The Sky(lane) is all mine to explore!

Plane: Cessna 182 RG 
Route: MGY-USW-HTW-LUK-MGY 
Instructor: Matt
Weather - MGY: Clear, 68-79 degrees, wind variable at 5-8 knots
Weather - HTW: Clear, 78 degrees, wind light and variable
Weather - LUK: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 250 degrees at 5 knots

Today started with one goal - fly enough hours to complete my checkout in the club Skylane RG. At this point, it's all about making the insurance company happy, as Matt has said he's confident I can fly the airplane. I'm happy to report we did just that today; I'm now signed off to fly the plane whenever and wherever I please!

We passed over Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky this morning

We didn't have a specific plan and the weather to the north was not particularly conducive to small airplane flight; there were a ton of storms in the northern part of Ohio and Michigan. I've been watching the weather for the past day and it seemed the best option would be to fly south or east. It seems Matt had the same idea - he suggested we fly to Spencer, WV.

After loading the flight plan (with an intermediate fix to avoid the hot Buckeye MOA southeast of Dayton) I departed on Runway 2 and turned east. After leveling off, we chatted about avionics and ADS-B for a while. The air was calm and cool at 5,500 feet and it was a beautiful morning to fly. We loaded the RNAV Runway 10 approach and let the autopilot fly the heading while I managed our altitude. Matt talked me through some of the nuances of instrument approaches and staying ahead of this fast airplane.

I didn't slow down early enough - this is definitely something I'm still getting a feel for - so I didn't maintain the most stabilized approach into Boggs Field Airport (USW). There was another plane operating NORDO in the pattern so I braked moderately after a carrier landing to turn off midfield (there's no taxiway) and get out of his way. We shut the plane down and wandered around the empty airport for a few minutes.

We had Boggs Field Airport all to ourselves this morning

A hangar was open but the airport was otherwise deserted

The winds were still light and variable so, with the engine turning again, I taxied for departure on Runway 28. Matt made the very good point that there aren't many places to go if your engine quits in hilly West Virginia. Accordingly, I circled the field while climbing and we turned on course towards Huntingtion after we'd reached about 3,000 feet.

Boggs Field Airport, just north of Spencer, WV, after our departure

The flight down to Huntington wasn't long and the skies were still clear, if a bit hazy. We planned to land at Lawrence County Airpark, which is located just across the Ohio River from Huntington. It has a relatively short (3,000 feet) runway in fair condition (which may be a generous assessment) so it would be a good opportunity to use short field techniques.

There was a bit of haze from the hot, humid air

Landing options in an emergency became a point of discussion again as we approached Huntington. With rising hills on both sides of the river and development in between, you're in a bit of a pickle as you approach to land at HTW. At some point, you obviously have to descend, but that leaves you with very few options besides the river should something go awry. There really is no one correct answer and it was a good discussion to have.

Huntington, WV on the left bank of the Ohio River

I crossed midfield to enter a left downwind for Runway 28. With the previous discussion in mind, I remained a bit higher than usual, lowering all my flaps and managing my descent and speed by reducing power on final. I touched down not too far past the threshold and was easily able to stop in about 1,500 feet with moderate braking.

We back-taxied and departed again on Runway 28. I used a typical short field technique - full power holding the brakes, then release, keep the nose on the ground, and then rotate and climb at about 60 knots until clear of the trees on the opposite end of the runway. Clear of the obstacles, I raised the gear and flaps and Matt took the controls.

It's not every day you find an asphalt runway that needs to be mowed

Matt had me put on my hood just after takeoff. He flew the plane for a few minutes while I got that adjusted and took a look at some approach charts. We planned to fly direct FGX (Fleming-Mason Airport in Kentucky) and then to Lunken Airport in Cincinnati for a practice approach. But it became so incredibly bumpy (a bunch of clouds were suddenly forming in the hot, humid air rising over the low hills) that he instead just decided we should proceed directly to LUK.

I used the autopilot at first but started hand-flying as we were handed off to Cincinnati Approach and the controller was about to begin providing vectors for the ILS Runway 21L approach at Lunken. He turned us north, then west, and then we intercepted the ILS and began our track towards the airport. Clearly I have a long way to go before I'm a remotely competent instrument pilot, but our preparation did seem to help me on this approach.

For the most part, I didn't excessively overcorrect at any point. We crossed the initial approach fix (an ADF) and I already had the plane slow and stable enough that I could basically just start to follow the ILS down towards the runway. Near the very end I overcorrected and turned slightly off course but seconds later Matt told me to remove my hood; I lost our excess airspeed and landed smoothly on Runway 21L.

We taxied off the runway and Lunken Tower soon cleared us for takeoff in the opposite direction from Runway 3L back to Wright Brothers. It only took about 15 minutes to get back - certainly beats the hour drive. This final landing was by far my best of the day, very smooth and right on the centerline. A fitting way to end the whole long checkout process.

At the same time, I still have much to learn. While I'm far more comfortable in 7YG than I was a month ago, I know it will take some time for things to become second nature. Take for example the cowl flaps - I've never flown a plane with them before and, for the life of me, I still struggle to remember when to open and close them.

I don't think it's a shock to report I'm thrilled to be done with the checkout. Now I can take the family, friends, and coworkers flying. With a plane closer to home, in a hangar, at an airport with a paved runway and lights, the utility factor just increased a great deal. Toss in the fact it's 50% faster than anything I've flown before, she's quite the bird.

Here's to many great trips in the sky in the Skylane RG.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 4.0 hours
Total Time: 389.1 hours

Breakfast, PIREPs, blue skies, and a hood

Plane: Cessna 182 RG 
Route: MGY-PCW-MGY 
Instructor: Matt
Weather - MGY: Clear, 70 degrees, wind 220 degrees at 10 knots
Weather - PCW: Clear, 68 degrees, wind 240 degrees at 13 knots

We've spent a good bit of time tooling around the local area as I've been learning the new plane; today was an opportunity to let the Skylane take us where she really shines - covering lots of ground, quickly. Our plan this morning was to fly up to Port Clinton for breakfast at the Tin Goose Diner. I had never been, despite many recommendations from pilot friends and fellow bloggers. Both Dave and Chris have raved about it for years!

