Daniel H. Bailey’s Alaska Flying Blog

Alot has happened in the past few months, but unfortunately, I’ve been too busy to sit down and write about it.

Back in February, on my birthday in fact, I surpassed my 100 hour mark. It was a cold, clear winter day and so I took the 172 up towards the Alaska Range and flew over the Lower Kahiltna Glacier to the point where it meets the Pika Glacier. I had done a rock climbing trip on the Pika glacier three summers ago, so it was a really meaningful experience to log my 100th hour while looking up the Pika at the granite towers that we had climbed during our trip.

Looking up the Pika Glacier, Alaska Range

I actually flew quite a bit this winter, but then a welcome stretch of work hit in March and I found myself playing photographer much more than pilot during the early part of Spring. Once April and May hit, though, I’ve been back up in the air quite a bit, learning more than ever.

A couple of weeks ago, I got my high performance endorsement in the C182, and since that time I’ve been logging some valuable HP time while flying right seat in a C170, C185, Maule M-5 and a Beaver. The the Beaver is an amazing aircraft to fly. For as big as it is, the thing is so docile in the air. It steers so gently, like a Cadillac with power steering, and once you get it trimmed correctly, it pretty much just flies itself.

The main thing with High Performance aircraft is learning how to manage the power during flight. As with any airplane, you don’t want to make any sudden changes, and as you do adjust power, you want to anticipate your intentions and make gradual changes in a specific order. Basically, when adding power, you advance the props first and then the throttles. When decreasing power, you decrease the throttles first and then the props. Following this method will be easiest on the engine.

Another day while doing touch and go’s in the 172 at Birchwood with an instructor, he had me practice an engine failure after takeoff procedure. He warned me beforehand, an then pulled the power at 600′ AGL off of runway 19R. After my “Oh shit” moment, I quickly pushed the nose forward to establish best glide and then turned the aircraft back to the runway. I made it in plenty of time, even with full tanks and two people in the plane.

Having flown with a number of different pilots and three different instructors recently, I’ve heard many different theories regarding engine failure procedures. One instructor had me establish different options for different altitudes, which might include a turn back towards the airport. One stressed not to turn back at all under 1,000′ AGL, which is often echoed by the Air Saftey Foundation. I can see that beign a very safe guideline, but in real life, that may not be the best option. Turning back may be the safer thing to do in certain situations, so it was very good practice to actually practice that firsthand with an instructor in the plane.

As summer approaches here in Alaska, I’m starting to shop for airplanes, and so far I’ve looked at a couple of Aeronca Super Chiefs and have called on some other small fabric two seaters. They look like great little planes and are certainly in my price range. I’ve also considered Cessna 140’s and have even called on a couple within the state. I think if I were to get a 140, though, I’d probably want to find one with a slightly bigger engine than the stock C85. Having talked with alot of people, it seems as if that would be a better option for the kind of backcountry flying I want to do.

Although I still have alot to learning to do before I would attempt anything resembling an off airport landing, flying with friends in their own planes and landing on gravel bars and beaches has certainly inspired me to start moving in that direction.

Although one airplane owner said with a smile, “buying an airplane is never a good idea,” the way I see it, it’s only money and you only live once. I just don’t see myself being a pilot in Alaska and not having my own place at some point. I just want that point to be sooner than later.

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I went up for another flight in the 206 with Rob other day. There have not been very many weeks where I’ve flown two days in a row, so I was excited about being able to take back to back lessons with such an experienced instructor. With the information still fresh in my mind from the previous day’s lesson, we took off from Merrill and flew west towards Mt. Susitna. 

First, Rob had me warm up with some turns and then some climbing turns. The 206 felt familiar and I did pretty well holding altitude, even through the steep turns. Then he had me do some dutch rolls. I had them backwards at first, at put the plane into a slip with each turn until Rob demonstrated how you essentially begin a bank with coordinated rudder and aileron and then reverse the bank before the plane actually starts turning. I worked on keeping the nose of the plane tracking straight and did much better on my second try.

Then we worked on engine failure at takeoff procedures and discussed the options for safely getting the plane down within a few hundred feet of the ground. We practiced by performing an imaginary takeoff on runway 7 at a safe altitude at 3,000 feet, and then climbing to different altitudes before pulling the throttle. The goal was to establish best glide speed and then see how much altitude I would need to turn to turn back around to a heading of 220, which is the same heading of the gravel runway at Merrill. The exercise determined that I could theoretically perform the turn and land with only 400 feet. 

