Pilot Life: Night Cross Country in the Arrow!

You know how General Aviation pilots and pilot groups all have their preferred or favorite airplane? Or they have their "first" airplane because that's the plane they got their license or a certain rating in? Of course, every pilot has at least one airplane that's got a special place in their hearts! Mine will always be the Diamond DA20-C1 Katana since I started my flight training and got my license in that plane! Then pilots "move on" and upgrade, looking for something that might better suit them, probably because of speed or performance. For General Aviation pilots, moving up usually means getting into a complex airplane with retractable landing gear and a constant-speed propeller or going to a twin-engine platform. A buddy of mine back in Utah frequently referred to the Piper Arrow IV he rented, flew, and loved as his "mistress" and he always felt as if he was cheating on her whenever he flew a different airplane! Needless to say, I think the Piper Arrow I started flying today to get my complex training hours is becoming my "mistress" airplane!!!

(Hey, I'm a pilot! And pilots are supposed to have a somewhat dark and twisted sense of humor!)

Because one flight in single a day isn't enough, I got second one in for the evening hours! Actually, with the great weather and the prospect of bright, full moon, my instructor suggested that we jump on the opportunity to knock out the commercial cross country training flights, starting tonight with a nighttime flight. In addition to the ten hours of training needed in a complex airplane, I also need to do two cross-country flights with a flight instructor where the distance between the two airports are at least 100 nautical miles and flight time is at least two hours, one each for day and night. And these cross-country training flights can be accomplished while flying a complex airplane (my instructor's preferred method of knocking out the commercial requirements!); and since I have to pay my instructor either way, I elected to do the cost-effective, kill two birds with one stone way! Of course, this was an opportunity I was not about to pass up!

Taking N4958J, a.k.a. mistress "Julie," out for a night cross-country up to Olympia!

First things first, I met with my instructor and went over the plan of action for tonight; tonight, we were flying up to Olympia, Washington, the state's capital. I haven't been up to Washington since my big IFR cross-country training flight back in October! We also killed a little time waiting for it to be officially night time, or the legal interpretation of night time in aviation. And when I mean "we," I mean my instructor killed some time, because I spent the last rays of daylight doing the pre-flight for the airplane, just as my instructor showed me this morning prior to my first flight in the Arrow. The nice thing about renting this airplane: I don't have to fuel it up because the flight school will do it for me!!!

Once pre-flight was complete, we loaded up and hopped in the airplane. After getting the engine started, I taxied us to Runway 34 and did the run-ups before departing. Once we were airborne (and landing gear retracted!), we headed out northbound and climbed to cruise altitude, applying the things I learned this morning with managing the constant speed propeller and proper manifold pressure on the engine. We also picked up VFR Flight Following with Seattle Center and had them keep their eyes on us as we traversed northbound; we would eventually get handed off to Portland Approach. Other than that, it was just a routine VFR cross-country flight at night at some pretty respectable speeds! And with the full moon brightly beaming on our right wing, it honestly felt like we were cheating the whole night flying thing!

Eventually we made our descent into Olympia; we picked up the AWOS information and based on the winds, we were free to use any runway as the winds were calm. We came in on Runway 17 after doing a rather wide right pattern as we didn't make our descent as fast as we should've (whoops!)... After making a fine landing, I taxied us off the next taxiway and headed back to Runway 17 in preparation for departure back south. Before we took back off on Runway 17, my instructor walked me through what he liked to call a "quick and dirty" mag check, which is basically just cycling the engine magnetos to make sure they're operating smoothly. After that, we got back in the air and made a straight-out departure back to the south; once again, we got VFR Flight Following with Seattle Approach. And same as on the way up, I got the airplane configured for cruise. I continue to fall in love with the speed and having a constant speed propeller that enhances overall performance!

Once again, things were just routine between radio calls, scanning for traffic and checking flight instruments while preserving night vision. My instructor and I even had the time to have conversation about stuff other than flying; today was really the first time he and I flew together doing VFR stuff as everything else we previously did was IFR and instrument training. It was also nice to get to know my instructor better as we made the journey back home, which did take a little longer because we had a bit of headwind. Eventually though, city lights from Salem and Albany came into view and it was time to start descending; and we made sure to do it properly this time by descending around Salem!