It truly was a spectacular morning to fly

I'd called the airport last night to have them top the plane off, so we had 88 gallons on board - more than enough to get there and back and then do it all over again had we wanted to. Sidenote here: being able to call someone and have the plane fueled and ready whenever I arrive at the hangar may be the best part of this whole club thing. Everything checked out during my preflight and we took off on Runway 20 shortly before 9:00.

The sky was totally clear, visibility unrestricted, and we had a mild tailwind. What more can you ask for? Once I'd leveled off and engaged the autopilot (perhaps the second-best part of the plane) Matt and I chatted about ADS-B for a bit. Then he suggested I file a PIREP. Long story short, the system still works and I remember how to negotiate it! It took a couple different frequencies and a little patience but eventually we had a clear connection with Cleveland Radio and I was able to provide the CAVU conditions along with the temperature and winds aloft.

Hey, my PIREP made it into the system!

This plane, as advertised, does a darn fine job moving one from Point A to Point B. It only took a few minutes over an hour to get from Wright Brothers to Port Clinton; to drive would have taken about three. As I descended from 5,500 feet to pattern altitude, we were scooting across the ground at over 220 mph even with the throttle pulled back.

163 knots = nearly 190 mph across the ground - that'll do!

Entering the downwind for Runway 27, I dropped the landing gear and kept slowing the plane. By the time I turned final I was at about 80 knots and I lowered the flaps to 30 degrees. The wind was blowing well about 30 degrees off the runway heading so I was active on the controls all the way down. I touched down just slightly skewed but overall it was a decent landing.

Breakfast was indeed quite tasty. Matt had eggs and French toast and I opted for the country fried steak, which hit the spot. We talked about instrument flying and filed an IFR flight plan for the trip home so I could get some experience in the system.

This place definitely notched a spot on my $100 hamburger list

Just after takeoff, I put on my hood while Matt called Cleveland Approach for the initial ATC check-in. I hand-flew through our turn on course and climb to 8,000 feet, then leveled off, trimmed the plane out, and leaned the mixture while making a few more radio calls and taking a handoff to Mansfield Approach. As expected, it's easy to get fixated on things and I caught my altitude and heading wandering a few times when I stopped constantly scanning the instruments. Still, within a few minutes, I wasn't doing terrible.

Wearing every pilot's favorite accessory

A bit later, Matt had me engage the autopilot again so we could talk through the approach plates. We discussed them in general, then loaded the anticipated approach into the GPS (this plane has a Garmin 430W) and continued discussing how everything would be used as we approached Dayton. I'm not completely unfamiliar with instrument procedures, having flown as a safety pilot numerous times, but I also haven't ever officially started my instrument training. In other words, it's all valiable learning and I'll soak up every bit of advice I can.

On that last point, I made a pretty boneheaded mistake not long after takeoff. In a very VFR habit, a couple minutes after takeoff I clicked the direct-to button on the GPS and re-selected MGY, then activated the route. Normally, that makes sense, as you want to go straight to your destination. But in IFR land, it's very bad to stray from your assigned route (in our case, direct PCW to MGY - not direct 3 miles SW of PCW to MGY) for obvious ATC-expects-planes-to-be-where-they're-cleared-to-be-especially-when-in-the-clouds reasons.

Approaching Dayton, the controllers gave us stepped descents, first to 6,000 feet then 4,000 and eventually 3,000 to the initial approach fix. I was back hand-flying at this point. Matt did a great job explaining how the CDI's needle sensitivity would increase as we got closer to the airport. We had both horizontal and vertical guidance as we were flying the LPV RNAV Runway 20 approach. I lowered the landing gear and 10 degrees of flaps, slowing the plane to about 90 knots after we passed the initial approach fix. By the final approach fix, I had 20 degrees of flaps in and was aiming for about 80 knots.

I don't yet have any speed/power settings memorized for the plane, which will certainly help during instrument training. That meant I was adjusting the power more than usual until I got everything stabilized. Matt continued to talk me through the approach and, despite starting to veer off course a few times, it worked out reasonably well. When we reached the missed approach point and he told me to look outside the runway was right in front of us. I pulled the power back and bled off my aispeed, landing a little long but otherwise well back on Runway 20.

In today's episode of "yep, that's an early instrument student's approach"

This was another great day of training and I continue to get more comfortable with the plane. Even with a headwind, it was still only about 1:10 on the return flight. This plane is going to be a wonderful tool for quickly getting lots of places with the family!

It was also a nice segway into a bit of instrument training. I still need 4 more hours in the plane to appease the club's insurance company, so I suspect some of that will be under the hood. While I'm not sure when I'll fully dive into the IR training to get the rating, that day is getting closer. To truly realize the utility of this plane on trips, I certainly need the rating.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 2.8 hours
Total Time: 385.1 hours

Taking the Skylane to the sky and going places

Plane: Cessna 182 RG
Route: 40I, Local 
Instructor: Matt
Weather: Scattered clouds and haze, 38 degrees, wind 330 degrees at 5 knots

After yesterday's time in the pattern, I was more than ready to go somewhere. The weather was much improved this morning with just some typical morning haze and scattered clouds. Matt again met me at the hangar; I'd already nearly completed my pre-flight when he pulled up. Within a couple minutes, we had the engine turning and I was taxiing to Runway 02.

We popped into a few airports I haven't visited in a long time today

I took off and quickly turned southeast towards Clinton County Airport in Wilmington. I've landed there before, though it had been a long time - the logbook says it was in August 2009! We were level at 3,500 feet in no time and I leaned the mixture and reduced the RPMs for cruise. Reviewing the GPS track, our ground speed was nearly 160 knots.

Have I mentioned I love the Skylane's power? :)

That speed also means it only takes a few minutes to go relatively far. I anticipated this, of course, but I still had the airport in sight in seemingly no time. We weren't quite down to pattern altitude when only a few miles out, so I opted to continue the descent in a gentle 360 degree turn. By the time the circle was complete, I'd leveled off and we entered the pattern.

