PJ Hunt
December 18th 04, 10:50 AM
Hey Kevin,
I'm taking a ship from Anchorage to Idaho. Leaving Sunday or Monday.
Drop me a note if you're interested.
PJ
============================================
Here's to the duck who swam a lake and never lost a feather,
May sometime another year, we all be back together.
JJW
============================================
"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net> wrote in
message ...
> After getting scrubbed by lack of instructor-itis and bad weather last
> Monday night, I finally got my solo cross country in on Wednesday.
>
> I spent Tuesday evening poring over my charts and getting Wx outlooks
> from DUAT and finally came up with a route to fly. X-countries are
> normally scheduled in a 4-hour block but I "squeaked" in with a 3 hour
> block. 93 nautical miles in all and I'd planned to fly at 75kts so I
> had plenty of time.
>
> Got to the field a little after 8 and was scheduled to launch at 10.
> Went over my flight plan again and then called flight service to file
> my plan with the very nice woman who answered the phone and then got a
> quick weather update while I was on the phone. No winds to speak of
> at any of the 4 fields I was going to visit and clear skies predicted
> for the rest of the day.
>
> Went over some last minute details with Q and as I walked out to the
> ship with him (He was going up with another student) I asked "How are
> you going to tell I actually made the flight. What's to stop me from
> just ducking over the hills and screwing around for a few hours?"
>
> He looked at me funny and said "Nothing." Nice. I didn't see the
> fun in that and I was looking forward to actually going somewhere for
> a change.
>
> The fuel truck showed up just as I got to the ship so I told the
> driver to fill it to the gills and once he was done, I knocked out my
> preflight and strapped in. I got the ship started and got the
> avionics all set up for the 1st leg. Com1 on home field freqs and
> Com2 on the next field's freqs. by the time I got route plugged in to
> the GPS, the engine was warmed up so I did my last few checks, called
> up ground to open my flight plan and then picked up and called the
> tower for a straight out departure to the North.
>
> I was cleared with a warning regarding the barrier at the end of the
> runway (Lots of construction going on at the ends of the N/S runway)
> so off I went.
>
> 1st leg was a whopping 4 miles at 000 to 900' and then a left turn to
> 300 and a climb to 1500 for about 12 miles. Once at altitude I eased
> off the power and added enough cyclic to keep me at 75kts. I picked
> up my next landmark before I'd even made the turn and once I'd
> completed the turn, I picked up my 3rd landmark off in the distance at
> about 10 miles so slightly altered my course and headed right for it.
>
> I start to monitor Com2 for ATIS info at CRQ and then flip over to
> transmit on Com 2 and call the tower to ask for a transition through
> their airspace. CRQ has me ident a couple times and then clears me
> through at 2200' so I climb and alter my course so I cross midfield
> directly over the tower. I have to alter a bit more to fly behind a
> Cherokee departing to the East and once he's past, I change course to
> OKB, report overhead and continue on my way.
>
> OKB has no tower, but they do have AWOS so I tune Com1 accordingly and
> get the current info then start transmitting my position and
> intentions on their Unicom freq. I don't hear anyone else so check
> and double check my chart to make sure I have the radios set properly
> and finally call for a radio check. I get a response that I'm being
> received loud and clear so I've obviously got it right.
>
> I fly my approach to 24, hover for a second over the numbers and then
> I'm off. Noise abatement procedures are in effect so I haul ass to
> the coast before turning and then climb out on right downwind and
> select the next way point on the GPS, RNM.
>
> Monitoring tower I don't hear a thing which is kind of odd because
> there's always someone at RNM. As I get closer, I can see at least 2
> aircraft in the pattern and a V-tail Bonanza climbing out to the West,
> headed directly towards me. I'm having a tough time believing
> nobody's talking and then figure out what's up. I've mistuned the
> radio. I make the change and then it's tough to make my call to get
> cleared into the Class D because there's at least 5 aircraft in the
> pattern.
