9/24 C-152 N69011 LOU-BAK-LOU Radar Service, pilotage, Dead reckoning, navigation, flight planning, flight plan filing
Cross-Country to Columbus, IN with Todd.
Last night I updated and re-did the planning for a Columbus flight.
(I have enough trouble with them, that I think I need to just make a blank copy less winds and weather, photocopy it half-done, and practice filling out the "fast" part that you do the next morning or en-route.)
Notes I made:
Then I flew the course on X-plane. Talk about difficult! Flying, recording time, watching, everything at once! I'm really glad I did it. (Altimeter at 5,500.) What's more, I was THRILLED when I looked up from the Seymour checkpoint and noticed that beautiful twinkle of the VASI light in the distance.
8 am I met Todd at AC1. I re-checked weather and winds aloft and filled in the course, distances and asked all my questions.
We left at 9:30, asked for Flight Following, which took us east to 12-mi island. Then we went back NW a little to get back on course.
One of the hardest parts, actually, was using the paper with the plan. I'm not good enough at picking out the pertinent numbers.
Summary here:
Choosing checkpoints: if it's right under you, even a whole town, you might very well not see it, so choose points to left and right. Also, if a town, note shape of roads, shape of town, or some other identifying feature.
Biscuits and gravy at the restaurant were AMPLE and then some. 1/2 order would have been a lot. Frank will like it here.
To file a flight plan, call WX-BRIEF on the phone. Read them the stuff on the back of the plan page in order.
Back at AC1, Zach was in. We three talked a little. Todd suggested that I should do the next cross-country with Zach, which is a relief, because it's been a little awkward. So, that's that. We talked about Zach's new dual headset bag that he ordered (one side for the headset, the other for all the stuff), and how &when to lean the mixture. (Screw the gizmo out smoothly until there is a definite drop in RPM and pitch. Then, screw it BACK to the point before the pitch changed and a little more for margin). Also, on runup, when checking the magnetos, if one of them is not sounding good, turn back to "both," lean it out just like above, and run it that way for about 20 seconds to burn out the carbon. Recheck the mags. If it's not fixed, go back in.
Instrument flying with Zach was on the books for the afternoon.
9/24 C-152 N89933 Lou Lou Basic altitude instrument flying, level flight, level turns, climb, and descents, climbing and descending turns, IFR Radio procedures.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Pilot's logbook
9/21 C-152- N69011 Lou Lou First trip to practice area by myself. BEAUTIFUL! LNDG: 1 0.5 hr solo 7:30 AM TH
Smooth air, fog on low ground, 3? 5? mile visibility. I went to Southern Indiana, did simple stuff: altitude, turns (it felt like dancing), forward slips (without losing heading). Simple stuff. Going and coming, find your way home. All smooth.
Thank you, Todd!
AC1: phones & invoices. Evan's 16th birthday. 1:00 checked out. Todd asked me whether I wanted some taxiing experience. I taxiied 011 over to the new T-hangers (#51) so he could change the oil. I enjoyed being with him in the middle of his tools and all those things he does so well. Tony and Dane came, found more stuff to do.Dane introduced me to the new Champ that lives next door. Beautiful! Then Tony asked me to taxi 011 back to AC1, bring back 933 (which was up in the sky, so I couldn't.)(radio--one digit off)
After I was back, I talked with Zach about the afternoon flying time I had scheduled. He said I should build solo hours & experience.
9/21 C-152 N69011 Lou Lou Touch & Go's. Bumpy, jetwake, tailwind landing. YES!! Landings: 4 1.0 hr.
Winds had been reported as "calm," but the air was bumpy as s__t with thermals and varying winds. ) The very first time around, they gave me a right approach, which I didn't do very well, and just decided to go around and get started better. 3 times I didn't land, but did go-around (bad approach, jet wake, bounce). All the others were OK or good. I touched down right at 1000 ft. once & took off immediately at Vx to clear the trees. One of the good landings was with a crosswind. At one point I realized that they were calling winds @6 knots, and my sign-off didn't allow for that. I thought maybe I should go back in, but by the time it was time to land, I heard another report that said winds 5. So I stayed out. It was worth it to get that feeling of being charge and being able to work with anything that I needed to. I never felt out-of-control or worried. I had a definite tailwind on the last landing.
