Windy!

Flew up to Deer Valley for lunch with a supplier. Good flight in and nothing to report. Had a nice lunch and a good flight back. A little bumpy but that's the desert for you. When I checked the ATIS for Falcon Field on my way back, they mentioned that the winds were ar 17kts gusting to 26.

Where did this come from? I had variable at 5kts on the way out an hour ago! This would be interesting. I had to come in and manage the crosswind. I made my landing and quite frankly I think the winds were overstated... I was tying the plane down and a couple of gusts actually moved the plane an inch or two.

When I walked into the FBO, my instructor was there. He took one look at my headset bag and asked if I just flew in this. I said that I did but it was relatively calm when I took off. He shook his head and said that he was glad I was safe but he didn't want to know any more about it.

When we finished talking, I went back outside in time to see a Cessna 150 scrape his wing on the runway while landing. I guess I'm glad to be heading to my car no worse off than being reprimanded by my instructor!

Flight time: 1.0

Total time: 71.8

Solo Cross Country

Today is the day of my long solo cross country. It is really the last thing I need to log before my checkride. I planned to go from Falcon Field (KFFZ), to Lake Havasu City (KHII), to Blythe, CA (KBLH), and back to Falcon Field.

The first leg of my trip began at 6:00AM (13:00 Zulu) and was going to take me over SDL and DVT into the mountains towards the Colorado River. It was a beautiful morning and the scenery was incredible. I was hitting all of my checkpoints pretty much right on. All was well until my coffee spilled all over the right seat AND my logbook. Oh well, at least it looks used now. When I came within 12 miles of Lake Havasu, I radioed that I would be making left traffic for Runway 14. This would allow me to fly by the airport for observation.

Suddenly a voice came over the CTAF frequency saying that winds were calm and that the calm wind runway was 32. OK that's fine I can go straight in for 32 - oh, but wait, I read a NOTAM that said straight in approaches were not allowed. Cool! Fly out over the lake and make left traffic for 32.

Landed and had to pee really bad so I taxied to the FBO. Pee'd got a bottle of water and ended up putting a quart of oil in the plane - it was down under 5 quarts.


Off to Blythe. This is a really cool flight because you can basically fly down the Colorado River the entire way. It is a nice flight. Short too. Unfortunately, the airport is a total hole. I took a picture of the sole hangar at the airport. It has definitely been on this earth longer than I have. Made a quick bathroom break and headed back to Phoenix.

Upon leaving, I contacted Los Angeles Center for flight following. They were great. They handed me off to Albuquerque Center. All was going well and then I was handed off to Phoenix approach. Then Phoenix approach cleared me into Class Bravo airspace at 4500 feet for one of the west to east VFR transitions. I wasn't expecting this but I'm willing to try anything once. I then got handed off to another controller. I switched frequencies and the following exchange took place:

Phoenix Approach, Archer 2 8 7 Hotel Papa is with you at 45oo feet.

November 2 8 7 Hotel Papa, Phoenix Approach. Care to tell me why you're with me at 4500 feet when the previous controller cleared you to 5500 feet?

Phoenix Approach, Archer 2 8 7 Hotel Papa. I wrote down and read back 4500 feet. Since the controller did not correct my read back, I think I'm cleared to 4500 feet.

November 2 8 7 Hotel Papa, Phoenix Approach. Negative. You were not cleared to 4500 feet. Cancel Class Bravo clearance, radar service terminated, squawk 1 2 0 0, frequency change approved!

So I got that going for me. Which is nice...

Flew out, around, and under the Class B airspace the rest of the way. Still a little peeved about the controller's nasty attitude but they're in charge. I guess. Successfully completed my last solo cross country and I had a lot of fun too!

Flight time: 4.1

Total time: 72.4

More Practice for Checkride

Now we're getting serious. My checkride is scheduled for 4/22/08! I still have a 150nm solo cross country to do to meet all of the qualifications. Today we practiced everything, including a no-flap landing. There is light at the end of the tunnel and if I'm lucky, I might end up becoming a pilot after all!

Flight time: 1.2

Total time: 68.3

Stage Check!

Today I did a stage check. This is a simulated checkride with a different flight instructor. Even though this was "just practice," I was still a little nervous. I had planned a cross country flight to Payson. At our first checkpoint, he diverted me to Sky Ranch.

Then it was on to steep turns. Good. S-Turns. Good. Turns around a point. Good. Slow Flight. Good. Power off Stall. Good. Power on Stall. Good. Emergency engine out. Good.

Simulated instrument work. Straight and level flight - good. Climbs and descents - Good. Turns to a heading - good. Slow flight - good. Unusual attitudes - good.

