Yesterday was the PERFECT day to go flying. Well, it was a bit bumpy but who cares? That just makes it more fun. I went out with my instructor to officially start training for the checkride. It was a whirlwind. He had me doing everything from turns around a point and S turns to slow flight and stalls. It's amazing how quickly those skills rust over. Plus, with the crazy bumps staying within a 200 foot altitude band was harder than I expected.
Oh well, it was great training and the view was incredible. I flew over Alvin towards I-45 and I could see the little sailboats in the bay and Galveston off to the South. I love ground reference maneuvers because it's all out the window. I just can't get over how small cows look at 1000 feet.
Ok so that was all the easy part. We got back into the pattern and about halfway down the downwind leg he says, "Lets make this a soft field landing".
Alright, no problem. I'll need full flaps on final, but I'll pad my approach speed with 5 knots for the gusts. A little left crosswind but nothing to fret over. Then as I glide over touchdown I fail to bring the nose high enough. He took the controls and showed me as we glided over the runway.
"Like this" and he pulled the nose up to what seemed the empty blue sky. I was so used to normal landing i forgot how high the nose seemed on the ground as you tried to keep all the weight on the rear wheels. (The reason for this is to get the max braking effect on the rear and to protect the nose wheel).
Then while still coasting along on the runway he says "Alright, soft field take off".
Ack! Ok, 10 degrees of flaps and full power. I take weight off the nose again and try to fly her off the ground in ground effect. I get her up but i DONT hear the stall horn. It's counter intuitive but this is a situation where you do want to hear the stall horn and have it flying in the lowest speed possible. The ground effect is what helps you to cheat aerodynamics and get you flying.
So I fly her a few feet off he runway until she accelerates to climb speed and we are off again. At about 200 feet I go clean (or no flaps).
Then we do the whole thing again and I'm a little better but not much. I do have some things to work on but I'm there. This weekend I purchased some books to help with training. They include a guide to the oral exam and the standards for the checkride.
Yes there is an oral exam IN ADDITION to the written exam. The examiner can quiz you for as many as 3 hours on basically anything. He can say something like "Show me this airplane is legal to fly" or " what do you do if a passenger is hyperventilating". It's a final check to make sure that all those hours of studying will actually be useful in real world situations.
It's "studying" but I like it. I'm training for my checkride!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
On a clear day, you can see for miles
I did it!
I flew my long cross country. That's 217 nautical miles around Houston and it was awesome!
The trip was incredible and it couldn't have been on a better day. I could see for miles and miles in every direction. I was going to write a huge entry about the things that happend along the way. For one thing a country radio station interferes with the Clover field frequency. I've never felt more Texas than when I was flying over farmland with country music piping in over my headset.
Anyway this flight did alot of things for me. For one thing, my confidence was bult much more by being in that plane for so long. By the end she fit like a glove. It's a special bond a boy and his plane.
Mostly though any doubts I may have had about my new hobby were completely obliterated that day. I'm hooked. The view up there is just too beautiful. As I flew out to that first airport everything just felt right. I looked out over the horizon and I was not afraid or nervous. The horizon was now a place, it was somewhere to go and it called irresistably.
I'm thinking people become pilots for different reasons. Some do it for the personal challenge. Others are more adrenaline drunkies, the big kids looking for that next big rush.
I am in it for the view. I am simply awed by flight.
This instense fascination/appreciation for all of this has led me to reconsider some life choices.
The view of Clover field as I left on my first big trip. Notice the blimp in the grass field.
I flew my long cross country. That's 217 nautical miles around Houston and it was awesome!
The trip was incredible and it couldn't have been on a better day. I could see for miles and miles in every direction. I was going to write a huge entry about the things that happend along the way. For one thing a country radio station interferes with the Clover field frequency. I've never felt more Texas than when I was flying over farmland with country music piping in over my headset.
Anyway this flight did alot of things for me. For one thing, my confidence was bult much more by being in that plane for so long. By the end she fit like a glove. It's a special bond a boy and his plane.
Mostly though any doubts I may have had about my new hobby were completely obliterated that day. I'm hooked. The view up there is just too beautiful. As I flew out to that first airport everything just felt right. I looked out over the horizon and I was not afraid or nervous. The horizon was now a place, it was somewhere to go and it called irresistably.
