This last Thursday was meant to be the initial stage check for my solo (there are two) from Stan my instructor and a second check-ride from another instructor. The second instructor basically verifies student pilot competency. I sat down with Stan for an hour and had an initial oral exam with regard to my knowledge of rules & regulations as well as airplane systems. I have been taking a three hour ground school class every Thursday night from another instructor as well as reading anything I can on flying. I did pretty well with a few items I needed to read up on but not too shabby.
We had N5204A reserved for 2 1/2 hrs with an hour gone reviewing the oral exam we hustled out to the ramp and got in. I had arrived before the oral exam and completed the pre-flight so we just needed to start up and get going. I definitely consult my checklists but am much more quick and efficient these days in my pre-flight to take-off. I do my run-up sequence and call up tower for a Bay Meadows departure. We fly out and turn left at the standard departure point, Bay Meadows, and soon we are in the practice area for maneuvers just south of Crystal Springs. I actually fly right over my apartment building on the way out and even as I write this I am hearing the throaty growl of piston driven airplanes crossing overhead. Invariably more student pilots headed out to practice their maneuvers over Crystal Springs looking like a bunch of drunk ducks. We go through the maneuvers one by one and everything is going according to plan. Then Stan adds a new maneuver, power - off and power - on stalls while turning. I am nailing my stalls wings level and have no trepidation about going sideways for a stall or two. I do them pretty well and actually get a little too aggressive on the power-on stalls. Stan tells me to shallow my bank angles because the FAA examiner will be looking for something a little less steep. My emergency engine out goes pretty well but I turned too soon coming from base to final lined up on a field I had identified as a good emergency landing field. I definitely could have slipped it in but want perfection on these types of maneuvers. Engine outs don't allow for go-arounds!
He tells me to take us back to SQL and I get ATIS info and call up tower "San Carlos tower, Cessna five two zero four alpha, two miles south of Crystal Springs, two thousand five hundred (feet) with information golf, landing." We are cleared back into SQL airspace and I get my altitude and airspeed set up for a smooth transition to cross midfield at or above 1,200 ft as instructed to enter a right downwind landing for runway 30. I enter the pattern and get told to extend the downwind portion of my traffic pattern. Eventually I am cleared to turn right base and then another right which puts me on final for the runway. My approach thus far has been going well although we have a new controller who likes to give really piecemeal instructions so I have to manage this and it's a little distracting. He told me to turn base then cleared me for the option and said 'continue your approach'. This all happened within the space of about 10 seconds and I had barely started making my turn to base and paused for a second wondering if he meant me to keep extending my downwind. Stan quickly and sternly said he means for you to continue flying the approach to final. Stan seemed to be a little annoyed at the controller, and me for that matter, but for all of the multiple bits of info we were getting. I have the utmost respect for controllers but sometimes you gotta double check what they say versus what things look like outside the cockpit windows.
I am proceeding down the glide slope with my angle and airspeed looking pretty good, I thought. As I approach the runway threshold however I am way too low and slow and have to execute a last second go-around and Stan says, 'there goes your solo for Saturday'. OUCH!! I feel pretty disappointed but fly around the pattern for a few more touch-gos and we get down on the ground and he says he wants to see much better pattern work before he signs me off for a solo. I totally understand AND agree and while disappointed (read very disappointed) I want everything to be buttoned up before I go it alone. We debrief and I am at it again the next day, Friday. Looking to clean up my pattern work and stick my landings. My landings are actually looking really good it's getting thrown the curve-balls that I have to adjust to. I am now really in a slump and my pattern work is looking just plain bad. I am not getting set up well for my final approaches. While I am making the landings, safely, if you were to trace the outline of my patterns they would have looked like someone on LSD drew the lines I was flying. OY!! When we get into the terminal building Stan puts up EVERYTHING wrong with the way I am flying. It's quite a list. I make notes and leave feeling like I really need to have some sort of 'come-to-Jesus' moment with myself. I think I might just be self sabotaging my solo!
Earlier today we went flying again and we started off pretty well and then my pattern started falling apart again. Stan was barking out all of the things going wrong and I began to wonder if I needed to reevaluate this whole flying endeavor of mine. After one missed approach Stan tells me he wants to hear me call out my airspeed every ten seconds. Initially I felt it was somewhat punitive and got a little resentful. I took off and maintained 75 knots, best rate of climb and began calling out my airspeed. Turning crosswind to downwind I was calling out my airspeed EVERY ten seconds and was hoping to really annoy the hell out of Stan. I began calling out everything I was doing and seeing and the process of getting the Cessna around the pattern. Even when he was telling me something I was calling out the airspeed info between words like Rainman, 'yeah, definitely 85 knots, 85 knots, definitely 85 knots!!'. All of the sudden I was in front of the plane and flying really well. When I say in front I mean I had altitude and, of course, ALL of my air speeds nailed as well as calling out other planes and those pesky little helicopters that are hard to see. I knew that I KNEW what to do I just needed to explain it to myself. From then on my pattern work looked less like a Jackson Pollack and more like a Da Vinci. Interpretive flying apparently does not work very well while in the pattern. I was executing crisp, clean patterns and even good cross-wind landings reacting to everything with confidence and smooth steady control inputs. I felt like I had a breakthrough moment. I was relieved and excited and know that I have A LOT more work to do but feel pretty confident about today's flight.
Stan liked what he saw in the second half of today's lesson so much that he is moving forward with the second part of the Stage One check ride and putting me with another instructor to verify I am a competent pilot to solo. I am excited that it will be my ground instructor who is a really good guy and gets lots of compliments by his students on his training techniques. We'll see how it goes. -russ
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Prelude to Phase II
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Getting close to phase II which means - solo!
I feel like my flying skills are coming along nicely. Since my last entry I flew out to a small airport in San Jose, Reid – Hillview, that required me to transition through San Jose International Airport airspace, Class C (Charlie). I realized that when I pushed the button to talk I was in the company of professional pilots with A LOT more experience depressing that talk button. These are men and women on tight schedules with a plane load of passengers needing to get wherever they are going ASAP. I spoke a little fast and probably sounded like a rookie but what the hell, I am. I also transitioned through Moffett Airfield airspace which was interesting. Moffett Airfield is a NASA facility and operated by the Feds. This is the airport where Air Force 1 usually arrives and departs out of the SF Bay Area. These controllers, all of them, were really patient and pretty nice to the f.l.a.p. (!#$%ing little airplane pilot) flying through their airspace.
I have been flying quite a bit and working on the basic maneuvers required to safely fly by myself. We flew out to Half Moon Bay a week a go and practiced more landings there as they have a niiiice long runway for me to take my time and get all of my control inputs set before my landing flair. I think it was at this time I really got the whole landing process and what that looks and feels like. I was relaxed and had a blast working on perfecting my landings. Kissing that asphalt runway with my mains after a perfect approach is the BEST!
