Wednesday night I went to the airport right after work as planned to go over last minute test prep prior to my Thursday lesson. I brought every book Chris had loaned me, with dozens of post-its with writing marking the pages I might want to reference. I also brought my books, a flight plan to Provincetown and the normal equpitment, such as my headset.
Chris sat me down and told me about the IACRA, a form that MUST be completed for a checkride to take place and for a pilot's license to be issued. As he filled out his portion on the computer I asked him the 10-15 questions I had come with.
Once we'd gotten the first bit of review done, Chris looked at my logbook and noticed I didn't have enough solo time yet: I needed 10 hours and I had less than 9. So he told me to go fly. I could do whatever I wanted, but had to just put some time on. So I went.
During the run-up at the end of the taxi-way I noticed the left magnito was dirty. (The magnitos keep the engine turning, and you need to check both prior to take-off. When one is dirty, the RPMs drop more than they're supposed to when performing a check - max drop should be 125 - and the engine sounds like it coughs.) I pumped the mixture as Chris demonstrated in a previous flight where we'd had that problem, and that cleared it out. I took-off on runway 36 to fly to the practice area and work on some basics, talking (out loud) my way through everything I intended to do during tomorrow's flight.
Everything went just fine, but it was getting late. I decided to head back to Oxford and requested a touch-and-go. I was cleared for the option, which means I could do whatever I wanted, but had to follow a Gulfstream in. I set up for a long final to make sure it had plenty of room, but ended up possibly giving it more than I needed to. Better safe than sorry, I figured.
As I came in I called the tower back and requested to change the touch-and-go to a full-stop, since it was getting dark. I had really wanted to practice short and soft field landings, but I was running out of time. The tower called back and - sounding a little like I was stupid - reminded me I was clear for the option. I knew I was, but I wanted to give them the heads up. As a pilot you need to let ATC's comments not effect you personally; just let them slide right off. (Actually, as I was flying to the practice area I heard the controller telling another pilot off: "Next time let me know what you intend to do before you do it. We don't just do whatever we want to around here." It was harsh, but the pilot clearly didn't didn't sound too upset.) This isn't to say ATC should be ignored; just have thick skin if they're rude.
I performed my landing and taxied back to parking before getting out to finish studying with Chris. We had already reviewed my flight plan to Provincetown and figured out that the weight and balance of the airplane wouldn't allow a flight that long with full feul, so I was going to make a stop through Groton to fill back up to 15 gallons on the way. Chris also showed me how to compute take-off and landing distances, something I had read about before, but he and I never went over.
At about 9:30 I left to go back to my house. I had to review the manuevers, remember the V_x (best speed for distance climb), V_y (best speed for time climb) and V_r (speed to pitch the nose up for take-off) and calculate the flight plans (with weather) and weight and balance. It was going to be a long night. I finally stopped working around 11:40, but didn't fall asleep until at least midnight, probably a bit after.
Thursday was the moment of truth.
Showing posts with label radios. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radios. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Cross Country Solo - Finally!
After getting back from my week-long vacation on Saturday, Chris's schedule and the weather haven't played along. Finally last night things came together, and I made my solo cross-country flight to Groton.
I got to the airport just minutes after 6 and was all signed-off and behind the yoke by 6:30. During the preflight I noticed some water got in with the fuel, but I managed to drain it all out and have Chris confirm I was clear to fly. I was. My instructions were simple: fly to Groton, then fly back. If I felt uncomfortable with the landing, do a missed-landing (which is generally the same as a go-around, though a go-around implies you'll try landing again). I could do some touch-and-gos there, just land and taxi back for another take-off -- whatever I wanted. Chris said he wouldn't be there when I got back, but to call him and let him know I got back safe. Walking away he wished me good luck, and issued a final - less than reassuring - command: "don't die."
The taxi, run-up and take-off all went fine. I kept my flight plan to Groton, my sectional, and my baseball cap (to block the sun from my eyes) on the empty seat next to me, along with the return trip flight plan tucked away. I'm a very visual person, and I've been visualizing this flight ever since Chris and I first made it together, so while I did locate every checkpoint on my flight plan, I forgot the first one (Waterbury) until it was behind my left shoulder. I knew where I was going, and could probably make the flight without checkpoints, but to keep the practice up I used them. Past Waterbury though I was getting nervous when I hadn't seen Meriden Aiport (MMK) yet. I had been drifting a little further south than I wanted since the heading indicator kept sticking, but the airport should still be in sight. Finally I came upon it -- I was expecting it to be closer to the ridge I flew over already, but it was further east than I remembered. I confirmed my mistake on the sectional and now I probably won't make that one again.
On the way there the sky was clear, the winds were calm and I had little-to-no work that I really needed to do. I was flying GREAT! Looking out the window - scanning for traffic - check the ground for emergency landings and reference points - glance at the instruments to make sure everything was OK - back to looking outside, repeat. After a little while I started noticing some faint sounds in my headset -- it certainly wasn't air traffic. I listened closer and realized it was definitely a radio station, as in AM or FM radio. I couldn't tell exactly what was being said or played, but once I realized my radios seemed to still work, I was just amused by it. Strangely, it stayed in my headset even when I changed to other frequencies. I just shrugged it off -- at first.
As I got Groton in sight I had been checking their ATIS to make sure I knew what to expect when I got there. They were using runway 23, which was the same one Chris and I used when we made the flight together. I had mixed feelings about that: I'm familiar with that approach and landing which is a plus, but coming from Oxford I'm set up perfectly for a straight-in landing on runway 15. Well, I certainly wasn't going to ask the tower for special permission, so runway 23 it was.
During my flight to Groton I had used the "digital VOR" that I've mentioned in a few previous posts to get my heading and distance to Groton, so I knew when to call and inform them I was close to entering their airspace. I realized after I could have used the checkpoints on the ground instead, since I had measured those distances previously, but I liked having multiple systems to double-check. As I got closer and closer to Groton I wanted to call the tower and run-off all the information I wanted to give them: "Groton Tower, Cesnna 48984 12 to the West-Northwest, solo student requesting landing, taxi-back, with Delta." I made the call, but I knew I was a little more than 12 miles out, despite my report. This was when things got interesting.
Although Groton Tower heard my request, they called me back informing me that my radios were fuzzy and asked if I had another I could use. Not sure what to do, I simply called back, speaking louder and more clearly, asking "984, is this better?"
"984, not really, you're still pretty scratchy, but I can make you out. Report 3 mile right base."
"984, will report 3 mile right base, thank you."