My first landing and subsequent takeoff were of the regular variety and acceptable. The second time we came around I decided to try my best at a short field configuration. I extended my downwind and lowered full flaps on final, maintaining about 65 knots. I was too high so I brought the power to idle to hasten the descent. The main wheels touched shortly past the threshold and I applied the brakes. We turned off at the first taxiway, which means we landed and stopped in no more than 1,200 feet. Not bad.

It really was a beautiful morning to be in the sky

Next we headed to Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. Traffic there has been declining for years since they lost their Air National Guard F-16 squadron, but I didn't realize their part-time control tower was totally gone until I looked at the chart. Apparently that occurred sometime between my last landing there in 2013 and now.

Despite the 9,000 foot runway, I still approached too low and had to add power on final. Matt gave me some well-deserved crap for that, especially considering I'd just (intentionally) come in way too high on my final short field approach at Clinton County. Needless to say, I haven't quite got a feel for the Skylane's sink rate, nor am I consistently flying a stabilized approach. My landing was at least good and, given the excessive remaining available runway, we stopped and then took right back off continuing west towards Dayton.

Flying below the scattered clouds between Springfield and Moraine

Our final stop before returning to Wright Brothers was Moraine Airpark. It's another great local airport, probably the one with the best atmosphere and collection of aircraft owners who all love to hang out at the airport and spend time together. I've been there numerous times, most recently just last summer.

The airport is along a bend in the Great Miami River, with a levee just at the end of the runway you have to watch out for on short final. I ended up a bit high on final but the sink rate and full flaps brought me in over the levee into a smooth flare and touchdown not far beyond the end of the runway. Things were finally starting to feel a bit more habitual and fluid.

It was nearing time for me to get to work so we taxied back and departed again on Runway 26. Seven minutes later, we were back on the ground at Wright Brothers. My approach and landing there had probably my best flow yet - while I may not yet be ahead of the airplane, I certainly wasn't behind it.

There is still much to learn with the new airplane. Adjusting to the increased speed and power isn't something that happens overnight. I just need more time in more situations to feel fully comfortable and really get into a rhythm. That said, I'm already confident in my ability to fly it and keep the plane in airworthy condition!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.2 hours
Total Time: 382.3 hours

Up, down, go around

Plane: Cessna 182 RG 
Route: MGY, Local 
Instructor: Matt
Weather: Overcast, 33 degrees, wind 110 degrees at 5 knots

This morning I continued my march towards satisfying the insurance company's requirements. Specifically, we spent a while in the pattern. It's not the optimal way to build hours but I do need more practice and familiarity with the more complex airplane. It's also a bit of a necessity with haze and 1500 foot ceilings.

The less-than-ideal weather meant nobody else was doing much flying. With a very light wind blowing directly across the runway, we were able to depart and land in both directions. One jet departed about halfway through the flying but otherwise the airport was totally quiet. We did flirt with the idea of flying to Clinton County Airport about 20 miles away but quickly abandoned it and turned around when the clouds began dropping about a mile out of the pattern.

It's nice to have the airport to yourself sometimes

I arrived at the hangar early to complete my preflight, so we pulled the plane out, climbed in, and had the propeller turning not long after Matt arrived. The plan was simple - every variation of takeoff and landing we could muster, with a few other tidbits thrown in along the way. We started with a basic takeoff and landing, then added in the short and soft field varieties.

Taxiing back for departure after one of the landings, Matt asked where I would go if I couldn't extend the landing gear. I said I'd find the nearest big airport (e.g. Dayton International) where they have emergency equipment on-site, just in case. He said that was a great idea.

Assuming such an airport isn't an option, we also discussed the merits of pavement versus turf. After some good discussion I think it was clear pavement is nearly always the best choice. Sure, you'll scrape the hell out of the bottom of the plane, but pavement is, well, solid. The plane is far more likely to scrape along while remaining upright whereas there's a chance it could catch something on uneven turf and next thing you know you're upside down.

Left base for Runway 20 at Wright Brothers

As we continued flying, I could feel things becoming more habitual. There are many new things to me in this plane - propeller control, landing gear, and cowl flaps in particular - that simply haven't been available to me before in the cockpit. Accordingly, I'm well aware I need to get better at making them part of my checks and flows.

Having spent many years flying simple Cubs and fixed-gear 150s and 172s, things as common as the GUMPs check (a popular pilot mnemonic for gas, undercarriage, mixture, and propeller) are simply not yet a normal habit. Some pilots are taught GUMPs from the beginning of their training and I can certainly see why - even if your gear is always down, it's a very good habit to engrain beginning on day one. Alas, I haven't really used it until now so I need to quickly burn it into my brain. I'll freely admit I am still forgetting it at times. However, my intention is to always run my GUMPs check on base.

Matt warned me we'd go around on one approach so I wasn't totally surprised - and also so he could brief me on the procedure. Basically, it's full throttle, flaps to 20 degrees, positive rate of climb, gear up, and then slowly retract your remaining flaps while climbing. Except he did add a surprise by grabbing the flaps switch and telling me they were stuck in position at 20 degrees so we'd have to circle back around to land with flaps extended.

I thought that was a great practice scenario. Unlike a 150 in August on a short runway, the 182 still climbed reasonably well with the flaps extended and gear retracted. I certainly needed to use more power to maintain airspeed and we flew a little slower once I leveled off at pattern altitude (you can't exceed 95 knots with flaps extended beyond 10 degrees) but the airplane flew just fine. The biggest effect was the amount of additional forward pressure I had to apply on the yoke at the beginning of the go around before I was able to re-trim.

There really isn't anything earth-shattering to report about a bunch (10, to be precise) of takeoffs and landings. The key thing for me is I feel more comfortable than last week even though I still have plenty to polish. In particular, between the new airplane and having not flown for over seven months, my sight picture on landing is somewhat rusty; I'm having to adjust and/or add power on final far more than I would like. Still, things are moving along and I'm really enjoying my time behind the controls of this highly-capable new bird.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.0 hours
Total Time: 381.1 hours

Flying, now with new and improved speed and capabilities

Plane: Cessna 182 RG
Route: MGY, Local 
Instructor: Matt
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 47 degrees, wind 330 degrees at 6 knots

It's taken longer than I hoped, but today I finally started my checkout in the new club airplane, a Cessna 182 RG Skylane. The plane itself isn't new to me as I've flown in it about 15 times with friends over the past seven years. However, having never flown a complex or high-performance airplane before, the act of flying said plane does contain some important new bits and pieces.

