Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Garden Island
Just a quick post-- we're back from Kauai. What a beautiful, amazing place! We had a blast-- and the highlight of the trip was our ultralight tour of the island. Pictures and stories will be forthcoming... for now, a few quick pics (sorry about the sideways ones... I don't know why Blogger is publishing them that way!). Oh-- and I finally have a second aircraft listed in my flight log!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Old Friends
I spent the weekend catching up with "old" friends. Readers that I grew up with may know Nancy and Matt. Our families were all part of a close knit group that spent a lot of holidays and time together. Nancy and Mat have recently reconnected, married, and are moving to the DC Area! It was amazing to catch up with them and get to know them as adults (I hadn't seen them in years). Turns out that Matt is a big "car guy"... and we joked about trading rides in one of his old cars for rides in our plane. We had a great evening and I look forward to seeing more of them both.
Sunday, Husband and I caught up with another "old" friend (ok, not so old!). We went flying with M, our old flight instructor. We've been trying to get together with M for a while, but every time our schedules coordinate, the weather's been bad. So we met up Sunday morning for a flight to JGG for lunch. When we arrived at the airport, a fellow pilot alerted us to a couple of potential problems. Apparently there was an unmanned rocket launch NOTAM for right over our route-- and the clouds were decreasing at a much faster rate than anticipated. Hearing this, I figured I should check out the NOTAMS and get the information for myself. I searched and searched, but never could find the notice about the rocket launch. After conferring with Husband and M, we decided we'd go ahead with our planned flight-- but would make sure to get flight following to help keep us out of trouble (always a good thing, anyway).
It was strange flying with M again. Husband sat in the back on the way out, so M handled the radios for me while I flew-- and kept accidentally starting to use his call sign (Wisconsin) to begin/end radio calls instead of ours (Cessna). We all got a chuckle when the controller heard one of these slips and said "Gee, Wonder what your day job is?!" The flight went pretty smoothly. We had to descend from our desired altitude of 6500 feet because we encountered precipitation (and it was -2C outside-- definite icing potential), but the air was a balmy 2C at 4500, and the precipitation didn't do more than spit on the windscreen. Landing at JGG is always fun. Near the water, the winds always seem more variable-- which translates to more challenging! And JGG is right traffic for 13-- the runway of choice. On the plus side, the runway is a healthy 3200 feet long, and there's really good lunch waiting at the other end! Somehow, after all the landings with M, I got nervous on this one. But still managed to get the plane down reasonably well-- and without embarrassing myself in front of all the people watching from the restaurant!
We had a great lunch-- who can resist their homemade bread and great sandwiches! Though not as busy as in the summer, several planes came and went while we sat outside. We struck up a conversation with a guy that's in process of buying land to make his very own grass strip. Husband was pretty fascinated. We also checked out a group of ultra light planes that later left as a flock. We laughed to see one of them put on a helmet and start the engine while standing outside the plane. Not giving us warm and fuzzies for flying with him! Maybe it was for protection against potential bird strikes!
During the trip home we quizzed M about his new airplane job. Sounds like he's really having a blast. He described his panel and the avionics in the planes he flies. It's crazy to think that in some ways, we have more advanced avionics in our little 2550 lb airplane than in his $40million dollar plane.
All in all, a most excellent weekend!
Sunday, Husband and I caught up with another "old" friend (ok, not so old!). We went flying with M, our old flight instructor. We've been trying to get together with M for a while, but every time our schedules coordinate, the weather's been bad. So we met up Sunday morning for a flight to JGG for lunch. When we arrived at the airport, a fellow pilot alerted us to a couple of potential problems. Apparently there was an unmanned rocket launch NOTAM for right over our route-- and the clouds were decreasing at a much faster rate than anticipated. Hearing this, I figured I should check out the NOTAMS and get the information for myself. I searched and searched, but never could find the notice about the rocket launch. After conferring with Husband and M, we decided we'd go ahead with our planned flight-- but would make sure to get flight following to help keep us out of trouble (always a good thing, anyway).