Next, we worked on slips. We climbed up and around the backside of Mt. Susitna, and then Rob had me perform the technique that he explained the previous day, where you slip the aircraft down a steep mountain valley in order to make a controlled descent through the terrain. I practiced the maneuver four times down through Susitna’s “neck”, pulling out at different altitudes with each pass. Rob constantly gave me tips on wind and mountain and terrain flying as I dropped in and then flew back around for each go. It was an excellent exercise and I gained a great deal of confidence in handling the aircraft.

When we returned to Merrill, we did a few touch and go landings. During each takeoff, we paid attention to altitude at 100 foot intervals and looked around to note the safest and best available emergency landing spots. Rob instilled in me the importance of establishing a workable plan for landing in the event of an engine failure right after takeoff, especially at the home airport. Accepted guidelines say that turning all the way back to the departing runway is not the right choice, but at the average airfield, there are other options, such as cross runways, taxiways and open fields.

My own observations on runway 7 revealed the following: At 100 feet, land straight down the runway. 200 feet, turn right and land on Taxiway Golf. 300-500 feet, turn right and land on the gravel runway. I might not make it all the way around at 300 feet, but the airfield is pretty open in the area around the gravel field, so the chance of hitting something is far less than there than the crowded parking lot at the Northway Mall, even though it’s directly in front of the runway.

Rob taught me some very good lessons during our two days in 206, and he gave me some helpful tips to help improve safety, such as how to tune the radios by feel when you’re looking outside the aircraft to search for traffic. Being my third lesson in a high performance plane, I’m getting pretty comfortable managing the constant speed prop and the added operational procedures of the 206. I don’t foresee any problems getting my endorsement and being checked out in this aircraft when the time comes. And the next time I do a takeoff on runway 25, I’ll practice the above observational exercise and note possible landing spots at the west end of the airport.

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The other day, I flew with a CFI and got some high performance and mountain flying instruction in a Cessna 206. Rob, my instructor, is a long time Division of Wildlife pilot who has considerable experience flying in mountain environment throughout Alaska, and he taught me a great deal about general aircraft handling and awareness.

Leaving Merrill, we flew out to the Susitna Flats, where he had me practice my airwork and general flying technique of the 206. Begin a larger, heavier and much more powerful aircraft, it took a little bit of time to get used to the increased speed and quickness in which it responds to control input, but overall, I seemed to handle the plane pretty well.

We started with turns and steep turns and then did quite a bit of slow flight and stalls. For the added weight, the 206 is surprisingly stable at slow speeds and it’s able to fly at a very low airspeed before breaking into a stall. Recovery was no problem, and simply dropping the nose just a little quickly bit brought it back under control.

Rob then had me practice some slips, which also went well, although with my short legs, I found it to be somewhat of a whole body effort to hold the rudder all the way to the floor. During the exercise, he explained a great deal about useful applications of slips, and the principles of coordinated flight, stalls and spins. He really did a good job reiterating some valuable aircraft knowledge, and combined with my recent reading of “Stick and Rudder,” I feel as if the method of flying is really starting to become firmly planted in both my understanding and my actual skills in the airplane.

Next, we flew over to Wasilla to practice some takeoffs and landings. We did six total, which included some soft field takeoffs. Overall, I did really well, and even though some of my patterns were a little wide, I always glided in with a consistent speed on final and touched down smoothly. I need to keep working on keeping the plane straight on the centerline after landing, especially in the 206, which has so much more power. During one soft field takeoff, the plane literally jumped off the runway so fast that I didn’t act quickly enough to keep it in ground effect and I ended up tapping the wheels down again before I got it under control and began our climbout.

Leaving Wasilla, we headed over to the Knik Glacier, where Rob gave me a lesson on mountain flying techniques. Having lots of mountain experience on the ground, I already understand a lot of what are essentially common sense methods and hazards, but hearing it from an experienced mountain pilot really drove the information home for me. He taught me about how to evaluate the terrain and hwo to stay to the right and enter valleys, and at the same time, always have a plan for getting out. All the while, he drilled into me the importance of always keeping aware of possible landing spots in case of engine failure, especially in terrain where you might not always have smooth flat options.

