Pilot Life: Bumpy Solo Flight!

After redeeming myself this past Tuesday, the next part of my private pilot training agenda was a second solo flight in the Provo traffic pattern. I was suppose to do this yesterday but the winds were exceeding 10 knots, which is the upper limits for me as a student pilot so it got pushed back to today. On top of that, my instructor was hoping that I could knock two solo flights off in just one big flight today because he was going to be out of town for the weekend but that did not happen due to a decision I made while I was doing pattern work. More on that in a bit, but regardless, it was great to kick off the weekend by flying on a Friday afternoon after getting out of classes for the day!

Diamond DA-20-C1 Katana (N220NH), "Wolf 03," the aircraft I took up on my second solo flight in the Provo pattern.

After I got dispatched out, I went out to the airplane and conducted the usual pre-flight inspections. I noticed that the weather wasn't favorable but visibility was still good enough so I kept going. After completing pre-flight, I hopped in went through the start-up procedure. Once I got the plane started up, I suffered a minor setback; the headsets the school loaned to me for the flight didn't work! So I shut-down the airplane, went inside and swapped headsets and tried again. Second time: successful. With working headsets, I proceeded to pick up my taxi clearance from the tower and taxied out to the run-up area where I conducted the usual run-up procedure. Following that, I continued my taxi to the runway, got my takeoff clearance and began my takeoff roll.

Once airborne, I proceeded to fly the pattern, keeping in mind of a pending decision I will have to make in the back of my mind. But first things first, I needed to do some touch-and-go landings in what was basically an encore performance of my first solo flight that took place a week ago. I set myself up for the first landing. Compared to my first solo flight, the setup for today's flight was a vast improvement. The only wild card I noticed while airborne in the pattern today: it was really bumpy! I did my first touch-and-go and set myself up for the second with similar result; another good landing and I got back up in the air.

At this point I needed to make a decision as pilot-in-command. The original plan for today was to do my pattern work and then head out to one of the practice areas to do some maneuvers; originally two separate flight segments that my instructor combined into one. However, having noticed how bumpy the air was today despite marginal weather with good visibility, I decided to err on the side of safety and not leave the pattern. With my low experience level at this point, I just didn't feel comfortable going out there and pushing my luck with how bumpy the flight got. Plus, I suspect the wind conditions changed towards the upper end of my student pilot limitations (the same ones that prevented me from flying yesterday) while I was airborne so I made the executive decision to err on the side of safety and just stayed in the pattern.

With the decision made, I prepared myself for the third landing and while I was at it, I decided to squeeze in a fourth landing so I made today's third landing a touch-and-go. On my third approach, I experienced déjà vu as the tower controller at Provo instructed me to extend the downwind leg of my approach to accommodate landing traffic. It really was like my first solo flight all over again! Last time this happened, I bounced on my third landing! Once again, it was time for me to redeem myself and make today's third landing a good one! I set myself up for a long final approach and proceeded down to the runway and my third landing, compared to the one on my first solo flight, was a vast improvement!

I throttled forward again and got back into the air for my fourth and final landing for today's flight. While setting up for the approach, I received a rather unorthodox confirmation that going out to the practice areas after the pattern work was not a good idea: I bonked my head on the DA-20's canopy! Given how it was bumpy up in the air today, I experienced a rather sudden, nasty jolt that I did not see coming while looking out the left side of the airplane scanning for movement. I felt myself being lifted out of the seat for a moment only to be held down by my seat belt and shoulder harness, but it was enough for me to hit my head on the canopy. After letting out a few swear words, I just knew I had to get back on the ground and call it quits for the day so I continued my approach for landing, which was uneventful.

After landing roll out, I taxied off the runway and it was during this time that the winds completely shifted direction and favored Provo Airport's shorter crosswind runway. With my head still ringing, I contacted the ground controller to advise that I was ready to taxi back to the UVU ramp. During my taxi, I had to cross the now-active crosswind runway; I was advised to hold short of crossing in order to wait for a landing DA-20. Once the traffic passed, I was given taxi clearance to cross the runway and continue to the UVU flight ramp. Upon arrival at the ramp, I parked the plane and conducted the standard shut-down procedures and I called it another flight.

Soon after, I got in contact with my flight instructor about the flight and my decision for not leaving the pattern and gave my reasons. He verified and commended me for making what turned out to be the right call of not pushing my luck. As pilot-in-command of an aircraft, you're required to make smart decisions based on possible as well as current circumstances so that you don't jeopardize the overall safety of the flight. As pilot-in-command, you're responsible for operating the aircraft in a safe manner in accordance with regulations. Today, I made an aeronautical decision and stood by it. And I'm glad I made the right call.

(With my head still ringing, I'm taking the weekend to shake off that bump on the noggin!)

Pilot Life: A Flight for Redemption

After this past Saturday's difficult flight, today was a shot at redemption and to make corrections for my mistakes. I got back on the horse and tried last Saturday's flight lesson again, and this time, I was hell-bent on getting most of the previous maneuvers I didn't do too well on right. Needless to say, today's flight was much more successful compared to the last!

Today's flight was on the aircraft that I first started logging flight hours, good old 957, "Wolf 05." I felt that being back on the first DA-20 I've ever flown in would bring me some good luck!

