Monday 28 January 2008

Proving a point

Well none of the other B-Cat's were available on Sunday, but luckily CFI Rob had a last minute cancellation which put a 2 hour hole in his schedule... which I quickly filled with a booking ;)

So I gassed up JFY while he was busy with his first flight of the day, a check flight for another student to check on his progress. I remember my first one of those with Rob... I was nervous like a nervous thing... for no real reason, as Rob is great to fly with.

Anyway I finished the pre-flight and did some last minute swot on arrival/departure procedures for NZAR and also a quick review of the training area boundaries and the applicable altitudes.

I was fully expecting an EFATO, and sure enough I got one, but luckily due to the wind we were flying off runway 21... and there are a whole bunch of sports fields etc. so plenty of suitable landing spots. So on the climb out, Rob says "Can I just have the throttle for second, I need to play with it"... Carb Heat HOT, trim for 65 knots, pick my landing spot and in I go. "Excellent," says Rob "Go Around"...

Phew... Big tick #1.

Climbing out, I followed the recommended departure procedure which is to climb out on runway heading until you crossing the railway line, then turn left and track between Papakura and Karaka reporting points and track west of Drury.

Rather than quiz me about the boundaries, Rob offered a small tip. "About now, the testing officer will probably ask you to do a compass turn onto west, at which point you will...", "Tell him that I cannot as I would be infringing on controlled airspace" I finished. "Excellent," says Rob "climb up to 3000' and we'll go down to Pokeno and do some engine failure practice".

Phew... Big tick #2.

Heading down towards Pokeno, I made sure I changed over to the Mercer frequency in plenty of time and broadcast my intentions. Rob asked me confirm which way the wind was blowing, then pick a paddock and demonstrate a forced landing. So I did. And I totally nailed it! :)

"That was good, I am confident we would have got in there." he said "Now climb up to 2500' and then I'll just go ahead and pull the throttle on you and you can demonstrate another one."

So I climbed up to 2500', did a top of climb SADIE check and then he asked me to turn around and head back the other way. While I was doing that he pulled the throttle closed. So I ran through another forced landing. This time, I was a little high, so went to drop some flap on the downwind leg at which point he told me that if I did that in a test I would probably fail. So I just drifted it out a little wide to allow for it and then glided in right in...

"Well done" says Rob "let's go home"

Phew... Big tick #3.

And then things got a little tricky. There were some tricky thermals starting to appear as it was a very hot day and the gliding club at Drury had started up for the day. Not a big deal, only the one glider in the air and he was well away from me. The big problem was that while trying to execute a nice short field approach and landing, the plane refused to come down. At which point Rob said, "Just nose it down to 80kts" (the max flap speed)... which was wiped off the height but messed up the approach a little. It was a marginal approach and I should really have just executed a go-around and setup again. But I persisted and put it down and we were on the ground just after the threshold and stopped well before the third maker. He commented that if I was solo or on a flight test my preference in that situation should be to go-around rather than persist with a marginal approach, but it was still a relatively good landing, if somewhat fast.

We finished with a short debrief, during which Rob said he would talk to the flight examiner and arrange a time (hopefully for next weekend!) for my flight test!

Yeah baby!

This flight: 1.0 Dual
Total Hours: 87.7 (68.0 Dual, 19.7 Solo, 5.1 IFR)

Saturday 26 January 2008

Long Weekend...

Lovely sunny day to start the long weekend... an hours worth of solo to practice my forced landings... nailed them. So thought some stalling practice would be good, until I did my clearing turn and saw a 172 heading straight at me... have no idea what frequency he was on, but he either had not heard my position report or just did not care.

So I headed back to NZAR to do some circuits... as fifteen thousand other planes had the same thought! hahaha... 3 of us trying to join overhead together, but luckily it worked out well and everyone was able to slot in fine.

Unfortunately the winds were a little tricky today... it was effectively at right angles, only 8 or 9 knots so nothing horrible like last weekend, but it was swinging through around 50 or 60 degrees so the occasional tail wind on landing...

Then after a break, I went up with Trevor to demonstrate my forced landing, then a precautionary and back to NZAR. A nice steady crosswind meant it was a perfect opportunity to demonstrate my crosswind landing technique and I nailed it!

If I can find a free B-Cat instructor tomorrow and do a solid check flight, I should be able to book my actual flight test for next week! woohoo!