Throughout the course of the day, weather was marginal around the Mat-Su area, and as we flew back to Merrill, we noticed that the clouds had started to close in around Anchorage. We listened to the ATIS, debated our options, and eventually decided to approach from the east next to the mountains. There was a low cloud layer sitting right up against the Chugach, but this way seemed like a better choice than coming in over the water, where the ceilings were even lower.

Crossing over Birchwood, we actually popped up above the ceiling and flew a tenuous approach towards Anchorage, the whole time keeping sight of the ground through the thinner layers just to our right. Due to airspace restrictions, though we were unable to fly over the more clear areas, and had to stay above a thick cloud layer that hung over all of Eagle River.

We continuously evaluated our options each minute, all the while keeping in mind the option to simply turn around and head back towards Wasilla, where it was clear. Our plan was to keep monitoring the ground through the thin cloud layers and hope that that there was possibly a break in the clouds either near Merrill, or over the other end of the town, where we could drop below them and come in from the south.

Even though we were flying directly above a thick layer, I could still faintly see the highway, Moose Run Golf Course and Bryant Field off to the right, as well as the recognizable mountain terrain to the left. I called the tower and announced our position, and then used the Glenn Highway as a guide to help me stay in legal airspace as I descended through the break and lined up for my final approach to Merrill. As soon as I was safely on the ground, clouds and snow pretty much closed in around the airport.

Rob was great throughout the entire approach, he just kept talking calmly, giving me tips on how to continually assess the situation and how to know what types of changes or conditions would make us want to turn around, if needed. He did a really good job instilling confidence in my own flying and decision making skills, and he taught me a lot about how to deal with marginal weather such as this.

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While on a week-long trip back to Fort Collins, Colorado, I took a flight lesson with a good friend of mine who happens to be a CFI. Since I have been working towards my high performance rating, we had originally planned to do the lesson in a C182. However, I apparently took some Alaska weather down to Colorado with me, which made me feel right at home, but which also caused some unforseen problems. After postponing for two weather days, and dealing with a pair of hangar doors that were frozen shut, we decided to shift our focus to the only airplane that we could manage to get free, a Citabria 7GCBC.

I’d been planning to work on my tailwheel endorsement at some point in the near future, but I just haven’t made the time to get over to the airport and start. Needless to say, I was overjoyed by this stroke of good fortune. Before pulling the plane out, my instructor Dan gave me about 45 minutes worth of ground instruction, going over the different aerodynamic forces and principles that apply to flying tailwheel aircraft.

Since I had studied these concepts in my Jeppesen flight manuals for my private license, I understand the causes and effects of P-factor, Gyroscopic precession, Torque and Spiraling slipstream, but I found it helpful to have them explained and illustrated by Dan. He also showed me a really cool equation (V₂/V₁ = √W₂/W₁) for converting the typical aircraft speeds to their optimum values based on true aircraft weight in relation to gross weight. I’ve never been particularly ‘mathy,’ but I suppose it’s because I never really had real world uses for things like quadratic equations. Seeing an actual useful application for something like this makes math much more exciting.

After the lesson, we got in the plane and taxied out to the active runway. It was my first time controlling a moving taildragger and I seemed to do pretty well, managing the rudder pedals with smooth authority when necessary to keep the plane going straight. I learned that even though the tailwheel itself is controlled by the pedals, much of the steering at low speeds on the ground is caused by the propwash over the rudder.

After our run-up, we taxied out onto the centerline. I smootly applied full power, waited until a count of three and then pushed the stick all the way forward. The tail rose quickly off the ground and the pitch attitude of the aircraft suddenly rose to a wings-level position. As the effects of gyroscopic precession kicked in, I applied right rudder to counter the left turning tendency. Dan took control for a few seconds so that I could glance over and note the position of the wings in relation to the horizon. One thing about the Citabria is that it has great forward view. With the runway now in full view in front of my face, I kept the plane in that pitch attitude by slowly applying back pressure on the stick as we picked up speed, and before long, the wheels left the ground and we began our climbout.

I managed the pitch of the climb by adjusting the trim knob, which is right there on the left. It’s very easy to control and I was quickly able to set it so as to maintain neutral position on the stick. We ascended to about about 7,500′, which in Fort Collins is about 2,500′ AGL, and flew a few miles away from the airport. It was a pretty special experience to look around me and see the snowy Northern Colorado landscape below me. I had lived there for thirteen years, and now here I was flying an airplane above my old home.