As per usual, I got the pre-flight taken care of and my instructor joined me soon after. We went through the usual start-up procedures and we suffered our first setback: fire. While turning over the key for the normal engine start-up, my instructor suddenly told me to stop because he saw fire spitting out the exhaust pipe underneath the nose; I wouldn't have been able to see that as the plane's engine exhaust pipe points out towards the right side where my instructor was sitting. Unless you're in an aircraft capable of going into afterburner, the combination of a fire and an airplane is generally not a good thing! My instructor took over the start-up procedure as he attempted to start the engine to no avail. He suspected that the engine was already flooded from a previous flight when we hopped in and whoever took the plane up before us didn't do the proper shut-down procedure. The flames that were shooting out the exhaust pipe was excess fuel igniting during the start-up procedure.

We hopped out of the airplane and my instructor went off to consult with one of the flight school's mechanics about what we just experienced. In the end, the mechanic recommended that we wait about a half-hour and try again, which we did. The one setback about waiting is my schedule; the concern now was I had to go out fly and then get back in time for my ground class later in the day. After the half-hour wait, we hopped back into the airplane and tried again as recommended by the mechanic, with my instructor doing start-ups, which was successful this time. At that point, overall procedures were handed back to me and we eventually got clearance to taxi, with my instructor requesting the shorter crosswind runway to save us some taxi time. Good thing too because this runway meant a straight shot out to the practice area for today's flight. We taxied, did our run-ups, got our takeoff clearance, and we got airborne.

My instructor making a rapid descent so we could do ground reference maneuvers.

Felt some positive G-forces during this descent! It beats any roller-coaster any day!

After getting airborne, we made a beeline for the practice area so I could redeem myself. It was at this point when I suffered another minor setback; the microphone to my headsets stopped working and I immediately let my flight instructor know about it. Redemption isn't coming easy today! Thankfully, the earpiece speakers were still working so I could still hear my instructor talking to me, so it was totally fine to continue on with the flight lesson. I just couldn't talk to him via the headsets but we made it work as my instructor could still somewhat hear me if I raised my voice enough and gave simple hand signals. My instructor also took over radio communications with the ground.

Once in the practice area, my instructor put me through the paces by starting me off with slow flight. And yes, I've been reviewing the flight profiles and manual since this past Saturday! And compared to this past Saturday, I did much better and the execution of configuring for slow flight was much smoother. After recovering from slow flight, my instructor then had me do some power-on and power-off stalls. Again, I recalled upon what I've reviewed to improve myself and it paid off with smooth execution of each stall! So far, so good.

My instructor then took the controls of the DA-20 and made a series of rapid descents so he could have me do some ground reference maneuvers. Once at a low enough altitude, he handed control of the airplane back to me and I got set up for some ground reference maneuvers. I started with some turns around a point, which went okay but my correction for wind factor could still use a little work. Plus were in a new practice area that I haven't been to before and the landscape was pretty barren, so there really wasn't much on the ground to refer to for the maneuvers. My instructor had me use a dark, natural patch of dirt on the ground, which was doable but easy to lose track of since it blends in with everything else on the ground. After doing a full 360, we sought out a straight stretch of road so I could do some S-turns. As barren as this practice area was, straight roads were easier to come by! I set myself up and executed the S-turns to the best of my abilities. Again, they went better than last time but when it comes to correcting for the wind factor, there's always room for improvement.

Heading back to Provo from the southwest.

I was surprised to see that there's hardly anything on this side of the lake.

After we were satisfied, it was time to head back to Provo. Because of the delay that kept us from departing on time earlier, we were running low on time and my instructor still needed to walk me through short-field and soft-field takeoffs and landings. My instructor took the controls on the leg back to Provo so he could set me up in the pattern; he expertly flew the airplane at one of the fastest (but still safe!) speeds I've seen, especially coming from the Diamond DA-20 Katana! Once we were in the pattern my instructor set me up in the pattern and requested a stop-and-go so we could execute a short-field landing, which as the name suggests, is a landing conducted in the shortest amount of distance possible. Short-field landings are conducted when landing on a short runway or when a pilot needs to clear a tall obstacle (like trees or tall towers) that may be sitting right at the approach end. By requesting a stop-and-go, we were able to obtain clearance to come to a full-stop on the runway and take back off again.

Over Utah Lake with Provo out in the distance.

My instructor walked me through my very first short-field landing; we conducted this landing with a simulated 50 foot tall obstacle on the approach path. Getting set up for landing was like any other landing, except after touchdown, you immediately apply the brakes and slow the plane down as quickly and safely as possible, which I was able to do. Guided by my instructor, we brought the plane to a complete stop on the runway. Once at a complete stop, it was time to get back up into the air with a short-field takeoff, which is conducted for the same reason why a short-field landing would be conducted; again we took off with a simulated 50 foot tall obstacle in our takeoff path. Once airborne after a short-field takeoff, part of the process is to climb out at much steeper angle and at a slightly slower airspeed until a pilot is able to clear the obstacle. Once we were clear of our simulated "obstacle," we lowered the nose and resumed climb-out at a normal angle and airspeed.