>
> I finally get a moment of silence and call in asking to make an
> approach to the compass rose. The controller calls back and tells me
> he can't handle me right now and I can loiter outside the Class Delta
> airspace and he'll get to me when he can. I then ask just to
> transition the airspace to the South. That's approved at or above
> 3,000 MSL. I'm at 1500 and have about 3 miles to gain 1500 feet so I
> pull power up to make takeoff power and slow to 60 knots.
>
> Climbing at almost 1300 FPM I make 3,000' just as I hit the edge of
> the class D ring. It's very busy so I back off power about 1" and
> feed in the forward cyclic to get some speed on. I want to get out of
> the area ASAP. Just as I report overhead at 3 thousand, the tower
> calls and says they can squeeze me in if I'd like to. I politely
> refuse and offer my thanks for trying to fit me in. Tower tells me to
> report leaving the Class D airspace so I haul ass Ota Dodge at 95
> knots and descending to 1500'
>
> I reset the radios and GPS to SDM and settle in for the leg. I've
> definitely picked too many way points to look for as I can see 2-3 way
> points ahead so I make a mental note to choose way points a bit
> farther apart for next time.
>
> Halfway to SDM I've got to over fly the home field so I call up and
> ask for a transition and am approved immediately with a request to
> report at 1 mile. I hit the 1 mile area, report in and then report
> again when I'm overhead.. I've still got about 11 miles to go to get
> to SDM so I start singing to myself (to the tune of Rawhide)
>
> "Boring boring boring,
> man this flight is boring
> I'll probably start snoring
> then die...."
>
> I've been flying for a little over an hour and my ass is asleep and
> this straight and level stuff is going to put me to sleep.
>
> I call up SDM and tell 'em I'm inbound for landing. I'm asked to
> report at 1 mile and once there, I call up and am cleared to land
> assuming I can make right traffic. The notice was a little late, but
> I managed to make a nice steep turn and slow to downwind speeds and
> then shoot a really nice approach to the numbers. I'm cleared for the
> option so figure I'll fly a few patterns while I'm there.
>
> After the 1st 20 trips around, I decide to have a little more fun so I
> start making my turns very aggressively and run my takeoffs at 70
> knots and about 20 feet altitude before establishing the climb and
> turn.
>
> A few more patterns and I ask for a full stop and then a departure to
> the North to head back home.
>
> I approach the home field from the Southwest and am cleared to land at
> the taxiway near our ramp. As I turn final and get my angle set up, I
> notice all 5 pads are full, the R44 is sitting next to the last pad
> and the fuel truck is next to the only spot on our ramp I can set
> down. I get down and taxi clear of the runway and then have to call
> the tower and tell them I need to hover where I am to try and figure
> out where I'm going to set down.
>
> I see something out of the corner of my eye and it's the fuel truck
> driver waving his arms and once he's got my attention, he makes some
> weird arm gesture that I assumed meant "Do you want me to move so you
> can land?" which I assume was correct because as soon as I nodded in
> the affirmative, he hopped in and drove to the other side of the fuel
> shed.
>
> I set the ship down next to the R44 and got it shut off and walked to
> the hangar to find Q. I found him in the classroom in the middle of a
> staff meeting.so I made eye contact just to let him know I'd made it
> back safely and filled out my logbook and hauled all my crap back to
> my truck.
>
> Just as I was walking back in the hangar, Q was coming out and asked
> how it went. That got me to thinking about how I'd been nervous
> planning and making the flight. Looking back, I can honestly say it
> was kind of boring. The helicopter ran very well and I was able to
> find my position on the chart without too much effort and use the GPS
> to double check that.
>
> Logged 1.9 hours but I bet I had enough fuel hours for 4 hours if I
> needed it. All I've got left to finish up prior to my checkride is
> 1.1 more hours of solo X-country and 2 hours of night x-country. - oh,
> and take my written test
>
> I found out my checkride will be in January and I'll need to fly to
> Vegas or Long Beach. Add one more point of stress - flight at an
> unfamiliar airport. Oh well, I'm finally seeing some light at the end
> of the tunnel.