I'm thinking people become pilots for different reasons. Some do it for the personal challenge. Others are more adrenaline drunkies, the big kids looking for that next big rush.
I am in it for the view. I am simply awed by flight.
This instense fascination/appreciation for all of this has led me to reconsider some life choices.
The view of Clover field as I left on my first big trip. Notice the blimp in the grass field.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The patchwork farms
Today I flew my first cross country solo. I flew her from my field in Pearland down to Wharton and back… 101 miles through the skies of southeast texas.
This is what I have been training for. I have been striving to get to this point ever since I sat down in that left seat and puzzled over all the dials and controls. In fact, I remember awkwardly taxiing on the ground thinking, how am I ever going to fly this thing? Today it all came together.
So I was nervous in the morning. I had done some pattern work the day before so I was feeling pretty good about stick and rudder stuff. Today was different though. I was going to point the plane somewhere and go. I was going to navigate, use the radios and command my own mission over to Wharton and back. I would be all alone but I felt ready.
I went over my flight plan with my instructor and filed it with a weather briefer over the phone. My tanks were full with 4 hours of fuel, more than enough for my 1 and a half hour journey. (We are expected to take at least an extra half hour of fuel). I preflighted the plan and taxiied down to the runway. I taxiied like a pro.
I did my engine runup and set up the Loran ( a kind of terrestial GPS) for my direct route to Wharton. I took a deep breath and looked around for planes. This is it.
I turned down the runway and gave it full power… the white dashed lines whizzed under me faster and faster then a little pull back and WOOSH. I was in the air. I felt immediately calmer. The trees passed under me and I was on my way.
As I flew over the farms west of the airport I had a little jump. For a split second I didn’t know where I was! It was all patchwork under me, like a giant green quilt. Get it together I told myself, how far off could I be off? I mean I just took off!!
I scanned around me and nothing. It was the same in every direction. What the heck is going on? And then off to my right, just below the right wing a prominent road went off into the distance. Was that highway 6? If that’s it then 288 must cross it and… there it was!! Ok that means for whatever reason I flew southwest initially, no problem. I just turned right and headed for the intersection. I minor flub but it was enough to keep me in check the rest of the flight. The Loran was back on course and everything was fine. Now I know to choose checkpoints close to the airport so I can get an initial bearing. Take off and climbout are dynamic and it’s easy to let the compass drift off a little.
I leveled off at 1800 and looked out the window to make sure I knew where I was.
The big lake was off to my right and the two little lakes I was headed for reflected the sun beautifully. I knew if I headed for the lakes I’d be fine. And that was it. I just kept her trimmed and point for the lakes. Or rather you don’t neceassarilly point the nose at the lake. I mean, initially you do but if the wind blows you off course you will be fighting it the whole time. Instead, point the nose at the lake and if you get blown so the lake is off to the left, point the nose to the left of the lake. This will correct for the wind by putting some of your thrust into the direction of the wind. It’s known as the wind correction angle and can be computed before flight if you know the winds. Now, that angle just an initial guess! All that goes out the window during flight, you just do whatever you have to do to stay on course.
I tried to contact Montgomery Country Radio but nothing. I tried both frequencies. Oh well, I’ll just keep trying. I’m not going anywhere. I just looked out and scanned for traffic, and admired the view. Visibility wasn’t that great. It was called as 7 miles but it seemed a little worse. It’s a little unnerving to see white mist in every direction. 7 miles sounds like a lot but from 2500 feet, you always wish there was more.
I looked for other marker on the ground to confirm my position. There was Needville off to my right. Then there was New Gulf off to the left. I’ve seen cities from the air but this time it was different. I was flying over them. I wasn’t play a video game or watching passively from the passenger seat. This was real.
I located the airport from maybe 10 miles out. It was easy enough to spot because it is in the middle of nowhere. The characteristic white hangers lining the runway might as well have been neon orange. I make my call over the radio and one biplane remarked “she’s all yours” as I saw him take off and turn off into the west. The view of that biplane taking off from a lonely east texas airport at 1000 feet should be a postcard.
I got in the pattern, and turned on final. I was high! Very high. The papi’s were all white. Further telling me what I already knew. I let the power out and my approach steepened. Not enough.
