Hokie Pilot

Mexico ASB: Day 6

2011-03-11T01:34:00.001-05:00

I have been away from any interweb for the past two nights. So I'll be brief as I tap this post out on my smartphone.
Day 4 was filled with lots of work. From putting a roof on an outhouse to excavating a hillside for the installation of classrooms. It was a nice day. But that night we split up into pairs to stay with families in the community. Truely a wonderful experience and I will write more about it once back in the states.
Day 5: Waking up in a foreign speaking household is interesting. Once again I'll detail that later on.
But this afternoon we made our way up to a hermitage that overlooks an active volcano at 11000 feet msl. What a spiritual experience. Also more to come.
Day 6: My birthday. This was possibly my best birthday on the books just yet. I let no one know ahead of time that today I am 23. Last night a few of us decided to sleep outside under the stars. I found myself gazing for over two hours. We also had the intention of seeing the sun rise. We did. Truly amazing. Going through a day without anyone wanting to make my day special just because it's my birthday made everything that more special. We had an amazing reflection tonight with the group. Michigan state is also here. I'm making many friends there too and I cannot believe tomorrow is my last day here. Suzanne saw on Facebook that today was in fact my birthday and everyone surprised me tonight after we got back from playing soccer. She found out at 6 pm tonight and the team here was able to get cake for me. What a night. I got both versions of happy birthday and then we had cake and sang songs until we were forced into bed as we have an early wake-up call in the a.m.

I thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes as we travel. Also special thanks to my family and friends for all their special birthday wishes. Sweet dreams ya'll.

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Mexico ASB: Day 3

2011-03-08T00:24:00.001-05:00

There is nothing better than waking up to the sound of music and laughter. From our house to the streets of Puebla there is always a smile to be shared.
Today was our first day of working. But here it is not just work, but it is a cultural learning experience. Learning about the culture here and why things work as they do. Starting out hearing about the local issues and how the government interacts make it all seem so surreal at times. The people here really use every resource as if it was not going to be useable tomorrow. Nothing goes to waste.
Community links also has a partnership with a school for the blind. Just being able to see how things work and to be able to hear from on who is blind really made me think about is sight really all we think it is. I'd pick the ability to hear anyday over being able to see.
Our first real project was to clear an old corn field to prepare the land to be tilled. We stacked all the chopped stalks and placed them into a pile to be moved and used for food for local cows. Nothing goes to waste. Well I am off to bed. No posts tomorrow as we will be staying with residents throughout the community.

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Mexico ASB: Day 2

2011-03-07T01:59:00.001-05:00

Nice lazyish Sunday today. Everyone except for myself and Sean woke up early. We had a nice egg and tortilla dish breakfast. It was nice as we finally got to meet Michigan state which arrived late last night. We cleaned up and got ready for a day on the town seeing the local culture and the like.
We started out by going to mass. Missed the first two readings but caught the gospel which all was in Spanish. It was pretty neat to be at a non English mass. And the church was beautiful. All churches here are gorgeous and there is literally a church on just about every street corner. After mass we went and looked at a couple of other churches around the one we went to in the center of town. Navigating here is pretty easy as all streets follow some sort of naming system that is sequential and the town is much like a grid.
Following the grid, we made our way to the market where everything from birds to fresh fruit were on sale by local peoples. It was very cool to see what they had to offer and what we don't really have in the states.
And along the lines of new culture, we made our way to the local museum to see local artifacts. But seeing the artifacts was just a small taste of what was to come. About a 20 minute walk from the center of town yielded a beautiful church built on top of an old pyramid. It was very neat to see what had been excavated of the old pyramid and to hear a little of the history surrounding the site. Climbing to the top was not much of a challenge. The top did yield a 360 degree view of the city and local volcano which towered into the clouds. This was really the highlight of the day. Closing out the day was a little bit of local shopping and dinner. A little bit of rain but tomorrow the real work begins! We have no clue what we'll be getting into, but I'll be sure to report more tomorrow!