It was strange flying with M again. Husband sat in the back on the way out, so M handled the radios for me while I flew-- and kept accidentally starting to use his call sign (Wisconsin) to begin/end radio calls instead of ours (Cessna). We all got a chuckle when the controller heard one of these slips and said "Gee, Wonder what your day job is?!" The flight went pretty smoothly. We had to descend from our desired altitude of 6500 feet because we encountered precipitation (and it was -2C outside-- definite icing potential), but the air was a balmy 2C at 4500, and the precipitation didn't do more than spit on the windscreen. Landing at JGG is always fun. Near the water, the winds always seem more variable-- which translates to more challenging! And JGG is right traffic for 13-- the runway of choice. On the plus side, the runway is a healthy 3200 feet long, and there's really good lunch waiting at the other end! Somehow, after all the landings with M, I got nervous on this one. But still managed to get the plane down reasonably well-- and without embarrassing myself in front of all the people watching from the restaurant!
We had a great lunch-- who can resist their homemade bread and great sandwiches! Though not as busy as in the summer, several planes came and went while we sat outside. We struck up a conversation with a guy that's in process of buying land to make his very own grass strip. Husband was pretty fascinated. We also checked out a group of ultra light planes that later left as a flock. We laughed to see one of them put on a helmet and start the engine while standing outside the plane. Not giving us warm and fuzzies for flying with him! Maybe it was for protection against potential bird strikes!
During the trip home we quizzed M about his new airplane job. Sounds like he's really having a blast. He described his panel and the avionics in the planes he flies. It's crazy to think that in some ways, we have more advanced avionics in our little 2550 lb airplane than in his $40million dollar plane.
All in all, a most excellent weekend!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Vacation Time!
Husband and I are taking a little vacation soon. Since we missed the good ski weather (my crazy project kept us from going in March), we've decided that we should go warm instead... so Kauai, here we come! We were hoping to do a little flying while there-- we read a very cool article about flying on Maui... but we can't find an FBO on Kauai. Has anyone heard of any FBOs that fly out of Kauai?
In the meantime, we've found the next best way to explore... we're going to do an ultralight lesson. It looks very cool! And I will definitely post about it afterward. I know some pilots are really hesitant about the whole ultralight scene... but it's actually one of the things that contributed to my wanting to learn to fly. We di a similar thing in Durban (South Africa)-- took an ultralight flight out over the beaches and the ocean. I was terrified to do it-- Husband and the instructor had to sort of talk me into it. But once I was in the air with the instructor, it was amazing! Very different than I expected-- very smooth and freeing. It helped me to really understand the aerodynamics of flying.
Aloha!
In the meantime, we've found the next best way to explore... we're going to do an ultralight lesson. It looks very cool! And I will definitely post about it afterward. I know some pilots are really hesitant about the whole ultralight scene... but it's actually one of the things that contributed to my wanting to learn to fly. We di a similar thing in Durban (South Africa)-- took an ultralight flight out over the beaches and the ocean. I was terrified to do it-- Husband and the instructor had to sort of talk me into it. But once I was in the air with the instructor, it was amazing! Very different than I expected-- very smooth and freeing. It helped me to really understand the aerodynamics of flying.
Aloha!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Night on the Town
Ok... so maybe this is better termed "Early Evening on the Town"!
Husband and I finally made it up to HGR this past weekend. We've had two or three trips scheduled and something has always gotten in the way... either P-40 is expanded, the weather is bad, etc.
I didn't think we were going to fly this weekend. The plane was booked by someone else on Sunday, and on Saturday: I had a volleyball tournament, Husband had to work, and the weather looked awful. But... Saturday morning, we started seeing some blue through the clouds. My volleyball playing ended early (read: we lost!), and Husband managed to get his work wrapped up by late afternoon.
So, we headed out for an early evening treat: a flight to Hagerstown and dinner at the airport. HGR is so close, we each only got .6 hours of Hobbs, even with the runup and taxi time! But it was nice out-- almost smooth, and a lot of blue sky (and also a lot of haze!). I had done all the flight planning, so I flew on the way out and Husband manned the radios. HGR is a towered airport-- but we've gotten much better at our radio calls, so even that wasn't a big deal. Our approach brought us within a few degrees of the prevailing runway path, so we were told to call a 3 mile final. As soon as we did, we were cleared to land. We asked how to get to the restaurant, and Tower gave us instructions to park at Jet Ryder, an FBO on the field.
We pulled onto the ramp and were directed into a spot. The marshaller then met us at the plane. We were worried when he said that we couldn't walk to the restaurant, but he quickly followed that with an invitation to use the crew car. As long as we were back within 1:15, it would be free! ('course, we ended up with an $11 ramp fee because we didn't need fuel, but that's ok)
Within a couple of minutes, we were in the courtesy car (a maroon blazer) and we headed around the perimeter of the airport to Nick's Airport Inn. We felt a little strange going to dinner at 5:30 (can you say early bird special?!)... but the food was great; I even had plenty left for lunch the next day. (The dinner rolls and mashed potatoes were especially good!) Being accustomed to DC pricing, it seemed inexpensive-- especially since no wine with dinner!