We got short-field takeoffs and landings in today and I was introduced to soft-field takeoffs on my previous flight. Now it was time to complete the "repertoire" and do a full-stop landing in the form of a soft-field landing! As previously mentioned, soft-field operations in tricycle landing gear (airplane with a front nose wheel) configuration requires to get that front wheel off the ground so it doesn't dig into the ground and act as a pivot that could potentially flip the airplane (I shouldn't have to tell you that I DON'T want THAT to happen!!!). For short-field landings, you touch down with the main gears first and then pretty much maintain a wheelie with the airplane and keep the front nose wheel off the ground as long as feasible until the aircraft slows down enough for it to touch down safely that there's less of chance of flipping the airplane.

(Useless trivia: Airplanes in tail-dragger landing gear configuration are more better suited for off-airport, soft-field operations.)

(Somewhat more useful trivia: Soft-field landings are the recommended method in emergencies where there's a problem or malfunction with the nose gear; the JetBlue Flight 29 incident that occurred in the Bahamas on March 25, 2016 earlier this year comes to mind. By keeping the plane off the malfunctioning nose gear and effectively performing a soft-field landing, the pilots of the stricken Embraer E-190 was able slow down enough to drastically reduce the severity of the damage to the aircraft in this particular incident. The pilots of this particular flight did exactly what they were trained to do. And to this day, I see what they did it as a textbook example of professional airmanship in a textbook emergency landing.)

Again, my instructor walked me through my first soft-field landing. Approach to landing was standard like any other landing. But upon touch down of the main gears, I kept the nose wheel off the ground by keeping the stick pulled back until the DA-20 slowed down enough to the point the nose gear made contact with the ground. After that successful soft-field landing, we called it another flight and taxied the DA-20 back to the UVU ramp. And I'm happy to say today's flight was much more successful compared this past Saturday's; I believe I redeemed myself! Next flight will be another solo flight!

Bob Hoover: Pilot, Gentleman, & Legend

"I don't think I possess any skill that anyone else doesn't have. I've just had perhaps more of an opportunity, more of an exposure, and been fortunate to survive a lot of situations that many others weren't so lucky to make it. It's not how close can you get to the ground, but how precise can you fly the airplane. If you feel so careless with your life that you want to be the world's lowest flying aviator you might do it for a while. But there are a great many former friends of mine who are no longer with us simply because they cut their margins too close." -Robert A. "Bob" Hoover

Bob Hoover at the 2013 Reno Air Races, wearing his signature straw hat!

Today, the aviation community woke up to the sad and heartbreaking news of Bob Hoover's passing at the age of 94. A former air show pilot, former test pilot for the United States Air Force, and former fighter pilot during World War II, Robert A. "Bob" Hoover tested and flew well over 300 different aircraft types and was regarded by many to be perhaps one of the greatest pilots to have ever lived. He revolutionized modern aerobatic flying as we know it today and Jimmy Doolittle regarded him as "the greatest stick-and-rudder man who ever lived." His distinguished flying career spanned over 70 years and his stories and experiences are many.

He was a fine gentleman and a friend of aviation. The aviation industry is perhaps better today partly because of him. He was most famous for his incredible air show aerobatic performances in the North American Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander (now on display at the Smithsonian) and the North American P-51 Mustang known as "Ole Yeller," (pictured below) which he used often as the pace plane in air racing as the pace pilot.

Bob Hoover's old P-51 Mustang "Ole Yeller" displayed and maintained in airworthy condition at the Legacy Flight Museum in Rexburg, ID by current owner, John Bagley. So long as planes like "Ole Yeller" remain preserved, the legacy and stories of Bob Hoover will live on forever in our hearts...

Those of us within the aviation community carry on in honor of Bob Hoover and his legacy in our inspired hearts. To you, Mr. Bob Hoover, the greatest pilot this world has ever known, blue skies to you, sir. You will be missed...

"Gentlemen, you have a race!" -Bob Hoover at the start of each air race he paced

Flying West

I hope there's a place, way up in the sky

Where pilots can go when they have to die.

A place where a guy could buy a cold beer

For a friend and a comrade whose memory is dear.

A place where no doctor or lawyer could tread,

Nor a management-type would e'ler be caught dead!

Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,

Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke.

The kind of a place that a lady could go

And feel safe and secure by the men she would know.

There must be a place where old pilots go,

When their wings become heavy, when their airspeed gets low,

Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,

And songs about flying and dying are sung.

Where you'd see all the fellows who'd 'flown west' before,

And they'd call out your name, as you came through the door,

Who would buy you a drink, if your thirst should be bad,

And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"

And there, through the mist, you'd spot an old guy

You had not seen in years, though he'd taught you to fly.

He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear

And say, "Welcome, my Son, I'm proud that you're here!

For this is the place where true flyers come

When the battles are over, and the wars have been won.

They've come here at last, to be safe and alone,

From the government clerk, and the management clone;

Politicians and lawyers, the Feds, and the noise,

Where all hours are happy, and these good ol' boys

Can relax with a cool one, and a well deserved rest!

This is Heaven, my Son. You've passed your last test!"

