*-)- welcome aboard *-)-
just me. my current interests and stories for the interwebs.
Even though we set a new record in the lowest winning percentage to enter the playoffs and capture a division in the MLB, you have to give it to the Padres for a great year. Check them out at Playoffs Padres vs Cardinals on ESPN. Hopefully they'll do okay today. Go PDARES!!!
*update* apparently we lost, but we did have a small rally. Not enough, but its a good start. Hopefully we can win the rest! SD 5 STL 8 final score :(
That's right! We manhandled the superbowl champs! To top it off, it was in their house too! Damn, I miss watching them live! Can't wait for next Monday night's game against the Steelers. We need another W!
*updated* Check out more pictures at signonsandiego.com
In my garage...that's where. We caught it and it was so freaking viscious. It was jabbing at us from inside the tupperware like it was going to just take a bite. Rusty let is loose in the yard next door. So, we're expecting it to make it back.
Two thumbs up! I must say that today was "one of those days" but in a good sense. It was the day that I needed after a couple of those "seven out of ten" flights that made me feel confident that I would be ready for next week. I need to study an awful lot, but it's what weekends are for. Now that there is football, the weekend has turned into only Saturday.
My roommate, Matty P. came along for the ride as an observer to check up on Manoj and I. He's in the interment phase of flying right now and just wanted to see what the Seminole was all about. With the added weight, we took 10 less gallons of fuel and knew that our short fields and maneuvers were going to be to a little different. When I say different, I mean by how the plane was going to react due to the added weight and shift in center of gravity. Manoj's flight went really well in which it was something that I was faced to compete with. I mean, I didn't need to out perform him, but the standard was set pretty high. He flew the wings off of the PA44.
I executed two short field landings, one with a feather like landing and the other a little on the rough side due to my foot being on the top part of the rudder controls on landing (that's where the brakes are). I did a "textbook" power-off stall and then a power-on stall followed by an emergency descent. It was great. I felt really good about everything. I was back to where I was just a week prior. I guess you might say that I'm just more experienced! I love flying!
There was a graduation that took place today. Another 5 cadets were given their diplomas and 4 bar epaulets. I hope that they are placed right away. We also had a little dinner get together at my house in the evening which turned out to be pretty chill. Some of the new guys came over for Laura's Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes and Deviled Eggs. It was good stuff. Now, I'm about to head off to bed and wake up bright and early for some studying! Can't wait!
We switched out back at X47 and began our flight over the ocean to practice some maneuvers. I did a power off stall, and a Vmc demo along with an Emergency Descent. I must admit that I need another flight to keep my currency in doing those maneuvers. They weren't that pretty. I was getting mixed up and confused on what things to do inside the plane. So, yes I will end up doing them again tomorrow.
After we were done, we flew around a bit listening in to Daytona approach and got ready for just the VOR-A back into Flagler. After about 10 mins, we just decided to head back because we couldn't get a word in. It was almost as if, they didn't hear us. Our radios checked fine, but due to time constraints, we had to head back. I was a little disappointed in my flight today, but I know that we a little bit more paper flying (sitting in front of a diagram of the inside of the Piper Seminole PA44) I will be able to get the steps down packed. I was even studying at dinner today. Of course right now, I'm not studying at all, but whatever.
We have another graduation tomorrow which should pose for some good fun. Time to talk and get to know everyone again. It's weird knowing that I am the third ranked senior in the Piston stage of things at CAPT. I remember walking in like the little kid who didn't know what was going on. I still don't anything but that's probably because I'm comparing myself to the ones ahead of me. I think that its kind of cool!
Today was exciting! Weather was coming in and as we landed in Titusville (KTIX) it started to rain a little bit. It slowly got worse and we knew that we had to switch out quickly. We swapped seats and I began to power up. As I cleared the left and right engine, rain poured down violently but the sky was clear to the east. We called up ground, got clearance, ran up and spoke to tower. Tower advised us that the winds change to 360 and that the storm wasn't too bad at the opposite end of the runway. As soon as we departed, we got a clearance to head east bound along the river but not to pass across the river because we were already edging Cape Canaveral's Restricted Airspace. Weather got better as we climbed out and up to 4400" Taking off in pouring rain was an exciting feeling. I probably wouldn't have done it if I wasn't with my instructor, or if I hadn't looked at radar while on my own.