After a nice dinner, we drove back over to the FBO and did a quick preflight. Husband flew us home... he even hummed a little (sure sign of a happy husband). We were back just as the sun started to get low on the horizon. We closed up the plane for the night and headed for our car. What a great date. In only a little more time (and a little more money) than we might spend for an expensive restaurant in DC, we had a great flight and dinner at HGR.
It was only as I started to get in the car that I remembered... the take away box. Hopefully, another hungry pilot borrowed the crew car after us!
Husband and I finally made it up to HGR this past weekend. We've had two or three trips scheduled and something has always gotten in the way... either P-40 is expanded, the weather is bad, etc.
I didn't think we were going to fly this weekend. The plane was booked by someone else on Sunday, and on Saturday: I had a volleyball tournament, Husband had to work, and the weather looked awful. But... Saturday morning, we started seeing some blue through the clouds. My volleyball playing ended early (read: we lost!), and Husband managed to get his work wrapped up by late afternoon.
So, we headed out for an early evening treat: a flight to Hagerstown and dinner at the airport. HGR is so close, we each only got .6 hours of Hobbs, even with the runup and taxi time! But it was nice out-- almost smooth, and a lot of blue sky (and also a lot of haze!). I had done all the flight planning, so I flew on the way out and Husband manned the radios. HGR is a towered airport-- but we've gotten much better at our radio calls, so even that wasn't a big deal. Our approach brought us within a few degrees of the prevailing runway path, so we were told to call a 3 mile final. As soon as we did, we were cleared to land. We asked how to get to the restaurant, and Tower gave us instructions to park at Jet Ryder, an FBO on the field.
We pulled onto the ramp and were directed into a spot. The marshaller then met us at the plane. We were worried when he said that we couldn't walk to the restaurant, but he quickly followed that with an invitation to use the crew car. As long as we were back within 1:15, it would be free! ('course, we ended up with an $11 ramp fee because we didn't need fuel, but that's ok)
Within a couple of minutes, we were in the courtesy car (a maroon blazer) and we headed around the perimeter of the airport to Nick's Airport Inn. We felt a little strange going to dinner at 5:30 (can you say early bird special?!)... but the food was great; I even had plenty left for lunch the next day. (The dinner rolls and mashed potatoes were especially good!) Being accustomed to DC pricing, it seemed inexpensive-- especially since no wine with dinner!
After a nice dinner, we drove back over to the FBO and did a quick preflight. Husband flew us home... he even hummed a little (sure sign of a happy husband). We were back just as the sun started to get low on the horizon. We closed up the plane for the night and headed for our car. What a great date. In only a little more time (and a little more money) than we might spend for an expensive restaurant in DC, we had a great flight and dinner at HGR.
It was only as I started to get in the car that I remembered... the take away box. Hopefully, another hungry pilot borrowed the crew car after us!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Stealin' Grace
Last week I did something I haven't done in a loooong time... I cut out of work early and went flying just for the heck of it! The Washington area had had a string of grey, gloomy days (and that seems to have the effect of turning normally sane people into "Eyeores"). My crazy project at work was finally coming to an end, but my schedule hadn't filled back up with other stuff. Oh- and inexplicably, it was a beautiful blue sky day.
So after staring at my computer for a while after lunch-- without actually getting much done at all, I just shut it down (I discovered the next day that I didn't even click send on the email I was writing!) and left the office. I was torn between a nice indulgent mid-afternoon nap and a peaceful jaunt through the skies. I decided to do both! A quick 40 minute nap had me refreshed and ready for the flight. So I headed for the airport.
It was nice to be out there again. I took my time with the preflight. I'm a little embarassed to admit it, but I always greet our plane when I arrive. I love to see "the Dog" sitting out there on the ramp, with it's cute stubby nose. I whisper a little hello and give it a pat on the wing as I walk up, and feel like I'm greeting a dear old friend. (Does anyone else admit to such foolishness! Husband makes terrific fun of me for it!)
I decided to head somewhere familar- just to shake the rust off. It didn't matter much where I flew-- but I know that to enjoy the flight, I need a destination. So I picked Luray. It's a nice little airport, out in the country. It's only about 45 minutes away, the perfect length for a quick mid-week pick-me-up.
