I made one of my worst approaches today as an instructor. The last part of our flight lesson I had my student do some "hood" work (he/she wears a hood where he/she can only see the instruments, i.e. simulating flight in instrument conditions, i.e. flying in the clouds.) Current winds as per the ATIS (automated terminal information service)=weather, were 210@18 knots. We have a main runway (29) and a smaller runway (25) at the airport. I enjoy using 25 because it's rarely used, and since the winds were mostly favoring this runway, I requested it from the tower. However, the tower instructed if I wanted to use that runway, that I would need to maintain 3,000 feet above the airport and enter left base for runway 25. He would instruct when to descend.
This seemed a bit odd for me since being that high above the airport would be difficult to enter a left base for runway 25 and land. I complied, and when we were about above the left downwind for runway 29, a Skywest Brasilia was departing the airport left downwind. Tower gave no indication the aircraft was there, so I took over the plane and descended a bit to be sure the Brasilia wouldn't be a factor. That scared my student a bit since he didn't realize I had taken the controls (my fault).
We were then above the airport at about 3,000 feet without indication from the tower when would descend. Finally, the tower instructed that we could descend at our discretion and make left base to runway 25, cleared to land. OK, we have to get down fast.
My student was still under the hood at this point, so I told him he could take it off and I took the controls and began a descending a left turn to land. When we made our 180-degree turn, I realized we were far too high to make the runway. At that point, tower had advised if we thought we could make the runway. I told him we probably could and I began a forward slip. When we got closer, I realized we probably wouldn't be able to make it and at that point an aircraft entering the right downwind for the main runway hadn't called in and became close to our position. Tower advised them of our position and afterwards I advised tower that we wouldn't be able to make the runway, some close calls.
At that point, tower made us to maintain runway heading and enter left downwind for the main runway (29), after a couple of aircraft passed by us. After we were in the left downwind, the tower then advised us to make a right 360-degree turn. "When were we going to land," I thought. Finally, we were cleared to land and we landed with a bit of a crosswind landing correction.
What an approach. I suppose it was both the mine and controller's fault that we made such an abnormal approach; it wasn't pretty however.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Mundane
Flight instructing has its dull moments. Not that flying is dull, but doing the same things with students that you've done dozens of times, becomes mundane. It seems like certain portions of flight instruction builds up at the same time; for example, time before solo. In other words, all your students are preparing for their solo at the same time. So each flight becomes similar to the previous; landings.
As an instructor, you become an expert on landings. You see every little mistake and correction that occurs during a landing. You want to intrude, but you also want your student to see for themselves. So you sit there and see if they react appropriately. But they rarely do, so you interrupt and coach them down to the ground, and afterwards you feel like they landed themselves only by 50%. So off the ground you go again. "Maybe they'll do it this time". But it doesn't it happen.
So what makes being an instructor so enjoyable?
When your student lands the airplane almost exactly how you want to tell them. In other words, you stay quite and they're maneuvering the plane exactly how you would say they need to without actually saying it. Then all of a sudden, you're on the ground. They did it! Without your help (physical control) nor verbal coaching, they landed the plane.
It's an accomplishment that's indescribable. "I just somehow taught someone how to bring something that's thousands of feet in the air onto the ground at a specific point." How?
It's definitely something you acquire as an instructor. Basically you see all that goes wrong with landings (or anything else), and try to teach what not to do. But I suppose as you gain hours as an instructor, you also gain experience and knowledge to use towards instructing other pilots. One couldn't trade anything for the amount of experience and knowledge you get from instructing. It should be a mandatory requirement for any professional pilot. I tell people all the time that usually instructing happens before airlines or cargo pilots, yet it seems backwards to them. Wouldn't an instructor be someone who did these things BEFORE they became an instructor? One would think...
As an instructor, you become an expert on landings. You see every little mistake and correction that occurs during a landing. You want to intrude, but you also want your student to see for themselves. So you sit there and see if they react appropriately. But they rarely do, so you interrupt and coach them down to the ground, and afterwards you feel like they landed themselves only by 50%. So off the ground you go again. "Maybe they'll do it this time". But it doesn't it happen.
