quick birthday flight

for Claire's birthday, I took her out to KPYM - Plymouth Municipal in the very same place where the "Pilgrims" landed in the "new world" on Plymouth "rock". Alas, no Bravo clearance through boston this time either.

We ate at Plane Jane's cafe, a favorite of mine as it's all day breakfast food. As we were heading in, a news helicopter asked a plane on final if they could film them coming in. As it turns out the helicopter was filming stock footage for a news report of a crash that happened an hour or so before. the footage is at 1:38 in the link. so, no fuel leaks and no fire? one engine cuts out and then the other? poor fuel management, i'm guessing - glad they're safe, but could have been a lot worse. the news lady was at the airport after we left (as it's night) but the cafe is in the building behind her...huh...neat.

I practiced a few steep turns for the commercial ticket with Claire too - 60 degree banks - she loved it! it was all topped off by a fantastic red sunset setting over the storms off to the north as we headed back to KBED.

actual actual parts 2 & 3

i've had two more flights this weekend in some horrible moisture, but calm winds. on the first, we set up for the ILS29 at KORH (worcester). the approach is a bit nerve racking as the airport lies on top of a ridge. as we're coming down, the trees on the hill start to become noticeable around 200' above the DA. at the DA (missed approach point on an ILS) all I can see are trees climbing into the clouds - no runway or lights! a real missed approach! on the vectors back around Brigitte asks the tower if they wouldn't mind turning on the lights...a few seconds later the controller says 'there you go, you should make it in now.' sheesh...sure enough we saw the same thing the next time around, only this time there were runway lights shining through the clouds. this means we can continue another 100' below the DA. that was enough and we landed with no problem.

the next day, KBED was right at minimums as we departed. again the air was smooth, but nevertheless it was all business. Did the following:

ILS5 at Lawrence (KLWM) holding at LWM VOR on the published missed,
vectors to the ILS35 Mancester International (KMHT - 737s and airliners, oh my!)

on the way there I snapped this:

Something I hadn't realized about Manchester before is the runway has a huge dip in the middle.

from Manchester we received vectors to the ILS14 at Nashua (KASH) On the way there, we were between layers. very cool false horizons and a feeling like you're in a barren winter wasteland with all the white.

Finally we did the GPS11 at KBED, missed to the ILS11, and landed back down. Here's a brief and not too exciting video of the GPS approach. you can just make out the runway at the end:



The cool thing was, we did touch and goes at all the airports. Here's the ground track:

actual actual!

Yesterday i was psyched to get in touch with Brigitte, a CFI i had flown with before who had a cancellation and had caught wind that i was looking for some actual IMC.

the first thing i noticed was the lack of VFR traffic on the radio and around the airport. it was just us and a whole lot of corporate jets who i imagine were being rerouted from nearby logan int'l. the weather itself was between 600-1000 AGL throughout the region, isolated rain showers and calm winds. I filed to go from BED to BED with LWM and BVY as the route. i copied our clearance, taxied out, did the run up, set the radios and we departed 11 starting our turn at 500AGL to 050. just after liftoff Brigitte said, 'no looking out, don't worry about the outside, you're on instruments now'. it was tough not to look outside at around 1200 as i noticed some clouds now beneath us, yet the ground was still there. then at 1600 or so, just like that, we were in the proverbial bowl of milk. Brigitte took the plane for a few seconds so i could look around and see just what it's like to have no reference to the ground. awesome.

after that, it was pretty much like a very relaxed lesson. we shot the ILS5 into KLWM, breaking out around 1000 which was pretty anti-climactic as it was a normal VFR approach. we broke off early, going missed, then held at the lawrence VOR for a few turns. my 5 T's were consistently lacking on the 2nd T; time. i kept forgetting to start the timer! part of that was due to the dual garmin 530s displaying a nice purple racetrack to fly around.

we were then vectored for the localizer 16 at beverly (KBVY) after ATC blew us through the final approach course, they turned us around and we set up from the other side. the ATIS was reporting 600 broken and something few below that. the MDA for the localizer is 580'MSL. this was going to be fun. Brigitte said, 'let's do a touch and go on this one, if we don't have to go missed for real.' this was going to be lots of fun. 780 winds by on the altimeter - '200 to go' i say. 'continue' says Brigitte. just at 600 feet I call the PAPI (part of the runway lighting) in sight. glancing at my approach plate (should have done this before the final approach fix!), i see the runway should be on the right side of the lights. i'm starting to make out the runway and we continued in for a touch and go - touching down near the threshold to allow as much usable runway as i could. after leaving Beverly, we went missed as published, held at WITCH for about 4 turns and then headed back to Bedford.