Back to the airport for a soft field landing. Not good. Short field landing - good. Power off 180 (short approach with a slip) - not good. Missed the runway. Normal landing to a full stop - OK.

Feedback from the CFI was that my emergency procedures needed a little more memorization - it was good that I used the checklist; however, he felt like I should have memorized all of the emergency procedures. Also recommended work on my power off 180 and soft field landings.

It was a good flight with a fresh perspective from somebody that I hadn't flown with before.

Flight time: 1.6

Total time: 67.1

Personal Limits

Went up to do some practice work today. If you read enough of the rags and talk to enough pilots, you will hear a lot of talk about personal limits. Today I met one of mine. Wind and turbulance. As soon as I left the ground I was getting kicked around. It didn't get any better out in the practice area so I did what was prudent. I came back to the airport. Simple enough. Unnecessary risks are not a part of my flying M.O.

On another note, I did pass my FAA written test today. It wasn't that hard - 68 multiple choice questions. Basic stuff.

Flight time: 0.5

Total time: 65.5

Solo Cross Country

Today I had my first solo cross country. RC approved my flight plan and the weather checks out. What am I waiting for?

I planned for Ryan Field (KRYN) and was just going to go down and back. Its about 85nm each way. Since the airport at which I am based is underneath Phoenix Class B airspace, we spend a lot of time knowing where the shelves are located and at what altitudes they are located. The biggest concern about my flight today was to avoid the Class B airspace and I had to transition the Class D airspace at KIWA and KCHD.

The flight was uneventful. I had requested flight following and, as always, Phoenix Approach, Albuquerque Center, and Tucson Approach were all very accommodating. The winds were a little gusty when I got down to Ryan.

Funny how you're so focused on the task at hand, you forget to enjoy it sometimes...

Note to self: Have more fun on the next cross country.

Flight time: 1.4

Total time: 65.0

Practice Maneuvers

Today I went up to simply practice all of the maneuvers that will be required for the checkride.

Flight time: 0.9

Total time: 63.6

A Little More Practice

Had some time to kill today... Might as well fly. Practiced pattern work...

A little bumpy so I didn't stay out long.

Flight time: 0.5

Total time: 62.7

Fly to Fly

So, because I could, I flew from Falcon Field up to Scottsdale for my demo ride in the Twin Star...

Flight time: 0.9

Total time: 62.2

Multi-Engine Fun!

I had been reading a lot about Diamond Aircraft's Twinstar. This is a twin piston aircraft that burns either Jet A or Diesel fuel. It allegedly burns about 4gph in each engine at 65% power while making about 160kts.

This was something that I thought I had better checkout. Plus my buddy WH had flown it and, of course I have to keep up with the Jones'. So I made arrangements to fly it out of Scottsdale (KSDL). It's a pretty cool plane - doesn't require a lot of effort to fly though. FADEC controls all of the engine function and the Garmin G1000 avionics take care of everything else.

It really does sip gas though. We practiced engine out procedures and otherwise simply had fun. What's more, I was able to log some multi-engine time. I'll keep it in mind for after I get my instrument rating.

Flight time: 0.6

Total time: 59.7

Night Cross Country

I have been excited about this flight for a couple of weeks. The thought of flying at night is intriguing to me and I was incredibly awestruck by how different everything looks! We went down to Tucson International (KTUS).

This was also my first time requesting flight following. This was useful since KTUS is located in Class C airspace. When the approach controller handed us off to the tower, it was very difficult to see the runway. The tower then informed us that they were having problems with the runway lights. They had been out and after some work, they were able to get them to the dim setting. Anyhow, this was not the end of the world...

We landed in Tucson; however, since the runway lights had been out prior to our arrival, there were about 5 heavies in a hold southeast of the airport. We had to wait for all of these planes to come in. This took a bit more time that we had hoped. Part of the night qualification is to perform 10 takeoffs and landings to a full stop. This was still on the agenda for tonight and we really wanted to get back to Falcon Field to do this.

After they brought in all of the heavies, we were cleared to takeoff back to Mesa. It seemed like a long time but that is likely due to the fact that I was the one paying for all of the gas while we were sitting there waiting to go home. The landings and takeoffs back at Falcon Field went well. The depth perception is a little off at night and on the first couple of landings it seemed like we were higher than we actually were. Made for some "firm" landings. Still a lot of fun and the Phoenix and Tucson skylines are beautiful at night.

Flight time: 3.0

Total time: 60.7

Practice Makes Pretty Darn Good

Today for the first time, I nailed my steep turns. I did two in each direction that both met practical test standards. Very exciting. Now I have to go plan a night VFR flight to Tucson International...

