Yakety Yak

Hello y'all!

Hope your week has gotten of to a great start. I've been thinking lately about how my desire, to one day own a Yak fighter plane, may confuse some the you readers on here. Those of you who have recently followed my blog, or don't know my full-history, may not be aware as to why I am so "obsessed" with the Yak. Well, here goes!

"It" all started when I was a wee-toddler, and the setting (once again) was the National Warplane Museum. Some of the earliest Geneseo airshows that I attended, with my father, featured the Yak-11 "Czech Ride," flown by Dan McCue. For some reason, Dan's routine of dog-fighting aerobatics really reached-out and grabbed me. I was enthralled as the classic Russian music played over the PA system, and Dan put the Yak-11 through it's paces. For me, this is the 1st memory I have of seeing a WWII Fighter fly in-person, probably hence the reason it is my favorite. 

For years, my goal has been to one day be just just Dan McCue, and own a Yak-11 (or Yak-3UA) and fly it in airshows. " I want to use it as a "traveling museum," and demonstrate authentic WWII aerobactics. Furthermore, in conjunction with my Tuskegee P-51 "Lucy Gal" project, I wish the have my Yak fly painted as Lilya Litvyak's "Yellow 44." Dubbed the "White Rose of Stalingrad," Litvyak was the 1st female ace. She was sadly lost in combat, akin to Leland Pennington & "Lucy Gal." Together, I think these two "tribute" planes can be used as an effective subject for a museum and community-youth program. That's my plan(e)!

Litvyak's Yak "Yellow 44"

Lilya Litvyak

Back in 2009, I got to meet Dan McCue at our airshow, in Geneseo. I had e-mailed back-and-forth with him in the months leading up to the show, mentioning my plans/goals of becoming a pro pilot and someday Yak-owner. Our meeting was brief, but he was just awesome! He even introduced me to another fighter-pilot legend, Dale "Snort" Snodgrass. Since that day, my desire to own the Yak has only grown stronger. One day, soon, I will make it happen. When I do, it'll be thanks to the support of great folks like Dan, and all of you! Thank you...

Until next time, "Keep 'Em Flying," and "Never, Never, Never Give Up."

11/24 - CPL Training Update (& Thankfulness!)

Greetings, all! Happy Early-Thanksgiving. I hope you get to spend some quality time with your loved ones and/or friends this week. Deep down, we all have at least one thing we each are forever thankful for. For me, having the opportunity to follow my dream of becoming a professional pilot is something I cherish every day. Having a family, and friends, who are equally supportive and enthused about my journey is a bonus! Thank you!

Recently, two good pilot-pals of mine generously shared some "goodies," to help in my commercial training. Darryl Y., a regional airline captain, has been a friend of mine since his children and my little brother went to Pre-K together. In addition to offering to meet with me to discuss my training progress and aviation-job prospects, Darryl has "donated" manuals to me in the past. This past week, he handed me a "Flow" diagram for the Embraer 170 (which he currently flies.) Remember me mentioning "Flows" once or twice, before? Thanks, Darryl!

Another fellow-aviator, Jeff G., noticed that in my videos of flight-simming, my rudder controls were giving me "fits." So, what does he do? Well, he offers to loan me his very own set of rudder-pedals (and a yoke to boot!) Thanks, Jeff. I will be putting them to good use shortly, and they should help quite a bit. Stay tuned!

Again, I have so many reasons to be thankful!

Thursday - 11/17:

In the past week, the Rochester Air Center (where I train) gained their newest CFI. Congrats to Sarah D! I jumped at the chance to fly with Sarah, and we flew both Thursday and Friday last week. Since she has just taken the CFI checkride, she is fresh on all the commercial pilot maneuvers, which is just what I need for my training. Last Thursday, we practiced and little bit of everything...

CPL Training Flight Summary - 11/17/16

CPL Training Flight Summary - 11/17/16

1.) "Lazy 8s"

2.) Chandelles

3.) Steep-Spiral Descent

Flying with Sarah has been great for me, so far. She is a great instructor, calm and informative. I had a good flight on Thursday, but I found that I needed to get more precise on my Chandelles and Lazy-8s. So, that was my focus for Friday!

