Flight Log Updates

Thursday night's flight to Mexia was postponed, so I re-scheduled for Monday. The skies were crystal clear and the moon was full; spotting ground reference points was easy tonight. I found a little cluster of lights and two towers to the north that designated I was over Franklin, TX. A large refinery on the south side of a lake was my next waypoint, and finally I picked out the green-white rotating beacon of KLXY nestled between the cluster of lights that is Mexia and Groesbeck. As we got closer we could see the runway edge lights. As I approached for landing, the moon lighting and surrounding fields made the runway appear as if it were rows of tea lights floating on a lake. We made our touch-and-go and headed back to B/CS - logged 1.5 hours.

Today was my fourth progress check - I planned a cross-country route to Lone Star Executive (KCXO) near Lake Conroe. We departed Easterwood and climbed up to 3500'. My first checkpoint was the town of Anderson, followed by a north-south railroad that ran through Dacus. As Lake Conroe became visible on the horizon, my instructor stated (for instructional purposes, it was a clear day) that there were heavy clouds rolling in from the Gulf and we could not continue on - I needed to divert. Navasota was one of my planned diversion airports, so I was able to quickly orient the aircraft to the southwest and start navigating to the airport. Once I was turned around and tracking the Navasota VOR, the instructor had me fly 'under the hood' and tell him when I thought we were near the airport. I tracked the VOR inbound, then turned to intercept the 320-radial outbound  from the station. The Navasota Airport (60R) is at 5.5nm on the 320-radial. When the DME read 5.5nm, I took off the hood and Navasota was right below me. Then my instructor pulled the throttle to idle - not only did I have to divert, but now my engine is 'out'. I trimmed the plane for 65kts and started a descending turn to the right in order to enter the downwind leg. I hit my point in the pattern right on altitude and heading, put in 10 degrees of flaps, then started a left turn for the base leg. As I rolled out perpendicular to the runway, something very unsettling became evident - I spent too much time on the downwind leg, and with the strong winds today, I was a hair too far from the runway. I hoped for a thermal to  give me a boost of altitude. About 100 feet from the runway threshold was a road, and running along that road was a nice little powerline. That powerline kept rising in the windscreen as we got closer, and it was quite clear that we weren't going to be able to go over the top if we maintained our current glide path. You have three options at this point: pull up and over, go through it, or dive under. There are two basic rules to flying: maintain control of the airplane, and don't hit anything! (Especially powerlines) There goes option #2. If we tried to go over we might stall the plane, and from this altitude we would not be able to recover. The only solution was to get low. Being a training situation I stated my intentions in a real-case scenario, then applied a boost of power to clear the powerlines. We made a touch-and-go, then tried it again. The winds blew me short again, but I had just enough room to come in scrapping the grass and hit the runway. After this we returned to Easterwood. Apparently it was never really part of the flight lesson to actually make it to the intended destination, but to test a combination of skills when dealing with the unexpected. 1.2 hours today.

My next flight is the 'big' solo cross-country - a 150nm circuit involving the use of three different airports. Dave wants me to get experience flying in Class C airspace (think C = congested) so I will be going to Austin-Bergstrom Int'l, then Brenham for a total distance of 161nm. Five flights left in the syllabus! At this rate I will be a hair over the minimum of 35 hours at the time of my checkride.

Total Log Time: 27.5 hrs

Today I got signed off for my first solo cross-country! I flew to Houston Executive (KTME) and back. 26V was having some issues today - almost immediately my right fuel gauge was reading zero, but I personally checked it before takeoff and knew there was 15 gallons in there. Also, I couldn't get a reading off the engine temperature gauge, but everything else checked out okay so I continued on. Despite wind gusts and the sun being out, the air was smooth up at 3500 ft. For the route there, I used ground references: first was a railroad runing from east to west, next was Hempstead. I couldn't find the last checkpoint, but by then I was within visual range and picked up the runway easily. The airport was a quiet place near Katy in the middle of some open fields, just north of I-10. I used the College Station VOR to fly straight back, and with a strong tailwind I made the trip in 25 minutes. A USAF T-1 from Randolph, callsign 'Tonto 42', was busy in the pattern back at Easterwood, so I took the opportunity to hold over campus and flew over Kyle Field.

Thursday night I'll be flying to Mexia-Limestone County Aiport, and sometime soon I'll be taking the FAA Written Exam. Only six more flights left in the syllabus!

Solo XC: 1.5 hrs
Total Log Time: 24.8 hrs

Flight Updates

It's been a while since I last posted a flight log, but I've done a lot of flying since then! In the last two weeks I've made six flights totaling 8.1 hours, including my first cross-country and night flying.

