Learning To Fly

Private Pilot License Complete

2009-12-29T07:05:00.001-08:00

December 28th, 2009

Monday at around 5:00 PM in Dublin, GA, my FAA designated practical examiner shook my hand and informed me that I had passed my practical exam. I am now officially an airplane pilot.

The oral was predictable. I was weak in a few areas, but strong on most. During training, we did not spend an overwhelming amount of time on ground school. I was fine on the sectional, airspaces, and cross country planning, but a little weak on the myriad of different weather charts.

What we did spend a lot of time doing was flying. I was happy to be moving on to the practical flight test. Short field, soft field, slip to land, steep turns, emergency landing, go around, recovered stalls and slow flight were all within standards. He didn't like the way I set up some of the approaches, even though that was the way I was taught to fly them. So I just went with it and flew them the way he wanted.

We finished with a standard landing, which I hit very smoothly. We taxied back, shut down, and went back inside. Chris sat in on the debrief. We got the good news, signed some paperwork, and I was handed my temporary airmen certificate. Needless to say I was drained. We flew back to LZU - my first certificated pilot in command flight. I got the night landing. We parked and hit The Flying Machine for a couple of beers to celebrate. I still have a lot to learn about aviation and piloting an aircraft. I am extremely proud of this privelege and accomplishment, but ultimately consider it a license to continue learning on my own.

The one person that made this possible for me is my wife, Cynthia. It costs a lot of time and money to earn a pilot license. Every hour I spent in the airplane was an hour she spent alone at home trying not to worry and taking care of our nest so I would have a warm place to come home to. Every dollar I spent with the flight school was a dollar that did not go toward dinner out, a cruise, or a weekend at the cabin. Every day I took off from work to practice flying was a vacation day that we would not spend together. For 16 months she supported my mission. I am eternally grateful to her. I do plan to continue flight training, but for now it's her turn to be front and center. We are planning an adventure together in 2010 that will definitely be worth writing about.

Lesson 42/43 : 11th hour

2009-11-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday November 22nd, 2009

I flew again Thursday and Saturday in 391JA. I'm as ready as I can be for Monday. Tonight I will plan a cross-country from Dublin, GA to Chattanooga, TN and complete some FAA paperwork. Tomorrow is the practical. All I can do at this point is be prepared going in and do what I've been trained to do for the past 14 months as best I can. I leave tomorrow for Advanced Aviation at 730AM to start the show. The plan is to come back a licensed pilot.

P.S.
Dear Zeus,
If you would please delay the 56% chance of rain for Monday, I will gladly sacrifice a Turkey for you next week. Thanks.

Update: 11/23/2009 7AM
Weather unacceptable. Checkride delayed until tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 23rd, 2009. Thanks for nothing, Zeus. I know somebody who isn't getting a Turkey sacrifice this year ..

Update: 11/24/2009 7AM
Weather unacceptable. Checkride rescheduled for Monday Nov. 30th, 2009.

Update: 11/30/2009 9 AM

Weather unacceptable. Checkride delayed until further notice.

Lesson 41 : Technical Difficulties. Checkride Scheduled.

2009-11-15T04:28:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 14th, 2009

Saturday morning 10:45 AM. Today was to be the second extended time lesson. I was ready for a full day of checkride prep. First, our DA-20 would not start. So we called a lineman to come out and recharge the battery. 30 minutes later, we started up and I called PDK ground for taxi clearance. Nothing. Turns out the pilot-side transmit function is hosed. So Chris would have to do all the radio calls.

Once we got up into air, things went more smoothly. I nailed the slow flight, stall, and steep turn maneuvers. At Winder, we did soft field takeoffs and landings and those went fine. The short field takeoffs and landings went well too, but there is a characteristic of the 546DC that makes precision landing hard. 546DC's throttle is configured such that it keeps some power in all the time, even when throttle is completely pulled out. DA-20s float forever anyway, so with added power it means everything has to be extra low, slow, short in order to hit the point. I hit some and missed some, but was close and in control the entire time.

We headed to LZU for lunch at The Flying Machine. It was a picture perfect day for flying, so LZU was extremely busy and so was the restaurant. Lots of families sitting outside and kids running about. A older gentleman approached our table and asked if we were pilots. We talked aviation for a while until the food arrived. Toward the end of the meal, a very fancy jet landed at LZU and pulled up to the FBO for refueling.

This was the Pink Pony owner's jet. I was hoping to see some pink ponies, but all I saw was the pilot. He looked tired. My sympathy is limited.

After lunch, we got back in the sky and headed to Lumpkin county airport. This is the shortfield strip nestled in the woody hills of Dahlonega, GA that we've practiced on several times. Apparently, the Lumpkin folks had put on a free airplane rides event that day, so there were lots of people around the hangars. This was very fortunate for us because after 2 more close but missed short fields, I asked Chris to do one. He missed the first one just liked I did. And on his second pass, he hit the point and our right tire burst. Thus the end of the flying for today.

DA-20 tires are really the weak link in the plane's design in my opinion. They tend to burst often. Even with a burst tire the plane is controllable though.

The kind Lumpkin county people helped us drag our bird off the runway.

Darrick flew us in a replacement tire, but a bolt in the wheel was damaged. Diamond parts are exotic and nobody had anything that would fit, so I flew back with Darrick and Chris convinced somebody to drive out and pick him up. The good news is that I am now officially scheduled for a checkride on Monday November 23rd.

Ironically, back at home our washing machine that has been running without issue for 5 years broke and my wife spent the afternoon shopping, purchasing, and installing a new one. Cynthia was the only one today who triumphed over technical difficulties.

Lessons 39/40 : Extended Lessons

2009-11-10T08:06:00.000-08:00

Monday November 9th, 2009

I flew last Thursday after work for about an hour, and same deal: not enough time. By the time I'm warmed up, it's time to go home. So on Monday, I took the afternoon off from work and scheduled 7 hours with Chris. That was exactly what I needed. We flew for 2 hours, took a break, and flew another 2 hours then went home. Most of that time was devoted to short field landings, which I now feel comfortable with and am hitting more than I'm missing. I have another long session set for Saturday, weather permitting. PPL by Thanksgiving is still a possibility.

Lesson 38: Airship! (and more checkride prep)

2009-11-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

November 2, 2009

I flew out of PDK tonight to LZU and got in 6 shortfield landings. I think I'm going to have to go practice these on my own. 1.5 hrs per week is not cutting it. I need to rent the plane by myself one Saturday all day and get about 50 landings in. I fly again Thursday and Friday with Chris. This snail's pace is frustrating as hell. Depending on the outcome of the next 2 flights, the following practice will be this weekend solo circuit marathon until I can nail these shortfields EVERY TIME.

In other news, I saw an airship at LZU. Pretty blue lights. You're welcome, Direct TV.

Lesson 37 : DA-42! (and more checkride prep)

2009-10-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday October 22, 2009

I flew with a new instructor, Steven, tonight as Chris had a conflict. We flew out of PDK which was busy as usual. I nailed the S-turns. Turns about a point were good, though I did bust the speeds a few times; I still need practice on the turns about a point. We did some short field landings at McCollum airport. I hit all but the first one.

Back at PDK, I got to see for the first time a Diamond 42 Twin Star. Advanced Aviation has a DA-40 (see Thanksgiving post), but I've never seen a 42 up close until tonight. If the DA-40 is the DA-20's big brother, the DA-42 is the hi speed, low drag uncle you never see except on special family reunions who shows you kung-fu moves in the yard while everybody else is inside eating potato salad and telling baby stories.

More pictures of uncle kung fu master:

FAA Written Passed

2009-10-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday October 15th, 2009

Tonight, I passed the FAA written private pilot exam. This is a huge load off. I am now on the final stage of the private pilot license: the FAA oral test and check-ride. I need maybe 4 more flights before I am 100% ready. I should be a pilot by Thanksgiving.

Next flight is Saturday evening, unless it gets rained out.

Lessons 35/36 : PPL In Sight

2009-10-11T09:19:00.001-07:00

Saturday Oct 3rd

Back to the short field at Lumpkin for more short field landings. I hit most of them and the ones I didn't, I was very close.

Friday Oct 9th

Ground references maneuvers. The good news with this lesson was that I was on top of the high altitude maneuvers. I hit slow flight, power on, and power off stalls within standards on my first attempt. It's been a while since I've done S-turns. I need a lot of practice on those.

FAA Test

I will be taking the FAA written portion 1 day next week after work. I'm consistently scoring in the 85% range, and that includes basically skipping/guessing a few questions that require a print out which I will have in the actual test but don't have in the practice software.

After I pass the written, Chris and I are going to take a break from the flights and do a ground school or two to prepare for the oral portion.

Lesson 34 : Lumpkin County

2009-10-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 3, 2009

This evening we went to a new airport: Lumpkin County Airport, in the city of Dahlonega. This is a very small airport that sits in a slight ravine with tree covered hills on either side and is perfect practice for short-field practice. Here's a shot of valley just after clearing the trees on short take-off.

Tonight was really a big step forward. It's one thing to practice short field techniques at large field where it doesn't really matter if you miss, and another thing entirely to practice where you MUST hit the spot or go around. I think these conditions gave me the focus I needed to improve. Out of 4 landings, I went around on 1, got very close on 2, and nailed the last one.

Saturday we're going back to Lumpkin to really get them own every time. Clouds were broken around 4,000 ft, but as the night moved in the clouds lowered. So on the way back we had to do some dodging and weaving to stay out of them.

Lesson 32/33 : Short field landings

2009-09-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

Sept 25 and 26, 2009

Atlanta has suffered record breaking flooding and nasty weather. People have lost their property, houses, futures, and in some tragic cases their lives. So I'm not going to complain about not being able to fly for weeks at a time. Just the same, it has been a major setback.

Weather is clearing up now and I'm back it. Short field landings are tough. There's no faking it. You have to touch down inside 500 feet past your point. Anything before the point or past 500 feet is a failed attempt, and in a real life scenario is a trip through the tress or off the runway. It's the riskiest of all the maneuvers because you're low and slow, which means there is very, very little room for error.

It's worth repeating for anybody interested in earning their wings. Save up money and time BEFORE starting the program. Be patient up front. The longer I string out lessons, the more rust I have to brush off every time, the more lessons it takes, the more it costs of the long run.

Lesson 31 : Maneuver Practice

2009-09-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 12th

More practice. I'm executing the maneuvers a lot tighter. I still need work on the soft field and short field landings. Approximately 6 more hours of flight to go until FAA test time. I will be taking the test at Dublin, GA.

Lesson 30 : More FAA Test Prep

2009-09-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

September, 3rd 2009

More getting ready for the checkride. I was able to complete slow flight, power on stalls, power off stalls, soft field takeoffs and landings within FAA checkride regulations. Chris said he wants me to test after 10 more hours of prep flight.

The written test prep is coming along as well. I could probably pass the written at this point, but I need another week of prep to really be sure. I'd like to get those 10 hours done within two weeks.

Lesson 28 & 29: Fine Tuning

2009-08-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

I've flown twice since the last post. There is not much to tell, except that I'm trying to fine tune the maneuvers to the level of being able to pass them during the checkride. I'm also slogging throught the test prep software.

Soft field landings, short field landings, power off stalls, power on stalls, slow flight, turns about a point, and s-turns.

20/20 hindsight note: If I had it to do all over again, I would have waited and saved up my resources (money, vacation time) and tried to do this all at once .. or at least in a couple of continuous hard charges. I would not recommend spreading out flight training as long as I have. The first 30 mins of flight are "de-rusting, so I end up "wasting" that time and it adds up.