>
>
I'm taking a ship from Anchorage to Idaho. Leaving Sunday or Monday.
Drop me a note if you're interested.
PJ
============================================
Here's to the duck who swam a lake and never lost a feather,
May sometime another year, we all be back together.
JJW
============================================
"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net> wrote in
message ...
> After getting scrubbed by lack of instructor-itis and bad weather last
> Monday night, I finally got my solo cross country in on Wednesday.
>
> I spent Tuesday evening poring over my charts and getting Wx outlooks
> from DUAT and finally came up with a route to fly. X-countries are
> normally scheduled in a 4-hour block but I "squeaked" in with a 3 hour
> block. 93 nautical miles in all and I'd planned to fly at 75kts so I
> had plenty of time.
>
> Got to the field a little after 8 and was scheduled to launch at 10.
> Went over my flight plan again and then called flight service to file
> my plan with the very nice woman who answered the phone and then got a
> quick weather update while I was on the phone. No winds to speak of
> at any of the 4 fields I was going to visit and clear skies predicted
> for the rest of the day.
>
> Went over some last minute details with Q and as I walked out to the
> ship with him (He was going up with another student) I asked "How are
> you going to tell I actually made the flight. What's to stop me from
> just ducking over the hills and screwing around for a few hours?"
>
> He looked at me funny and said "Nothing." Nice. I didn't see the
> fun in that and I was looking forward to actually going somewhere for
> a change.
>
> The fuel truck showed up just as I got to the ship so I told the
> driver to fill it to the gills and once he was done, I knocked out my
> preflight and strapped in. I got the ship started and got the
> avionics all set up for the 1st leg. Com1 on home field freqs and
> Com2 on the next field's freqs. by the time I got route plugged in to
> the GPS, the engine was warmed up so I did my last few checks, called
> up ground to open my flight plan and then picked up and called the
> tower for a straight out departure to the North.
>
> I was cleared with a warning regarding the barrier at the end of the
> runway (Lots of construction going on at the ends of the N/S runway)
> so off I went.
>
> 1st leg was a whopping 4 miles at 000 to 900' and then a left turn to
> 300 and a climb to 1500 for about 12 miles. Once at altitude I eased
> off the power and added enough cyclic to keep me at 75kts. I picked
> up my next landmark before I'd even made the turn and once I'd
> completed the turn, I picked up my 3rd landmark off in the distance at
> about 10 miles so slightly altered my course and headed right for it.
>
> I start to monitor Com2 for ATIS info at CRQ and then flip over to
> transmit on Com 2 and call the tower to ask for a transition through
> their airspace. CRQ has me ident a couple times and then clears me
> through at 2200' so I climb and alter my course so I cross midfield
> directly over the tower. I have to alter a bit more to fly behind a
> Cherokee departing to the East and once he's past, I change course to
> OKB, report overhead and continue on my way.
>
> OKB has no tower, but they do have AWOS so I tune Com1 accordingly and
> get the current info then start transmitting my position and
> intentions on their Unicom freq. I don't hear anyone else so check
> and double check my chart to make sure I have the radios set properly
> and finally call for a radio check. I get a response that I'm being
> received loud and clear so I've obviously got it right.
>
> I fly my approach to 24, hover for a second over the numbers and then
> I'm off. Noise abatement procedures are in effect so I haul ass to
> the coast before turning and then climb out on right downwind and
> select the next way point on the GPS, RNM.
>
> Monitoring tower I don't hear a thing which is kind of odd because
> there's always someone at RNM. As I get closer, I can see at least 2
> aircraft in the pattern and a V-tail Bonanza climbing out to the West,
> headed directly towards me. I'm having a tough time believing
> nobody's talking and then figure out what's up. I've mistuned the
> radio. I make the change and then it's tough to make my call to get
> cleared into the Class D because there's at least 5 aircraft in the
> pattern.