What's a complex airplane? Basically, it means the landing gear is retractable and the propeller is of the constant speed variety. What's a constant speed propeller? It's the kind where you can adjust the pitch in flight, which effectively means there are now two controls you need to use when managing your engine power and RPMs. What defines high performance? Any engine over 200 HP; this plane has a very capable 235 HP Lycoming O-540.

Me fueling the plane on a trip with Mike back in 2013

CFI Matt and I spent the first 30 minutes talking through the systems, details specific to this airplane, weight and balance, and going over the preflight. For the most part, it really is just a big 172. The key differences are the aforementioned gear and propeller control. It's also way faster than the old Skyhawk.

A bigger airplane means a few other additional controls - cowl flaps, rudder trim, auxiliary fuel pump - to check and set. This plane also has improved avionics over your typical rental, including a Stormscope and a two-axis autopilot. Once I ran through the detailed engine start checklist, I turned the key and the big Lycoming roared to life.

A photo I took of the panel on another 2013 trip with Mike

Matt provided plenty of great tips to go along with his helpful instruction throughout the flight. Right off the bat was one about leaning on the ground; he said he idles at 1000 RPM, then leans the mixture until the engine hits 1200 RPM or starts to run rough. We reviewed the propeller controls again; I made quick use of them during the propeller governor check during the run-up.

I taxied onto Runway 2 and pushed in the throttle. Needless to say, the added power, light load, and cool temperatures made for a much more sprightly takeoff than you'll ever have in a 172. The plane leapt off the runway sooner than I should have allowed; I had to put in quite a bit of forward pressure to hold it in ground effect while we gained necessary little speed. Soon I released some of that pressure and we were climbing like a rocket at about 80 knots. "Positive rate, gear up." Within seconds there was no more runway to land on so I retracted the gear and we gained a bit more speed. Up went the flaps, too. Around 500 feet above the ground I reduced the throttle to the top of the green arc, about 23 in. of manifold pressure, and we continued our quick climb.

To start, we headed east towards Caesar Creek Lake. I could tell I hadn't flown in a while then added a fast, new airplane on top of that, as I wasn't maintaining altitude or heading very well. We leveled off at around 4,000 feet and Matt showed me his procedure for leaning the engine on this plane. It's not that different than the 172 but there is an EGT (exhaust gas temperature) gauge that makes the process easier than doing it by RPM. That and the whole constant speed propeller thing means the RPMs remain, well, constant. He also pointed out this big engine can easily burn 16-17 gallons per hour instead of a proper 12-13 gallons if you don't lean properly. That could certainly eat dangerously into your fuel plan if you don't pay attention!

We did a few steep turns; they were not my best as I easily gained or lost 100 feet. Rust noted. Then I slowed down for slow flight and realized how much power this plane has; I reduced the throttle all the way down to the bottom of the manifold pressure gauge's green arc and it still took a while to slow to 90 knots. We did a power-off stall, which was also not unlike a 172. Heavier in pitch but, in similar fashion, the plane just sort of mushes along and you have to apply a ton of back pressure to get any notable break. On the way back to Wright Brothers we also did a series of S-Turns over a country road and reviewed how to operate the autopilot.

Returning to the pattern, the difference in speed was again noticeable. You're on top of the airport much more quickly at 140 knots than 95! Matt talked me through the usual landing procedures and speeds as we approached. I had slowed some as we crossed midfield to enter a left downwind for Runway 2 but the additional speed meant everything was occurring faster than what I've grown accustomed to.

I lowered the gear abeam the middle of the runway and added 10 degrees of flaps. Mixture to full rich and propeller to full RPM. Abeam the numbers, carb heat on, throttle back to 1500 RPM and begin descending around 80 knots. Turning base, flaps to 20 degrees and maintain speed. Turning final, full flaps (if desired) and aim for 70-75 knots until crossing the numbers.

On the first landing, I flared too high but Matt spoke up in time for me to correct and we touched down reasonably smoothly. I knew coming in the 182 requires way more back pressure on the yoke in the flare and landing but, after that first landing, I didn't feel it required as much force as I had anticipated.

We then did a series of takeoffs and landings - short field, soft field, and normal. This plane has so much power that, for soft field takeoffs, you really have to modulate the back pressure to prevent the nose from reaching for the stars as you pick up speed. It takes a ton of forward pressure to hold the nose down and remain in ground effect to gain airspeed after you take off. For short field takeoffs, you have to use quite a bit of forward pressure to hold the nose on the runway until reaching 55 knots but then the plane easily speeds up to 65 knots as you raise the gear and clear your (pretend, for today) obstacle.

As far as landings go, all were effectively of the normal variety. Both they and the takeoffs improved with each lap of the pattern; I was starting to better anticipate the plane and was just flying smoother in general. The final takeoff, a normal one, was actually quite smooth - I added power, rotated, lifted off, raised the gear and flaps, and established a climb in one reasonably fluid process.

Coming around for the final landing, Matt opted for preferred trick in every CFI's book: a simulated engine-out. He pulled the power to idle and I immediately added carb heat and raised the nose to reduce our airspeed. I already had 10 degrees of flaps in so I left them there and turned towards the runway. This plane sinks much faster sans power than anything I've flown before but I also turned real quick and ended up lowering the flaps to 20 degrees on base. In hindsight, I should have waited until we were on short final since we had a mile of runway in front of us. Nonetheless, I easily made the runway - we touched down (my smoothest of the day) about 500 feet past the threshold and taxied back to the hangar.

Overall, it was a great day of flying. Great because it's been way, way too long since I last flew but also because I'm really excited to learn to fly a new airplane. Flying is always fun (and is the best thing I've ever found to clear my head) but I'm especially looking forward to utilizing the 182 RG for longer family trips, where it really shines.

