Be Prepared

My Dad gave me the opportunity to be a Boy Scout but it just didn't fit. Camping just wasn't my thing so my interest withered quickly. However I did learn some valuable lessons and the Scout Motto was one of them.

Harry is a Saint. After I called to let him know my new tire and tube had arrived he asked me to leave them in the hangar and he would get to them when he could. The man has a very busy schedule keeping the planes flying at the Lehigh Valley Flying Club.  When I got to the hangar the next day it was installed. So I put her pant back on and got ready for a test flight.

It still hasn't reached full Springtime here yet. We had clear blue skies but temps are in the low to mid 50's during the warmest parts of the afternoon. Its still windy. So when I checked the local METARs I wasn't surprised to find gusts to 12kts. The windsock verified it and was fluttering in all directions. We took off to the north with a climb well above 800 Ft/Min and got bounced around a bit leaving the pattern. It was great to be up in the air again. I could see out to forever. So we wandered around a bit, followed some well traveled roads and enjoyed seeing the yellow-green color once again on the trees. The Pennsylvania farmers are busy.

All too soon I was back on the 45 to runway 34 doing my landing checks. A Cessna had just departed to the east and I didn't see him, but our radio calls gave me confidence that we were well clear of each other. Downwind was bumpy and the winds were pushing me into a tight pattern. I extended a little to give me a better chance to line up on final. The windsock was straight out direct crosswind and I was correcting to left most of the way down. Nothing I hadn't seen before so I confidently got myself ready to dance on the rudder to kick her straight before touchdown. A sharp gust lifted my left wing and I corrected. Another after that and suddenly I was fighting the controls. Almost without thinking the power lever went full forward and I looked for a positive rate of climb. "4PS going around."

The next attempt was uneventful. Wind was now straight down the runway and while I didn't get a "squeak" I was pleased nonetheless.

Its a good motto.

61.73 (g)

The new 61.73 states that:

(g)Flight instructor certificate and ratings. A person who can show official U.S. military documentation of being a U.S. military instructor pilot or U.S. military pilot examiner, or a former instructor pilot or pilot examiner may apply for and be issued a flight instructor certificate with the appropriate ratings if that person:

(1) Holds a commercial or airline transport pilot certificate with the appropriate aircraft category and class rating, if a class rating is appropriate, for the flight instructor rating sought: 

(2) Holds an instrument rating, or has instrument privileges, on the pilot certificate that is appropriate to the flight instructor rating sought, and 

(3) Presents the following documents:

(i) A knowledge test report that shows the person passed a knowledge test on the aeronautical knowledge areas listed under §61.185(a) appropriate to the flight instructor rating sought and the knowledge test was passed within the preceding 24 calendar months prior to the month of application. If the U.S. military instructor pilot or pilot examiner already holds a flight instructor certificate, holding of a flight instructor certificate suffices for the knowledge test report. 

(ii) An official U.S. Armed Forces record or order that shows the person is or was qualified as a U.S. Armed Forces military instructor pilot or pilot examiner for the flight instructor rating sought. 

(iii) An official U.S. Armed Forces record or order that shows the person completed a U.S. Armed Forces' instructor pilot or pilot examiner training course and received an aircraft rating qualification as a military instructor pilot or pilot examiner that is appropriate to the flight instructor rating sought. 

(iv) An official U.S. Armed Forces record or order that shows the person passed a U.S. Armed Forces instructor pilot or pilot examiner proficiency check in an aircraft as a military instructor pilot or pilot examiner that is appropriate to the flight instructor rating sought.

(1) √
(2) √
(3) (i) √ : I enrolled in the Sheppard Air software for Military Competency Instructor (MCI) and studied the material provided. I took the test on March 29th and got a good score but more importantly met the requirements for this section.
(3) (ii) √ : The official US Military record is a DD214 form. Although old and faded it listed all of my my primary specialties in Box 11 including 8543 INSTM FLGTINST, 2 YRS, 3 MOS, and 8592 FLGT INST VT, 11 MOS.
(3) (iii) (iv) √ : In addition to a letter from Naval Aviation Schools Command stating I had completed a Flight Instructor Course, I also provided my OPNAVFORM 3760-31 (REV 4-65) Aviators Flight Logbook. The front section entitled "Qualifications and Achievements" validated the DD214.

The next step was to call the local FSDO (Flight Standards District Office - I chose Philadelphia) and ask what their requirements might be and if the were any additional ones to this list.  The only other form was FAA 8710-1 "Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application".  Sheppard Air provided some guidance filling this out (IACRA - Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application - doesn't work for this program so the form must be done manually). Still, I had difficulty with Box III: Record of Pilot Time. Was this total time, total instructor time, total civilian time or some combination of all? I calculated instructor time in the T34c at 1065.7 but decided to call the FSDO back for clarification. They don't use this box for this program so no need to fill it out at all. I made an appointment to review this material with the FSDO for Tuesday April 9th.