-Capt. Michael J. Larkin (Author)

Gallery Update: MD-83 in the Rain

With all the flight training and studying I've been doing lately, it certainly has been a while since I had any sort of update. Nothing big but an Allegiant Air MD-83 flew into Provo today operating the Phoenix-Mesa route and I got a few photos of it. To top it all off, it was a rainy day today so it made for some more interesting shots. I'm also pretty much set on chasing after every possible Allegiant N-number whenever opportunity arises at this point and today's MD-80 sighting was an airframe I haven't seen before! Here's the link:

Provo (PVU) 16

Preview:

Allegiant Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N422NV) taxiing to the terminal after arriving from Phoenix-Mesa as AAY132. Airframe initially started it's life as an MD-81 and originally delivered to Scandinavian Airlines-SAS. In 2006 the airframe was converted to MD-82 standards and flew for SAS until 2009. Allegiant Air acquired the airframe in mid-2010 and converted it into MD-83 standards in early-2012. I always appreciate the sight of a 'Mad Dog;' I'm hoping to share the Provo pattern with one at some point in my flight training!

Pilot Life: A Not-So-Great Flight

Two days ago, I was feeling like I was at the top of my game, especially after my first solo flight. Today, I was quickly reminded and humbled by the fact that I am still a relative newbie to the whole pilot program and that I still have a long ways to go. I enrolled in the flight program at Utah Valley University thinking I knew a lot about aviation just from reading about it and keeping up with the latest news and current events... But as I've received instruction both from flight lessons and the topics I've been learning about in the classroom, I have since learned that there is still so much about aviation that I don't know.

Today's flight was not my greatest... In fact, everything pretty much went wrong for me on this flight as nothing was really clicking or falling into place. Needless to say, I've got much to learn and review after today's flight. So today, we got back into the very same airplane I soloed in two days prior. After conducting pre-flight and the usual start-up checks, we got taxi clearance from the ground controller and taxied out to the run-up areas. After run-ups, we continued our taxi to the runway, where we got out takeoff clearance and we got in the air.

Diamond DA-20-C1 Katana (N980CT), "Wolf 09," the aircraft we flew today and the very same aircraft I flew my first solo earlier this week.

One new concept my instructor introduced to me today was a soft-field takeoff. Soft-field takeoff and landing operations are typically conducted at airfields with runways that are made up of materials that isn't asphalt or concrete, but more natural materials such as grass (the most common), dirt, sand, gravel, etc. Unlike concrete or asphalt, runway surfaces composed of grass or sand is not smooth so the resistance and drag imposed on airplane is greater. Therefore, it  makes such operations necessary in order to get the airplane airborne as quickly as possible in order to eliminate the drag and prevent possible damage to the aircraft and in particular, its landing gears. Basically, in a soft-field takeoff, you're supposed to get your nose gear off the ground as quickly as possible and then you're basically popping a wheelie! My instructor walked me through today's soft-field takeoff and we got airborne.

Once we were in the air, we made our way to the practice area. Once we arrived in the practice area, my instructor put me through the paces, starting with slow flight. Today's flight was basically a recap of some of the flight maneuvers I learned throughout the first stage of flight training. My configuration to slow flight was pretty sloppy, as if I've completely forgotten it; in reality, I just missed a few steps and some basic information with regards to airspeed and technique. After that, my instructor had me do a couple of stalls, both power-on and power-off. Again, configuring into these basic maneuvers was sloppy on my part, including a few missed steps in how to configure for power-on and power-off stalls respectively. I was really having a bad day as I was completely off my game. Again, it was a humbling experience to realize that I still have much to learn and have lots to remember and recall upon.

After that rough round of stalls, we took the plane down to lower altitudes to practice ground reference maneuvers. Once at the desired altitude, I completely forgot to check for wind direction so I quickly made a check for any references on the ground that could tell me which way the wind was blowing. Once I made that correction, I attempted turns around a point and some S-turns. Again, they were really sloppy as I was constantly struggling to correct for the wind factor. At this point, it was time to head back to Provo; good thing too, because I've had enough after failing miserably at these basics of flight maneuvers. And I wondered if my flight instructor was frustrated, but I didn't ask because I really did not want to know!

We made our approach to Provo and entered the pattern. We were supposed to do a couple of touch-and-go landings on this flight so my instructor could walk me through soft-field landings as well as short-field takeoffs and landings, but we decided to save those for the next flight. So today's landing was a normal one. Once we rolled out and turned off to the nearest taxiway, we taxied back to the UVU flight ramp, parked the plane and shut it down. This was not my greatest flight, but I still learned a lot from it; I can only climb back on the horse from this low-point I'm at from here. I've determined to review the flight manuals as well as the flight profiles for the DA-20 a little more closely and planned for a repeat of today's flight lesson for this coming Tuesday...

I won't make the same mistakes I've made today again on the next flight.

Pilot Life: First Solo Flight, First Milestone!

“Dear Lord, please don’t let me f**k up.” -Alan Shepard's pilot prayer

Today, I feel different, but the same. As my instructor so eloquently puts it, today was the first day of the rest of my life. Today, I embarked on the first solo flight of my flying career and officially flew an airplane all by my lonesome! I have looked forward to hitting this first major milestone for a long time!

Prior to my first official solo flight, it was business as usual, including the pre-flight and briefings, taxi clearance, taxi, run-ups, etc. The flight today was broken up into two parts: The first part with my instructor and then I was cut loose for the second part after my instructor hopped out of the airplane. My instructor went up with me to assess where I was at in terms of technique and progress. During the taxi to the run-up area, we saw a cat dart across the taxiway! It wasn't like a squirrel darting across the road but I thought that was strangest thing to see out of an airplane! When I think about it though, a cat hanging around the airport grounds kind of makes sense, especially if it's a good mouser. And they probably take care of small birds too... I reported the cat sighting to the controllers in the tower, just in case.