Once we stabilized at our desired altitude, Dan had me do some airwork, so that he could get an idea of my flying skills, and also so that I could get used to how the Citabria handled. We did some slow flight and a few power-off stalls, both of which I easily managed. Dan was pleased with my rudder work, which has improved greatly since my lesson in the 182. Overall, I found that it was a pretty easy, and very enjoyable aircraft to control, and I pulled out of our stalls smoothly with no trouble.

This was my first time flying with a stick instead of a yoke, like I’m used to on the Cessna’s, I made the transition with very little trouble. In fact, every single element of this flight was different than I was used to: different type of aircraft, steering and throttle control with opposite hands, flap bar instead of a lever on the panel, different radio frequencies, different call sign, airport name and runway numbers, and of course, different visual scenery. I seemed handle everything just fine, and I relished in all the additional mental juggling. I did about half of the radio calls, while Dan did the other half so that I could concentrate on just flying the aircraft.

After our airwork exercises, we flew back to the airport to do some touch and go landings. We started with a three point, which went pretty well, and then worked on wheel landings. Dan had me do a couple of high speed taxis after landings to get additional practice keeping the airplane straight on the runway, and for the most part, I did pretty well. We curved gently back and forth across the centerline a couple of times, but there was no swerving or hard turns. During our ground lesson, Dan had drilled into my head that if I did find myself swerving too much, I should simply apply full power. The aircraft would be close to flying speed anyway, and getting it quickly back in the air would be the safest course of action. Fortunately, we didn’t have to do that.

We did have one pretty good bounce, and from the back seat, Dan took over and initiated the go-around by pushing the throttle all the way in. I made sure on my next pass to stabilize my descent speed, which, on the Citabria is very easy to do with the trim knob. That made the difference and my next landing was much more controlled.

I finished out my fifth and final landing with a near perfect three-point, which provoked an excited response from Dan. I felt his hands grab my shoulders as he congratulated me. Since we’ve been friends for a long time and have always talked about flying together, it really meant alot to me, and probably to him as well, to be able to finally go up and gain some aviation knowledge from him.

Of course, now I’ve opened up a new can of works with the taildragger thing, and I can’t wait to get back to Alaska and continue working towards my endorsement with my private instructor, Mark. I may have to wait until after the holidays are over, but at least I feel that I have a good start.

Great day, part two.

The day ended when my other friend Paul, a longtime pilot flew down to the airport and picked me up in his Luscombe. We flew for another hour and a half all over the areas around Fort Collins. He pretty much let me steer the whole time and so I flew over my old house and practiced my stick and rudder skills while he looked out the window and took pictures.

It was a very cold flight in the barely heated old plane and by then the wind had really picked up. Paul took over for the landing, which was just fine by me. He’s got his own grass strip on his property and he’d spent the morning packing down the runway by driving back and forth on it with his truck. After being pushed by the high winds and going around twice, he finally slipped in, straightened out and set his 8×50 bush wheels down on his snowy runway, which was, in fact, plowed to a width that was no wider than the wheel base of his Lucsombe’s landing gear.

I was impressed. So much so, that I forgot to take any pictures. He’s the epitome of a local who is playing literally in his own backyard. If someone ever makes a ‘Bush Pilots of Northern Colorado’ video, he’ll certainly be in it.

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Almost one year to the day after having my very first flight lesson, I found myself with an opportunity to begin training in a Cessna 182 and work towards my high performance endorsement. The 182 has more power and and it’s a heavier aircraft, but in many ways, it’s similar to the 172 and thus a fairly easy transition for most pilots.

The main difference that the 182 has over the 172 is the constant speed propellor. A CS prop functions by changing the pitch, or blade angle so that it spins a a consistent speed constant under different power settings. It’s essentially like having gears for your airplane, where the manifold pressure is controlled by the throttle, engine RPM is controlled by the prop and as before, fuel flow by the mixture control. An easy way to equate this is to imagine riding a bike. The throttle is like your pedaling cadence, where changing your prop setting is like changing gears. 