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Mexico ASB: Day 1

2011-03-06T01:32:00.001-05:00

WOW! What a day today has been. It's now a little after midnight here in Mexico and all I can say is today has been quite a whirlwind, from leaving Blacksburg this morning at 4am without any sleep to one of the many airport delays at Charlotte and Dallas. I'm happy to be in my bed in Cholula.
Our group is absolutely fantastic. Fifteen in all and what a day. Our flight out of Charlottle was delayed for 3 hours due to mx issues and working on changing reservations for our group was a fun task to do over the phone, especially with a plane full of less than happy customers trying to do the same. But all became well with our flight, landing in Dallas a little early. We were able to catch a delayed Mexico city flight and our bags were with us when we arrived! I of course got searched multiple times today. From Charlotte to Mexico city, I must be a huge risk to national security.
Once in Mexico city and clearing customs after being searched, we all grabbed our last semblance of food as we know it and boarded a bus for a two hour ride to where our hosts would be picking us up. The ride was nice. We all noted Mexico city's lights went on forever, really hitting home how big the city really is. The bus also had free wifi allowing me to make a few Skype phone calls. But once at the bus station, we all met Arturo and went with him back to our house. The house is quite nice. Nothing fancy but just a nice place to sleep. I will update more tommorw. Sleep now. Sweet dreams :)

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Brief Update

2010-06-20T08:59:00.002-04:00

So I'm two weeks out of uploading my blog posts. I guess as amount of fun increases number of blog posts goes down, who woulda figured. I did just upload a bunch of pictures to my picasa page. Sometime tomorrow I will get to uploading everything.

And Happy Fathers Day Dad!!!

Day Seven: What Goes Up, Must Come Down

2010-06-06T21:27:00.032-04:00

Seeing as I slept just about all of yesterday and barely got a quick dinner in with Mary at the Peak, today I would surely need to expel all of that reserved energy. Being it is Sunday and sunny, the four of us went out for breakfast at Wagyu. Alasdair commented on my particularity when it comes to food and all I could do was laugh. He's learning my ways quite well. I had the typical American breakfast: eggs, sausage, and toast with a glass of orange juice to wash it all down. It was quite nice to have a taste of home. But this was just the start of a great day.
Mary and Alasdair were itching to go on a hike and I was glad to come along. We made our way to the MacLehose Trail in the New Territories of Hong Kong. The drive to our start point was just over an hour and once in the national park, we began our journey. With Mary's hiking enthusiasm and Alasdair's never ending outdoors drive, I knew I was going to be in all sorts of interesting places on this hike. We started out walking up a road which only taxis can take. Apparently taxis are a way of cheating a bit, so no cheating for us today. Once we get to our first trailhead, there was a sign warning of landslides, so we took the higher and less traveled route on the MacLehose Trail. Let me put it this way, it was like walking through tall grass with a one foot wide piece of broke concrete to walk upon. You could tell not many take this section of trail. It was steep inclines, which I don't really mind, but the sections of steep declines, my body just doesn't like. About 10 km through, we stopped at a local village for some fried rice before making our last section of trail. The last part of the trail we walked had what I could call a never ending slope, I really thought I was going to be passing some folks bound for heaven. But sure enough, the inline stopped and once again I had to go back down. Mary and Alasdair pulled on my gullible side with saying we had to swim a mile back, but even I saw through that one. I really think a swim would have been a nice ending the the hike. All in all we hiked about 15 km (about ten miles). A very good day, next time I just need to drink more.
Things to note:
I miss the humidity of New Orleans
Mary and Alasdair both think I should do a RTP race

Day Five: Nice Hotels in Hong Kong

2010-06-04T22:14:00.000-04:00

We made our way to the Mandarin Oriental hotel after work today to attend the Unique Estates property showcase. There were some gorgeous properties there and trust me, Nicolette can sure entice anyone into thinking they can buy one of her properties. I went for the wine and hors d'oeuvres. I primarily socialized with the property agents that were more of my age, and the Australian accent was definitely growing on me. The sheer popularity of such events surprises me. But if you got the money, why not spend it?
And it is a Friday evening, but I hear my bed it calling my name.
Things learned today:
Private airstrip is a must.