This last week I had one flight that looked great on the maneuvers like power off and power on stalls, emergency landing procedures and slow flight. Stan said my steep turns were some of the best he has seen with a student pilot. These require a 45 degree bank angle turning 360 degrees right then left. It’s pretty interesting because you are pulling a couple g’s when doing them. I didn’t go above or below fifty feet of my assigned altitude which I was pleased with. When we got back to the airport however my pattern work looked really crappy. I was landing pretty well but fiddling with my power settings and having to adjust too much. To borrow a clichéd infomercial line, you want to ‘set it & forget it’, making small corrections as you travel down the glide slope.
I went flying yesterday and we just worked the pattern. Stan mentioned he wanted to see a tight pattern and pilot in command decisions being executed without him having to prompt me. It was also raining yesterday and provided a good training opportunity. The Cessna 172SP does not have wiper blades for the windscreen. You gotta look past the water drops to see what’s happening. The runway conditions are going to be different with diminished braking and the possibility of hydroplaning. I am feeling relaxed and really ready to nail my pattern work and am interested to see what flying in the rain looks like. I am doing pretty well and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I mentioned to Stan these would not be conditions I would voluntarily go up in. It stopped raining midway through and so we cruised around the airport for about 9 touch – n – gos.
On the ground and in the post-flight briefing Stan tells me that I am ready to get a pre-solo check-ride. Actually it will be two check-rides, one with Stan and one with another instructor who will provide another set of eyes to confirm I am ready to go it alone. Stan mentions to me I did a good job today. I feel pretty good about that as he is stingy with the compliments.
If all goes well (and weather holds up) I will solo this next week and move on to Phase II, cross - country work and other maneuvers like short-field landings, etc. Phase III is getting ready for the final FAA check-ride.
Getting close to phase II which means - solo!
I feel like my flying skills are coming along nicely. Since my last entry I flew out to a small airport in San Jose, Reid – Hillview, that required me to transition through San Jose International Airport airspace, Class C (Charlie). I realized that when I pushed the button to talk I was in the company of professional pilots with A LOT more experience depressing that talk button. These are men and women on tight schedules with a plane load of passengers needing to get wherever they are going ASAP. I spoke a little fast and probably sounded like a rookie but what the hell, I am. I also transitioned through Moffett Airfield airspace which was interesting. Moffett Airfield is a NASA facility and operated by the Feds. This is the airport where Air Force 1 usually arrives and departs out of the SF Bay Area. These controllers, all of them, were really patient and pretty nice to the f.l.a.p. (!#$%ing little airplane pilot) flying through their airspace.
I have been flying quite a bit and working on the basic maneuvers required to safely fly by myself. We flew out to Half Moon Bay a week a go and practiced more landings there as they have a niiiice long runway for me to take my time and get all of my control inputs set before my landing flair. I think it was at this time I really got the whole landing process and what that looks and feels like. I was relaxed and had a blast working on perfecting my landings. Kissing that asphalt runway with my mains after a perfect approach is the BEST!
This last week I had one flight that looked great on the maneuvers like power off and power on stalls, emergency landing procedures and slow flight. Stan said my steep turns were some of the best he has seen with a student pilot. These require a 45 degree bank angle turning 360 degrees right then left. It’s pretty interesting because you are pulling a couple g’s when doing them. I didn’t go above or below fifty feet of my assigned altitude which I was pleased with. When we got back to the airport however my pattern work looked really crappy. I was landing pretty well but fiddling with my power settings and having to adjust too much. To borrow a clichéd infomercial line, you want to ‘set it & forget it’, making small corrections as you travel down the glide slope.
I went flying yesterday and we just worked the pattern. Stan mentioned he wanted to see a tight pattern and pilot in command decisions being executed without him having to prompt me. It was also raining yesterday and provided a good training opportunity. The Cessna 172SP does not have wiper blades for the windscreen. You gotta look past the water drops to see what’s happening. The runway conditions are going to be different with diminished braking and the possibility of hydroplaning. I am feeling relaxed and really ready to nail my pattern work and am interested to see what flying in the rain looks like. I am doing pretty well and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I mentioned to Stan these would not be conditions I would voluntarily go up in. It stopped raining midway through and so we cruised around the airport for about 9 touch – n – gos.
On the ground and in the post-flight briefing Stan tells me that I am ready to get a pre-solo check-ride. Actually it will be two check-rides, one with Stan and one with another instructor who will provide another set of eyes to confirm I am ready to go it alone. Stan mentions to me I did a good job today. I feel pretty good about that as he is stingy with the compliments.
If all goes well (and weather holds up) I will solo this next week and move on to Phase II, cross - country work and other maneuvers like short-field landings, etc. Phase III is getting ready for the final FAA check-ride.
Mini - Cross Country
Sunday - January 22, 2007
San Carlos Airport (SQL)
9:30am
I love waking up on days when I get to go fly. I feel excited and usually get a few butterflys. I am scheduled to be down on the flight-line at 9:30am this Sunday morning. This is usually when I am finishing my first cup of coffee and watching my political talk shows, ‘Meet the Press’ -none better. Soap Opera’s can’t compete with the series of dramatic events unfolding in our nation’s capital, I digress. It is a really windy day which irks me because it’s a lot of work to fly in windy conditions. It’s been clear and calm all friggin’ week, why today!
I get down to Diamond and get out to N21591 and preflight. Stan comes out right as I wrap up my final walk around and we get in. We are going across the bay to an airport in Livermore which is situated in what is called the East Bay. I knew we were going to be flying to Livermore (LVK) and have memorized the radio settings – atis 119.65, ground 121.6 and tower frequency is 118.1. Stan is impressed as he had me take out my map (sectional chart) and before I could feel too proud of myself there were a few more frequencies I needed to get. We would be crossing the bay and flying right over Hayward Executive airport transitioning to Livermore.
We preflight and run-up the engine then with clearance from the tower we are lights, camera and action! We will be exiting SQL via a departure route known as the Belmont Slough. This is an area of the bay situated just north and east of SQL. As we follow this departure point we sail out over the San Francisco Bay and have I mentioned it is really unbelievable beautiful! I have also mentioned the close proximity of San Francisco airport and how close it is to SQL. We are now passing just a few hundred feet below BIG jets on final approach to SFO! I call up Hayward tower and say, ‘Hayward tower, Cessna two one five niner one, mid-bay, transitioning to Livermore.’ They come back with ‘five niner one maintain one thousand five hundred (feet) or below and squawk 0124 (on the transponder).’ The plane’s transponder registers a unique signal which the air traffic controller can best identify me by. This is the little dark green blip on their radar which transmits heading and altitude. As we cross over Hayward we also pass right underneath a Southwest Airlines 737 on final to Oakland. It is amazing the number of big airports in such close proximity to where I am training. Not to worry as we follow the lanes of the highway in the sky.