It is conceivable that I could take the written test next week. However, I still need 3 to 5 more fine tuning flights before I'll be ready for the checkride. Additionally I'll need 1 or 2 ground schools with Chris to prep for the oral. They don't just hand out PPLs.

Lesson 27 : Unusual Attitude Recovery IFR

2009-08-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Chris was out of town this weekend and I haven't flown for almost month. So, Friday after work I called and got any available instructor to go up with me for some more simulated IFR hood time. The CFI I got was Lana, a relatively new addition to the Advanced Aviation instructor corps.

Today would be more IFR practice plus unusual attitude recover under the hood. In other words: I close my eyes, the instructor gets me totally disoriented and puts the airplane into a steep banking dive or climb, I open my eyes and get the plane back straight and level using only the instruments (under the hood).

Instrument reference alone is a different game than VFR. I was able to recover from them all well enough. I can see how an instrument rated pilot is really in a different class than VFR in terms of skill and safety. In my opinion, an instrument rating should be a requirement for the private pilot license. I already know that I'm not going to be making any long distance flights without the instrument rating.

.9 more simulated IFR hours to go. Probably this means 1 or 2 more flights this week. Then the FAA test. So, I'm looking at 1st or 2nd week of September to have the Private Pilot License.

Lesson 26 : IFR and Short Field

2009-07-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 25, 2009

This afternoon I got in another .5 simulated IFR under the "hood". After that we practiced short field T/O and landings. I also got some study material for the FAA multiple choice test : software with approximately 9.2 billion questions about all things private pilot. Once I can give Chris an 80% or higher on the test prep software, he'll consider me good to go for the written. So, studying, fine tuning maneuvers, and finishing out the last hour of hood time. Most likely, FAA test date will be neighborhood of the last week of August.

Solo Cross Country #2 : MCN, MLJ, LZU

2009-07-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 21, 2009

Solo Cross country #2 is complete. This morning I flew from Lawrenceville to Macon Regional and from there to Milledgeville and finally back home to Lawrenceville. To preserve the integrity of this document, I'll be honest. Otherwise what's the point .. to look good? I did in fact screw up badly several times on this trip. But the silver lining is I recovered from those several screwups by myself (shamelessly spinning this to 'accidentally' look good). Here are the highlights.

(1) I got the runways at Macon backwards. I was supposed to set up to land on 5, but I set up on 23. Winds were calm so Macon tower told me to go ahead and take 23 at the last minute. I had to respond "unable, too high and fast" which I felt was the safe route. So, instead he had me fly the pattern into the correct runway. Silver lining: adapted safely and responsibly to a suprise situation and asserted my pilot in command judgment.

(2) I turned down the volume on Atlanta momentarily to hear the automated weather anouncement at Milledgeville .. and forgot to turn them back up. After the 3rd time calling them and receiving no response, I said "Atlanta, if you can hear me, I have Milledgeville in sight with Echo." Just then, I realized my error and raised their volume them only to catch the final part of an exasperated controller saying "THREE JULIET ALPHA. IF YOU CAN HEAR ME. FLIGHT SERVICES TERMINATED, HAVE A NICE DAY." Silver lining: What I experienced was a self-inflicted receiver failure, and I responded correctly by transmitting my intentions even though I was not receiving. Added bonus silver lining - the next time Atlanta Departure appears to be ignoring me, I'll know what's probably going on. That won't happen again.

(3) I bounced the final landing at LZU. I had too much energy on final and forced the flare .. all that energy has to go somewhere, so I skipped my way down the runway. Silver lining : I held it together and bad landings like that are the exception with me, not the rule .. and it was a learning experience. I should have let it ride out down the runway. You can't force it - especially a wispy Diamond that would just as soon take off again as touch down.

Remaining items: a few more hours of simulated IFR "hood time" and FAA test prep.

ETA for PPL: Augustish

Lesson 25 : Fine Tuning

2009-07-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 19th 2009

Yesterday, Saturday, I went out solo for some landing practice. However, after the first circuit I decided the winds were too gusty for comfort and called it after 1/2 an hour.

So today I met Chris for some more practice. We did steep turns, soft field takeoffs and landings for about 2 hours straight. The plan is to complete the final cross country on Tuesday. After that I'll need a few more hours under the hood and then I'll be qualified to take the FAA exam for the private pilot license.

After my PPL, I want to go do something different as kind of a celebration before I jump into the instrument rating. I have been considering a trip to Alaska for some bush pilot training - flying around mountains, landing and taking off from "unapproved" runways (aka beaches, gravel roads, mountain tops) and float planes. However in all likelihood it will have to wait until next Spring. I don't think time and resources are going to permit. I could go later this year, but Alaskan cold seasons (September-April) are not good flight training periods as the weather tends to deteriorate quickly. Not to be outdone by fate, I'm eyeing a floatplane school in Winter Haven, FL. A long weekend in the sunny Orlando area is looking like a more reasonable plan B in the near term.

Most immediately though, tommorow is my final, 3-leg solo cross country. Lawrenceville-Macon-Milledgeville and back home.

Lesson 24 : Maneuver Practice

2009-07-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 11, 2009

2 hours of practicing S-turns, turns about a point, and soft field takeoffs. All these maneuvers and more will be on the FAA test.

Chris started feeling ill from the S-turns, so we landed and took a break. Of particular note, Chris's LightSpeed headsets are unbelievably awesome. The ANR makes the cockpit silent. Radio communication is crystal clear. Bluetooth link up with iPhone. Comfortable. Lightweight.

I'll probably do another flight lesson, maybe a quick solo, and then get my long cross country done. Closing in on the FAA test.

Lesson 23: My first IFR

2009-07-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

July 3, 2009

Under the Hood
Rather than jumping back into another cross country, Chris wanted to do some more training. So today we practiced simulated flying by instruments, aka flying "under the hood." The "hood" is a visor that limits the pilot's visibility exclusively to the instruments in the cockpit. The pilot cannot look outside, thus simulating zero visibility flight conditions.

I'm the computer/technical type, so I have a natural attraction to the instruments anyway. Early in my training, Chris had to actively remind me to look outside and not fixate on the instruments. So, I was right at home. This time I got to stare at instruments with his blessing. I even took off with the blinders on. Apparently I was right of center line, but held that heading during take off.

VOR : Magic Stones and Boxes
We used the VOR equipment to navigate to McCollum field, which was unusually busy. VOR technology was the primary navigation method for aviators starting from the 1960 until GPS was born and began to overtake it. Today, VOR is being phased out by GPS. Regardless, VOR stations are still in use and most avionics packages include a VOR receiver. Numerous explanations abound on the inter-webs on how VOR systems work and they are all wrong.

The truth is .. long ago, wizards created a bunch of magical stones called VOR stones and gave each airport around the world their own stone. The airports loved their stones and even gave them their own names. These stones look in all directions at once. To reveal the stone's wisdom, wizards also created magic boxes bound to the stone's life-force. Using these boxes, you can talk to the stones. The spell to hear the stone's arcane knowledge is as follows:

Whisper into the magic box the name of the stone you want to talk to and a compass direction. For example, "Stone Of Lawrenceville, tell me of your Eastern eye".

A voice will say something like, "I am the Stone of Lawrenceville. Move to your left 100 paces and my Eastern eye will see you."

You move what you think is about 100 paces to your left and again ask the stone, "tell me of your Eastern eye."

The stone replies, "Move to your right 2 paces and my Eastern eye will see you." So you move to the right 2 paces and ask a third time.

This time the stone responds, "I see you with my Eastern eye." That means you are traveling on the stone's West/East line.

If you're uncomfortable with the reality of wizards and magic, here is an alternative crackpot theory on VOR. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZljYaHXvxY

Unusual Attitudes
On the way back, Chris decided to have some fun with me. I would close my eyes and he would put the plane in a steep banking dive or climb. Then he would say "recover", at which point I would open my eyes and get us straight and level. Of course, this excercise had a practical purpose. It served as practice for becoming disoriented and getting reoriented.

I shut my eyes and tried to guess by feeling which way the plane was moving. It was like my senses could detect changes, but could not keep track of their net effect. With my eyes closed, I could feel the first change, i.e. a dive, bank, etc. But then another change would "overwrite" the previous one.

For example, Chris would dive, then bank left, then bank right. With my eyes closed, at the end of the sequence the only thing I felt was that we were in a right bank. When I opened my eyes, I immediately saw that we were in a level/unbanked dive. The right bank just straightened out the previous left bank. Conflicting sensory signals made for a little queasiness, but it was still fun.

So, 0.6 hrs simulated IFR. A little taste of what's to come in the Instrument Rating after the PPL.

Solo Cross Country #1 : Clemson

2009-06-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 27

Saturday, I completed my first solo cross country from LZU to CEU (Clemson, SC). In the movie "Lord Of War," freelance arms dealer, Uri Orlov, describes his first sale.

"Selling a gun for the first time is a lot like having sex for the first time. You're excited but you don't really know what the hell you're doing. And some way, one way or another, it's over too fast."

My first cross country flight fit this description precisely, as does any high-stakes virgin experience.

The Script

In preparation for my solo cross country, I wrote down everything I could think of. I scripted out the entire scenario. Everything I thought Atlanta Control would say, everything I would say to them. When I should change frequencies on the radio. A 2 page of storyboard of the who, what, when, where, why, and hows that could arise. Ultimately this would serve as little more than a confidence builder, although it was probably helpful as a distraction from worrying.

Saturday afternoon was hot and hazy: 94 degrees with a heat index of over 100. I got everything set and rolled up to the line, where I had to wait for 4 inbounds to land. By the time I got cleared for takeoff, I had transitioned from anxious to just plain hot as hell. I was eager to get some altitude to cool off. After I got airborne, I started the climb to my heading.

Per my script, I switched over to Atlanta to get my flight following. They sounded fairly busy. I keyed the transmitter.

"Atlanta, Diamond 393 Juliet Alpha." Script line 1 of 325 complete.

"Diamond 393 Juliet Alpha go ahead," they responded, just as I had planned. I continued the script.

"Atlanta, Diamond 393 Juliet Alpha is a DA-20 approximately 2 miles northeast of Lima Zulu Uniform climbing to three thousand five hundred VFR to Charlie Echo Uniform request flight following."

"Diamond 393 Juliet Alpha squak zero two niner one and ident," they said.

"Zero two niner one ident," I repeated, punched in 0291 in the transponder, and pressed the Ident key.

Five minutes or so passed. Atlanta had their hands full with other traffic. They finally got back around to me.

"Diamond 393 Juliet Alpha I still don't have you on screen." We were off the script now. So much for the best laid plans of mice and men.

"Atlanta, Diamond 393 Juliet Alpha is currently at 0291," I said immediately wishing I had spoken what I meant, which was that my transponder was set at 0291.

"93 Juliet Alpha I have no idea what that means - you're at 0291." Atlanta responded. I deserved that light chide.

"Atlanta, 393 Juliet Alpha, sorry about that. I am currently squaking 0291." Hopefully that was clearer.

"Roger 93 Juliet Alpha. We have you now," they replied.

CEU Big Fish

I made my way to my first 2 landmarks until finally I had Lake Hartwell in sight. Clemson airport would be on the west side of the lake. I got the airport in sight and called in my approach.

"Clemson traffic Diamond 393 Juliet Alpha is 4 miles southwest inbound for left 45 degree downwind entry for 25, Clemson."

CEU is an un-towered airfield. That means pilots flying around there just talk on a common frequency and announce their activities to each other. I didn't see anybody and nobody responded on the common frequency, so I was likely the only one around.