So what makes being an instructor so enjoyable?
When your student lands the airplane almost exactly how you want to tell them. In other words, you stay quite and they're maneuvering the plane exactly how you would say they need to without actually saying it. Then all of a sudden, you're on the ground. They did it! Without your help (physical control) nor verbal coaching, they landed the plane.
It's an accomplishment that's indescribable. "I just somehow taught someone how to bring something that's thousands of feet in the air onto the ground at a specific point." How?
It's definitely something you acquire as an instructor. Basically you see all that goes wrong with landings (or anything else), and try to teach what not to do. But I suppose as you gain hours as an instructor, you also gain experience and knowledge to use towards instructing other pilots. One couldn't trade anything for the amount of experience and knowledge you get from instructing. It should be a mandatory requirement for any professional pilot. I tell people all the time that usually instructing happens before airlines or cargo pilots, yet it seems backwards to them. Wouldn't an instructor be someone who did these things BEFORE they became an instructor? One would think...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Long time coming
Well, after not being able to complete my CFII due to the unfortunate events that took place during my training at ATP, I had finally committed to going for that final checkride, and fortunately for me, I passed. I am now, finally, a Certified Flight Instructor with an Instrument Add-on. And for those who don't know, the instrument add-on allows me to instruct students training for their instrument rating.
I was very pleased with the checkride. I scheduled the checkride the same day as my brother's Private Pilot's checkride so we could fly together to the airport where the examiner was. Maybe not the best idea after all was said and done. It was by far one of the longer days of my life. Not only had I been preparing myself for my CFII checkride, but also making sure my brother was to succeed as my first student to take his/her checkride.
I went first once we arrived, and we ran into some small glitches, but we got underway with the oral portion of the test. Having been an instructor for over a year, helped incrementally with my confidence to "act" as an instructor on a checkride. I also took the majority of my time getting to know every GPS regulation and operation with the particular GPS in our Cessna, the KLN 94. I've previously only used the Garmin 430 in our Piper Seminoles, and upon switching to the KLN 94, I thought it wouldn't be that much of a difference to have to really pay attention. I was wrong. There are many differences in the two units, and I'd have to say that the Garmin is far more user intuitive than the KLN. However, I did very well on the portion of the oral where the examiner had me talk about the GPS, and I'm glad I took the time to go over it. The rest of the oral portion basically tested my general knowledge of IFR flying, but with a teaching prospective, which went well. The oral lasted a little over 2 hours, and finally the examiner said to pack my things up and preflight the plane.
I wasn't too worried about the flight portion of the checkride, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy either. As always, I forgot some items during the flight that I beat myself up later for forgetting. Like forgetting to check the RAIM availability before the flight, which I practiced a hundred times. Our first approach was the ILS back to the airport we departed from, which I flew pretty strongly. I also wasn't pleased, however, with my partial panel, VOR approach afterwards. Partial panel is where the examiner, or instructor, covers up the attitude and heading indicators. One must rely on the turn coordinator and compass for bank, and altimeter and vertical speed indicator for pitch. Keeping straight and level, and standard rate turns wasn't difficult, but shooting the approach was. I used timed turns on every turn in the approach, however when trying to keep my CDI needle centered throughout the approach, all I did was turn a bit for correction. This was incorrect. The examiner later showed me how this technique is by far less accurate than using timed turns. Apart from that, my approach was mediocre. We then went out and the examiner had me teach timed turns with the examiner flying the aircraft, which I did and ended up saving myself from the approach previous. I then instructed the examiner on a GPS approach back the our departure airport where we did a full stop and taxied back.
Ask anyone, and they'll say that one never flies their best on a checkride; I am not an exception. Not only do you feel bad about how poorly you flew, but the examiner does a pretty good job critiquing your flying to the point where they seem disappointed in you. It doesn't ever feel good. So when the examiner said I passed, it wasn't the most excited I could have been, but mostly due to the fact that I had my brother doing his checkride next. This was going to prove whether or not I can succeed as an instructor.
