Short and Soft

No, this isn't a condition which can be cured by products sold by GlavMed - this is the portion of my training where we learn how to takeoff and land (with and without obstacles) at fields with short runways, or soft field conditions (slush, snow, mud, grass, etc).

During a few cross country flights with some friends back in April I was able to experience both a short and soft field takeoff/landing so I had a basic understanding of what it felt like and what we were supposed to do.

Since the weather wasn't our friend this evening, I5 and I decided to spend the entire session doing a lengthy ground brief to cover both of these. Not extremely exciting, but at least something to think about. We took a short break when someone came into the club hoping to get some fuel. Since I5 was the only one at the club this late we went out to help him with the fuel. I was happy to say that this was indeed the pilot of the infamous Skymaster (see last week's entry) and I had an opportunity to inspect her inside and out. This thing is even more odd up close than it was in the air! I went home afterwards and spent a considerable amount of time reading and watching videos of everything I could regarding short and soft fields.

The club's syllabus requires me to complete this section of training in four flights - a set of dual/solo pairs for each of short field and soft field landings.

I can hardly wait to knock these off!

Skymaster

I was still on a high from the previous flight and spent most of the day in a foul mood as thunderstorms rolled in outside my office window all day long. My wife had called at about 6PM asking if my flight had been cancelled but naturally I told her that just like my baseball team, we wouldn’t be able to call it until we arrived at the field.

Things cleared up just as I arrived at the field. In fact it was a beautiful clear evening with mostly blue skies. My aircraft had been fuelled up and was waiting on the ramp for me. After a quick checkout I took to the skies off of runway 25. The circuit filled up over the next 90 minutes and I had the opportunity to see a variety of aircraft circling with me. For the last 40 minutes or so I had the weirdest looking aircraft behind me. Each time he keyed his mike and called in as Skymaster ABC, I let out a big of a giggle as I pictured some superhero behind the controls. Each time I turned to a new circuit leg in front of him I couldn’t help but to look back. This thing had a prop at the front and at the back to go with its dual vertical stabilizers. Mind blowing for a newbie like me!

I was really on the ball all night and was additionally having a ball. My power settings were good, my circuits were good, my approaches were good, and the landings were good. I felt as if I had enough time on each approach to double and triple check everything. It seemed as if everything was truly coming together. I was even able to seamlessly handle an unanticipated runway change that was communicated to me on the go. Very cool stuff. I think I like this flying thing.

When I arrived back at the club they were completely shut down so I had to fill out the paperwork in the little dispatch office. This made me feel especially important. It was odd not to have some instructors back at the club greet me as I arrived.

The final lessons of the day were that some people have no idea what they are doing with respect to knots - illustrated by the scenario I faced getting the tie downs on the plane. The other lesson was that without someone demonstrating to you how the control locks are put in place, it can be a long and frustrating process. Note to self: move the rudder pedals all the way forward.

With the initial solo portion of my circuit training complete, I will not move on to the next phase of training - short and soft field landings before moving back to the practice area.

26.4 hours and counting...

Now *THIS* is a solo!

The real learning continues with my first actual solo flight from start to finish. I'll admit now that I felt extra super cool as I walked out to the ramp to check the aircraft out. After a quick chat with the Chief instructor about a few things I hopped into the diamond and went through the checklists. I made sure that I really took my time going over everything especially during the run-up.

Before I knew it I was cleared for takeoff. It was just as I lifted off that I first noticed "the noise". WTF is that? It didn't sound like anything mechanical, but it certainly didn't sound right. I scanned all of the engine gauges, the circuit breakers, my main gauges, my controls - everything looked perfect. FFC was performing exactly as expected, but still the noise was there. I decided to hold off on the flaps and pump going off until I turned crosswind and as I did the noise stopped. "OK, perhaps it was the fuel pump" was my first thought. As I straightened out on the crosswind the noise came back again. I tried flipping the pump on and off and double checked the gauges again but everything looked good. It was at this moment I first thought to myself "Am I really having an issue with an aircraft on my first solo?"I looked back at the field to determine what my options might be if I had to perform an emergency landing and then started considering options that weren’t on the field.