It's also extremely convenient to have a plane based closer to our house, in a hangar, at a paved airport with lights! Longtime readers know I've had to do the overnight shuffle and morning hop back to Stewart numerous times in the past in order to maintain my night currency. I'm still a huge advocate of that awesome old grass strip - it's a wonderful place to learn and I'll certainly still be flying Cubs there for my vintage aviation fix - but my growing family means this airplane is an awesome fit for some new parts of our mission.

Today's Flight: 1.0 hours
Total Time: 380.1 hours

Flight: Reviewed

Plane: Cessna 172 
Instructor: Tommy
Route: 40I-I19-40I
Weather: Scattered clouds, 71 degrees, wind 070 degrees at 4 knots

At some point in the past month, I received one of those handy email currency reminders from my electronic logbook. But I've finally been flying again and I know I've made more than enough takeoffs and landings for currency purposes, so I thought it must be an error? Turns out, when you don't fly for the better part of a year, those two years between BFRs sneak up on you.

I have taken a variety of courses to earn FAA WINGS credit, so the knowledge portion of my currency is, uh, current. However, for what I hope are obvious reasons, the FAA likes pilots to go up in the air and actually prove they can still fly with a CFI. I planned to do so a week ago but I was sick (food poisoning is no fun) and had to reschedule. Tommy thankfully had enough free time this evening to fit me in, so we met after work and got to it.

A checkride's worth of maneuvers in one GPS track

The long and short of tonight's flying is that it was a much-needed and very good review. Despite my recent logbook additions, I am clearly still rusty in some areas. Overall, I am just nowhere near as smooth and fluid as I can be when I'm notching regular time in the left seat. Tommy did a great job running me through a whole bunch of maneuvers and offering important reminders and tips.

We started off with a soft field takeoff, during which I climbed out of ground effect too quickly. It feels strange to push the nose over so much after rotation to fly level along the ground (and it doesn't help that the ground quickly slopes downhill ~15 feet on Runway 8 at Stewart) but that's what you're supposed to do; we tried this again later. Next, we flew east and I successfully demonstrated steep turns, slow flight, and power-off/on stalls.

Tommy suggested going to Greene County; the winds were calm but he spotted a plane waiting to take off near the end of Runway 7 so I crossed midfield and entered the pattern. He asked for a short field landing so I used all 40 degrees of flaps and touched down within 200 feet of the numbers. It wasn't my best, though, and improved speed control and a touch less power on short final would've let me perfectly plant it. While taxiing back for takeoff, he asked me what I would do if my elevator jammed and we discussed that scenario for a few minutes...

Back in the pattern, he informed me that my elevator was now jammed (courtesy of him holding the yoke to prevent me from pushing or pulling it) and I needed to land. I explained my plan, which was to use the trim and power while flying a longer final approach to help ensure things were as stabilized as possible. I throttled back, slowly lowered the flaps as I made my way around, and hit the stop on the trim while on final. On very short final, I tested kicking in a burst of power to raise the nose and it seemed to work, so that was my plan in the flare. We crossed the numbers in a roughly level attitude at about 65 mph. Entering ground effect, I pushed in throttle for a second or so, and the extra power slightly raised the nose so the mains touched just before the nose wheel. The landing was honestly pretty smooth - yes, we planted it on the runway, but it wasn't a total carrier landing. Most importantly, I actually landed the airplane without using my elevator!

I really want to thank Tommy for the simulated elevator jam exercise. I've certainly thought about what would happen if I lost a control before but never tried to actually simulate it in flight. He said one of his old instructors did the same thing and I absolutely agree it's great practice.

After taking off again, I put on the hood and we did a little simulated instrument work. It's been way too long since I last did that so it was also great practice. Sidenote - training for my instrument rating is finally in my near-term plans. My skills are crude at best but I managed to turn to headings and climb/descend per his instructions. Then he gave me a few unusual attitudes to recover from and I successfully did so.

Before long, we were back at Stewart. Tommy pulled the power on me abeam the numbers and I made a safe simulated engine-out landing. The next time around, after doing a better job with the soft field takeoff, I attempted a soft field landing. I leveled off a tad too high and didn't add enough power to achieve a perfectly soft touchdown, but I held the nosewheel off and it was good enough to call it a day.

Currency and proficiency are more important to me than ever now that I'm responsible for our entire growing family whenever we fly. Beyond simply having a calmer work schedule that should allow more flying, I really hope to finally start training for more advanced ratings. But regardless of when that commences, tonight was a great refresher that left me legally current for the next 24 months.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.1 hours
Total Time: 378.7 hours

Finally notching some Skyhawk time

Plane: Cessna 172
Instructor: Jamie
Route: 40I-I19-40I
Weather: Scattered clouds, 84 degrees, wind light and variable

It's been some time since I sat in the left seat of the Skyhawk, nearly 10 months in fact. Our return flight from Boston via Albany last year is the last time I was behind 14L's controls. Aside from the general lack of currency, I'd like to take Mariella for her first flight soon - and to do that, I need to be able to competently fly the 172 again.

Jamie texted me the other day to let me know he had an opening, as we've been trying to set this up for a couple weeks. I did a thorough preflight while we chatted on the ground. There was more than two hours of fuel onboard so once I fired up the O-300 we were ready to fly.

It was another great summer afternoon for aviating

I took off on Runway 26 and made two laps around the pattern. I came in a little low on the first one but managed to finish the approach with a smooth landing. The next time around was more stable and the landing was again quite soft. We then departed the pattern to the east, climbing up over the lake to do a few steep turns. While all were borderline acceptable, they were far from my finest. I'll have to put in a bit more time working on maneuvers next time I'm up in the sky practicing solo.

Today's vaguely triangular route across the countryside

Wanting to practice on pavement and having not been there in a while (the logbook says May 2013 when we met pilot friend Samuel there, in fact!) we decided to land at Greene County. I came in a tad fast and landed long but the touchdown was smooth. Lifting off again on Runway 25 on the subsequent takeoff, Jamie pulled the power and I touched back down on the pavement during the simulated engine failure. I departed again sans instructor shenanigans and climbed back to 2,000 feet and headed straight for Waynesville.