As I was getting closer and lower to the airport, suddenly my radios freaked out. It sounded like the channels on a TV that are only static, with no one talking. As I was getting close to my 3 mile mark I considered calling the tower and asking if they heard it to -- or if they could hear me at all. I worried that my radios had died completely and that I was going to either be making a landing by coded lights (something I'd studied a bit, but wasn't a master at, and certainly wasn't prepared for) and wondered if I should turn my transponder to 7600, the code for "no radios". First, I thought, let me try my call to tower.
"984, entering 3 mile left-- err, sorry, right base."
Luckily, the static died when I called. Then:
"984, clear to land runway 23," they called me back
"984, clear to land," I confirmed.
On the way down I noticed they gave someone else clearance to take off on runway 23 ahead of my landing. I was a little surprised, but I slowed down a little more to make sure he had space. My landing was smooth and I was cleared to taxi back for my take-off. The traffic had really died down and I was the only one currently using the runway, so I was cleared to take off as soon as I'd requested it.
I requested a turn Northwest and was cleared. While climbing I noticed another plane above me to my right -- exactly where I wanted to go. He radioed the tower and was entering a right downwind. A few seconds later tower called me:
"984, I'll call your turn"
"984, could you repeat that?"
[A moment passes in silence.]
"Groton Tower, 984, could you repeat the last instruction?"
"984, I'll call you when you can make your turn out."
"984, waiting for your call, traffic in sight."
"984, you're clear to turn after that traffic."
I love radios. I don't understand why people are so afraid of them; yeah, you might mess-up on it and sound like an idiot, but they really are wonderful tools. And not being too afraid to ask for that command to be repeated could have saved me big trouble had I not seen the incoming traffic.
The rest of my climb to 4500' was smooth, and once I was out of the Groton airspace I called tower requesting a frequency change, and thanked him for his help. Now I was just flying back towards Oxford -- straight into the sunset.
Hmm... straight into the sunset. It was beautiful, certainly, but I couldn't see squat. I took some pictures with my phone (which came out funny due to the prop) which I'll get uploaded at some point. UPDATE: Here are the photos, finally!
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I tried looking for traffic, but it was hindered by the glare. Also, as the sun was going down things were getting darker. That started making me concerned, but I reassured myself that I was very familiar with this flight, and that I had the tools and knowledge to get back, even if it was dead night. The fact that the cold air vent was open and blowing on me just made things less comfortable.
Once I was on my way, and realized I couldn't make the plane go a whole lot faster (in an attempt to beat the sunset), I decided to find my checkpoints and fix the things that were annoying me. First, I put on my baseball cap on under my headset to block the sun better. Second, I grabbed the air vent's plug from the back of the plane and shoved it in. Third, I reattached the visor which had fallen off while I was climbing. Finally, I took off my sunglasses once the sun was behind the mountains, which helped clear things up a bit.
As I got closer to Oxford I heard the faint radio music playing. I'm sure it wasn't "A Whole New World" from Alladin, but for some reason I got that song in my head. Appropriate for flying, I guess.
I'd had some troubles with the "digital VOR" earlier -- it was giving me two different headings and distances to Oxford -- but now it seemed consistent: I was 12 miles out with a perfect heading. Wait, 12 miles already? Oops! Time to get ATIS! Got it and called Oxford Tower. I was told to report a 3 mile right base (that sounded familiar), but as I got closer I heard the tower talking with another plane who was going for a straight in to the runway. As tower called me to inform me of the plane ("it probably shouldn't be a factor for you, but I'll call it anyway") I got it in sight and informed the tower. They called back "984, clear to land #2 following that traffic."
I'd turned on all my lights so it would be easier for the tower to see me, as well as any other traffic. The runway was all lit up, though it wasn't technically a night landing yet. I set up perfectly, and finally figured out giving that little push of left rudder as-needed during my landing at Groton (though at Groton I felt like I swerved on the landing a tiny bit; practice will help). As I attempted my flair, however, the plane refused to level out. I just "sat" on the runway. It bounced slightly, though it wasn't a rough landing. Strange. I'm still not sure why it happened, but I was done for the night, so I didn't worry about it.
As I was cleared to taxi back to parking I considered asking the tower if he had any problems with my radios, but decided not to bother him with it. I'd let Chris know when I called him after I tied the plane down.
I parked and performed the tie down and logbook entries, then, as I was walking away from the plane, I got a phone call from Chris. I didn't get back until 8 o'clock, so it was an unusually long flight, though Chris's major concern was because they had actually shut down Oxford's runway for 15 minutes due to a plane that landed with its brakes on. Oops! Strangely, it was actually the Extra (a VERY fancy stunt plane) that did the run-up behind me prior to my departure from Oxford. Anyway, he was glad I was back and safe. I told him about the radios and how I picked up some AM or FM station. Apparently there were two things at play: 1. the actual VOR was left on, which caused interference, and 2. the radio's connections needed to be cleaned. Chris is supposed to have that taken care of today so I can perform my long-cross-country (150 miles minimum) tonight.
Tonight's flight: OXC-GON-EWB-OXC, all solo. And I've never been to EWB before, so I better get studied up! Assuming things go as planned tonight, I'll be making another post soon.
I got to the airport just minutes after 6 and was all signed-off and behind the yoke by 6:30. During the preflight I noticed some water got in with the fuel, but I managed to drain it all out and have Chris confirm I was clear to fly. I was. My instructions were simple: fly to Groton, then fly back. If I felt uncomfortable with the landing, do a missed-landing (which is generally the same as a go-around, though a go-around implies you'll try landing again). I could do some touch-and-gos there, just land and taxi back for another take-off -- whatever I wanted. Chris said he wouldn't be there when I got back, but to call him and let him know I got back safe. Walking away he wished me good luck, and issued a final - less than reassuring - command: "don't die."
The taxi, run-up and take-off all went fine. I kept my flight plan to Groton, my sectional, and my baseball cap (to block the sun from my eyes) on the empty seat next to me, along with the return trip flight plan tucked away. I'm a very visual person, and I've been visualizing this flight ever since Chris and I first made it together, so while I did locate every checkpoint on my flight plan, I forgot the first one (Waterbury) until it was behind my left shoulder. I knew where I was going, and could probably make the flight without checkpoints, but to keep the practice up I used them. Past Waterbury though I was getting nervous when I hadn't seen Meriden Aiport (MMK) yet. I had been drifting a little further south than I wanted since the heading indicator kept sticking, but the airport should still be in sight. Finally I came upon it -- I was expecting it to be closer to the ridge I flew over already, but it was further east than I remembered. I confirmed my mistake on the sectional and now I probably won't make that one again.