3/12: Introduction to radio navigation. Tracking VOR's - VHF Omni-directional Radio. You tune to a frequency just like in your car, (ex: 113.30 is College Station) set a course you want to fly like the 259 degree radial, and a needle on the VOR display will track your position. The goal is to keep the needle centered; if it drifts to the left, go left, and same for the right. The course is important for navigation: Caldwell Municipal is about 16nm on the CLL 242-degree radial. This means if you hold a course of roughly southwest, away from CLL, you will fly right to Caldwell. 

3/14: Short/soft field takeoff and landings: Operations at an airport with a relatively short runway have different procedures. On takeoff you use flaps for a boost in lift, hold the brakes until the engine is at max rpm before starting down the runway, and climb out at a lower speed (59 kts instead of 78) to maximize altitude gain in the shortest distance. On landing, it is imperative to pick a spot at the beginning of the runway and touchdown there. As soon as the main gear is on the ground, raise the flaps to decrease lift, which will maximize the weight the wheels are carrying - this improves braking performance. For a 'soft' field, like grass or dirt, it is important to take as much weight off the nose gear as possible. A flimsy nose gear strut would not hold up well if it went through a mud pit at 50 kts. Another aspect of today's flight was recovery from unusual attitudes- I would put the visor on (the one that blocks my view to the outside) and the instructor would roll the plane around violently while I had my head down and eyes closed. Then he would say 'recover' and I would have to quickly survey the instruments and regain control of the aircraft while in a disoriented state. This wasn't too bad, until the third round of dizzying maneuvers when the donuts from church started churning in my stomach.

3/15: Two flights back to back today. First was a lesson using NDB's: non-directional beacons. Contrary to what the name sounds like, an NDB points in the direction of the radio tower. It's 'non' directional because you can't set a precise course like a VOR, and it does not provide any distance information. I also touched up on my short and soft field skills, and got more instrument time flying with the visor. We landed after over an hour of flying and returned to the parking area. Dave hopped out and a new instructor climbed in. Tom, one of the assistant chief instructors, would be administering my third progress check. We covered everything to date from S-Turns to those nauseating 'unusual attitude' recoveries. This time I made sure to eat better before the flight and felt solid as a rock during the maneuvers. This was a relief as any motion sickness makes me very concerned about my future in combat aviation. We went to Caldwell to test out my short-field proficiency; on approach Tom designated a target he wanted me to hit, +/-100': the third centerline stripe up from the 1000' markers. So that's where I landed. During the post-flight debrief Tom remarked that it was the best short-field landing he has ever seen during a progress check. I commented that it will come in handy for landing on an aircraft carrier! I spent a total of 5 hours at the airport today.

3/18: Another long day: today I made my first cross-country (50nm from departing airport) to La Grange, TX. (3T5) It took about 38 minutes to get there, we made a touch-and-go, then returned to Easterwood. I went home for dinner, then returned to preflight my aircraft as the sun went down. Once it was officially 'nighttime', we headed out for my first night lesson. The plane was all ready to go; the engine running, taxi clearance and all. I flipped the switch for the landing light to signal that we were about to start taxiing, but nothing came on. We sat in the cockpit trying to figure out why it wasn't working, then made an unusual request to the tower: "25Q, cancel taxi clearance..." The guy in the tower sounded just as confused as he did amused. Shutdown, tie down, lock up 25Q. Get the keys for 26V - he wasn't cooperating either. 45Q - lights came on. Okay, we finally have an airplane! I call the tower: "45Q would like to taxi!" We made three touch-and-goes to get familiar with flying at night, then headed out to Hearne for some practice at a different airfield, then returned to Easterwood. By now the tower had closed for the night, so traffic was calling their positions just like at an uncontrolled airport. We were using runway 16, but earlier in the day the winds were in the opposite direction so we had been using 34. (If I haven't explained already, runways designate the magnetic heading to the nearest 10th degree, then truncate the zero. So 340 is the opposite direction of 160) As one plane was taking off from 16, and runway 34 fresh on my mind, I call in and say, "45Q on final, runway 34..." Dave quickly jumped in to remark "16!!! We're landing 16!" The guys in the plane in front of us probably had a heart attack. The final landing of the night was to land without the landing light, simulating a failure. From what I've already observed tonight, this is a highly probable occurrence! The runway's edge lights provide a bit of reference, but your depth perception in that environment is skewed. I start to flare and wait for the inevitable squeal of rubber meeting asphalt, but it didn't come when I expected. About this time I can feel myself slowly pressing back into the seat then upwards against the seatbelt, with a sensation that I'm in an elevator going down... My last thoughts were 'uh-oh', which were confirmed by a solid WHAM! I was scared I had broken the gear struts, but Dave was calm and didn't say anything about it so I was just glad to be down.   

My next round of flights will be a night cross-country to Mexia, a solo cross-country to Houston Executive (west-side of Houston) a progress check, and finally the big solo cross-country. The 'big one' involves stops at three airports for a total of 150nm. After that, its all test-prep time!