My final landing was probably the best of the bunch, with my speeds on target and a soft touchdown followed by the shortest rollout of the day. Similar to the Cub, it's crazy just how much flying the 172 is like riding a bike... it came right back to me even after a lengthy break. Obviously there's more than stick and rudder skills when it comes to currency but I'm looking forward to getting up again soon.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.1 hours
Total Time: 375.0 hours

This father can still fly an airplane

Plane: Cub, 85 hp 
Instructor: Jamie
Route: 40I, Local 
Weather: Few clouds, 73 degrees, wind 350 degrees at 5 knots

I can still fly an airplane! I mean, yes, you're technically always a pilot once you receive your certificate. And I didn't exactly think I'd forgotten how to fly. Nonetheless, after 8 months (by far the longest hiatus since my checkride) without flying and nearly 10 months since my last Cub excursion I finally got back in the cockpit this evening. I didn't even break anything.

Why such a lack of flying? Well, as I mentioned in my sole post thus far this year, we had a baby on the way. Well, she was on the way - our daughter Mariella was born back in April and is adorable, healthy, and altogether a pretty darn good baby if I do say so myself. We hope to take her on her first flight sooner than later! Anyway, between the major life changes, work, and my usual downturn in flying during the cold, dark winter months it simply took a while to get myself back down to Stewart.

Could tonight have been any more perfect for Cubbin? I vote no.

Given the painfully long gap in aviating, I of course needed to fly with an instructor. Jamie was available and he met me a bit past 7:30. By the time he walked over to the hangar, I'd already completed a very thorough preflight and pushed the plane out onto the soft, green, almost-summer grass.

We chatted for a few then I climbed in, he hand-propped the engine, and I taxied over to top off the fuel tank. Propeller turning again, I ran through my pre-takeoff checklist then pulled onto Runway 26 and managed a pretty soft and smooth takeoff to the west. Jamie had me climb out over the lake and we first went through some turns. Then he just let me fly around for a bit and do some sightseeing before eventually re-entering the pattern.

Landings are usually where rust is most apparent, at least for me. I reminded (warned?) Jamie that, in my experience, I usually either grease the landings or totally muck them up after an extended break. He, in turn, said he'd be happy to laugh at me if I really screwed the pooch.

Fittingly, the first approach and landing were exceptionally smooth. Jamie said he was upset he didn't have a chance to laugh. Nice guy. I was cautiously optimistic. Two more laps around the pattern fortunately did nothing to temper the optimism; I nailed all three landings and my takeoffs became smoother each time.

Cubs, grass, and blue sky just belong together, don't they?

Maybe the giant break served to erase my mental sight picture so well that, with the luck of nailing it that first time, I had no bad habits and instantly re-established good ones. Or maybe it's just that Cubs are easy to fly. Either way, there's still nothing better than a Cub with the door open on a warm evening.

Well, except perhaps being able to fly a Cub solo with the door open on a warm evening again.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 0.9 hours
Total Time: 372.9 hours

I flew myself for a change!

Plane: Cub, 85 hp 
Instructor: Tommy
Route: 40I-MGY-40I 
Weather: Clear, 40 degrees, wind 130 degrees at 7 knots

So that whole New Year's goal of working on the IR is somewhere off in the weeds at the moment. It's a drupa year at work, which in the printing world means we're all working crazy hours preparing for the big show. That's also led to a significant uptick in my travel schedule.

Although many to-do list items may be pushed aside at the moment, I'm sure as heck not going to stop flying completely! My statistics are significantly skewed towards the commercial variety at the moment - about 36.3 hours in aluminum tubes (and soon to be many more) compared to 1.6 hours PIC. Fortunately this evening was a rare spring combination of good weather and me actually being in Dayton, so I jumped at the opportunity to get Cub current again.

It's been so long since my last Cub excursion that I had to go up with an instructor! Thankfully friend-who-happens-to-be-a-great-CFI Tommy was available. We topped the fuel tank with 7.7 gallons of 100LL and launched off Runway 8 in the evening twilight.

Sunset from the pattern before my final landing

I first made two landings at Stewart, both pretty decent and the second after a simulated engine-out. Tommy then suggested we fly over to Wright Brothers. Considering I can't even recall the last time I landed a taildragger on pavement it was certainly good practice!

The result both times was something in between a wheel and three-point landing. Hindsight suggests I should have held it off a little longer (if going for the full-stall variety) to get the stick full back upon touchdown for better tailwheel control. As it was, it took a couple seconds after touching down before I really felt the tailwheel come alive on the pedals. All in all, not bad.

With the sun low on the horizon I flew back towards Stewart, quickly circling over the lake to check on the progress of the new marina. Then I entered the pattern and attempted a power-off 180 that ended in a few inglorious bounces on the turf. Tommy and I think alike - "that sucked, can't end like that, let's go around the pattern one more time!" I opted for a more standard approach; the second and final attempt was much better.

Tonight's route over SW Ohio

At this point it's hard to promise frequent flying updates. I certainly intend to fly as much as possible but the "possible" part is hard to define right now. However, daylight hours are longer again and I can usually find someone who wants to carve up the sky in a Cub. Especially once we're flying with the door wide open. I'll see what I can do.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.0 hours
Total Time: 349.1 hours

Good for two more years - my first BFR

Plane: Cub, 85 hp 
Instructor: Mike
Route: 40I, Local 
Weather: Scattered clouds, 81 degrees, wind 260 degrees at 7 knots

Believe it or not, I've been a licensed pilot for nearly 7 years and have never completed a Biennial Flight Review (BFR). Before you go calling the FAA let me clarify that I only mean a BFR in the traditional sense. You see, until now, I've always extended my PIC currency through seminars, courses, and flight training logged within the FAA WINGS program.

It goes without saying that this has been a hectic year and I haven't been flying as much as I used to. My infrequent blog posting schedule (sorry!) is certainly a testament to that. Between house projects, work travel, and our own vacations I simply haven't been home all that much; I've already flown about 65,000 miles this year.

What's the point of this anyway? In short, the FAA requires all pilots to complete a review with a CFI covering both ground (knowledge) and flying elements every two years. Personally, I needed a BFR by the end of August and today was the day to make it happen.

Although I've known him for years, today was my first flight with Mike as the guy in the front seat. We started the review on the ground, discussing airspace, cloud clearances, charts, and certification requirements before completing a full weight and balance for the Cub. It was a casual conversation but we covered a range of things over roughly an hour in the office.