It had been a while since I'd flown touch and goes. As I made my left turn for final, I immediately realized I was hopelessly too high, too fast, too short, too far off centerline, and too-whatever else one can be too much of. So I called in a go around.

"Clemson traffic Diamond 393 Juliet Alpha is sidestepping to the right and going around for another pass, Clemson."

So I went around and this time flew the pattern right. I landed smoothly and felt relieved to be 1/2 way done. The guy at the FBO called me on the common frequency and invited me to pull up beside the Cessna outside. I pulled up, shut down, and opened the canopy.

The guy at Clemson FBO was really nice. He chocked my front wheel, we chatted for a moment, and I followed him back into the FBO. Glorious AC. Inside were 2 commercial jet pilots - white shirts, hats, wing pins, the works. They were waiting around for their passengers and had certainly heard my less than flattering go-around and just as certainly shared a little snickering over it. That's alright, though. I respect the bigger fish in the aviation pond and I know where I stand in the food chain.

I called my wife, called Chris, got some water, and hit the restroom. After I had cooled off for 15 minutes, I headed back out. The trip back was uneventful and a lot less stress. Atlanta was less busy this time. I landed at LZU on the first attempt and pulled up to The Flying Machine, where my wife and her son Matthew were watching for me. Matthew was excited to see the plane. I let him sit in the cockpit and play with the controls.

The final remaining requirements for me to take the FAA exam are:

- A 3 leg cross country solo (which I'm thinking might be LZU to Winder, Winder to CEU, CEU to LZU)

- A few solo flights around LZU to finish off my 10 hours solo flight requirement.

After that, FAA exam prep. I'm anticipating getting the Private Pilot License by August.

Cross Country #3 : Macon Regional

2009-06-21T07:03:00.001-07:00

Saturday June 20, 3:00 PM

It had been a damned hot week and today would prove no exception with temps in the upper 90s. We were flying to Macon Regional (MCN). LZU to MCN is almost a straight line south. Flying to Macon has 2 gotchas:

(1) Staying out of Bravo (aka Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Intl. Airport). En-route ATC asked us to veer off to the left 15 degrees to avoid skimming the edge of the airspace.

(2) Making sure you don't confuse Robins Air Force Base with Macon Regional. U.S. Military are rightfully humorless about folks breaching their airspace (aliens). Fortunately the airports are shaped differently. Robins AFB is a single strip. Macon Regional has 2 runways that intersect. Robins AFB "points" to Macon Regional.

So cross country #3 done. Next Saturday is my solo cross country to Clemson. After that, I have my long solo cross country (3 leg triangular trip visiting 2 locations and then back home) and then I'll have all the pre-reqs for the FAA exam.

Part of me wants to be nervous about the solo to Clemson. But another part knows how to manage the nervous guy : put him in charge of all the little details that worry-warts are good at. Let him constantly be looking for other aircraft, checking the gauges and times. But he doesn't run the show. The cool guy does. And the cool guy is going to have a good time on Saturday.

Cross Country #2 : Night flight to Chattanooga

2009-05-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

5/28/2009

For my night cross country, we flew back to my hometown, Chattanooga, TN. Night cross country is very different. Lakes are not as good, unless its a very clear night. Better are well lit cities and busy roads. Airports are suprisingly hard to see at night because their lights blend into the surrounding lights.

We got there around 10:00, making the trip just over an hour from LZU. Dinner at Hooters on Lee Hwy. I had a chicken sandwich of marginal quality. Back to LZU. Arrived around 1.

Fumbling around with the maps and flight plan and everything else is a real pain at night. In 10 years, they might not even make student pilots do this anymore. I look at it as part of an overall skillset. I would never choose to navigate visually somewhere unfamiliar at night. However in the very rare event of (1) a total electrical systems failure AND (2) portable battery-powered GPS failure .. it would be good to have had some night VFR navigation.

1 more assisted cross country flight and then a solo cross country. And finally coming into view on the horizon, the FAA exam. Chris was tossing around August as a timeframe for completing the private pilot license.

Cross Country #1 : Clemson

2009-05-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

5/10/2009

Cross country #1 is complete. We flew out to Clemson, SC. Navigation without GPS is during the day is all about lakes and roads. Inevitably, I drifted off course a bit but recognized it and got back on course with the help of my instructor. Lakes are a great landmark to use during daytime navigation.

We had lunch at mellow mushroom, downtown Clemson. We used GPS for the return trip. I love me some GPS. Flying out somewhere, taking the courtesy vehicle into town, grabbing a bite to eat, wishing you could have a beer but not having, and flying back. That's what aviation is all about. Good times.

Lesson 22 : Maneuver Practice

2009-04-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

04/11/2009

We did 2 hours of high altitude maneuvre review. Slow Flight and power on/off stall recovery.

Lesson 22 : Maneuvers and Advanced TO/L

2009-04-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

4/3/2009

Friday was too windy to fly. Ground school. METARS, weather reports, VFR limitations, airspace, sectional navigation charts, etc.

4/4/2009

Saturday was a full afternoon of new stuff. Chris spent much of the time flying himself, showing me some new takeoffs / landings as well as S-turns and turns about a point (TAP).

All this stuff is fair game for the FAA check ride test. Next weekend I'm going to practice these maneuvers more. The following weekend will be my first of 3 cross country flights. The next big milestone is the solo cross country. And on the distant horizon is the FAA test, which upon passing.

Short Field T/O, LDG

Used when you don't have much runway and/or need to clear an obstacle. Get off the ground as soon as possible.

T/O : Stand on brakes and full throttle. Release brakes, take off as normal.

LDG : Maximize ground distance by landing right on the "numbers". Land as slowly as possible. After landing, stop asap.

Soft Field T/O, LDG

Used when landing on a soft, grassy type field. Keep the nose wheel off the ground as much as possible.

T/O : Keep nose-wheel up. Rotate early, ride ground effect until Vy, climb out at Vx*.

LDG : Keep nose-wheel up. Ride "wheely" all the way down the runway.

S-Turns

Pick straight ground reference, like a long road. Fly "S" pattern across the road, maintaining constant speed and altitude, crossing the road with wings level.

Turns About A Point

Pick a point on the ground. Aim left wing at the point. Fly a circle around the point, maintaining constant speed and altitude, keeping wing pointed at the point.

*Ground effect : cushion of extra dense air just above the ground.

*Rotate means lift off from the ground. i.e. Rotate from ground travel to air travel.

*Vy is the best rate of climb speed. i.e. Shallow, fast climb. Requires more ground distance, less time.

*Vx is the best angle of climb speed. i.e Steep, slow climb. Requires more time, less ground distance.

Michael Jordan's Jet

We went to PDK after maneuvers and there sat what had to be Michael Jordan's private jet. Of course, pics we taken. Chris's friend, who works the baggage at PDK, said Mr. Jordan's luggage typically exceeds several thousand pounds.

Note the Nike Air Jordan logo on the tail. It's a good chance this is Michael Jordan's jet ..

Note the FAA tail number : N236MJ .. "23?" "MJ"? Has to be his jet ..

The underside of the wing reads 23. This is MJ's jet. Later confirmed by PDK folks first hand.

Lesson 21 : Flying at Night

2009-03-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 24th

7pm-10pm

Tuesday night was my first time flying the DA-20 at night. Part of the private pilot license requirements are 10 full stop-and-goes at night at a controlled airport. We went over to PDK for 5 and then to Fulton County Airport for the last 5. PDK was a circus. Fulton County was a ghost town.

Flying at night around a busy airport is above my head right now and probably something I won't do much of until I have an instrument rating. The lights are however very beautiful from up there. I look forward to the night cross country.

PIC Flight 2 : Enjoying a Sunday Solo Flight

2009-03-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning

This morning I flew solo again. I took the same route to the north over Lake Lanier that I flew yesterday. However today was different: at no time did I feel nervous or afraid. My goal was to fly out over the lake and have a good time and that is exactly what happened. I knew my buddy Lorin was at one of the marinas watching for me. Later, I learned he saw me plain as day circling the Lanier shores. It was a lot of fun and extremely satisfying.

Radio

On my way home, when I called the tower at 10 miles out I learned that their radar was down. Fortunately, it was not a busy afternoon. They did ask me several times for my position and I had some dialog back and forth with them. Radio communication is no longer an obstacle for me. The chatter that used to be totally incomprehensible is now second nature. I landed and taxied back to Advanced Aviation.

Evolution

Yesterday I was consumed with trying not to mess up, make a mistake, or get killed. Fear and isolation dominated my senses and it took all the will power I could muster to manage that fear. As terrified as I was, the experience was necessary for me to evolve. Demons are never really defeated in the safe light of day. You have to climb down into hell and face them alone in the dark. I am truly grateful to my instructor, Chris, for training me to win that battle.

Today, I relaxed and enjoyed a Sunday morning flight over the lake. Fear was replaced with confident situational awareness. Instead of isolation, I experienced a deep sense of respect to be exercising a privilege that I've worked hard to earn.

PIC Flight 1 : Ghosts and Fear Management

2009-03-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Fear

This morning would be my first start to finish Pilot-In-Command flight. I arrived around 8:30, pre-flighted 391JA, taxied out, did the run-up, and taxied up to the line. At that point it occurred to me : I'm about to go flying by myself. I felt Fear building inside.

I got clearance for departure and throttled up. Lift off at 55 kts. Climb out at 70. This was familiar territory. It was when I turned North toward the lake that I suddenly felt a panicked urge to go back. I had never flown away from the airport by myself. What if I get lost or disoriented? What if I pass out for some reason? What if I'm actually passed out now and this is all a dream while in reality I sit slumped over in the cockpit? I should turn around and land ASAP.

I've heard numerous accounts of "fearlessness" and all of them essentially tell the same story: it's not about not being afraid, but continuing to operate effectively in the presence of fear. I considered turning around, but decided not to. I was going to reach the lake and then come back. So I stayed on my North course and focussed on controlling my breathing and remaining calm.

Ghosts

"Traffic" the radar system alerted. I looked at the radar and saw a blip that appeared to be an aircraft at my altitude, right on top me. According to the radar, I should be colliding with another plane. "Traffic" it said again. Frantically, I looked all around but saw nothing. I rocked my wings to check beneath me. Still nothing. The blip disappeared. As I discovered later, this is called a ghost. Radar systems sometimes accidentally register themselves as separate aircraft on the screen.

Going Home

I reached Lake Lanier and felt a sense of relief. I put in a left bank to circle back South to go home. 10 miles out from LZU I called the tower and they asked me to report 4 miles out. I was feeling better again as flying in the pattern was familiar. 4 miles out I was directed to turn left into final #2 behind another aircraft and to call it when in site. I finally saw the traffic and called it in. Tower directed me to follow that traffic in.

I was a little high and fast coming into the final approach, but I got my speed and altitude down where they needed to be. I touched down at 70 kts: textbook landing. Turned right on Charlie, contacted ground who sent me back to the Advanced Aviation ramp. My parking job was slightly off to the right, but close enough.

Final Analysis

So, my first full solo is done. I did not think it was going to be the gut check that it turned out to be. During my 1st solo TAGs a month ago, I was keyed up, dialed in, and had a very specific mission: staying in the pattern for 2 TAGs and a full stop. Never a mile from LZU. This was different. I was on my own the entire time and not just flying a circuit, but actually navigating some 18 miles from LZU over water.

So it was a perfectly executed flight on a picture perfect day, and I was more or less scared sh**less. I'm going back up tomorrow morning to repeat the solo Lake Lanier flight mission, with one modification : enjoy myself.