Day Four: Mr LeBeau is coming back to haunt me.

2010-06-03T22:56:00.001-04:00

So another normal day at the office, a not so normal evening. Mary and I arrived home shortly before seven as she and Alasdair were hosting a dinner party for some friends of theirs. The first guests arrived around 7:30. Nicolette and her boyfriend Andy sold Emerald Valley Villa to Mary and Alasdair recently. Mr. LeBeau would have loved the conversation, as much of it had to do with geography and I didn't really try in his class. Lots of talk about the real estate around Australia and I couldn't even point to anything else that continent besides Sydney. The other couple to join in dinner was an old colleague of Alasdair's at Jardine Matheson. Just about all of the conversation had to do with geography of some sort and I realized how much of a different track in life I am on. Numbers are my thing, but not when it comes to finances. At one point I was asked, "So Trey, is engineering just a degree and then you'll move onto investment banking?" I thought he was joking, but apparently not. Oh well. Politics and gossip were on the table all evening. I love gossip, but I had no clue what any of it was about. But hey, I enjoyed everything they said and we even got a good discussion on why Obama is horrible, so the night had a great end to it.
Notes for today:
Read the finical section more in the paper.
Host more dinner parties.

Day Three: Caffeine Is a Must

2010-06-02T20:26:00.031-04:00

Just another day at the office. This morning I found out that when "no taxis are available" via phone, one can request to pay an additional HK$10 and there will be a taxi outside in four minutes. Quite interesting how that works over here. Mary pointed out some gyms I can join on the way to work. One is called California Fitness with a three story high picture of Jackie Chan on its sign. The other, slightly closer to work, Fitness First also boasts three stories but no gaudy Asian figures on their sign. Upon arrival at work we were joking about the gyms here and the overall consensus was Fitness First. But working out will have to wait, I have to make it through my first week before I seriously think about working out. Today's lunch with nothing special, just a turkey sandwich and a diet coke. I should be exploring more, but wow does the jet take it out of you. I did finally get on Skype and was able to say hi to Matthew, Chris, Mom, Dad, Blitz, and Behr. It's truly different being over 8,000 miles and a couple hundred apart from home. That sounds trivial, but being completely on the other side of the world makes it hard to get in touch with people. Right as I'm ready to go to bed, everyone is waking up and right as everyone is able to talk in the evening, I am busy at work. I now see why it's so hard to get in touch with Mary via phone. Oh well, I'm rambling. Tomorrow should bring some interesting conversation, dinner party here with a luxury real estate agent and a former coworker of Alasdair's. Should be quite interesting.
Things learned today:
I speak American and English.

Day Two: Jet Lag

2010-06-01T23:02:00.000-04:00

I awoke this morning quite early, around 5:30 a.m. Mary and I were scheduled to leave for the office at 7:30 and I had two hours to kill. I wish I could say I went and did something productive, but I just mulled around, taking a bath and making myself a simple breakfast. Mary was actually up getting some work done before I awoke, so it was a surprise seeing her up working as I mulled around.
Mary called a taxi and I was quite surprised at how fast a cab was at our front door. It literally took less than five minutes for it to arrive. Taxis are quite popular here and are quite cheap relative to the states. We arrive at work a little early and she let me in the office. RacingThePlanet is about to consolidate its two offices with their recent acquisition of the entire 22nd floor in the Nam Wo Hong office building in Sheung Wan. But for now I'm in the office on the 11th floor. My coworkers are quite nice. In my office there are seven people including myself. Two are British, three are Asian, one is Finnish, and then you have the American (me). Today's tasks were nothing crazy. I got acclimated to the computer system and most of my work will be performed on a Mac. My primary duties will be getting their large photo library in check, which includes sorting, tagging, organizing, and uploading over 15,000 pictures. It's a large task for the summer intern, but I should be able to get it all in check. Getting the opportunity to go through the race pictures is absolutely great. Some of the views that the runners see in each race are just to die for. Mary and I went out to lunch at a Vietnamese place. Entrees were pretty cheap here, but I think only half of my rear end fit on the chair they provided. I think Matthew would have been a little big for it too. But I ordered a chicken and rice dish seasoned with lemongrass. It was quite tasty. I will say I have had to start to rely on Coke again. Jet lag really has begun to hit me, and it was only 2 o'clock on Tuesday. But back in the office, nothing really to note. I'm horrible with names, but we have two Sams and then the others I just can't remember the others, my goal for this week is names. Mary and I left the office around 7 and made it home for dinner with Alasdair and Alex. Dinner was prepared by their housekeeper Dede, who prepared a nice rice and chicken dish. I had a glass of wine with dinner and wow was that a mistake. It truly wanted to make me retire right then and there for the evening. I wish I could write more but it's time for bed.
Things learned today:
1USD= 8 HKD