He had a chat with a prospective student while I walked outside and preflighted the airplane. Having not flown much lately, I took my time to make sure I looked everything extra-thoroughly. Then Mike walked over, propped the engine to life, and I took off from Runway 26.

S-Turns are still one of my favorite reasons to record GPS tracks

In the air, we ran through most of the basic maneuvers. I climbed over the lake then leveled and put the plane into slow flight, putzing along at about 40 mph. After a few gentle turns, I pulled the stick back to my chest and did a couple stalls. Then we flew north and I did S-Turns along a road - I hadn't done any in a while and it's always good to practice ground reference maneuvers.

He pulled the power (somewhat unexpectedly - I've clearly lost the primary student's mindset of constantly expecting the CFI to simulate an engine failure over the years!) and I spotted a field below, put the plane into a full-on forward slip to lose altitude and speed. I would have been able to touch down on the east side, leaving more than enough room for a safe landing. Mike was satisfied and had me go around when we were still a few hundred feet up.

Back in the pattern, the Hobbs meter said we hadn't flown quite as long we thought so I made a few circuits; Mike had me do a short field and soft field takeoff and landing. On my own accord, I went around (never a bad thing to practice) prior to my final landing - a pretty soft and short touchdown in the modest headwind blowing straight down the runway.

All told we spent a couple hours between the ground and sky. While I somewhat prefer the additional education and time spent working towards completing a phase of WINGS, today was still a good all-around refresher. Most importantly, I'm fully qualified and current to fly for the next two years - provided I keep current with my takeoffs and landings, of course.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.0 hours
Total Time: 333.5 hours

Night flight and an FAA seminar

Plane: Cessna 172
Instructor: Jamie
Route: MGY-LUK-MGY 
Weather: Broken clouds, 55 degrees, wind 330 degrees at 6 knots

I'm not sure why but there were a few different FAA Safety Team seminars in the area tonight. Jamie sent me a message a few days ago asking if I wanted to go to one in Piqua and I mentioned that I was planning on driving down to one in Cincinnati. We bounced our schedules back and forth until deciding we'd fly down to Lunken in the 172 this evening.

Safety seminar (including WINGS credit) plus regaining night currency? Sign me up!

The flight line at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport

We met at Wright Brothers around 6:15. The runway's still quite soft at Stewart so 2814L's been tied down at MGY this week. We'd have to return there anyway after dark (no lights) so it worked out quite well. Jamie was just completing his preflight as I walked up to the airplane so I hopped into the left seat and got situated; I had the propeller turning a few minutes later.

I turned onto Runway 2 at 6:30 and we were quickly off the ground and on our way to Lunken. It's only 35 miles (about 20 minutes) by air down to Cincinnati. I tuned in the ATIS and didn't bother calling approach; I called Lunken Tower 10-15 miles north and was told to report a two-mile final for Runway 21R.

Hour drive or twenty minute flight? I'll go by air, thank you very much.

Kings Island from a couple miles away

The image stabilizer on my new lens does a pretty good job, eh?

There was a jet off our left landing 21L, which I spotted and reported. Once I had him in sight, tower cleared us to land when we were still about five miles out. I landed long and turned right onto Taxiway C, then taxiied to the old terminal at the southwest end of the field.

We arrived just in time as the seminar started roughly the second we walked into the Greater Cincinnati Airmen Club on the second floor of the terminal building. It was a great seminar - controllers from Cincinnati Approach gave a really nice overview of the local airspace and procedures, followed by a Q&A with a bunch of folks who work for the Cincinnati FSDO.

It's always nice to meet the local controllers/feds and tonight was no exception. Everyone was enthusiastic about aviation and lots of helpful information was exchanged. It was also a nice reminder that I need to fly down to CVG and log some Class B takeoffs and landings while I can since they're not too busy down there these days!

There was a trio of Blackhawks parked on the ramp at Lunken

The seminar wrapped up around 9:00 and we headed back down to the dark tarmac to preflight the airplane. I was back in the left seat but Jamie taxied to the runway and made the takeoff, flying us back to Wright Brothers while I handled the radio comms. Tower cleared us onto 3L for takeoff but didn't turn the lights on. A quick, "tower, 2814L on 3L, can you please turn the lights on for us?" call over the radio took care of the black hole! :)

Visibility wasn't great on the way home, though it was still thoroughly VFR. I'd estimate it at 10-15 miles based on when I finally saw the antenna farm southwest of Dayton come into view. Jamie flew an approach to Runway 2 and landed, with two airplanes in the pattern behind us.

We took turns at this point, alternating each time around the pattern until we got in our three takeoffs and landings to extend our night currency for another 90 days. I never really nailed one (last July's solo night flight was much better) but all were acceptable. The winds were squirrely on final and I was quite active on the controls all the way down. Jamie certainly won this round!

Still, I'm night current again and I have a feeling that might come in handy at some point over these next three months. At this point, I think I've been night current more in the past year than in the previous five years since I passed my checkride. Not too shabby, huh?

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.9 hours
Total Time: 305.0 hours

Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full

Plane: Cessna 172
Instructor: Jamie
Route: MGY-DAY-MGY
Weather: Clear, 60 degrees, wind calm

As with many flights this year, tonight's was multi-purpose. Jamie wanted to go up and fly a few approaches under the hood. I wanted to maintain my night currency, which was due to expire this coming weekend. We also had an opportunity to go up in the tower at Dayton International Airport - as it so happens, Jamie's neighbor is a controller there.

We met at Wright Brothers after dark (remember, no lights at Stewart) and took off close to 21:00. Jamie took off and then I steered us towards DAY as he dialed in the ATIS. Columbus Approach soon had us on radar and handed us off to the tower, which Sean (the neighborly controller) was manning. He cleared us straight in on Runway 36 from around 6 miles out.

I held three whites and one red on the PAPI, transitioning to two and two on short final. We were cleared for the option so I opted for a stop-and-go. Simplest way to hit the full-stop requirement for night currency, especially on an 8500 foot runway! Seconds later we were climbing out, then turning right downwind while a regional jet landed on our recently-vacated runway.