A high performance engine requires more detailed and careful attention to power settings depending on your desired airspeed and fuel flow at different altitudes. Before getting in the airplane, I went over the 182 operating manual with my instructor and we discussed some likely and often used power settings, order of how you change them in flight, and the critical speeds of the aircraft, like Vx, Vy, approach and best glide.

On the ground, I found the that the 182 handled pretty much like the 172, and once I got used to the slightly different instrument panel that I had been used to, we taxied to runway 7, got our clearance and took off. Since the 182 has more power, I had to use more right rudder, but otherwise it felt very similar to the 172 as we left the ground.

At 500′, I pulled back the throttle a bit to so that the manifold pressure gauge read 25 inches hg, and then at cruise altitude, I adjusted the power settings to 23″ and 2300rpm. We flew over to the practice area and my instructor had me perform a series of steep turns slow flight and stalls. Even though I hadn’t practiced my stalls in awhile, it all felt pretty familiar. At one point, he gave me a really good lesson and exercise on how to use the rudders more during slow flight, since they have much more affect on keeping the aircraft flying straight and level in these situations. Even though I’d heard it before, he explained it in a very easy to understand way and after I’d practiced, I felt much more comfortable with the concept.

After the airwork, we went over to practice takeoffs and landings at Birchwood. I seemed to do pretty well with the transition and I landed the thing pretty smoothly. He had me do some soft field takeoffs, and since the angle of attack is so much greater with the nose up in the air, it requires a great deal of right rudder when you add full power. One problem that I usually have with my soft field takeoffs is keeping the aircraft close to the ground as I pick up speed. As the wheels leave the ground, I try to push the nose over, but always end up well above the runway by the time I get it level. My instructor explained how as the aircraft picks up speed and wants to climb, I need to keep increasing the forward pressure to hold it there. I tried it once and it seemed to make a difference. I’ll continue to practice that.

He also showed me how to better manage my climb angle on short field takeoffs. As we climbed out at 60 KIAS, he had me pay attention to where the horizon lines up with the panel and remember what it looks like. From now on, if I takeoff and, instead of trying to hold my speed, just hold that pitch, the KIAS will level off where it needs to be. I found that to be a very good tip.

We also did a couple of simulated engine failures, and on the first one, I made what would have been a very crucial mistake. I tried to maintain a regular traffic pattern, and ended up coming in short. About halfway to the runway on final, we were sinking into the trees and I could easily see that we were not going to make it. I realized what I had done, did a go around and made a very strong mental note to not worry about making regular traffic turns. If the power goes out, get the aircraft lined up and ready to land. It’s far better to land at the other end of the runway and chance running off the other end a few feet than to land short in the trees. Very good thing to remember. We did the exercise again, and this time I got it down on the runway. I didn’t use any flaps, and my instructor reiterated that it’s fine to drop them, but only when you’re sure you’re absolutely sure that you’re going to make the runway.

All in all, it was a very good lesson and I felt quite comfortable with the higher performance engine and feel of the 182. I’ll look forward to getting up in the sky with one again soon.

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I’ve got a long way to go before I can consider myself a seasoned Alaska pilot, but I can work towards that by challenging myself and flying in less than ideal meteorological conditions. I know that pushing my limits bit by bit will expand the envelope of my piloting skills and hopefully fine tune my judgement about when to go and when to say no. My three most recent flights took place in slightly challenging conditions, and they were all great learning experience.

Wind: When I got to airport one day a couple of weeks ago, the winds were blowing pretty strong from the south. The windsock was pointing straight out, although not fully filled, so I knew that it was less than 15 knots. The ATIS said 150 at 12kt, which could potentially make for a tough crosswind landing, but I figured that I could always come back in to Merrill on Runway 16, which would have me landing directly into the strong wind. I’d done that a few times before, so I felt ok about my decision to go.

Remembering to keep my upwind side aileron up, I taxied over to Runway 25 and did a solid crosswind takeoff, and then turned over the Glenn Highway to head East. Then, funny thing happened when just a few miles north, I tuned into the Birchwood AWOS and heard something like 250 at 3kt: a very slight, almost no existent wind from the west. Just goes to show you how localized the weather can be up here around the Anchorage bowl.