It has been pretty smooth sailing up to this point and as we pass over Hayward it gets a little choppy. As we head further inland it is steadily getting more turbulent and then the East Bay Hills loom before me. Before we climb out to 3,000 we pass by the outer ring of the Class Bravo for SFO. We climb out to 3,000 and it is windy as hell and we are getting bumped around pretty good. As we pass over the top of the hills there is a lot of turbulence coming in all directions. I got so busy flying I forgot about even getting motion sickness. I did not mention that before we took off we plugged our course into the flight computer which is attached to the GPS on the instrument panel. Once you plug in the airports you are flying to the moving map pops up and shows you exactly where you are. A directional line also shows you where you are going with the proper heading and airspace information. It tells you what heading you are on and whether you are off course or not. This is very cool! I LIKE!!
So back to the turbulence. I must admit it is unnerving flying in this kind of wind which is about 16 knots and gusts up to 26 knots. I was getting jostled around so much that my control inputs, throttle, etc and radio settings became moving targets. I adjusted to this and got everything done necessary to call up Livermore tower as we passed into the next valley. I called up Livermore ATIS and got the wind conditions, runway in use and the information designation of ‘foxtrot’. I went to call up Livermore tower and the winds began to die down somewhat, only somewhat. ‘Livermore tower, Cessna two one five niner one, at 580 / 680 interchange landing with information Foxtrot’. I got the response ‘five niner one report abeam the control tower maintain one thousand four hundred (feet).’ I fly alongside runway 25R (right) and when I’m abeam the control tower I announce my position as promised and they clear me for a landing (with the option) on runway 25R. ‘With the option’ means I can do a touch – n – go, go around or full stop landing. If it were really busy they could deny me and say full-stop landing.
I make several rights and I’m lined up for 25R and am looking good on my approach with good altitude and airspeed. Because of the winds I have a crab-angle in and we are sliding down to the runway sideways but straight down the centerline. As I get closer to the runway numbers I pull power and then pull back on the yoke and then straighten the nose out with my left rudder peddle. I give it a little right aileron to tilt the plane right so that I stay over the centerline and not get blown to the left side. We are down and a little off of centerline but not too bad really. Stan puts the flaps up and I give ‘er full throttle and we are off again to work the pattern. It is windy as hell and I am fighting the plane to make my patterns square and put in my crosswind corrections so that we get configured correctly for another shot at 25R. We come back around and I get lined up, crab-angle in and glide slope is red over white (good), approach speed is 65 knots (good) and then we get down on the deck and the winds are variable at this point so that it is beyond my capabilities and I relinquish the controls to Stanb so that we get down safely.
Stan and I agree this is too complex for beginning cross-country flying and we head back to SQL. We fly straight out and to the North of the East bay Hills. It is not as gusty here and as we crest the hills we have to descend quickly to get back under the Class Bravo airspace for SFO. We cross back over Hayward and then the beautiful bay towards the outer marker for SQL on the western edge of the bay. The outer marker for SQL is a big, sexy cement plant. I have already called up tower and have a clearance to land. We immediately enter our base leg and then a quick right to final approach and back on the glide slope. Everything looks good as I put in 30 degrees of flaps and a power setting low enough to allow me to lose some altitude quickly. I got red over white and slowly come down to the numbers on the end of the runway. I put in some left rudder but we drift just a little to the left because of not enough right aileron and land ok but not on centerline. As we taxi back Stan says it was a hell of a day flying and that I did a pretty good job handling the plane in the rough wind. I know that I would definitely NOT go out into that sort of wind alone or without a lot more experience.
I had some fun flying out of the safety and comfort of SQL a bit and programming an actual flight to another airport is very cool. I look forward to doing it again next weekend!
San Carlos Airport (SQL)
9:30am
I love waking up on days when I get to go fly. I feel excited and usually get a few butterflys. I am scheduled to be down on the flight-line at 9:30am this Sunday morning. This is usually when I am finishing my first cup of coffee and watching my political talk shows, ‘Meet the Press’ -none better. Soap Opera’s can’t compete with the series of dramatic events unfolding in our nation’s capital, I digress. It is a really windy day which irks me because it’s a lot of work to fly in windy conditions. It’s been clear and calm all friggin’ week, why today!
I get down to Diamond and get out to N21591 and preflight. Stan comes out right as I wrap up my final walk around and we get in. We are going across the bay to an airport in Livermore which is situated in what is called the East Bay. I knew we were going to be flying to Livermore (LVK) and have memorized the radio settings – atis 119.65, ground 121.6 and tower frequency is 118.1. Stan is impressed as he had me take out my map (sectional chart) and before I could feel too proud of myself there were a few more frequencies I needed to get. We would be crossing the bay and flying right over Hayward Executive airport transitioning to Livermore.
We preflight and run-up the engine then with clearance from the tower we are lights, camera and action! We will be exiting SQL via a departure route known as the Belmont Slough. This is an area of the bay situated just north and east of SQL. As we follow this departure point we sail out over the San Francisco Bay and have I mentioned it is really unbelievable beautiful! I have also mentioned the close proximity of San Francisco airport and how close it is to SQL. We are now passing just a few hundred feet below BIG jets on final approach to SFO! I call up Hayward tower and say, ‘Hayward tower, Cessna two one five niner one, mid-bay, transitioning to Livermore.’ They come back with ‘five niner one maintain one thousand five hundred (feet) or below and squawk 0124 (on the transponder).’ The plane’s transponder registers a unique signal which the air traffic controller can best identify me by. This is the little dark green blip on their radar which transmits heading and altitude. As we cross over Hayward we also pass right underneath a Southwest Airlines 737 on final to Oakland. It is amazing the number of big airports in such close proximity to where I am training. Not to worry as we follow the lanes of the highway in the sky.
It has been pretty smooth sailing up to this point and as we pass over Hayward it gets a little choppy. As we head further inland it is steadily getting more turbulent and then the East Bay Hills loom before me. Before we climb out to 3,000 we pass by the outer ring of the Class Bravo for SFO. We climb out to 3,000 and it is windy as hell and we are getting bumped around pretty good. As we pass over the top of the hills there is a lot of turbulence coming in all directions. I got so busy flying I forgot about even getting motion sickness. I did not mention that before we took off we plugged our course into the flight computer which is attached to the GPS on the instrument panel. Once you plug in the airports you are flying to the moving map pops up and shows you exactly where you are. A directional line also shows you where you are going with the proper heading and airspace information. It tells you what heading you are on and whether you are off course or not. This is very cool! I LIKE!!