During the turn to downwind the noise again stopped and of course restarted as I rolled out straight. "No need to panic, just keep troubleshooting and considering options" I told myself. I ripped off my headset in an effort to better locate the noise. I bent over and put my head in different positions to figure out where the source of the noise was. Engine gauges look OK. Throttle, mixture, alternate air, cabin heat, fuel cut-off all where they need to be. The window is closed on my side; the window is closed on the other...wait a minute! The window IS closed on the other side but there’s this little tiny window inside of it that appears to be open!! I reached across to the window (no simple feat for a man of my stature) and pulled the little window closed, pushed the lock tab in and bingo - the noise ended. I immediately let out a simultaneous sigh of relief and a chuckle at myself. "What a wonderful blog entry this will make!"

The remainder of the flight was an absolute dream. I spent a lot of time messing around with power settings to produce the perfect rate of descent on the base and final - or at least to improve on my 800fpm descent I was hitting most of the time. I focused on sticking to the centerline for the entire approach phase and I’m happy to say most of the landings were pretty smooth.

I did have one other brain fart worth noting because it was a good learning experience. I was so focused on getting my power settings correct that at one point while on base I heard the aircraft behind my call "downwind for the touch and go" when I realized that I had neglected to make that call myself. After tower told them they were #2 following a diamond I keyed my mike and simply said "Tower, FFC on right base for the touch and go, sorry about the early turn". Luckily the rest of my situational awareness was intact so I knew there wasn’t anyone else in front of me or on a straight in. Phew!

Securing the aircraft I was extremely satisfied with the flight. I realized at that point I had spent over 90 minutes in the air. My final lesson for the day was that the tow bar for the diamond was a complete POS and it was nearly impossible to steer it back into the correct parking spot.

24.8 hours and counting...

The Post Solo Check Ride

All I could think about since the last flight was the fact that the solo was over too quickly. I was dying to get back in the air for some practice on my own. Before I could do this I was required to complete my post solo check ride.

The winds didn't look good most of the day so I was starting to consider that this flight wasn't going to happen. I left work early to stop off for a visit with my wife and 2 year old son, while the 5 year old was taking a golf lesson. The lesson lasted a little longer than usual and my wife had that "you better not desert me to go flying" look on her face so I followed the family home. Once at home I sprang into action giving the boys a bath, brushing teeth, combing hair, getting them dressed, and reading them stories. I knew I was going to be late. Just as I was about to head out the door the older boy was calling me for another story. I immediately felt guilty about leaving so instead headed back upstairs for one more bedtime story.

Finally satisfied I said good night and ran out the door, driving as fast as I legally could to the airport. I arrived 15 minutes late and still hadn't started the walk around. I was reminded by I5 that I should have everything ready to go at the START of the lesson and that now we might not be able to get a flight in since he had to fly a charter in the morning and couldn't legally work past 9.

I made sure I didn't rush anything lest I overlook something that resulted in a problem for me later on. Finally in the aircraft we fired her up, then things took another bad turn. OK, I'll admit this now - I'm a small guy, vertically speaking. The Diamond doesn't have seats that move and instead you move the rudder pedals forward or back. To make things even worse the seats are at a bit of a recline - you can't move the seats at all. I5 noticed a few flights back that I was constantly grabbing onto the dashboard to pull myself up for a better view. The next flight he suggested that I fly with a pillow. At first I was thinking "not a chance" but he convinced me to try it. A tiny pillow tucked into the small of my back allowed me to sit more upright and I instantly noticed the difference. My reach was improved and the visibility was at least 100 times better. OK, so now you all know it - I fly with a pillow (why do I feel like this is the same as a 3 year old with blocks on the pedals of his tricycle?).

Anyhow... there is a huge bin in the little room on the way out of the club to the ramp. Inside it has an entire suite of "pillows". Most of them remnants from couches long since retired and with little to no cushion actually left in them. They all seemed to be gone this day so I just grabbed one and headed for plane. Turns out that this one pushed me so far forward it was actually uncomfortable for me. I realize this until we were already starting our taxi on the ramp and mentioned it to I5. After a quick conversation we shut down the aircraft and he jumped out to grab me a tiny one. When he returned I asked if we had time for the flight to which he said "absolutely".