Lesson 20 : De-Rust

2009-03-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Friday March 20, 2009

Since my first solo, I've had a few ground school classes doing VFR flight planning. However, between work demands, funds running low, a string of terrible weather, and the flu I had not been able to fly until this morning.

Chris and I went up today for 2 purposes : (1) to get un-rusty from not having flown in a month and (2) as a dress rehearsal for the next day, Saturday, where I would do a full solo flight.

It turns out I was not very rusty at all. My TAGs were very decent. We flew North to Lake Lanier, then over to Stone Mtn, and back. Nothing fancy, just getting re-acquainted and prepped for tomorrow.

Lesson 19 : Solo Complete

2009-02-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Friday Feb 13, 2009 (Friday the 13th)

Chris said that everbody always has a really terrible lesson right before they are ready to solo. My last lesson, Tuesday, was mixed. It was more of a learning experience than "terrible". Nevertheless, Chris and I were thinking that was my terrible lesson.

We were wrong. This morning was clearly my "terrible" flight. I was totally off on the first 2 TAGs. Too fast, too slow, too high, off course, flares were off, .. it was a study in how not to fly TAGs. Then on the 3rd TAG, I started to get it right. Chris laid off the radios and inputs completely. Something clicked and I landed about 4 very decent TAGs without his assitance.

On the 4th, Chris got on the radio and requested a full stop. I landed, we turned off into a ramp, and shutdown.

"I'm going to solo you now." This was it. We went over a few procedures. He endorsed my logbook for limited solo flight. Curtains up.

"Oh and by the way, it's Friday the 13th," he reminded me just before I closed the hatch. I was ready. I closed the hatch, and started the pre-ignition sequence. The cockpit was much roomier with one person. I called ground and got clearance to taxi to 25. I taxied, did the runup, and pulled up to the line. There was a twin taking off ahead of me.

I squeezed the transmit button.

"Gwinnett tower Diamond three nine three Juliet Alpha at Whiskey ready for takeoff two five remaining in pattern."

Tower responded, "three nine three Juliet Alpha you are clear for takeoff two five, right turn crosswind report mid-field."

I responded, "clear for takeoff two five, right turn crosswind report mid-field."

I lined the bird up center line and pushed the throttle forward, anticipating right rudder. It was all automatic at this point.

55 knots, rotate. Airborn. Hold two five on the climb out, pitch for 70. 1500 feet, flaps to cruise. 1700 feet, right turn crosswind 2o degrees, power down to 2,300 RPMs. Reference the runway. 2,000 ft pattern altitude reached. Right turn downwind, power down to 2,000 RPMs. Hold 2,000 feet. Reference runway, stay parallel. Don't crab. Report midfield. Squeeze the transmitter.

"Gwinnett tower, three nine one Juliet Alpha is mid-field right downwind for two five."

"Roger, three nine one Juliet Alpha you're clear for touch and go two five."

At the numbers, first notch of flaps. Pitch for 90. Over the warehouse, turn right base. Power down to 1700. Pitch for 80. Reference the runway. Right turn final, pitch for 70. Track centerline. Adjust power to keep 1700. Runway is made, pull power. Track centerline. Look down the runway. Start the flare. Ground effect. Keep the flare in, keep centerline, about to touch down. Pull back. Wheels on the ground.

I was down: first solo circuit complete. Two more and I'm officially soloed. Stay on the right rudder. Set flaps for takeoff, full power, 55 knots rotate. Airborn ...

The next TAG was right on like the first. The final landing was a little sketchy. I flared too early and hard, resulting in a brief wheely ride down two five. Still, I had finished my solo. Chris congratulated me. I was psychologically spent and happy it was done.

Next flight is Saturday.

Lesson 18 : TAG at LZU and The Flying Machine

2009-02-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

February 10th, 2009

2 hours of TAG at LZU. Only this time, Chris was completely hands off. Basically I flew exactly as I would solo : radios, maneuvering, making little corrections, everything. I did have to go around a couple of times, but they were valuable learning experiences. Overall it was a good day because it is a tremendous confidence booster to see that I really can do this alone, even (especially) when I get off course and have to circle around for another pass.

After the lesson I had lunch with Chris at The Flying Machine, LZU's airport. Delicious philly cheesesteak sandwiches. Next lessons are Friday and Saturday.

Lesson 17 : TAG With Crosswind

2009-02-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Sunday February 8, 2009

Flying circuits in 18 mph crosswinds is nothing short of a rodeo. Even still, I was able to turn in decent landings, albeit with much correction and adjustment along the way. After Winder and Jackson County, we went to Athens, GA airport for 1 circuit. Athens is about on par with LZU.

I need to be flying consistently good circuits. Right now, about 75% of my circuits are good. This week I'm aiming for 1 or 2 days of flawless circuits.

Lesson 16 : LSAT and The Cure

2009-02-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday February 7, 2009

law school admission

test pain is best managed by

spinning a diamond

Lesson 15 : TAG with Chris

2009-02-08T06:49:00.001-08:00

Friday, February 6th 2009

Same thing - more circuits. Practicing for solo. TAG at Winder. TAG at Jackson County.
I talked on the radio most of the time. I'm getting more in tune with controlling the energy of the plane. Working on maintaining coordinated flight via rudder pedals.

LSAT tommorow followed by a 1:00 flight.

Lesson 14 : TAG with Darick

2009-02-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday Jan. 31. 2009
Chris is out of town until Wednesday, so I flew with Darick Saturday afternoon at 4:00. It was mostly more of the same : practicing the touch and go circuit at Winder.

I did learn 3 new things:
(1) A new trick : short field takeoffs. On a short runway, or any take-off situation where you need to climb out as quickly as possible, a short field takeoff is an option. As opposed to a regular takeoff where you build speed on the runway and gradually climb out at an angle, in a short field take off you pull up early and then level off just above the ground. "Ground effect", as it is termed, is the layer of air just above the ground that acts as a cushion. You build speed in ground effect (as opposed to on the runway) and then climb out.

(2) A different circuit. Chris has me fly a faster circuit, that resulting in a higher altitude final. Darick has his students fly a slower circuit, lower altitude final. Neither is right or wrong. They are simply different styles. Flying both circuits helped with my comfort level in estimating distances.

(3) I used the ALS for the first time. Granted I am training for VFR - ie no reliance on instruments. But it was neat to watch the runway ALS lights telling me "too high, too low, just right".

Visibility deteriorated from the time we left LZU to the time we returned. So it was hard to see the airport. I got to watch Darick use the ILS to assist our approach to the LZU field. That was neat too and I'm looking forward to learning the instruments. Still, that's a ways off.

Next flight is Sunday (Wedesday was not possible) with Chris.

Lesson 13: Jackson Touch and Goes

2009-01-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday 01/24/2009
Chasing down the solo. The plan is Tuesday if possible. The "if possible" part means 2 things:
(1) Am I ready
(2) Can I get my physical done in time.

Regarding (2), I was supposed to have gotten a flight physical but it slipped through the cracks and I forgot about it. The physical is a requirement for the solo, so hopefully I can get it done Monday or Tuesday morning.

Today was the same drill: touch and goes. We did a few at Winder and then flew over to Jackson county for a change of scenery. Jackson county's airstrip is smaller than Winder's. I did ok today. The winds were higher and gustier, so I would get blown off my headings and then overcorrect for them .. leading to being even more off. The good news is that I managed to convert all of the less-than-perfectly-setup approaches into smooth landings.

Chris said he was happy with results today, so I'm still on track. I also talked more on the radio. Speaking of .. Monday I am going to be doing all of the radio communication.

Lesson 12: Touch & Goes and Slips

2009-01-24T15:06:00.000-08:00

Friday, 01/23/2009.
Tonight's lesson ran from 4 to 6 PM and the weather was perfect. Crisp and cool, flirting with being cold. Clear. Low winds.

We flew out to Winder and did 10 touch and goes. We're down to brass tacks and its all about getting ready for the solo. The solo, as previously mentioned, consists of 3 touch and goes and then a full stop. The weather on Friday was so perfect and my landings are getting consistently good.

So here's 1 "touch and go" in the pattern.

Take off at 55 kts. Climb out at 70 kts.
500 AGL, flaps up.
700 AGL, left turn crosswind.
Level off at 2000 ft MSL.
1/2 mile from strip, left downwind. Power down to 2,000 rpms.
At the numbers, first notch of flaps (T/O). Pitch for 90 kts.
1 mile out, left turn base. Power down to 1,700 rpms. Pitch for 80 kts.
Left turn for final. Power down to 1,500 rpms. Pitch for 70 kts. Last notch flaps (LNG).
When the runway is made, pull power. Keep center line. Pitch for 70 kts.
Look down runway. Just before touchdown, flare (pull up slightly).
On the descent, pull back a little more and contact back wheel first to runway.
Once on the runway, full power ... rinse and repeat.

I also learned a new trick: the slip. It's a way to loose altitude quickly without affecting airspeed or power. To perform a left slip, stand on the right rudder and bank ailerons to the left (opposite rudder). This causes the plane to essential turn sideways and angle downward .. "slipping" out of the altitude. To exit the slip, just let off the rudder and level ailerons, and your back at your original heading. It's a handy trick for fixing an overshot final - especially in an emergency where going around is not an option.

Lesson 11: Emergency Procedures

2009-01-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

Thursday 01/22/2009.
This lesson was about what to do if the engine fails. We got airborne and for almost 2 hours simulated engine failures by pulling power randomly and seeing how I would respond.

There are 4 categories of engine failure:

1 : Before rotation (rotation means liftoff .. transitioning from ground to flight)

Response: Pull power, full stop.

2 : Immediately after rotation with enough runway left to set back down

Response: Pull power, touch back down, full stop.

3 : Immediately after rotation without enough runway left to set back down

Response: Pull power, pick an open area ahead and land. This type of failure was recently in the news: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/01/15/usairways.landing/

4 : During higher altitude regular flight

Response: Pull power. Try to restart the engine. If engine won't start, secure the engine, meaning cut off all gas from the engine. In the DA-20 that means 6 things:

-Throttle idle.

-Lean mixture.

-Pull fuel cutoff valve.

-Fuel pump off.

-Mags turned to off.
-Fuel prime to off

Pitch for optimal glide ratio speed, which in the DA-20 is 73 kts. Find a suitable open area, or nearby airport, and land.

So basically Chris would pull power randomly, I would run through and then I would tell him where I would land. Then I would steer the unpowered (not off, just idle) plane toward that area just like if I intended to land. Obviously, we would not actually land on somebody's property, but we got close enough to tell if I would make it.

We returned to LZU at dusk. It was a crisp, cool beautiful evening for flying. Solo time is coming soon.

Lesson 10: Steep Turns

2009-01-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 10th. We did "steep turn drills" followed by slow flying and stall recovery, and then a couple of touch and goes. Steep turn drills are as follows:
- Note your current speed, altitude, and heading .. for example 80 kts, 4000 feet, NW.
- Visually pick a landmark in the distance dead ahead .. for example a tower.
- Bank left at 45 degrees, and stay in that turn for 360 degrees until you see the tower.
- Then immediately bank right at 45 degrees, do another 360 until you see the tower.
- Level out. You should be at the same speed, altitude, and heading that you started.

Essentially, its a 360 to the left followed by a 360 to the right. The trick is that more power is needed during the turn to maintain altitude. You also have to pull back on the stick to help keep the turn coordinated. Because of the high power, steep angle configuration, you experience a couple of "G"s during the drill. It was fun.