So back to the turbulence. I must admit it is unnerving flying in this kind of wind which is about 16 knots and gusts up to 26 knots. I was getting jostled around so much that my control inputs, throttle, etc and radio settings became moving targets. I adjusted to this and got everything done necessary to call up Livermore tower as we passed into the next valley. I called up Livermore ATIS and got the wind conditions, runway in use and the information designation of ‘foxtrot’. I went to call up Livermore tower and the winds began to die down somewhat, only somewhat. ‘Livermore tower, Cessna two one five niner one, at 580 / 680 interchange landing with information Foxtrot’. I got the response ‘five niner one report abeam the control tower maintain one thousand four hundred (feet).’ I fly alongside runway 25R (right) and when I’m abeam the control tower I announce my position as promised and they clear me for a landing (with the option) on runway 25R. ‘With the option’ means I can do a touch – n – go, go around or full stop landing. If it were really busy they could deny me and say full-stop landing.
I make several rights and I’m lined up for 25R and am looking good on my approach with good altitude and airspeed. Because of the winds I have a crab-angle in and we are sliding down to the runway sideways but straight down the centerline. As I get closer to the runway numbers I pull power and then pull back on the yoke and then straighten the nose out with my left rudder peddle. I give it a little right aileron to tilt the plane right so that I stay over the centerline and not get blown to the left side. We are down and a little off of centerline but not too bad really. Stan puts the flaps up and I give ‘er full throttle and we are off again to work the pattern. It is windy as hell and I am fighting the plane to make my patterns square and put in my crosswind corrections so that we get configured correctly for another shot at 25R. We come back around and I get lined up, crab-angle in and glide slope is red over white (good), approach speed is 65 knots (good) and then we get down on the deck and the winds are variable at this point so that it is beyond my capabilities and I relinquish the controls to Stanb so that we get down safely.
Stan and I agree this is too complex for beginning cross-country flying and we head back to SQL. We fly straight out and to the North of the East bay Hills. It is not as gusty here and as we crest the hills we have to descend quickly to get back under the Class Bravo airspace for SFO. We cross back over Hayward and then the beautiful bay towards the outer marker for SQL on the western edge of the bay. The outer marker for SQL is a big, sexy cement plant. I have already called up tower and have a clearance to land. We immediately enter our base leg and then a quick right to final approach and back on the glide slope. Everything looks good as I put in 30 degrees of flaps and a power setting low enough to allow me to lose some altitude quickly. I got red over white and slowly come down to the numbers on the end of the runway. I put in some left rudder but we drift just a little to the left because of not enough right aileron and land ok but not on centerline. As we taxi back Stan says it was a hell of a day flying and that I did a pretty good job handling the plane in the rough wind. I know that I would definitely NOT go out into that sort of wind alone or without a lot more experience.
I had some fun flying out of the safety and comfort of SQL a bit and programming an actual flight to another airport is very cool. I look forward to doing it again next weekend!
Landings - Part Deux
Sunday – January 14, 2007
San Carlos Airport (SQL)
10am
After spending the rest of Saturday doing mental touch – n – gos and obsessing like a mental patient on what I was doing wrong. I realized I just had to relax and fly.
My first landing today went pretty well and we were landing on runway 12 instead of 30 because of a slight shift in winds. After 2 landings on runway 12 the runway direction changes and we are landing on 30. We make a 180 degree turn and head the other direction in the pattern and with each landing I was on the cusp of setting those mains down whisper soft and straight down the centerline.
We did about 12 landings today each one getting close and the very last landing I greased it! I nailed everything from beginning to finish both in the pattern and then on final touch down the mains set down straight and sweet. Flyboy Stan tells me as I’m walking out of Diamond, ‘that was a great landing, you should stoked’.
Chuck Yeager I may not be but I am pretty stoked!
San Carlos Airport (SQL)
10am
After spending the rest of Saturday doing mental touch – n – gos and obsessing like a mental patient on what I was doing wrong. I realized I just had to relax and fly.
My first landing today went pretty well and we were landing on runway 12 instead of 30 because of a slight shift in winds. After 2 landings on runway 12 the runway direction changes and we are landing on 30. We make a 180 degree turn and head the other direction in the pattern and with each landing I was on the cusp of setting those mains down whisper soft and straight down the centerline.
We did about 12 landings today each one getting close and the very last landing I greased it! I nailed everything from beginning to finish both in the pattern and then on final touch down the mains set down straight and sweet. Flyboy Stan tells me as I’m walking out of Diamond, ‘that was a great landing, you should stoked’.
Chuck Yeager I may not be but I am pretty stoked!
Landing Practice
Saturday - January 13, 2007
San Carlos Airport (SQL)
10am
Touch – n – go’s baby!!
I am operating in what is called the ‘pattern’ of the airport. This means that when I take-off I call for ‘right-closed-traffic’ and then make a series of right turns to a landing. Basically the ‘pattern’ is a rectangle with the runway as one side of the rectangle. When I take off my climb-out speed must be 75 knots for best rate of climb (Vy). If you had an object at the end of the runway that you needed to clear like power lines, trees, etc you would go with best angle of climb (Vx) which is 65 knots in the Cessna 172SP. You are still going full throttle in both instances but the more you pitch up the nose of the plane the slower the airspeed basically sacrificing your airspeed for that higher climb rate.
I take off flying best rate of climb and straight out maintaining 75 kts until the Oracle campus is just to my right. I make a right turn over the diamond shaped pond in the middle of the campus and at the designated pattern elevation, 800ft, reduce power and maintain 800 ft and 85 kts. This is tricky however to turn and maintain a heading, lower the nose and pull back power all at the same time. I do this pretty well however if there is a crosswind you have to adjust the plane for that and I drift a little off course the first time. I adjust the plane on the second leg or downwind leg and visually fix the runway right in the middle of the wing strut as a reference. I am all the while looking inside at airspeed, altitude and heading adjusting for those crosswinds. We get sequenced from the tower, ‘two one five niner one you’re number two following a Katana turning base to final’. This means we need to visually identify the Katana (brand of plane), number one to land, and adjust the timing of a right turn to the base leg and then final right turn to final approach to land.
