The Plastic is IN!!

It's HERE!!  What more can I say??

This has been a great experience.  

New Pilot Updates

Now that I am the pilot (that phrase still sounds quite odd to me) I have been getting out here and there to celebrate my achievement. But also comes the reality of flying versus daily obligations.  There is a battle between flying and daily chores and obligations.  This includes the need to finish other goals including starting my insurance and retirement planning business.  But since achieving my pilot’s license I have been completely enjoying my new freedom and over the last two weeks I really got a chance to completely feel what this really meant to me.

April 29, 2015: Two hours after receiving my private pilot’s license I took a flight with Chris and Lance who are pilots at my old airport. They just happen to be up flying in the area when I sent Chris a text message so they came over to Cuyahoga County Airport I took them up for half an hour ride. My landing was long and hot, but I was thinking more of the Cessna following me and did not transition soon enough to slow down for a landing that was inside of my standards.

May 2, 2015: We had planned for her to be my first ride however due to work that did not happen. But a few days later I woke up and it was a beautiful morning so I sent a text message to Kerry and we move from Cuyahoga County to Carrollton County Airport for lunch and back. I had to do one go-around because I was high on final.  The food was great, it was a little bumpy on the way down and much bumpier on the way back home.  I also got a chance to use the Garman Pilot on my Asus tablet. Now I see why pilots love their tablets.  Kerry needs to get yo more and finish her license also. 

May 3, 2015: On a whim I called up my friend Tammi and she agreed to go up also. She had a lot of reluctance however she was quite excited to do so which sent a lot of mixed feelings. I flew from Cuyahoga County Airport to pick her up at Lost Nations Airport, and we flew up the Lake Erie shoreline to Ashtabula.  Not only did she not let me turn back as planned, she had me take a longer outbound, so I decided to do a touch and go at the Ashtabula airport, flew her back to Lost Nations Airport, and flew back to my home base.  I should have gotten some money from her for that additional 30 minutes in the air.

May 4, 2015: The next day, also on a whim I called my friend Tammi again, but she was getting her hair done and could not go. But she told me I should take her mom up for a flight and I agreed. Within 10 minutes she had contacted her mother, Bonnie, and everything was planned. I flew over to Lost Nations Airport again to pick up Bonnie, and we flew up the Erie shoreline, and then over Painesville, and back to the airport to drop her off. She absolutely loved it, and somehow in the future I think she will hijack me to Florida.

May 8, 2015: I decided to go for a quick flight in the late afternoon, even though they were predicting scattered showers. From my departure time nothing was on the weather radar so I decided to fly down to Geauga County Airport, and then over to Portage County Airport, and then back home. About 10 minutes after takeoff from my home base, something really struck me. A calmness came over me and for the first time as the pilot, I completely felt that everything had finally fallen into place. I felt completely at ease, I confidently knew where I was going, I felt that I could completely enjoy the situation of being up in the plane and truly felt as if I had met my goal.  The landing at Geauga County was uneventful except for the drops of rain on the windshield when I was on downwind. After I took off the skies did not look very appealing and I also noticed on my telephone the cells of weather between Geauga County and my home base. For the first time I used Flight Watch and I found it quite helpful. I decided to not fly to Portage County and flew straight home and all was well.

So, I now pretty much have a good idea of why this license means so much to me.

The Wait is Finally Over

I will be short and to the point with today’s entry.

The oral exam was not nearly as stressful as I anticipated. And thanks to the DPE, my mind was put at ease almost immediately during the interview.  This was a 'pilot-to-pilot chat', not my annual colonoscopy.  As I was advised by few people if I did not have the answer, I probably did know the answer and would have to talk through the question and find myself at the correct answer. 

The flight evaluation was also a lot less stressful than I anticipated, and early on through this portion of my exam I had to remind myself that this was just like any other flight and handled the situation as such. There were many bumps at lower altitudes, but within reason I was able to hold onto my altitudes during the slow flight portion, and unlike the day before my steep turns were a lot more reasonable.  Also, unlike the day before my landings were much closer to my standard and I felt very comfortable even with the evaluator sitting next to me.

I am still full of many emotions so I am lost for words.  All I can say is that I am now proud to announce that I am finally a Private Pilot.  I wish that my father, step-father, a dear pilot friend, Oakley, and a few friends were alive to receive my call and share my excitement.

 

 



Just a Touch More Work

I found my self at the airport to review some information I needed for my check ride, and ended up flying.  Go figure.

Simple flight solo review: 360's, slow flight, power on and power off stalls, turns around a point, and to Lost Nation Airport for some landing practice and slips to landing. 

Since I have been having issues with carrying too much speed on short final, I decided to break that habit and watched my target landing spot more carefully and make sure my final 30 seconds is at 60-65 knots.  End results?  2 landings at Lost Nation and 1 at Cuyahoga County within 200 feet of the target (the threshold).

Prior to my practice, a pilot advised me that my jitters are normal and that I needed to relax and I should do fine. 

Today, I will finish the IACRA on-line with my CFI and hope to get signed off today.  Then today and tonight study the ASA Private Oral Exam Guide, and finish my flight plan for my simulated cross country.

Fingers crossed.   

Checkride Scheduled

I never experienced this much fear and anticipation of an upcoming event.

