Flying Around

The weather has been great lately here in Blacksburg. I have been checked out in the club's Cherokee and have been trying to go up as much as possible. My checkout went great, aside from the fact that I was a little rusty on many maneuvers. At the end of the flight, everything was good and pretty much within the PTS. I wouldn't say that is too bad for not flying in almost two months and also never flying a Cherokee before. It was pretty interesting, and the Cherokee flies like a tank.
I have been up once since I was checked out and I pretty much stayed in the pattern here in Blacksburg. I took a few pictures of the campus, but the low wing does not afford too many opportunities to take good shots of the campus.
This weekend I will be going home to PHF for a weekend layover at my parent's house. It will be my first flight over one hundred eighty nautical miles and it will take considerably longer since the Cherokee is no Cessna.

...and I'm back

I know it has been a while since I posted here, but summer school kept me quite busy. I just got back from the 4.16.07 memorial dedication. It was a very solemn and special occasion for many here at Virginia Tech. I went with a friend, who is also a transfer student, to pay my respects and pause in life with the Virginia Tech community.
I cannot wait for classes to start tomorrow. I know it means that the real work will once again begin, but it also means time to meet new people and make new friendships. My course load is currently light because I need to work out my transfer credits and then be able to declare my major in the college of engineering.
On another note, I have officially joined the Hokie Flying Club. I went out to the airport Friday evening to start the paperwork process and hand over the airplane deposits. I should be getting my checkout with the club sometime this week, so that means I will be back up in the sky. I cannot wait! I'll be the VT Hokie pilot.

First Week at VT

As my first week at Virginia Tech comes to a close, I am very glad that I made the switch from LSU. I am taking one engineering class during the summer semester. So far, the class is great. There is a lecture for an hour and half in the morning, followed by a two hour lab in the afternoon five days a week. So far the average seems to be two hours of homework a night. I have met quite a few new people here and life looks promising.
I walked over to the July forth celebrations with some residents. It was Beatles nice and the live band at the fireworks was pretty good. The show was a little drawn out though, lasting a little more than thirty minutes.
The weekend was fine. Mainly hung out in other peoples rooms around campus. So far, the campus seems very dry; but hopefully that will change this week.
I found the local church, but I obviously picked the wrong mass to go to. Seems that there is a strong contingency of Life Teen praise and worship folks around here. I need to find an old school catholic church.

Moved to Blacksburg

I made the move to Virginia Tech this past week. The campus is beautiful and I cannot wait to start classes here. I moved into my room today and it is pretty nice. I'm in a suite, so I share a bathroom, a hallway, and a lounge with six people. It makes me wonder why I ever lived on campus at LSU.
My roommate is from south Florida. We're in a similar situation, one of his parents lives in Virginia and the other lives a thousand miles away. His parents are moving back together as are mine. He's a fan of World of Warcraft, and I'm always lost when he starts talking to me about it. I do the same when I start talking about flying.
Overall the move was pretty easy. The people up here are great and everyone seems nice.
The weather for the move could not have been better. No rain and the sun shining overhead. The rooms are moderately sized and in good condition. The only problem that everyone has in the cell phone coverage. If someone calls, I can see the call but once I answer I lose the signal. The parking system here is similar to LSU. All of the close spots are faculty/staff and the students have to park in the "cage."
Well, hopefully this summer class goes well and I cannot wait to finish up my major here at Virginia Tech.

First Passenger

Well, it has been a while since the weather has been VFR flyable. After canceling three flights, I was finally able to take to the skies. Since I did not know the gas situation in the plane, I could not guarantee that my dad and Matthew could come along. I could guarantee a seat for Chris if the plane was full of fuel.
On the day of the flight, I called to get a briefing and the weather sounded great. Upon arrival at Baton Rouge, I preflighted the plane and it turns out my dad could have come along. I really wanted him to be my first passenger, but I just could not take that chance. After preflight and getting some gas, we tookoff from 4R and started out due east to Hammond.
Upon arrival at Hammond, let's just say the pattern was a little crazy. I checked the weather and the winds dictated the use of 36, but the other five planes in the pattern dictated otherwise. I ended up using 18. Everyone was flying a very loose pattern. I have never said, Cessna 749SP number four on final for 18. Chris seemed a little nervous because of the crowdedness of the pattern, as I was constantly looking for the other planes in the pattern. After the touch and go on 18, we climbed out and headed for Fraklinton.
The flight to Franklinton was pretty short. The field was easy to find and the winds were calm. We landed on 31 and back taxied to the ramp. Upon pushing the plane back, we walked across the runway and to the Franklinton Country Club clubhouse. Chris and I ordered our $100 hamburgers. The food was nothing special, but it is one of the few places to get a hamburger in Louisiana.
After lunch, we walked back to the plane. After startup and run-up, I did a short field takeoff from 31. The field is three thousand feet long and there are fifty foot tress too close for comfort at the end of the runway. We easily cleared the trees, but it was still interesting doing my first real short field takeoff.
The return trip was fine, except it was hazy. Chris did note how "crazy" the radio traffic sounds. Landing at Baton Rouge, the winds were still calm and landed on 22R. Originally approach assigned us to 13, but the tower made it easier for both parties because of the landing traffic on 13.
The flight to Frankinton was my first $100 hamburger. It was well worth the cost and time involved. Having my first passenger was also a new experience because I had another soul on board that had no clue about aviation. I hope that I can instill a love of aviation in another soul.

