Last Sunday I flew a dual cross country to Beaumont. I was excited, this flight would involve jumping across Galveston Bay and talking to Beaumont tower. I got there at the crack of dawn, I almost slipped on dew as I hurried to do my preflight.
We set a course to fly down around Ellington airspace and then came across League City and Clear Lake. I could see my apartment! The air was a little unstable that morning so we could see large clouds building in the distance, especially out over the gulf. The view was amazing. As my head peered over the side I exclaimed over the mic, “this is why I’m learning to fly!”
And that was only the beginning. We got up to the bay and flew over the Kemah bridge at 1800 feet, just under Houston Hobby’s Class B airspace. The water and all the little toy boats slowly passed under us and the sun hit the bay making it glimmer and sparkle. The class B airspace above us higher at that point so we climbed up to 3500 feet. It took us around 13 minutes to cross the bay and it was over all too soon.
When we reached the opposite shore I could see lake anahuac off to my left so I knew were on course. There were a few scattered clouds below our altitude and my instructor pointed them out. It would be easy enough to avoid them and maintain VFR (visual flight rules) flight but they would continue to build. “in half an hour it’ll be worse?” I said. And he just told me to remember what it looks like right now.
At 20 miles out we called up Beautmont Approach and they told us to “squak” radio code 3457. This code is quickly dialed into our transponder so the controllers can identify our plane. We simply read back the number and that was it.
That is the trick when talking to tower, just say back what you the tower tells you. If they say maintain course and altitude of 2500 feet, parrot that back and go to that alititude. If anything it’s less workload because now they are taking care of you and vectoring you in to land. They also will point out other traffic to you as their workload permits. Awesome.
So we were cleared in for a right hand base turn into runway 12. The airport was pretty quiet and I landed no problem. One thing is there is a lot of “frequency” jumping. You talk to approach on the way in and then they hand you off to tower and once you are on the ground and off the runway you talk to ground control. This whole process is then reversed as you leave. Ground control hands you off to tower who then hands you off to departure.
As we left and climbed to 2500 feet I first noticed the clouds, they were everywhere! A layer was forming fast. I had to maneuver back and forth to get around them. I would fly over a few and under some, getting a sense of speed as they zipped by. It was what I always pictured flying to be. I looked back to the coast and what I saw is still burned in my mind. No wonder heaven is cloudy. There were clouds everywhere and building up to huge cloud cliffs out in the distance. They looked so crsip and clear with every bump and ripple reflecting the light and casting deep shadows. The sun was just above them pouring through the ethereal scene like a river of light. What really made it so breathe taking was the 3 dimensional quality the view had. It wasn’t the typical sky with clouds picture you see from the window. These clouds had dimension and depth. I was looking though dozens of miles in a giant cloud canyon.
And the canyon was floating. Below the streaky layers of the canyon floor was the patchwork farms of Texas. A water tower here and a few buildings there. Did those people realize how pretty it was up here?
In our everday lives the world gets abstracted away. The real world is not shopping centers and gas stations. It’s not even fake parks and golf courses. It was this, beautiful and sprawled out below me.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The Written
I've been studying for the FAA Written exam off and on for the past few weeks. The test is 60 questions multiple choice with a 2 and a half hour time limit. The questions cover a broad range of topics from flight rules and regulations to aerodyamic theory to flight planning. I know this is going to sound nerdy but I actually LIKE studying for it. Each time I look through some of the outlines I learn something new. I've taken the test 3 times and can now finish it well under at hour with a score in the high 80s. Of course, that's not good enough... I'm shooting for a perfect score :)
This just confirms what I've been feeling lately. I'm only really happy when I am learning. In fact, after earning two degrees I'm still taking classes in the local community college.
So for anyone who might stumble across this blog, teach yourself something new!
This just confirms what I've been feeling lately. I'm only really happy when I am learning. In fact, after earning two degrees I'm still taking classes in the local community college.
So for anyone who might stumble across this blog, teach yourself something new!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Day/Night Cross Country
Last Friday I had yet another chance to fly to Eagle Lake and then on to Brenham. I showed up at the airport at 6 pm ready to embark on my adventure. Is adventure too strong a word? Nope.. at least it certainly felt like one. My instructor and I were going to fly a small plane all over east Texas with most of the flying at night. It's more than your weekend movie that's for sure.
I did the pre flight and give him my flight plans. It was further evidence that pre-flights are vital to safety. Actually it was the first pre-flight where I found something significant, the pitot tube was clogged with dirt. The pitot tube is the small tube like thing sticking out into the oncoming wind. All planes have them, they can be seen near the nose of even the big commercial airliners. They measure the pressure of the oncoming wind to determine airspeed. Thus, the dirt in my pitot tube would have caused my airspeed to read wrong... very bad. The airspeed is one of the core instruments needed to fly a plane. In case you're curious the others are the altimeter, magnetic compass, fuel gauges, oil temp and pressure and engine tachometer. Pretty spartan huh? (thankfully even my Cessna 150 has more than that!)