Good day!

Flight time: 0.8

Total time: 57.7

Mother Nature Won

Today I decided to try some touch and gos. After taking off, the ATIS information changed and I came to learn that the winds were 17kts gusting to 22kts. Not good. Land and go home.

Flight time: 0.8

Total time: 56.9

Unusual Attitudes

Unusual attitude is not the way I react to tomatoes - though I hate them. Unusual attitudes are attitudes other than straight and level flight. To practice these maneuvers, you have to recover from the unusual attitude.

It should have been a warning sign when my instructor asked me if I had ever had motion sickness. The other part of unusual attitude training that I should mention is that it is a simulated instrument maneuver. Simulated instrument means under the hood.

These actually turned out to be quite fun. I think the RC was having fun putting the plane in the unusual attitude and I was having fun recovering. When we were finished he had me fly back to the airport under the hood. I got to remove the hood at 700 feet AGL on short final for landing. Today was a lot of fun.

No, I do not suffer from motion sickness...

Flight time: 1.1

Total time: 56.1

Another Cross Country

Yet another cross country. This time we practiced diversions and headed out to Phoenix Regional Airport (A36). Interestingly enough, when diverting to Phoenix Regional, it became quite awkward in the cockpit. An overwhelming smell entered the airplane and RC and I each shot each other accusatory looks. Finally we realized that we were flying over the largest dairy farm that I have ever seen!

Actually it is listed as privately owned (the airport - I'm not too sure about the dairy farm). Most of the buildings on the property are run down and the place looks deserted. We practiced a few emergency descents and some touch and gos. We were both ready to leave shortly after our arrival.

It is a nice place to leave...

Flight time: 1.9

Total time: 53.4

Quick Hop

Before today's lesson, I decided to head up for some touch and gos to kill time. RC was running late.

Flight time: 0.5

Total time: 53.1

Leap Day

Only happens every 4 years. Why not do something fun? I decided to head out and do some more practice. Steep turns are looking good. Short and soft field landings are looking good. Just got my endorsement to take the knowledge test.

Flight time: 1.1

Total time: 52.6

Quick Flight

Practiced some short and soft field landigs then some touch and gos. Nothing too exciting but at least I was flying!

Flight time: 0.9

Total time: 51.5

Pinal - Boneyard

Today's cross country is taking us down to Pinal (KMZJ). Its main purpose is to act as a "boneyard" for aircraft. Old airplanes are stored there with the hope that the dry desert climate will prevent any form of corrosion in case the aircraft is pressed into service in the future. Even so, many aircraft which are brought there wind up being scrapped.

On the way back we diverted to Casa Grande. Lots to see at KMZJ!

Flight time: 1.8

Total time: 50.6

Ryan Field in Tucson (KRYN)

For my second flight today, I had planned a cross country to Ryan Field (KRYN). My flight instructor likes this airport for some strange reason... Here's a little history...

The U.S. feared a coastal invasion following the attack on Pearl Harbor, so the Ryan school sought an inland training sight. Arizona's clear blue skies were perfect. On June 13, 1942, ground was broken in a field 13 miles west of Tucson and in three months the desert was transformed into an Army base with paved runways, aprons, hangars, barracks, mess hall, classrooms and recreational facilities.

The PT-22 planes used for training stood up well to heat, wind, and dust storms. They were so rugged they went through the first 7,200 air hours with only one engine failure. Morale was high and contributed to the speedy execution of Ryan's purpose. A full course of flight instruction normally required four months, but at Ryan it was compressed into just nine weeks. At war's end, demand for pilots dropped and Tucson's Ryan School closed in September 1944--two years and 6,000 pilots after it first opened. The State of Arizona and a three year old Tucson Airport Authority executed a 10-year lease for the 906 acre facility in 1951.

To make development opportunities more attractive to tenants, a 99-year lease was drafted and signed in 1954. Today Ryan has its own restaurant, aircraft refueling and service facility, lighted and paved runways, and manned six story control tower. More than 20 tenants--ranging from aircraft maintenance shops to charters and flight instruction facilities, as well as 220 based aircraft--call Ryan home.

In 2005 Ryan recorded over 160,000 general aviation operations.

We flew down to KRYN did a full-stop and taxi back then left. This time I planned for the return trip so I was confidently tracking back to KFFZ when RC told me to divert to Eloy. OK. Start the timer, turn the plane in the general direction of Eloy, get the chart, calculate distance and heading, calculate amount of time it should take to get to Eloy. Fly. Look at the timer. Spot the airport. Approach. Land. Timer was 5 seconds off of my calculated time!