Here's what was not fun. My pattern work (touch and goes) are not improving at the rate I need them to. Good landings are about a good setup: being at the right altitude and airspeed in the right places in the pattern. Add to that the constant radio communication which I've barely started to do. The problem is that I'm just not flying often enough. Plain and simple. I go in once a week, dust the rust off, and then my hour is up. I have another week to get rusty again.

So I am going to make a concerted effort to fly more often.

Lesson 8 & 9 : Preparing For Solo

2008-12-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

Preparing For Solo
Since Thanksgiving, I've had 2 more flights and 2 ground schools. The goal is to complete my first solo flight within the next 6 flights or so. As Chris tells it, I won't see it coming. We'll have done a few touch-and-goes and then out of nowhere we'll pull over, he'll get out, and I will go up alone for 3 touch-and-goes followed by a full stop. I'm eager to get it behind me.

The last 2 flights were more pattern work and landings. I've not yet mastered coordinating altitude, airspeed, and heading simultaneously. Changing any one affects the other two. With any luck, I'll get my solo under my belt before the new year. After the solo, the next focus will be planning and executing a cross country flight.

Thanksgiving Flight: Diamond Star DA-40

2008-11-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Morning in Georgia

Tuesday night, I picked up Lauren and Bill from Hartsfield. Miraculously, we managed to meet up with minimal delay even in the middle of a massive power outage at the infamously busy Atlanta airport. On the drive home, I pointed out Turner campus where I work - already wondering what it would look like from above. Cynthia had some snacks waiting on us when we arrived. The following morning would be my sister's first ride in a little plane, and my first time in the DA-40.

Wednesday morning, I was up early. After some breakfast, I drove us over to Advanced Aviation. Chris had not arrived yet, so we sat down to wait on him. I could see that quiet look of anticipation/tension on Lauren's face that I had felt the first time. Chris came in the back and I introduced everybody. It was cold outside and this flight was more of a luxury, sight-seeing bit of fun than an actual lesson. So Chris went out and did the preflight while we stayed warm in the office.

Ten minutes later, Chris returned obviously chilled. We were ready to go, except we needed a gas topoff. We walked out to the ramp. The 40 was waiting with the canopies open. I showed Lauren the Cessna 172 and DA-20. We took a bunch of pictures, waiting on the fuel truck. After 2o minutes or so, we got filled up and were ready to roll.

The Diamond Star DA-40

Lauren and Bill climbed into the back, Chris took the right seat, and I the left. Chris noticed me digging around for the handle to adjust the rudder pedals.

"It's electric. There's a switch just under the left corner of the seat," he said.

Fancy. I was already falling in love with the DA-40. Chris told me once I fly it I would not want to get back in the 20. I believed him. We expeditiously went through the checklist, which is similar to the 20 until the avionics check. Our 40 is equipped with a Garmin 1000 flat panel system. Between the monitors are 3 steam gauges: Altitude, Attitude, Airspeed. These guages are backups in case of electrical failure.

As we taxied off the ramp, I could immediately feel how much easier the 40 taxies. It reminded me of the 172. We cruised down, did the run-up. We got takeoff clearance, made a left facing down runway, and hit the throttle. The DA-40's 185 horsepower engine got us to 60 kts quickly. It was much easier to keep the 40 straight than the 20.

We lifted off around 60-65 kts. The climb-out was smooth with predictable right rudder input. Again the stability of the heavier more powerful aircraft became clear. The 40 is far less apt to drift around compared to the 20.

"How's it going? Do you feel ok?" I looked back at my sister.

"Yep. I'm good," she replied and gave me a thumbs up. Her body language agreed with her words. Bill looked fine too.

We headed East for Winder to do a touch and go. Chris keyed the location into the Garmin and hit the auto-pilot. The DA-40 was flying itself; the stick and pedals physically moving. On the primary screen, a "tunnel" of squares formed a 3D spatial route that the computer would follow, flying through the center of each square in series and ending at Winder. It was really amazing to watch the computer fly the plane. As we neared Winder, I switched back to manual control. We circled for the approach, touched down, and boosted back up for a takeoff. Again, the 40 was ultra smooth. Not nearly as much wiggle and drift as the 20

We left Winder and flew north to lake Lanier then southwest into the city. We circled around 10th street where I work.

Auto-pilot is especially handy for sight seeing and generally eases the multi-tasking stresses of piloting a plane. As we landed, I was already getting depressed at the thought of leaving the DA-40 to sit in traffic. We touched down, said goodbye to the beautiful DA-40, and began the painfully slow road trip to Cape San Blas, FL.

Thanksgiving Evening in FL

The drive from Atlanta to Cape San Blas is a voyage to the edge of sanity .. and beyond. Observe here my sister succumbing to what Team Zissou calls "the crazy eye".

Ultimately, the destination is worth the trip. Cape San Blas is a lesser known, but absolutely beautiful beach about 20 miles west of Apalachicola.

The only way I can possibly imagine improving such a view would be to see it from the cockpit of DA-40.

Lesson 7: Ground School and Touch and Go

2008-11-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

11/14/2008 : (Last weekend) The weather was bad so I did ground school with Chris. We went over basic flight physics, control surfaces, gauges, and things like that. Uneventfull classroom type stuff, but required for licensure.

11/22/2008 : Saturday was beautiful - no clouds, visibility forever, and no traffic. Just us and the sky. We went to Winder for more touch and goes. The actual landing from an approach I've got down. What I need to work on is control of altitude and attitude. For example, climbing to 2000 ft and not deviating from that altitude. Or turning to NE and hitting NE and staying there. I tend to drift around.

It was cold and the wings had ice on them. The Diamond's composite material makes icing a bit of a problem in that it takes longer to burn off than other surfaces. Icy wings makes a big difference in flight characteristics. Chris said he would not fly a plane with even moderate ice on the wings. It causes air turbulence over the normally smooth, streamlined control surfaces. This results in uneven pitch and roll response, and greatly impedes basic maneuvering. So we did the run up and then waited at the line for sun to melt the ice. We did this by looking at the wings and waiting for the appearance of water beads.

The touch and goes were fine, except one I had to go around on. I made a mistake when I flipped the flaps all the way up (cruise flaps) instead of all the way down (landing flaps). That combined with being too high to begin with dictated a go around. I made some mistakes, but I'm still improving with every lesson, so it just takes time. There is no substitute for experience. I'd rather make evry mistake in the book with Chris than solo.

My sister and her husband Bill come into town tommorow evening. I'm excited to see them. Wednesday we go up in the DA-40 with the glass cockpit Garmin 1000. Even though it doesn't count toward my DA-20 certification, it will give me good comparative flight experience. The plan is to go to Winder for a touch and go, fly over lake Lanier, and then fly over downtown Atlanta. The DA-40 has an autopilot, so that will be another first.

I have almost 20 hours of flight time logged. Based on a 60 hour estimate, I'm about 1/3rd of the way to a private pilot license. Probably about 1/2 way to my first solo.

Lesson 6: Radio And Landing .. And Barack Obama

2008-11-07T05:30:00.001-08:00

Barack Obama wins!
Now its just a simple matter of running the United States for 4 years. Who in their right mind would want that job? Not me. But I'm glad there are those who do - and who seem to consider the office a privilege of national service, rather than an entitlement to 4 years of VIP rockstardom. Barack might just as well ask who in their right mind would strap themselves behind an engine and pretend to be a bird ..

Wednesday morning I had another flight lesson. Like last time, I did the pre-flight by myself with Chris looking on. The one thing I forgot was to untie the tail and left wing. It is not on the DA-20 standard checklist for some reason. Chris recommended that after the pre-flight, I stand back and look the plane over from a distance. That way, any major stuff stands out more than when you’re right up close.

I did my first radio communications with tower and ground. I had to write down what to say. I still messed it up, forgetting to repeat my call-sign at the end. Like anything else, it takes practice. That’s something I really appreciate about flight; it seems that the only real credential is flight hours logged. There is no substitute for experience. Aside from the communication, Wednesday was basically a repeat of last lesson: touch and goes at Winder. Chris told me that working up to the point of solo is in large part gauged by how good you’re landings and takeoffs are, since those are the riskiest phases of flight.

We did have a moment of excitement. On my third touch and go, I got wheels on the ground and then throttled back up. At about 45 knots, just shy of takeoff, a jet on the crossway started moving. In other words, imagine the runways as a big letter “L”. We were taking off on the long side toward the corner, and the jet suddenly started moving on the short side toward the same corner. Unsure of the jet’s intentions, Chris slammed on the brakes and watched the jet. The jet slowed down and it became obvious he was not going to pull out in front of us, so Chris throttled back up to complete the takeoff. We got back up to 55 knots and took off, but had very little runway left.

The whole encounter only lasted about 5 seconds, but felt much longer. He apologized, but I’m glad he had his eyes open. Over-caution is much better than unawareness. So 5 more touch and goes under my belt. Chris said next time we would practice emergency procedures. The next lesson will probably be in a week or so.

Also, I am especially looking forward to flying with my brother in law, Bill, in the DA-20's big brother : DA-40. That happens the Nov. 26th. I'm thinking I'll put him on camera detail so we can get some pics and maybe some video of the flight.

Lesson 5: Touch and Go

2008-11-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday I took the morning off to get a flight in before the weekend. Chris was running late, so he left instructions for me to start the preflight. I went through the list, line by line and checked everything. When he arrived, he double checked the oil and decided it was a little low and topped it off.

We opened the cockpit and turned on the radios to test my new headsets. I can hear through them fine, but the mic input is a little low. I might look into having the output gain turned up. We finished the check and taxied to the runway. LZU was busy this morning. We were on deck for takeoff.

"Today we're going over to Winder to practice landing." Chris looked at me. "You look nervous about that .. " he continued. He was right. I was nervous and excited.

We throttled up and took off. Chris obviously left more of the takeoff to me this time, because the plane was REALLY wanting to yaw and roll left. I had to apply significant right rudder and right aileron to keep a level climb.

We headed east to the Winder-Barrow airport to practice "touch and go"s. A "touch and go" is a landing practice excercise where the pilot lands, getting all wheels down on the runway, and then immediately throttles back up and takes off again.

Chris would handle the first one. We got runway clearance and circled around to begin the approach. Chris called out the actions as we approached the runway.

"Power down to 1700 RPMs and descended to 2,000 ft."

"Flaps to takeoff. Pitch for 70 knots." I switched flaps down one notch.

Pitching for speed means that on a descent, you pitch the nose up to induce drag and slow airspeed and likewise pitch down to decrease drag and increase airspeed. Thus, you are using pitch to control airspeed.

"Pull power to idle and set flaps to landing." I pulled the throttle level all the way to idle and switched flaps down all the way. The stick was getting mushy. We were over the runway at about a 100 foot altitude, a little high intentionally. We descended down to what looked like about 30 feet.

"Start pulling back," Chris said. I pulled back on the stick to level. Our descent slowed.

We were almost down. "Now pull back more," Chris said. I did as he said and felt our back wheels bump down, followed by the front. That was it. We had landed. Bumpy but intact. It was back to the pedals for rudder control.

"Ok full throttle, 1st notch flaps, and take off again." I flipped the flaps to T/O, throttled up and lifted off again, this time anticipating the hard left turn tendency. I felt the bird wanting to roll and turn left, stepped right and rolled right to keep level.

"At 1500 feet flaps to Cruise." We passed through 1500 feet. I flipped the flaps up.

Rinse and repeat.

We did 4 more touch and goes at Winder, each one getting better and smoother. We got back to LZU and landed. The LZU landing was much smoother. I need a lot more practice, but I'm getting more and more comfortable with each lesson.