After about a thirty minute review I was issued an FAA Form 8060-4 (Temporary Airman Certificate) with the additional privileges of Flight Instructor Instrument Airplane (CFI, CFII). My new picture of Orville should come in about 45 days.

With the paperwork done the next step is contact my mentor to find out how to really be a flight instructor. The forecasters have promised flying weather any day now.

OXB

My wife and I needed a beach vacation but really couldn't afford to spend a lot of time away from work. We settled on a 48 hour getaway to Ocean City, Maryland. The plan was to leave Wednesday morning and return late Thursday afternoon or evening. We wanted to get as much beach time as possible and enjoy some delicious sea food. Gary has spoken so often of his adventures there I just had to see what it was like.

The people packing was easy, just an overnight bag and some beach gear. I filled one wing locker with Sally's stuff; canopy cover, chocks, plugs, etc. Our shared suitcase fit behind our seats and the beach gear (towels, blankets and shoes) went in the other locker. I had about 11 gallons in each side for what should take a little over 6 gallons to get there. We would be pretty close to MTOW. Weather planning for the trip out looked great, but the Thursday return could be interesting. A massive cold front was due to come through which would make conditions IFR. I needed to keep an eye on that.

I pulled Sally out of the barn to load the bags and noticed a rubbing sound from the left main gear. Low tire pressure. Fortunately I keep a little compressor in the car (conveniently calibrated to Bars). No obvious leaks but something I needed to keep an eye on. I packed the compressor to take along with us.

The Reserve

All ground operations were good. The low voltage problem seems to be solved and I found no other abnormalities. We took off to the north, departed to the west before finally coming back on course to the south. Philly approach provided Flight Following and gave us permission to enter the Class B airspace. About the time I was getting settled at our cruise altitude of 5500' Philly asked me to come right 30 degrees. They were a bit busy so vectored us away from the airport final approach course. That was fine with us, no hurry this morning as the air was smooth and somewhat hazy. Smooth air is good. Once cleared on course I punched the necessary buttons to let Sally take us south and sat back to monitor our progress. An uneventful trip, that's good stuff.

Ocean City Municipal

The lady at the FBO is Nola. What a treasure! She gave us great advice on where to eat, where to stay and how to get around. The hospitality was just great. First stop was the Sunset Grille for crab cake sandwiches. We sat upstairs looking out over the marina with fresh breezes coming in through the sliders. GREAT(!) sandwiches. Next over the causeway to find our hotel and hit the beach. Beautiful sand, wonderful ocean but just too cool yet. Maybe that's why we had the entire beach to ourselves? After about a half hour we gave up and headed back inside to get warm. The sun was inviting but the air just wasn't 'summer' yet.

Wild pony at Assateague

We had a car so went out to explore. This must be a very busy place "in season" but is nearly deserted this early in April. After driving up and down the main strip we headed back across the causeway to see what might be on the bay side. Kathy saw the sign for Hwy 611 pointing to Assateague Island, a place we had always planned to visit to see the wild ponies. So off we went. By now it was getting close to sunset and the views looking through the wilderness were beautiful. After awhile we stopped the car hoping to possibly hear some horses, but nothing. We turned around to leave the park. Just prior to the exit we saw the two ponies. Cool.

By now we were both hungry but most places don't open until Friday in the off season. So I was pretty certain we were headed back to eat at the hotel. Suddenly Kathy pointed to the right and shouted "PGN"! That's one of the places Nola had recommended. Of course it was fantastic! Jumbo shrimp which were indeed really jumbo. (It says on the menu 6, but it really serves like 12.) Kathy had silver dollar sized broiled scallops...yes, they were outstanding. And southern sweet tea, oh yea.

Sunrise at the beach

We slept well. Thursday I checked the weather and wasn't pleased. Beautiful here but a stationary front lay right over Philadelphia and the ceilings north of it were low. MVFR around 2500' with that strong cold front moving in from the west. Time to go.

Kathy didn't want to have breakfast at the hotel, said we should find something local instead. So I spotted Layton's as we traveled south on Philadelphia Avenue. I went with one of my favorites, biscuits and gravy, while Kathy had pancakes. (and we had a cinnamon stick donut for an appetizer...the diet was on vacation too.)