That was fun. Flew back to KFFZ with GPS...

Flight time: 2.1

Total time: 48.8

Deer Valley USA?

I have a friend that keeps a Lear 31 out at Deer Valley airport (KDVT) and decided to fly up to pay him a visit. This is reported to be the busiest general aviation airport in the country. Whether that is urban legend or actual fact, I can't say. I know that they do have two big flight schools there and there are a lot of takeoff and landings...

The other interesting thing about KDVT is that when you tune into their tower frequency, you feel like you have just entered a foreign country. I'll have to say that those controllers must be some of the most patient people on this planet while they actually try to help these student pilots from parts unknown learn the basic ATC operations.

One conclusion I have drawn is while 14 CFR Part 61 already requires pilots to “be able to read, speak, write and understand the English language” it is loosely governed. I'm not opposed to people coming here and learning to fly - apparently it is a cottage industry at KDVT. It worries me that there could be a shadow of doubt in another pilot's understanding of this pilot's location relative to him. Additionally, more than once I have heard the tower instruct a pilot to hold short of the runway for landing traffic to only have that pilot reply as he is rolling into position in thickly accented English, "position and hold..." Immediately you will hear the tower to tell the plane on short final to go around.

Not prejudiced - just concerned that we don't take this regulation too seriously...

Flight time: 1.0

Total time: 45.1

Fly Because I Can

Today I did a little more practice. Same stuff different day. I still love flying and I can't wait to get these maneuvers nailed.

Flight time: 1.1

Total time: 45.7

A Little More Practice

Had some free time over lunch today and decided to work on short and soft field landings with a couple of steep turns thrown in for good measure...

These are the maneuvers that RC says I really need to have nailed for my checkride.

Flight time: 0.6

Total time: 44.6

A Little More Flying

Since my cross country flight this morning, I have been feeling like doing a little more practice on maneuvers and traffic pattern work. Spent another hour flying (solo) working on this stuff.

Flight time: 0.9

Total time: 44.0

Cross Country

For the last few ground sessions, we have been working on flight planning and talking about things like magnetic variation, wind correction angles, fuel burn, weight and balance, center of gravity, calculated airspeeds, pilotage, dead reckoning, etc.

A lot of this activity involves the infamous E6B Flight Computer. Think slide ruler. I know that there are electronic versions of the E6B but it seems like all of the CFIs like the old-school version. Personally I don't think that the manual version is any more difficult than some of the electronic versions that I played with at my FBO's pilot shop.


Anyhow, all of this preparation is for cross country flight. Today I had planned a cross country flight to Sedona (KSEZ). If you have never been to Sedona, I highly recommend it! The landscape is beautiful! The airport is situated on a mesa that is about 500 feet above the town. It looks like you're landing on an island.


The cross country flight plan includes certain landmarks that based on your calculated groundspeed, and heading adjusted for wind and magnetic variance, you should fly over at a calculated time.


A couple of things that I took away from this experience are that 1) Forecasted winds aloft are different than actual winds aloft. 2) Spotting landmarks from say, 9500 feet, is a lot more difficult that one would think. My instructor says that it takes some getting used to... For our first cross country flight, we did relatively well and while I was inclined to "check my work" against the Garmin, RC wouldn't buy it. We ultimately made it to our destination.

Had a great omlette at the Sedona airport. So, how are we going to get home? I guess I never thought about that! RC knew that I hadn't planned the return trip and conceded to allowing me to use GPS to get home. The first cross country was a lot of fun; however, don't plan on a lot of sight seeing if your the one flying the plane...


Flight time: 2.0


Total time: 43.1

Introduction to Instruments

I'm still beaming with excitement from my SOLO flight! Today RC says that we are going to get back to work. On the way out to the plane, I notice he is carrying an obnoxiously large visor... I came to learn that this obnoxiously large visor is affectionately known as a hood. In FAA speak, it's a "view limiting device."

The hood, when worn, limits the pilot's ability to see outside the aircraft. Thus the pilot must fly the plane solely by reference to the instruments. Seems pretty straight forward...

Once we were up in the practice area, he had me put on the hood. Instinctively you want to tilt your head back so that you can see. Not good. For the next hour he had me fly straight and level (plus or minus 400 feet, or so) and perform turns to a particular heading (plus or minus about 40 degrees), climbs and descents.

It's sort of odd that since the beginning of my training, RC would constantly be telling me to "get outside" of the aircraft. Meaning that he wanted me to look at my instruments less and look outside more. Today's simulated instrument flight was counter intuitive to the previous 40 hours of flight training. Hey, I'm just looking for any excuse to NOT fly under the hood.