On the way out, there was a ton of traffic! Every time I glanced at the fish finder, there were more planes headed my way. Without Husband there to help me spot the planes, I felt a little out of sorts. But I eventually made it through the fray and headed on out. As soon as I got out from the Bravo, I went ahead and crossed over the ridge to the long skinny valley that Luray is in. It was comforting to fly somewhere that I could basically find by feel. The airport is about halfway down the valley between the last two of the long ridges that make up the geography of the area.
I landed without incident and taxied to the small ramp. Once on the ramp, I braked, but didn't shut off the engine. Instead, I turned the plane so that I could look out over the nearby farms. I opened the window and breathed in the cool late afternoon air. Ah. That was more like it! After a few deep refreshing breaths, I ran through my checklists and made my calls to back taxi to the end of the runway.
Taking off (of course I did a soft-field!), I felt much more relaxed and in control. While the flight down had been a bit stressful with all the traffic sightings, the flight back was exactly what I wanted: peaceful and full of grace. I felt alive again. Just me and the flocks of birds around me. I landed back at JYO feeling rested and happy. I found I was smiling again for the first time in ages. Too bad you can't bottle that feeling... Well, no, I take that back. Then we might take it for granted, and flying is way too amazing to take for granted!
Oh-- and of course, I thanked the plane as I said goodnight, stopping to lean my forehead against the strut for just a second.
So after staring at my computer for a while after lunch-- without actually getting much done at all, I just shut it down (I discovered the next day that I didn't even click send on the email I was writing!) and left the office. I was torn between a nice indulgent mid-afternoon nap and a peaceful jaunt through the skies. I decided to do both! A quick 40 minute nap had me refreshed and ready for the flight. So I headed for the airport.
It was nice to be out there again. I took my time with the preflight. I'm a little embarassed to admit it, but I always greet our plane when I arrive. I love to see "the Dog" sitting out there on the ramp, with it's cute stubby nose. I whisper a little hello and give it a pat on the wing as I walk up, and feel like I'm greeting a dear old friend. (Does anyone else admit to such foolishness! Husband makes terrific fun of me for it!)
I decided to head somewhere familar- just to shake the rust off. It didn't matter much where I flew-- but I know that to enjoy the flight, I need a destination. So I picked Luray. It's a nice little airport, out in the country. It's only about 45 minutes away, the perfect length for a quick mid-week pick-me-up.
On the way out, there was a ton of traffic! Every time I glanced at the fish finder, there were more planes headed my way. Without Husband there to help me spot the planes, I felt a little out of sorts. But I eventually made it through the fray and headed on out. As soon as I got out from the Bravo, I went ahead and crossed over the ridge to the long skinny valley that Luray is in. It was comforting to fly somewhere that I could basically find by feel. The airport is about halfway down the valley between the last two of the long ridges that make up the geography of the area.
I landed without incident and taxied to the small ramp. Once on the ramp, I braked, but didn't shut off the engine. Instead, I turned the plane so that I could look out over the nearby farms. I opened the window and breathed in the cool late afternoon air. Ah. That was more like it! After a few deep refreshing breaths, I ran through my checklists and made my calls to back taxi to the end of the runway.
Taking off (of course I did a soft-field!), I felt much more relaxed and in control. While the flight down had been a bit stressful with all the traffic sightings, the flight back was exactly what I wanted: peaceful and full of grace. I felt alive again. Just me and the flocks of birds around me. I landed back at JYO feeling rested and happy. I found I was smiling again for the first time in ages. Too bad you can't bottle that feeling... Well, no, I take that back. Then we might take it for granted, and flying is way too amazing to take for granted!
Oh-- and of course, I thanked the plane as I said goodnight, stopping to lean my forehead against the strut for just a second.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Benefit of Time
Greetings. It's been forever since I blogged. A series of work trips and crazy deliverables have kept me very busy... New York (twice), Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Napa, and Philadelphia. Somewhere in there, Husband and I even managed to squeeze in a family trip to North Carolina. Unfortunately, the only trip we flew ourselves on was the North Carolina trip... but on to other topics
We have a joke in our house about "aviation time". From the very beginning of Husband's flight training (he started a while before I did), I remember being confused why he could manage to make a two hour flight lesson take five hours! I knew it took half an hour to drive out to the airport, and half an hour to drive back... And I could understand that there might be a little fluff in there-- hanging out with the flight instructors, etc. But that still leaves at least an hour and a half! It wasn't till I started to fly that I began to understand aviation time. Even so, each of us has to occasionally remind the other... "it's okay, it's aviation time" when it takes forever for the fuel truck to come or to get the books for the plane from the office. So given that we know this lesson well, it's a little surprising that I let myself almost get caught in the trap of aviation time.
