Nishan
November 18th 04, 05:35 AM
During training (and afterward) I would spend considerable time reflecting
on why some days I flew well while others were just a mess. Ultimately, I
discovered that my bad days were, to a great degree, linked to coffee
drinking before the flight. Coffee and no breakfast made the worst cockpit
experiences for me. On my fly days I now have a banana/protein-powder
smoothie in the morning and it makes a big difference. Everyones physiology
is different. Your mileage may vary.
Nishan
"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net> wrote in
message ...
> Ok, this is getting annoying. Last Friday I flew lousy, and the very
> next day I did ok. Yesterday I flew really poorly and today I did
> really well.. Now if I could figure out WTF is going on, I'd be a
> happy camper.
>
> Got a little later block than usual - 12 noon. Had a few hours to
> kill in the morning so headed to the DMV to renew my driver's license.
> I figured it'd be about an hour and then I could run to the airport
> cafe' and get some breakfast. Nope. 3 friggin' hours surrounded by a
> zillion other frustrated people. I got to the field about 11:40 and
> since I knew I was going solo, I'd done my paperwork at home last
> night. It was just a matter of getting the beginning Hobbs and time
> to the 50 and 100 hour maintenances.
>
> I was starving so I hit the vending machines for a Coke and a bag of
> Chex Mix. Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but it cost me less than
> a buck. :) (25 cent sodas at the fuel shed) I mowed down my
> "breakfast" while I waited for the helo to return and once it was
> back, I gave the previous student time to get the ship secured before
> I walked out to do my preflight. Preflight showed oil a quart low so
> a hunt ensued to find a jug of 100W ashless dispersant oil - which I
> finally found under the stairs leading to the CFI offices. Oil topped
> off and I hit the restroom for my now obligatory hand wash and pee.
> (not necessarily in that order)
>
> Back to the hangar to retrieve the left side door (Students aren't
> allowed to fly with both doors off - school policy) and got it
> installed an secured. The fuel truck still hadn't come and I was 20
> minutes into my block so I called 'em up on the radio and about 15
> minutes later, the truck shows up. (We have GOT to get a fuel truck
> of our own) Finally, 40 minutes into my block I get to strap in and
> head out.
>
> I had planned to hit MYF, do a pattern or two and then head to SDM for
> the same before returning back to base. Since 40 minutes of my block
> got ****ed away once hitting MYF, I decided to just stay there and fly
> patterns for 30 minutes or so before heading back.
>
> Amazingly, all my approaches were pretty good. I was hitting my
> airpseeds and altitudes pretty close to what I wanted and I actually
> found myself quite relaxed as I hovered over the numbers while waiting
> for my clearace to go around again. The tower guys were very busy and
> did a really nice job squeezing me in to the flow of traffic and they
> got a big "thanks" as I departed the area.
>
> I decided I might have time to buzz down to SDM for a quick fly by but
> noticed the fuel guage was getting clsoe to a quarter tank on the main
> and about 3/8 on the aux. Time to head back. Pulled a bonehead after
> I requested the frequency change from MYF. I got COM1 all set up for
> home and forgot to flick the knob that'd let me transmit on COM1
> before I made my call to the tower. Took me a sec to realize my
> mistake and I almost had to make a quick U-turn so I wouldn't bust the
> Class D without 2-way comms with the tower. Luckily, I got through
> just outside of the class D and was cleared to proceed.
>
> I re-evaluated the fuel situation and decided to run one pattern
> before calling it quits. Just as I turned base I see Q and the ground
> school instructor standing on the ramp watching me approach. I turned
> final, and talking to myself all the way down, made a rather nice
> approach to the numbers.
>
> Once more around, this time to land at the entrance to the school's
> ramp and as I turned final, I see both instructors watching me.
> Again, I talked myself through a nice steep approach, and as I rode
> the rumble down, I notice a Cessna 172RG sitting right next to the pad
> I'm going to land on. (Which is near the fuel shed) I get to a hover
> and wait there for a second trying to see if the guy in the left seat
> is going to sit there with his thumb in his nose or if he's going to
> move. (You'd think the big circles painted on the ramp and the 2
> parked helicopters would have given him a clue)
>
> Nope. He decides he's gonna sit there with his prop turning and watch
> me so I go ahead and taxi to the pad and set down. I throttle down
> and notice the guy staring at me so I motion for him to proceed and
> still he sits there. Finally, after about two minutes of me pretty
> much ignoring him, he throttles up and moves out of the area. Almost
> as bad as the Skymaster pilot who parked between pads 2 and 4
> yesterday.
>
> I'm kind of annoyed I only got an hour in due to fueling delays, but
> decide not to sweat it since I felt like I flew pretty good and
> actually enjoyed myself. Maybe I should change my new name from
> Hoover to a newer name; Captain Inconsistency. :)
>
> Got a hop every day this week and my long X-country on Friday.
> Thinking about postponing that one 'cuz I'm leaving for Thanksgiving
> early next week and would like to do my solo X-country a day or two
> after the dual so it's all still fresh in my mind. Tomorrow we do
> autos and more autos, wind permitting. Gotta grab the FAR/AIM and
> figure out what I still need to knock out before my check ride..
>
> I'm think I'm over the 40 hour mark and have met all the SFAR 73 stuff
> for Robbies so I think it's pretty much the night solo and the cross
> country stuff and then polish it all up. Getting closer to my ticket
> everyday!! (and the list of people who want rides is getting longer.