On the way, between layers I managed to snap this (the G1 is a great phone, but not when it comes to taking pictures...)

The ILS11 at KBED was pretty uneventful, although we were at max forward speed for a bit (Brigitte's call) as the parade of business jets was still going on. we broke out at about 450' above the decision altitude and landed. on the roll out i learned something about not using the brakes on a wet runway too...something i'd never had to deal with.

Two more flights in this weekend's crap weather lined up!

imc in the regs for an instrument rating...just a thought

it's been 2 months that i've had my instrument rating yet the column in my logbook for instrument time remained a blank. i have something in the vicinity of 40-45 hours simulated instrument. since my goal is to one day be doing this for a living, i wanted to get my feet and ticket wet. at 141 schools you have a schedule, you fly everyday, no matter the weather and skirt around the CB cells. it's training towards what you'd experience on the job. you learn to make decisions in the air. a friend who went to a 141 school ft. pierce, forida said on a daily basis he had to make decisions on whether to fly his little BE-76 in between cells, or head back home, or worse; both. one of the drawbacks (and a big one if you want to build a career) of part 61 schools is that on top of flying 1400% less frequently (once a week v twice a day) the weather keeps you on the ground much more often.

i want to experience the worst of the worst in weather, i want to know my limits so I can accurately set them; something much safer in the long run than guessing what they might be and finding out for sure when it's too late. i want to continually push them until i'm comfortable with the idea of IMC, right down to the legal minimums. if i end up doing small cargo, that's all usually done at night, and a lot of it single pilot IFR. don't get me wrong, i'm not talking about getting in a 152 and making a b-line for the nearest icy thunderstorm, but i'd like to have more of a chance to practice ADM, aeronautical decision making...it's time to get that instrument ticket wet.

instrument rated!! the beard goes!!!

WOOO!

what a feeling. i finally got the instrument rating last sunday on the 11th on my checkride re-test. he just had me do the GPS29 at Hanscom starting with vectors to JAYSE. piece of cake! well almost...check out this METAR:

KBED 111556Z 28020G28KT 10SM CLR 19/02 A3006 RMK AO2 PK WND 28028/1555 SLP191 T01890022

fun, huh? and that didn't account for the cold front that blew through just before we launched. as the DE and I were holding short waiting to take off, there were a few business jets coming in. on top of that the pattern was crowded (sunny sundays...) and what's more, the tower called a low level wind shear alert, +/- 10 knots at 200 feet.

awesome.

i joked with the DE, "so let's see...wind shear, check, busy airspace and busy radio frequency, check and check, wake turbulence, check. oh, and gusts to 28...check...and let's not forget i'm nervous about busting a 2nd time. check."

all in all a pretty benign approach that went well within standards (i caught the step down fix this time). we got bumped around a great deal, but there was no wind shear thankfully, and i managed to land pretty smoothly, albeit left of the centerline after .7 hours on the hobbs.

eh, whatever...i have an instrument rating now :)

and so, the "rating beard" got shaved:

busted checkride - how to deal

did you just bust a checkride? i know how it feels, i did too! it was my instrument checkride, nonetheless. it feels like being dumped, fired and arrested all at the same time. that sinking feeling in your stomach...'am i one of those pilots that you hear about? did i just seriously bust a checkride? what about my flying career? how will i handle this in job interviews?' maybe there are more tears, or swears, but that's pretty much what it's like.

after my bust i started reading around the web about busts, and most advice is correct. the DE did it to keep you and your passengers safe, but it's a learning experience, you'll fix what's wrong, and you'll get it right. one of the CFIs i'm friends with had this great advice, "and now you'll have a great story for the interview." he's right - what a great opportunity to tell your future employer about an experience that made you a better and safer pilot!

now here's hoping you or i don't bust the re-test...mmmkay?

CFR Ch14, §61.49, a.k.a.; busted...

On March 26th I attempted my instrument checkride. Here's a brain dump to help those who might be about to take their's (and hopefully not bust):

oral test:

jepp charts:
-enroute chart, the MCA/MRA are sometimes listed right at the fix / vor, (i knew) but also sometimes listed as a note (black number in a circle, like a footnote).