This flight: 1.2 Solo + 1.1 Dual
Total Hours: 86.7 (67.0 Dual, 19.7 Solo, 5.1 IFR)

Monday 21 January 2008

Rock and roll

"Ardmore Unicom is on watch, Runway Zero Three, Caution Crosswind Two Seven Knots at Times, Caution Windshear reported on final, Automated weather information issued at Two One Two Zero UTC, Surface wind zero eight zero, one niner knots gusting two seven knots, Temperature Two One, Dewpoint one two, QNH one zero one seven, Auckland reported two thousand foot wind one zero zero, three five knots..."

A 27kt crosswind you say? with windshear on final? And a 35 knot wind blowing at 2000'? Sounds like a perfect day for flying! ;)

So I went up for some FLWOP revision with Trevor... the high winds made for a bumpy ride, but up above 2000' it settled down a little as you got away from the mechanical turbulence blowing over the ranges...

The winds also presented some unique challenges for setting up and executing a forced landing, but overall I think it was a useful flight... I still need to work on ensuring that i do not get too close to the field... and I think the secret lies in picking my 1000' reference point better... and double checking my spacing on the downwind leg...

The approach and landing at the end of the lesson was... errrr... interesting... I had the power completely at idle and the tacho was still showing 1500RPM... it usually idles around 600 to 700! but there was so much wind blowing through the prop that it just would not slow down!

Consequently, the approach was rather fast as the only way to get the plane to come down was to point the nose down which meant increasing airspeed... we hit about 100 knots at one point! Which is close to around 190Km/h... we're usually doing around 65 to 70 knots (around 120-130Km/h)....

And the 25knot crosswind and windshear made for an interesting final 50 feet... with the plane wanting to dance all over the place, but a relatively solid crosswind technique meant I got the "in to wind" wheel down first and safely back on terra firma...

Was going to try again on Sunday for some solo practice... but the weather was more of the same... so I decided it was not going to be productive. I did get the offer to go as backseat passenger while one of the other pilots did some circuits to get current in a 172 and I though it would be a great time to to re-test my homemade headset as I had had to rewire the microphone due to issues with the plugs and connectors, but unfortunately the radio/intercom system was not working properly and we had to abort the flight before we had reached the main taxiway... bummer!

This flight: 1.5 Dual
Total Hours: 84.4 (65.9 Dual, 18.5 Solo, 5.1 IFR)

Monday 14 January 2008

Ups and (upside) downs...

Saturday was an interesting day for sure... I had planned on doing some last minute revision to make sure I was up to speed with the more complicated procedures like forced and precautionary landings...

That plan lasted until I got a call from Rob around 10am informing me I had stuffed up the booking as he was not available on the sunday... doh! Luckily he was free, and there was a spare aircraft at lunchtime, so I headed out to NZAR for my mock flight test...

As it was last minute I ended up in JBL... not my favourite aircraft (only because I hate the 4 point harness as it is an aerobat, although I may have changed my mind about this ;)... I also decided to top up the tanks as it only had a little over one hours worth of fuel on board... which proved very interesting with 2 people on board and a nice 25 degree hot sunny day!

We took off (woohoo 100'/minute climb!) and Rob simulated an engine failure after take off... As we had tracked out quite a way due to the low climb rate, I was conveniently located right between the 2 rows of high tension powerlines... grrr! So I did the best I could and headed for something resembling a landing area...

After that we headed out towards the training area via Drury... at which point Rob asked me to point out the training area boundary's... I was not 100% sure and the look on his face told me that was black mark #1 (Actually #2 but more on that later)

We headed up toward Pukekohe, and did some Turns (medium, steep & compass) and some stalls (Basic + Approach Config)... and then Rob told me to head towards the Pokeno paddocks to demonstrate a forced landing... At this point I went to change over to the radio frequency for the Mercer MBZ (Mandatory Broadcast Zone) and Rob suggested I probably should have done that a little earlier (black mark #2)...

I pulled off what I thought was a good forced landing, we hit some massive sink coming off the hunua ranges on the downwind leg, but I made the decision to adjust so thought I had done a good job in the circumstances... Turns out I was in for a surprise in the debrief...

Following this, some simulated bad weather flying and a coastal reversal turn... then back to NZAR for some circuit work.

Whats this?


Something similiar to the view from a C152 when its upside down! :D

On the way home, Rob asked me, with a big grin on his face, if I had ever been upside down in an aircraft... "No, but it sounds like fun!" I said... so he demonstrated what he called a 'Bread Roll'... a combination of an Aileron Roll and a Barrel Roll... not the prettiest aerobatic maneuver when viewed by spectators, but designed for the comfort of the passenger...

