Sunday, February 18th, 2007
Hours - 26
This was a pretty good lesson. We got a nice start because the airplane was already cleaned off after Wednesday’s snow storm. Also, it wasn’t bitter cold, like the last few lessons. I really wanted to get up to Columbia County Airport (1B1) in Hudson, NY. I have had the navigation log finished twice now. I didn’t make a new one for this lesson because I wasn’t sure if we were going to go. Also, the winds, speed and temp were almost the same as last time.
We took off and headed for 1B1. I was using the Pawling VOR for navigation. I am pretty used the the area now, so there aren’t a lot of surprises. We made it just fine to the VOR station and changed course and headed for 1B1. We had a nice tailwind so our ground speed was 139KTS. Going somewhere with that speed will get you there pretty quickly. We made it to the airport faster then I thought. My communications were good, but my main issue is hearing things. Sometimes the airplane gets kind of loud while I am climbing, or someone’s radio isn’t clear…I just have trouble with it. My hearing is fine, but I don’t have the $800 headset with noise canceling. I got the $300 one without. That will be my next present for myself. I had to ask ATC to repeat themselves about five times during the trip. Good thing they were different guys each time.
Early on in the trip Yigal and I got in a spat because I told him I couldn’t hear ATC because he was talking…that’s why I made a bad radio call. He said, “Fine, I won’t say another word unless there is an emergency.” I told him he could talk, but he said I was on my own. It worked out well, because I learn better when I am put in a situation. I made all the calls the whole time. A few times I said, “What did he say?” Yigal didn’t give up. I had to ask ATC to repeat themselves…just as if I were in the plane alone. It was fun.
Anyway, we made it back to MGJ with a ground speed of only 89KTS due to the headwind. I descended for a straight on approach for runway 26. Smooth landing and all that.
Next Saturday I am scheduled to practice my takeoffs and landings solo at the airport. I sure hope the wind is calm. Till then…
Related posts
Posted in Flying | No Comments »
Friday, February 9th, 2007
Hours - 23.2
Another cold day for a lesson. This one was last Saturday morning. We used up some time cleaning the snow off the plane, but still got a good 1.2 hours in. I wanted to go up to 1B1, but that wasn’t going to happen…not enough time. I just can’t seem to get up to that airport. I really can’t wait for the good weather to come back. It seems like my life now needs warmer weather. I miss flying, hiking and landscaping. From my previous posts, you can probably tell that I like plants, shrubs and flowers. Oh well.
We hopped in the plane and did our thing. I climbed to about 3,500FT and headed towards SWF. I must say that I was a little razzled because of the cold and the snow. Also, my whole game plan had been thrown off, so I was in the middle of nowhere in my mind. This is probably good practice for what to do if an unexpected event arises while flying as pilot in command. Everything you do is good practice when flying.
Yigal was throwing things at me left and right. He had me head towards the Pawling VOR. Once I had that established, he told me to head towards the Huguenot VOR. Things were coming pretty fast. I tend to forget some things while under pressure, but I will get it. I was having a little trouble with the NAV part of the radio. I forgot how to refine the frequency after the dot…like 116.1. Then, he told me to land at SWF for a touch and go. I started to put in the frequency for Stewart, 121.0, but forgot to listen to the ATIS at 124.57. You need to listen to the ATIS before calling the tower while entering class D airspace. The ATIS will tell a pilot important information that would take up too much time for ATC to say every single time to every pilot. At the end of each recording, the ATIS tells you which version of information you just heard…like, “This is information Bravo.” The tower updates this information continuously throughout the day, so it is important that you tell the tower which version you heard.
I tuned in to the ATIS and listened to the information. Yigal started going over something, so I never got to record which version I just heard. I didn’t realize this until I made my radio call to the tower. I made my call, told them my position, my altitude and made a request for clearance to land for a touch and go. Right at that point, I knew I didn’t know what version of information I heard, so I left it off. Oh well. We landed for a touch and go and then came back for another.
After we were through there, I headed back to MGJ and entered the pattern just fine. Yigal wanted to land the plane because the runway was a sheet of ice. He did a good job, but I would’ve preferred it if he had asked me for some advice. I am rather good at these things you know.
Related posts
Posted in Flying | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
Hours - 22
This Sunday, I decided that it would be nice to take a cruise to Waterbury/Oxford Airport (OXC) in Connecticut. We would depart from MGJ, fly to the Kingston VOR station in Poughkeepsie and from there, head straight to OXC. The round trip would take about 1 1/2 hours.
We took off and everything was great. I set up everything for VOR navigation and pilotage and headed towards the VOR station. I finished my navigation log earlier that morning. I made a few radio calls to the tower at Stewart (SWF) (my first checkpoint) and transitioned through their class D airspace. I found the VOR station just fine, changed my heading and continued to my next checkpoint, which was Rt.22/Pawling. This flight was really fun. I love VOR navigation and am actually getting pretty good at it. We crossed over Candlelight Airport in Sherman, CT at 5500FT. I looked to the right and saw the Long Island Sound as well as the island itself. You can really see a lot from that altitude. I also saw my destination airport 17 nautical miles ahead.
Things started getting a little tricky as I approached the airport. There was a bit of turbulence and I started my descent late. We had to descend faster than my ears would’ve liked. Also, I kind of screwed up my radio calls to the tower. My landing was even worse. For such a nice day, it was quite gusty at this airport. It must be in some valley or something. I came in sideways and had to correct by giving the airplane some throttle to re-land. We got down on the runway and taxied to stay ahead of a pretty good sized commercial jet. We took off before them and I screwed up my last call to the tower on my way out. Oh well…practice will make perfect.
The trip home was pretty uneventful. Made some pretty good calls to New York ATC and flew over Stewart’s airspace. I screwed up a radio call to MGJ, but came in and entered the pattern nicely for a good landing.
There really was a lot to handle on this trip and I was exposed to a lot. I am confident that my radio calls will get better in the future as I practice more. Yigal says that it is common to kind of shut down when things get hairy for students on their first cross countries. I guess so, but I am going to do better next time. This Friday, if we fly, we are going to PA. Till then!
Related posts
Posted in Flying | No Comments »