Just like this morning, I brought us in on the 45-downwind for Runway 34 and made a fine, uneventful landing to complete the cross country flight and fulfill another commercial requirement. I taxied the plane back to the ramp and onto the same tie-down spot we pulled out of earlier and I shut the engine down. After conducting post-flight checks and securing the airplane for the night, we filled out logbooks to make this flight official. This was a fun and enjoyable flight!

One nighttime cross-country training flight down, one daytime cross-country training flight to go!

Pilot Life: First Flight in the Piper Arrow!

While things related to the Instrument Rating is on hold, I've decided to go ahead and pull the trigger and go off on a productive tangent by working on requirements towards my commercial rating. I've already done a few things I needed to get done on my own (like the 250 nautical mile cross-country, night landings at a towered airport along with at least five hours of night flying), so all I have left are a few things I have to do while in training (meaning I have to receive flight instruction from my flight instructor). One of the requirements I decided to focus on is time-building/flight training in a complex airplane, something that I got started doing last summer when I got few flights in with my uncle in his Mooney M20; in fact, my original plan was to go back to Idaho for about a week or two to knock out the complex airplane requirements in my uncle's plane. Unfortunately, THAT Mooney has been down for several months now getting a new engine and is still not done, meaning it's not available. So, it was Plan B: flying the Piper Arrow, another new airplane to add to the logbook! Which also means I'm renting from a flight school again...

I'm using Infinite Air Center's Piper PA-28R-180 Arrow (N4958J) nicknamed "Julie" to get the rest of my complex hours.

The first thing I did was meet with with my flight instructor and we went over the airplane, particularly the retractable landing gear, as well as a review of constant-speed propellers and the GUMPS checklist. Afterwards, we headed out to the airplane and my instructor walked me through the pre-flight process for the airplane before hopping in. We got the engine started, and taxied out to Runway. We did our run-ups, which also included cycling the constant-speed propeller to check manifold pressure as well as oil pressure. Everything looked good, so we got airborne off Runway 34 and departed the pattern southbound on the downwind towards a practice area just south of Albany.

My instructor had me level us off and we flew around a little bit just so I can feel how the airplane handles in flight; and I've gotta say, the Piper Arrow is much easier to handle in the air compared to my uncle's Mooney (which has positive control, being a model built in the 1960s!). In fact, flying the Arrow reminds of the Piper Cherokee Cruiser I used to fly back in Utah! After getting a handle on how the plane flies in cruise configuration along with the constant speed propeller, my instructor had go through some paces, namely the different indicated air speeds for different configurations.

We configured the airplane for slow flight and went over the proper air speeds for flap extension as well as gear extension. We also simulated a go-around procedure at altitude along with the associated and appropriate cockpit flows when re-configuring the airplane, which would start with the flaps in increments, followed by retracting the landing gear. After that, my instructor had me fly up to Salem so I could practice some landings there!

After getting the current ATIS information, I called up the tower and we were instructed to make a straight-in for Runway 34. After making a decent first landing in the Arrow, we got airborne again and did a total of three laps in the pattern, all decent touch-and-go landings. I gotta say though, the final approach landing speed at 80 mph with flaps fully-extended is a little faster than what I've been used to (you can't even drive 80 mph on the freeway in Oregon without risking a speeding ticket!)! Needless to say, I'm quite pleased that I was able to get my first landings in the Piper Arrow right.

After doing the third touch-and-go landing, I requested a southbound departure with Salem Tower, which they cleared us for and we were on our way back to Albany, where we landed uneventfully on Runway 34 after entering the downwind on the 45 (I gotta remember to get back into that habit a little since I've been doing nothing but instrument approaches!). After clearing the runway, I taxied the Arrow back to the ramp, shut the engine down, proceeded to do post-flight checks before logging the flight. I gotta say, it feels refreshing to add another new airplane to the logbook, considering that the Arrow is only the second complex airplane I've logged time in, and not to mention that I've been flying nothing but my uncle's Cessna 172 for the past eight months. I'm on Spring Break this week, so I plan on getting a few more flights in the Arrow knocked out this week so I can get up to the 10 required training hours of complex time I need for the Commercial certificate!

Pilot Life: Chasing the Oregon Coast with My Sisters!

My sisters are in town visiting this week and for the coming weekend, and today happened to be a nice day weather-wise, so I took them up for a scenic flight out to the Oregon coast as they've never done so before! While I have taken my sisters flying one at a time back in Utah, this was my first time having both of them along as passengers at the same time!