I went to idle. Ok this will work but my deck angle is a little lower than usual. Well my airspeed is perfect and my projected landing spot looks good. I get to within 20 feet and flare and hold it off. Touchdown!!
I taxiied off and onto the ramp to get my head together. This was momentous for me. I had did it! But it wasn’t over. I went back to the start of the runway and did another engine runup. It all looked good. I realigned my gyro and I was taking off again.
The trip back was WAYY easier. I guess because I had already flown it. I even remembered terrain on the way back. Oh, there is that thick patch of trees over there past the twin lakes. Oh there is the golden patch with no trees over there. I had half an hour to calmly fly and drink in the view.
When I got back to the airport vicinity I had a bit of a problem finding the airport. Well I just didn’t find it immediatley. When you are in a plane and monitoring altitude and heading and wings level not knowing where you are going for even a split second is annoying. I just told myself to calm down, just look for it. I picked out off to my right and headed for it.
I landed with no problem. I had flown 101 miles and it was a great feeling. I taxied back and debriefed with my instructor. It couldn’t have gone better.
I remember getting in my car and driving away onto the ramp. My car had never felt so close to the ground. I felt like I was chewing grass. I felt like a bug… doomed to crawl along the surface it’s whole life while the heavens wheeled above him.
This is what I have been training for. I have been striving to get to this point ever since I sat down in that left seat and puzzled over all the dials and controls. In fact, I remember awkwardly taxiing on the ground thinking, how am I ever going to fly this thing? Today it all came together.
So I was nervous in the morning. I had done some pattern work the day before so I was feeling pretty good about stick and rudder stuff. Today was different though. I was going to point the plane somewhere and go. I was going to navigate, use the radios and command my own mission over to Wharton and back. I would be all alone but I felt ready.
I went over my flight plan with my instructor and filed it with a weather briefer over the phone. My tanks were full with 4 hours of fuel, more than enough for my 1 and a half hour journey. (We are expected to take at least an extra half hour of fuel). I preflighted the plan and taxiied down to the runway. I taxiied like a pro.
I did my engine runup and set up the Loran ( a kind of terrestial GPS) for my direct route to Wharton. I took a deep breath and looked around for planes. This is it.
I turned down the runway and gave it full power… the white dashed lines whizzed under me faster and faster then a little pull back and WOOSH. I was in the air. I felt immediately calmer. The trees passed under me and I was on my way.
As I flew over the farms west of the airport I had a little jump. For a split second I didn’t know where I was! It was all patchwork under me, like a giant green quilt. Get it together I told myself, how far off could I be off? I mean I just took off!!
I scanned around me and nothing. It was the same in every direction. What the heck is going on? And then off to my right, just below the right wing a prominent road went off into the distance. Was that highway 6? If that’s it then 288 must cross it and… there it was!! Ok that means for whatever reason I flew southwest initially, no problem. I just turned right and headed for the intersection. I minor flub but it was enough to keep me in check the rest of the flight. The Loran was back on course and everything was fine. Now I know to choose checkpoints close to the airport so I can get an initial bearing. Take off and climbout are dynamic and it’s easy to let the compass drift off a little.
I leveled off at 1800 and looked out the window to make sure I knew where I was.
The big lake was off to my right and the two little lakes I was headed for reflected the sun beautifully. I knew if I headed for the lakes I’d be fine. And that was it. I just kept her trimmed and point for the lakes. Or rather you don’t neceassarilly point the nose at the lake. I mean, initially you do but if the wind blows you off course you will be fighting it the whole time. Instead, point the nose at the lake and if you get blown so the lake is off to the left, point the nose to the left of the lake. This will correct for the wind by putting some of your thrust into the direction of the wind. It’s known as the wind correction angle and can be computed before flight if you know the winds. Now, that angle just an initial guess! All that goes out the window during flight, you just do whatever you have to do to stay on course.
I tried to contact Montgomery Country Radio but nothing. I tried both frequencies. Oh well, I’ll just keep trying. I’m not going anywhere. I just looked out and scanned for traffic, and admired the view. Visibility wasn’t that great. It was called as 7 miles but it seemed a little worse. It’s a little unnerving to see white mist in every direction. 7 miles sounds like a lot but from 2500 feet, you always wish there was more.
