A Brotherly Bond

One of my favorite sayings is "nothing done for a child is ever wasted." In terms of aviation and flying, I feel this sentiment to be especially true. It is oh so important that those of us fortunate enough to be able to fly take the time to get kids interested in aviation. Just think, every time you fly, there may be a kid down there looking up, thinking "wow, I want to be a pilot!"

I am one of the lucky ones, I have my pilot's license and an awesome younger-brother to boot! Though we are 13 years apart, we are undeniably best friends. My brother David is now 11 years old. His current "dream job" is being a coder for the ever-popular game known as "Minecraft." Before this, he wanted to be a film-maker, train conductor, and army man. So, my hopes are still high for a path leading to aviation (though I love and support him no matter what!) 

David and I had previously flown together twice, that is until yesterday when we made it three. Again, this December has been a dream for those seeking to build flight time. Yesterday was decent, we just had to wait a bit for some fog to rise and ice to melt. Davy and I decided to head down to Dansville Municipal Airport (KDSV), then circle back to the Geneseo VOR for...wait for it...MORE HOLDS! Everything went according to plan. 

As you can see, the holding pattern required a bit of wind correction. Yet, my main purpose of the flight wasn't necessarily to prep for my upcoming IFR checkride. You see, just a day earlier, on Christmas, I gave my brother the gift of his first pilot's headset. Also, he received a beginner's mechanic tool set. 

I gave this gift with the full intention of getting David into aviation, and beginning the process of our aviation business. My goal, for those who don't know, is to operate my own flight school/rides business/WWII aviation museum. I plan on owning my own hangar home, out of which the outfit will operate. We will operate a Cessna 172, Piper L-4, Yakovlev Yak-3UA ("Yellow 44"), and share a P-51B Mustang "Lucy Gal." 

I want to get my brother involved in this with me, because he knows how much it all means to me. Also, he has a strong interest in flying, WWII, and aviation as a whole. He is the perfect age to get involved in aviation. After all, I was only a year older than him when I began giving tours at the National Warplane Museum.

Without a doubt, the highlight of our flight yesterday was when David flew us back all the way from the Geneseo VOR to the base-leg for Rochester Runway 7 (KROC.) Though we forgot to grab the seat cushion, he was able to successfully keep our Cessna 152 (N714WS) level and straight (with a little visual help from big bro, of course!) 

You see, folks? This is what aviation is all about, sharing. It is only fitting that our flight occured during the Holidays, a time of year that encourages the same theme of generosity. 

As always, Keep 'Em Flying, and "Never, Never, Never Give Up."

Practice Makes Perfect

What a windy day, today! Yet, for December, having a day of 60 Degrees means flying no matter what. Today, my CFI (Shawn) and I took a "Practice/Mock" Instrument Rating Checkride. 

The 1st "task" on the checkride was to execute a DME Arc, which involves maintaining a certain distance from a navigation fix (in this case the Geneseo VOR), while flying an arc for vectoring or approach positioning purposes. I maintained 5 miles from the Geneseo VOR. Here is a video explaining the DME arc more, for those curious...

After I flew the DME arc, my CFI placed me into some "Unusual Attitudes." This means, he intentionally flew the plane into nose-high, nose-low, turning, slowing, etc. situations. My job as Pilot in Command is to make the proper recovery from these unusual attitudes, whether is be nose-down, wings-level, power-back...or raise-nose, add-power, level-wings. Being able to use the instruments to properly re-position the aircraft for stable, sustainable flight is key to safety.

Next up, we "shot" a VOR-A instrument approach into Canandaigua Airport (D38.) This invoved 1st doing a holding pattern over the Geneseo VOR, and then using said VOR to align/navigate myself towards the airport. Here is the VOR-A approach "plate" for D38...

A "non-precision" approach, the VOR-A does not align me with the final approach course of the Canandaigua Airport runway. This approach simply puts me over the airport and allows me to do a "circling" approach, once I have the runway environment in sight.

Once we went "missed" @ D38, my CFI and I had enough of being abused by the winds aloft, so we headed back to base @ KROC. I executed a final instrument approach into KROC, this time a "precision approach," the GPS-based RNAV for Runway 25...

As you can see on the plate, a precision approach aligns me with the runway, and also has more step-down fixes than the VOR-A. Both of my approaches went well, but getting the Cessna 172 (N904RA) to settle down on the runway was a bit of a chore today. The winds fought me all the way down, and she wanted to fly!

Overall, the "mock" checkride went well, but I have to improve on my cockpit flow/speed. I need to be able to do things without thinking twice. I am close to this, but just need a bit more practice. Thus, my CFI and I will fly once or twice more in the RedBird flight sim to practice this. Things are getting exciting, and I am very optimistic!

So Close, I Can Taste It

The practice for my IFR checkride has been continuing. This December's awesome weather continues to provide me with ample opportunities to tear up the skies. This past week, I flew on Friday, and twice on Sunday. 