I felt in command of everything during the safety briefing. The takeoff from runway 25 went great. In fact everything went well. Before I knew it I was touching down in a slight crosswind, holding the centerline, and taking to the skies again. During the climbout we didn't speak as tower gave us a runway change. Now we were set up for runway 16 and again a happy approach and landing. As I turned downwind I asked him if he had any commentary and after asking if I felt good to go solo he called tower and asked for a full stop to drop off the instructor.

This time I wasn't nearly as nervous as he left the cockpit. I fired her up taxied back to runway 16 and flew for 7 touch and go's and a full stop. I'd like to say that I really enjoyed it but the truth is that I was concentrating deeply. I wouldn't say I was miles ahead of the airplane but I certainly wasn't behind. I diddled a lot with the power settings trying to get the right approach angle but never seemed to really get it. Either I was super high or super low. On the other hand I did manage to correct them all. Although it was improved - I have to fix this "diving for the runway" problem I have. It's really tough to get a good flare going when you are barreling in. Most of the landings did end up very well in the end.

After the flight I5 told me I was now signed off for solo circuits. I again enjoyed signing my name in the journey log as PIC for the second flight. Now that I have a taste for flying alone I'm REALLY aching to get out there again. The next flight will be all by myself from start to finish. I booked it right then and there for an evening flight 48 hours later.

23.1 hours and counting...

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

With the amount of daylight peaking at this time of year, I've managed to make a number of bookings in the evenings at 7 PM. My intention has always been to either work late and go directly to the airport, or go home a bit early, get the kids ready for bed and then head out. On this particular day it was the latter and as a result I was rushed and showed up nearly 20 minutes late. It had been a long day of family and work for me, and on the way there I wondered if I was 100% in the zone for a day when I potentially really needed to be there.

The winds had been swirling around much of the day and when I showed up there was a definite crosswind. I was fully prepared for I5 to tell me I was too late or that the winds weren't right, but instead he asked me if I thought the solo would happen today. After a few seconds of thinking I simply responded that there were three variables at work here - the weather, his perception of my ability, and my performance. I only had control over one of them and would do my best.

We departed to the north today for left traffic and I felt great during the first circuit. I pooched my power control on the base and ended up being pretty high on the base. Without waiting for any prompting I went full right rudder, left aileron and put us into a forward slip which soon transitioned to a slipping turn. I had to hold it almost to the threshold and did a gradual transition into some sort of a sideslip for the crosswind which was blowing from my left. I held the centerline with a combination of rudder and aileron, put it down smoothly and held the nosewheel off, calmly put the flaps up, stood on the right rudder while I went full power and we took to the skies again.

During the climbout I asked I5 for some feedback and he simply said "that was a great slip and an excellent crosswind landing. You held the centerline. It was well done". The second circuit was much better on the power control and again we got down on the centerline. It was then that I realized I5 didn't plan on saying anything at all unless he needed to - and this was a good thing. On the downwind he asked me if I felt ready to solo to which I replied "yep". He called the tower this time and told them we were for a full stop, would drop off the instructor and "I'm going to send this student solo". After landing he took control of the aircraft and taxied to the tower apron where he shut everything down and popped the canopy open.

He pulled out a sheet of paper from his clipboard and handed it to me. It was my student permit signed and dated. He simply said "I've sent dozens of students solo and you are definitely ready. Do you feel ready?". This time I wasn't as confident and said "I guess so". As he hopped out he told me to fly a single circuit for a full stop, taxi back to the club, and good luck. With that he closed the canopy and smiled.

This was it. The moment I had been waiting for...

I popped open the window and realized I was nervous. I took a swig of the bottled water I had taken aboard, pulled out my checklist and started going through it. The engine fired up nicely and I5 who was standing on the grass gave me a thumbs up which I returned and I called ground.

"Ground, Diamond 20 Charlie, fox.. um no charlie golf foxtrot foxtrot charlie on the apron for taxi and we have information November."

"Foxtrot Foxtrot Charlie it's information Oscar now - winds ........ and did you want the circuit?"

Yes, can you believe that after all of my training with nearly flawless radio work, my initial call for my solo was a complete disaster. I realized then that I REALLY needed to bear down and focus. Time to make sure these guys new who they were dealing with

"We're for the circuit and it's our first solo, please pass that on to tower"

By some magic, things all fell into place from that point on. My taxi all the way back to 34 was perhaps the best taxi on the centerline I had ever done. The days of taxiing like a 19 year old leaving a frat party at 430 am were behind me. I took my time during the runup making sure I didn't miss anything on the checklist. Two things I noticed during the runup were:

1) I actually understood every check I was doing, what I was looking for during them, and why I was doing them. All of the book work was paying off.