I dont really care what it was called or the reason he choose it instead of a loop... it was freaking awesome! So much so, that I have decided I will definitely be getting an aerobatics rating...

And of course, I now have a new appreciation for the 4 point harness in JBL! hahaha

Back to the field for an overhead join and then a normal circuit, a go-around and finally a shortfield landing onto the grass (which Rob reckoned was up to CPL standard!)

Then it was time for a debrief where I got mixed reviews:

  1. I forgot to use carb heat on the engine failure after takeoff... DOH! can you say "School boy error"?

  2. I did not make a call when vacating the traffic pattern, not technically required as I had advised intentions during the take-off call, but still good airmanship.

  3. Training Area boundary knowledge was deficient... thats what happens when you lose your study day... oops!

  4. Did not switch over to the Mercer MBZ frequency soon enough... technically I was not in the area, so I was OK, but again, good airmanship (as Rob put it 'Attention to Detail')

  5. Was gliding at 70kts, rather than best glide of 65 and mixed up the procedure for the Forced Landing and did trouble checks before I had picked out a landing spot... I actually dispute this a little, as I was taught as part of the initial actions to do a quick check to ensure Fuel Cock is on, Mixture is Rich, Ignition is on Both and Primer is locked... He thought I was doing the full-blown trouble checks... nevermind, as it turns out this slight misunderstanding has had a very positive outcome.



Apart from that, everything else was good...

The verdict: 50/50... if he did not know me and I was just 'some guy' going for a flight test he would be seriously torn as to whether or not he would pass me...

He highlighted 3 main concerns:

  1. TA boundary knowledge... a simple thing to fix really, get out the map and learn!

  2. Mercer MBZ... just have to remember, and I usually do...

  3. Forced Landing... more practice required, although I still thought my procedure was OK



If I had got the TA Boundary right, and had changed frequencies when I usually do he reckons that the verdict would be more like 75/25 to passing... but the little things add up...

So I asked what he suggested I do... which was to go and do some forced landing revision with another instructor and if that proved OK, then I should consider booking a flight test...

So, we found one of the other instructors, Phil, who I had never flown with before who was willing to go up for an hour... before the flight we had a quick briefing and ran through the procedure and I got the feeling Phil was a little unsure of my knowledge...

We took off, EFATO again... I was prepared with the carb heat, but was so concerned finding somewhere to put it down, that I got no-where near the 65knots best glide speed... I got as slow as 60 and as fast as 75...

Then cruising up the Hunua Valley, a simulated engine failure and I just muffed it up completely... could not find a place to land, did not trim correctly... basically I panicked...

Which pretty much set the tone for the next hour, as I just struggled to get it together... I'd like to put it down to being a bit tired (it was after 5pm by now) and I am sure that did not help, but in all honesty, it was just because I was not able to recall the procedure automatically and had to think my way through it, which meant I was not flying the aircraft correctly (struggling to get trimmed at 65kts etc.)...

Then we headed back and I did a nice overhead join and a picture perfect glide approach onto the grass...

During the debrief Phil commented that he thought the issue was the lack of automatic recall. There was nothing wrong with my actual flying and that the glide approach at the end proved that if I was not having to try to think my way through a forced landing, that I could fly the aircraft to a very high standard.

What he then suggested was rather than practicing forced landings in an aircraft at $160/hr, that I get a model plane, picture a wind direction (toss up a card with an arrow) and then walk through the procedure using a landing spot (piece of paper) in the middle of the floor.

Then once I could walk the entire procedure without any umm's or ah's (ie. having to think about the procedure) that I should go for another revision flight with an instructor...

This has turned out to be possibly the best piece of advice I have received since starting flying... I have been driving the wife nuts walking around in circles in my living room with a paper dart going through the forced landing procedure... although she has taken to the idea of 'random' engine failures... I asked her to just randomly call an engine failure (while we're watching tv, driving in the car, doing the dishes etc) and then I have to run through the procedure.

And it has worked like a charm... in just 2 days, I can recite it without having to think about it... and can do it while multitasking...

I have also sat down with my navigation chart and committed the training area boundary to memory ;)

So I think another forced landing revision flight and I should be ready for the flight test...