Keep in mind that I have gone through two major surgeries, a liver transplant and 10 years later a liver kidney transplant.
Overall, I believe that I am ready. However, being under the watchful eye of an examiner for some reason leaves me somewhat rattled. Back in 2006 I had to take the drivers exam because I let my drivers license expire while going through the process of my second transplant surgery. Having the driving examiner sit next to me I found myself somewhat rattled even though I had been driving for over 30 years with a practically flawless driving record.

Maybe my nerves are rattled because this is a long time goal of mine, and finally for the first time in my life an achievement of something very important to me can happen within the next 3 to 4 days. Also, many of my friends are watching me and supporting me and I do not want to let them down.

Also, maybe I am extremely nervous because I have something to prove to the world that people like myself, organ transplant recipients, are very able and capable people and are no different than any other humans except for the fact that we have a very long and extremely sexy  surgical scars.

I know that I am ready to become one of the less than 1%.

Short Field Work and Hood Time

One thing I noticed at the tail end of my training was that we did not do short fieldwork. While I always try to make sure my landings were near the threshold, one of my biggest problems was that I would find myself on short final with excessive speed which would lead me into a longer float than I wanted. Because of my excessive speed my flares would leave me in a balloon situation time and time again. So my instructor and I went up and executed short field landings which I thought I would be a little queasy over.  Short field landing in the Warrior calls for an approach that is pretty much at the lower end of the white arc. Real close.  Too close for my comfort level.  Now I have to admit, it was much easier than I thought, and my landings were right beyond the threshold, that is within 50 to 100 feet with absolutely no problem. While many times my takeoffs were pretty much close to ‘by the book’ short field takeoffs I pretty much never pushed myself until today. I was never a fan of having my nose at a high departure angle so close to the ground. However, only once did I hear the stall warning chirp at me therefore I pretty much felt comfortable at this high angle of attack during takeoff.  Soft field takeoffs were great.  

 

As of now I need just a touch less than an hour of hood time, and this latest adventure was pretty taxing to me again. My instructor stated that I did quite well however I was making some standard mistakes and need to pay more attention to flying the airplane with the required instruments that would make me more accurate in my heading holds and also my altitude holds.  No doubt, people hold an instrument rating are exceptional pilots. I was told by one of my instructors that on clear days at low altitudes it is not uncommon to encounter as much turbulence as I did which makes the hood time much more difficult. Therefore I guess training under the hood is pretty difficult for many, as it was for me. Turbulence and low altitude under the hood brings on a lot of sweat and frustration.

 

Nine more days before the end of the month, therefore I am sweating that issue of obtaining my license before April 30, which is my target date which coincides with the end of Organ Donation Awareness Month. Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating and the winds today are 22 to 28 knots.

Long Cross Country, DONE!!

Since my last posting, I have taken my required long cross-country. My long cross-country was from Cuyahoga County Airport to Wheeling West Virginia Airport, New Philadelphia Airport, and back home to Cuyahoga County Airport.

The trip to Wheeling West Virginia overall went quite well, and my checkpoints were all within two minutes, and the checkpoints were right where they should’ve been. The only issue that was problematic in a minor way was the turbulence. After takeoff I climbed to 5500 feet and was able to hit my altitude and headings with not much of a problem, except my playing kept wanting to turn to the right, however in the Cherokee you have a rudder trim therefore I was able to control it somewhat.  One of my shortcomings is that I have to watch my frequencies because I tried to call Akron Approach Control on the wrong frequency.  As I approached Steubenville Ohio I had to tuck under the Bravo airspace which once again brought back the turbulence that I was trying to avoid. While I was on a 4 mile final a Cessna on an animal rescue mission was on base so I offered a 360 to let the critters land first, which the tower approved. 

Once on the ground I was able to meet my friends for lunch which was a treat, because we have been talking about me flying over for lunch for a couple of years. Unfortunately, I was on a shorter schedule so I could not hang around and was able to get off the ground within an hour and a half and flew to my next destination, New Philadelphia.

This leg was a little more difficult because I was not paying attention to my headings like I should’ve been. I found myself flying north of my route therefore I missed my check point, Cadiz, Ohio, birthplace of what famous actor?  I was able to get myself back on route without much of a problem, however finding that airport was not easy and I ended up cheating by using the panel mounted GPS.  This is something I did not want to do, however, if you have those tools available to you, you might as well use them. I could’ve used my Garmin Pilot but I did not want to reach back into my flight bag and dig it out of the bag.  I later on found out that other pilots have had the same problems in locating this airport, and recall years ago as a passenger we had same issue. This airport is kind of tucked in some trees on one side and hard to find unless you know what you’re looking for.

The final leg was very interesting however very simple. From the airport to the VOR to my home airport is pretty much a straight shot and maybe 2° or 3° difference over the VOR. Working with Akron control was no problem, and flying over both Akron airports was pretty easy, and flying through the Charlie airspace was also easy especially on a Sunday when there are not too many airliners taking off from Akron.
 

So, the long cross-country was pretty much an easy process and all of my times were pretty much on except for the one leg which I was able to press on to my destination. I believe that as many other people have experienced, this type of cross-country is a big boost to the ego and you also feel like a real life pilot. Oh wait, I almost am a real life pilot.