On the way there the sky was clear, the winds were calm and I had little-to-no work that I really needed to do. I was flying GREAT! Looking out the window - scanning for traffic - check the ground for emergency landings and reference points - glance at the instruments to make sure everything was OK - back to looking outside, repeat. After a little while I started noticing some faint sounds in my headset -- it certainly wasn't air traffic. I listened closer and realized it was definitely a radio station, as in AM or FM radio. I couldn't tell exactly what was being said or played, but once I realized my radios seemed to still work, I was just amused by it. Strangely, it stayed in my headset even when I changed to other frequencies. I just shrugged it off -- at first.
As I got Groton in sight I had been checking their ATIS to make sure I knew what to expect when I got there. They were using runway 23, which was the same one Chris and I used when we made the flight together. I had mixed feelings about that: I'm familiar with that approach and landing which is a plus, but coming from Oxford I'm set up perfectly for a straight-in landing on runway 15. Well, I certainly wasn't going to ask the tower for special permission, so runway 23 it was.
During my flight to Groton I had used the "digital VOR" that I've mentioned in a few previous posts to get my heading and distance to Groton, so I knew when to call and inform them I was close to entering their airspace. I realized after I could have used the checkpoints on the ground instead, since I had measured those distances previously, but I liked having multiple systems to double-check. As I got closer and closer to Groton I wanted to call the tower and run-off all the information I wanted to give them: "Groton Tower, Cesnna 48984 12 to the West-Northwest, solo student requesting landing, taxi-back, with Delta." I made the call, but I knew I was a little more than 12 miles out, despite my report. This was when things got interesting.
Although Groton Tower heard my request, they called me back informing me that my radios were fuzzy and asked if I had another I could use. Not sure what to do, I simply called back, speaking louder and more clearly, asking "984, is this better?"
"984, not really, you're still pretty scratchy, but I can make you out. Report 3 mile right base."
"984, will report 3 mile right base, thank you."
As I was getting closer and lower to the airport, suddenly my radios freaked out. It sounded like the channels on a TV that are only static, with no one talking. As I was getting close to my 3 mile mark I considered calling the tower and asking if they heard it to -- or if they could hear me at all. I worried that my radios had died completely and that I was going to either be making a landing by coded lights (something I'd studied a bit, but wasn't a master at, and certainly wasn't prepared for) and wondered if I should turn my transponder to 7600, the code for "no radios". First, I thought, let me try my call to tower.
"984, entering 3 mile left-- err, sorry, right base."
Luckily, the static died when I called. Then:
"984, clear to land runway 23," they called me back
"984, clear to land," I confirmed.
On the way down I noticed they gave someone else clearance to take off on runway 23 ahead of my landing. I was a little surprised, but I slowed down a little more to make sure he had space. My landing was smooth and I was cleared to taxi back for my take-off. The traffic had really died down and I was the only one currently using the runway, so I was cleared to take off as soon as I'd requested it.
I requested a turn Northwest and was cleared. While climbing I noticed another plane above me to my right -- exactly where I wanted to go. He radioed the tower and was entering a right downwind. A few seconds later tower called me:
"984, I'll call your turn"
"984, could you repeat that?"
[A moment passes in silence.]
"Groton Tower, 984, could you repeat the last instruction?"
"984, I'll call you when you can make your turn out."
"984, waiting for your call, traffic in sight."
"984, you're clear to turn after that traffic."
I love radios. I don't understand why people are so afraid of them; yeah, you might mess-up on it and sound like an idiot, but they really are wonderful tools. And not being too afraid to ask for that command to be repeated could have saved me big trouble had I not seen the incoming traffic.
The rest of my climb to 4500' was smooth, and once I was out of the Groton airspace I called tower requesting a frequency change, and thanked him for his help. Now I was just flying back towards Oxford -- straight into the sunset.
Hmm... straight into the sunset. It was beautiful, certainly, but I couldn't see squat. I took some pictures with my phone (which came out funny due to the prop) which I'll get uploaded at some point. UPDATE: Here are the photos, finally!
I tried looking for traffic, but it was hindered by the glare. Also, as the sun was going down things were getting darker. That started making me concerned, but I reassured myself that I was very familiar with this flight, and that I had the tools and knowledge to get back, even if it was dead night. The fact that the cold air vent was open and blowing on me just made things less comfortable.
Once I was on my way, and realized I couldn't make the plane go a whole lot faster (in an attempt to beat the sunset), I decided to find my checkpoints and fix the things that were annoying me. First, I put on my baseball cap on under my headset to block the sun better. Second, I grabbed the air vent's plug from the back of the plane and shoved it in. Third, I reattached the visor which had fallen off while I was climbing. Finally, I took off my sunglasses once the sun was behind the mountains, which helped clear things up a bit.
As I got closer to Oxford I heard the faint radio music playing. I'm sure it wasn't "A Whole New World" from Alladin, but for some reason I got that song in my head. Appropriate for flying, I guess.
I'd had some troubles with the "digital VOR" earlier -- it was giving me two different headings and distances to Oxford -- but now it seemed consistent: I was 12 miles out with a perfect heading. Wait, 12 miles already? Oops! Time to get ATIS! Got it and called Oxford Tower. I was told to report a 3 mile right base (that sounded familiar), but as I got closer I heard the tower talking with another plane who was going for a straight in to the runway. As tower called me to inform me of the plane ("it probably shouldn't be a factor for you, but I'll call it anyway") I got it in sight and informed the tower. They called back "984, clear to land #2 following that traffic."
I'd turned on all my lights so it would be easier for the tower to see me, as well as any other traffic. The runway was all lit up, though it wasn't technically a night landing yet. I set up perfectly, and finally figured out giving that little push of left rudder as-needed during my landing at Groton (though at Groton I felt like I swerved on the landing a tiny bit; practice will help). As I attempted my flair, however, the plane refused to level out. I just "sat" on the runway. It bounced slightly, though it wasn't a rough landing. Strange. I'm still not sure why it happened, but I was done for the night, so I didn't worry about it.
As I was cleared to taxi back to parking I considered asking the tower if he had any problems with my radios, but decided not to bother him with it. I'd let Chris know when I called him after I tied the plane down.