A successful Thursday AM flight lesson complete!

Friday 11/18:

On Friday, we decided to focus more on my Lazy-8s and Chandelles, trying to make them more precise. The key, here, is relaxing and really getting a "feel" for the Arrow/Airplane. We did a lot of maneuvers in a short time (slow-flight, power-on/off stalls, accelerated stalls, steep turns, Lazy-8s, Chandelles, short/soft field takeoffs and landings.) Overall, I flew pretty good! I got my Chandelles down, finally. Lazy-8s still need a bit of work, but with Sarah's help, I will improve with practice. On Friday, we decided to put the FAA Commercial Pilot Test standards aside for the Lazy-8s, and just follow the maneuver for "fun." Basically, we just flew a "rough draft" of the maneuver, to get a feel for it. This helped me a lot!

CPL Training Flight Summary - 11/18/16

CPL Training Flight Summary - 11/17/16

1.) Slow Flight

2.) Stalls, Lazy-8s

3.) Chandelles

In addition to my Lazy-8s, my soft-field takeoff and short-field landing needs "work." Again, something that can be improved with practice! I am optimistic, and will keep at it. Thanks for the help, Sarah!

Soon.

Saturday 11/19:

The WNY weather decided not to agree with hopeful flyers, last weekend. So, I took the opportunity of being "grounded" to learn the fine-art of knot-tying, with my Grandpa! You see, tying a good knot is critical for pilots, when it comes to "tying down" and airplane after flight. For Commercial Pilots, this skill is useful, due to the wide-array of destinations and airport ramps they find themselves needing to tie-down at. With some experimentation, and input from my pilot-buddy Charlie, the "Locking Half-Hitch" knot won-out as the best one for the tie-down application.

Sunday 11/20:

The sour weather continued, so I did what any bored pilot would do, made a model of the plane I fly! I recently bought a "Hot Wings" die-cast Piper PA28 toy, with plans to repaint it as the Arrow I fly (N827RA.) While still grounded, I did just that. I think it came out looking pretty close!

A bored pilot's gotta do what he's gotta do, right? Anyhow, again, from the bottom of my heart, I am thankful for you all. I would not be where I am, and going where I am heading, without your help and support along the way. Until next time "Keep 'Em Flying," and "Never, Never, Never Give Up."

11/13 - CPL Training (& Tuskegee) Update

G'Day folks! I want to start off by wishing all those who have served a most honor-filled Veteran's Day & Weekend. I cannot thank you enough for your service, and I will never forget the sacrifices made by so many. This past week brought about more progress in my Commercial Pilot training, even though I was unable to find an available instructor. Furthermore, this week, I got to participate in our museum's (National Warplane Museum) Veteran's Day Tuskegee Airmen Event.

On Veteran's Day, Friday, our museum hosted a Ceremony to honor a handful of local Tuskegee Airmen, from WWII. The Tuskegee were the 1st African-American pilots to fly in the US Air Corps, breaking barriers of race and discrimination along the way. They succeeded! In 2007, The Tuskegee Airmen were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service, by President Bush. Though they were awarded, many Airmen have yet to receive their medals in-person. Many simply didn't know how (or that they even had one coming to them!) Our museum took the initiative, and located all the local Tuskegee that we could find. This included the family of F/O Leland H. Pennington, the focus of my "Lucy Gal" project (more info, here...http://www.sjfc.edu/academics/business/departments/marketing/news-detail.dot?id=3f00fa53-2ef6-44cd-aa7f-b68a8822becd, and here...https://www.facebook.com/Tuskegee-P-51-Lucy-Gal-Project-Geneseo-NY-164292383635429/)

F/O Leland "Sticks" Pennington

My job, for the event, was to be the chauffer for Mr. Herbert Thorpe, and his daughter. Mr. Thorpe flew as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, during WWII, and piloted the B-25 "Mitchell." He entered service just as the war was ending, so he did not see combat. Instead, he stayed state-side and trained other pilots. Herbert currently lives in Rome, NY, and I had initially planned to fly out there to pick his party up. I thought that it would have been rather cool to have flown with a Tuskegee Airman! Sadly, the weather did not agree, so I drove. Luckily, I had my co-pilot Charlie H. with me, as he wanted to meet Mr. Thorpe and attend the ceremony as well. The trip was a blast!