> hehehe)
>
>
>
>
>
>
on why some days I flew well while others were just a mess. Ultimately, I
discovered that my bad days were, to a great degree, linked to coffee
drinking before the flight. Coffee and no breakfast made the worst cockpit
experiences for me. On my fly days I now have a banana/protein-powder
smoothie in the morning and it makes a big difference. Everyones physiology
is different. Your mileage may vary.
Nishan
"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net> wrote in
message ...
> Ok, this is getting annoying. Last Friday I flew lousy, and the very
> next day I did ok. Yesterday I flew really poorly and today I did
> really well.. Now if I could figure out WTF is going on, I'd be a
> happy camper.
>
> Got a little later block than usual - 12 noon. Had a few hours to
> kill in the morning so headed to the DMV to renew my driver's license.
> I figured it'd be about an hour and then I could run to the airport
> cafe' and get some breakfast. Nope. 3 friggin' hours surrounded by a
> zillion other frustrated people. I got to the field about 11:40 and
> since I knew I was going solo, I'd done my paperwork at home last
> night. It was just a matter of getting the beginning Hobbs and time
> to the 50 and 100 hour maintenances.
>
> I was starving so I hit the vending machines for a Coke and a bag of
> Chex Mix. Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but it cost me less than
> a buck. :) (25 cent sodas at the fuel shed) I mowed down my
> "breakfast" while I waited for the helo to return and once it was
> back, I gave the previous student time to get the ship secured before
> I walked out to do my preflight. Preflight showed oil a quart low so
> a hunt ensued to find a jug of 100W ashless dispersant oil - which I
> finally found under the stairs leading to the CFI offices. Oil topped
> off and I hit the restroom for my now obligatory hand wash and pee.
> (not necessarily in that order)
>
> Back to the hangar to retrieve the left side door (Students aren't
> allowed to fly with both doors off - school policy) and got it
> installed an secured. The fuel truck still hadn't come and I was 20
> minutes into my block so I called 'em up on the radio and about 15
> minutes later, the truck shows up. (We have GOT to get a fuel truck
> of our own) Finally, 40 minutes into my block I get to strap in and
> head out.
>
> I had planned to hit MYF, do a pattern or two and then head to SDM for
> the same before returning back to base. Since 40 minutes of my block
> got ****ed away once hitting MYF, I decided to just stay there and fly
> patterns for 30 minutes or so before heading back.
>
> Amazingly, all my approaches were pretty good. I was hitting my
> airpseeds and altitudes pretty close to what I wanted and I actually
> found myself quite relaxed as I hovered over the numbers while waiting
> for my clearace to go around again. The tower guys were very busy and
> did a really nice job squeezing me in to the flow of traffic and they
> got a big "thanks" as I departed the area.
>
> I decided I might have time to buzz down to SDM for a quick fly by but
> noticed the fuel guage was getting clsoe to a quarter tank on the main
> and about 3/8 on the aux. Time to head back. Pulled a bonehead after
> I requested the frequency change from MYF. I got COM1 all set up for
> home and forgot to flick the knob that'd let me transmit on COM1
> before I made my call to the tower. Took me a sec to realize my
> mistake and I almost had to make a quick U-turn so I wouldn't bust the
> Class D without 2-way comms with the tower. Luckily, I got through
> just outside of the class D and was cleared to proceed.
>
> I re-evaluated the fuel situation and decided to run one pattern
> before calling it quits. Just as I turned base I see Q and the ground
> school instructor standing on the ramp watching me approach. I turned
> final, and talking to myself all the way down, made a rather nice
> approach to the numbers.
>
> Once more around, this time to land at the entrance to the school's
> ramp and as I turned final, I see both instructors watching me.
> Again, I talked myself through a nice steep approach, and as I rode
> the rumble down, I notice a Cessna 172RG sitting right next to the pad
> I'm going to land on. (Which is near the fuel shed) I get to a hover
> and wait there for a second trying to see if the guy in the left seat
> is going to sit there with his thumb in his nose or if he's going to
> move. (You'd think the big circles painted on the ramp and the 2
> parked helicopters would have given him a clue)
>
> Nope. He decides he's gonna sit there with his prop turning and watch
> me so I go ahead and taxi to the pad and set down. I throttle down
> and notice the guy staring at me so I motion for him to proceed and
> still he sits there. Finally, after about two minutes of me pretty
> much ignoring him, he throttles up and moves out of the area. Almost
> as bad as the Skymaster pilot who parked between pads 2 and 4
> yesterday.
>
> I'm kind of annoyed I only got an hour in due to fueling delays, but
> decide not to sweat it since I felt like I flew pretty good and
> actually enjoyed myself. Maybe I should change my new name from
> Hoover to a newer name; Captain Inconsistency. :)
>
> Got a hop every day this week and my long X-country on Friday.
> Thinking about postponing that one 'cuz I'm leaving for Thanksgiving
> early next week and would like to do my solo X-country a day or two
> after the dual so it's all still fresh in my mind. Tomorrow we do
> autos and more autos, wind permitting. Gotta grab the FAR/AIM and
> figure out what I still need to knock out before my check ride..
>
> I'm think I'm over the 40 hour mark and have met all the SFAR 73 stuff
> for Robbies so I think it's pretty much the night solo and the cross
> country stuff and then polish it all up. Getting closer to my ticket
> everyday!! (and the list of people who want rides is getting longer.
> hehehe)
>
>
>
>
>
>