I was able to sit in on my brother's oral portion of the test, and was very proud of his knowledge. A few things the examiner told me I needed to emphasize, but overall, he performed very well on the oral. It was definitely a good prospective to sit in on a checkride of one of my students for the first time. Afterwards, I went to grab lunch while they prepared for their flight. Once I got back, they had just began to taxi out to the runway. I ate, tried to sleep, but failed, and soon enough I heard a plane's engine and looked out the window of the FBO were we were, and saw the plane taxi back. It seemed a bit early for them to return, and thus worried me that he had failed. I stared out the window to find any cue that would tell me whether or not it was a pass or fail. My brother walked to the other side of the plane, which was odd, stood by the nose while the examiner walked away from the plane. I thought, what is happening? I see the examiner then take out a camera and take a picture. He passed.
At that moment, all the preparation of both checkrides, the fear of not being a successful instructor, was suddenly taken off my shoulders and it was a big sigh of relief and celebration.
We began our flight back home, flew into some light precipitation, and finally returned from a 11 hour day. It was worth it.
I was very pleased with the checkride. I scheduled the checkride the same day as my brother's Private Pilot's checkride so we could fly together to the airport where the examiner was. Maybe not the best idea after all was said and done. It was by far one of the longer days of my life. Not only had I been preparing myself for my CFII checkride, but also making sure my brother was to succeed as my first student to take his/her checkride.
I went first once we arrived, and we ran into some small glitches, but we got underway with the oral portion of the test. Having been an instructor for over a year, helped incrementally with my confidence to "act" as an instructor on a checkride. I also took the majority of my time getting to know every GPS regulation and operation with the particular GPS in our Cessna, the KLN 94. I've previously only used the Garmin 430 in our Piper Seminoles, and upon switching to the KLN 94, I thought it wouldn't be that much of a difference to have to really pay attention. I was wrong. There are many differences in the two units, and I'd have to say that the Garmin is far more user intuitive than the KLN. However, I did very well on the portion of the oral where the examiner had me talk about the GPS, and I'm glad I took the time to go over it. The rest of the oral portion basically tested my general knowledge of IFR flying, but with a teaching prospective, which went well. The oral lasted a little over 2 hours, and finally the examiner said to pack my things up and preflight the plane.
I wasn't too worried about the flight portion of the checkride, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy either. As always, I forgot some items during the flight that I beat myself up later for forgetting. Like forgetting to check the RAIM availability before the flight, which I practiced a hundred times. Our first approach was the ILS back to the airport we departed from, which I flew pretty strongly. I also wasn't pleased, however, with my partial panel, VOR approach afterwards. Partial panel is where the examiner, or instructor, covers up the attitude and heading indicators. One must rely on the turn coordinator and compass for bank, and altimeter and vertical speed indicator for pitch. Keeping straight and level, and standard rate turns wasn't difficult, but shooting the approach was. I used timed turns on every turn in the approach, however when trying to keep my CDI needle centered throughout the approach, all I did was turn a bit for correction. This was incorrect. The examiner later showed me how this technique is by far less accurate than using timed turns. Apart from that, my approach was mediocre. We then went out and the examiner had me teach timed turns with the examiner flying the aircraft, which I did and ended up saving myself from the approach previous. I then instructed the examiner on a GPS approach back the our departure airport where we did a full stop and taxied back.
Ask anyone, and they'll say that one never flies their best on a checkride; I am not an exception. Not only do you feel bad about how poorly you flew, but the examiner does a pretty good job critiquing your flying to the point where they seem disappointed in you. It doesn't ever feel good. So when the examiner said I passed, it wasn't the most excited I could have been, but mostly due to the fact that I had my brother doing his checkride next. This was going to prove whether or not I can succeed as an instructor.