When I came down, Stephen came out to help me put the plane up. Todd brought me out a cold can of tea. Zach was not to be seen, but as I write this, I just called him on the phone & he was upstairs at AC1. He said he'd watched and the landings were good, also the go-arounds. I put in a call to Frank and to Mike's answering machine. Today is the real solo!!!!
I'm sitting on Brian's porch at Eagle Aviation waiting for the traffic to clear out to go home.
----------------
Now playing: Paul McCartney - Blackbird
via FoxyTunes
Smooth air, fog on low ground, 3? 5? mile visibility. I went to Southern Indiana, did simple stuff: altitude, turns (it felt like dancing), forward slips (without losing heading). Simple stuff. Going and coming, find your way home. All smooth.
Thank you, Todd!
AC1: phones & invoices. Evan's 16th birthday. 1:00 checked out. Todd asked me whether I wanted some taxiing experience. I taxiied 011 over to the new T-hangers (#51) so he could change the oil. I enjoyed being with him in the middle of his tools and all those things he does so well. Tony and Dane came, found more stuff to do.Dane introduced me to the new Champ that lives next door. Beautiful! Then Tony asked me to taxi 011 back to AC1, bring back 933 (which was up in the sky, so I couldn't.)(radio--one digit off)
After I was back, I talked with Zach about the afternoon flying time I had scheduled. He said I should build solo hours & experience.
9/21 C-152 N69011 Lou Lou Touch & Go's. Bumpy, jetwake, tailwind landing. YES!! Landings: 4 1.0 hr.
Winds had been reported as "calm," but the air was bumpy as s__t with thermals and varying winds. ) The very first time around, they gave me a right approach, which I didn't do very well, and just decided to go around and get started better. 3 times I didn't land, but did go-around (bad approach, jet wake, bounce). All the others were OK or good. I touched down right at 1000 ft. once & took off immediately at Vx to clear the trees. One of the good landings was with a crosswind. At one point I realized that they were calling winds @6 knots, and my sign-off didn't allow for that. I thought maybe I should go back in, but by the time it was time to land, I heard another report that said winds 5. So I stayed out. It was worth it to get that feeling of being charge and being able to work with anything that I needed to. I never felt out-of-control or worried. I had a definite tailwind on the last landing.
When I came down, Stephen came out to help me put the plane up. Todd brought me out a cold can of tea. Zach was not to be seen, but as I write this, I just called him on the phone & he was upstairs at AC1. He said he'd watched and the landings were good, also the go-arounds. I put in a call to Frank and to Mike's answering machine. Today is the real solo!!!!
I'm sitting on Brian's porch at Eagle Aviation waiting for the traffic to clear out to go home.
----------------
Now playing: Paul McCartney - Blackbird
via FoxyTunes
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Pilot's logbook
9/20/07 C-152 N69011 LOU-JVY-LOU T&G's, Radio Comm., Traffic patterns, Uncontrolled airport opps, Full Stop Lndgs: 4 TH
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Pilot's logbook
9/17/07 C-152 N69011 LOU-JVY-LOU S-Turn, Turn around point, Steep turn, Pitch roll, Emergency approach, Straight & level, T&G's, Soft field landings lndgs: 7 1.7 hr. TH
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Pilot's logbook
9-15 Saturday night Lou-Jvy-Lou X-wind touch-and go’s, Short & soft-field procedures. landings:11 1.1 hr ZC
I can tell at the takeoff whether It’s going to be good or not, and this time was not. Not bad, but not good, sharp, precise, whatever. Definitely not solo material. What’s the key? I had it last week.
Takeoff: Ok.
To Clark County. I didn’t know the radio frequencies. I thought I’d jammed them into my head last week, but I guess not.