Far East Bound

2010-05-31T22:46:00.000-04:00

Well I have made it across the Pacific! After a long journey I have finally (and I mean finally) made it into the special administrative region of China, also known as Hong Kong. We landed a little after 7 p.m. local time (GMT +8 or 12 hours forward of New York) and it is very apparent that I brought the rainy dreary weather with me. Now to backtrack through my travels:
I woke up Sunday morning in Washington D.C. at 4:15 a.m. I didn't really sleep that much as I was constantly checking the time afraid I would sleep through the alarm I set. Once up I did the morning ritual, making sure I had my passport and ticket for the long haul. Dad and I left Michael's house five minutes to five for the ten minute drive to Reagan Airport. Dad dropped me off at the top and I walked inside to find American Airline's counter, only to be ushered to use a computer kiosk to check-in.
Check-in was pretty uneventful, I just had to show my passport and fudge the date I am supposed to be back in the states, as Hong Kong only allows a stay of ninety days without a visa, and according to my return ticket I will be here for a few days over a hundred (going to change to an earlier date once I get overseas). I checked my bags, one coming in at 47.5 pounds and the other just over 10. Glad I decided to go for the smaller suitcase and a small bag. I look like the stereotypical student walking through the terminal as I make my way to security. I have my blue L.L. Bean book bag, iPod, Virginia Tech fleece, and various other items with me that would fulfill the collegiate requirement. I pass through security with ease and now comes the waiting game for my first flight. If you have ever traveled with me, you know how much I loathe commercial flying and the only thing that makes it tolerable is an exit row seat. I luckily got exit rows for my first two flights, but sadly I was stuck in the "regular" seat for the long haul across the ocean.
I boarded my flight Dallas-Fort Worth and we departed the gate a little before 7 a.m. Wheels were up about 7:15 a.m. and the flight was uneventful. I made some headway on the books I brought along and ordered a water in flight. We touched down at DFW a little before 9 a.m. and the trip was starting out quite well. I walked up the jet bridge and noted the warmer weather and humidity, I foretaste of Hong Kong I thought. Once in the terminal I decided I would get my last taste of home grown food and made my way to McDonald's. I got my standard breakfast, a sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddle, a sausage biscuit, and a sprite with no ice. I made my way to my gate and made friends with a girl named Sarah from UT-Austin. I forget what we talked about, but she was quite nice and she was headed to Canada for a summer trip. I made my last call on my phone to my parents and then turned my cell phone off (which will be the case for the next couple of months). The gate agents were calling for my boarding group and I made my way onto the 757 for another uneventful flight in the exit row on my way to Vancouver, B.C.
Wheels were up a few minutes before 11 a.m. and this flight was much the same as the flight to Dallas. I made conversation with the gentleman next to me as he had saw the book I was reading and had a few comments about it (I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, who doesn't have a comment about this book is the real question). Our main joke was that we couldn't really tell our neighbors what we were laughing about as the stories aren't exactly the best to recant to a complete stranger. But all was well and I finished that book and moved onto some books by Mitch Albom, which I did not have to worry sharing with my neighbors should they ask. After about four hours in the air, the wheels touched Canadian ground a little before 1 p.m. The weather here was rainy and cooler. It made me glad I brought my fleece along with me.