Just to the north, up around Palmer, however, the view was filled with dark gray clouds, which I wasn’t about to head into, so I did one touch and go landing at Birchwood and then headed west over the water. I flew over the gravel strip at Goose Bay and completed the circle by heading back to Merrill, where the wind was still strong as ever. By the time I got back, 16 was the active runway anyway, so I concentrated on flying a smooth, controlled pattern and landed nose into the gusty headwind.

Rain: The other night I went up with another Civil Air Patrol pilot and practiced ELT searches over Wasilla. Searching for an ELT is pretty much like searching for an avalanche transceiver, essentially, you listen for and try to follow the signal on the radio as it gets louder and softer. The louder the signal, the closer you are. It’s pretty simple, but things can get a bit challenging when you’re trying to deal with the weather.

While flying our search patterns, we kept running into small patches of light rain that was scattered all over the Mat-Su valley. None of it was very thick, so it wasn’t a big deal to fly through the rain, it just caused short periods of decreased visibility. 

You wouldn’t want to fly for extended periods through rain like that, but we could pretty much see the other side of the clouds, so it wasn’t too big a deal. Plus it was late in the evening, when the air was more settled. I would be much more wary in the middle of the day when there could very well be lots of rising air and cumulous clouds. This was just light virga.

Overall, it was a beautiful, calm evening, and as the sun dropped closer towards the horizon, the orange light streamed through the virga, making it seem like the ground was on fire.

Clouds: Another CAP training mission, this time with a CFI. This time we were going to head up towards Big Lake to practice grid search navigation. The weather was somewhat marginal in Anchorage, but checking the local conditions, it seemed as if the areas to the north had high enough cloud ceilings.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get out of Anchorage. After take off, we ran into a 1,200′ cloud ceiling trying to get over the water, so asked the tower if we could turn around and try for an east departure. we turned around. He approved, so we headed out towards the Glenn Highway, but were quickly boxed in under a 1,000 layer of thick clouds that were sitting right up against the Chugach foot hills. We flew north for just a couple of minutes before turning around and heading back to Merrill for some landing takeoff and practice.

If I were by myself, I probably wouldn’t have attempted a flight in these kinds of conditions. With an instructor, though, I was able to safely push my limits a little bit, get a feel for what the weather can do around here, and gain the confidence to get out of it if needed.

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Aircraft: C172 N52654

Flight Time: 1.7 hours

Total Hours: 42.8

I passed my checkride and am now an officially licensed pilot!

I felt confident and relaxed during the morning segment, and I took my time making up a cross country flight plan and completing the other tasks that Dick Ardiaz gave me to make sure that I’d be a safe and knowledgeable pilot.

At around 1:00, I rode my bike over to the other side of the airport and got the plane. After taxiing over to Aero Tech, Dick jumped in and we were off flying. He didn’t have me do that many maneuvers, and we actually spent the majority of the time on VOR navigation, which is what I’d heard that he was likely to his main area of focus.

I am fairly confident about VOR navigation, at least I thought I was, but during the ride, I got a little nervous and forgot to correct for the wind, which kept blowing me off course. I started to confuse myself a couple of times, and that’s when Dick took the yoke and explained it in very easy to understand terms. I listened to his brief lesson and it began to click a little better.

After that, we flew back to Merrill, did a couple of landings, and then he told me to make a full stop and taxi back to Aero Tech. When we got back, he told me that I passed, but to make sure I go up and practice the VOR stuff by myself when I get a chance. I would have through that he would ask me to do more things in the air, but I guess someone who has that much experience doesn’t need very much time to assess your overall piloting and safety skills. When it was all finished, I taxied the plane back and got a big congratulations from my instructor. I feel fortunate to have had such a good teacher and can easily see how not having the right fit could make this all a much different type of experience.

The really cool thing was watching him fly the plane. He’s in his 80’s, and moves slowly on the ground, but he has more years of flying experience than I have years in my entire life and he handles the plane with incredible confidence. Here I was trying to be gently and do these gentle, standard rate turns and when he flew, he made these deliberate turns with more skill and agility than I have ever seen. The guy is a legend and now I have my signature in my logbook. Next to his name, it says “Private Certificate Issued.”

It’s all a little bit surreal right now, and I’m sure that it will take time for the realization to sink in that I have actually attained my lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. It will probably start to feel different when I fly somewhere new, as it did when I flew my cross countries. There’s alot of air to cover up here in Alaska and I’m excited to start exploring and putting my license to good use!