I parked and performed the tie down and logbook entries, then, as I was walking away from the plane, I got a phone call from Chris. I didn't get back until 8 o'clock, so it was an unusually long flight, though Chris's major concern was because they had actually shut down Oxford's runway for 15 minutes due to a plane that landed with its brakes on. Oops! Strangely, it was actually the Extra (a VERY fancy stunt plane) that did the run-up behind me prior to my departure from Oxford. Anyway, he was glad I was back and safe. I told him about the radios and how I picked up some AM or FM station. Apparently there were two things at play: 1. the actual VOR was left on, which caused interference, and 2. the radio's connections needed to be cleaned. Chris is supposed to have that taken care of today so I can perform my long-cross-country (150 miles minimum) tonight.
Tonight's flight: OXC-GON-EWB-OXC, all solo. And I've never been to EWB before, so I better get studied up! Assuming things go as planned tonight, I'll be making another post soon.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Finally Solo'd - Just not to Groton
Sorry it's been so long since I updated, but here's a summary of how things are going...
Saturday afternoon I arrived at the airport just before it started pouring. Huge storms were rolling in, so I helped move the airplanes around and tie them down. There was clearly going to be no flying that day; there were thunderstorms all over New England and winds gusting to 60mph. I hung around the airport for a bit, then finally left, scheduled my next lesson for Tuesday, since I couldn't make it before then.
Monday night my plans freed up, but Chris wasn't able to make it when I called him (and he said the weather wasn't good enough anyway), so no lesson then.
Yesterday was looking good. I was worried that the clouds were too low, so I was tracking them all day: 1-800-WX-BRIEF, AviationWeather.gov, OXC ATIS (Oxford's Automated Weather line). Everything said the lowest clouds were 3600-3900' -- just high enough -- and moving up. At lunch I thought "I should call Chris" but upon asking myself "why? To say: 'see you tonight'? I'll just see him at 6."
So I got to the airport a little after 6 only to find Classic Air Services (the company Chris works for) closed and locked. So I called him and left a voicemail. When he called back he confirmed what I expected: he was at his house, and the weather wasn't good enough for me to go. I wasn't too happy, but I knew I should have called him earlier so I wasn't mad with him. He suggested I do some touch-and-gos solo (he wasn't too worried about the insurance; I'm a much better pilot now so he just warned me to be careful), since I was there already. Considering how much I wanted to fly, that I wanted to practice some solo landings and I needed more solo time, this sounded good to me. So I hopped in the plane and went. Have I mentioned how great it feels to be able to do that?
Start-up, taxi-out, engine run-up: everything was fine. I remembered to set my transponder to ALT (so I can be tracked by ATC if needed), something that I've been forgetting in recent flights. As soon as I got enough speed and took off I was climbing FAST. Normally I would be very happy with this, but for some reason it was extra bumpy today. So I gave it some nose-down trim to slow my climb, and made my left-turn cross-wind fairly shallow, using rudder to swing the plane around. During my run-up the airport had gotten VERY busy, so when I called tower to request my first touch-and-go he told me to extend my down-wind so other traffic could come in first. No problem -- I just kept going straight past the airport...
I was starting to get concerned when I was 3 miles away from Oxford (which isn't as far as non-pilots might think, but I've normally turned within half that distance). I was getting ready to call tower and remind them of my position (I was NOT going to turn without their permission; that would get me in a lot of trouble and risk hitting another plane) when finally they called me:
"984, I've lost sight of you. Where are you now?"
"This is 984, I'm about 3 to the Northwes-- sorry, Northeast."
"Ok, I see you. When you get to 4, turn final and report."
"984, will report final turn at 4"
I got a little past 4 by the time I completed my turn to base, but that worked well because when I turned final there were so many people talking (including one person who ATC started yelling at to reply) that I didn't get to call until I was 4 miles out. I called just after ATC had given someone else clearance to land.
"Oxford Tower, this is 984, I'm at a 4 mile final."
"984, you're number 2 to land following traffic turning base. Continue at the slowest possible speed you safely can."
"984, number 2, looking for traffic, slowing down."
A few seconds later I found the traffic and reported it. Once he landed I was clear to land. As I came in I turned on the carb heat and dropped in my flaps. By the time I had it all in I felt like I was going very slow, but my airspeed indicator said I was going at least 80. As soon as I got over the airport it got VERY bumpy. It felt like a crosswind from the east was pushing me left of the runway, but I used rudder properly and stayed calm and confident -- key in any landing. I performed my touch-and-go and was told to make left traffic again, so I did. Climb up was just as bumpy as last time, but now the clouds looked like they were starting to creep down.
Nothing too exciting about that touch-and-go. Traffic had slowed down; the only two staying in the pattern were myself and another student pilot who was landing and taxiing back. As I came in for that second touch-down I heard their conversation:
"Oxford tower this is Hotel 81 holding short of 18 request take-off."
"Hotel 81, hold short."
"Roger that."
"Hotel 81, repeat back the command. State intentions."
"Oh, I'm looking to do 3 more landings and taxi back."
"Hotel 81, no, I mean: when a controller tells you to hold short the pilot is required to repeat 'holding short' back"
"Oh. Hotel 81 holding short. Sorry, student pilot."
I was surprised at how patient the controller sounded. He must have been in a good mood (he did congratulate a previous pilot on his short landing earlier). It was probably Ben, who was in the tower on the day Chris took me up to tour it.
During climb-out this time I was told to make right-traffic, so I did. The clouds on the left looked like they were getting higher again, so it seemed like I was directed to the cloudier side. I knew this was because there was some traffic east of the airport (which was to my left as I departed runway 18), but I still thought it was funny. I'd hardly ever done right traffic off runway 18 before, so it was certainly a good experience to see what it looked like from there. I was going to make this my full-stop landing, but ATC called me before I could contact them and cleared me for another touch-and-go, so I figured I'd go for it.
All of my landings were fine, but during this take-off I encountered serious force pushing me left. I don't know if it was just the force of the prop turning, or if there was a gust of wind too or something. I'd been building up my speed on the runway pretty high before take-off on my previous climbs, but this time I decided to pull back a little since I wasn't keeping center line very well after that force. I should have just corrected with right rudder; I'll remember that for next time. Minor mistake considering I already had plenty of airspeed, but still something to work on.
This time during climb out the ATC called me:
"984, the pattern is clear so you can make any traffic either way. Which do you want?"
"984, I'll make right traffic again, thanks."
"984, right traffic approved."
That was pretty cool, being given an option by the controller. Seriously, whoever this guy was he was my ideal ATC.
I went right to get more familiar with that pattern, since, as I'd said before, I wasn't used to it. At mid-field I called and requested a full-stop.