I made the long walk to customs, I turned in the form to the Canadian customs official which I had filled out on the plane and continued my way to the international terminal. It was quite large and had many moving sidewalks to get from one end of the desolate terminal to the other. I found my gate and attained my boarding pass and of course asked for my exit row, but this flight was full and I was unable to attain such seat. With that, I found the food court and had my last North American meal. Subway and doughnuts were on the menu. Quite a tasty combination I must say.
This flight would be my first international flight in over ten years. I remembered the last international plane I was on quite spacious, but then again I was just over eleven years old. I was quickly reminded that the Airbus A340 was not a spacious plane and my memory needed to be re-sized for my younger self. I found my seat and quickly made friends with my Chinese seat mate. I forget her name but we chatted about where we're from and the like. She was on holiday in Canada visiting her family and was now headed back to Hong Kong. We noted the long flight ahead and me looking like a sardine in a can.
We pushed back a little after 3 p.m. and I saw the wings flex up around 3:15. The long haul flight hath begun and I was already ready to get off the plane. Thirteen hours to go and no land in sight. I will say one thing, if I ever fly internationally again, I will choose Cathay Pacific at all costs. The service was fantastic and I even got a pillow, blanket, and peanuts. I guess they haven't felt the financial crunch like all of the American based airlines. Each seat had a screen on it with our position, ground speed, and estimated time of arrival on it. On these screens one could also choose from a large selection of movies. I found myself watching Avatar, Dorian Gray, and Road to Perdition. All very good movies and I even finished Albom's book and started on another. The seats were cramped and when one goes to recline the seat, it does not move back, rather the seat slides forward. To say the least, Airbus does not get points in the passenger comfort category. But the meals were quite good. I actually can say I ate all of both in-flight meals. The first was a pasta and the second beef. Throughout the flight drinks were offered so it was a nice way of sidetracking my mind into thinking I was comfortable. I never really was able to sleep even though all of the window shades were down in my cabin. After thirteen hours of twiddling my thumbs, we touched down, 7:09 p.m. Hong Kong time. I made it to Asia! Now the only thing to conquer is officially getting into the country.
Customs was not much of a chore. It was a firm twenty minute walk from the airplane gate to the customs area, but I guess in China they like the red tape. I filled out my custom card and was given my entry into Hong Kong for ninety days. Once I claimed my bags, I made my way to purchasing a train ticket (HKD100) to get into central Hong Kong. I boarded the Airport Express for the 22 minute ride into the city. The views of the city along the ride were quite nice, I just wish the weather had been a bit better as it was raining by now. I made my way into through the train station and swiped my ticket to exit.
I met Mary and it had been quite a while since I've seen her. Between little sleep, a long flight, and the twelve hour time difference; my body was ready to crash. We took a taxi home and I did my best to stay up whilst talking to Alasdair and his daughter, Alex. It was time to grab a shower as I felt disgusting and make my way to bed. Asia is great so far. I leave for my first day at RacingThePlanet at 8:00 a.m. I cannot wait! More to come.
Totals for the day:
Time in transit : 24 hours
Time slept: <1 hour
Miles covered: only God knows.