The event itself was very well attended, and we were all very surprised and happy with the turnout. (See, here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tuskegee-airmen-receive-congressional-gold-medal-43458989) For me, it was a true honor to be able to be a small part of the whole thing. The best part? Herbert wants me to come back to Rome soon, and take him flying! I think I can manage that. ;-)

On Saturday, the weather vastly improved, and I took advantage of it by flying the PA28-200R Arrow. I flew solo, and did a few Commercial Maneuvers for good measure. I did a few Chandelle's, a Lazy-8, and then a Steep-Spiral. All the maneuvers went pretty well, for someone who is in my shoes while training (waiting on CFI availability.) I looked at the flight as a "rough-draft" of CPL maneuvers, just to get the "feel" for them. I feel like I accomplished this.

CPL Training Flight Summary: 11/12/16

Goin' solo...

Cruisin' along in the Arrow, out to the practice-area...

CPL Training Flight Summary: 11/12/16

1.) Chandelle's

2.) Lazy-8s

3.) Steep-Spiral

GoPro shot of my Chandelle's! :-)

This AM, I did roughly the same thing as Saturday, a "dry-run" of the Commercial Maneuvers. This time, however, I flew with Charlie for some perspective/insight. As I mentioned in the last post, Charlie is a very competent Arrow flier, and also will be a CFI soon. He is in a great position to mentor me as I prep for my Commercial ticket. Today, we focused on doing the following...

• Soft-Field Takeoff @ KROC
• Soft-Field Landing @ 7G0 (Brockport)
• Short-Field Takeoff @ 7G0 (Brockport)
• Chandelle's
• Lazy-8s
• Steep-Spiral
• Short-Field Landing @ KROC

CPL Training Flight Summary: 11/13/16

The winds were very stiff, today, with gusts nearing 30 KTS. This made the maneuvers quite tricky, particularly the Lazy-8s. However, practicing these things in adverse conditions makes me all that much better at them when the weather is "normal," (or, as normal as WNY WX gets!) Overall, I flew pretty good. Charlie seemed content with my work, and told me that the maneuvers will be second nature to me shortly, the way I'm progressing. I am very thankful for his help!

Until next time, "Keep 'Em Flying," and "Never, Never, Never Give Up."

11/6 - CPL Training Update

Happy November, friends, family, and followers! I hope this new month brings you great success in your personal goals and endeavours. It's been a struggle for me, up until the last few days, to get up to fly. The weather here in WNY had not been agreeable, up until this past Friday. Luckily, we caught a break! Here's the "rundown" of what I've been up to...

Friday 11/4:
This was the 1st time, since Mid-October, that I had been able to practice my commercial maneuvers in an actual airplane. I had a feeling that it was going to be a bit "rusty," and despite trying to avoid this, the rust still showed through. However, I was able to improve as the lesson progressed.

Commercial Training Flight PCAI: 11/4

PROS
> Chandelles went well, my practice in the flight-sim (as seen in earlier posts here) paid off.
> 8s-on-Pylons started out rough, but improved as I got the "feel" for them.

CONS
> Stalls were not "smooth." I was overthinking the recovery procedures, mostly because I am still somewhat "new" to the Arrow. I was able to squeak out a good power-off stall towards the end, however.
> Details! I seemed to miss the "nitty-gritty" things, because of the rust. Things like after-takeoff departure checklists, power/prop control, and wind corrections.

ACTIONS/IMPROVEMENTS
> "Chair-Fly" the Arrow, and practice cockpit flows/checklists.
> SIM, aka the flight simulator. Keep practicing commercial maneuvers.
> BREATHE! Don't forget, you're only human...have fun and relax!