Zach had plenty input on all landings. Not unnecessarily, either.
Red-red only once, but near the end. "Easy on controls, like a baby’s butt." “Where are you looking?” “Look longer.” Airspeed. Airspeed. 30-degree turns. Pattern rectangle was different every time.
I didn’t use the angles & banks from Rectangular Course, and I should have, since there was wind. They weren’t in my head as well as I’d thought.
The air WAS bouncy, “030@5 gusting to 11” (strange). Zach almost caught a bird with his teeth.
I don’t know.
"Did we have fun?"
How many times have I said we have to do something different? Maybe I’ll checkout in 933 next week.
Starting the week off with Todd on Monday may tell me something.
I can tell at the takeoff whether It’s going to be good or not, and this time was not. Not bad, but not good, sharp, precise, whatever. Definitely not solo material. What’s the key? I had it last week.
Takeoff: Ok.
To Clark County. I didn’t know the radio frequencies. I thought I’d jammed them into my head last week, but I guess not.
Zach had plenty input on all landings. Not unnecessarily, either.
Red-red only once, but near the end. "Easy on controls, like a baby’s butt." “Where are you looking?” “Look longer.” Airspeed. Airspeed. 30-degree turns. Pattern rectangle was different every time.
I didn’t use the angles & banks from Rectangular Course, and I should have, since there was wind. They weren’t in my head as well as I’d thought.
The air WAS bouncy, “030@5 gusting to 11” (strange). Zach almost caught a bird with his teeth.
I don’t know.
"Did we have fun?"
How many times have I said we have to do something different? Maybe I’ll checkout in 933 next week.
Starting the week off with Todd on Monday may tell me something.
Monday, September 10, 2007
pilot's logbook
9/10 C-152 N89933 Lou Lou X-wind touch & go's, engine out procedure .9hr ZC
Next time Zach drags his feet, I'll figure he just might have his reasons.
We waited all day for the weather to change, and when we got a good report on the METAR, I showed him. He looked at it and didn't say anything. About a half-hour later I put my books up and went out for a while. When I came back, he was checking something, and he didn't really look at me, but said if I wanted to go preflight, go on out and he'd meet me.
So I did. And we did go.
The winds were not as benign as the report would have us think, and it was cross-wind, but also changing. Anyway, long story short, I certainly didn't feel as if Zach was "expendable," and it was good experience--just not the one we'd hoped for.
Engine-out: if the real thing happened from a point on downwind, (which is where it usually happens, when tower wants a short approach), I'd just make a nice smooth U-turn, slip down to the runway, and put her down in the middle. No tempting trees.
On climbout, don't be distracted by anything. Fly the plane. Door coming open, radio, whatever.
wait 'til level flight to deal with the door.
Aileron correction for drift: Do it right away. Don't be too subtle. The wings aren't going to touch the ground.
Next time Zach drags his feet, I'll figure he just might have his reasons.
We waited all day for the weather to change, and when we got a good report on the METAR, I showed him. He looked at it and didn't say anything. About a half-hour later I put my books up and went out for a while. When I came back, he was checking something, and he didn't really look at me, but said if I wanted to go preflight, go on out and he'd meet me.
So I did. And we did go.
The winds were not as benign as the report would have us think, and it was cross-wind, but also changing. Anyway, long story short, I certainly didn't feel as if Zach was "expendable," and it was good experience--just not the one we'd hoped for.
Engine-out: if the real thing happened from a point on downwind, (which is where it usually happens, when tower wants a short approach), I'd just make a nice smooth U-turn, slip down to the runway, and put her down in the middle. No tempting trees.
On climbout, don't be distracted by anything. Fly the plane. Door coming open, radio, whatever.
wait 'til level flight to deal with the door.
Aileron correction for drift: Do it right away. Don't be too subtle. The wings aren't going to touch the ground.
pilot's logbook
9/10 C-152 N89933 Lou Lou Touch and Go's, short field T/O & landing, emergency procedures ZC
Lots of landings. All in control. I knew what I was doing, and did it. As we flew, the clouds lowered, so by the end of the hour it was going to be illegal. Otherwise, I would have been going solo for Zach, and this time rightfully so. Hopefully this afternoon it will clear up.
