"Fly," Austin's Pilot Journey: The Final Countdown

Hello friends! The day is nearly here, that is, my IFR Checkride. I am trying not to make a big deal out of it, I will just treat it like another flight. :-) This past week, I did some final prep-work for the test by flying not once, but twice!

My 1st flight of this past weekend was a tad, well, "different" (at least for a young pilot like myself.) As you know, I live in Western New York. Commonly known for having winter 11 months of the year, WNY always hosts a unique month of March. Sometimes it snows, or rains, or is 80 degrees! Every day is different. On this past Saturday, Mother Nature decided that the best dish to serve us would be that of cold air and moisture. Well, 2+2=4, so it only makes sense that when I went out to pre-flight the airplane, N904RA was sheeted in a thin coat of frost. She looked elegant, but was un-flyable in that condition. As a "newer" pilot (despite having 190 flight hours), frost is something that I have never really encountered and/or tried to remove before flying. Using my intuition, I headed back inside to figure out a course of action. I wanted to fly, and the weather "up there" was good. The only obstacle I had was the frost. I was offered a cloth and brush by our air centre staff, and attempted to remove said frost. Yet, I was unsuccessful.

Enter one Mr. Lincoln Wainright. A long-time pilot, Mr. Wainright has been a loyal flier our of RAC for quite some time. He is a friendly, kind, and caring aviator who is always willing to help a fellow avgeek out. On this particular day, I was the subject of his assistance. Lincoln offered to help me de-ice the plane, by pushing it inside the hangar (temporarily) to warm her up/melt the frost off. Sure enough, we pushed her to shelter, and 1/2 hour later, she was freed of the clutches of frost! While we were moving the plane, I asked Lincoln if he would like to fly with me, and he of course said "yes!" He even offered to be my safety pilot, so I could "shoot" a couple of approaches from "under the hood." As if this wasn't enough, he offered to share-cost as well, a perk of Private Pilots. What a class act.

So, with all that "excitement" of out the way, we ventured out to N904RA to "tear up the skies." Initially, I had planned to do a VOR approach into Leroy (5G0), followed by an ILS into KROC. However, shortly after takeoff, a sudden line of low-clouds swung in just south of the thruway, over the Geneseo VOR (GEE.) I took some evasive action, and radioed back to Rochester. I requested a return to the airport for an RNAV approach (to go missed), followed by an ILS to full-stop. They said yes!

1.) Recognition of low-clouds & request for RNAV & ILS Approach into KROC

2.) Diversion into KROC for RNAV RWY 25 Approach

3.) Turn base for RWY 25 RNAV Approach

4.) Final & Missed Approach for RWY 25 RNAV

5/6.) Received Vectors for ILS RWY 28 Approach

7.) Turn inbound for ILS RWY 28 Approach

8.) Approach to Minimums for ILS RWY 28, Full-Stop Landing Completed

Phew, we made it! This was a great training flight for me, both with the frost and diversion from clouds. I'd call it a successful flight. Thanks again for the help, Lincoln!

The day after this little "adventure," I flew with my buddy Robert Nessel, once again. We flew on down to Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport (KITH), a personal favorite of mine. We split the time flying, and I handled the 1st "leg" down to KITH (under the hood, of course.) I shot an ILS approach for Runway 32, once we arrived. The skies were rather bumpy on the way down, plus the hilly-terrain added in for some fun while maintaining altitude. This proved difficult once on the approach, yet I managed to do it successfully. I was very pleased!

1.) Received Vectors from ATC for ILS RWY 32 Approach

2.) Intercepted final approach course of 325 Degrees @ 3,400'

3.) Descend to 3,000' and intercept the glideslope/LOM @ VRNAH

4.) Maintain glideslope/localizer and land @ minimums on RWY 32 = DONE!

After we had a good chat over the free FBO coffee, Robert and I saddled up once again to fly back to KROC. This time, with Robert in the left seat, I got to really enjoy the ride and sight-see. Once we arrived back into Rochester, we requested from ATC to circle the city before landing. They accepted, and it was neat! I got some good pics of our fair city. Nice flying, Robert!