Our trip down to North Carolina went smoothly... except for a bit of turbulence. Husband was flying and it was a little tougher for him. We spent the weekend with my family at my parents' place. It was great to see everyone (and meet my newest nephew-- who's not so new anymore!). We did a photo shoot on Saturday that was a ton of fun-- and we got some great photos from it (that you can see here). Sunday we enjoyed some good family time with the kids, went on a hike, that kind of thing. Husband left Sunday afternoon to attend a conference in Phoenix...which meant that I was flying home on my own on Monday.
Monday's weather started a little foggy and cloudy, but improved throughout the morning and was looking good by noon. I had planned to leave around noon to give myself tons of time to get home and settled before leaving on a business trip the next morning. But, I learned that my brother's family was leaving around 1pm, so I thought... why not stay a little later? Then my mom and I started cleaning-- and she was my ride to the airport. Still, I thought, as long as we leave by 1:30. When it got to be 2pm, and we were just getting in the car, I was a little worried, but not too much. The weather was looking good and the trip back is usually shorter than the one going down, we're still ok.
I head out to the plane (my baby!) and with mom's help get all of my stuff loaded in. I do a careful, but quick preflight, and take care of the fuel bill. I start to feel better about things-- I'm later than I wanted, but still have time to make it back to JYO before sunset... and being this late, some of the crosswind there should have died down by the time I land. Mom is already sitting in her car (with our dog, Flyer), watching me prepare to taxi out. I go through the checklist and start the engine. As I do, the tachometer catches my eye... it's spinning all over the place. Then, as my mind says "wait, does it usually do that? i don't remember it doing that before...", it slowly settles on 0.
Uh-oh. I really don't think that's right... but there's no red x. My attention is now totally focused on the inoperative instrument. I feel like my thoughts are going in slow motion. What now? I try flipping the MFD screen on-- this causes all the engine instruments to switch over to the other screen on the G1000. Sometimes this can fix a problem if the system has just gotten confused. No, that doesn't work. So I shut down, sit a second, and go through the startup procedure a second time. Still no luck. Deep breaths, deep breaths. I pull the POH and G1000 manual out and try to think where to look this sort of thing up. I don't find anything in the emergency checklists-- there are no red x's, so it seems the instrument is working, sort of. I next call Husband, and get him started looking online for information. Then I make a series of calls to my flight school and instructors. I have mixed results. But my flight instructor seems to think it may just be a minor problem.
So, I get out of the plane and go to the FBO to see if there's still a mechanic around. It's now around 3:30... and I can almost hear my watch ticking and feel the sun sinking. Turns out the mechanics left at 3pm. But I talk to the owner of the FBO who seems to have a fair amount of experience with planes like ours (172-SP with G1000). He thinks it's a p-lead... Then he stops and asks how many hours I have... I tell him around 175... and he asks if it's in this type of plane. I laugh and say it's all been in this particular plane! He then says that I should be ok to fly with a p-lead; I should be able to listen to the engine and watch the airspeed to keep the engine from red-lining. I think about this... But don't I NEED a tachometer? I study him a little.
I can't be seriously thinking about taking advice from someone I've never met before, who probably isn't an AME. So I call Nathan back, who rightly reminds me (I'm so proud of him for remembering) that a tachometer is required for flight (remember TOMATO-A-FLAMES from flight training?). I also talk to my old instructor who offers that while it's required, if it failed in flight, he wouldn't expect me to have to land immediately- I could continue on to my destination. What to do, what to do. Suddenly, I find myself thinking about aviation time. This is how it happens. It's a little problem... but I don't want to fly illegally or be unsafe. I also really want to get home tonight.