"984, you're clear to land number 2 following traffic turning left base. Report insight."
"984, clear to land number 2, looking for traffic."
[A moment passes.]
"984, traffic in sight."
I extended my downwind again, but only about a 1/2 mile this time (as opposed to the 3 miles the first time). I came in for my landing and touched down smoothly. (I need to remember to focus my eyes on the END of the runway once I enter my flair, it always makes my landings so much better.)
Then came the best part of the whole evening:
"984, taxi back with me via Alpha. And I don't know if you're a student, but you held your own very well in the unusual pattern today, very good work."
"984, taxiing via Alpha. And yes, I'm a student, and thank you very much! Have a good evening."
"Thanks, you too."
Having an air traffic controller commend you on your flight performance? One of the highest compliments I can think of while acting as pilot in command. I'm still pretty proud of myself for that.
I taxied back, shut down the plane and tied it down, double-checking to make sure I entered the time in both logbooks, performed the shut-down correctly and had properly tied the plane down. Chris had left me a message apologizing for the night's confusion, and suggesting that the weather was supposed to be very good on Thursday. I called back and left him another message, mostly just letting him know I landed safe, tied the plane down and was "go" for Thursday. On my drive out I checked ATIS one last time -- the clouds were now at 1700' -- pattern altitude. I was correct about my observations while flying. Always a nice thing to confirm.
Today it's pouring out and foggy all around. Hopefully Chris's forecast for tomorrow will be correct. Either way I'll be making another post soon. All next week (Saturday to Saturday) I'll be on vacation with my family (and girlfriend) at Sandbridge Beach in Virginia, so Chris and I are trying to get my solo in before then. Thursday looks like it's our best shot.
We'll see soon enough. Until then, here's hoping for good weather.
Saturday afternoon I arrived at the airport just before it started pouring. Huge storms were rolling in, so I helped move the airplanes around and tie them down. There was clearly going to be no flying that day; there were thunderstorms all over New England and winds gusting to 60mph. I hung around the airport for a bit, then finally left, scheduled my next lesson for Tuesday, since I couldn't make it before then.
Monday night my plans freed up, but Chris wasn't able to make it when I called him (and he said the weather wasn't good enough anyway), so no lesson then.
Yesterday was looking good. I was worried that the clouds were too low, so I was tracking them all day: 1-800-WX-BRIEF, AviationWeather.gov, OXC ATIS (Oxford's Automated Weather line). Everything said the lowest clouds were 3600-3900' -- just high enough -- and moving up. At lunch I thought "I should call Chris" but upon asking myself "why? To say: 'see you tonight'? I'll just see him at 6."
So I got to the airport a little after 6 only to find Classic Air Services (the company Chris works for) closed and locked. So I called him and left a voicemail. When he called back he confirmed what I expected: he was at his house, and the weather wasn't good enough for me to go. I wasn't too happy, but I knew I should have called him earlier so I wasn't mad with him. He suggested I do some touch-and-gos solo (he wasn't too worried about the insurance; I'm a much better pilot now so he just warned me to be careful), since I was there already. Considering how much I wanted to fly, that I wanted to practice some solo landings and I needed more solo time, this sounded good to me. So I hopped in the plane and went. Have I mentioned how great it feels to be able to do that?
Start-up, taxi-out, engine run-up: everything was fine. I remembered to set my transponder to ALT (so I can be tracked by ATC if needed), something that I've been forgetting in recent flights. As soon as I got enough speed and took off I was climbing FAST. Normally I would be very happy with this, but for some reason it was extra bumpy today. So I gave it some nose-down trim to slow my climb, and made my left-turn cross-wind fairly shallow, using rudder to swing the plane around. During my run-up the airport had gotten VERY busy, so when I called tower to request my first touch-and-go he told me to extend my down-wind so other traffic could come in first. No problem -- I just kept going straight past the airport...
I was starting to get concerned when I was 3 miles away from Oxford (which isn't as far as non-pilots might think, but I've normally turned within half that distance). I was getting ready to call tower and remind them of my position (I was NOT going to turn without their permission; that would get me in a lot of trouble and risk hitting another plane) when finally they called me:
"984, I've lost sight of you. Where are you now?"
"This is 984, I'm about 3 to the Northwes-- sorry, Northeast."
"Ok, I see you. When you get to 4, turn final and report."
"984, will report final turn at 4"
I got a little past 4 by the time I completed my turn to base, but that worked well because when I turned final there were so many people talking (including one person who ATC started yelling at to reply) that I didn't get to call until I was 4 miles out. I called just after ATC had given someone else clearance to land.
"Oxford Tower, this is 984, I'm at a 4 mile final."
"984, you're number 2 to land following traffic turning base. Continue at the slowest possible speed you safely can."
"984, number 2, looking for traffic, slowing down."
A few seconds later I found the traffic and reported it. Once he landed I was clear to land. As I came in I turned on the carb heat and dropped in my flaps. By the time I had it all in I felt like I was going very slow, but my airspeed indicator said I was going at least 80. As soon as I got over the airport it got VERY bumpy. It felt like a crosswind from the east was pushing me left of the runway, but I used rudder properly and stayed calm and confident -- key in any landing. I performed my touch-and-go and was told to make left traffic again, so I did. Climb up was just as bumpy as last time, but now the clouds looked like they were starting to creep down.
Nothing too exciting about that touch-and-go. Traffic had slowed down; the only two staying in the pattern were myself and another student pilot who was landing and taxiing back. As I came in for that second touch-down I heard their conversation:
"Oxford tower this is Hotel 81 holding short of 18 request take-off."
"Hotel 81, hold short."
"Roger that."
"Hotel 81, repeat back the command. State intentions."
"Oh, I'm looking to do 3 more landings and taxi back."
"Hotel 81, no, I mean: when a controller tells you to hold short the pilot is required to repeat 'holding short' back"
"Oh. Hotel 81 holding short. Sorry, student pilot."
I was surprised at how patient the controller sounded. He must have been in a good mood (he did congratulate a previous pilot on his short landing earlier). It was probably Ben, who was in the tower on the day Chris took me up to tour it.
During climb-out this time I was told to make right-traffic, so I did. The clouds on the left looked like they were getting higher again, so it seemed like I was directed to the cloudier side. I knew this was because there was some traffic east of the airport (which was to my left as I departed runway 18), but I still thought it was funny. I'd hardly ever done right traffic off runway 18 before, so it was certainly a good experience to see what it looked like from there. I was going to make this my full-stop landing, but ATC called me before I could contact them and cleared me for another touch-and-go, so I figured I'd go for it.
