Pireps

[ct4me]

You still have an invitation to come North to Taylor for breakfast! I bet it would be a lot less work and possibly NO frequency changes!!!!!! AND better scenery!!....
Brian

'Still looking forward to that hot sauce!

[FrankR]

New Pirep.

I promised I was going to fly for BBQ, and I did. The Q was great, the flying was better.

A perfect day was planned for several days. I made sure I got on the schedule for three hours at lunchtime.

When I woke up, conditions were even better than planned. Calm, 10, Clear, mid 60's. Light, wispy, infrequent clouds up in the Flight Levels. Even the winds aloft was only 10kt.

The first, and only time I have flown with the wife, it was cloudy and bumpy with OVC 040. It was her first time in a plane "that small." It wasn't comfortable for her.

This time, it was like glass. I could take my hand off the stick and just nudge the rudders occasionally. Altitude stayed nailed and we indicated about 110 mph. I filed a flight plan and got flight following.

Runway choice was "your discretion" when I took off so I expected the same when I landed. I checked a nearby AWOS and got a reading that I didn't expect and I didn't believe. While I was 10 miles out, a pilot in the pattern was going to report the windsock observation but I never heard from him. So I prepared based on my discretion. There was nobody else in the patern when I got there.

5NC3, where the Pik 'n Pig is located is a small, private airport, 2500X35ft with significant trees 75 ft from the runway. A bit more challenging than the 6000X100 runway I am used to.

To top it off, the poor runway selection gave me a 5kt tailwind. I did look for the sock on downwind but didn't see it. I had been warned about this wind condition by the nearby AWOS but I refused to let that information sink in. Poor ADM, antiauthority; fighting with taking instruction from a machine. Need to bring that up with my therapist.

I extended downwind a bit but I was still high so I went around. I wanted the landing to e perfect for my wife. The second time, I adjusted my pattern appropriately, applied full flaps and nailed it. Not long after I landed, other pilots started landing in the other direction.

In all the excitement, I forgot to close my flight plan so I got a call on my cell from the FSS. I claimed "stupid new pilot" and he was nice about it.

Flight back was completely uneventful. The FSS couldn't hear me on my phone when I closed my flight plan so I closed it on my DUATS app on my phone. I called later to make sure it was actually closed.

1.3 on the hobbs and great BBQ. And best of all, my wife is OK with clear weather flying. Nothing scary happend (for her). Next stop for her, a trip in and out of RDU. For me practice check ride maneuvers for my transition to the Skycatcher in Tampa for our trip.

[langj]

Okay so here is my flight.

Date: 3/16/2013
Airplane: Zlin Savage Cub
Airport: San Jose, KRHV Reid-hillview
Conditions: IFR due to fog waited till 10am for VFR
Pilot: light sport licensed with an instructor

This was my first flight in a tail wheel aircraft and at a tower controlled airport. When I arrived at the airport to meet the instructor, Daniel Most, the condition were very poor with lots of fog. So we decided to go over the aircraft POH, and check all fluids in the aircraft and fill her up. Since we had the cowling off the instructor gave me a quick lesson on the parts of a rotax 912. Once we got the plane back together and put fuel in the fog was starting to break but the airport was still under IFR so we decided to get some taxi practice in and do a run up and see if the fog will lift by then. Lucky for me after a bit of learning how to taxi a tail wheel with "S" turns the fog lifted. I did all the radio work which was difficult being I have never dealt with a tower. The tower controllers were very nice and patient with me as I was really slow with my communications.

The instructor did the take off as I don't have my tail wheel endorsement and I followed along on the controls. I noticed the cub required a bit of dancing on the rudder peddles during take off but, she was in the air quickly. Once in the air we headed over to the practice area. I had control of the plan as soon as we were in the air I noticed the savage cub was extremely rudder sensitive and was really easy to over correct. It took a few minutes to get used to it. The trim on the plane was manual and required a bit of trial and error to get used to. The visibility was incredible from this plane. I have never flown a tandem aircraft before but have now fell in love with them. Being able to see out of both sides all the way to the ground was amazing.