Hong Kong: Tomorrow

2010-05-30T23:57:00.002-04:00

The journey has begun. I have made my way to Washington D.C. for my flight tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. I am with my dad staying at my uncles house in Alexandria to make the journey in the morning to the airport all that easier. We arrived in Alexandria about 3 p.m. and I had a great time playing with little Mike. We made our way to the country club that Michael recently joined and had a wonderful American picnic there, including hamburgers, ribs, and crab cakes. Little Mike had a great time with Ashely on the space walk and they were having so much fun playing in space walk it was like they weren't even there. Once we were able to make it out of the country club (Mike was a good sport about leaving, but in all honesty he could have easily went for another three hours in that air filled contraption) we made our way back to Michael's and had the way to the airport pointed out to us. Once home, I said my goodbyes to Michael, Christine, Mike, and Ashley as my dad and I would be out the front door by quarter of five the next morning. But hey, it was eight o'clock and Trey can never go to bed before one, so I met up with Emily at Fairfax Corner. We didn't do much, just what Emily and I do best, a whole bunch of nothing. People watching, Ben & Jerry's, and conversation were our three courses for the evening. I made it back to Michael's a little before midnight and my alarm will be going off shortly at 4 a.m. I can't wait. Hong Kong: Tomorrow!

Watching the Time Go Bye

2009-06-15T20:42:00.002-04:00

June 10, 2009
Well I finally completed my Instrument Airplane checkride. I had an extra incentive to finish quickly since my knowledge test was set to expire at the end of this month and I really did not feel like studying for that one again, let alone pay for another knowledge test.
I really started training for the instrument rating in late February when our plane came back from its annual inspection. Finding an instructor in the Blacksburg area was a pain, so I ended up using an instructor from a nearby airport. I found Jason through an instructor who was too busy to take on another student. Jason and I got off to a bumpy start, but we were able to iron out our differences and make it all work. The initial training was quite boring, constant rate climbs and descents, standard rate turns, constant airspeed climbs and descents. Long story short, makes for a more accurate pilot. After the boring stuff, we got on to the fun stuff, approaches! Once I figured out how to read an approach plate, my life became so much easier. After many hours of hammering out the small points of instrument flying, Jason determined I was ready to take the practical exam. I gave the designated examiner in my area, Cecil, a call to set up the checkride. Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 9:00 am was the time we agreed upon. So much work still to be done on my end, but I was determined to get this done.
The night before the checkride, I gave Cecil a call to figure out where we were going to be going for my checkride. After much discussion, we decided upon Winston Salem, NC as our destination. I was to plan a flight there and obtain all pertinent information regarding the flight. That night I also had to swing by the airport to pick up the maintenance logbooks for my plane to show Cecil that it was indeed in an airworthy condition. Once I had determined that my plane was ready for flight, I went home and got back to studying for the oral. Like usual, I could not concentrate on whatever book I had out. I was hot, cold, hungry, thirsty…and the list goes on. So I decided to make another trip out to the airport to calm my nerves, this being at quarter till midnight.
I arrived at the airport around midnight, letting myself in to the hangar and pulling up a step stool to sit on. I brought a book to study and also my handheld transceiver to turn the airport lights on (one of the nicest sights I have seen is an illuminated airfield at night). I was out at the airport for about an hour or so, watching the mist come and go giving an eerie horror movie feeling. That being said, it truly relaxed me enough to decide to go home and try to get some sleep. I say try because on my first checkride, it was just about impossible to sleep the night before and I did not expect this one to be any different. I was right in that assumption, getting about three hours of sleep before my alarm went off at six in the morning.
The morning came; I woke up, got ready, and went straight to finishing up my flight planning. I called the weather briefer to check for weather and any other pertinent information pertaining to my flight that was scheduled to take off at 10:40 am. The weather all checked out, just some notices for low visibilities due to mist which was expected to burn off by the time we got airborne. I packed my car and was off to BCB around 7:15. I made a quick breakfast stop and then brought my food out to the airport to watch the sunrise over the field. I ate, parked my car, unloaded, and did the abbreviated version of my preflight to bring the plane over to the main terminal.
Once at the terminal, I unloaded everything I had just thrown in the plane so I could occupy an entire conference table with charts, books, and log books. I was ready to go on time and Cecil showed up a little early and decided we could get started on the test early. We went through the paperwork to make sure I was qualified to take the test, going through endorsements, logbook signoffs, and anything else the FAA deemed that I should have done. I submitted my 8710 application to Cecil and the test begins.