After run-ups we taxied to the runway, picked up our takeoff clearance and I got the airplane airborne once more and we stayed in the vicinity of Provo Airport to do some quick pattern work. My instructor was observing and offering some final insights and advice before he would cut me loose. We did two touch-and-go landings followed by a full-stop landing for a total of three landings. After the third landing, we vacated the runway and taxied back to the UVU flight ramp. My flight instructor gave me some final advice as well as some useful information and he cut me loose! He would continue to watch me with a radio on hand from the ground.

Before heading up for my solo flight.
(Photo credit goes to Nick Forshee, my flight instructor.)

Canopy closed, going through the start-up checklist on N980CT, "Wolf 09."
(Photo credit: Nick Forshee)

Utilizing my checklist and recalling everything I've learned up until this point relevant to my first solo flight, I started the airplane back up. I picked up my taxi clearance from the ground controller (making sure to inform them that I was a student pilot going on my first solo flight) and I taxied out to the run-up area, where I would perform the usual engine run-up checks.

View from the run-up area!

"Wolf 09," the call-sign on the day I soloed, a call-sign I will remember for the rest of my life!

Following run-ups, I resumed taxiing to the runway and I ended up following a Cessna 172 on the taxiway out to the runway; this was an indication that things were about to get busy in the pattern! I was second in line for takeoff but I did have to hold short of the runway for a little bit due to some landing traffic. Waiting and giving way to other air traffic with priority is just part of the routine...

Holding short of Provo's Runway 13, the runway I would use for the touch-and-go landings that would soon follow. 

Once I finally got my takeoff clearance, things just got very real; I applied full throttle, rolled down the runway and I got the DA-20 Katana airborne. It was just me, my thoughts, and the airplane. I only had to land the plane again in order to complete my first solo. But my instructor told me to have the time of my life! Traditionally, the first solo flight is doing a total of three landings, but I was free to do just a full-stop landing or do some touch-and-goes; I went for broke!

I proceeded to do my first of two solo touch-and-go landings! That meant the routine pattern work, like in previous flights. First touch-and-go was pretty decent, but I knew I could do better. I got back into the air and prepared to do my second touch-and-go landing. By this point, air traffic around the Provo Airport started to get a little busy with other planes in the pattern, so it was eyes outside the cockpit for me, scanning the airspace for any other aircraft in the vicinity while occasionally scanning my flight instruments. The most important thing to do when flying in the airport pattern is to report your position, constantly scan for additional traffic, and if at a towered airport, follow the instructions of the air traffic controllers!

I set myself up for the second touch-and-go landing and it was a vast improvement from the first one. I got back up in the air and prepared myself for my third landing which was a full-stop landing. The airspace around the Provo Airport became the busiest I've ever seen while airborne, which was a first for me. To be honest, I don't recall that I was nervous; I continued to maintain situational awareness, call upon what training I have received up until this point and everything turned out fine. Due to some air traffic ahead of me in the queue, the tower controller called and instructed me to extend my downwind approach, which in turn put me on one of the longest final approaches to the runway in my flying career so far. One after another, planes kept landing until it was my turn to land. I came in and touched down and I had a slight bounce; I guess I was kind of thrown off from that extended approach but I still did it! With the third solo landing under my belt, my first solo flight, one flight I will remember for the rest of my life, was finished.

I taxied the DA-20 off the runway and headed back to the UVU ramp and to my waiting flight instructor, who met me at the airplane after I completed the shut-down procedures. I thought I was dreaming but I really did it! I completed my first solo flight! My instructor filled out the entry in my logbook for the portion where he went up with me and then had me make my own entry for the solo flight.

Back on the ground!
(Photo credit: Nick Forshee)

My first logbook entry as pilot-in-command! Yeah baby!!!

Thursday, October 20, 2016 (eleven days before my birthday!) will be a day I'll remember for the rest of my life. I want to acknowledge and express gratitude to my flight instructor for the instruction and training he's given me up until this point. I look forward to working more with and learning more from him in my continued pursuit towards earning my private pilot's certificate. I also express gratitude to the fellow student pilots as well as the Aviation Science staff of Utah Valley University for the camaraderie and input that went a long way towards my flight training thus far.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the supportive family members and friends who cheered me on all the way and continue to do so. My thoughts especially turned towards my dad and grandfather, former private pilots, as well as two of my uncles, who are currently private pilots; these guys ultimately put me on the path towards becoming a pilot and helped me to keep that interest alive until I was able to begin flight training.

My first solo flight, the first major milestone is complete. But this is just one of many milestones to achieve and I look forward to the next one!

"What I love so much about flying is it puts you the present. You're not thinking about paying your bills. You're not thinking about what's going on. You're elevated above all the problems on Earth, and you're in the present. Right now. Right here. And you're living there the whole time you're flying." -Sean D. Tucker

Pilot Life: My First Stage Check

The stage check is a in-air exam (similar to a check ride prior to earning the many pilot ratings) performed by a designated flight instructor who is NOT my regular instructor to ensure that student pilots are progressing and are able to demonstrate proficiency. For me its also a prerequisite that I need to pass before I can even think about soloing in an airplane. And this is exactly what I did this morning, and I had to get up earlier than usual due to scheduling.