When the numbers of the runway you are going to land on appear abeam the aircraft – on the right in this instance – you power down, flaps to 10 degrees and angle the nose down slightly, about 3 degrees. This is IF you don’t have a ton of ‘tin’ in front of you landing as well. The flaps help slow the plane down and allow you to descend without picking up any airspeed. We extend our downwind leg a little until the Katana is flying on final approach passing back under my right wing. We then turn base leg and flaps 20 degrees then soon after we’re on final. When you turn final you want several things to happen. The airplane should be lined up with the runway and more specifically the centerline. There is a glide slope indicator that sits to the left of the runway that you can see from several miles away. This instrument has three different color combinations. If you are white over white you are two high, red over red too low and red over white just right. You also need to adjust for crosswinds which means putting the plane in a ‘crabbing’ position. If you are headed North for instance with a crosswind out of the NW the nose of your plane needs to be angled in that direction to keep the airplane traveling North. You are traveling straight but the airplane is cocked to the left a bit, essentially sliding sideways. As I travel down ‘the glide slope’ I must watch airspeed, which should be 65 kts and where the centerline of the runway lies. Stan is talking to me the entire time and I’m looking pretty good except as I get closer to the threshold of the runway I pull power to idle which I don’t do soon enough and start to get the nose pointed down the runway on the damned centerline AND level out at the right time to flair the plane to set the mains on the runway. I drift down like a dead leaf and we settle with a bump and slightly sideways because I’m not getting the rudder input set properly. We do this ALL afternoon. In my defense it was the first set of touch n go’s I’ve done in two years and there is a ton of airplanes landing or just passing through SQL airspace on their way somewhere else. Tower does a good job of separating and sequencing but when you have a lot of other airplanes in the pattern the rectangle I spoke of starts taking on all sorts of odd geometric shapes. Going long on downwind leg means you have to adjust power and altitude for your base leg and final approach and I am doing well to keep all of that configured when there is no other traffic in the pattern. Buggar all!
When we come to a full-stop landing and taxi back to the ramp at Diamond Stan says that did not go as well as he had hoped. I was a little dejected and was wondering about this whole business of flying. Was I good enough? Do I got any of that right stuff to even fly a small single engine aircraft? I know theoretically what needs to be done to land well however my body is not responding.
My touch – n – go’s were a little…. touch – n- go.
San Carlos Airport (SQL)
10am
Touch – n – go’s baby!!
I am operating in what is called the ‘pattern’ of the airport. This means that when I take-off I call for ‘right-closed-traffic’ and then make a series of right turns to a landing. Basically the ‘pattern’ is a rectangle with the runway as one side of the rectangle. When I take off my climb-out speed must be 75 knots for best rate of climb (Vy). If you had an object at the end of the runway that you needed to clear like power lines, trees, etc you would go with best angle of climb (Vx) which is 65 knots in the Cessna 172SP. You are still going full throttle in both instances but the more you pitch up the nose of the plane the slower the airspeed basically sacrificing your airspeed for that higher climb rate.
I take off flying best rate of climb and straight out maintaining 75 kts until the Oracle campus is just to my right. I make a right turn over the diamond shaped pond in the middle of the campus and at the designated pattern elevation, 800ft, reduce power and maintain 800 ft and 85 kts. This is tricky however to turn and maintain a heading, lower the nose and pull back power all at the same time. I do this pretty well however if there is a crosswind you have to adjust the plane for that and I drift a little off course the first time. I adjust the plane on the second leg or downwind leg and visually fix the runway right in the middle of the wing strut as a reference. I am all the while looking inside at airspeed, altitude and heading adjusting for those crosswinds. We get sequenced from the tower, ‘two one five niner one you’re number two following a Katana turning base to final’. This means we need to visually identify the Katana (brand of plane), number one to land, and adjust the timing of a right turn to the base leg and then final right turn to final approach to land.
When the numbers of the runway you are going to land on appear abeam the aircraft – on the right in this instance – you power down, flaps to 10 degrees and angle the nose down slightly, about 3 degrees. This is IF you don’t have a ton of ‘tin’ in front of you landing as well. The flaps help slow the plane down and allow you to descend without picking up any airspeed. We extend our downwind leg a little until the Katana is flying on final approach passing back under my right wing. We then turn base leg and flaps 20 degrees then soon after we’re on final. When you turn final you want several things to happen. The airplane should be lined up with the runway and more specifically the centerline. There is a glide slope indicator that sits to the left of the runway that you can see from several miles away. This instrument has three different color combinations. If you are white over white you are two high, red over red too low and red over white just right. You also need to adjust for crosswinds which means putting the plane in a ‘crabbing’ position. If you are headed North for instance with a crosswind out of the NW the nose of your plane needs to be angled in that direction to keep the airplane traveling North. You are traveling straight but the airplane is cocked to the left a bit, essentially sliding sideways. As I travel down ‘the glide slope’ I must watch airspeed, which should be 65 kts and where the centerline of the runway lies. Stan is talking to me the entire time and I’m looking pretty good except as I get closer to the threshold of the runway I pull power to idle which I don’t do soon enough and start to get the nose pointed down the runway on the damned centerline AND level out at the right time to flair the plane to set the mains on the runway. I drift down like a dead leaf and we settle with a bump and slightly sideways because I’m not getting the rudder input set properly. We do this ALL afternoon. In my defense it was the first set of touch n go’s I’ve done in two years and there is a ton of airplanes landing or just passing through SQL airspace on their way somewhere else. Tower does a good job of separating and sequencing but when you have a lot of other airplanes in the pattern the rectangle I spoke of starts taking on all sorts of odd geometric shapes. Going long on downwind leg means you have to adjust power and altitude for your base leg and final approach and I am doing well to keep all of that configured when there is no other traffic in the pattern. Buggar all!
When we come to a full-stop landing and taxi back to the ramp at Diamond Stan says that did not go as well as he had hoped. I was a little dejected and was wondering about this whole business of flying. Was I good enough? Do I got any of that right stuff to even fly a small single engine aircraft? I know theoretically what needs to be done to land well however my body is not responding.
My touch – n – go’s were a little…. touch – n- go.
Day 2
Saturday, January 6, 2007
San Carlos Airport (SQL)
1pm
Driving out to the airfield I run through all of the maneuvers in my head, especially those nettlesome power-on stalls. I get to SQL and do a little of what they call ‘desk flying.’ This is where you visualize the maneuver and physically place your hands in each of the control positions pushing and pulling those imaginary control inputs. I have the image in my head of how these maneuvers should go and feel pretty confidant walking into Diamond. I grab the keys to the plane and see Stan and he gives me the go ahead to go out to the ramp and preflight N21591. Preflight done and everything is ‘check’ we get in and take-off and I am feeling relaxed and in control. I am flying really smoothly and leading with a little rudder making graceful, coordinated turns. I begin to really appreciate the area I am flying in which is the San Francisco Peninsula - with the Pacific Ocean to one side and the Bay to the other with SF looming in front – really beautiful! We make a left at Bay Meadows and head out to Crystal Springs reservoir just east of the hills that precede the ocean. We begin the maneuvers and slow flight, check, emergency landings, check, power-off stall, check, POWER-ON STALL…. five attempts later and finally I am popping the plane up and stalling like a champ. Smooth application of power, pitch-up, stall and nose back to the horizon after a controlled drop in the nose of the plane giving it a little loving right rudder. I am starting to get a feel for the subtle nuances of power, pitch and the smooth application of control inputs. You start to realize what the horizon looks like as well as using your peripheral vision to take clues from the relative angle of your wings. You really get the idea of operating a vehicle in three dimensions.