I looked for other marker on the ground to confirm my position. There was Needville off to my right. Then there was New Gulf off to the left. I’ve seen cities from the air but this time it was different. I was flying over them. I wasn’t play a video game or watching passively from the passenger seat. This was real.
I located the airport from maybe 10 miles out. It was easy enough to spot because it is in the middle of nowhere. The characteristic white hangers lining the runway might as well have been neon orange. I make my call over the radio and one biplane remarked “she’s all yours” as I saw him take off and turn off into the west. The view of that biplane taking off from a lonely east texas airport at 1000 feet should be a postcard.
I got in the pattern, and turned on final. I was high! Very high. The papi’s were all white. Further telling me what I already knew. I let the power out and my approach steepened. Not enough.
I went to idle. Ok this will work but my deck angle is a little lower than usual. Well my airspeed is perfect and my projected landing spot looks good. I get to within 20 feet and flare and hold it off. Touchdown!!
I taxiied off and onto the ramp to get my head together. This was momentous for me. I had did it! But it wasn’t over. I went back to the start of the runway and did another engine runup. It all looked good. I realigned my gyro and I was taking off again.
The trip back was WAYY easier. I guess because I had already flown it. I even remembered terrain on the way back. Oh, there is that thick patch of trees over there past the twin lakes. Oh there is the golden patch with no trees over there. I had half an hour to calmly fly and drink in the view.
When I got back to the airport vicinity I had a bit of a problem finding the airport. Well I just didn’t find it immediatley. When you are in a plane and monitoring altitude and heading and wings level not knowing where you are going for even a split second is annoying. I just told myself to calm down, just look for it. I picked out off to my right and headed for it.
I landed with no problem. I had flown 101 miles and it was a great feeling. I taxied back and debriefed with my instructor. It couldn’t have gone better.
I remember getting in my car and driving away onto the ramp. My car had never felt so close to the ground. I felt like I was chewing grass. I felt like a bug… doomed to crawl along the surface it’s whole life while the heavens wheeled above him.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
How I got my groove back
I have not flown solo in a plane since June! That’s crazy. I met my instructor at the airport to do a few touch and go’s to get back into good form. We jumped in the plane and I found myself landing a little squirrelly again. I’d balloon up from the runway in the last 20 feet and then “save it” be nosing down and getting back into ground effect before my airspeed died off. Not very graceful at all.
Anyway I did the same thing twice and we taxied off the runway to get gas.
“How was it? Oh, I know they weren’t great”
“You are a little rusty but just take it up a few times and get back into it. I noticed you nose down a little during the final 40 feet or so. You pick up airspeed and then zoom up for the flare… try not to do that”
That was it!! The clouds parted and I saw the light. I had been doing that unconsciously and him saying that just made me aware of it. I think I would pick a spot to flare and would nose down to it when I came close. There is no sense in that. If anything just keep your airspeed good and flare wherever you have to.
So I went back up and that first landing was dare I saw PERFECT. I had found it. My groove was back. I didn’t even taxi off the runway, I gave it full power with flaps up and was back up in the air. I came back and another good landing!
Can this be working? Another touch and go and I was back for my third landing.
It was great. That was 3 good landings in a row. I was back and now more ready than ever for my 1st cross country solo.
Anyway I did the same thing twice and we taxied off the runway to get gas.
“How was it? Oh, I know they weren’t great”
“You are a little rusty but just take it up a few times and get back into it. I noticed you nose down a little during the final 40 feet or so. You pick up airspeed and then zoom up for the flare… try not to do that”
That was it!! The clouds parted and I saw the light. I had been doing that unconsciously and him saying that just made me aware of it. I think I would pick a spot to flare and would nose down to it when I came close. There is no sense in that. If anything just keep your airspeed good and flare wherever you have to.
So I went back up and that first landing was dare I saw PERFECT. I had found it. My groove was back. I didn’t even taxi off the runway, I gave it full power with flaps up and was back up in the air. I came back and another good landing!
Can this be working? Another touch and go and I was back for my third landing.
It was great. That was 3 good landings in a row. I was back and now more ready than ever for my 1st cross country solo.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Cloud Rapture
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.
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.
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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