Total Log Time: 23.3 hrs (1.9 solo, 1.5 night, 2.3 IFR)

  

Our first Dr. visit!

Pregnancy has been going well for me so far. I have nausea on and off, but not too bad. I had one week where it was pretty bad and got sick a few times. Other than that though, it hasn't been horrible, and I've only gotten sick once since that week. My biggest thing is food aversions. My favorite meat before getting pregnant was Italian sausage (which we had all the time in breakfast burritos and pasta) but right now, the smell of it being cooked alone makes me really nauseous and causes me to lose my appetite. There are other foods that the smell of it being cooked or it just simply being put in front of me makes me not want it. Needless to say, my poor husband has to deal with me being a pretty picky eater. Hopefully only a couple more weeks of this, though! I'm doing good with taking my prenatal vitamins everyday (thankfully they don't make me nauseous).

Finally this morning, we got to go to the doctor for the first time. I was getting so anxious/nervous. It started out with meeting my doctor and talking with her. She's very sweet, and we like her a lot. My allergies have been starting to act up lately, so she informed what she recommended I take. Good news since I have horrible allergies, especially in the spring time. She gave me an exam and said everything looks good, healthy, and normal. Then, a nurse gave me a flu shot since she highly recommended it. I've never had a flu shot, so I hope I don't have any weird reaction to it. I'm so glad needles and shots don't bother me. After that, I had to go get a bunch of blood work done. YUCK! This is definitely my least favorite thing ever. Never fails to leave me nauseous and light headed. Following a slight wait after that, I got an ultrasound which was definitely my favorite part. The baby measured right at 10 weeks and 4 days, which confirmed my due date to be October 9th. Baby looked good, though Daniel and I joke that lil Jelly Bean (what we call the baby inside me) was being lazy since he/she was just laying on the bottom not really moving. Jelly Bean's heartbeat was an amazing thing to hear and was about 170 beats (normal). Here are our 2 ultrasound pics: 

*NOTE: CLICK ON PICTURE TO MAKE BIGGER!*

Flight Log 03-09

Today was my third solo- I flew southwest to Lake Somerville and practiced s-turns, rectangular patterns, and turns about a point. All very basic manuvers by now; the flight was pretty much uneventful. My landings were smooth and I did a better job getting the nose higher, I have a tendency to land almost flat on all three tires instead of the main gear. Nothing exciting to report other than a NASA T-38 that I had to spot - our paths crossed as I was departing for the practice area and he was landing.

Flight #12: 1.4 hrs
Total Log Time: 15.2 hrs

*PS*

Go here to see the post-flight picture from my first solo.

These are pictures of the planes I have flown and and number of times I have flown them:

N8926V (5) *first flight & solo
N9925Q (8)
N9945Q (1)

All three are Cessna 172M's, manufactured between 1973 - 1976.

Flight Log 03-06

Today was progress check #2; I would be flying with Bill Brady as it is recommended that progress checks be performed with the chief or assistant chief flight instructor. I went in an hour early for an oral exam and breezed through the knowledge with flying colors; once the plane started it went downhill from there. For some reason I was being lazy and my mind had made an early departure for the clouds. First, I wasn't taxiing down the centerline - this is unprofessional. After the engine run-up I skipped over the checklist bullet that states "Takeoff Briefing and Emergency Procedures" and went straight to getting takeoff clearance. Skipping any sort of safety precaution (no matter how repetitive) as a student, on a progress check no less, is highly frowned upon. Once in the air I had trouble keeping the aircraft at a constant altitude, my manuevers were sloppy, and I didn't use the fundamentals of "pitch controls airspeed and thrust controls altitude", which made for poor landing approaches. Its not that I forgot, I was just being stubborn. In the end I passed. Bill said he enjoyed flying with me, made a 'good job' remark in my logbook, and let me get in some solo time. I didn't feel like it was good, but whatever.

For the second solo, I was permitted to leave the traffic pattern and fly out to the practice area. I found a nice irrigation circle and practiced making right turns about the center. Right turns are more difficult because the pilot sits on the left, so the cabin and right wing block your view significantly. After a few laps I returned to the airport and made a touch-and-go. While on downwind some guy with an ATC callsign of "Roman ###" had contacted the tower for landing. I was trying to figure out which airline uses Roman - only Continental Connection (Colgan) and American Eagle (Eagle Flight) fly to CLL, so maybe it was one of the FedEx feeders. I watched the runway to see who it was, then my heart rate picked up when I spotted a dark gray figure swooping in low and smooth over the threshold- it was an F/A-18 of VFA-106 "Gladiators" stationed at NAS Oceana, VA. VFA-106 prepares newly-winged Naval Aviators (this includes Marines) for active duty with East Coast F-18 squadrons. Maybe in the next few years I'll spend some time with VFA-106... although Amanda will probably order the Commandant to assign me to VMFAT-101 so she can live in San Diego. Needless to say the tower instructed the guy in 45Q (another BVFS plane) and I to extend our downwind legs to let the wake turbulence dissipate.