All of my landings were fine, but during this take-off I encountered serious force pushing me left. I don't know if it was just the force of the prop turning, or if there was a gust of wind too or something. I'd been building up my speed on the runway pretty high before take-off on my previous climbs, but this time I decided to pull back a little since I wasn't keeping center line very well after that force. I should have just corrected with right rudder; I'll remember that for next time. Minor mistake considering I already had plenty of airspeed, but still something to work on.
This time during climb out the ATC called me:
"984, the pattern is clear so you can make any traffic either way. Which do you want?"
"984, I'll make right traffic again, thanks."
"984, right traffic approved."
That was pretty cool, being given an option by the controller. Seriously, whoever this guy was he was my ideal ATC.
I went right to get more familiar with that pattern, since, as I'd said before, I wasn't used to it. At mid-field I called and requested a full-stop.
"984, you're clear to land number 2 following traffic turning left base. Report insight."
"984, clear to land number 2, looking for traffic."
[A moment passes.]
"984, traffic in sight."
I extended my downwind again, but only about a 1/2 mile this time (as opposed to the 3 miles the first time). I came in for my landing and touched down smoothly. (I need to remember to focus my eyes on the END of the runway once I enter my flair, it always makes my landings so much better.)
Then came the best part of the whole evening:
"984, taxi back with me via Alpha. And I don't know if you're a student, but you held your own very well in the unusual pattern today, very good work."
"984, taxiing via Alpha. And yes, I'm a student, and thank you very much! Have a good evening."
"Thanks, you too."
Having an air traffic controller commend you on your flight performance? One of the highest compliments I can think of while acting as pilot in command. I'm still pretty proud of myself for that.
I taxied back, shut down the plane and tied it down, double-checking to make sure I entered the time in both logbooks, performed the shut-down correctly and had properly tied the plane down. Chris had left me a message apologizing for the night's confusion, and suggesting that the weather was supposed to be very good on Thursday. I called back and left him another message, mostly just letting him know I landed safe, tied the plane down and was "go" for Thursday. On my drive out I checked ATIS one last time -- the clouds were now at 1700' -- pattern altitude. I was correct about my observations while flying. Always a nice thing to confirm.
Today it's pouring out and foggy all around. Hopefully Chris's forecast for tomorrow will be correct. Either way I'll be making another post soon. All next week (Saturday to Saturday) I'll be on vacation with my family (and girlfriend) at Sandbridge Beach in Virginia, so Chris and I are trying to get my solo in before then. Thursday looks like it's our best shot.
We'll see soon enough. Until then, here's hoping for good weather.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Danbury, but Not Groton
I still haven't been able to do my solo to Groton; the weather has been hazy or rainy every night that Chris and I have free. (Tonight actually looks good, but neither of us can make it -- go figure.)
On Wednesday we tried again (as I mentioned in the last post). When I got to the airport it was clearly too hazy for me to go solo, so Chris brought me inside and proposed two options: we could fly to New Haven or Danbury to get experience flying to other airports, or we could stay here and do test prep ground work. I'm always weary about Chris testing me - baiting me to want to fly in weather I shouldn't in order to teach me a lesson. I certainly wouldn't have gone solo in this, I noted, but I couldn't turn down the chance to fly, especially to a new airport.
So we went! As we got in the plane, Chris said "I'm just here so you're legal," indicating I was [mostly] on my own for the flight. Before take-off Chris had me find Danbury on the map and request the proper turn-out (west) of Oxford. This also gave me a chance to find ATIS and the tower codes for Danbury on the sectional, since I hadn't prepared a flight plan prior. Good things to do for a flight to another airport -- I made a mental note.
Everything went fine. I had a minor mistake on the radios (when calling Oxford Ground I forgot to actually request the taxi to runway 18) but other than that it was a good flight. On the climb out, Chris and I saw a hot air balloon off the right wing, but we climbed above it, then lost it in the thick haze. We suspect it landed, but were careful not to get too close to where we last saw it, since it has the right-of-way. (The less manuverable aircraft always has the right of way.)
On the way Danbury I saw the city, but started worrying because I couldn't see the airport (and the "digital VOR" I'd talked about previously said it was 5 miles directly in front of me). Finally I saw it (double-checking my sectional helped a lot) about a mile PAST the city. We already had clearence for a straight-in landing (my favorite!), so when tower said we were now #1 to land, we flew right in for a touch-and-go.
I came in high and fast, but managed to slow it down and get low. It looked like a very short runway, but I checked the sectional after the flight: 4400 feet. I can land on half that. I think the hills we flew over on the climb out made it feel shorter. Either way, we did just fine on the touch-and-go and Chris congradulated me on it. (Again I made a minor mistake on the radios though, originally requesting a south-east departure; Chris revised it to north-east during climb out.)
On the way back I made a few minor mistakes (though overall it was a great flight). They were: creeping into the runway at Danbury as we flew back to Oxford, imperfect navigation in the pattern at Oxford (we had to land fast since a solo pilot was coming in for a landing too) and a slightly tail-left landing. I do that landing way too often. I need to ask Chris how to fix it (left rudder??).
Overall it was a great flight. The 0.8 hours put me from 39.8 to 40.6, breaking the 40-hour barrier. (For those who don't know, 40 hours is the legal minimum for a private pilot's license, though I still have more stuff to do.) I got to see a new airport, fly without a flight plan, found it myself, did radios [almost] completely alone and had decent landings all-around. I wish I could do that kind of flight every day!
Chris and I planned for me to come back on Thursday for the solo to Groton, but rain and haze kept me from even wasting a drive to the airport. I'm hoping to go up Saturday afternoon - let's just hope mother nature cooperates this time.
On Wednesday we tried again (as I mentioned in the last post). When I got to the airport it was clearly too hazy for me to go solo, so Chris brought me inside and proposed two options: we could fly to New Haven or Danbury to get experience flying to other airports, or we could stay here and do test prep ground work. I'm always weary about Chris testing me - baiting me to want to fly in weather I shouldn't in order to teach me a lesson. I certainly wouldn't have gone solo in this, I noted, but I couldn't turn down the chance to fly, especially to a new airport.
So we went! As we got in the plane, Chris said "I'm just here so you're legal," indicating I was [mostly] on my own for the flight. Before take-off Chris had me find Danbury on the map and request the proper turn-out (west) of Oxford. This also gave me a chance to find ATIS and the tower codes for Danbury on the sectional, since I hadn't prepared a flight plan prior. Good things to do for a flight to another airport -- I made a mental note.