Another Helicopter Flight

2008-10-30T09:13:00.001-07:00

My scheduled fixed wing lesson last weekend got called on account of wind and rain. I rescheduled for Friday (tommorow) at 10AM.

So yesterday evening, with my wife's generous support and blessing (even in the face of car trouble), I splurged and bought another helicopter lesson. Helicopters are fun, but expensive; fun things usually are. So I wanted to squeeze in as much hands-on time as I could during this lesson; I'm not sure when I'll be back. The good news is that I flew almost the entire time. The bad news is I don't have any pictures - because I was flying almost the entire time.

I flew with Travis because it was chilly and we needed doors on the R22 this time. Why Travis? Because with Derrick and doors, my fat a$$ puts us over the R22 max load. Stupid, delicious Krystals.

Travis lifted off and got us out to 2,600 ft.

"You have the controls," he said.
"Copy, I have the controls," I replied.
This communication is critical in helicopters. We did two things: turning and hovering.

Turning
The turning practice was an extension of the last lesson. It got progresively more complex:

"Turn right to a heading of 32, hold 2,600 feet, hold 60 knots."
"Now turn left to a heading of North, descend to 2,200 feet, hold 60 knots."
"Now give me a right turn to a heading of 17, ascend to 2,500 feet, speed 75 knots."

Left/Right, Up/Down, Faster/Slower .. all simultaneously using all the controls in coordination.
I had it down pretty good. Time in fixed-wing helped.

Hovering
After 45 mins of turns and basic navigation, we returned to the taxi-way for hovering about 10 feet off the ground.

I practiced first with only the cyclic (roll /pitch), then only the pedals (left / right), then only the collective (up / down). I kept it stable and hovered without problem. This earned some praise from Travis. He had never seen a student hover like I did the first time out. I felt my big head swell with pure awesomeness.

I am a unique and special snowflake. The voodoo child.

Then he gave me both the cyclic and pedals. I held the hover for about 3 seconds. Combined with the wind, it was more than I could handle and we got blown around every which way. We started spinning and sidewinding. He pulled us back from the brink. My head deflated back to mere mortal size.

I am not a unique and special snowflake. I am the same decaying organic matter as everything else.

We wrapped it up. I got some pats on the back for how well I did, settled up, and was off home to my wife whom I love for not only putting up with but eagerly supporting my high maintenance, overdeveloped sense of ambition and challenge. While I was playing helicopter pilot, she was dealing with a dead car battery. To show my gratitude, I went out later and picked up some ribs from Sonnys in time to watch Barack Obama's 20 minute music video.

This experience reminded me of what I love, fear, and respect about piloting aircraft: Your mind, body, and senses are in tune with the world. You aren't dealing in artificiality. There is only dangerous and beautiful reality. You're in it, part of it, connected to nature by the work of countless fellow human beings who came before you. If you choose awareness of, respect for, and harmony with that nature, you experience what few others ever do. But if instead you choose arrogance over awareness, or trade reality for wishful thinking, it may cost you your life.

I'm Doug Hale and I approve this message.

Helicopter Flight

2008-10-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

Two pieces of news warrant a post of their own.

First, I got my own pilot headset. For $100, I purchased off craigslist a decent set of David Clark H20-10 and no longer have to mooch headsets from the flight school.

Second, I flew a helicopter.

In the interest of developing into a more well-rounded pilot, and because it's just plain awesome as hell, I wanted to get some rotary wing experience under my belt. So on my way home Wednesday night, I called the helicopter training outfit "Blue Ridge Helicopters" located in Lawrenceville and lined up a discovery flight for 5:30 that evening. I've never been in a helicopter before and was really excited about it.

Blue Ridge is located at the same airport as Advanced Aviation, but on the opposite side of the runways. I got to Blue Ridge and met up with Travis, who then introduced me to Derick - the pilot I would be flying with. We would be flying a Robinson 22. I knew from what I had read on the web that this would be an entirely different experience from the fixed wing, but it really hit home seeing the R22 up close.

Like the DA-20, the R22 is tiny. However, sitting in the R22 without the doors is not claustrophic at all. In fact, it was perfectly comfortable. What I didn't realize was how windy - and thus cold - it would be up there. So while I roasted the first time up in the DA-20, I would freeze the first time up in the R22.

The R22 has fewer interior guages, most notably the lack of an attitude indicator. The visibility is far greater in the R22 than the DA-20 because of the lower orientation and smaller footprint of the instrument console. This configuration greatly reduced the temptation for me to stare at the instruments. Like in the fixed wing, we were flying VFR.

We did a quick briefing on what the controls did and how I would be operating them. Helicopters are piloted via 3 coordinated controls.

1: Cyclic. The stick/yoke analog. Push to nose down, pull to nose up, left and right to roll.
2: Collective. Handle on left (between seats). Pull up for vertical rise. Push down for vertical drop.
3: Anti-torques. The rudder analog. Pedals turns nose right, left.

There is also the throttle control. The throttle in the R22 is automatically adjusted by a "throttle correlator" linked to the Collective which keeps the RPMs at a constant rate.

Derick had already done the preflight so we were ready to go. He and Travis both stressed to me the importance of using gentle, controlled pressure and not jerking the stick. "It doesn't take much to enter a dangerous attitude," said Travis.

"Got it," I said. "Do not yank the controls. Understood."

Just then Derick walked up. "I just heard the word 'Yank'" he said.

"No, what you heard is the tail end of 'DONT yank!' I kidded back. We all laughed for a moment, but I reassured Derick that I understood and would be ginger with the controls. In the fixed wing DA-20, it seems practically impossible for a student pilot to put the plane into an attitude the instructor couldn't easily recover from. I got the distinct impression that helicopters were a different story.

Derick started the rotors. "So what I'm doing here is waiting to feel us start to lift and tilt, and then do little corrections. That way we rise straight up." Soon, I felt the tilts and rise begin. Where airplane takeoff is about speed, helicopter liftoff is about balance. I had my hands on the stick to feel the liftoff. Indeed, small corrections and pressure induce big attitude differences. I could already tell. We lifted up about 10 feet and cruised over to a runway.

Derick explained the take off. "To get speed we pitch down the cyclic." We pitched forward. "And push some collective," he continued. We thrusted forward and lifted gradually. Soon we were in the air. After we cleared LZU, Derick handed me the controls and I flew for a while. It's true that flying a helicopter is a balancing act, but straight and level flight is not a hard balancing act. I felt very comfortable with the controls.

Normally Derick would take the controls 8 miles out from LZU, but since he felt I was comfortable with the controls he allowed me to do the approach. He complimented my performance several times which made me feel good. Later Derick would tell me that the really hard part is hovering.

"It's like standing on a basketball," he described it. I already cannot wait to try it. Flying a helicopter was really fun and I'm sure I'll be back for more. My next fixed wing lesson is Friday at 10 AM.

Lesson 4: The B17 Bomber

2008-10-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Tic-Tac-Toe

It was a bright, cold day in October, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

According to my TV and contrary to all my first-hand experience, the United States have magically polarized themselves evenly into Red and Blue factions. Red guy and Blue guy play Tic-Tac-Toe in the sand for a captive national audience. Real-time graphs guide viewers through the perilous waters of independent thought. Tic-Tac-Toe experts debate the artistic merit and style with which the "X"s and "O"s were drawn. Software, created in part by me, ensures that the circus is profitable.

And here I am, learning to fly airplanes.

B17

Chris was finishing his lunch when I arrived. He and Darrick were talking about a mysterious flat tire on one of the DA-20s. The flat has happened 3 times now, each time with Chris on the same DA-20, with the same student, and all three times it was only noticeable during taxi. Oddly nobody else has experienced it. So Chris decided he was not going to fly it for a while and see if anybody else noticed it. Why tempt fate?

We got our stuff together. As we walked outside, Chris asked me, "did you see the B17 when you came in?"

"No," I told him. I did not know what a B17 was. He explained that B17s were old World War II era bomber aircrafts. The U.S. Air Force (I presume) had flown a B17 into LZU and parked it on the ramp for public viewing. For $6, you could tour the interior of the plane. Chris, Darick and I walked down to it and gawked for a few minutes. It's an enormous aircraft, designed to drop enormous bombs on bad guys, and equipped with machine guns to dissuade enemy aircraft from interfering. I snapped some shots of course.

(b17 pics)

Takeoff #2

Back at the DA-20, Chris guided me through the preflight as usual. I could probably do the entire preflight by myself at this point. I've seen more advanced students doing the preflight alone. I'm probably not too far way from that point.

We taxied to the line. Chris got "cleared for takeoff without delay" which means don't dilly dally; there's an inbound who will be needing to land in a couple of minutes.

"Ok take us up to the line, " Chris said. I gingerly pushed up some power and we started to barely move. I'm still at the point where I like to take things extra slow and deliberate.

"Juliet 91 - No delay on your takeoff," the tower came over the radio. That meant: hurry up. So Chris took control for us to get lined up for take off.

"Full throttle," Chris said. I pushed up to full throttle and we started moving. For some reason we were yawing right really hard. It felt like I was having to stand on the left rudder to keep us from veering off the ramp to the right.

"At 55 knots pull up," Chris said. At around 55 knots the ground contact vibration died down. I pulled up and we were in the air. Tower told us to turn west. We turned and climbed to about 4,000 feet. Today we were to practice trim control, banks, and more slow flying.

Steep Banks

At one point, our traffic proximity alarm went off. We look around but could not find the nearby aircraft, which is not good. Then Chris found him, above us on the right side. It was a glider. We were coming up on some clouds, so Chris banked us hard to the left.

I've never banked this hard before. It had to have been at least 45 degrees, maybe more. I'm glad we did though, because I had been timid about banking too hard before. Part of getting comfortable as a pilot means learning what "a lot" and "a little" feel like. As a land animal born to fear heights and imbalance, it's like learning to ride a bike all over again. I practiced steep banks into headings.

Slow Flight

Mastering slow flying is a pre-requisite to learning how to land. In other words, landing is essentially a controlled stall as close to the runway as possible. You fly slower and slower, closer and closer to the ground until you stall and the plane drops in a controlled descent onto the runway. In a few weeks, we will start touch and goes.

As we landed today, I kept my hands on the stick to feel the landing. The controls become "mushy" at slow speeds because less wind is flowing over the control surfaces. I need more slow flight practice, but I'm starting to be able to see the landing in mind.

Lesson 3: Sea of Clouds

2008-10-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

9:00 AM. I arrived at Advanced Aviation this morning for my 3rd

lesson. It was cloudy and windy today. Chris was finishing up a
ground school lesson with another student.

We got our stuff together and headed out to the ramp. Last class, he suggested I look into getting my own headset. I researched headsets this week but decided to wait and see what Chris used and find out what the Advanced Aviation folks thought about Active Noise Reduction (ANR) headsets. ANR greatly reduces ambient noise by emitting "anti-sound" that cancels out the constant background noise. Other than ANR being more expensive, I was concerned about the possibility of ANR canceling out important noise, like engine sounds, radio, or warning indicators like the stall horn. Chris and Darrick didn't have any concerns with ANR. Darick in fact uses ANR headsets. Chris uses passive Dave Clarks, but wants a set of the new Bose ANRs. That takes care of my ANR concerns. I'll get some off Ebay or Craigs List.

We pulled the cover off the DA-20 and did the preflight. I taxied us to the runway area. Because of the high winds, Chris decided to handle the takeoff. I was disappointed but appreciate Chris's cautious attitude about safety. Darick was with another student beside us in the other DA-20 doing their pre-takeoff. They were first up.

"Hey Darick," Chris radioed. "Your front tire looks low."

It did look very low, pancaked at the point of contact with the road. Darick replied that it felt ok on taxi.

