Beating the weather

I flew home this weekend with a buddy of mine in one of my schools 172's. It was just supposed to be a short stay as I wanted to spend some time with the folks and see the Steve Miller Band play down at sunfest. We left the ground about 9:15am local time and flew from Tallahassee to Lantana via Cross City then victor 7 through Lakeland and La Belle. From there we flew east to Pahokee and finally into Lantana. It was a great flight! We cruised at 9500 ft. the whole way. This kept us above the broken cloud layer and it was smooth as glass with only a slight headwind.

Unfortunately we were only able to stay one night as there was a weather system that was moving east dumping rain and strong winds throughout the country. It was the same system that brought down the Dallas Cowboy's practice facility and I did not want to mess with that. So we left West Palm Beach (KLNA) around noon on Monday. This was alot earlier than I wanted to leave and didn't even get to spend 24 hours at home. Oh well, I'll go back down next month and spend some more time with the rents.

All the reports showed that we would beat the weather if we could get to TLH by 4-4:30 so off we went. I had been watching the weather like a hawk for days up to the flight and kind of knew this might happen. First, we made a quick stop in KOBE (Okeechobee) for cheap fuel and after fighting the plane to start (172RK does not like the hot start) we were off direct to LAL then up to CTY on V7 turning west abeam the navaid to get us home to good ole' Tallahassee.

This was the plan anyway...

After climbing up to 10,500 departing KOBE the clouds started to grow. We cruised around them for a little while but I knew that the weather conditions ahead would not permit us to get underneath. The major storm that's now pounding the east coast was having its way with us... and at this altitude our little Cessna doesn't like to climb much more, so down we went. I spotted a whole just past Lakeland and I hit the deck. We got underneath while staying VFR eventually leveling out at 4500 ft. Here comes the fun stuff. We were getting bounced around so much that I tried a little lower at 3500 ft to no avail. With no working auto pilot, I was getting a work out keeping the plane on my desired orientation. The whole time in the back of my mind I was thinking about the weather back at base. Would I be able to make it in VFR??? I wonder what the weather is doing up in the panhandle? Where could we land that has a few hotel options if we do get stuck? DIVERT!

At this time we were about 65 miles directly south of Gainsville heading to Cross City. There is nothing in Cross City, and I had been to Gainsville's airport a few times before and knew they had adequate resources available to determine the weather situation along with many Hotel options. (not to mention the free cookies at the FBO) Now I am a Seminole and hate to say anything good about gator town, but their FBO is nice and everyone is friendly. Even to those pilots who are sporting Seminole flight club t-shirts! So after checking the weather for 15 minutes I decided we could make it VFR if we hurried. We jumped back in the plane (more hot start issues) and blasted out of G-ville as fast as our little Cessna would take us.

The could deck was solid at 3000 in g-ville keeping us at 2000ft. It was much smoother for this last leg thank god, but the ceiling was dropping and the visibility was around 6 miles and dropping as well. This is no problem for the IFR student, but I was starting to worry about the legality of the flight continuing VFR. Luckily we got to stay at 1500 and I could see the field about 5 miles out. Approach got us in around other IFR traffic and we made a butter smooth landing on runway 18 with rain hitting the windshield during the approach. We made it by about 15 minutes. I drove home in the rain.

This was my longest trip by myself yet and I loved it. Even with the crappy weather on the way back. The legs were about 343 miles a piece and I logged 7.5 hours of x-country flight time. I can wait to do the trip again.

For now though, I gotta get ready for work... Happy Cinco de Mayo baby.

building time

So as of now I am about a quarter of the way done with the flying portion of the instrument rating. My instructor and I have been doing nothing but x-country flights (50nm straight line distance) under the hood. The simulated instrument time is building and I am slowly getting to where I need to be. The ground portion however is going even faster. For school I must finish by next week. I am doing this all on my own this time around and it has turned out to be OK, but I am still a little nervous about what I am going to get on the written.

The flying has been great! Well that is minus being under the hood all the time. I have been getting lots of practice with VOR/DME approaches, intercepting and tracking airways, navigating via the ADF, VOR, and GPS, getting all the new radio lingo down, flying in different types of weather, and well... flying only by reference to instruments. It has been pretty fun over all. I am flying a ton! Ultimately building time towards the magical 250 hours. I have been flying with much stronger winds than I did with my private. My confidence is growing and routinely seem to be flying in winds upwards of 20kts. Crosswind landings seem to be a regular occurrence, and I actually logged a minuscule amount of actual IMC yesterday flying around in the clouds and rain. It was a good day as the wind was right down the runway at 14kts gusting to 19kts. It was my first really nice landing in a week or two. Kissed the numbers with the stall horn itching to blow, and off the runway onto taxiway bravo which is around 1500 ft from the threshold. I thought it was nice anyway. Certainly better than Florida senator Richard Steinberg's landing which I watched from the hold short line. We counted 7 bounces (a few pretty hard) as he tried to land our schools glass cockpit 182. I felt bad for the plane.... it wasn't pretty.

That's it for now. I have tons of work to do for the written and I got to get crackin' on that asap. Keep the blue side up.

finally

Well, its happened. I have finally secured some financing to continue my training. I have started on my IFR ticket and am building time and blowing through money again! Poor nasty mike is not IFR approved since it only has one set of working comm and nav radios. So I am tackling this next rating in our 172S and a 172SP. They are much nicer but also carry a $20 per/hour extra charge. Not much I can do I suppose... I do not fit into our 152 that's IFR equipped (too tall) and my instructor and I with full fuel are over weight anyhow. (The FAA needs to realize that not too many people weigh the standard 170lbs anymore. Especially when they are 6'3''.)