I call up tower and head back only to make another less than par landing. There is a saying that ‘any landing you can walk away from is a good landing’ and I AM getting the plane on the ground and between the lines of the runway. HOWEVER, I want those main wheels (back wheels) to kiss the earth and the nose wheel to lay down right on the centerline of the runway. Anything less than that will not be satisfactory. Not a bad day of flying all in all.
Touch –n- go’s next weekend!!
San Carlos Airport (SQL)
1pm
Driving out to the airfield I run through all of the maneuvers in my head, especially those nettlesome power-on stalls. I get to SQL and do a little of what they call ‘desk flying.’ This is where you visualize the maneuver and physically place your hands in each of the control positions pushing and pulling those imaginary control inputs. I have the image in my head of how these maneuvers should go and feel pretty confidant walking into Diamond. I grab the keys to the plane and see Stan and he gives me the go ahead to go out to the ramp and preflight N21591. Preflight done and everything is ‘check’ we get in and take-off and I am feeling relaxed and in control. I am flying really smoothly and leading with a little rudder making graceful, coordinated turns. I begin to really appreciate the area I am flying in which is the San Francisco Peninsula - with the Pacific Ocean to one side and the Bay to the other with SF looming in front – really beautiful! We make a left at Bay Meadows and head out to Crystal Springs reservoir just east of the hills that precede the ocean. We begin the maneuvers and slow flight, check, emergency landings, check, power-off stall, check, POWER-ON STALL…. five attempts later and finally I am popping the plane up and stalling like a champ. Smooth application of power, pitch-up, stall and nose back to the horizon after a controlled drop in the nose of the plane giving it a little loving right rudder. I am starting to get a feel for the subtle nuances of power, pitch and the smooth application of control inputs. You start to realize what the horizon looks like as well as using your peripheral vision to take clues from the relative angle of your wings. You really get the idea of operating a vehicle in three dimensions.
I call up tower and head back only to make another less than par landing. There is a saying that ‘any landing you can walk away from is a good landing’ and I AM getting the plane on the ground and between the lines of the runway. HOWEVER, I want those main wheels (back wheels) to kiss the earth and the nose wheel to lay down right on the centerline of the runway. Anything less than that will not be satisfactory. Not a bad day of flying all in all.
Touch –n- go’s next weekend!!
Back in the Saddle
Friday, January 5, 2007
San Carlos Airport (SQL) California
12pm
I arrive at the FBO or fixed base operator, Diamond Aviation, at about 11:50 so I’m not rushed to meet my flight instructor, Stan (all-American flyboy). Stan was my instructor in 2005 and I have about 9 hours logged with him. I already have about 29 hours logged as it is in everything from a very small, and slow, Cessna 150 to my current ride, the Cessna 172SP with 4 seats and a more powerful 180hp Lycoming engine - giddy-up! The number of hours needed to obtain a private pilot’s certificate is 40 hrs – 20 with instructor and 20 solo. I’m going to be working on about 70 hrs when all is said and done. To me it’s all about being up in that tin can sitting in the left seat.
At the counter I check the ‘squawk’ sheet listing all aircraft at Diamond. This has information on required inspections and any f.y.i notes left by previous pilots on certain aircraft. The aircraft I will be flying today is N21591 and everything looks ok. Stan walks in about this time and we sit down to discuss the maneuvers I will be performing. These are all maneuvers I have done previously with Stan, mca or minimum controllable airspeed which is slow flight, turns, stalls (both power-on and power-off) and emergency landing procedures. He diagrams the maneuvers on the melamine board and I scribble notes and it is all coming back to me.
We walk out to the flight-line and up to N21591 parked on the ramp. I unlatch the door to the cabin and take out my official Cessna 172SP checklist card. If you thought getting into a small single engine airplane and just taking off was a simple matter, think again. There are more than 100 checklist items before you taxi up and take off. Stan used to send me out to preflight the plane myself. With so much time elapsed since the last time I went flying he wants me to make sure nothing has slipped since last time two years ago. I take off the control lock on the yoke (control wheel) and turn on the ‘master switch’ or electrical system to put the flaps down and check the fuel gauges and avionics cooling fan. Everything is ‘check’ and I turn off the electrical master and take my inspection to the airframe outside. I walk around checking all of the control surfaces and physical condition of the plane as well as visually verify fuel on board. Fuel gauges on Cessnas are notorious for being inaccurate. Once you verify fuel quantity you can calculate your fuel flow while in the air to ascertain fuel onboard at any given time so damn the gauges – let’s go flying! We climb into the very cramped cockpit and begin engine-start procedures. I have gained a little weight since the last time I went flying and I’m feeling the squeeze. I can assure you that when pilots talk about ‘pushing the outside of the envelope’ they are not talking about the size of their ass. This will be a good motivator to lose some weight.
I run through some final checks and then in the age old custom of prop-driven airplanes yell out the window, ‘clear prop!!!’. I fire up the engine and bring in about 1,000 rpm and then run through departure procedures. First we get ATIS or automated terminal air service on the radio. This advises us on wind, wind speed, visibility, temperature / dew point, atmospheric pressure which you set your altimeter to and runway in use. You are then assigned a specific letter A - Z which denotes the time of the report so the tower knows you have current information. With current information O (Oscar) we call up San Carlos ground control. I remember the procedure so I tell Stan I’ll make the call, “San Carlos ground, Cessna two one five niner one at Diamond with Oscar ready to taxi to runway three zero”. We are cleared to runway 30 and I throttle up and begin to taxi following the yellow centerline of the taxiway. The runways at SQL are 30 on one end and 12 on the other end. Basically this is the magnetic heading of the runway, 30 being 300 (just add a zero to runway headings) with 360 as magnetic north. So runway 30 is heading 300 or N – NW and runway 12 is heading 120 or S – SE.
To steer the plane you maneuver the front wheel with the rudder peddles. The brakes are on the topside of the peddles. When you take off you move your feet down slightly to keep them on the rudder peddles but off the brakes. Taxiing takes some practice as the plane tends to wander and one must constantly ‘dance’ on the peddles while simultaneously braking. The plane is light so the wind sometimes pushes you around and you have to hold the control yoke down and in during certain windy conditions. Like a lot of things in flying it is not like driving a car and requires you to pat your head and scratch you belly at the same time. We pull up to the part of the taxiway where we will do our engine ‘run-up’ just prior to taking off.