A fun sibling outing in N5174E!

After conducting pre-flight, we hopped in, got ourselves situated, and I got the engine started. Winds were calm, so I decided to taxi out to Runway 16. After doing run-ups and waiting for some traffic to clear out, I got us airborne. From there I turned out to the west towards Newport, our starting point for when we would chase the coast. I flew us over the Newport Airport before turning northbound along the shoreline. Needless to say, my sisters had a good time! My sister Ellen was in the co-pilot seat next to me on the first leg up to Tillamook and she was taking tons of pictures with her DSLR camera! My sister Cloe enjoyed the view as well from the spaciousness of the back seats!

As we flew up the coast, I made position calls over the respective CTAF radio frequencies for the airports at Newport, Siletz Bay, Pacific City, and finally Tillamook. While my sisters enjoyed the sights of the Oregon Coast, I flew the airplane and pointed out a few features as appropriate. I really just enjoyed having the company of my two sisters on this flight; while we got together briefly multiple time last summer in Utah as circumstances permitted, the last time the three of us did something noteworthy or worthwhile together was exactly a year ago at our grandfather's funeral up in Idaho (and that was a bit more stressful and not so much as something to consider relaxing!).

I took us as far as Tillamook, where we decided to land and make a quick pit stop. After getting the local AWOS information, I made an uneventful landing on Runway 19 (the shorter crosswind runway!) and taxied over to the local FBO, where we took a much-needed pit-stop to hit the restrooms and stretch out our legs! After that, we stuck around on the ramp briefly to enjoy the local scenery (and allow Ellen to get a few pictures on her camera!) before hopping back in the plane with my sisters switching seats for the return-leg. After a quick start-up, I taxied out to Runway 31, where I did engine run-ups. Before departing, I held short for a West Air Cessna 208 doing a cargo feeder run that landed on the intersecting Runway 19. After that, I got us airborne. After executing a circling climb over Tillamook Bay, I took us southeast inland towards the Independence/Monmouth areas and the familiar sights of the western Willamette Valley, which we did end up flying over. Eventually, Albany came into view and it was a standard left traffic pattern entry for Runway 34, where I made a successful and uneventful landing on. After clearing the runway, I taxied over to the fuel pumps. After shutting down the engine for the time being, we had to take a selfie!

Selfie with my sisters Ellen and Cloe just after landing back in Albany!
(Photo credit goes to my youngest sister, Cloe Wynn!)

I hopped out and proceeded to refuel the tanks. After that was done, I taxied us back to the hangar and put the airplane away. After my sisters took a few more photos, I closed up the hangar and we drove back to Salem satisfied with the quality-sibling time we shared together!

Pilot Life: Solo Pattern Work Over Albany

Spring is around the corner, which should mean nicer flying weather a more frequent basis. Today was one of those days and despite the minor problem we're having with the pilot-side comm button, I decided to go up for a quick flight by doing some laps in the pattern (I used the co-pilot-side comms to do my radio calls!).

Taking N5174E for a couple laps!

After the usual pre-flight/before-takeoff business, I got airborne using Runway 16 as the winds were favoring that direction. In total, I did six laps in the traffic pattern, doing five touch-and-go landings with my sixth landing being a full-stop. For the most part, it was uneventful with the exception on two separate laps where I had to extend my upwind legs for spacing for a DA-20 Katana and a Piper Cherokee that entered the pattern.

After calling it quits, I topped off the fuel tanks at the self-serve pumps before returning to the hangar, where my uncle met up with me; we previously agreed upon a time to take a look at and troubleshoot the pilot-side mic button for the radio, where we eventually determined that we should probably get the thing replaced, which hopefully will be soon! We went our separate ways after that.

Pilot Life: A Quick Half Hour

I tried to go up for a flight this evening to hash out some more night hours, but things didn't go the way I intended it...

Also on a slightly unrelated note, I've decided (at the suggestion of my flight instructor!) to enroll in a three-week long Instrument ground course at Albany starting in April; this means the rest of my Instrument checkride is pushed back even further. Not the way I wanted to do it, but considering that it's been nearly two years now since I took classroom ground lessons for the Instrument Rating at UVU, I think the refresher on much of the book work and study materials is needed. And when it boils down to how my flight training experiences has been two years ago, I wouldn't be in this situation had my experiences with UVU been better, namely my private pilot training that they treated poorly!