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Aircraft: C172 N52654

Flight Time: 1.9 hours

Total Hours: 41.1

I have now passed my required 40 hours and as I look forward to my checkride, I can’t help but look back at the experiences that have brought me to this point. I began this journey six months ago, eager and excited, and curious about what I would learn during my months of training. It has certainly been challenging at times, and even a little frustrating during those times when I struggled, but I always kept calm and never lost my enthusiasm or my appetite for more. Jumping into the world of aviation has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and the fact that I am now so close to earning my license fills me with nearly uncontrollable excitement.

With my dual lessons officially wrapped up, I took the plane up yesterday for a couple of hours of solo time in order to get myself ready for my checkride, which I have scheduled for tomorrow. I spent about 45 minutes going through all of my maneuvers, and the rest of the time I worked on my landings.

I felt comfortable doing slow flight and stalls, although I’m so light, that sometimes it’s hard to get the plane to lose its lift. I find that I have to fly VERY slow and climb quite steeply in order to get it to drop during my power on stalls.

Next I ran through my ground reference maneuvers. It had been awhile since I had done these, and they went well, although I had a little trouble holding my altitude during the S-Turns. Hopefully with vigilant control and observation, I can keep them within tolerance. I also had a bit of trouble with this during my steep turns, but found that simply looking out the window instead of at the instruments. made all the difference, which is what you’re supposed to do as a VFR pilot anyway.

After going through the procedure for making an emergency landing without power, I headed back to Merrill for a long session of touch and go’s. I’ve had a tendency to land flat sometimes and really wanted to iron this problem out before my checkride. I dropped into the pattern and cruised through 13 takeoffs and landings- some short field, some soft field, and one with no flaps and a forward slip.

They weren’t all perfect, but the practice did me good, because it seems like things are coming together here. I still occasionally float- again, probably because with just me in the plane it’s so light, but there were no hard landings or bounces and I kept it straight on the centerline every time. I worked hard on flying smooth, tight patterns and using the power and trim to keep my descent rates consistent. I imagine that I’ll be improving my landings for the rest of my flying career, but for now, I feel that they’re definitely with the private pilot tolerances.

When I was finished, Mark and I made sure that I had all my required logbook endorsements filled in, then we printed out my FAA application and went over what I’d need for the checkride. It was a strange feeling sitting there realizing that my lessons are now coming to an end, at least until I go for my next rating anyway. That was when I started thinking back to the time when I sat in his office for the first time during my very first lesson all those months ago.

I know that I’m ready and I’m not nervous at all. I think that part of that is that I’ve already met Dick Ardiaz, who will be my FAA examiner. Dick is an aviation legend around here, having moved up in 1952 with his wife and starting Aero Tech flight school shortly thereafter. They even have a road over by the tower named after him. He seems like a super cool guy and from everything I’ve heard, he just wants to make sure that you’re going to be a safe pilot. I’m not worried.

So, all that’s left for me to do is to run through some of the material a bit more, get a good night’s sleep tonight and then show up at Aero Tech tomorrow at 9:30AM for the 2-3 hour oral exam. After that, we’ll go up in the plane and do that actual checkride. After that…

…I can only imagine.

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Aircraft: C172 N13205

Flight Time: 1.2 hours

Total Hours: 39.2

After flying less than perfect patters at Birchwood the other day, I felt I needed more practice landing at non-towered airports where I don’t have familiar visual cues to guide me along my downwind, base and final legs. Goose Bay, a 3,000 unpaved runway on the other side of the Knik Arm seemed like a good choice, since I’d never been there before. Plus, it would be a chance to get in some genuine soft field takeoff and landing practice on a real Alaskan gravel strip.

We took ‘205′ today, since it has the bigger tires and flew a few miles north after crossing the channel until the strip came into sight. It was certainly different than anything I’d done yet, being right up against the water on the south and surrounded by trees on all sides. I entered the pattern, announced myself on the common traffic frequency and began my descent for runway 25. I was a little low and far out over the water on my base leg, and Mark pointed out that if the engine were to fail, we wouldn’t have enough altitude to glide back to land. I made a mental note to fly a tighter pattern next time.