Once in the practice area I wanted to see how she stalls. First up was a power on stall. The plane is not equipped with a stall warning but you really don't need one the plane will buffet and have a very distinct vibrating sound when in stall. The plane took the power on stall very well and for the most part started to correct it self. I just lightly brought the stick forward and we recovered. Now to the power off stall, I pulled the power back brought the nose up a bit and let her stall. Unfortunately, it did not perform as well as the power on stall. The plane stalled quickly and as soon as it started to buffet it started to dropped the right wing. I quickly brought the stick forward and gave a touch more left rudder and was recovered. After doing a few stalls I did steep turns to get more of a feel for the plane in both directions. Once I had a good feel for the plane we headed to the east a bit toward the mountains. I am used to mountain flying as all of my flying has been done in Nevada around Lake Tahoe. In fact I would call these more like tall hills then mountains. We flew over a reservoir which was beautiful and headed into a few canyons which was fun. There was plenty of room to turn around with this plane if we ended up going into a dead end. However, the instructor was very familiar with the area so I trusted him in knowing where we were going.
After a little over an hour of playing we headed back to the airport. I am sure the tower was like "oh no not him again" as they had to deal with my extremely slow radio communication. We flew a straight in for 13R. The plane has manual flaps which was new for me. Wow, it was a little harder then I thought to lower the flaps. We landed with full flaps. I brought it in till we were about 100 feet off the ground and the instructor took over. We landed back wheel first and then he brought the mains down with a little hop. It was not a smooth landing but surly not the worse I have seen or done. I taxied the plane back and we tied down. Now I have to save up for my tail wheel endorsement. I need to research though if there is any light sport qualifying tail wheel aircraft around Minden, Nevada that I can rent before I dump a bunch of money into it.

[jnmeade]

Well, I went out Sunday for some lollygagging around. A friend who is a very good CT pilot went with me. It was initially broken 3,000 but then became overcast 3500. A little gusty and turbulent. We flew around looking for a private strip and didn't find it. We were blind or it was no longer there.
Then I flew some 360s. Did some clearing turns first. At first at about 20-30 degrees, then at 45 and more. Generally did well, except let altitude get away from me on one. Did them at -6, 0 and 15° flaps. Takes a lot of rudder at 15°.
We watched numerous flocks of geese and ducks and talked about what to do in the event we feared a bird strike. I asked and he answered that he'd climb and the conventional wisdom is that birds would dive. I said I agree, and besides a better chance of separation, I'd prefer to present my belling to the bird rather than my windshield. I demonstrated a mild pull-up. He agreed we'd rather the bird hit the belly than our head.
We went to a nearby airstrip and did one landing into the wind and another with a 50° crosswind 10 gusting 16. The straight-in was uneventful. The crosswind took quite a bit of slip. The landing was OK but nothing to brag about. We chatted about why we preferred a slip to a crab.
Returning home, the wind was a little faster and more gusty. Another cross wind landing, but this time I did a poor job of managing the last couple of feet and we landed with more side load then I liked. I need some practice.
All in all, up for a short hour. Very low key, relaxing, shook off a few cob webs and showed where I need some more practice. A good day in the air. What more can one ask for?

[FrankR]

I have 2 hours scheduled with my CFI tomorrow, early afternoon.

KRDU 282340Z 2900/2924 33005KT P6SM FEW080

Looks good.

I planned to get signed off for three Wings activities: Takeoffs and Landings; Slow Flight and Stalls; and Airport Operations. Take some online classes and my BFR will be complete.

I may even try figuring a compass heading and an ETE to a nearby airport and demonstrate Navigation. Add Steep Turns and Emergency Decent and I practically have a checkride done.

[drseti]

I've done those three Wings flight activities with pilots (and also for my own Flight Review, with another CFI). To cover all the tasks, each took about an hour. So, I'm not sure 2 hours will be sufficient, unless you are very efficient (and are very close to your practice area).

[FrankR]

My whole checkride took about an hour.

[drseti]

Checkrides go a lot quicker than Wings flight activities, because the DPE is allowed to spot-check PTS tasks. With Wings, the CFI is required to have you demonstrate ALL the tasks listed in the activity.

[FrankR]

Had an excellent flight with my CFI.