I decide to go and give it another shot and see if I can verify it's the p-lead by doing a mag safety test. To do this, you keep the engine running, and quickly switch the magnetos to the off position and then back to both. If the engine starts to die when they're in the off position, then the connections are as they should be. If not, then the engine will keep running. I'm not good with technical stuff-- but basically, the propeller is designed to start and kick the engine on if it moves (remember the old movies where planes are hand-propped?). But this design prevents this from happening if the magnetos are off-- for safety purposes. Apparently, this same wiring would give me my tachometer reading. (Someone out there may have a better explanation! Feel free to enlighten us.) So I start the engine... and to my relief, the tachometer quickly jumped to an appropriate reading. I sat there a moment and said a short, heartfelt prayer of thanks, and then got down to business. Given that it was now working-- and I had heard from several that it would likely be ok to fly without it (except for the legalities), I felt reasonably safe to give it a shot. I glanced at my watch... it was now after 4 pm. I'd really be pushing nighttime, but I'd be back in familiar territory-- and most importantly-- out of the mountains by the time the sun set. So I quickly got everything set and took off for home.
By about halfway through the flight, I relaxed enough to listen to some music. I appreciated the comfort of flight following with ATC, though I didn't see another plane until I flew under the approach for Dulles. The controller was even going to vector me directly into JYO through the Bravo space, but I decided that given the darkness, I'd better stick with the familiar, so I declined and stayed VFR. Oh-- and the sunset in my 6 was spectacular. My landing was even pretty decent, given that I hadn't done a night landing in quite a while. And those crosswinds had almost died completely.
We have a joke in our house about "aviation time". From the very beginning of Husband's flight training (he started a while before I did), I remember being confused why he could manage to make a two hour flight lesson take five hours! I knew it took half an hour to drive out to the airport, and half an hour to drive back... And I could understand that there might be a little fluff in there-- hanging out with the flight instructors, etc. But that still leaves at least an hour and a half! It wasn't till I started to fly that I began to understand aviation time. Even so, each of us has to occasionally remind the other... "it's okay, it's aviation time" when it takes forever for the fuel truck to come or to get the books for the plane from the office. So given that we know this lesson well, it's a little surprising that I let myself almost get caught in the trap of aviation time.
Our trip down to North Carolina went smoothly... except for a bit of turbulence. Husband was flying and it was a little tougher for him. We spent the weekend with my family at my parents' place. It was great to see everyone (and meet my newest nephew-- who's not so new anymore!). We did a photo shoot on Saturday that was a ton of fun-- and we got some great photos from it (that you can see here). Sunday we enjoyed some good family time with the kids, went on a hike, that kind of thing. Husband left Sunday afternoon to attend a conference in Phoenix...which meant that I was flying home on my own on Monday.
Monday's weather started a little foggy and cloudy, but improved throughout the morning and was looking good by noon. I had planned to leave around noon to give myself tons of time to get home and settled before leaving on a business trip the next morning. But, I learned that my brother's family was leaving around 1pm, so I thought... why not stay a little later? Then my mom and I started cleaning-- and she was my ride to the airport. Still, I thought, as long as we leave by 1:30. When it got to be 2pm, and we were just getting in the car, I was a little worried, but not too much. The weather was looking good and the trip back is usually shorter than the one going down, we're still ok.
I head out to the plane (my baby!) and with mom's help get all of my stuff loaded in. I do a careful, but quick preflight, and take care of the fuel bill. I start to feel better about things-- I'm later than I wanted, but still have time to make it back to JYO before sunset... and being this late, some of the crosswind there should have died down by the time I land. Mom is already sitting in her car (with our dog, Flyer), watching me prepare to taxi out. I go through the checklist and start the engine. As I do, the tachometer catches my eye... it's spinning all over the place. Then, as my mind says "wait, does it usually do that? i don't remember it doing that before...", it slowly settles on 0.
Uh-oh. I really don't think that's right... but there's no red x. My attention is now totally focused on the inoperative instrument. I feel like my thoughts are going in slow motion. What now? I try flipping the MFD screen on-- this causes all the engine instruments to switch over to the other screen on the G1000. Sometimes this can fix a problem if the system has just gotten confused. No, that doesn't work. So I shut down, sit a second, and go through the startup procedure a second time. Still no luck. Deep breaths, deep breaths. I pull the POH and G1000 manual out and try to think where to look this sort of thing up. I don't find anything in the emergency checklists-- there are no red x's, so it seems the instrument is working, sort of. I next call Husband, and get him started looking online for information. Then I make a series of calls to my flight school and instructors. I have mixed results. But my flight instructor seems to think it may just be a minor problem.
