. He seemed pretty convinced that I was suitable to fly with, and proceeded to have me pre-flight the aircraft. He met me out at the aircraft, and we went to it:

We stayed in the pattern at KSQL for soft field T/O & landing, short field T/O & landing, a go-around, a short approach, and a no-flap landing (this one got me, as I hadn’t really ever practiced no-flap landings…it took two go-arounds before the third-time’s-a-charm).

After the landings, we departed on our cross-country to KSNS…in which we almost got to Woodside VOR (OSI) before he diverted me to KPAO. We did a touch & go at KPAO, and then the foggles came out for some instrument flight and unusual attitude recovery.

The last bit was steep turns, slow flight, and a power-off stall. After the final task (power-off stall), Mike took the controls and flew us back the short distance to KSQL.

The flight portion lasted 1.5 hours…for a pretty painless 2.5 hour checkride. I have to admit, I thought it was going to be harder and longer. Needless to say, it was a pleasure flying with Mike…he made it (mostly) stress free, pleasant, and quick. For SF Bay Area folks, I highly recommend him.

The checkride was over before 2pm, so I went home and grabbed my wife so that she could be my first torture subject (passenger). She enjoyed it quite a bit (thank goodness for smooth air…however, she wants air conditioning!)

It has been a big day…I am now a certificated private pilot (ASEL).

9/27/2006: Addendum: After a couple of days to think about the checkride, I want to be very clear that I did not fly perfectly, and in fact was out of PTS (Practical Test Standards) tolerances on my short field landing (too much float); however, the examiner doesn’t expect you to be perfect, and the PTS doesn’t require that you be perfect. So, for those of you facing an impending checkride, take heart in knowing that being well-prepared and well-rested are much more important than striving for perfection.

Things have been very busy in the last week, with two solo cross country flights totalling 6.7 hours of Hobbs time.

Solo Cross Country #1: KSQL-KMOD-KSQL

This was a relatively easy cross country flight, and my route took me by way of SUNOL and TRACY intersections. Flight planning was easy, and finding KMOD was no problem, even with fire-induced haze from a blaze about 25 mi away. I had been studying up on the KLN89(B) GPS that most of the C172S West Valley fleet have (some have KLN94), and was disappointed to find that the KLN89B in N54JA was inop.

N54JA:

Solo Cross Country #2: KSQL-KSMX-KMAE-KMOD-KSQL

Yesterday’s cross country was a beast. I had never logged more than 2.1 hours in flight on any one day, and this cross country came in at 4.9 hours (and around 450nm). I purposely chose KSMX (Santa Maria) because my grandmother lives there, and thought it would be nice to have lunch with her. In addition, it is an airport that I have been to a number of times because my uncle (who recently passed away) had a hangar there and as a kid I had flown out of there with him.

I decided that the prospect of an inop GPS unit was too much to bear, and plunked down $500 for a Lowrance Airmap 600C. I programmed the routes for each leg of the journey, and voila…navigation magic. That said, primary navigation was by pilotage, dead reckoning, and VOR nav, but it was extremely nice to have the 600C.

The trip from KSMX-KMAE got very bumpy over the mountains coming into the central valley (it was 39° in KMAE (Madera) and 40° in KMOD (Modesto))

Everything went off without a hitch, and it was very nice to be able to fly in for lunch with family (my mom/stepdad ended up coming to the airport as well).

My routes were:

KSQL-KSMX via OSI SANTY SNS PRB KSBP

KSMX-KMAE via KSBP PRB ROM

KMAE-KMOD via HYP

KMOD-KSQL via TRACY SUNOL

With my night and solo cross country requirements now met, it won’t be too much longer until the checkride.

Panel at 7500 enroute to KSMX:

Mines in the mountains near ROM (coming into the central valley) enroute to KMAE:

KMCE below (enroute to KMOD):

Back home at KSQL (N35583):

We started out around 2100 (yesterday, 6/22/06):

• Steep/Slow/Stalls (power off & power on) northeast of KLVK plus 4 landings on 25R
• Over to a smaller airport (KPAO) for 3 more
• Back to KSQL
  

Total: 8 night landings and 2.0 hours of night time logged. It was a lot of fun…and I felt very good about my flying.

Lorne, Karl, Steve, and I went over to the Hotel Sofitel for a drink post flight around 2330…an entertaining group of guys.