It was exciting to come in over the trees and make my first gravel touch down, and although I came in pretty fast and ate up a couple hundred feet of the runway, I got the plane down pretty smoothy and kept it straight as we slowed down. We came to a full stop on the first landing and then after we took off again, we did 6 more touch and gos. My patterns got much more precise as I went on. I really concentrated on being consistent with the power and trim wheel during my descents and eventually was able to get my airspeed under control on final so that I wouldn’t float too much during my flare. One thing that threw me off a bit was that ‘205′ indicates airspeed in MPH instead of knots. I haven’t flown this plane in quite awhile, and so that difference might have made thing a bit more challenging.

The thing I had I struggled with today was getting the nose up enough during the flare. I kept landing somewhat flat, which is exactly what you don’t want to do on a soft field landing. Fortunately, the strip was in pretty good shape, but this is an area where I need work. Overall, my landings today were pretty smooth and straight, I just need to refine my flare.

I felt that I accomplished the two things that I wanted to improve on today, which were to fly a more consistent pattern and to make sure I was not swerving on the runway after I had landed. I’ve been having trouble with that, and I think it’s because as the plane slows down, the rudder control loses effectiveness and that’s the time it’s most prone to veering left. The amount of control input that’s needed to keep the plane tracking straight on the centerline of the runway during final quickly changes and I haven’t been compensating for that. Today, I made sure to increase my control input on the rudder once we were on the ground and slowing down each time.

Once back at Merrill, Mark and I talked about my progress and went over the numbers in my logbook. At this point, I have met all of my other requirements and only have less than one hour to reach the required 40 hours of training. Although I feel good about my skills at the point, and know that I just need a little bit of work on my landings, I asked Mark what he thought.

He agreed with me about the landings, and thinks that we can knock those into shape with one more dual lesson. Other than that, he feels that my flying skills are up to par, and since I scored a 90% on my written exam, I obviously have a solid knowledge on the material. His assessment is that I’m ready for my checkride!

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Aircraft: C172 N52654

Flight Time: 1.3 hours

Total Hours: 38

Today was the first time that my wife Amy went flying with me. She felt that it would help to have an instructor in the plane during her first time up with me, so she came along for the lesson. She wandered around on the tarmac while I was doing my preflight and then pretty much just sat in the back seat and enjoyed the view during the entire flight. The visibility was great, and we could even see Mt. Redoubt erupting with a huge cloud of steam and ash across the Cook Inlet. It was nice not have to worry about whether she was feeling comfortable, which could have made me even more uncomfortable and possibly added unneeded pressure during my lesson.

Overall, it was a good experience for both of us and it was helpful for me to learn how to deal with a passenger in the plane and know what and how to communicate with them, especially if things were to go wrong. Mark reiterated the need for the pilot to remain calm no matter what happens and portray confidence during the entire flight. After all, passengers may not always know what to expect and what is normal or not normal, so it’s up to the pilot to set the tone.

Since I’m working towards my checkride, Mark had me fly some headings, climbs and descents to make sure my tolerances were right in line with what I’d need to get my license. Next he pulled the throttle all the way out and had me go through the emergency landing without power procedure. It had been a few weeks since I last practiced this, and I did fine, but recognize that I need to keep reviewing this so that it becomes second nature. I spent a little too much time fiddling with the trim and so Mark advised me to scan all the necessary components while I’m doing this, since my attention is focused down there anyway during that step.

Next we went over to Birchwood, where Mark had me practice short field takeoffs and landings. I got a good feel for what I still need to work on, which is landings at airfields other than Merrill. I’m so used to flying the Merrill pattern and landing there, and not nearly as used to landing at smaller, non tower strips that don’t have the same visual references as what I’m used to, like the Anchorage city streets. My patterns weren’t perfect, and I struggled with a couple of my landings, but definitely got better during the third and fourth tries.

I struggled a bit on our final landing at Merrill, partly due to a crosswind. I let the airspeed get a bit too low and then bounced too much. I realized that one thing I don’t always do is look at the windsock as I’m coming in on final. I think I tend to listen to the ATIS and then not pay very much attention to the best visual cue that the runway has to offer.

So, when I’m on final approach, remember to LOOK AT THE WINDSOCK!! Again, look at the windsock.

Regarding the landings, I scheduled for later this week with Mark so that we can go get in some real short and soft field practice on the gravel runway over at Goose Bay. Should be very educational.

In the meantime, remember to look at the windsock.

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