I was able to sit in on my brother's oral portion of the test, and was very proud of his knowledge. A few things the examiner told me I needed to emphasize, but overall, he performed very well on the oral. It was definitely a good prospective to sit in on a checkride of one of my students for the first time. Afterwards, I went to grab lunch while they prepared for their flight. Once I got back, they had just began to taxi out to the runway. I ate, tried to sleep, but failed, and soon enough I heard a plane's engine and looked out the window of the FBO were we were, and saw the plane taxi back. It seemed a bit early for them to return, and thus worried me that he had failed. I stared out the window to find any cue that would tell me whether or not it was a pass or fail. My brother walked to the other side of the plane, which was odd, stood by the nose while the examiner walked away from the plane. I thought, what is happening? I see the examiner then take out a camera and take a picture. He passed.
At that moment, all the preparation of both checkrides, the fear of not being a successful instructor, was suddenly taken off my shoulders and it was a big sigh of relief and celebration.
We began our flight back home, flew into some light precipitation, and finally returned from a 11 hour day. It was worth it.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Instructing some more...
Well I passed my one-year mark of instructing, and a while before that, I broke my 500-hour total time mark. I remember hearing people say that being an instructor is an invaluable experience and one learns more than they could ever learn from instructing. I didn't really think it would be as much of a valuable experience than it actually has. I think back to my first hour of giving instruction, and I've learned an incredible amount. Things become second nature and knowledge about instruments, flying and everything else about aviation become much more readily available. When it comes to landings, for example, my "picture", as they say, is so keen, that I can tell immediately the problem or the smallest bit of error. Ironically, I rarely get to land the plane. But even so, when I actually do, I've seen so many that I'm able to make a really good landing in spite of it being a while since doing it.
I'm also getting checked out in a G-1000 C172, which is pretty fun. But if you know any Garmin GPS, like the 430 in my case, it's pretty easy to understand.
My last bit of update, is that I should be taking my CFII checkride soon. I've been studying up for it for quite some time and I'm also waiting on one of my students to get ready for his PPL, so that we could do it at the same time (the examiner is at a different airport). Most likely, that'll be my next update. God be with me.
I'm also getting checked out in a G-1000 C172, which is pretty fun. But if you know any Garmin GPS, like the 430 in my case, it's pretty easy to understand.
My last bit of update, is that I should be taking my CFII checkride soon. I've been studying up for it for quite some time and I'm also waiting on one of my students to get ready for his PPL, so that we could do it at the same time (the examiner is at a different airport). Most likely, that'll be my next update. God be with me.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Life as a CFI
Well, after the disappointing events of my pursuit to work for the airlines, I've switched mindsets and am now concentrating on instructing for a while more. I had other opportunities to interview with other airlines, but in the end I decided that the job I have now and where I live are far better than what it would be like at an airline, especially with the condition they're in now.
I've been gaining a lot more students and they're advancing their way towards their private pilot license, which means I'm not solely instructing people how to fly for their first time, this gets monotonous. And after flying a lot more during the week, I'm starting to really enjoy what I do. Not that I didn't enjoy it before, but before I only had 1 or 2 students and rarely flew, and when I did it wasn't advanced stuff. I'm also improving myself as an instructor and that makes me feel better everyday. I have more than 100 hours of dual instruction given. It's a really rewarding job.
I've also been blessed with students who fly very well. There have been some that require a little bit more work, but rarely. The area and the people I get to fly with really make what I do an awesome thing, and I'm very blessed for having a job like that. It's giving me experience that one couldn't get anywhere else.
On a side not, I've decided to get my CFII (flight instructor license to instruct instrument). The reason why I didn't receive this before at ATP can be read here. It'll add more students and allow me to instruct more advanced students, which will be beneficial. Also, I can add to my actual instrument time, which I need. More info on that as I progress.