I pull out my card and begin to do final checks on the instruments and gauges. I then run the rpm’s up to about 1800 from 1000 to check the mags or magnetos (dual ignition system) and run a few other diagnostic checks on engine pressure and vacuum system which runs the gyroscopic gauges. With preflight done we taxi up to the runway hold line of 30 and I make the call, “San Carlos tower, Cessna two one five niner one, holding short at three zero for Bay Meadows departure”.
We are told there is a Piper on short final (approach)and we are cleared though need to expedite our take-off. I quickly turn on my landing lights, the transponder and push the fuel / air mixture knob in and throttle up and onto runway 30. This is called ‘lights, camera, action’. Take-off or ‘rotation’ is about 55 knots and with a little right rudder depressed I focus my eyes down the runway. A few glances back inside to my airspeed indicator needle and at 55 knots I pull back slightly on the yoke. I ease the plane off the runway keeping a little pressure on right rudder peddle. Pressure must be applied to the right rudder peddle to counteract what are called ‘left turning tendencies’ in single engine prop driven planes. This occurs for several reasons. The propeller turns clockwise which means there is considerable torque being applied to the plane when on the ground. Basically the force of the prop turning hard right torques the plane left causing it to veer slightly to the left if not for a little right rudder input. This only happens on the ground. When taking off the slipstream of air winding around the plane hits the left side of the tail fin or vertical stabilizer. This also turns the plane to the left so again right rudder input is necessary. This is most pronounced when taking off – high angle of attack, high power and not very evident in straight and level flight however.
We fly straight out at 1,500 ft staying to the right of Hwy 101 and at the Bay Meadows horse track turn left heading in a Westerly direction toward the Pacific and Half Moon Bay. These are standard departure procedures so you don’t go into what is known as Class B or Bravo airspace. Class Bravo is San Francisco airport’s airspace and literally SQL sits right underneath San Francisco’s final approach. You must remain at or below 1,500 ft until Bay Meadows which is a specified departure point to the West. I am flying in very close proximity to some of the world’s biggest aircraft at one of the busiest airports in the world!
We soar out over the Pacific and it is a spectacular, clear day. The winds however were screaming out of the Northwest at about 20 knots and the ride out was a little choppy. I am reminded this ain’t no ride in an over-sized jumbo-jet. Stan has me execute the maneuvers and all goes well except for my power-on stalls. A power-on stall is a maneuver meant to simulate taking off and pulling too far back on the yoke or otherwise stalling the wings. A stall in a plane does not mean the engine stalls as we typically know it. What happens to a plane when it pitches up at a certain angle beyond its aerodynamic capabilities is the smooth air going over the top of the wing detaches and the nose drops. You can recover from this as long as you ‘break the stall’ by pushing the yoke in first then pull back slightly to get the nose above the horizon for a stabilized climb with the essential right rudder input. To execute a power-on stall you slow the plane down to 55 kts simulated take off speed and then apply power to full throttle while pulling back on the yoke until the plane’s wings ‘stall’ and the nose drops, then yoke in and slow climb out. You have to keep in the bloody right rudder, left turning tendencies, Russell! It’s a damn scary thing to do because you have to pitch the plane up at a high angle of attack and then wait for it to stop flying for a second. You also have a stall warning blaring in your headset. What happens if you don’t do all of this smoothly with a little precious right rudder is the plane breaks hard left and the nose falls so you are suddenly staring sideways and down at the earth below you. It is startling and somewhat horrifying if you’re not used to it. To get out of that you have to immediately give a lot of right rudder that you stupidly did not apply enough of in the first place. I did this several times and I could tell this was very annoying to my all American flyboy instructor. I realize that I don’t really want to stall a plane that is flying along perfectly well, thank you.
We did a couple of more power-on stalls that had me looking like a wobbly goblin out over Half Moon Bay. I wondered what some surfer below must be thinking as my tinker toy of a plane is going through wild gyrations over the Pacific. Dude, I’m the unintentional acrobat.
I check ATIS and call in to SQL tower to let them know our landing intentions and head in. Stan sets me up for my landing configuration and I fishtail it in for a slightly sideways landing back on 30. All American Flyboy doesn’t seem to thrilled and mentions something about doing a bunch of touch and go’s (landing practice) next weekend. We taxi up to the ramp at Diamond and I run through my power down sequences and kill the engine. My friggin’ arms are fatigued and my shirt is soaked from sweat. I’ve been arm wrestling a Cessna 172 all afternoon. Stan mentions I flew well just coming back and we head in to the terminal to debrief the flight and then, oh yeah, I gotta pay for this whole exercise.
I tell Stan thanks and see ya tomorrow for another workout.
San Carlos Airport (SQL) California
12pm
I arrive at the FBO or fixed base operator, Diamond Aviation, at about 11:50 so I’m not rushed to meet my flight instructor, Stan (all-American flyboy). Stan was my instructor in 2005 and I have about 9 hours logged with him. I already have about 29 hours logged as it is in everything from a very small, and slow, Cessna 150 to my current ride, the Cessna 172SP with 4 seats and a more powerful 180hp Lycoming engine - giddy-up! The number of hours needed to obtain a private pilot’s certificate is 40 hrs – 20 with instructor and 20 solo. I’m going to be working on about 70 hrs when all is said and done. To me it’s all about being up in that tin can sitting in the left seat.
At the counter I check the ‘squawk’ sheet listing all aircraft at Diamond. This has information on required inspections and any f.y.i notes left by previous pilots on certain aircraft. The aircraft I will be flying today is N21591 and everything looks ok. Stan walks in about this time and we sit down to discuss the maneuvers I will be performing. These are all maneuvers I have done previously with Stan, mca or minimum controllable airspeed which is slow flight, turns, stalls (both power-on and power-off) and emergency landing procedures. He diagrams the maneuvers on the melamine board and I scribble notes and it is all coming back to me.
We walk out to the flight-line and up to N21591 parked on the ramp. I unlatch the door to the cabin and take out my official Cessna 172SP checklist card. If you thought getting into a small single engine airplane and just taking off was a simple matter, think again. There are more than 100 checklist items before you taxi up and take off. Stan used to send me out to preflight the plane myself. With so much time elapsed since the last time I went flying he wants me to make sure nothing has slipped since last time two years ago. I take off the control lock on the yoke (control wheel) and turn on the ‘master switch’ or electrical system to put the flaps down and check the fuel gauges and avionics cooling fan. Everything is ‘check’ and I turn off the electrical master and take my inspection to the airframe outside. I walk around checking all of the control surfaces and physical condition of the plane as well as visually verify fuel on board. Fuel gauges on Cessnas are notorious for being inaccurate. Once you verify fuel quantity you can calculate your fuel flow while in the air to ascertain fuel onboard at any given time so damn the gauges – let’s go flying! We climb into the very cramped cockpit and begin engine-start procedures. I have gained a little weight since the last time I went flying and I’m feeling the squeeze. I can assure you that when pilots talk about ‘pushing the outside of the envelope’ they are not talking about the size of their ass. This will be a good motivator to lose some weight.