First Low Wing Flight

So I called up Bill a few days ago to see if I could get a ride in N81916. He said sure and we set up a flight for Saturday afternoon at Louisiana Regional.
I went out to the airport after I finished my last final at LSU on Saturday afternoon. Bill was running a little late, so I sat and watched the planes in the pattern. When Bill arrived, we went down to his hangar and pulled out his Cherokee.
The Cherokee's preflight was different in many ways. Nothing in the preflight is difficult, it's just crawling around on the ground to check the fuel sumps, pitot tube, landing gear, and such. Once I completed the preflight, we crawled into the cockpit. My first impressions of the left seat were wider but shorter. The Cessna's provide more leg room, but less rear room. The cockpit check took longer than normal just trying to find all of the gauges. Once I figured out how to look at a new GA panel, startup commenced. The engine start was very different, especially in that the piper starts with the mixture rich, unlike the C172 where it is at full lean. Once started, we taxied to 33, did the pre-takeoff run-up, and held short of 33. After a Cessna CAP plane landed, we took-off and headed toward Baton Rouge. The takeoff roll was longer than the Cessna I usually fly. 81916 has a 150HP engine, where the C172S have 180HP. Using the trim wheel was a pain because it was located between the seats. Best rate of climb speed was faster for the piper, but cruise was significantly less than the 172, about 100 Knots in the Piper versus 115 in the 172. The low wing provided many advantages while climbing, but during the descent was another story. The view of the earth below is not as easily seen in with the wings on the bottom. There was no big difference, but extra care must be utilized. Baton Rouge was quiet when we arrived and we taxied over to LA Aircraft for Bill to pick up some papers.
On the return flight, Bill and I took a direct route back to L38. I flew the pattern and made a 180 from downwind and cut out the base leg. Bill told me not to do cut out the base leg because the wing blocks the view of any aircraft on final. We came in a little fast due to our forward center of gravity. Bill taught me a "Piper trick" if one is coming in fast and floating over the runway. He said drop the flaps. In a piper, the flaps are manual and by releasing the flap bar, the lift is decreased and the floating stops. Upon releasing the flaps, the plane stops floating and lands. I thought it was pretty neat.
Overall, the flight was an excellent learning experience. The Piper's had both noticeable advantages and disadvantages, but the low vs. high wing debate will never end.

Private Pilot Checkride

I have had great trouble getting to sleep these past two nights and it finally paid off. This morning I awoke and got a weather briefing, for New Orleans to Peachtree City (KPDK). The weather looked great, but I was not going to be flying that route. Instead I was off to the airport to fly down to meet the examiner.
I got to the airport at 12:45 pm and pulled all of my papers, planning, and books to go and spread them out on a table. We started the oral and made sure everything was in order with my papers and the plane’s paperwork. The oral was very calm and laid back. It was like I was talking to a friend who had no or very little knowledge of airplanes and had no interest for very deep questions. The oral was about one and a half to two hours. Went though aircraft systems, private pilot privileges, weather, x-c planning. It was in the PTS, we talked about it. At the conclusion of the oral, he told me to go get setup for the flight.
So I walked out to the plane and pulled my flight plan out, timer, and anything else that might have been useful. When he walked out to the plane, he told me to preflight and watched me out of the corner of his eye. Started her up, did the run-up, and we were off. First takeoff was a soft field. All was well. Departed the pattern and started my x-c. Made my first checkpoint twenty seconds late, but he said I was doing great. Was going to the second and he told me to find out what radial we were on and steer for it. I figured out the radial and had to make a ninety degree turn. I could not figure out why the radial was not centered as I was correcting to get back on it. I then remembered, DG against the compass. Damn thing had precessed a good twenty degrees in ten minutes. I fixed that and just as I was getting onto the radial, he gave me my hood and then came the instrument work. Turns to heading, climbs, and unusual attitudes was all we went into. After that he said he had cleared me for stalls and slow flight so I said okay. Slow flight went fine, executed a couple of turns while slow and he said great. My power off stall was great, but my power on turning stall was a weak one. He said it was alright and then showed me one.
After the stall, my power was pulled and we did an approach to an engine out landing. I was looking at smoke stacks far in the distance for wind direction and he says “Look down.” Sure enough there was a small fire going and giving perfect wind guidance. Around nine hundred feet, he told me to do turns around a point, use the fire, and that I could have the power back. My turn was alright and I was a little confused at what he wanted at the time, so he did get a little flustered, but I was told he is always like that on checkrides.
After the turns around the point, climbed back up and did steep turns. My first one was a little shaky, but the second one was perfect. He asked what happened with my first one. After steep turns, it was back to the pattern.
While entering the pattern, we watched some guy making horrible radio calls as to his location. Once established in the pattern, it was a full stop short field landing. Then a short field takeoff and back around for a soft field touch and go. He said this was our last round of the pattern so I was thinking, perfect, one normal approach and here I am finished. On downwind abeam the numbers, my power was once again pulled. I came in fine, but I was a little high but still had plenty of the four thousand foot long runway left. Got off the runway, taxied back to parking, turned her off, and put the control lock in. Walked inside and finished the paperwork online and made copies of everything.

Overall, I had 47.6 hours going into the test with 11.9 being PIC solo. Around 150 landings and every one of them were dead on (;)).