2) I was happy to have the checklists. They seemed familiar and really calmed me down.

I spent a lot of time going through the safety briefing. Exactly where my go/no go point was, what I would do in case we had to abort, what I would if we had an engine problem after takeoff, and where I wanted to be at every point in the circuit. Finally satisfied, I pulled ahead to the hold short line and called the tower: "Fox Fox Charlie holding short runway 34". Tower asked me to hold short for landing traffic. Then a moment later told me there would be two more landing before he could get me out. I welcomed the extra time and told him "we're not in a rush".

This was a great thing. I had some time to relish the moment. I thought about how significant this moment was in my flight training, and my life. I thought about all of the times I dreamed about flying by myself. I thought about the countless hours I spent at home on my simulator flying heavy complex aircraft, then smaller commuter props, and then finally figured out that I loved to hand fly a tiny little "flib" more than anything else. Then it finally came - I thought about my dad. It was a year and two days since he had passed away - prompting me to finally get off my behind and start the flight training which I know I was "meant to take". I didn't get emotional - I simply looked up to the skies and said "I know you are up there watching and I know how proud you are of me for this moment". I am not a religious guy and I'm generally not a believer in ghosts and all that hocus pocus - but from that moment on I truly felt as if I had him in there with me.

The moment was broken by a skyhawk crossing over the threshold and tower asked me to line up and wait. I booted it out onto the runway and lined her up. A few seconds later the skyhawk cleared the runway and I was cleared for takeoff and left circuit. I pushed the throttle ahead smoothly, stayed on that rudder, called the airspeed alive, kept an eye on the engine instruments, started my rotation and "slipped the surly bonds of earth". It was an absolute rush and I let out a huge yahoo that any cowboy from rural Alberta would be proud of.

There was a twin departing IFR behind me and I suppose for some reason tower thought it would be appropriate to ask me to turn crosswind early. As he keyed his mic for the transmission I was just coming up on 400 AGL but still replied "no problem". I brought up the flaps and switched off the pump as I made the crosswind turn. The aircraft still managed to reach circuit altitude just as I turned downwind and I made sure I pulled the power all the way back.

Downwind checks - engine temp good, fuel pressure and quantity good, oil pressure and temps good, alternator and battery good, mixture full, fuel open, master on, turn fuel pump on, mags both. "Tower, Fox Fox Charlie downwind for a full stop."

I did what I had been trained to do the rest of the way in - talking myself through it the entire time. It wasn't until I turned final that I remembered again I was on my first solo. What if I lost an engine now? Would I make the runway - yeesh - let's just focus again.

I kept adjusting the power to keep the numbers centered in the windscreen. 60 knots, compensate for the crosswind - number, airspeed, windsock... numbers, airspeed, windsock... numbers, airspeed windsock.. reduce power and a bit of nose to bleed speed, power off, stay on the centerline, wing down into the wind, bleed of the speed, in the ground effect, hold the position.. hold it hold it hold it hold it - still floating... and then the magic happened - left wheel slightly touched down but I held the nose off - right wheel touched down, and then rather than dropping the wheel I continued to hold it off until it came down nicely. I put on the brakes - pulled off on the taxiway just as tower said "Ground on 121.8, nice work".

I thanked ground on the way in and asked him pass it on to tower. As I parked the diamond on the ramp, I5 and another made their way out to congratulate me. They took a few photos of me in the aircraft, then a few of me standing next to the registration numbers. Then they dumped a 5 gallon pail of water over my head!! As I walked back into the club soaked from head to toe I received many congratulations from everyone in there.

I5 asked how it went and all I could of were two things:

1) I lived.

2) It was too short.

The best part at this point was filling out the journey log with only my name as PIC and being able to sign the book with my initials and license number.

A huge milestone in my journey has been reached and I'm glad that it is now behind me so that I can get back to focusing on flying rather than focusing on the solo. It was only a taste for what was to come, but like a young adult tasting champagne for the first time, or better yet - a one year old eating cake and icing for their first time on their birthday - I liked it.

I liked it a lot!

21.7 hours and counting...