I've been gaining a lot more students and they're advancing their way towards their private pilot license, which means I'm not solely instructing people how to fly for their first time, this gets monotonous. And after flying a lot more during the week, I'm starting to really enjoy what I do. Not that I didn't enjoy it before, but before I only had 1 or 2 students and rarely flew, and when I did it wasn't advanced stuff. I'm also improving myself as an instructor and that makes me feel better everyday. I have more than 100 hours of dual instruction given. It's a really rewarding job.
I've also been blessed with students who fly very well. There have been some that require a little bit more work, but rarely. The area and the people I get to fly with really make what I do an awesome thing, and I'm very blessed for having a job like that. It's giving me experience that one couldn't get anywhere else.
On a side not, I've decided to get my CFII (flight instructor license to instruct instrument). The reason why I didn't receive this before at ATP can be read here. It'll add more students and allow me to instruct more advanced students, which will be beneficial. Also, I can add to my actual instrument time, which I need. More info on that as I progress.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Interview
I interviewed with American Eagle on May 13th, 2008, a day before my 27th birthday. I was anticipating the call from them to schedule the interview for about a week, when I finally received the call. I was very excited and anxious. I flew from San Jose, California to Dallas/Fort Worth the day before and felt pretty confident all throughout the day. That night, however, was one of the worst nights I've ever experienced.
The day of the interview went very well. They made us all feel very comfortable and prepared. There were three parts to the interview; technical, human resources and a simulator evaluation. My first portion was the technical interview. I think I answered almost every question correctly except for one that the interviewer had to talk out of me. Afterwards they gave me a cafeteria coupon to get some lunch. The American Eagle facility itself was very impressive. After lunch, I had my human resources interview. This portion was very straight forward and I tried to just be myself and make the interview very conversational.
All throughout the day they would randomly call our names for each portion of the interview. However, if they call your name and tell you to take all your stuff with you, it meant you were not continuing with the interview. This happened a couple of times throughout the day and it made everyone very nervous. Fortunately, I made it to the final portion, the simulator evaluation. For some reason I performed the worse on this portion than the others, and flying is usually what I do best. There were only a couple of minor mistakes, but disappointing nonetheless. After returning to the room in which we were all waiting, there were only about 4 or 5 of us left (out of 9). One of the pilot recruiting personnel came in and said that we've all successfully completed the first day of the interview and gave us information on our hotel stay for the night.
From what everyone else had heard, if you made it to the second day, you basically got the job. The second day was no more than a medical exam (urinalysis and hearing test). We completed the necessary tests and they gave us our conditional letter of employment; basically saying if we pass the drug test, background test and captain review board, then we will be offered the job. I came home that day very happy and very worn out.
Unfortunately, on Friday I received an email rescinding my offer of employment. I was in complete shock. I kept questioning everything that had occurred to figure out what went wrong. I assumed it had to do with something with my background check, it couldn't had been the drug test, I don't take any. I even called the next Monday and asked about it, but was told that it was an American Eagle policy that they cannot divulge that information. Thanks for the heads-up for my next interview, huh?
I was pretty down the next few days until I started to see what started to happen with American Eagle, ironically. Hiring had all ready slowed down for them when I was interviewing, but this seemed contradictory to what the pilot recruiting personnel were saying that day. But about a week after my interview American Airlines, their parent company, announced that they would be reducing flying due to the high fuel prices and slowing economy. Since American Airlines owns American Eagle, American Eagle would also have to reduce flying. This put all interviewing to a halt and even canceled new-hire classes. So had I successfully made it through the background check and captain review, I would have probably not have had the job for long. I suppose that was God watching over me, thankfully.
So life continues instructing. Luckily, I still have a job flying. Others at the interview came out of ATP with no CFI ratings and therefore were pretty much left to looking for other airlines or no flying job whatsoever. I'm thinking more and more of getting my CFI-instrument rating. We'll see how that pans out. Instructing has been very good so far. The only complaint is the lack of flying I do. Maybe it'll pick up, hopefully. I'm still very blessed to be flying for a living.