So that's what I look like on a radar scope!

Sean informed us while we were in the pattern that the tower was short staffed this evening. Unfortunately, meant no tour; he couldn't take a break and bring us up. We were disappointed but still appreciated the good service. The airport was almost completely dead and we made two more trips around the pattern.

After our final takeoff, we said our goodbyes. Jamie asked permission for a flyby. In true form, Sean came back over the radio with, "negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full." He also told us this may have been the first time he's ever cleared a plane for takeoff with a left turnout direct MGY. I guess those airline pilots don't like to fly to the regional airport 19 miles away.

Downtown Dayton, OH

Since we were also having intermittent issues with the Mode C on the transponder (not again!) Jamie decided to skip the practice approaches. So he left the hood off and we simply treated the entire flight as instructional. He pointed out a few things while in the pattern at DAY and I always enjoy having a CFI onboard. The flight also marked my second Class C airport in under two months. Not bad, considering I hadn't ever even landed at one prior to August!

Long final for Runway 20 at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport

Short final at MGY

As we approached Wright Brothers, we could see a long line of cars on I-75. Getting closer, I noticed the traffic was stopped. Looked like a semi had overturned or spilled something. We were certainly glad to be zooming past overhead rather than in a dead stop on the highway.

I crossed midfield, entering a left downwind for Runway 20. Jamie took the controls at that point so he could log another night landing for his own currency. Total greaser, if I might add. We tied the plane down and said our goodbyes. Since I live around the corner, I'll be heading back in the morning to ferry the 172 back to Stewart.

And for the record, the pattern at DAY wasn't full. Just sayin'.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 0.9 hours
Total Time: 292.0 hours

One approach + two more years' currency

Plane: Cessna 150
Instructor: Jamie
Route: 40I-SGH-40I
Weather: Scattered clouds, 82 degrees, wind light and variable

Two of my aunts were down in Dayton this morning helping my cousin move into her dorm at the University of Dayton. We went out to lunch in Waynesville (at the Cobblestone Cafe, which I'd never been to before, but highly recommend - great food!) before they drove home to Akron. Anyway, it's not like I'm going to pass up an opportunity to fly when I'm less than five minutes away from Stewart... so I drove down to the airport after saying goodbye to the family.

Jamie had time to tag along so we could complete the final flight activities for my WINGS phase. If you're not familiar with the FAA's WINGS program, I explained it in a post a couple years ago. For the current phase, I've had the knowledge activities completed for a while. Jamie and I crossed off most of the flight activities back in June during my checkout in the T-Craft; we just had to finish the simulated instrument work in a properly-equipped airplane.

We departed on Runway 26 and I had the hood on before we'd left the pattern. Side note - I bought a Francis Hood in anticipation of working on my instrument rating (yes, still slacking on that!) and today's the first time I tried it in the air. Thus far, I'm a fan. It does a very good job blocking everything but the panel. Not ridiculously uncomfortable, either.

I looked like this, shirt and tie aside (Stewart's not nearly that formal!)

Under the hood, we started with the basic stuff - straight and level flight, then climbs, turns, descents, and combinations of everything. I did a relatively decent job keeping up my scan and not wandering too far from where I was supposed to be - especially considering I last flew under the hood two years ago. I really liked how Jamie was explaining things and feeding me tips and reminders as I went along... it was extremely helpful.

Next up were unusual attitudes. The idea is to be able to recover if you find yourself in a bad spot, solely by reference to the instruments. I closed my eyes, put my chin on my chest, and Jamie flung the airplane all over the sky - turns, climbs, descents, floating out of my seat, pushed into my seat. Once he was satisfied I was disoriented he called out, "your airplane!" and I had to recover. There are two basic tenets - you always look at your artificial horizon / attitude indicator and if you're nose-high, immediately add full power, lower the nose, and level the wings. You simply do the reverse (retard the throttle, level the wings, and raise the nose) if you're nose-low. We did it four times, the first being quite gentle and the last starting from a roughly 60 degree left-turning nosedive. Fun, fun. All my recoveries went well, too.

I had asked him about the graveyard spiral, which has killed more than a couple pilots. The gist of it is that you lose visual reference to the horizon (in clouds, in fog, at night, etc.) and think you're level when you're actually turning. So I closed my eyes for a while and he got us into position. I could tell we were turning slightly (I could feel the sun moving across my face) but was still all screwed up. I would've bet $100 we were turning left - and would have turned right to recover. But when I opened my eyes we were in a 30+ degree bank to the right! Just another reminder why you always have to trust your instruments - the human body is not designed for flight and trusting your senses is about the most dangerous thing you can do when flying IFR.

Finally, he asked if I wanted to fly an approach - something I'd never done before (other than monitoring as a safety pilot). He pulled up the SGH VOR 33 Approach plate on his iPhone and we dialed in the SGH VOR on the Nav radio. Jamie talked me through the altitudes and explained a few important things as we got closer to the airport. When he told me to look up, sure enough, there was a runway right in front of me!

Not too bad for the first approach I've ever flown, right?

We did a short field landing at SGH and a power-off 180. On the latter, I pulled the power abeam the numbers, slowly brought in the flaps while making a continuous turn from downwind to final, eventually dumping in all 40 degrees of flaps maybe 100 feet up. We touched down just past the numbers. Had I put in full flaps about five seconds sooner, I would've nailed it perfectly. Still... it was a darn good landing!

Neither of us had checked our watches and soon realized we were due back at Stewart, so I pointed the nose straight at the airport and put in Full Rental Power™. It took 10-15 minutes to fly there from SGH and I crossed midfield to enter a left downwind for Runway 26. Full flaps on final, 50-55 knots, I drug 60338 in over the trees for a final short field landing. We were turning off abeam the end of the row of hangars so we landed in roughly 500 feet.

With that, I'm 100% good to fly for another two years. I renewed my medical last month (which is good for another 5 years) and this checks off the flight review requirement for 24 more calendar months. Not that I don't hope/expect to spend plenty of hours in training during that time period - but it's always nice to know all my I's are dotted and T's are crossed in the FAA's eyes.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.5 hours
Total Time: 280.6 hours