After what seemed like 3 hours, he told me to take off the hood and head back to the airport. I logged 1 hour of simulated instrument flight and it seemed like a lot more than that. The other interesting thing is that I was physically and mentally exhausted after this flight.

Good times.

Flight time: 1.5

Total time: 40.1

Can We Go Again?

Still high from my first solo. I asked if I could fly some more. By myself. RC said that was cool. He also said that anytime I wanted to solo, check with him before I go. Just to make sure the weather was cool...

So I hopped back in the plane and flew out to the practice area. Didn't really practice any maneuvers - just flew around because I could. What a great day!

Flight time: 0.8

Total time: 38.6

Since beginning my training, I have logged 148 landings.

Surprise! Solo Time!

Today's flight began like every other flight. Off to the practice area. Practice stalls, slow flight, emergency procedures, etc. Finally my instructor wanted to head back for more touch and gos. Fine with me... We did three or four and then went and parked the plane.

Before we got out of the plane, he asked me for my log book and medical certificate so I indulged. He began writing and I was waiting for him because I couldn't get out of the plane since he was sitting by the only door. Finally he said, "Do you want to solo today?" Heck yeah!

He had endorsed my medical and logbook and I was free to fly the plane by myself! He said that he would wait here and he wanted me to do two touch and goes and one full stop landing and then come back. I was shaking from the excitement. The time was now!

Falcon Ground, Archer 4182L at Tango One with Bravo, ready to taxi to the active.

Archer 4182L, Falcon Ground, taxi to runway 4R, verify you have information Bravo.

Taxi to runway 4R, affirmative on information Bravo, Archer 4182L.

Run up. Everything looks good. A little weird with nobody sitting to my right. Back to the task at hand...

Falcon Tower, Archer 4182L is holding short of runway 4R closed traffic.

Archer 82L, Falcon Tower, cleared for takeoff on runway 4R, make left closed traffic for runway 4L, contact tower on 119.7.

Cleared for takeoff on runway 4R. Make left closed traffic for runway 4L, contact tower on 119.7, Archer 82L.

OK, one notch flaps, fuel pump on, mixture full rich, transponder to ALT, landing light ON,full power... Oh man, I'm flying! Alone! Turn left crosswind, switch frequencies.

Falcon Tower, Archer 4182L crosswind for closed traffic on 4L.

Archer 82L, make left traffic for runway 4L, number one cleared touch and go.

Left traffic, number 1 cleared touch and go runway 4L, Archer 82L.

OK 90kts downwind. Runway numbers, one notch flaps. 45 degrees past threshold, turn base, 2nd notch flaps, pitch for 80kts. There's the runway. Turn final. 3rd notch of flaps, pitch for 70 kts. VASI says I'm right on glide slope. Keep it coming (I'm hearing my instructor and he isn't even in the plane)... Keep it coming... there's the numbers, back pressure, squeak! GREASED IT!

Now I'm having fun! I am shouting at the plane now... "That's what I'm talkin' about. I'm flying you now! Who's your daddy? I'm your daddy!' Anyhow, it wasn't one of my better displays of character but who the hell cares!

Archer 82L, Falcon Tower, make left traffic for runway 4L.

Left traffic runway 4L Archer 82L.

Not climbing real fast... Maybe I should take the flaps out. Duh! Checklist stupid! On downwind now.

Archer 82L, Falcon Tower, number 2 behind the Diamond wing up left base.

Archer 82L has the traffic in sight.

Archer 82L, Falcon Tower, number 2 behind Diamond, cleared touch and go, then make left traffic.

Number 2 cleared touch and go and left traffic, Archer 82L.

Same routine... Turn base, flaps, turn final, more flaps. Why isn't he getting off the @##@! runway?

Archer 82L go around!

Archer 82L is going around.

The next landing wasn't as good as the first but it was in the top 10 landings that I have ever made. The third was a floater - who cares? I flew SOLO!!!

I taxied over to where RC was waiting and did the high fives and hand shakes and fists and all of the other barbaric masculine gestures of success in battle. Only thing was that I was wearing a $125.00 shirt and when it came time to cut the back out of my shirt, I suggested the we find a different shirt...

That's cool... One of the best days ever!

Flight time: 2.2

Total time: 37.8

No Touch and Gos

UNCLE! Today we decided to back up and practice steep turns, stalls, ground reference maneuvers, slow flight. Good flight - I think I'm finally getting the feel for the maneuvers.

Flight time: 1.4

Total time: 35.6

More Touch and Gos

Practice makes... ...better. 14 landings today.

Flight time: 1.8

Total time: 34.2