So there are a number of things to do when you are leaving the vicinity of your airport. I made sure my flight plans were accurate with proper checkpoints, mileages, time of flight and fuel consumption. My instructor pointed out some of my checkpoints for the night legs would be hard to see at night. Duh! I don't know why I put rivers as checkpoints at night. I'll have to stick to major roads and cities off in the distance. I called the weather briefer to get the weather situation and he said it looked great for the night. Incidentally that is an awesome public surface, you call up this service and an actual person looks through radar plots and gives you a complete summary of expected weather in route. How convenient! Then you file a flight plan with the same guy. A flight plan is a quick summary of your flight with estimated time in route and fuel onboard. After you get airborne you call them and tell them to "activate it". They start a timer and if you don't close the plan upon arrival people start to get worried. Another great service, I am so glad this country has all of this aviation infastructure.
We didn't leave until 7:30 and headed towards Eagle Lake. Visibility was 8 miles and it was surprisingly hazy. 8 miles isn't much from 2500 feet. It was kind of spooky actually with the sun setting through the haze, it cast this orange glow all around us. We called the nearest Flight service station on the right frequency to open our flight plan and we were on our way. Wierd thing was they never answered us. We could hear the mic get keyed but no voice. We turned to other frequencies and could hear them. It must have been them with the problem. I hope Montgomery County radio fixes this soon.
The flight to Eagle Lake went pretty nominally. At 3 miles to the airport I began my decent and started looking for the airport. Based on my direction I would be coming on to it perpendicular.
I didn't see if for a while.... and was squinting and straining. Finally the instructor says, " look over your wing".
I was right on top of it. I was overflying it! I great big "ugh" comes over the radio. "Ok I'll bring it around in front and re-enter on the downwind leg"
A little while later I'm turning on final but i am WAY high. He says to add FULL flaps and bring the power to idle. I was high, if he wasn't there I'd have done a go around but there I was practically nose diving for the runway. It felt like it anyway. I pull up the flare and land. This is one small runway, the width is maybe half that of Pearlands. Maybe the width made me think I was farther spaced than I was on downwind leg thus resulting in my high approach.
Anyway there are no taxiways so we turn around and taxi back to the beginning of the runway and take off.
Taking off by the way is my absolute FAVORITE part of flying. It is such an incredible feeling to bring that plane off the ground and see the trees pass under you. It makes me happy just thinking about it again.
So now its practially dark and we are headed to Brenham, about 26 miles away. We get up to altitude and I look around to try and get my bearings. I notice crossing I-10, that is impossible to miss. Then a little while later I see the town of Brenham with the airport behind it. The strip has a pair of strong strobes at the end of it. At 14 miles out I can't miss it. This is a welcome relief because if I can't spot an airport in the day, I'm hopeless at night.
I enter the pattern for Brenham with traffic off to my right. We talked on the radio and he is going in after me. I turn on final and I'm high again. Not too high but high... Brenham actually has PAPI's. I forgot what it stands for but they are two lights that tell you where you are in the glideslope. Two while lights mean you are high. A red and white is right on slope and two reds mean you are low. I had two while lights for the entire approach.
I land a little long and we taxi off the runway. Two legs down!
The diner we were supposed to eat at was closed so we just talked about the trip, filed a new flight plan and we are off. The Brenham airport (code 11R) has sloped runway so our take off was slightly downhill. This resulted in the coolest take off ever. We we up to speed in no time ans we zoomed down.
The flight back to Pearland was an hour at night. Night flying is so peaceful. I didn't even have my hand on the yoke for most of it, steering with the rudders. It was an hour flight time so we just chatted and tried to identify landmarks. The air is calm and the view is beautiful. The bright orange glow of Houston was off to our left and the little cities were sprinkled down below us. We passed over Richmond at 2500 feet and it was gorgeous... then we turned and headed straight for Pearland. It was hard for me to figure out where I was through dead reckoning. We had a device called a Loran which is like ground GPS and so I knew where we were through that. My instructor was amazing at identifying every road and city in the distance. I don't feel so bad since he as flown here his whole life.
At 4 miles to pearland I keyed my mic 7 times and the runway lit up like a christmas tree. It was such a comforting site because I was getting worried about were it was. I circled in like a falling leaf and got lined up for approach. It was also high but not as high as the other two and I landed in the black void lined by lights. Well it wasn't that dramatic, our landing light is pretty powerful and lights up a good portion of the runway during landing. We were back.
Grand total was 2.9 hours of flying time with a good portion of that at night. I have one more dual cross country to a towered airport and then I'm on my own. I can't wait!