After going over some of the necessary ground school topics in order to demonstrate my proficiency for about the first hour or so of the stage check, it was time for me to hop in the airplane and demonstrate my flying proficiency to the designated instructor overseeing my first stage check in private pilot training. After performing the usual pre-flight inspections, I was joined my stage check instructor and she got me started on the flight portion of the stage check. As per usual, we went through the start-up procedures followed by a taxi check and I got clearance from the ground controller to begin taxiing to the runway. Following run-ups, I contacted the tower and got our flight's takeoff clearance and we made a routine take-off. Once airborne, we made our way to the practice area south of Provo and we got started.

First, my stage check instructor had me put the airplane into slow flight configuration, which I was able to demonstrate relatively well. Before going further, I'll mention right now that I performed everything I was required to do for the stage check to a satisfactory level where it was passable; nothing I did was perfect and of course had room for improvement. The important take away from today's stage check was to learn from any mistakes and make improvements for the future. After slow flight, I was asked to demonstrate power-on and power-off stalls. Again, improvements in my techniques can be made. Plus I almost missed something while doing a power-off stall, but I still passed on this part. Next, my stage check instructor did the one thing I'm still caught off guard on; she pulled the power on the throttle back to idle to simulate an engine failure!

I recalled upon the ABC's of a typical engine failure procedure. As usual, the simulated failure resulted in being unable to restart the engine after establishing the optimal glide speed, picking an emergency landing field and going through the checklists for a restart. I did alright in bringing the airplane down to where my designated landing spot would've been, except I forgot to use my flaps! Something to remember for the future...

Following that, my instructor had us return to Provo for the final part of the stage check, so she instructed me to recover from the low altitude and get back up to at least pattern altitude for when we got to Provo. After we got the latest information regarding winds and conditions at Provo, I made contact with the airport tower and entered the pattern. My stage check instructor required that I perform three regular landings, so two regular touch-and-go landings were on the agenda. I performed the first touch-and-go landing without any major issues. After getting back up in the air and setting up for the next one however, things got a little unusual.

We ended up getting an extra landing in due to the tower asking us to perform a short approach in order to accommodate a business jet that was approaching from the north several miles away. If I was alone, I wouldn't have been able to do this but with my stage check instructor with me, we performed a short approach; in fact this was really the only time she took full control of the airplane during the flight as she basically took the airplane through the quick turns to the runway. Once she brought us on the normal glide path to the runway, she returned control of the airplane to me and I performed a touch-and-go. For the stage check, this particular landing where the short approach was conducted didn't count against me.

My next regular touch-and-go and the full-stop landing that followed was routine. Following the full-stop landing we vacated the active runway and taxied back to the UVU ramp, where my stage check instructor critiqued the flight. While I have areas that have room for improvement, she passed me on today's flight. After making the necessary logbook entry, my regular flight instructor told me it's time for me to go on a solo flight next time we meet. The first milestone of my flying career is just around the corner!

Diamond DA-20-C1 Katana (N245NH), "Wolf 01" the aircraft I flew my first stage check in.

Gallery Update: Salt Lake City International Airport, the Insider Edition!

One of the classes I'm taking this semester is called 'Air Transport Management.' Because of this class, my classmates and I had the opportunity to visit some of the facilities of the Salt Lake City International Airport and got an inside look at airport operations and see things first hand and up close with some of topics that have been covered in class. We were able to transit around the airport facilities via a bus tour. We had the opportunity to step out onto a closed runway and during transit in between facilities, I was able to snap a few photos of the airport traffic!

The tour was organized by the Utah Academic Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives, the largest professional organization for airport professionals in the world. The primary goal of AAAE is to assist airport executives in fulfilling their responsibilities to the airports and communities they serve. By establishing a student chapter program for universities offering airport management and aviation related degrees, AAAE is able to achieve their goals by promoting professional development and instill professional attitudes in students engaged in the study of airport development, administration, management and operation or in related fields of aviation. I hereby acknowledge and thank the Utah AAAE Academic Chapter as well as the Aviation Science department of Utah Valley University for organizing this incredible experience! Special thanks also goes out to the Salt Lake City Department of Airports and the city itself for opening their doors to us!

Link:

Salt Lake City (SLC) 3

Photo preview:

Delta Air Lines Airbus A319-114 (N371NB) taxiing for departure as DAL2244 to Santa Ana. Our tour bus ended up following this aircraft en route to our first stop of the tour!

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 (N791SW) taxiing for departure as SWA304 to Phoenix.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A320-212 (N341NW) taxiing for departure as DAL2432 to Dallas-Fort Worth. Note the air traffic control tower in the background.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-832 (N3736C) taxiing for departure as DAL1883 to Las Vegas.

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Delta Connection) Bombardier CL-600-2C10 CRJ-700 (N630SK) taxiing for departure as SKW4557 for Phoenix.

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Delta Connection) Bombardier CL-600-2C10 CRJ-701 (N603QX) taxiing for departure as SKW4749 for Ontario, California. Tail number gives it away! Formerly with Horizon Air. I took this photo during transit to the south end of the airport.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A320-211 (N332NW) parked at one of the remote stands. Arrived earlier in the day as DAL2393 from Denver. Next flight of the day was to San Francisco as DAL1374.

United Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N482UA) parked at gate B7 after arrival from Chicago-O' Hare as UAL521. Airframe would return to Chicago as UAL571.