So, I get out of the plane and go to the FBO to see if there's still a mechanic around. It's now around 3:30... and I can almost hear my watch ticking and feel the sun sinking. Turns out the mechanics left at 3pm. But I talk to the owner of the FBO who seems to have a fair amount of experience with planes like ours (172-SP with G1000). He thinks it's a p-lead... Then he stops and asks how many hours I have... I tell him around 175... and he asks if it's in this type of plane. I laugh and say it's all been in this particular plane! He then says that I should be ok to fly with a p-lead; I should be able to listen to the engine and watch the airspeed to keep the engine from red-lining. I think about this... But don't I NEED a tachometer? I study him a little.
I can't be seriously thinking about taking advice from someone I've never met before, who probably isn't an AME. So I call Nathan back, who rightly reminds me (I'm so proud of him for remembering) that a tachometer is required for flight (remember TOMATO-A-FLAMES from flight training?). I also talk to my old instructor who offers that while it's required, if it failed in flight, he wouldn't expect me to have to land immediately- I could continue on to my destination. What to do, what to do. Suddenly, I find myself thinking about aviation time. This is how it happens. It's a little problem... but I don't want to fly illegally or be unsafe. I also really want to get home tonight.
I decide to go and give it another shot and see if I can verify it's the p-lead by doing a mag safety test. To do this, you keep the engine running, and quickly switch the magnetos to the off position and then back to both. If the engine starts to die when they're in the off position, then the connections are as they should be. If not, then the engine will keep running. I'm not good with technical stuff-- but basically, the propeller is designed to start and kick the engine on if it moves (remember the old movies where planes are hand-propped?). But this design prevents this from happening if the magnetos are off-- for safety purposes. Apparently, this same wiring would give me my tachometer reading. (Someone out there may have a better explanation! Feel free to enlighten us.) So I start the engine... and to my relief, the tachometer quickly jumped to an appropriate reading. I sat there a moment and said a short, heartfelt prayer of thanks, and then got down to business. Given that it was now working-- and I had heard from several that it would likely be ok to fly without it (except for the legalities), I felt reasonably safe to give it a shot. I glanced at my watch... it was now after 4 pm. I'd really be pushing nighttime, but I'd be back in familiar territory-- and most importantly-- out of the mountains by the time the sun set. So I quickly got everything set and took off for home.
By about halfway through the flight, I relaxed enough to listen to some music. I appreciated the comfort of flight following with ATC, though I didn't see another plane until I flew under the approach for Dulles. The controller was even going to vector me directly into JYO through the Bravo space, but I decided that given the darkness, I'd better stick with the familiar, so I declined and stayed VFR. Oh-- and the sunset in my 6 was spectacular. My landing was even pretty decent, given that I hadn't done a night landing in quite a while. And those crosswinds had almost died completely.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Big Dogs and Little Dogs
Husband and I usually refer to airplanes as "Dogs"... as in "Look at all those dogs in the sky!" I know that sounds strange... and I'm not even sure how we started that. I think we may have even done that before we named our plane 'Good Dog Flyer'. In any case, Friday afternoon, as I sat in Chicago O'Hare, waiting for my flight back home, I looked around at all the 'big dogs' and wished I were the one doing the flying, as opposed to sitting in the back listening to "channel 9" (the channel on United's entertainment center that lets you listen in to cockpit-ATC communications).
My colleague and I were headed back home after my fourth straight week of business travel (New York two weeks in a row, then Atlanta, and finally-- Chicago). I enjoy a little travel, but it does make it tough to keep up with home stuff. And our real dog, Flyer, has apparently been pretty stressed by my absence, as he's chewed a nice hole in his leg. So-- I was pretty happy to head home. Up in the sky, we quickly climbed up through the low-lying snow clouds and up through the clear blue to our cruise altitude. It's amazing how fast a 777 can fly!
As we climbed up above the snow clouds that had been covering Chicago since well before our arrival on Tuesday, I started to feel the pull of the blue sky. By the time we got into the familiar airspace surrounding Dulles, and I started hearing familiar voices on ATC, I was hatching a plan to do a little flying of my own. A few quick calculations-- if we landed by 4:15, I'd be in the car and out to JYO before 5-- that'd give me about an hour before sunset! If I was lucky, I'd even be able to get Husband to meet me out there to go with me.
On touchdown, I called Husband-- and he immediately jumped in the car to come out and join me. After an eternity on the people mover, and miles of walking, I finally made it to the car and out to JYO. Somehow, Husband and I arrived almost at the same time. A quick preflight and check of weather (and filing!), and we were on our way. I breathed a happy sigh as I pulled back the yoke (with 10 degrees of flaps in) to do a pretty much perfect soft field takeoff (those are my favorite). Husband didn't even know we were off the ground until at around 75 knots, I released the pressure and we soared up into the sky.