The day of the interview went very well. They made us all feel very comfortable and prepared. There were three parts to the interview; technical, human resources and a simulator evaluation. My first portion was the technical interview. I think I answered almost every question correctly except for one that the interviewer had to talk out of me. Afterwards they gave me a cafeteria coupon to get some lunch. The American Eagle facility itself was very impressive. After lunch, I had my human resources interview. This portion was very straight forward and I tried to just be myself and make the interview very conversational.
All throughout the day they would randomly call our names for each portion of the interview. However, if they call your name and tell you to take all your stuff with you, it meant you were not continuing with the interview. This happened a couple of times throughout the day and it made everyone very nervous. Fortunately, I made it to the final portion, the simulator evaluation. For some reason I performed the worse on this portion than the others, and flying is usually what I do best. There were only a couple of minor mistakes, but disappointing nonetheless. After returning to the room in which we were all waiting, there were only about 4 or 5 of us left (out of 9). One of the pilot recruiting personnel came in and said that we've all successfully completed the first day of the interview and gave us information on our hotel stay for the night.
From what everyone else had heard, if you made it to the second day, you basically got the job. The second day was no more than a medical exam (urinalysis and hearing test). We completed the necessary tests and they gave us our conditional letter of employment; basically saying if we pass the drug test, background test and captain review board, then we will be offered the job. I came home that day very happy and very worn out.
Unfortunately, on Friday I received an email rescinding my offer of employment. I was in complete shock. I kept questioning everything that had occurred to figure out what went wrong. I assumed it had to do with something with my background check, it couldn't had been the drug test, I don't take any. I even called the next Monday and asked about it, but was told that it was an American Eagle policy that they cannot divulge that information. Thanks for the heads-up for my next interview, huh?
I was pretty down the next few days until I started to see what started to happen with American Eagle, ironically. Hiring had all ready slowed down for them when I was interviewing, but this seemed contradictory to what the pilot recruiting personnel were saying that day. But about a week after my interview American Airlines, their parent company, announced that they would be reducing flying due to the high fuel prices and slowing economy. Since American Airlines owns American Eagle, American Eagle would also have to reduce flying. This put all interviewing to a halt and even canceled new-hire classes. So had I successfully made it through the background check and captain review, I would have probably not have had the job for long. I suppose that was God watching over me, thankfully.
So life continues instructing. Luckily, I still have a job flying. Others at the interview came out of ATP with no CFI ratings and therefore were pretty much left to looking for other airlines or no flying job whatsoever. I'm thinking more and more of getting my CFI-instrument rating. We'll see how that pans out. Instructing has been very good so far. The only complaint is the lack of flying I do. Maybe it'll pick up, hopefully. I'm still very blessed to be flying for a living.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Much needed update
Well here I sit again in Arlington, Texas, not the most exciting place in the world.
Instructing back home has been great and recently I've been flying more and more. Still, instructing seems to be quite inconsistent. For this reason, I've been looking at expediting my journey to an airline. Many regional airlines have been lowering their minimums because they are so short on pilots. My ATP partner, Jon, got a job with Colgan Air, and he has been trying to get me an interview. They aren't my number one choice, but I'll keep them in mind just in case. I was able to get in contact with a captain for American Eagle who lives in Morro Bay. Fortunately, we were able to meet and we talked about Eagle and what my potential was. He said he'd talk to the hiring people there and I also told him about a program ATP does where you go through a regional jet course and then an interview preparation course for Eagle. He said he'd ask about that as well. When he called me back, he said that with my hours, they would strongly recommend me going through this program. So after much prayer and consideration, I thought it'd be worth it.
So here I am, in Arlington, Texas, doing a week-long course learning to fly the CRJ-200. We're using a CRJ-200 FTD (Flight Training Device). Although it's not a full motion simulator, it's pretty fun to fly. Learning the systems, flows, call-ours, profiles and how to fly the plane is proving to be a lot of work, but extremely fun. Our instructors are current airline pilots, and the two we've had so far have been great. The downfall, yet again, is that I'm forced to spend a week away from my wife. But hopefully the week will go by quickly and I'll be back home. Then I'll probably come back for the interview preparation for Eagle and hopefully a real interview shortly afterwards.