Progress Check #2: 1.5 hrs (0.5 solo)
Total Log Time: 13.8 hrs (1.0 solo)

Flight Log 03-03

Clear skies and literally no wind today! Nathan Tichenor picked me up after class and got me to the airport in time for my flight at 3:00pm. I was ready to just up and go, but they insisted that I make a check flight... again. First approach - simulate a go-around. Next approach - touch and go. Finally we landed and exited onto the taxiway, then pulled off to the side of the parking apron. Chris contacted the tower: "I'm gonna hop out and this guy is going to make his first solo." The tower acknowledges, Chris shakes my hand, and shuts the door. And off I went down the taxiway.

I wasn't as jittery as I thought I would be; I guess it's because I had to repeat the check flights a few times due to weather. I was pretty confident and maybe annoyed that I kept having to wait... just let me go already! It's quite simple: control the airplane, don't hit anything, and just repeat back everything you're told. I was number three in the takeoff lineup behind a Colgan Air Saab 340 to Houston, and a Piper Cherokee heading to the northwest. I pulled out onto the runway, went full throttle, and off into the sky. My traffic pattern took me over West Campus, so I enjoyed the view on the downwind leg. The first landing was a little hard, the second smooth but off to the left, then on my third trip through the pattern the entire world decides College Station is the place to be: an American Eagle ERJ-145 calls in saying he's 6 miles out on a straight in approach, another Cessna has joined me in the pattern, plus a Navy TC-12 is about to check in. I report I'm at mid-field (half way down the runway) and the tower gives me a request I've never had to do before: "26V, I need you to make a right-360." Remember what I said earlier? Just repeat it back and do it: "right 360, 26V." I held a standard rate turn to the right, coming all the way back around to where I started at. This put a gap between me and the other Cessna that was ahead. The ERJ still wasn't down yet, and a jet airplane creates a wake through the air that can flip our little Cessna's - the tower needed more room for us. "26V, make a right-45, report the Cessna in sight." Another new one, but pretty self-explanatory. Right 45 degrees. I started getting uneasy because I knew there was another guy in the pattern with me real close, flying real slow, and I couldn't see him in the glare of the sunset. Finally he turned in for his base leg and the wingspan caught the sunlight. "26V has traffic in sight..." "26V, you're number three, follow that traffic to the runway." In came the parade of planes, one after the other. I set it down, hit the brakes, and exited onto taxiway bravo. Bill and Chris met me on the flight line for the celebratory photo and presented me with my solo certificate.

Flight #11b: 1.0 hrs (0.5 solo)
Total Log Time: 12.3 hrs

Flight Log 03-02

The winds were gusting to 19 kts today, so my endorsement limitations kept me from making that first solo once again. Just so my time wasn't a complete waste, I asked if we could go through my records to make sure everything has been properly logged and signed off so there aren't any hold-ups when it comes time for me to take the private pilot checkride. Sure enough, flight #10 had some loose ends. The curriculum for each flight has two categories of tasks: new tasks that are to be performed, and skills that should be checked on for profeciency. Some of the "improving skills" boxes were not checked off. The instructor who was with me on the flight said they were not checked off because we didn't do them, because I had demonstrated proficiency on the previous flights and he felt it would be a waste of time (and money) to re-check. The instructor reviewing my files made the point that FAA regulations state everything must at least be signed off on in the paperwork. Eventually it was decided that we should just fire up the plane and go do them for integrity's sake. S-turns, turns about a point, and some quizzing over emergency descents, fire, and engine-out situations. On one landing, about 50 feet off the ground, I was told "there's a moose on the runway!" He was testing my reflexive responses for aborting a landing, but I thought he could have come up with a more practical scenario than the elusive Brazos Valley moose.

Flight #10...b? 1.0 hrs
Total Log Time: 11.3 hrs

Flight Log 02-28

Today was supposed to be the day I solo... I took my written exam and passed just fine, then started up the plane for a checkout flight with my instructor before he would sign off on my solo endorsement. The winds were very strong, gusts up to 29 kts. Dave wanted me to solo real bad today and I did well on my checkride, but in the end we both decided it would be better to wait for another day. He went ahead and signed off in my logbook for my solo endorsement - limitations: cloud ceiling greater than 3000' AGL, maximum winds 15 kts with 6 kt crosswind. At first I was a little offended about the wind limitations considering my performance today, but this is a standard first-solo endorsement.

Flight #11a: 0.6 hrs
Total Log Time: 10.3 hrs