Everything went fine. I had a minor mistake on the radios (when calling Oxford Ground I forgot to actually request the taxi to runway 18) but other than that it was a good flight. On the climb out, Chris and I saw a hot air balloon off the right wing, but we climbed above it, then lost it in the thick haze. We suspect it landed, but were careful not to get too close to where we last saw it, since it has the right-of-way. (The less manuverable aircraft always has the right of way.)
On the way Danbury I saw the city, but started worrying because I couldn't see the airport (and the "digital VOR" I'd talked about previously said it was 5 miles directly in front of me). Finally I saw it (double-checking my sectional helped a lot) about a mile PAST the city. We already had clearence for a straight-in landing (my favorite!), so when tower said we were now #1 to land, we flew right in for a touch-and-go.
I came in high and fast, but managed to slow it down and get low. It looked like a very short runway, but I checked the sectional after the flight: 4400 feet. I can land on half that. I think the hills we flew over on the climb out made it feel shorter. Either way, we did just fine on the touch-and-go and Chris congradulated me on it. (Again I made a minor mistake on the radios though, originally requesting a south-east departure; Chris revised it to north-east during climb out.)
On the way back I made a few minor mistakes (though overall it was a great flight). They were: creeping into the runway at Danbury as we flew back to Oxford, imperfect navigation in the pattern at Oxford (we had to land fast since a solo pilot was coming in for a landing too) and a slightly tail-left landing. I do that landing way too often. I need to ask Chris how to fix it (left rudder??).
Overall it was a great flight. The 0.8 hours put me from 39.8 to 40.6, breaking the 40-hour barrier. (For those who don't know, 40 hours is the legal minimum for a private pilot's license, though I still have more stuff to do.) I got to see a new airport, fly without a flight plan, found it myself, did radios [almost] completely alone and had decent landings all-around. I wish I could do that kind of flight every day!
Chris and I planned for me to come back on Thursday for the solo to Groton, but rain and haze kept me from even wasting a drive to the airport. I'm hoping to go up Saturday afternoon - let's just hope mother nature cooperates this time.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Cross Country & Rain
Well, the rain went away in time for the weekend! In fact, the weather forecast for Saturday was "calm winds, clear below 12,000' and visibility greater than 10 miles." In other words, perfect conditions. When I got to the airport though, Chris seemed skeptical. He showed me AviationWeather.gov and showed how everything was great -- except the dew point. You see, the closer the tempature and the dew point are, the more hazy the conditions are. Well, turns out they were pretty close on Saturday.
After telling me we weren't going to Groton (which has only 1 "T" in it, oops!), Chris said we could still go up and possibly divert somewhere else. So we went, using the flight plan I made the previous night.
The ride was smooth (except under one cloud), but hazy the whole way. I kept waiting for Chris to tell me to divert to another airport, but I kept finding my checkpoints en route and he seemed pleased with that. He showed me how to use the VOR, which I grasped the basics of, and we used that until Groton was in sight. I got ATIS and called the tower. The guy there was CRANKY! Chris warned me that all ATCs are like this, and that the guys at Oxford are just really cool. Great.
There was a lot of traffic at Groton, and the ATC's voice was speaking faster than I could listen. As soon as I finished talking to him, he'd already be on the radio again talking back to me -- so fast that I'd miss the "984" that he'd start his reply with to indicate he was talkign to me. I had to turn to Chris a few times and ask "was that directed to us?"
We did our landing and taxiied back, giving me a chance to see the airport a little. There are two runways (and a third that had been closed down) which cross each other to make an "X", runway 23/5 and 15/33. We landed -- and took off -- on runway 23, right over the water. After we climbed to 1000' we turned right and Chris made me fly back with no navigation tools: no flight plan, no map, no VOR and without the digital system (which basically acts like a digital VOR). All I could use was my eyes and memory. I made a mistake at one point of thinking Meriden was Waterbury, but corrected it as we got closer.
My big mistake of the flight actually took place within the traffic pattern. We were #2 to land, so I was extending my downwind before turning to base. Then I made a stupid mistake -- part out of stupid reasoning and partly out of just not thinking -- I extended my base. Here's a visual:
The problem is that the traffic patter isn't just flown to the left of the runway, but to the right of it too. Sure enough, I flew into the right side when I extended my base, while there was traffic there. I never saw any, so I couldn't have been about to hit it, but Chris took the controls and jerked the plane to the left. I don't know if it was really as dramatic as he made it seem, but you can be sure I won't forget a sudden 60 degree bank left just before landing. That's a mistake I'll be thinking about more when I'm in the pattern from now on.
We landed and Chris told me that (aside from that stupid mistake) my navigation was great. My radios with Groten could have been better (I called them "Oxford" before take-off, and told them we were North-East -- when we were really North West -- when entering their space, though I corrected myself on that one), but overall he was VERY impressed. He sincerely didn't expect us to make that flight, but I had done well. If the weather on Sunday was good, I'd be making the trip solo. I was nervous at the idea of that, but if Chris trusted me, I could too. He has pretty high expectations.
I left that afternoon praying for good weather.
That night I woke up between 4 and 5 am to pouring rain and sounds of thunder. "Shit," I thought. "Flying's off." When I woke up around 9:30 (what good's the weekend if you can't sleep in?) the rain and thunder had passed, but it was cloudy and wet outside. Chris called and we agreed to meet anyway, but not go flying unless it really cleared up. Thirty minutes later there was signs of the sun and Chris called again. We were flying. I called 1-800-WX-BRIEF to get a forecast to Groton, and they warned me of thunderstorms on my route. So we were flying, but I wasn't going to solo even if Chris let me.
I got to the airport and things were looking down again. Any signs of the sun had hidden behind the clouds. Chris and I sat down and he explained VORs to me in more detail -- how they work, how to read them, etc. Then he pulled out the "pre-cross-country solo exam." I wasn't prepared for this; I quit studying after I passed the written. I filled it out as best I could, certain I failed. After I handed it to Chris he informed me that the score didn't matter: I just had to go over it with him. In fact, he thought a few of the questions were wrong as he graded it, but it was done, and that was the important thing.
We checked the weather and he suggested a few touch-and-gos. I informed him I would not do them solo, but that if he was up for it, alright. So we went for "three landings" Chris said. When we got to pattern altitude (1700' at Oxford) visibility was 5 miles at best. I made a tighter turn from base to final to not repeat past mistakes and came in for the landing. Chris told me to perform a go-around, so I gave it full throttle, carb heat (I was thinking of the Goodspeed incident as I did it) and the first notch of flaps up. Chris radioed that we were doing the go around. Second and final notches of flaps, sequentially. I nailed it.