Friday's flight was interesting. I took the "smaller" Cessna, the 150L, up for a hop. I was going to practice holding patterns and a DME arc, but once I got up there, I decided just to enjoy the flight and sight-see. You see, every now and then, a pilot has to "just have fun." The time I flew counts towards my commercial license, anyhow. Furthermore, the weather was beginning to turn south pretty quick,. so I didn't want to commit to any procedures in case I had to split for KROC fast. It was a fun flight!

Sunday was awesome. I flew with two great pilot friends of mine. First, in the AM, I flew with my buddy Robert J. Serving as my "safety pilot" (allows me to fly with "foggles" on for instrument practice), Rob and I shot down to Penn Yan airport (KPEO.) I did an RNAV-LNAV (GPS based, lateral navigation) instrument approach, which was smooth. I was very happy, I am really feeling confident and consistent here, now. After the Penn Yan stop, we flew over to the Geneseo VOR (GEE) where I practiced my holding patterns once again. The results were good, as you can see. I am very happy.

Sunday afternoon was great fun as well. Naomi W., my friend from the Warplane Museum, split time with me doing some instrument practice. We did more holding patterns, and each did a VOR-A approach (one into Leroy, and one in Batavia.) These are "non-precision" approaches, but good to practice!

Now, I am awaiting a date on my IFR checkride, so stay tuned!

"Hold On..."

Today, just one day removed from my previous flight, I took to the friendly skies once again. I did the exact same thing today, practiced holding patterns. For those curious, I have attached a Youtube video here to clarify exactly what is "going on" here.

Yesterday, as you saw in my "Tracklog," the wind blew me away from the VOR quite a bit, and I found that I needed a LOT of wind correction. Today, the wind was much calmer, but I still needed to fly "into the wind" a bit to compensate. The holding patterns from today look a lot more "ovate" and racetrack-pattern like, which is good!

Christmas Wrapping (Up)

'Tis the season, despite a lack of snow of the ground or bone-chilling temps. I'm not complaining any, as this awesome "El-Nino" climate has given me ample opportunity to continue my flight journey. This past week, I have flown twice already. On both flights, I accomplished some necessary "to-do" items on my flight training list.

First, I fulfilled my cross-country flight time requirement of 50 total flight hours. This was done with a special guest as my passenger, my Mother, Mary Anne!

To earn the remaining 1.4 hours needed for my cross-country time, I elected to take a trip down to Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport (KITH.) I have flown here many times before, and it is a beautiful trip. The coolest part is when you fly over the old Seneca Army Depot, and see the albino deer running around. We saw just that when we flew on Sunday! Canandaigua Lake was looking good, as well...

The trip went by flawlessly, and mum enjoyed her ride. On the way back to Rochester Int'l Airport (KROC), I elected to practice a holding pattern over the Geneseo VOR (GEE.) Okay, so you may be asking, what IS a VOR? Well, here's the definition...

"Very High Frequency Omni Directional Range. A ground-based electronic navigation aid transmitting very high frequency navigation signals, 360 degrees in azimuth, oriented from magnetic north. Used as the basis for navigation in the National Airspace System." - FAA

So, a VOR serves me, the pilot, as a navigational aid. That's all fine and well, but what is a holding pattern, and why are they done over a VOR?

"The primary use of a holding is delaying aircraft that have arrived at their destination but cannot land yet because of traffic congestion, poor weather, or runway unavailability." - Wiki

Since the VOR is a recognized landmark, WITH a navigational feature, it serves as a great point for holding. For pilot's flying in IFR (Instrument Flight Rules), flying a proper holding pattern is essential. 

Here below, you see the track of my flight from KROC>>>KITH>>>KROC, and further detail of my holding pattern "racetrack" over the Geneseo VOR (GEE.)

For reference, the Geneseo VOR is located on the Genesee EXWY. There exist 3 different entries methods for establishing oneself into a holding pattern, the Direct, Parallel, and Teardrop entries. The details are a bit confusing for me to explain on here, but, the above hold was made Direct. Now, as you can see, the oval/"racetrack" is not quite symmetrical. For one, I had to factor in for wind. This threw me off a bit, but I was able to correct. 

Today, I flew the smaller Cessna 150L for the sole purpose of perfecting my "holds" a bit more. My main focus, right now, is wind correction (as mentioned above.) Well, with wind being 10KTS today, Gusting to 24KTS, it was the perfect opportunity. Again, I headed to the GEE for holding practice. I departed KROC @ a heading of 212. This lined me up on the 018 radial FROM the GEE VOR (reciprocal course.) This is how a pilot navigates to/from a VOR, by use of radials (ex. 360, 180, 090, 045, etc.) 

Wow! That's a lot of weird shaped ovals, right? Well, as I mentioned, winds were coming from the West today at a speed between 10-30 knots. Again, the GEE VOR is located in the upper left of the above pic, on the Genesee EXPY. The blue line that lies closest to it was my last pattern flown, today, and it was indeed the closest. You can trace this line backwards to see an almost proper racetrack pattern (tho factoring in wind, this is actually fairly decent.) For 3 patterns before this, I had to gauge my wind correction factor, and I was finally getting a handle on it towards the end. I am happy.

Next Up! (ETA Dec 31st)

- FAA Instrument Knowledge Written Exam

- FAA Instrument Check Ride