I run through some final checks and then in the age old custom of prop-driven airplanes yell out the window, ‘clear prop!!!’. I fire up the engine and bring in about 1,000 rpm and then run through departure procedures. First we get ATIS or automated terminal air service on the radio. This advises us on wind, wind speed, visibility, temperature / dew point, atmospheric pressure which you set your altimeter to and runway in use. You are then assigned a specific letter A - Z which denotes the time of the report so the tower knows you have current information. With current information O (Oscar) we call up San Carlos ground control. I remember the procedure so I tell Stan I’ll make the call, “San Carlos ground, Cessna two one five niner one at Diamond with Oscar ready to taxi to runway three zero”. We are cleared to runway 30 and I throttle up and begin to taxi following the yellow centerline of the taxiway. The runways at SQL are 30 on one end and 12 on the other end. Basically this is the magnetic heading of the runway, 30 being 300 (just add a zero to runway headings) with 360 as magnetic north. So runway 30 is heading 300 or N – NW and runway 12 is heading 120 or S – SE.
To steer the plane you maneuver the front wheel with the rudder peddles. The brakes are on the topside of the peddles. When you take off you move your feet down slightly to keep them on the rudder peddles but off the brakes. Taxiing takes some practice as the plane tends to wander and one must constantly ‘dance’ on the peddles while simultaneously braking. The plane is light so the wind sometimes pushes you around and you have to hold the control yoke down and in during certain windy conditions. Like a lot of things in flying it is not like driving a car and requires you to pat your head and scratch you belly at the same time. We pull up to the part of the taxiway where we will do our engine ‘run-up’ just prior to taking off.
I pull out my card and begin to do final checks on the instruments and gauges. I then run the rpm’s up to about 1800 from 1000 to check the mags or magnetos (dual ignition system) and run a few other diagnostic checks on engine pressure and vacuum system which runs the gyroscopic gauges. With preflight done we taxi up to the runway hold line of 30 and I make the call, “San Carlos tower, Cessna two one five niner one, holding short at three zero for Bay Meadows departure”.
We are told there is a Piper on short final (approach)and we are cleared though need to expedite our take-off. I quickly turn on my landing lights, the transponder and push the fuel / air mixture knob in and throttle up and onto runway 30. This is called ‘lights, camera, action’. Take-off or ‘rotation’ is about 55 knots and with a little right rudder depressed I focus my eyes down the runway. A few glances back inside to my airspeed indicator needle and at 55 knots I pull back slightly on the yoke. I ease the plane off the runway keeping a little pressure on right rudder peddle. Pressure must be applied to the right rudder peddle to counteract what are called ‘left turning tendencies’ in single engine prop driven planes. This occurs for several reasons. The propeller turns clockwise which means there is considerable torque being applied to the plane when on the ground. Basically the force of the prop turning hard right torques the plane left causing it to veer slightly to the left if not for a little right rudder input. This only happens on the ground. When taking off the slipstream of air winding around the plane hits the left side of the tail fin or vertical stabilizer. This also turns the plane to the left so again right rudder input is necessary. This is most pronounced when taking off – high angle of attack, high power and not very evident in straight and level flight however.
We fly straight out at 1,500 ft staying to the right of Hwy 101 and at the Bay Meadows horse track turn left heading in a Westerly direction toward the Pacific and Half Moon Bay. These are standard departure procedures so you don’t go into what is known as Class B or Bravo airspace. Class Bravo is San Francisco airport’s airspace and literally SQL sits right underneath San Francisco’s final approach. You must remain at or below 1,500 ft until Bay Meadows which is a specified departure point to the West. I am flying in very close proximity to some of the world’s biggest aircraft at one of the busiest airports in the world!
We soar out over the Pacific and it is a spectacular, clear day. The winds however were screaming out of the Northwest at about 20 knots and the ride out was a little choppy. I am reminded this ain’t no ride in an over-sized jumbo-jet. Stan has me execute the maneuvers and all goes well except for my power-on stalls. A power-on stall is a maneuver meant to simulate taking off and pulling too far back on the yoke or otherwise stalling the wings. A stall in a plane does not mean the engine stalls as we typically know it. What happens to a plane when it pitches up at a certain angle beyond its aerodynamic capabilities is the smooth air going over the top of the wing detaches and the nose drops. You can recover from this as long as you ‘break the stall’ by pushing the yoke in first then pull back slightly to get the nose above the horizon for a stabilized climb with the essential right rudder input. To execute a power-on stall you slow the plane down to 55 kts simulated take off speed and then apply power to full throttle while pulling back on the yoke until the plane’s wings ‘stall’ and the nose drops, then yoke in and slow climb out. You have to keep in the bloody right rudder, left turning tendencies, Russell! It’s a damn scary thing to do because you have to pitch the plane up at a high angle of attack and then wait for it to stop flying for a second. You also have a stall warning blaring in your headset. What happens if you don’t do all of this smoothly with a little precious right rudder is the plane breaks hard left and the nose falls so you are suddenly staring sideways and down at the earth below you. It is startling and somewhat horrifying if you’re not used to it. To get out of that you have to immediately give a lot of right rudder that you stupidly did not apply enough of in the first place. I did this several times and I could tell this was very annoying to my all American flyboy instructor. I realize that I don’t really want to stall a plane that is flying along perfectly well, thank you.
We did a couple of more power-on stalls that had me looking like a wobbly goblin out over Half Moon Bay. I wondered what some surfer below must be thinking as my tinker toy of a plane is going through wild gyrations over the Pacific. Dude, I’m the unintentional acrobat.
I check ATIS and call in to SQL tower to let them know our landing intentions and head in. Stan sets me up for my landing configuration and I fishtail it in for a slightly sideways landing back on 30. All American Flyboy doesn’t seem to thrilled and mentions something about doing a bunch of touch and go’s (landing practice) next weekend. We taxi up to the ramp at Diamond and I run through my power down sequences and kill the engine. My friggin’ arms are fatigued and my shirt is soaked from sweat. I’ve been arm wrestling a Cessna 172 all afternoon. Stan mentions I flew well just coming back and we head in to the terminal to debrief the flight and then, oh yeah, I gotta pay for this whole exercise.
I tell Stan thanks and see ya tomorrow for another workout.
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