I did the pre flight and give him my flight plans. It was further evidence that pre-flights are vital to safety. Actually it was the first pre-flight where I found something significant, the pitot tube was clogged with dirt. The pitot tube is the small tube like thing sticking out into the oncoming wind. All planes have them, they can be seen near the nose of even the big commercial airliners. They measure the pressure of the oncoming wind to determine airspeed. Thus, the dirt in my pitot tube would have caused my airspeed to read wrong... very bad. The airspeed is one of the core instruments needed to fly a plane. In case you're curious the others are the altimeter, magnetic compass, fuel gauges, oil temp and pressure and engine tachometer. Pretty spartan huh? (thankfully even my Cessna 150 has more than that!)
So there are a number of things to do when you are leaving the vicinity of your airport. I made sure my flight plans were accurate with proper checkpoints, mileages, time of flight and fuel consumption. My instructor pointed out some of my checkpoints for the night legs would be hard to see at night. Duh! I don't know why I put rivers as checkpoints at night. I'll have to stick to major roads and cities off in the distance. I called the weather briefer to get the weather situation and he said it looked great for the night. Incidentally that is an awesome public surface, you call up this service and an actual person looks through radar plots and gives you a complete summary of expected weather in route. How convenient! Then you file a flight plan with the same guy. A flight plan is a quick summary of your flight with estimated time in route and fuel onboard. After you get airborne you call them and tell them to "activate it". They start a timer and if you don't close the plan upon arrival people start to get worried. Another great service, I am so glad this country has all of this aviation infastructure.
We didn't leave until 7:30 and headed towards Eagle Lake. Visibility was 8 miles and it was surprisingly hazy. 8 miles isn't much from 2500 feet. It was kind of spooky actually with the sun setting through the haze, it cast this orange glow all around us. We called the nearest Flight service station on the right frequency to open our flight plan and we were on our way. Wierd thing was they never answered us. We could hear the mic get keyed but no voice. We turned to other frequencies and could hear them. It must have been them with the problem. I hope Montgomery County radio fixes this soon.
The flight to Eagle Lake went pretty nominally. At 3 miles to the airport I began my decent and started looking for the airport. Based on my direction I would be coming on to it perpendicular.
I didn't see if for a while.... and was squinting and straining. Finally the instructor says, " look over your wing".
I was right on top of it. I was overflying it! I great big "ugh" comes over the radio. "Ok I'll bring it around in front and re-enter on the downwind leg"
A little while later I'm turning on final but i am WAY high. He says to add FULL flaps and bring the power to idle. I was high, if he wasn't there I'd have done a go around but there I was practically nose diving for the runway. It felt like it anyway. I pull up the flare and land. This is one small runway, the width is maybe half that of Pearlands. Maybe the width made me think I was farther spaced than I was on downwind leg thus resulting in my high approach.
Anyway there are no taxiways so we turn around and taxi back to the beginning of the runway and take off.
Taking off by the way is my absolute FAVORITE part of flying. It is such an incredible feeling to bring that plane off the ground and see the trees pass under you. It makes me happy just thinking about it again.
So now its practially dark and we are headed to Brenham, about 26 miles away. We get up to altitude and I look around to try and get my bearings. I notice crossing I-10, that is impossible to miss. Then a little while later I see the town of Brenham with the airport behind it. The strip has a pair of strong strobes at the end of it. At 14 miles out I can't miss it. This is a welcome relief because if I can't spot an airport in the day, I'm hopeless at night.
I enter the pattern for Brenham with traffic off to my right. We talked on the radio and he is going in after me. I turn on final and I'm high again. Not too high but high... Brenham actually has PAPI's. I forgot what it stands for but they are two lights that tell you where you are in the glideslope. Two while lights mean you are high. A red and white is right on slope and two reds mean you are low. I had two while lights for the entire approach.
I land a little long and we taxi off the runway. Two legs down!
The diner we were supposed to eat at was closed so we just talked about the trip, filed a new flight plan and we are off. The Brenham airport (code 11R) has sloped runway so our take off was slightly downhill. This resulted in the coolest take off ever. We we up to speed in no time ans we zoomed down.
The flight back to Pearland was an hour at night. Night flying is so peaceful. I didn't even have my hand on the yoke for most of it, steering with the rudders. It was an hour flight time so we just chatted and tried to identify landmarks. The air is calm and the view is beautiful. The bright orange glow of Houston was off to our left and the little cities were sprinkled down below us. We passed over Richmond at 2500 feet and it was gorgeous... then we turned and headed straight for Pearland. It was hard for me to figure out where I was through dead reckoning. We had a device called a Loran which is like ground GPS and so I knew where we were through that. My instructor was amazing at identifying every road and city in the distance. I don't feel so bad since he as flown here his whole life.
At 4 miles to pearland I keyed my mic 7 times and the runway lit up like a christmas tree. It was such a comforting site because I was getting worried about were it was. I circled in like a falling leaf and got lined up for approach. It was also high but not as high as the other two and I landed in the black void lined by lights. Well it wasn't that dramatic, our landing light is pretty powerful and lights up a good portion of the runway during landing. We were back.
Grand total was 2.9 hours of flying time with a good portion of that at night. I have one more dual cross country to a towered airport and then I'm on my own. I can't wait!
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