"Ok," Chris responded. "It might be the angle I'm looking. Just keep an eye on it."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks," Darick responded. Pilots look out for each other.

After Darick was in the air, we taxied to the line and stopped. ATC cleared us for take off. Chris throttled up and we were in the air within 5 seconds. We couldn't have been going more than 30 mph.

"Wow - we're already in the air," Chris exclaimed. We were facing a 20 mph wind. That means as far as the wings knew, our true ground speed of 30 mph was more like 50 mph. Wind moving over the wings creates lift. Strong headwind combined with the DA-20s light weight put us into flight in no time. I took control once we were up. Winds were strong and gusty, which meant lots of bumps and drops. I did not feel nervous at all though. I'm getting used to the sensations.

Although I didn't get to take off, I was in for a rare treat: a low cloud ceiling. Because the DA-20 is not IFR certified (its plastic airframe lacks lightening protection), flying through clouds is not allowed. But that doesn't mean we can't get above them, as long as we don't fly into them on the way up. So we had to find a hole in the clouds and climb through it.

"See that opening," Chris pointed. "Climb us through that to 4500 feet." This was really fun. I pushed full throttle for power and pulled the stick back to about a 700 ft/min climb. As we climbed through the hole in the clouds, I looked around at the surreal gaseous layer just below us. I asked Chris to take the stick for moment while I snapped some pictures. Here are few just after we leveled off. You can see the hole we climbed through.

Just through the hole

Sea of Clouds: Pilot side

Sea of Clouds: Co-pilot side

Above the clouds, the turbulence was completely gone. Except for takeoff and landing, I flew the entire time today. For an hour, I practiced turning, ascent, descent, trim control, and throttle adjustment. It was over before it began and we needed to head home. I descended and brought us into LZU controlled space where Chris took back over for the landing.

"This is going to be interesting," Chris said. We were landing under heavy winds. Chris slowed us down and lowered the flaps. As we got down to around 300 ft above deck, it looked like we were barely moving. Chris touched down to an amazingly smooth landing. There wasn't a single bump or jolt. I don't think they get any better than that.

"Nicely done!" I complimented him. "Thanks," he replied. Chris was smiling, clearly happy with his touchdown. He had a right to be. It really was remarkable.

We were supposed to do more stall recovery today, but the high winds prevented that too. It's looking like Friday Oct 17th will be the next lesson. The agenda will be more stall recovery and steep bank turns. Chris also said we would start landing practice called "touch and go"s. That's where you line up for a landing, descend, get wheels on the ground, and then take back off to circle around for another pass: touch and go. Even with the instructor present and helping, completing an entire flight from take-off to landing will be a huge milestone.

Lesson 2: The Cessna 172 Skyhawk

2008-10-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday's flight lesson was awesome. I don't have any in-flight pictures because I spent more time playing pilot than photographer. Which is good. After all, that's what I signed up for. However, I do have pictures of the Cessna I flew and some intense experiences that I'm not sure I could ever verbalize to their full credit.

VFR-into-IMC
I arrived at 3:00. Chris was on a discovery flight and running a little late. No big deal. I sat down and thumbed through some magazines. I found a photocopied article about Cessna safety. I would be flying a Cessna today, as chance would have it. The article explored a sobering topic: VFR-into-IMC is the biggest pilot killer out there.

A pilot flying Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flies by sight. Everything he needs is visible to the naked eye: the horizon, ground, mountains, towers, power lines, other aircraft, etc. Gauges are also used in VFR, but they are secondary. On the other hand, Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) occurs when visibility is severely limited. The pilot cannot fly by sight and instead must use instruments as the primary reference. This mode of flight is called IFR (Instrument Flight Rules). Only by earning an instrument rating is a pilot qualified to fly IFR.

VFR-into-IMC means a pilot starts in VFR and then finds himself unexpectedly in IMC. This is an especially dangerous situation when the pilot is not instrument rated. Disorientation and unawareness of position/heading lead to disaster. Sadly, this situation spelled the death of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, and his sister-in-law in 1999. Even as a student pilot, I am already deeply committed to a conservative, cautious attitude and intend to earn my instrument rating as soon as possible.
I glanced up as the front door opened. Chris entered followed by a man who appeared to be in his mid 40s. They had just finished the discovery flight. I immediately recognized that quiet, slightly glazed-over look. It's in the eyes, a kind of thousand-yard stare. He was on auto-pilot. Inside he was still sorting out the excitement, fear, and discovery of it all.

"Okay, let's see .. that's sixty-two dollars," the girl at the front said. His eyes came back into focus.

"Really? sixty-two? That's all?". The first one is always free. Advanced Aviation had created another junky.

The Skyhawk

Chris sat down across from me for our pre-flight briefing. Today was going to be about slow flying. Specifically, maintaining control of the plane right at the edge of a stall. It was not going to be a joy ride. We were getting down to business.

Cessna's 172 is the quintessential personal/trainer aircraft. Introduced in the 1950s, it's the tried and true stuff of an earlier generation. Put simply, if the DA-20 fought the Cessna 172 in an epic boxing match, it would be called Rocky IV.

In the right corner, weighing in at 1,116 pounds the Austrian-engineered, state-of-the-art, streamlined 1992 DA-20 C1 Falcon from the Diamond company. Constructed from high-tech lightweight composite material and equipped with the latest avionic technology, this bird is all about smooth efficient flight.

And in the left corner, weighing in at 1,620 pounds the American made, tried and true, blood and guts 1952 Cessna 172 Skyhawk. The steel frame, high wing 172 is the most popular trainer aircraft in the world. 30 years before Diamond was founded, Skyhawks were coming off the Cessna assembly line. Here are some pictures of our 172.

Brie Cheese versus Apple Pie. That's how some people see it, anyway. For me, flying the Cessna was so I could understand both ends of the spectrum and make an informed choice as to which I would stick with for the remainder of my training.

The Skyhawk is a roomier 4-seater and the high wings and covered cockpit make it a cooler flight. The Falcon has less room and gets hotter because of the bubble canopy, but is much newer, has better avionics, and far greater visibility. I also like the stick better than the yoke. Chris agrees that fundamentally they aren't much different. Having flown both, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to stick with the DA-20 Falcon. The deciding factor for me is the fact that the United States Air Force uses the Falcon in their pilot training program. If it's good enough for USAF pilots, it's good enough for me.

Take-Off
Taxiing is a little easier in the Skyhawk. Where the DA-20 uses only differential braking to steer, the Cessna's rudder pedals actively turn the wheels right and left. Chris told me a rule of thumb for taxiing: you never taxi faster than you could sprint. We did preflight and I taxied out of the ramp and toward the runway. We pulled over to do the final pre-flight engine checks.

"Ok. Take us to that line and stop," Chris said. It was the take-off runway.

Calm down, I told myself. We're just getting in all the taxi practice possible. Chris will take it from here.

Tower called over the radio. "November fifty-two seven forty one, you're cleared for take off." That was us.

"Ok, here we go," Chris said. "Give us full throttle, straight ahead."

Holy shit. He wanted me to take off.

"So .. I'm taking off? Full throttle? Now?" I asked as cooly as possible. I'm sure he's seen that look of terror plenty of times.

"Yep. Go for it. Full throttle," he replied.

I pushed the throttle all the way in. The engine roared up, and we started our race down the runway. The panels and everything were vibrating wildly. I had the yoke in a kung-fu death grip, ready to pull up.

"Let me know when to pull up," I shouted over the racket. At the time, I guess I felt that Chris, my fully certified commercial flight instructor, needed a friendly reminder not to let his student careen the plane off the end of the runway into a ditch.

"You're doing fine," he reassured me.

Then something changed. The rattling high-speed noises and vibrations had all but stopped. We felt lighter.

"Pull back gently," Chris said. Point of no return. I pulled back on the yoke and we started to climb. Tilted up at about 45 degrees, all I could see ahead was blue sky. I looked over my left shoulder and watched the ground shrink into the distance. My ears popped. I uttered an expletive. I had survived the first of two gut checks of the day. What would come next made take-off feel like a walk in the park.

Slow Flying and Stall Recovery

We climbed to 4,500 feet and headed North toward Lake Lanier. As we leveled off, I remembered something had I wanted to ask Chris.

"If I let go of the yoke, will the plane naturally level off?"

"Yes," he said. "Watch this." Chris pulled back on the yoke, facing our nose up and then let go. The nose drifted down into a dive. My stomach clenched momentarily. Then the nose started back up by itself, past the horizon and back into a climb.

"If we let it, the plane will oscillate like this for 10 minutes or so until it finally levels out," he explained. "That's what the trim control is for - micro adjustments to get us smooth and level." Things I had read in the textbook were starting to come into focus. Lake Lanier materialized below us.

"Ok we're going to do some slow flying," Chris said. "I'll do the first one, and then you can try it." I knew I was not ready for this, whatever it was.

"See our altitude?" Chris asked. "We're at 4,500 ft. Now pick a point in the distance - let's use that water tower." He pointed out a white tower way off in the distance. "That's our point of reference. We want to keep that tower in front of us."

"Now, pull the throttle back to idle," he said. I pulled the throttle out. The engine noise went away. It got very quiet. We started to dip forward. "The nose wants to dive, so I'm going to trim nose up," he explained and adjusted the trim dial. The nose came up. We were loosing airspeed, quickly approaching the low end of the "green" airspeed gauge. Butterflies. My pulse quickened. "Ok more nose up trim," and he dialed up the trim to maximum nose up. We were about to stall.

Our airspeed dipped into 40 kts. A high pitched, unmistakable whirring sound poured through the earphones and cabin. It was the stall indicator. Our nose pitched down into a steep dive. My adrenaline was pumping. Keep it together. "Ok, we're going into the stall - go full throttle," he said. I pushed the throttle all the way in. Comforting sound of engine noise again. The nose came back up into a climb. Chris spun the trim dial, nose came back down. More trim adjustment. "Throttle back to 22000 RPMS," he said. I throttled back. We leveled off. The water tower was still dead ahead.

I felt like I had been on a roller coaster. Climbing, diving, throttling up and down. Check out the altitude," Chris pointed. 4,500 ft. We had not climbed or dived at all. The nose up attitude had balanced out our throttle loss. We had stalled, but not long enough to loose altitude. At the onset of the stall, we pitched down to get air moving over the wings again and throttled back up to keep altitude. This maneuver is called a Power Off stall recovery.

"Ready to try it?" he asked. He walked me through it. We repeated the maneuver a couple of times. It got less and less scary each time. Am I comfortable with it? No way. But I'm getting there. The 2 hour lesson came and went. Time flies up there. I steered us back to LZU and Chris landed the smoothest touchdown yet. I truly enjoyed flying the 172.

Next Saturday, it's back to the DA-20 where I will stay. The agenda will include take-off, navigation, more stall recovery, a new maneuver: high bank angle turns. I'm looking forward to it.

Lesson 1: Flying Over Lake Lanier

2008-09-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

My first lesson was yesterday, Friday September 26, 2008. My appointment wasn't until 3:00. I decided to take the day off to shop digital cameras. Friday morning, I grabbed some breakfast and then drove to Best Buy. After a few minutes, a young salesman greeted me.

"The main thing I need is jitter stability. I'm taking pilot lessons, you see .. I'll be 4,000 feet up in the air .." I explained. He wasn't impressed. That's OK. I too was 18 once and just as unimpressed with the world. We arrived at a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS3. I considered a carrying case, but it turns out that my Turner-issued blackberry holster fits the camera perfectly. I spent the morning charging the camera and familiarizing myself with its operation, while half-watching my latest Sopranos DVDs. I ordered the whole first season from Netflicks.