Saying Goodbye

Back to the airport to get ready for departure. The weather forecast was the same, I got another 6 gallons just in case we had to divert and we went out to preflight. The left main was low so I pumped that up. It will be on my list for Harry to look at, probably get some new improved tires this time. Everything else was normal so we loaded up to start our departure. We headed north then east to fly out over the beach to see where we had been staying. Beautiful and empty, I'm sure it won't be that way much longer.

Cruise checks were done at 4500' and I punched the buttons to let Sally take us home. Smooth air is good. It was uneventful until we approached Philly. When Dover cancelled Flight Following I had all but decided to just fly VFR beneath the Class B shelf, but that little voice in my brain said check in. So I announced that my Pipersport (C_R_U_Z) was descending to 3500'. The immediate response was stop the descent and maintain 4000'. Sure enough a Piedmont commuter was off my right wing coming underneath us. Nice to have another set of eyes helping out. I was cleared into the Class B to maintain 3500'. After passing the final approach courses for Philadelphia I asked and received 2500', and then altitude at pilot's discretion. Just south of KPTW we were down to 1500' and my "plan B" was to land there. We maintained VFR, dodged some virga and traveled the final 15 miles at that altitude. We landed without any problems, it was good to be home.

Low Voltage

It was nearly a 3 year old battery, probably due for replacement. So when I got constant low voltage indications I assumed that was the problem. Wrong.

Changing the battery is easy. Very accessible and the "u" shaped retaining strap is made from light weight flexible aluminum which can be moved out of the way to get the old out and the new in. Unfortunately my flight check did not show any improvement. It wasn't the battery.

Anthony had suggested that it could be the "rectifier". I call it a voltage regulator but he is probably more correct. I called US Sport and spoke with Sam. He said that while it could be a failure, more likely it was corrosion on the multi-connector. Any moisture (coolant) that gets in has no way to escape and corrosion builds up. I took an extended lunch break and went over to check. It is always interesting trying to separate a connector that is designed not to come undone. I worked slowly, deliberately and finally pried the two pieces apart. Green.

Contact cleaner did the trick. I also have a set of micro files (thanks Dad) that allowed me to scrape the internal surfaces. Once convinced I had everything as clean as I could get it I gently put the pieces back together. I turned on the master and instrument switches and everything looked 'normal'. Preflight.

The ground procedures were normal. I did occasionally get a "Low Voltage" warning but the Amps were positive and voltage never got below 11.0.  The wind sock was billowing. It would be a short hop.

We climbed west to 2500' then came back to the southeast and I went through my cruise checks. Everything looked good (and Sally was quiet...no warnings!) After 30 minutes in bumpy air we came home. I think this one is fixed for now.

Two Laps in the Pattern

It's not Spring yet. "Ohio prosecutor seeks death penalty for Punxsutawney Phil after bad forecast"
As I looked at the weather it showed cold blustery winds in the afternoon, barely above freezing. If I had any chance at all it would have to be in the morning. It would be a narrow window of opportunity sandwiched between too cold in the early morning and too windy by early afternoon. I got to the airport about 9:00 and sat in the warm car for a few minutes watching the windsock. Nearly a direct cross wind from left to right. The sock and the flags on the golf course were already fluttering.

I checked Foreflight weather on my phone. All local reporting points still showed gusts less than 18 knots, my personal limit. (Maximum take off limit is 12 knots of cross wind, 24 knots down the runway.) I went to the hangar to start my preflight. It was cold. Sally burped in just a few turns and the rest of the checks all were satisfactory. I pulled her out into the sunshine as soon as possible, got in and closed the canopy to be out of the wind. I sat for a moment, concerned about starting knowing that I had a low voltage battery.  The prop spun a few extra turns but caught and stabilized quickly. So far so good.

Two Laps in the Pattern

Ground checks and run up were all good. The amperage fluctuated from +9 to -6 and the voltage started at 11 but quickly started sinking lower by the time we took the runway. The windsock showed a left quartering headwind nearly fully extended, winds were picking up. With over 5000 RPM I released the breaks and was airborne well before the dip and the hill. I danced on the rudder peddles to keep us between the trees. She climbed quickly but I was too busy to check the VSI. It was bumpy.

The first pattern was a bit tight and I corrected it downwind before my reference point. Sally was really bouncing in the breeze. I looked out of the right side of the canopy to get myself lined up on final and held the crab just prior to landing. No squeak, but no float either.  We were on the center line just short of my intended landing point.

On final at Butter Valley

The next pattern was easier because I knew what corrections were needed. Downwind checks were good, but I noticed that voltage was at the bottom of the scale. Base and final were a roller coaster ride and even more left crab was needed to stay lined up. As we crossed the field prior to the threshold she started sinking quickly. A little power, a little more power, right rudder and ....smooth. All things considered, I was satisfied. Back to the barn.