American Airlines Boeing 737-823 (N903NN) on push-back for departure to Dallas-Fort Worth as AAL1178.

SKW4749 departing overhead following rotation from 17. Our tour group was at the south end of the airport by the time this photo was taken. It's been so long since I got shots like this!

Air Canada Embraer ERJ-190-100IGW E-190AR (C-FHOY) parked at the remote stands. Scheduled to depart later as ACA7067 for Toronto-Pearson. Arrived two days prior from Toronto as ACA531. Air Canada reinstated flights to Salt Lake earlier this past spring. We were on our way to airport's winter equipment and de-icing facility when I took this photo.

Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-401 Dash 8 Q400 (N405QX) parked at A8 after arrival from San Jose as QXE2586. Having seen these a lot back in Oregon, seeing this is here a sight for sore eyes!

United Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N488UA) on push-back for depart as UAL489 to Denver.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-8H4 (N8601C) on push-back for depart as SWA2653 to Chicago-Midway.

American Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N675AW) taxiing to the terminal after arrival from Phoenix as AAL450. Aiframe formerly with US Airways and America West Airlines.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A319-114 (N336NB) taxiing to the terminal after arrival from Santa Ana as DAL2257.

SkyWest Airlines Bombardier CL-600-2B19 CRJ-100ER (N988CA) taxiing to the terminal after arrival as SKW7386 from Grand Junction.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-232 (N6703D) parked on the remote stands. Scheduled to depart as DAL523 to Los Angeles. Arrived as DAL1983 from Portland, Oregon.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-832 (N393DA) parked on the remote stands. Arrived two days prior as DAL233 from Detroit.

Pilot Life: Review Flight (Part 2)

Still preparing for my first stage check (and eventually the first solo flight), it was time for another review flight which covered several more flight maneuvers taught to me previously. As always, I took care of the pre-flight on the airplane before my instructor and I hopped in and got started up. We got our usual taxi clearance, went out to the run-up area, did the run-ups and then taxied out to the runway. Once we got our takeoff clearance, we got airborne and headed out to the practice area to the south.

Diamond DA-20-C1 (N208NH), "Wolf 02," the aircraft I went up in for this flight.

After arrival into the practice area, my instructor once again had me "blinded" by handing me a pair of foggles and I was simulating instrument conditions. With foggles on, my instructor had me do steep turns, climbing and descending turns to whatever heading he wanted me to point the airplane at. After the simulated instrument requirements for this flight lesson was satisfied, my instructor took control of the DA-20 and had me remove the foggles and the rest of today's flight was more visual.

The next part of today's flight agenda was some ground reference maneuvers, which meant descending to a lower altitude. Once the desired altitude was reached, I did some turns around a point followed by some S-turns. They were decent, but my correction for the wind could use some work. A mindset I've sworn to go by while learning to fly is never become complacent or satisfied with my progress in any area of aviation, rather strive to make continuous improvement and keep the skills I will eventually master polished and well-practiced to the point that things become second-nature. I will admit that I'm not there yet, but I'm getting there. Once we were done with the ground reference maneuvers, my instructor took the controls again and we headed back to Provo.

View of the Provo Airport while entering the pattern with my instructor flying the airplane.

A view to the north as we made our way downwind in the pattern.

Once we entered Provo airspace, we had time for a touch-and-go so we opted for that. My instructor stayed in control of the aircraft because we got instructed from the tower controller to do a "left 360" which is aviation short-hand for making a full 360 degree turn to the left. The reason for this is because a Gulfstream IV was on final approach and it had landing priority.

Over Utah Lake with a view to the south during the left 360.

Oftentimes, we have to extend the downwind of our landing approach for landing traffic in order to give them their space; and this is usually the case when the airport traffic pattern has several aircraft in the queue. However, for our convenience and because there was no other traffic in the pattern, doing a left 360 kept us from extending the downwind of the approach procedure. My instructor demonstrated to me how the left 360 is done; it's just a shallow turn that when kept consistent, the aircraft would be re-established on the downwind when the full 360 degree turn is completed.

This is becoming an all-too familiar sight for every approach I do.

View of Provo while over Utah Lake in the left 360 turn. Y Mountain is visible in the center.

By the time we got re-established on the downwind the Gulfstream IV was just touching down and we continued our approach into Provo. The tower cleared us for touch-and-go and cautioned us regarding wake turbulence from the Gulfstream. The presence of wake turbulence only meant one thing: come in high on final approach above the wake turbulence and execute the forward slip! After bleeding off the excess altitude while maintaining airspeed with the forward slip, we made our touch-and-go landing and got back up in the air again.

Getting re-established on the downwind.

Once back up at pattern altitude, my instructor had me request over the radio "the option," which the tower controller gave us clearance for. As the term may imply, this is a procedure that permits an instructor, flight examiner or pilot the option to make a touch-and-go, low approach, missed approach, stop-and-go, or full stop landing. Basically, you can do any of those when "cleared for the option." The advantageous aspect with regards to this procedure is that as a training aid:

1. It enables an instructor or examiner to obtain the reaction of a trainee or examinee under changing conditions.
2. The pilot would not have to discontinue an approach in the middle of the procedure due to student error or pilot proficiency requirements.  
3. It allows more flexibility and economy in training programs. 