Saturday 11/5:
Friday's lesson effectively "knocked the dust off," and Saturday's flight was much better. The night before, I did some "chair flying" and visualization. I read over my flows/checklists, and pretended and though I was in the cockpit, flying the maneuvers. This really helped me out, as usually does. I was bound and determined to be better.

Commercial Training Flight PCAI: 11/5

PROS

> I walked into the air centre with that "swagger" I mentioned in an earlier post, akin to what a professional airline pilot. Not "cocky," but confident...prepared...relaxed. I used my flows in the Arrow, just like the "big-boys" do in their 737s. Why? Because it has been proven to work. For me, when I am able to slow-down and be a "pro," I am a better pilot.
> I stayed "on-top" of the details, which I missed the previous day. I was diligent on trim/prop/power settings before entering my maneuvers, this was the key! I flew much better because my setups were better! My 8s-on-Pylons were consistent, and the steep-turns were smooth (video proof below!)

8s-on-Pylons

Steep-Turns

Commercial Training Flight Summary: 11/5

"8s-on-Pylons" & Steep Turns: 11/5

CONS
> Really not too much to self-reflect on, except that I am still trying to perfect my soft-field landings in the Arrow. I will get it down, eventually! Just takes practice.

ACTIONS/IMPROVEMENT
> Continue "chair-flying," flows/checklists/flight sim.
> Practice more performance takeoffs/landings (soft-field.)
> Study "Lazy-8s" maneuver, for next lesson.

Sunday 11/6:
Running off the positive energy from Saturday's flight, I was determined to continue my "mojo." With instructors busy all day, I invited my good pilot pal Charlie to join along. He is quite proficient in the Arrow (as well as the Seneca, as seen in earlier posts here.) He is a commercial pilot, and knows how to execute the maneuvers. A perfect passenger for this flight!

Commercial Training Flight PCAI: 11/6

Commercial Training Flight Summary: 11/6

"8s-on-Pylons" & Chandelles: 11/6

PROS
> Slow-flight maneuver went smoothly, the magic was, as-always, in the setup!
> I did good on the power-off stall, straight from slow-flight.
> Chandelles are "getting there." I executed the maneuver well, but still need a tad more pitch-up towards the end of the maneuver, to reach minimum-controllable airspeed.
> 8s-on-Pylons were very good, I am really getting accustomed to them.
> Landing was good, I attempted a "spot" landing, on the touchdown-aiming-point, and hit it!

CONS
> My attempt at a successful power-on stall came up short. I feel like this is due to the fact that the Arrow is higher-powered than the Cessna 172 I am used to stalling. There needs to be a lot of back-pressure on the yoke, and I was afraid of doing a "hammer-head." Charlie demonstrated a correct power-on stall to me, and I can say that I have a ways to go. I just need to overcome the fear in my head. It will quell, soon!
> My steep-spiral really needs some work. I think that I am missing something critical about successfully executing the maneuver, but unsure just what the trick is. I will continue to study it, and ask around. I have trouble holding the 45 degrees of bank constant, while keeping my emergency landing spot in range. I'll keep at it.

ACTIONS/IMPROVEMENT
> I will continue to focus on quelling my fear of flipping the Arrow during a power-on stall. I know that, soon enough, this action will be commonplace to me.
> Steep-spirals will be a focus of mine, this week. I will watch/read more about them, and try some in the simulator as well.

The Arrow handles my flying quite well! A match made in (the) heaven(s.)

Cool! But, what does it all mean?
Okay, so I just threw a lot of knowledge at ya. But, 8s-on-Pylons? Steep-Spirals? Chandelles? What are these? Well, look no further! FYI...

• Slow-Flight (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHha9ajCrMc)
• Power-Off & On Stalls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNsWoZIj__c)
• Steep-Turns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv7p7ZmrfQk)
• Steep-Spiral (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSzOEHAtWhY)
• Chandelle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGaGzlXR3ls)
• 8s-on-Pylons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12MF1L5gcdw)

Whew! Well, I hope all that helps! As always, I thank you for your continued support. Until next time, "Keep 'Em Flying," and "Never, Never, Never Give Up."