I heard from Mike today. He doesn't check email very often, I think. He sounds good--very busy. Hopefully I'll be good to call him soon.
I'm working on flight planning for cross-country.
Lots of landings. All in control. I knew what I was doing, and did it. As we flew, the clouds lowered, so by the end of the hour it was going to be illegal. Otherwise, I would have been going solo for Zach, and this time rightfully so. Hopefully this afternoon it will clear up.
I heard from Mike today. He doesn't check email very often, I think. He sounds good--very busy. Hopefully I'll be good to call him soon.
I'm working on flight planning for cross-country.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Pilot's logbook
9/9 c-152 N69011 LOU LOU t&go's 8 landings ZC
Weather iffy, rained all day (hooray for rain). Zach is really cajtious about rain, so we did an hour of ground school-- planning a trip to Cplumbus. Then Dane came upstairs to check the weather :) and commented to Zach that it had cleared.
Just t&g , but tonight I was putting the plane where I wanted her to be, not reacting. Still, the next-to-last (after Zach said, "I'm not here, you're on your own," was by far the worst of the night.
Still, Zach says whatever it is I've been doing, it's the right thing.
I think I've turned the corner for real this time.
Mistakes:
Pattern not alwaysbconsistent.
One time I flared because Zach flinched (or somesuch small movement) and it was too early. That was the other touchdown that wasn't so good.
Birds.
Coming off runway, need to be ON the yellow line, too close to grass.
Forgot to put the key in the book and figure time.
Weather iffy, rained all day (hooray for rain). Zach is really cajtious about rain, so we did an hour of ground school-- planning a trip to Cplumbus. Then Dane came upstairs to check the weather :) and commented to Zach that it had cleared.
Just t&g , but tonight I was putting the plane where I wanted her to be, not reacting. Still, the next-to-last (after Zach said, "I'm not here, you're on your own," was by far the worst of the night.
Still, Zach says whatever it is I've been doing, it's the right thing.
I think I've turned the corner for real this time.
Mistakes:
Pattern not alwaysbconsistent.
One time I flared because Zach flinched (or somesuch small movement) and it was too early. That was the other touchdown that wasn't so good.
Birds.
Coming off runway, need to be ON the yellow line, too close to grass.
Forgot to put the key in the book and figure time.
pilot's logbook
9/8 C-152 N89933 LOU LOU t&go's 4 landings TH
Early morning on the schedule . I like it. No Kevin. Todd went up with me. I like him. And would like to be an instructor colleague with him.
Early morning on the schedule . I like it. No Kevin. Todd went up with me. I like him. And would like to be an instructor colleague with him.
pilot's logbook
9-2 C-152 N69011 Lou-LOU 9ldgs T&go, short field takeoff, n-flaps landing, soft-field landings ZC
pilot's logbook
9/1 C-152 N89933LOU-EXX-BRY-LOU
Touch&go, Taxiing, VOH navigation, X-wind, X-C Flight Planning, slips, go-arounds
Peter. Todd etc.
Touch&go, Taxiing, VOH navigation, X-wind, X-C Flight Planning, slips, go-arounds
Peter. Todd etc.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
microsoft word-->pdf-->iPhoto-->iPhone
Talk about easy. I never noticed that the Print-->PDF menu in Microsoft Word for Macintosh has a "Save PDF to iPhoto" option.
So, any document I'm making to use with my choirs or whatever, I save as .pdf to iPhoto, then pop it to one of the "photo albums" that I have set to sync to iPhone (such as iPhotoDocuments, or Chant), and bingo, it's there.
If I need to get it OUT of the iPhone to give it to someone, I just go into photos, select the document image, email it to the person.
This works gratifyingly well for all those Word documents I make that have chant and music fonts in them and which are difficult to transfer in their native form.
I'm going to do this with all my music lesson handouts right now.
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