-Airport operations-pre-flight and successful taxi and run up.
-Short field takeoff
-One pattern and a soft field landing to a stop and go
-Soft field takeoff
-Pilotage and ded reckoning to an airport 20 miles away
-After I identified the airport, a diversion was requested. I identified an airport, a rough heading, and a rough ETE.
-Slow flight, power off stall, power on stall
-Steep turn
-Back home with a couple of trips around the circuit with a short field landing.

1. 1 on the hobbs. What did I miss?

Clear skies, few at 080 but it was rough below the clouds. Did maneuvers at 085. In slow flight I got down to 22mph GS.

Why do Wings checkouts by a CFI have to be more intense than a checkride by a DPE?

[drseti]

Frank, go to FAASafety.gov and download the syllabi for each of those three Wings flight activities. They list, in detail, every required maneuver. To run through each of them completely requires close to an hour. On a checkride, the DPE is allowed to sample just a few of the tasks - if they are performed to PTS requirements, you're done. In the case of a Wings activity, since it is assumed the CFI has not been through DPE training, the FAASTeam requirement is that the CFI has to sign off every line item. Now, what you've done most certainly satisfies flight review requirements. Whether it satisfies Wings requirements is up to your CFI, but at 1.1 Hobbs total, it is possible that all required tasks were not demonstrated. You should check the syllabus for each activity (with which your CFI will be familiar if he or she is an FAA Safety Team representative, but otherwise might not have read unless you gave him or her a copy).

Bear in mind that, though any CFI can sign off Wings flight activities, only registered FAA Safety Team reps go through the required training every two years to know the program requirements and latest changes. This is, IMHO, a minor flaw in the system. And now, the FAA budget slashers want to privatize the Wings program! Since it's now run by volunteers, how this would save money is beyond me.

[jnmeade]

Checkrides go a lot quicker than Wings flight activities, because the DPE is allowed to spot-check PTS tasks. With Wings, the CFI is required to have you demonstrate ALL the tasks listed in the activity.

"Additionally, you should know that an activity valued at one (1) credit does not
necessarily equal one hour of flight training. Your CFI decides when you have
successfully completed this activity and can, in most cases, be shorter than one hour of
flight time. That flexibility makes the WINGS effort not much more expensive than a
standard flight review."

From the Wings guide

I have a hard time believing a proficient pilot would take an hour at most airports to do the following:

From the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards for Airplane
Area of Operation IV, Task A: Normal and Crosswind Takeoff and Climb
Area of Operation IV, Task B: Normal and Crosswind Approach and Landing
Area of Operation IV, Task F: Short-field Approach and Landing
Area of Operation IV, Task L: Go-Around/Rejected Landing

This is two take-offs, three landings and a go-around.
Put another way, four approaches and therefore four take-off/departures.

[jnmeade]

I was looking at Wings about claiming credit for some dual I've received recently and was surprised to find no way to bring up the kinds of flying I'd done.
How does one search for or define activities other than those listed as suggested flight activities?

[FrankR]

Log in and go to:

Activities, Courses, Seminars & Webinars -> Activities

Select:

Program: Wings (button)

Select the Basic, Advanced, or Master button then put a check mark by the Flight Activities, then press the Search button.

The activities will come up.

[drseti]

I have a hard time believing a proficient pilot would take an hour at most airports to do the following:

That really depends a lot on the airport, Jim. At some of the towered airports out of which I operate, with multiple intersecting runways, complex taxiways, and air carrier traffic, a single circuit of the pattern with full stop landing and taxi-back takes 15 to 20 minutes. I've had students wait ten minutes at the hold-short line waiting for a takeoff clearance. That's one of the reasons I moved my flight training operation to Lock Haven.

Someone operating from a less busy field will indeed be able to do those tasks in much less time.

[jnmeade]

Log in and go to:

Activities, Courses, Seminars & Webinars -> Activities

Select:

Program: Wings (button)

Select the Basic, Advanced, or Master button then put a check mark by the Flight Activities, then press the Search button.

The activities will come up.

Some come up, but a very cursory list. In my case, 62 items, most of which don't apply to me.