Anyway, my new instructor and I have been pushing through the beginning fazes of the IFR rating. Practicing holds and basic vor to vor navigation. the simulator comes in handy here. I can log up to 10 hours of "simulated" instrument time in my flight schools FAA approved simulator. I will take full advantage of this since it is only a $40p/h charge.

The real challenge will be completing the ground portion of the IFR rating before April 23'rd. I must submit my 3 stage exams and a copy of my completed FAA written on this date in order to pass my class. The only way I could get a loan at an acceptable interest rate was to actually go back to school. Therefor, I am attending Utah Valley University attempting a BS degree in Aviation Science. I'm taking 6 credits a semester and those are all "pilot based" classes. Meaning, they coincide with whatever rating or license I am pursuing at my flight school here in good 'ole Tallahassee. Right now I am taking an IFR ground and IFR flight class for a total of 6 credit hours. All I have to do in order to pass the class is take the 3 Jeppesen stage tests found in the IFR/Commercial kit and fax over a copy of both my FAA written exam score and a copy of my temporary airman certificate when I take my checkride. Not too bad eh? Seemed worth it to me. I get a decent interest rate, (saving money) I can train at my local fbo, (saving money) and never have to leave town.

So for now I am back in the saddle working towards that elusive 250 hour mark, hopefully picking up my IFR, Commercial and CFI ratings/licenses along the way.

For now I'm off to the flight school to hang out with John and Martha King. Lots more to come if I don't kill myself listening to all of Martha's one liners.

good things are coming...

I only hope it will be sooner rather than later.

Still around

Well, by the look of my last post its been over two months since i've written anything new. I had been busy graduating from college and doing the family thing around the holidays but now im back and ready to go. Got to do a little aerostar flying while i was home for the hollidays. Did a nice SUA-FXE-TPA-SUA trip and actually got a little left seat time. It was the first time i flew the her as an actual pilot. Damn she's fast...

Back to reality.
I went up in Nasty Mike today for the first time in a while. The airport was slow, and the weather was great untill i started doing the preflight..... Information Yankee says winds are 340 @ 8, altimeter 30.07. Sounds good to me, but i'm feeling something a little stronger now that i'm taxing to the run-up area. After i finish playing with my check list and doing the run-up i call the tower and get clearance to take off on 36. We have lift off.

After my first quick trip around the pattern (closed traffic today.... short on cash, and i wanted to practice a few landings) the tower controller says, "734NM cleared touch and go runway 36. Winds 340 @ 11kts gusting to 17kts, altimeter 30.05" Wow! that was a big difference than what the ATIS said while i was on the ground no more than 5 minutes ago. Oh well, here we go! The second trip around got a little worse with the wind shifting to 310 @ 12Kt G 18Kt. Ok I thought.... a little cross wind practice. Thats why i came up today. Well who would've guessed that on final at 65Kts about 20ft above the runway here comes a strong gust of wind out of 310 that instantly picked me up, slowed me down, and tossed me right of the center line.

On the next trip around the pattern I was instructed to make right traffic and to extend my downwind to make way for an A-10 that was in the area practicing instrument approaches. That was a pretty cool sight as he passed me on the right at 1000ft no more than a mile away. ( I got a few good shots of him with my phone as he dominated the traffic pattern with some very steep banked turns and equally impressive steep climb outs.) after following him in once i got vectored out again to make way for the same A-10 in the pattern. As the controller called my base 6-7 miles out I politely told him I was going to call it a day. "734NM cleared to land 36" I was done. It was nice to get up in the old Nasty Mike again but man, I forgot how slow these 172's are. I miss the aerostar.... It even looks like it goes fast.

This is a great shot of a PA-60 taken by the famous CitationKid.

Yatta!

I did it! i had been meaning to make a short video of my adventures in flight for a while now and today i got it done. upon review of my pictures however, i noticed i did not have enough material. this video is part one of my flight experience. Theres a few photos from a solo flight or two, a dual x-country flight with Jason and my lady corie, and a selection of photos from me messing around in "nasty mike" with my friends. i'll be sure to make another short film of my instrument, multi, commercial, and CFI training experiences. For now though... enjoy part one of me chasing the dream of flight.

pics and vids

I took a flight over to St. George Island with my skydiving buddy Cory last weekend. en route he snapped a few photos and a video with his phone. the video he shot is of us on final for 36 at KTLH. actually we flew directly north from the coast so it really was something like a 30 NM final. you have to watch closely to tell that we are even moving as there was a pretty stiff wind coming out of the north west that day. if i remember correctly it was about a 30 degree crosswind lining up on 36 at about 15kts. i landed a little left of the center line unfortunately but its no biggie when your flying a cessna into tallahassee. we've got 150ft wide runways that are both over a mile long. more than enough wiggle room for x-wind landings. if you listen closely at the end of the video you can even hear the right main touch first, then the left, followed by the nose wheel. Jason would have been proud.

oh yeah, disregard cory's yelling in the background. its the first time he's taken off and actually landed in a plane in a while. normally he just jumps out of them. he was understandingly excited.

Cory (on the left) and I en route to St. George Island (F47)

Playing with the radios.... the one that works anyway.

the props blades are in the way, but you can see the tallahassee slightly to the right, and the field at KTLH straight ahead. i think we're over crawfordville here. i believe that's their water tower just off the right old nasty mikes nose.

here's the video