I called up Daytona Approach for flight following and decided that I could fit an approach, the ILS 7L into KDAB, before we headed north for some maneuvers. As I was getting vectored around for the final approach course, we noticed that there was Cat 4 / 5 storms building up right on the approach end. I called up approach for an advisory and they told me that it was okay. I proceeded and my instructor while I was on final cut one of the engines. I proceeded inbound whilst correcting for the adverse thrust. I got off of the localizer a bit but managed to stay on glideslope. I got back to my course heading and went around. Avoiding any weather, we headed north and did some emergency descents, power on and off stalls, slow flight and then saw a huge buildup just west of Flagler (X47). We decided that it would be a good idea to head home. As we were on the 45 degree entry, people were calling around that while there were 5 in the pattern, they wanted to change runways from 11 to 24. The wind was variable as a storm was coming, so 11 was still okay. There was just a lot of traffic and some aircraft even started calling names. As one aircraft went around because of the traffic on runway 11, he decided to just begin landing on 24 while were just landing on 11. As we were rolling on 11 right because 24, we saw the other plane land. It was just ridiculous. Bunch of idiots I tell ya. No respect.
So, about my flight today. I would probably rate it as a 7 out of 10. I didn't feel like I was on top of anything at all. It's such a disappointment to me to know that I'm so close to a checkride and that I'm actually not progressing anymore. I'm actually getting worse. It stinks so bad! Oh well, I have the rest of the week to rebuild my confidence.
Click the Treo pic for an updated picture. -->
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Today was the first day that we finalized the shut down sequence of an inoperable engine. It was kind of exciting to see the plane flying with one propeller spinning and the other just standing still. The shutdown procedure wasn't that difficult either. The restart was a little weird with the fuel pumps on because it gave way to a jolt of fuel and engine propeller spinning that yawed the plane back and forth. Even after that motion, the propeller still wasn't fully on. After restarting, things went accordingly. I departed from St. Augustine and headed south along the coastline.
Along the way, I did some steep turns and had a little bit of a hard time because I didn't have a horizon to use to look outside. I ended up wavering a bit in altitude but after just concentrating on my adjustments, I was able to maintain.
From KSGJ to KDAB, it's 49 nautical miles, so according to regulation, we were just 1 mile short. It was ridiculous. We then just figured that I should head a little bit more south to New Smyrna Beach for a touch and go to complete the distance requirement. The GPS 29 into KEVB was okay but I was getting a little of course when the engine failure occurred. I got back, did a touch and go and off we went. We then headed to KDAB for the ILS 7L and both of these approaches were done with single engine simulation. I wasn't on the dot as I was yesterday, but I wasn't that far off either. On to tomorrow. At this pace, I'll have my Private Multi-Engine License by the end of next week.
There's a picture of the prop in the feathered state on trelijah.
A picture of a full feathered prop at 4200 feet. Looks weird in the air to see an engine not working. :-)
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So, it was my turn today to execute and complete lesson 9 which encompassed single engine approaches. I decided to keep the first two close (bad idea) and then head over to Orlando, Sanford (KSFB) for the ILS 9L. Before I taxied to the runway, I setup everything and anything I could to keep me ahead of the plane. I had 1 full approach setup with the 2nd on the GPS and the ILS frequency set as the standby nav freq. I felt like it was going to be a good flight. It did take a while, but hey, I rather spend more time on the ground prepping to keep my airwork to a minimal.
We took off to the east over the water from runway 11 X47 and once setup, I called up Daytona Approach for the VOR 17 into KOMN followed by the GPS 23 into KDED. I knew that the engine was going to go out at one point during the final approach leg, but I wasn't sure when. Of course, it goes out when Daytona Approach transfers me to Ormond Tower. I got it under control and didn't lose my heading or directional control. I executed the missed which actually lead straight into the final approach leg into Deland. It was happening so fast. I knew that it was going to happen this way, but instead, I decided to get my Nav 1 setup for the GPS 23 instead of looking at the other set of instruments. I didn't activate the approach on the GPS 1, so I turned to intercept the wrong course. I got it together once Manoj and my instructor noticed that I was turned the wrong way, but I intercepted and got right to it. The engine was cut off right when I was descending from DONGS intersection to the MDA but we changed that to stay above 1000 feet. We broke off early for traffic avoidance and headed for Orlando Class B.