The oral portion of the test was nothing much to write home about. We went through my cross country planning, the weather information I received, and how I had applied what I learned to my planning. We talked about the rules and regulations specifically pertaining to instrument flight and how to deal with any emergency situation that may arise in the flight. Cecil also made sure my plane, N55203, was airworthy, which he indeed deemed it was. This concluded the oral, and we made our way out onto the ramp for the practical portion of the checkride.
The practical began as any flight begins, with a thorough preflight inspection. It felt kind of weird knowing someone was looking over my shoulder, but as usual it was a learning experience. Cecil has some great stories and his knowledge of planes and their systems is extensive. Popping the cowling, he asked me about a component of the engine, which I did not know and incorrectly guessed what it was (primer fuel line in this case). Preflight was now complete and startup went off without a hitch. I picked up out IFR clearance from Roanoke after a little teeth pulling, but we were ready to depart.
I departed runway 30 at 10:45 am and we were on our way to Winston-Salem, NC as I had planned. ATC was kind and I only had one minor communication delay with them, which was quickly resolved with switching of the radios. It also took a little coaxing into having the controller give us the ILS 33 approach even though we were in visual conditions. We landed about twenty till noon and taxied over to Landmark Aviation for a quick break and a drink to discuss what was ahead.
After departing Winston-Salem, we were headed back North towards Galax, VA to make some approaches and complete all required tasks for the ride. Enroute I performed constant airspeed climbs, climbing turns, and a simulated failed vacuum system. The clouds were against us on the return trip, making us divert left and right. (Of course when we were on an IFR flight plan we did not encounter one cloud, and now they are everywhere.) Once to Galax, I completed a holding pattern and then continued on the NDB approach there, circling to land and making a missed approach. After the missed, I was headed to Pulaski for the VOR/DME 6 approach. Of course this being a checkride, Cecil decided to fail my airspeed on the climb. No biggie, just making me pay attention some more. My one slight deficiency on the entire checkride was with this approach. I was on the proper radial to make the straight in approach, but we needed to complete a DME arc and this approach had a DME incorporated into one of the entry methods. Cecil gave me vectors and I got slightly disoriented in my position relative to the airport. It took me a minute, but I figured out where I was and how to reorient myself on the DME arc. I made the approach and once again Cecil tried to do something by covering one of my VOR receivers, but that did not affect me. We made the approach and went missed, headed back to Blacksburg this time.
The trip back to Blacksburg was the longest flight from Pulaski to Blacksburg I have ever made. I knew everything had gone well so far and any mistake now could still result in failure of the entire ride. The last approach was going to be an amended NDB circling approach at Blacksburg. It definitely made use of all that I had used in my private training, losing over a thousand feet of altitude from being over the middle of the field while having to stay as close as possible to not lose sight of the field. Pretty much, this showed me that every descent is not going to the prettiest for the passengers if you see the field and the conditions are not the best. The entire approach to landing was completely safe and controlled the entire way down, touching down a little over halfway down the runway. I did not apply maximum braking as I know the plane’s stopping distance pretty well by this point. I taxied back to the ramp and shut 55203 down. I chocked the tires and locked the controls. The ride was over! I grabbed my papers and walked back into the terminal to finish off the paperwork to make everything official.
After about fifteen minutes of endorsements, signatures from me, and of course paying Cecil…I am done! I did have to turn in my old certificate, but that is a little in the realm of what I can do now. Clouds!!!
I have not totaled the final cost of getting my instrument airplane add on, but all I know is that it has made me a much better and more accurate pilot. Prior to beginning the checkride I had 136.4 hours logged total time, with 62.4 hours logged since beginning my instrument training (46 of which were with an instructor). I had a little over ten hours of actual instrument conditions with another thirty being simulated. The checkride began at 8:45 am and was over by 2:30 pm: long, but nothing too bad in my opinion. Time in flight was about two and a half hours with the rest being on the ground doing paperwork or the oral portion.

I owe big thanks to Jason for putting up with my stubborn self and getting me prepared for this checkride. The next big thanks is to my parents for funding my flying endeavors. I also owe a big thank you to Bart for helping me build time by flying with me from Maryland all the way to Daytona Beach, FL and to my plane captain, Kathryn, who has supported me, offered to help me out whenever I needed it, and kept 55203 in top shape while keeping her records legible. I also owe a thank you to my roommates Will and Sean for letting me stay with them after school had ended. All in all, a very worth the effort rating.

Now it’s time to get it wet!!!

Flying Around

2007-10-01T00:52:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-19T14:41:00.001-04:00

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

2007-07-08T21:35:00.001-04:00

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

2007-07-01T21:27:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-22T20:00:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

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 (;)).