On top of that, I've decided to work for the rest of this month on any commercial requirements I need to fulfill in preparation for my eventual commercial rating as well (namely, some complex airplane experiences and some cross-country requirements).

A shorter-than-expected flight in N5174E!

As for tonight, I got in the air after all the usual pre-flight and before-takeoff business and planned to head up to McMinnville to shoot some landings there. However, as I tried to make some position calls over the radio, I realized that there was something wrong with the pilot-side radio mic button. When I pressed down on it, the radio wouldn't transmit. A quick test of the co-pilot side's mic button showed that the radios were working. Right there and then, I decided to abandon my plans going up to McMinnville and decided to head back to Albany for some troubleshooting on the ground as I was in no mood to do so while airborne. I leveled off briefly to unplug my headsets from the pilot side and plugged into the co-pilot side so I could at least make my radio calls without too much trouble.

From there, I entered the downwind and landed on Runway 34 and taxied back to the hangar. After shutting down, I got on the phone with my uncle to inform him of the issue before determining that additional troubleshooting is needed. I put the plane away and called it an early night.

Gallery Update: Skyhawk Glamour Shots in Pacific City!

Yesterday, my uncle took the 172 I've been flying for an outing to the coast with his family. However, on what was supposed to be the return leg of the trip, he had some engine troubles on the ground during run-ups and could not resolve it. Consequently, he had to leave the plane at Pacific City overnight and I ended up driving up to pick him and his family up and brought them back to Salem. Luckily, a kind gentleman based in Pacific City offered my uncle a hangar to keep his plane overnight in, allowing us to return to Pacific City this morning to work on the plane, as the fix was supposedly simple. And thankfully, it was an easy fix with simple replacement of some sparkplugs! After buttoning up the airplane, it was ready to return to Albany and we determined that my uncle should fly the plane home and I drive back and meet him there. Before we split up, I told my uncle I would have my camera lens on him so he needed to make his takeoff look good! Plus, I finally got photos of my uncle's Cessna 172 in action/airborne.

Pacific City (PFC) 1

Preview:

Cessna 172N Skyhawk II (N5174E) back-taxiing on 32. My uncle at the controls.

N5174E airborne off 32 for Albany. Needless to say, both my uncle and I were glad the fix was simple and something we could do ourselves and the plane's now back in Albany.

Pilot Life: Some More Night Flying

Okay, today was not a great day for me. Simply put, I failed the oral portion of my Instrument checkride this morning. I don't want to go into details about it, but I will say this: I'm disappointed primarily because I've been studying for the Instrument Rating for the past two years only to find myself at this point. But I'm not going to kick myself over it too much; the only thing I can do now is go back and hit the books, go over the things I missed with my instructor, and pick up where the examiner and I left off on another day. Since I didn't get to the flight portion of the checkride and the weather was just superb (meaning spring is around the corner!), I decided to go fly by myself just for the hell of it; I even decided to make a significant portion of it a night flight.

More night flying in N5174E.

After the usual pre-flight/before-takeoff business, I got airborne and first headed towards Corvallis, where I logged some quick daytime flight hours (because it wasn't one hour past sunset time yet!) and landed on Runway 35. I taxied over to the ramp and the VOR check point and did another VOR check before the inspection would lapse in a few days. By the time I was finished, it was officially "nighttime" so I could start logging night hours. I taxied back to Runway 35 and got airborne before setting course for Aurora, exactly 50 nautical miles away from Corvallis, making this segment of my solo flight a night cross-country.

Needless to say, the flight was uneventful other than the fact that it was quite turbulent during the climb-out and the descent. My route took me over Salem above their Class Delta airspace and Aurora would eventually come into view. Of course, I took the time to get the latest ATIS information before contacting the tower to request a touch-and-go; I was instructed to make straight-in for Runway 35, which was rough going in because it was turbulent on the descent. I picked a fine night to log some night hours...

After doing the touch-and-go, tower instructed me to depart southbound on the downwind. The rest of the flight went as well as I expected, with no major hiccups. I passed over Salem once more and then I made my way to Albany, where I would make an uneventful landing on Runway 34.

After landing, I taxied over to the fuel pumps and topped off the tanks before returning the plane to the hangar and calling it a night and a day I would like to forget. But all I can and will do is move forward from here.