N43

LVIA (ABE)

The Allentown Airport Authority has jurisdiction over three airports: Lehigh Valley International(?) Airport, Queen City and Braden Airpark. A few years ago the Authority wanted to expand a runway at LVIA and used Eminent Domain to secure the intended land from a local developer. He sued, they lost and are now looking for $15 million to settle the suite. They first thought that selling Queen City would bring in enough revenue to settle the debt, but FAA restrictions on the lease killed that idea. So now they decided to sell Braden. I decided to fly over there before a big "X" was painted on the runway.

The direct flight from Butter Valley would take me through the ABE Class "C" airspace, so I decided to fly the tangents around the controlled area. I went on the the AOPA Flight Planner as I usually do for short local flights, to find it had been "improved" and was now unusable. After playing with the settings for awhile, I closed the browser and went to Skyvector.com. METARs, TFRs and NOTAMs all looked fine, so I went to Sunoco to get ten gallons of premium and out to the airport to start the preflight.

Sally is doing fine. I'm pleased with the procedure of burping the Rotax after each flight instead of prior to the next one. Normal start and ground operations and windsock showed a southerly breeze so we back taxied on runway 16 for takeoff. I like taking off from the turf, it feels 'rustic'.

Cruise checks were all normal and I planned to stay at 2500' for the trip. After a few good bumps the plan changed and we went up another 1000'. It was smooth there and the views were great. I headed east toward the Delaware River then took a left to find Braden just off the nose. We made an upwind entry and were the only plane in the pattern on this gorgeous Saturday morning.  As we turned base Sally started yelling at me about an obstacle alert. A cell phone tower off to the right got her attention and gave me scare. A normal landing and quick taxi through the ramp area (lots of NICE planes in the open hangars) and I made my way back to the hold short line. I back taxied on runway 36 and noticed teams of girls playing Lacrosse in a nearby field.  Girls with sticks launching projectiles at each other, not something Sally and I wanted to participate in so we departed quickly.

This time we took the northern route around the controlled airspace, crossing over the mountain ridge near the ski resort, heading west toward Slatington. From there it was a straight shot back to Butter Valley, a beautiful morning to fly.

When I got home I reconsidered my flight planning and tried out Garmin Pilot on my Android tablet. A much better, more complete solution and a nice user interface.  That will become my planning tool of choice.

Sunday was another beautiful day and I decided to join the Pilots of America at Sky Manor (N40) for a brunch. All procedures were normal and I settled in for the 25 minute trip at 2500'. The low voltage light was on. This will occasionally happen in the pattern at low RPMs but never in cruise. I turned off all nonessential equipment (amps -6 well in the green) and let her run that way for awhile.When we reached our destination the low voltage still read 10.5, she wasn't charging the battery. Not wanting a start problem away from home we departed the pattern and headed back to Butter Valley.

A beautiful smooth flight, we landed without any additional distractions and I put her back in the barn. Post flight showed nothing unusual,  I suspect the battery. A new one is on order.

In other related news: I passed my 2nd Class Medical! (As you get older more experienced these routine exams become more exciting. I'm glad to have that one behind me.)

N57

 A snow storm is predicted to hit tomorrow and last for the next few days. The local weather was good today, above freezing, winds blow 15 knots and a scattered layer above 5000'. I took the opportunity to fly down to New Garden, Pennsylvania.

Just a short flight over Pennsylvania country side. My path followed RT 100 down past Exton, old stomping grounds. It was a little bumpy but I elected to stay low and traveled most of the way at 2500'. At ten miles I made my initial call and was pleasantly surprised to get a response. The person manning the CTAF was friendly, acknowledged my call and provided wind and recommended runway. Wow! That doesn't happen very often.

At five miles my traffic was a 172 entering the pattern crossing at midfield. I took interval, told him I had him in sight and extended my downwind. He reported clear and I announced it would be a touch and go.

The runway is fair, a little bumpy. The facilities and hangars look nice and you can't beat the hospitality. I noticed a few planes on the ramp and left with a favorable impression. I departed to the north and made my way home the same way I had come. At about midway I sighted traffic off to my left, maybe 4 or 5 miles at my altitude. Just to be safe I climbed 100', but the traffic really was no factor. We made a normal entry and landing back at Butter Valley.

There were two firsts on this short flight. 1) First time to N57. 2) I flew without a medical. My latest medication required some additional test to be submitted to the Medical Examiner and I hadn't planned on the extra time needed to get the test done. (Completed it today.) So I exercised by LSA privileges and flew (legally) without a medical certificate in my pocket. The sky didn't fall.