On a side note, I haven't been able to sign anyone off for their PPL checkride. My brother is on his last flights before his, so hopefully I'll be able to sign him off. I have a couple of other PPL students which I enjoy. I'll keep you updated, whoever reads this.
Instructing back home has been great and recently I've been flying more and more. Still, instructing seems to be quite inconsistent. For this reason, I've been looking at expediting my journey to an airline. Many regional airlines have been lowering their minimums because they are so short on pilots. My ATP partner, Jon, got a job with Colgan Air, and he has been trying to get me an interview. They aren't my number one choice, but I'll keep them in mind just in case. I was able to get in contact with a captain for American Eagle who lives in Morro Bay. Fortunately, we were able to meet and we talked about Eagle and what my potential was. He said he'd talk to the hiring people there and I also told him about a program ATP does where you go through a regional jet course and then an interview preparation course for Eagle. He said he'd ask about that as well. When he called me back, he said that with my hours, they would strongly recommend me going through this program. So after much prayer and consideration, I thought it'd be worth it.
So here I am, in Arlington, Texas, doing a week-long course learning to fly the CRJ-200. We're using a CRJ-200 FTD (Flight Training Device). Although it's not a full motion simulator, it's pretty fun to fly. Learning the systems, flows, call-ours, profiles and how to fly the plane is proving to be a lot of work, but extremely fun. Our instructors are current airline pilots, and the two we've had so far have been great. The downfall, yet again, is that I'm forced to spend a week away from my wife. But hopefully the week will go by quickly and I'll be back home. Then I'll probably come back for the interview preparation for Eagle and hopefully a real interview shortly afterwards.
On a side note, I haven't been able to sign anyone off for their PPL checkride. My brother is on his last flights before his, so hopefully I'll be able to sign him off. I have a couple of other PPL students which I enjoy. I'll keep you updated, whoever reads this.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
San Ardo Field Airport
The photo shows the strip to the right of the 101 that is in San Ardo, California.
I haven't posted much lately. Mostly because much hasn't been going on and also because no one actually reads my blog, so there' really no point. I do, rather, like having the ability to go and read previous posts I read and reflect on them. This post serves that purpose.
I got a call from my flight school while sitting in church last Sunday. It was the first day that I didn't have to fly in 3 days, and I was looking forward to not having to drive down to work. I let my voice mail get the call and I listened to it shortly after while listening to the sermon. Turns out, there were two pilots flying one of our 152's up to King City that had to make an emergency landing in San Ardo, California (half way between Paso Robles and King City. The girl that left the message pronounced the city wrong, but I figured she meant San Ardo. I've seen the airport from the air during the flights I've made up north, but I also knew that it was a private field. I returned the call and she gives me the phone number to one of the pilots who was stranded. After calling him, I told him I would be more than happy to come pick them up and asked for some information about the airport. It was an awesome opportunity to fly up to an airport I would probably never have the chance to fly into, all without costing me anything, except some of my Sunday.
After church I drove to the airport (Paso Robles, PRB) and began preflighting. It was also a great opportunity to fly solo again. I haven't been alone in the airplane since the solo time required for my private. I took off and tried to see if the GPS knew where this field was. With the help of my brother, who printed out some information about the airport, I punched in the identifier CA88. The GPS recognized the airport and I flew direct. I asked before hand which runway the wind was favoring and they said the wind was from the south, so I would land on runway 14 (although there were no runway markings on this strip, just giant X's). I slowed down before reaching the oil fields that make San Ardo recognizable in order to make sure I didn't mistake the field for something else. There are a few other private fields out there. I finally saw the field, which was newly paved, and began to enter a left downwind. The runway is about 2000 feet, which isn't too short, but it's only 45 feet or less in width, which makes it tricky to get a proper glideslope picture while landing. I made an OK landing, considering it felt as if the wind was blowing from behind and this airport was a bit intimidating.