The catch is that this procedure can only be requested at airports with an operational control tower and is subject to approval and clearance from the tower controller, pending on the density of the local air traffic. In today's case, there wasn't any other aircraft sharing the pattern with us so the option was available. I was expecting another touch-and-go but we ended up making a full-stop landing instead, so we taxied back to the ramp and called it another flight.

The next flight I take will be my Stage I check, which also means a solo flight for me is somewhere around the corner.

Gallery Update: Chasing an Allegiant MD-83 with the Old Livery!

After class got out this morning, I stuck around because an Allegiant MD-83 was flying the Phoenix-Mesa route today. And better yet, it was an MD-83 that was still in the airline's slightly older livery! Utilizing both FlightAware.com and FlightRadar24.com to figure out the aircraft's tail number, I found out that the airframe coming in had a bit of history to it. I'll explain more with the photo captions below, but here's the link:

Provo (PVU) 15

Preview:

Allegiant Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N877GA) arriving on 13 from Phoenix-Mesa as AAY132. Note that this is the previous livery of the airline. Slightly surprised to see that there are some still like this; most likely to be phased out of the Allegiant fleet before it even gets a chance for the repaint. Airframe first delivered as an MD-82 to Korean Air in 1994 as HL7225. Re-registered  in 2001 as N73729 under a brief ownership to Boeing Aircraft Holding Company before going to the now-defunct Canadian low-cost carrier Jetsgo as C-GKLJ in 2002; it was some time around this transition in ownership that the airframe was upgraded to MD-83 standards. Allegiant acquired the airframe in 2005. Even the subtle differences between this livery and the current livery seem pretty obvious!

AAY132 taxiing to the terminal. On March 29, 2007 this very aircraft was involved in an incident at the Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida. Operating as AAY758 from Pease International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Orlando-Sanford, an issue involving the nose landing gear occurred. A hydraulic failure prevented the nose landing gear from deploying and as a result, the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Orlando with the nose gear retracted. Two photos on Airliners.net depict this very incident mentioned. Thankfully, this MD-80 made a safe landing with all aboard surviving. And the airframe damage apparently wasn't substantial so it was clearly repaired before being put back into service. Still, would you fly on this very aircraft (or any aircraft for that matter!) as a passenger if you knew that it was involved in an incident as serious as the one mentioned???

Pilot Life: Review Flight (Part 1)

I am coming up on my first stage check, which is a prerequisite before I can solo. As such, today's flight consisted mostly of reviewing and demonstrating what I've been taught on previous flights. After conducting pre-flight and start-up procedures, we picked up our taxi clearance and taxied out to the run-up area where we conducted run-up procedures. After run-ups were complete, we taxied to the runway and picked up our takeoff clearance and away we went to the southern practice area.

Once we were in the practice area, my instructor had me go through the maneuvers he taught me to do on previous flights. He had me start out with slow-flight followed by some power-on and power-off stalls. After going through those maneuvers, my instructor pulled back the engine throttle down to idle and simulated an engine failure. Once again, it was a matter of following procedure. First, establish the airplane's ideal glide speed  Here's some useless trivia: The Diamond DA-20 Katana is a light aircraft that was developed from the Diamond HK36 Super Dimona, a motor glider And I just realized I photographed one (pictured below) a year ago! So while simulating this engine failure, I was basically flying an aircraft descended from a powered glider that is NOT a glider! How ironic...

A Diamond HK36 Super Dimona I photographed back in Salem over a year ago. I'd consider the Super Dimona a predecessor to the Katana that I'm currently training in.

After establishing the best glide speed, I had to pick a field to practice my approach in (if this were a real engine-failure situation, I'd have plenty of fields to choose from and land in if needed! Hopefully, I'll never have to resort to that...). Once that was taken care of, the next step was to go through the emergency engine restart checklist. For the sake of the simulation, it was assumed that restart didn't work so the end result was to practice approaching the field that I would've landed in. My instructor gave me great advice before regarding an emergency approach into a field for an engine-out landing and that was to treat it as if it were a regular pattern approach to help with remember the procedures. Once a safe "landing" in the field was guaranteed, I throttled the engines forward to full power and did a "go-around," which in aviation terms is aborting the current landing approach and try again if it were a normal airport, but in this case, the go-around meant to get back up to altitude. It was time for us to head back to the airport.

View of Utah Lake looking to the north en route back into Provo.

Approach into to Provo was routine and opted for a full-stop landing. The tower directed us towards the main runway but much to my surprise, my instructor called out on the radio and requested a "straight-in" from our current position on the shorter crosswind runway if it was available, something I didn't expect out of him; because there wasn't any other traffic in the pattern, we were cleared to land on the crosswind runway. From where we were at, it was just a long final approach.

Now, my landings so far haven't been that great. However, I got quite a bit of practice on the previous flight because it was all pattern work. As I descended and made the approach, I called upon everything I learned from the last flight and even applied some advice that my instructor gave me, which is when I'm just above the runway moments from touching down, look out far towards the end of the runway instead of what's up close right in front of me. This advice helped in the previous flight. In the end, I made one of my best landings to date! My instructor even remarked on it. He asked me where I was looking during the last few moments on landing, verifying that the advice he gave me previously works. After a quick taxi back to the UVU ramp, it was another entry into the logbook and we called it another flight.

Diamond DA-20-C1 Katana (N987CT), "Wolf 12," the aircraft my instructor and I took up for today's flight.