2:45. Time to go. At this point, I had snapped enough pictures and clips (it does video too) of our dog Pita and Tony Soprano that I was now intimately familiar with the camera and ready to deploy it under flight conditions. I even practiced quick-drawing it from the blackberry case in the event something particularly awesome happened that I wanted to capture.

The Pre-flight Check : Instrument Extravaganza

3:00. I arrived at Advanced Aviation. Today I would be flying with a new instructor, Chris. This lesson would be more hands-on than the teaser flight last week. We headed outside to the ramp where our DA-20 was parked. Chris handed me the pre-flight checklist and we walked through it. The items on the pre-flight checklist are grouped by areas of the plane - right wing, left wing, landing gear, front, tail, cockpit, etc. You check the fuel, oil, rudders, flaps, ailerons, propeller, landing gear, lights, engine gauges, GPS, radios, .. everything. Even for our little DA-20, it's a solid 10 minute process for an experienced pilot. The pre-flight provides a natural introduction to all the areas of an airplane. We spent about 20 minutes going through the list and he explained each area and part.

There are aspects of airplane design that are surprisingly (and ingeniously) simple. For example, the way our DA-20 knows if it's stalling (going so slowly that it can't fly) is simply by a little hole on the underside of the wing with a sensor inside that measures airflow. Air must move across the wings at a certain speed to attain lift. This speed depends on several factors, but for the DA-20 is around 37-42 kts (1 kt "naught" is 1.15 mph) . At this threshold speed, air pressure under the wing creates enough lift to overcome the airplane's weight and flight occurs. In other words, you have to be going at least a certain speed to fly. Any slower and air escapes around the wing too freely and you don't get lift. If air pressure inside the hole lowers past a certain threshold, stall warnings go off in the cockpit. One of the pre-flight checks is to make sure that hole is clear of debris.

The cockpit instruments and controls are the most interesting aspect to me. Here is our DA-20 instrument panel.

At first glance it feels overwhelming, but there is a method to the madness.

Left side (pilot side): The 8 (2 rows of 4) circular gauges tell you speed, orientation, and direction. Under those 8 dials, a row of white switches control interior and exterior lights. Right of the light switches are the key ignition, master switches for the avionics, fuel pump, main power, and flaps.

Right side (co-pilot): The main screen is a GPS. Below that are radios. To the right are 8 (4 rows of 2) circular gauges devoted to fuel supply, oil pressure, and temperature. To the far right are a bunch of little black knobs. These are fuses, just like in your car or house. If any circuits overload, the protection circuit breaker kicks in and juts the knob out. To reset it, you just push it back in. If it pops right back out, you've got a blown circuit. More shots of the instruments below.

I got to spend some time taxiing. You drive the plane on the ground by a little throttle and then braking on either the left or right side to control direction. The breaks are black pads attached to the tops of the rudder foot controls.

So, for example if you want to turn left, you step on the left break. The plane starts turning left, you release and it goes straight again. It was not easy to keep the plane taxiing straight, lots of .. left, right, left, more left, right. I began to get the hang of it. Like anything else, there's no substitute for practice.

I won't go into the yoke, aka stick, since that was covered in the previous post. Finally, there are the levers located between the pilot seats, as shown to the lower right.

The upper set of 3 levers control from left to right: heat level, whether heat goes to defroster or floor, and parking brake. The red button to the right of the upper levers cuts the fuel off to the engine. "Whatever you do, don't press the red button" - K, Men In Black.

The lower set of 3 levers control from left to right: alternate fuel injector air source, power (throttle), and fuel mixture. The star of the show here is throttle. Throttle creates forward thrust. On take off, throttle is at max. When banking, climbing, and diving the throttle is used to manage airspeed. Chris controlled the throttle for the most part on this lesson.

Lake Lanier, PDK, and Stone Mountain

Today's flight would take us north over Lake Lanier, then hooking around southwest where we would land at DeKalb Peachtree Airport (PDK). From there we would take off again and head southeast over Stone Mountain and then back to Gwinnett County Airport (LZU). Here is more or less the route we took.

Almost immediately after takeoff, Chris turned the controls over to me. He would give me directions and I would try to convince our bird to make it happen.

"Climb to 4,000 ft and head southeast," he would say.

I mostly used the stick for turns, though I did use the rudder some too. I did some rolling and banking. It felt a lot more comfortable than the first time up, naturally.

Thinking back when I was learning to drive a car, I remember Dad telling me not to focus on what was immediately ahead, but rather to look further out. It's the same with flying. The first time up I was obsessed with keeping the attitude level and starring at the instruments. This time I tried to spend more time looking around, being situationally aware, and adjusting the natural roll and pitch by feel rather than instrument. In a word, learning to relax.

Watching Chris, his attention was squarely focussed on situational awareness. Where were other planes?

Which way were they going? He showed me a little arrow on the GPS and how that little blip was a plane several thousand feet down and about 6 miles away. I could see him out the window, down and to our left.

This is Lake Lanier. Georgia is in the middle of drought at the moment, so the water levels are lower than usual. That's why so much of the bank is visible.

Below are more pictures of the lake.

After Lake Lanier, we went down to DeKalb Peachtree Airpoirt. Here's a shot of us lining up for landing.

PDK is a much busier airport than LZU (Gwinnett). All manners of Cessnas, jets, and everything else were coming in and out of there. From what I could make out, ATC gave us landing instructions that Chris didn't like. It was not clear to me, but I didn't want to distract him. They gave us alternate landing instructions. We lined up and landed under a tail wind.

I think the idea was that I would practice more taxiing at PDK, but it was so busy that we just got back in line and took off toward Stone Mountain.

We took off and leveled out. After a few minutes, ATC bid us farewell saying "have a nice day." As we approached Stone Mountain, I noticed my neck and back were getting stiff. There is no head-rest and the seat is in a fixed incline. 1.5 to 2 hours is plenty in DA-20.

Stone Mountain is a recreational park in Georgia best known for its hiking trails and a laser/light show. Chris asked me if I had ever seen the show.

"I've never been," I said. "I've heard it's overrated .. "

"It's the kind of thing you go see once, just to say you've seen it," he responded.

Chris is a good guy and a good pilot. I can't think of a better way to see Stone Mountain than from up here.

We made our way back to Gwinnett, landed, and taxiied back to the ramp.

"So did you have fun?" Chris asked me.

"Hell yes I did," I said. That was the truth.

We went back inside. I got my student kit consisting of several textbooks, a thick FAA regulations book, a log book, a "flight computer" which is a set of plastic rulers and measures used to chart long courses, and a spiffy bag in which to stow it all. Chris had another student waiting. We shook hands and he was out the door ready to do it all over again. I'm jealous.

My back and neck were sore. Pilot training is not for the physically, emotionally, nor financially faint of heart. I have a lot to learn and much practice ahead of me. My next appointment is Saturday 10/4/2008 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM with Chris. Saturday however we are changing aircraft. I'm going to try a Cessna so I can compare it to the Diamond. I can't wait.

The Teaser Flight

2008-09-24T11:35:00.001-07:00

I've always wanted to learn to fly an airplane.

I finally decided to pull the trigger. I chose Advanced Aviation in Lawrenceville, GA. http://http//advancedaviation.com/ They are within a few miles of my house, so that is convenient. I scheduled a $59 teaser flight for 12:00 Saturday (9/20/08) with Darick.

The fact of the matter is I've always been tense on commercial flights. Takeoffs, landings, turbulence, and strange mechanical noises always give me at least a little pause, if not make my heart skip a beat. So I was both excited and terrified at my maiden flight.

The anxiety of it all didn't really begin setting in until Saturday morning. My wife, Cynthia, had some errands to run that afternoon. So I was home alone watching TV with one eye on the clock counting the minutes until I needed to leave for the airport.

11:30 rolled around and I decided to head out. Drove to CVS for a bottled water and some cash. 11:45. No more excuses for delay. I drove out to the Gwinnett County airport. Briscoe Blvd is a strip of road, approximately 3/4 mile in length, where flight school offices, garages, hangars, and the like are located. Advanced Aviation occupies the upstairs of a shared office complex on Briscoe Blvd.

I got signed in and met the instructor I would fly with, Darick. Anxiety levels were holding steady at about medium/low. I followed Darick outside and around back to the ramp (where planes are parked). This is where my anxiety peaked: when I saw the plane.

I had assumed we would be in a larger, twin engine type that we could move around in - like the ones you see in movies. Not so. This little 2 seater is a Diamond DA-20. It's a trainer aircraft made of very light, sturdy composite material. It is tiny. Later I would be told that the DA-20 is statistically the safest trainer aircraft around: newer than the Cessnas and Pipers, better avionics, easy to fly, and stable.

At 6 feet / 200 lbs, this was the only point where I truly considered backing out. I swallowed my fear and decided to continue, trusting in Darick to keep us safe. We climbed into the cockpit, nice and cozy. Once inside, Darick finished the preflight and we buckled up. The belt buckles are 2 straps that cross lap and chest and snap together in the middle. We donned our headsets and the plane started up. Some recorded weather conditions came over the radio. Darick had an exchange with ATC and then jotted down some information they read out to him. I can't wait to learn this stuff.

The ATC radio chatter can be hard to make out. We taxied out of the ramp and toward the runway. Darick used only the rudder pedals to drive the plane around on the ground. We positioned facing down the runway and stopped. A short while later, I heard ATC say "cleared for takeoff". We throttled up and were speeding down the runway.

Every day people deal with "points of no return". Merging onto the interstate, for example. We deal with them every day without thinking about it. They don't feel like momentous commitments because we do them all the time. Takeoff was a new point of no return for me, which is a rare and special thing. You can't pull over to the side of the road. There are no questions. You are committed.

We lifted off at what felt like was 50 or 60 mph. It was different from commercial airline liftoffs; it was lighter and easier. I did not feel like air cargo. I was flying. Our little DA-20 had turned into a bird. Darick let me control the stick while we climbed and leveled out. The stick controls the nose pitch and wing tilt by raising and lowering surfaces on the wings and tail. Hold your hand out the window of a moving car and change the angle. Tilt up and your hand lifts, tilt down and it falls. Same principle.

Every once in a while we would hit these little pockets where the plane would lurch downward for an instant which gave me minor stomach butterflies. Darick said those were "thermals", pockets of hot air rising up from the ground due to the clear, sunny day. If you think about flying as "swimming" through air, it makes sense that different sized water molecules (warm air is less dense than cool air) would feel different to the swimmer as he passes through them. Columns of hot air will actually displace the airplane upward and then passing out of the warm column, the plane "falls" back down relative to the cooler air. We flew around for about 20 minutes.

Darick had a few more ATC exchanges over the radio, and then lined up for landing. We just sort of glided in steadily, held right above ground level for a moment, and then throttled back which lowered us into contact with the runway. He made it look so much easier than it probably is. The DA-20's lightweight composite construction makes for a smoother more efficient flight, but renders them more sensitive to winds than their heavier Cessna and Piper counterparts.

We taxied back to the ramp. I was already sad it was over - hopelessly addicted. I met the president of the Advanced Aviation, Bruce, who was extremely informative and helpful. He was once a CPA - a desk jockey like myself.

Flying that plane was the most fun I've ever had. I want to learn about everything: the avionics, the flight physics, ATC procedures, everything. Once I get my private license, I want to fly my wife to Apalachicola, FL airport and celebrate by eating the best oysters on the planet at Boss Oyster.

My next flight, and first real lesson, is Friday 9/26/08. I cannot wait to get back out there.