In case you were wondering the forced landing procedure is something like this:


  1. Carb Heat HOT

  2. Trim for Best Glide... 65kts in a C152

  3. Transponder to 7700... some debate about this, but Rob says do it here

  4. Confirm wind direction

  5. Pick a paddock using the 7 S's and the Big E:
    • Size... the bigger the better
    • Shape... a circular field is the best as its the same size from all directions!
    • Slope... landing uphill is preferable as it shortens the stopping distance
    • Surface... smooth and flat would be good... bumpy and muddy not so great
    • Surrounds... watch out for trees on the proposed final flight path, power lines etc
    • Sun... if the sun is low in the sky, will we be blinded on final approach
    • Stock... empty paddocks are preferable as hitting a cow at 50kts is going to make a mess
    • Elevation... need to estimate as we make our 1000' point and 1500' area as above ground level

  6. Turn towards it... this may just buy us some precious time which equals altitude

  7. Plan the Descent:
    • Pick the 1/3 aiming point
    • Choose the 1000' reference point abeam the 'threshold' of our paddock
    • Choose our upwind 1500' reference area

  8. Trouble Checks:
    • Carb Heat - Cycle
    • Mixture - Cycle
    • Fuel - Contents?, Cocks - ON, Pumps - ON, Primer - LOCKED
    • Ignition - LEFT, RIGHT, BOTH

  9. Check for Partial Power... cycle the throttle

  10. Transponder to 7700 and make a mayday call... traditionally this is where the transponder has been in the sequence although some events in recent history have highlighted that in New Zealands mountainous terrain that the sooner you set it, the better chance you have of being picked up on secondary radar

  11. Passenger Brief... let them know whats going on and not to panic, what to do after landing and to tighten seat belts and stow loose/sharp objects etc.

  12. Secure the aircraft... basically shut everything down to try to minimise the chances of fire etc. if 'Bad Things'(tm) happen on landing



This flight: 1.1 Dual + 0.9 Dual
Total Hours: 82.9 (64.4 Dual, 18.5 Solo, 5.1 IFR)

Monday 7 January 2008

The perfect start...

Happy New Year!

I had a great break... went over to Whiritoa on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula... and spent New Years at a friends beach house... lovely spot... lovely weather...

All capped off with a great weekends flying...

I went out on sunday morning not really expecting much, as the cloud base looked a little low, but the wind was fairly light. I went up in JFY with Trevor to go over some of my weaker points and rack up some more Simulated IFR time to get up to the minimum 5 hours.

Luckily the cloudbase played ball and we managed to find a nice ring of clear air to do some stalling practice... again, JFY refused to drop a wing, but Trevor commented he was happy with that..javascript:void(0)
Publish Post. He thought I was crazy when I told him I was a little disappointed ;)

I totally screwed up my precautionary landing... Instead of getting the plane configured properly (low flying config - 70kts & 20degress flap) first and then following the procedure, I tried to do both... it didnt work :( But I did learn a valuable lesson!

Some more IFR on the way back and then a picture perfect shortfield approach and landing!

While Trevor went up with another student, I got my KDR's (Knowledge Deficiency Reports) signed off by Chief Flight Instructor Rob... these are basically the bits I got wrong on my theory exams... and he just wanted to make sure I now understood and knew the things I had got wrong.

He then suggested we go back up and finish off the IFR so Trevor could sign off the exercises in my log book and then I would be ready for a mock flight test with Rob next week!

So after Trevor got back and debriefed his student, we went up for another flight... by this time the wind had picked up and was blowing pretty much straight across the runway... so I got to demonstrate proper crosswind take-off technique...

Once airborne (and bouncing around) we did some more IFR work... this time concentrating on Partial Panel and Unusual Attitude Recovery... good fun! and I actually found partial panel work easier than full panel, despite the turbulence... I think I was feeling a little tired and so only having 4 gauges to look at instead of 6 made for less work?!???

I also nailed the precautionary landing... this time I took the time to get the aircraft configured properly before attempting the procedure and it was so much easier than the previous one... like I said... a lesson learned! Also, the really strong wind assisted by making for low groundspeeds on the upwind legs...

Back to NZAR and by there was the nice 10 to 12 knot crosswind to contend with, so I was able to demonstrate proper crosswind landing technique... did quite well considering we have not had much in the way of decent crosswinds to practice with... at least I put the into-wind wheel down first this time!

A great way to start 2008... and if everything goes well I will have my flight test before the end of January!

Now I can start on the paper work... grrrr you have to fill out a 'Fit and Proper Person' questionnaire, send off for criminal and traffic offence history and get a referee to vouch for you... lots of hoops just to be able to hold an aviation license!

This flight: 1.1 Dual (0.5 IFR) + 1.2 Dual (0.6 IFR)
Total Hours: 80.9 (62.4 Dual, 18.5 Solo, 5.1 IFR)