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Tuesday, 1/13/2004
Take off BFI, fly Anacortes, Skagit/Bayview, Arlington
Cessna 150, 2.5 hours, 7 landings, First solo
Today we do my first cross country flight. Also,
at one airport, Deane is going to get out of the plane and have me do
my first solo.
But first we have to get out of Boeing field. This
is made difficult by the fact that our Vice President is visiting Seattle.
Temporary Flight Restrictions will be in effect for when he lands, when
he is in downtown Seattle, and when he takes off. They overlap in time
and space. Basically, no one is ever allowed to fly over the VP (at least
not within 3,000ft). So we plan to meet at Clay Lacy at 8:30 to go over
the process of planning. Due to heavy traffic we are both a little late.
Once there we find Clay Lacy swarming with security and media. As a result,
flight planning is a little rushed.
Weather is decent, but by no means clear. Ceilings
are generally from 3,000 ft to 5,000 ft. Some rain, some mist. Strong
S winds aloft. Deane thinks this is great cross country weather: a chance
to see what you can and can't do in marginal conditions.
On the way to Anacortes we communicate briefly with
the Pane Field tower, then with Whidbey Approach to go through the Whidbey
Navel Air Station air space, then into Anacortes.
The runway is a little narrow and wind a little
turbulent but my landing is passable. Previous practice was in the Cessna
172 and I'm glad to see the skills have transferred to the 150.
We stop for a while so I can let my nervous system
go off high alert. I ask Deane for some clarification of the different
ATC facilities that we have been talking to (see the summary below).
When fly on to Skagit/Bayview. Deane gets off and
sends me off to solo. I think that normally this is a big event for students.
Today, however, it is one thing among many. Which is not to say it is
not significant for me or that I'm not nervous. Deane has been catching
so many errors for me since I started that when I don't hear anything
from him I assume there is some huge problem that he's waiting to see
if I'm going to catch myself. Who will tell me when I'm about to go badly
wrong.
Like a big climb, if I think about the full implications
of soloing it is daunting. But when I think just of the specific parts,
take off, pattern flight, approach, and landing, each seems manageable.
I've had enough good recent landings that I believe I can land the plane.
I do three circuits in the pattern, doing two touch
and goes and a final full stop landing. The air is a little bumpy. My
positioning of the aircraft is slightly erratic - some approaches are
a little long and low while others a little high. I intentionally make
long final so that I can get myself well stabilized for landing. As a
result I use about half throttle down to the runway. All landings are
decent, but I'm aware of room for improvement.
It's now too late for us to make it back to Boeing
Field before the TFR shuts down the airport so we go have lunch. Starting
the airplane after lunch the engine turns over sluggishly. Once we are
in the air we begin to have problems with the radio. I can broadcast but
Deane can't. Worse, when we broadcast the radio displays go blank. We
realize the alternator is not charging the battery and we are getting
low.
We still make the landing in Arlington, but I have
to do it with out using flaps. Deane shows some restrained glee every
time we are faced with circumstances outside the ordinary. I take this
to mean that he's excited for me to have the opportunity to learn to deal
with the unexpected. I guess that this is something that I wouldn't have
gotten at Galvin's flying in their new planes with their $60,000 instrument
panels. With out flaps speeds a little higher at touchdown, but the runway
is plenty long. To my surprise Deane has me take off immediately. I thought
we would stop and try to figure out what to do but he's probably thinking
its best to head directly home before the battery dies.
In the air we contact Seattle Center for flight
following. They don't see our transponder sqwak code. I mention electrical
problems (while Deane signals me to not) and immediately there is a concerned
voice asking what type of electrical problems. It is reassuring that they
get very concerned about airplanes experiencing difficulty. We tell them
we are returning to Arlington and they ask that we call when on the ground.
I make this approach direct. I'm high for the runway
so I have to use a slip most of the way down. I roll out of the slip when
it feels I'm close to the runway then find myself a little high. More
experience will give me more confidence rolling out closer to the ground.
On this landing I get us very close to the ground then hold the nose up
to burn off speed before touching down.
We look at the engine, but there are no obvious
loose wires. Deane calls Boeing Tower to ask if we can enter the SeaTac
30NM Mode C region. He's told that they will call back soon but now they
have a plane down. Deane has already called to close our flight plan and
tell them we are down safely, but he does so again just to make sure they
don't think that we went down. We get set up to hand prop the plane so
we can be off as soon as the call come, but it never does.