-departure procedures, if there is no SID, then use the ODP, if there's no ODP, then there's no obstacle, climb to 400 (standard TERPS clearance) then proceed on course, and use an approach plate to find the pointy things. didn't know there was a thought process like that, from one to the other to the other. can't remember that in any of the books either, fwiw.

Q: along an airway, a higher MCA is coming up, but you have not yet received clearance, frequency is congested, what do you do?
A: climb anyway, they know you have to, you're 'doing their job' as the DE put it.

i was good on the FARs as far as currency, VOR checks, alternates, and alternate minimums, able to catch MEAs and other critical altitudes and their meanings. i had a very good grasp on the weather and was able to answer the few questions there without a problem. other than that, nothing much significant.

practical test:

did my usual instrument checks during the taxi, and during the run up he said he had a clearance to give me. 'standby,' as i was in the middle of the mag check. we departed rwy 5 at KBED, and the foggles went on at 400 agl. the right arm broke in the process, which I had hoped was a good sign. he gave me instructions to turn to 250, and climb to 2000, matching the clearance from before, and then up to the expected 3000. i did well, headings and altitudes assigned, 1 unusual attitude recovery (which was a level climb at 500 fpm, with surprise covered AI...piece of cake.)

we were south of the minuteman airport (6B6) and would set up to do the VOR/DME RWY21 approach there. instructions were to intercept the 021 radial MHT (030 on the OBS - good) head to EGORE, one hold at EGORE at 3000, no problems, got cleared to do the approach while in the hold, now i can descend as i'm on a published leg, all went well. he had me go visual a mile out, and circle to land, giving me a ceiling of 1100MSL. i almost busted the MDA because i had the field in sight, but saved it remembering that i'm not in a position to make a normal landing. i also made sure to remain within 1.3nm of the runway end at 90kts, on a very short final to rwy3, we went around, and set up for the NDB/GPS5 at KLWM. confusion set in with ATC and their clearances at this point. the DE was doing all the radio work up to this point. he requested the GPS approach, they said NDB approach, I corrected them (GPS), but he said, 'no NDB', 'but i'm using the GPS overlay, correct?' correct. i set up the radios, ID'd LWM and MHT, turned MHT to 165 to identify KRIED, since I already had the GPS and ADF and marker for HAGET. the DE covers the AI and the DG for some partial panel fun. i tracked okay inbound using the GPS. as we're nearing HAGET he said they're using runway 32, so let's use the appropriate minimums. confusion started to set in, as i'm behind things at this point due to wind corrections using the GPS ground track / approach course. so down to 680 still? i thought "appropriate" meant we'd go missed early to avoid traffic. ok, i just passed and identified HAGET (the final approach fix) at this point, so i started timing, and descending. 'i want you to use the appropriate minimums', 'oh, circling minimums, okay, 720 is our new MDA.' continuing downward to 720 for my dive and drive, I hit the deck and started to track the magenta line on the GNS430 using the desired track, bearing and ground track, while making sure not to go below my MDA of 720. i got to the MAP, started to fly the procedure, but he took the plane and explained that I wouldn't get my instrument rating today, because unfortunately there are no do-overs in the practical exam. he said it was a simple mistake, but an important one: there's a step down fix at KRIED where you have to be at 920, but I was already at circling minimums of 720. 200 feet below MDA with no corrections or admission of error is a bona fide checkride bust. he gave me the option to stop for today, or if I'd like, I can get the precision approach out of the way back at KBED. one of the main things you learn while training for instruments is to shrug off bad approaches or mistakes, don't dwell, just concentrate on doing the next thing correctly. i said of course i'll do the precision approach.

we got vectors back to do the ILS29 at Hanscom. it was probably the sloppiest (but within standards) ILS approach i've flown. the wind was all over the place, plus knowing I busted didn't help. but i was able to keep a good attitude and just wanted to get that approach over with. i already failed, so what's the worst that can happen?

once we were tied down, he went over the retest procedure, told me i just need to log additional training, whether that's 15 minutes of ground, or 3 hours of flying, it doesn't matter. schedule a retest with him, and we'll just do that one approach again, full panel.

what really made me feel a little better was that before getting out of the plane he looked at me and said, ' everything else you did was fine, it was a small mistake that i'm sure you will never make again, especially now. don't worry, the sun will rise again tomorrow!'

it sounds corny, but it really did make me feel a lot better.