Because we knew the sun would be setting soon, we just headed over to Winchester for a quick flight. Going out there, the sun was a blazing ball of fire on the horizon, dippin lower and lower. It's only a few minutes out over Purcellville and Round Hill and then over the ridge, and over Berryville to Winchester. As we neared the airport, we could hear all kinds of traffic reporting in, including a helicopter coming from a local hospital. I decided overflying the field at 3500 ft (at midfield, of course), and then flying out about 2 miles before descending and turning was our best bet. As we manuevered around, we were pretty glad to have the TIS, though at one point, it screamed "TRAFFIC" as a plane crossed underneath us inbound on the 45 entry while we were still outbound at 3500. Luckily, the craziness ahead of us had straightened out (at one point there were two planes on base at the same time-- not a good thing!) before we got there, and after a nice smooth landing we were on the ground at Winchester.
We ran in the airport to get our stamps, and headed back out as the sun sank completely below the horizon. Husband had the flight back-- and did a great job getting us back into Leesburg. He's done less flying around that time of day than I have, so he was a little startled at how easy it was to see other planes. By the time we landed, it was definitely good and dark. I guess it must sound kind of funny to go out and only get .5 hours each of time in the plane each. But it was a GREAT way to end the week. Now, if only the weather will improve today, maybe I can sneak in another flight!
Till next time, flap hard.
My colleague and I were headed back home after my fourth straight week of business travel (New York two weeks in a row, then Atlanta, and finally-- Chicago). I enjoy a little travel, but it does make it tough to keep up with home stuff. And our real dog, Flyer, has apparently been pretty stressed by my absence, as he's chewed a nice hole in his leg. So-- I was pretty happy to head home. Up in the sky, we quickly climbed up through the low-lying snow clouds and up through the clear blue to our cruise altitude. It's amazing how fast a 777 can fly!
As we climbed up above the snow clouds that had been covering Chicago since well before our arrival on Tuesday, I started to feel the pull of the blue sky. By the time we got into the familiar airspace surrounding Dulles, and I started hearing familiar voices on ATC, I was hatching a plan to do a little flying of my own. A few quick calculations-- if we landed by 4:15, I'd be in the car and out to JYO before 5-- that'd give me about an hour before sunset! If I was lucky, I'd even be able to get Husband to meet me out there to go with me.
On touchdown, I called Husband-- and he immediately jumped in the car to come out and join me. After an eternity on the people mover, and miles of walking, I finally made it to the car and out to JYO. Somehow, Husband and I arrived almost at the same time. A quick preflight and check of weather (and filing!), and we were on our way. I breathed a happy sigh as I pulled back the yoke (with 10 degrees of flaps in) to do a pretty much perfect soft field takeoff (those are my favorite). Husband didn't even know we were off the ground until at around 75 knots, I released the pressure and we soared up into the sky.
Because we knew the sun would be setting soon, we just headed over to Winchester for a quick flight. Going out there, the sun was a blazing ball of fire on the horizon, dippin lower and lower. It's only a few minutes out over Purcellville and Round Hill and then over the ridge, and over Berryville to Winchester. As we neared the airport, we could hear all kinds of traffic reporting in, including a helicopter coming from a local hospital. I decided overflying the field at 3500 ft (at midfield, of course), and then flying out about 2 miles before descending and turning was our best bet. As we manuevered around, we were pretty glad to have the TIS, though at one point, it screamed "TRAFFIC" as a plane crossed underneath us inbound on the 45 entry while we were still outbound at 3500. Luckily, the craziness ahead of us had straightened out (at one point there were two planes on base at the same time-- not a good thing!) before we got there, and after a nice smooth landing we were on the ground at Winchester.
We ran in the airport to get our stamps, and headed back out as the sun sank completely below the horizon. Husband had the flight back-- and did a great job getting us back into Leesburg. He's done less flying around that time of day than I have, so he was a little startled at how easy it was to see other planes. By the time we landed, it was definitely good and dark. I guess it must sound kind of funny to go out and only get .5 hours each of time in the plane each. But it was a GREAT way to end the week. Now, if only the weather will improve today, maybe I can sneak in another flight!
Till next time, flap hard.
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