Wade, a friend of Deane's, generously comes to drive
us back to Boeing field. We stop by his hanger where he keeps a Piper
Cub (P-10?). It's been repowered with a Cessna 100 HP engine. He's selling
it for $37K. The plane is in great shape and close to what I'll want for
Utah so I'm tempted. But then I learn that it costs $200 to keep it in
a hanger at Arlington and immediately know that I'm not ready to own a
plane.
We also visit a neighboring hanger where a friend
of Wade's is rebuilding an old plane. I didn't catch the plane type, but
it is fairly big. Looks like he had a metal frame to start with. Over
this he is laying wood ribs to shape the body. The wings are built of
spruce spars with wood ribs. For the wing tip is built of bent, laminated
wood. Doors and windows are framed in wood. He's just finishing running
the cables for the control system. He shows us some new metal pieces he
had to build to interconnect pilot and co-pilot rudder peddles. It is
all beautiful work.
So, what did I learn today?
1. Cockpit management! I have a
flight plan, I have maps, I have airport information, I have radio frequency
information, have an EB6 calculator, and I need a place to write down
new information as I receive it. I have yet to see a system that provides
easy management of these. If I was in the plane by myself I would lay
them out on the passenger seat. If there was a passenger there I would
have them manage the papers. Deane gave me a flight planning form, but
I'm not sure it will work for me. I'm going to look for a palm pilot program
that will provide good display of navigation information. As a programmer
I'm convinced that computers can help a lot with the repitive calculations
required by route planning.
2. Flying skills. I'm fairly satisfied
by my skills. There's plenty of room for improvement. I can drift away
from target altitudes, speeds, and courses. I still have to think about
use of the rudder in turns. Approach to landings are not as stable and
consistent as I would like. Cross winds on landing and takeoff challenge
me. But I feel I have a good base from which to practice the above.
3. Radio. We talked to too many
ATC facilities. The pilot rebuilding the airplane commented about how
he misses the old days when he could just go fly without talking to anyone
and didn't think that there were any more mid air collisions back then
than now. Wade observes that many pilots use their radio as their eyes
and are not good about looking out. I know that managing and talking on
the radio significantly distracts my attention from what is happening
outside the aircraft. But there is no getting away from radio communication
in the Puget Sound basin. Below is my attempt to lay out some of the different
ATC facilities, the services they provide, and how to contact them.
1. Flight Service
Station (FSS)
Officially "Automated Flight Service Station"
(AFSS). Or "Radio".
Contact: 1-800-WX BRIEF by phone.
By radio:
- RCO identified by RCO name in box and FSS name below. Frequency is
above the box
- VOR with a frequency above the box and FSS name below box. When frequency
is marked with "R" transmit to them on that frequency and
listen on the VOR frequency. Underlined VOR frequency indicates no voice
transmission
- RCO or VOR in heavy lined box indicates that standard FSS frequency
122.2 and emergency frequency 121.5 is available.
Call up:
<name> Radio, <you> on <frequency> over
<location>
wait for response then give your request.
Services:
- Weather briefing.
- Notams.
- Help for lost pilots. DF steer. (call and ask for practice).
- Receive pilot reports.
- Create, activate, amend, and close flight plans. Usually create and
close the flight plans on the ground via telephone.
- ...
2. Flight Watch
Officially "Enroute Flight Advisory Service".
Contact: 122.0 FROM 0600 TO 2200
local time.
Call up:
<station> Flight Watch, <you> over <location>
station may be omitted if you don't know it.
Services:
- Provides weather information to pilots
- Receives pilot reports of weather.
3. Air Route Traffic Control Center.
These are places with radar that can follow your
aircraft. When they provide enroute services they are called Center
and the facility may be called an "enroute radar facility".
When they provide guidance to or from a primary airport they are call
Approach or Departure.
Contact: See the A/FD, or sectional
frequency tables.
Call up:
when enroute:
<station> Center, <you>, <where>
when approaching terminal airspace:
<station> approach, <you>, <where>
Only use departure when specifically told
to contact departure.
Center likes to known plane type, try to work it into
the call. For example, a request for flight following may be:
VFR to <destination>, Cessna-172, Request Flight
Following
Services:
- Enroute separation between IFR flights. This service provided to VFR
flights work load permitting. IFR aircraft will always be in contact
with a radar center.
- Approach and departure from terminal airspace.
- Clearance into Class B airspace.
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