Out next week for a night cross country to KSAC.

It was a fairly grueling day today spent in preparation for my WVFC cross country phase check (it was supposed to be yesterday, but the scheduled aircraft was grounded for maintenance).  The idea of the phase check is for an instructor other than your primary to evaluate you before “major” phases of flight training.  West Valley has three required phase checks that must be completed prior to taking the private pilot checkride:

1. Solo phase check (after your instructor has soloed you but before your next solo flight)
2. Cross country phase check (before your first solo cross country)
3. Checkride phase check (basically a warm-up checkride)

I know that some people in the club resent the phase check process and feel that it adds unnecessary cost to the flight training (it does add cost…my phase check today cost ~$500 between the 3.5 instructor hours and 1.8 hours in the plane).  This said, I do feel that the phase check process adds value in preparing a student for the type of practical testing that they will receive on their checkride (we’ll see if I feel the same way after taking the checkride), and I feel that I learned a few valuable items from the phase check instructor (e.g. having the engine pulled over mountainous terrain sucks…and prompts one to consider alternate routes the next time).

We did some ground (oral) testing for about an hour, and then moved into N35583 for the flying portion of the phase check.  The flying portion included a number of items, includng a soft field takeoff, engine out emergency, VOR tracking, diversion to C83 (and soft field landing), non-towered airport communications, simulated instrument flying (including unusual attitude recovery), and short field landing (with a go-around on the first try …winds 260 at 16 for 30 at KSQL).

Although stressful, it was a good learning experience.

Might do a solo flight next time out…and then a short solo cross country and some night flying (with Lorne).

It has been exactly one year of flight training, and although I had originally hoped that I would have my private pilot certificate by now, I have come a long way and learned an enormous amount. Here are the stats for this past year:

• Flights: 51
• Total Time: 58.6
• PIC: 6.9
• Day landings: 180
• Simulated Instrument: 2.6
• Cross Country: 5.1

9.6 hours.

I have flown 9.6 hours in the past month (May 11, 2006 - June 10, 2006).  While this may not sound like much (and certainly isn’t for many pilots), it is a lot for me.  From January 1, 2006 - May 10, 2006 I had logged a total of 6.5 hours.  So, you can see that this is a big jump.  8-10 hours per month is what I am shooting for…and will really help me get the private pilot certificate finished up (as well as keep me current once I have the cert).

Lorne and I were out today in N54JA on a cross country to O22 (Columbia).  As expected, Lorne got us “lost” and I had to plot my way to KTCY (Tracy).  Even though we circled for what seemed like an eternity while I dialed in the SAC (Sacramento) and ECA (Manteca) VORs, my plot to Tracy was dead on.  We did a bit of pattern work (short/soft) at Tracy and some Foggles-style unusual attitude recovery on the way back (first time for me…disconcerting, but recovery was pretty decent).

I almost forgot to mention that the winds at KSQL (San Carlos) upon our return were 260 at 20 kts gusting 25…fun.

Solo on Tuesday to practice short/soft T/O & landing.  Ground brush up on Wednesday with Lorne, and the cross country phase check on Thursday.  It’s going to be a busy week.

I have a WVFC cross country phase check coming up on Thursday, and am finding that I really have to brush up on things like airspace, opening/closing flight plans with FSS, emergency procedures, etc.  While the flying portion is going very well, I have been extremely lazy in preparing for my FAA written exam, and really need to start studying more so that I can get it out of the way and concentrate on my upcoming solo cross country flights and ultimately the private pilot checkride.

Lorne will be quizzing me on airspace tomorrow, and I am going to plan a cross country to O22 (Columbia)…although we will divert before getting too far in.  Time to go brush up on airspace.

• Circuit 1: Go around
• Circuit 2: Help from Lorne
• Circuit 3: Unassisted…but ugly
• Circuit 4: See below

I asked Lorne to run the 4th circuit (to show me a pro crosswind landing), and he requested current winds with the tower. Their response floored me:

590SP: “San Carlos tower…wind check”
SQL tower: “Winds variable 250°-270° at 25 kts, gusting 35 kts”
590SP: “Uh…can you repeat that?”
SQL tower: “Winds variable 250°-270° at 25 kts, gusting 35 kts”