Just before turning to base some rain appeared on the windsheild. I asked Chris if we should land it, cause I wasn't looking to fly through rain. "Nope, we do one more," he said.
While on final it was raining more. I wanted to touch-down and stop. "You sure?" I asked.
"Positive," Chris said. So we did the touch-and-go.
Upon the final turn to downwind I found myself entering a cloud (which Chris called "fog"; I don't see a difference) at 1700'. We decended to 1600' to get clear of it, but I had had about enough. The visibility must have been down to 3 miles and it was still raining. We performed the final landing (worse than the previous one) and taxiied back.
Overall it wasn't too bad. Chris said I "freaked out", but I just don't think Chris has ever seen me freak out. I thought I was using good judgement to say "hey, let's not fly through rain." It wasn't until we finished that Chris said it was good practice in case I ever find myself in that situation. Good point. Thinking about it that way I wish we'd done more practice. He's always got a good reason for what he does -- I'm just a little to slow to pick up on it sometimes.
The next flight is schedule for 6pm on Tuesday. Weather pending, I'll solo to Groton then. Wish me luck.
After telling me we weren't going to Groton (which has only 1 "T" in it, oops!), Chris said we could still go up and possibly divert somewhere else. So we went, using the flight plan I made the previous night.
The ride was smooth (except under one cloud), but hazy the whole way. I kept waiting for Chris to tell me to divert to another airport, but I kept finding my checkpoints en route and he seemed pleased with that. He showed me how to use the VOR, which I grasped the basics of, and we used that until Groton was in sight. I got ATIS and called the tower. The guy there was CRANKY! Chris warned me that all ATCs are like this, and that the guys at Oxford are just really cool. Great.
There was a lot of traffic at Groton, and the ATC's voice was speaking faster than I could listen. As soon as I finished talking to him, he'd already be on the radio again talking back to me -- so fast that I'd miss the "984" that he'd start his reply with to indicate he was talkign to me. I had to turn to Chris a few times and ask "was that directed to us?"
We did our landing and taxiied back, giving me a chance to see the airport a little. There are two runways (and a third that had been closed down) which cross each other to make an "X", runway 23/5 and 15/33. We landed -- and took off -- on runway 23, right over the water. After we climbed to 1000' we turned right and Chris made me fly back with no navigation tools: no flight plan, no map, no VOR and without the digital system (which basically acts like a digital VOR). All I could use was my eyes and memory. I made a mistake at one point of thinking Meriden was Waterbury, but corrected it as we got closer.
My big mistake of the flight actually took place within the traffic pattern. We were #2 to land, so I was extending my downwind before turning to base. Then I made a stupid mistake -- part out of stupid reasoning and partly out of just not thinking -- I extended my base. Here's a visual:
The problem is that the traffic patter isn't just flown to the left of the runway, but to the right of it too. Sure enough, I flew into the right side when I extended my base, while there was traffic there. I never saw any, so I couldn't have been about to hit it, but Chris took the controls and jerked the plane to the left. I don't know if it was really as dramatic as he made it seem, but you can be sure I won't forget a sudden 60 degree bank left just before landing. That's a mistake I'll be thinking about more when I'm in the pattern from now on.
We landed and Chris told me that (aside from that stupid mistake) my navigation was great. My radios with Groten could have been better (I called them "Oxford" before take-off, and told them we were North-East -- when we were really North West -- when entering their space, though I corrected myself on that one), but overall he was VERY impressed. He sincerely didn't expect us to make that flight, but I had done well. If the weather on Sunday was good, I'd be making the trip solo. I was nervous at the idea of that, but if Chris trusted me, I could too. He has pretty high expectations.
I left that afternoon praying for good weather.
That night I woke up between 4 and 5 am to pouring rain and sounds of thunder. "Shit," I thought. "Flying's off." When I woke up around 9:30 (what good's the weekend if you can't sleep in?) the rain and thunder had passed, but it was cloudy and wet outside. Chris called and we agreed to meet anyway, but not go flying unless it really cleared up. Thirty minutes later there was signs of the sun and Chris called again. We were flying. I called 1-800-WX-BRIEF to get a forecast to Groton, and they warned me of thunderstorms on my route. So we were flying, but I wasn't going to solo even if Chris let me.
I got to the airport and things were looking down again. Any signs of the sun had hidden behind the clouds. Chris and I sat down and he explained VORs to me in more detail -- how they work, how to read them, etc. Then he pulled out the "pre-cross-country solo exam." I wasn't prepared for this; I quit studying after I passed the written. I filled it out as best I could, certain I failed. After I handed it to Chris he informed me that the score didn't matter: I just had to go over it with him. In fact, he thought a few of the questions were wrong as he graded it, but it was done, and that was the important thing.
We checked the weather and he suggested a few touch-and-gos. I informed him I would not do them solo, but that if he was up for it, alright. So we went for "three landings" Chris said. When we got to pattern altitude (1700' at Oxford) visibility was 5 miles at best. I made a tighter turn from base to final to not repeat past mistakes and came in for the landing. Chris told me to perform a go-around, so I gave it full throttle, carb heat (I was thinking of the Goodspeed incident as I did it) and the first notch of flaps up. Chris radioed that we were doing the go around. Second and final notches of flaps, sequentially. I nailed it.
Just before turning to base some rain appeared on the windsheild. I asked Chris if we should land it, cause I wasn't looking to fly through rain. "Nope, we do one more," he said.
While on final it was raining more. I wanted to touch-down and stop. "You sure?" I asked.
"Positive," Chris said. So we did the touch-and-go.
Upon the final turn to downwind I found myself entering a cloud (which Chris called "fog"; I don't see a difference) at 1700'. We decended to 1600' to get clear of it, but I had had about enough. The visibility must have been down to 3 miles and it was still raining. We performed the final landing (worse than the previous one) and taxiied back.
Overall it wasn't too bad. Chris said I "freaked out", but I just don't think Chris has ever seen me freak out. I thought I was using good judgement to say "hey, let's not fly through rain." It wasn't until we finished that Chris said it was good practice in case I ever find myself in that situation. Good point. Thinking about it that way I wish we'd done more practice. He's always got a good reason for what he does -- I'm just a little to slow to pick up on it sometimes.
The next flight is schedule for 6pm on Tuesday. Weather pending, I'll solo to Groton then. Wish me luck.
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