>
> I finally get a moment of silence and call in asking to make an
> approach to the compass rose. The controller calls back and tells me
> he can't handle me right now and I can loiter outside the Class Delta
> airspace and he'll get to me when he can. I then ask just to
> transition the airspace to the South. That's approved at or above
> 3,000 MSL. I'm at 1500 and have about 3 miles to gain 1500 feet so I
> pull power up to make takeoff power and slow to 60 knots.
>
> Climbing at almost 1300 FPM I make 3,000' just as I hit the edge of
> the class D ring. It's very busy so I back off power about 1" and
> feed in the forward cyclic to get some speed on. I want to get out of
> the area ASAP. Just as I report overhead at 3 thousand, the tower
> calls and says they can squeeze me in if I'd like to. I politely
> refuse and offer my thanks for trying to fit me in. Tower tells me to
> report leaving the Class D airspace so I haul ass Ota Dodge at 95
> knots and descending to 1500'
>
> I reset the radios and GPS to SDM and settle in for the leg. I've
> definitely picked too many way points to look for as I can see 2-3 way
> points ahead so I make a mental note to choose way points a bit
> farther apart for next time.
>
> Halfway to SDM I've got to over fly the home field so I call up and
> ask for a transition and am approved immediately with a request to
> report at 1 mile. I hit the 1 mile area, report in and then report
> again when I'm overhead.. I've still got about 11 miles to go to get
> to SDM so I start singing to myself (to the tune of Rawhide)
>
> "Boring boring boring,
> man this flight is boring
> I'll probably start snoring
> then die...."
>
> I've been flying for a little over an hour and my ass is asleep and
> this straight and level stuff is going to put me to sleep.
>
> I call up SDM and tell 'em I'm inbound for landing. I'm asked to
> report at 1 mile and once there, I call up and am cleared to land
> assuming I can make right traffic. The notice was a little late, but
> I managed to make a nice steep turn and slow to downwind speeds and
> then shoot a really nice approach to the numbers. I'm cleared for the
> option so figure I'll fly a few patterns while I'm there.
>
> After the 1st 20 trips around, I decide to have a little more fun so I
> start making my turns very aggressively and run my takeoffs at 70
> knots and about 20 feet altitude before establishing the climb and
> turn.
>
> A few more patterns and I ask for a full stop and then a departure to
> the North to head back home.
>
> I approach the home field from the Southwest and am cleared to land at
> the taxiway near our ramp. As I turn final and get my angle set up, I
> notice all 5 pads are full, the R44 is sitting next to the last pad
> and the fuel truck is next to the only spot on our ramp I can set
> down. I get down and taxi clear of the runway and then have to call
> the tower and tell them I need to hover where I am to try and figure
> out where I'm going to set down.
>
> I see something out of the corner of my eye and it's the fuel truck
> driver waving his arms and once he's got my attention, he makes some
> weird arm gesture that I assumed meant "Do you want me to move so you
> can land?" which I assume was correct because as soon as I nodded in
> the affirmative, he hopped in and drove to the other side of the fuel
> shed.
>
> I set the ship down next to the R44 and got it shut off and walked to
> the hangar to find Q. I found him in the classroom in the middle of a
> staff meeting.so I made eye contact just to let him know I'd made it
> back safely and filled out my logbook and hauled all my crap back to
> my truck.
>
> Just as I was walking back in the hangar, Q was coming out and asked
> how it went. That got me to thinking about how I'd been nervous
> planning and making the flight. Looking back, I can honestly say it
> was kind of boring. The helicopter ran very well and I was able to
> find my position on the chart without too much effort and use the GPS
> to double check that.
>
> Logged 1.9 hours but I bet I had enough fuel hours for 4 hours if I
> needed it. All I've got left to finish up prior to my checkride is
> 1.1 more hours of solo X-country and 2 hours of night x-country. - oh,
> and take my written test
>
> I found out my checkride will be in January and I'll need to fly to
> Vegas or Long Beach. Add one more point of stress - flight at an
> unfamiliar airport. Oh well, I'm finally seeing some light at the end
> of the tunnel.
>
>