I briefed the approach which was going to start pretty quickly, called up 121.1, Orlando Approach to ask them for clearance. We got it right away, and began heading in that direction. This time, as I was turning to intercept the final approach course, my right engine went out. Of course, the Glideslope was alive and trying to maintain 88 kias with one engine was getting a little difficult. I raised the flaps and stayed right on it. Runway in sight, I was instructed to complete a single engine landing. I was maintaining directional control but I started to drift to the right of centerline and over corrected to the left. We landed a little to the left and even floated a bit because I had too much single engine power. I was able to make a soft landing but it wasn't what I wanted. I think that I'll try more tomorrow.
I also want to check out Miami because my friend Scott from CA is visiting there. He's on a business trip, but I thought that it might be cool to fly down there and have some lunch or something. We'll see, but I highly doubt it. Anyone want to come?
*Check out TECH Rants* or click there -->
I think that I should actually change the name of the new site. I'll just be reviewing everything and anything. That's what its going to be about.
*Check out TECH Rants* or click there -->
Manoj and I began doing single engine approaches in the Piper Seminole around the Daytona Beach Area starting with the VOR 17 into KOMN immediately followed by the ILS 7L into KDAB x 2 and then ending with the GPS 11 back into X47 (Flagler County Airport). It was a good time. Of course, we got the engine out right when we turned onto final within 4 miles DME of the OMN VOR. Manoj and flying and trying to maneuver while I was actually just acting as pilot monitoring. Flying those approaches with an emergency on your hands is a bit difficult. I am definitely sure though that with the training that CAPT will give us and emphasis on this kind of flying will only make us better pilots. Its amazing how much "emergency" type situations we are put through. We then continued to KDAB and just finished up the lesson with 1.9 on the Hobbs. I wasn't able to do my lesson because of duty time and the fact that we were having a CAPT BBQ. Nathan's Grilled Hot Dogs, chips and Diet Coke, it was a good afternoon. I actually ate three dogs today. Good stuff.
I told my girlfriend just recently, that here at CAPT, we fly for the fun of learning but about 90% of what we learn and practice is for the "just in case" type scenario. That is a good reason why we, pilots, earn the bucks. Just think of how much training and recurrent training we have to go through. Fly with me, and I'll show you what I know. Of course, there are many others that are much more knowledgeable, but come on, I can get your from point A to point B. Not too many people can.
I also got to ride my friend's Triumph Bonneville 800 cc bike around the block and bit. I then took it back to Flagler Airport's Restaurant called High Jackers which is about 3 miles away. It was a nice ride and I got to approximately 50 mph. Good stuff. It was my first time riding at night, let alone a bike on the street, but I had a blast. Yes, I had full protection and was clicking my lights every time I saw an automobile coming. I would love to ride with other people all the time. It's different riding by yourself because you can hear your own voice all the time. There is no music or nothing. Just the sound of cars, the wind and the feeling of anxiety inside. Maybe I'll get a chance to ride it by the ocean. I've heard that it is a good cruise up the shore.
Here's a picture of the bike:
We have 4 Piper Seminoles at CAPT. This morning there were four but by the time I got to campus 1.5 hrs before our scheduled flight, I found out that all four were down. N923ER was getting a new engine back at main campus, N926ER had a high oil pressure reading, N935ER was also getting the same indications and would be ready later, but it was going to a student who had a DE ride, and N208CA was down for a broken attitude indicator. Seems as if, I have written up almost all these planes for something and I'm only on lesson 9 of private multi. 208CA get a new atttidue indicator but it was a rebuilt one and I guess that it just tumbled again. All four planes should be up tomorrow and ready to go. Manoj and I arne't necessarily using our time wisely because we ended up just hanging out for 2 hours at school doing nothing, went home and watched the rest of Disc 6 of Lost Season 1.
I tried to edit the template of my new Tech blog and posted two reviews and announcements. So far so good. How can I drive traffic to the site now?
This weekend should be fun. We are having a BBQ at CAPT tomorrow at 1700 EDT. It is the first social event that we are having. I look forward to it.