Here's me while flying.
The two pilots came walking along the runway, I made a 'U' turn and picked them up and we took off. The flight back was uneventful, except for the story they told of how they ended up at this private strip. I was able to log close to 2 hours of flight time and some solo time on the trip. It was an excellent experience and opportunity and I'm glad that I was the only instructor on this list that was available that day to take advantage of it.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Mineta San Jose International Airport
In November, I was lucky enough to take my wife and her family up to Mineta San José International Airport so that they could catch a flight to Denver, Colorado. It was a very enjoyable trip and it was the first time my wife has flown with me since I've received my private license (she went up while I was still training to the exact airport for our honeymoon). The controller in San José kept me a little high for the approach due to parallel traffic landing 30L. But I was able to easily get it down in time for a nice landing. Also, there's a video of my landing upon returning to San Luis Obispo, California (SBP). Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Life as a CFI
Well, I officially have about 4 hours of instructing under my belt (not another notch on the old belt-quote from what movie?). The first flight I had was with a friend of mine who also wants to fly professionally. The plane I received my CFI checkout was a Piper Warrior, of which I've never flown, and is similar to the Piper Seminole, in which I have about 150 hours. This was the plane the friend of mine wanted to fly for his first lesson. I felt comfortable with it on my checkout, but as a first lesson I felt uneasy. The lesson itself turned out to be very constructive and my student ended up enjoying the flight. I, however, felt uneasy for almost the entirety of the trip. Maybe it was the plane, maybe it was instructing for the first time, but it was one of those flights I did not enjoy. I was even skeptical to give my student the controls to fly the plane. He did very well and we landed safely, although there was quite a strong crosswind which didn't help my uneasiness. Afterwards I felt completely drained and fatigued. Fortunately, my next flight, which was with my brother in a Cessna, went exceptionally well and reassured my desire to instruct. Flights following this flight became more and more enjoyable and I'm actually becoming comfortable teaching and letting my students fly the plane. I'm very excited for what's ahead.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Hired
Great news, I was hired as a flight instructor for a flight school where I live in California. This was the school that I received my private pilot license less than a year ago. It's strange that I am now an instructor here. The facility and the company are great and I look forward to instructing here. I had my first student last Sunday and it was an experience in itself. I had a lot of fun, but it was a little overwhelming. I've officially logged one hour of flight instruction given.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
*ACPP Completed
After returning from Las Vegas, I spent a week or so at home and then drove down to Riverside to finish up my add-ons (single-engine CFI and commercial, and instrument CFI). I had a week to prepare for the single add-on, which I thought was strange that we would do the single-engine stuff first then go back to the Seminole. My checkrides were scheduled for Friday and Saturday respectively. Getting back into the Cessna was fun and I felt more than ready for the checkride.
However, when I woke up the morning I walked down stairs to find my car not where I parked it. I freaked out thinking that it was stolen and I had a lot of my stuff in it for my checkride. I called the police and thankfully it was towed, not like this was any better. I called my instructor and she gave me a ride to the towing company and I pulled my stuff out and we went to the airport. We weren't in too much of a hurry because the marine layer decided to linger over the Inland Empire and my checkride ended up being postponed until the following Tuesday. I drove home frustrated.
I drove back to Riverside and got up the next day and took my checkride. It was a fun ride and I received the two ratings. Afterwards, we flew the Seminole to prepare for the CFII checkride. I woke up the next morning and we flew over the airport where the DE was located. We arrived a little late and I pulled all my stuff out for the DE to look over. He took a look at my new Temporary Airman Certificate for my commercial rating and noticed that it didn't say "Instrument" on it (a mistake the previous DE made). I couldn't believe the misfortune. He couldn't legally give me a checkride if I "technically" didn't have my instrument. He seemed upset, I was upset, and we departed ways.
We flew back to Riverside and I told my instructor that I was going find a DE where I live and finish the checkride there. I was tired of those little mistakes that caused numerous delays and time spent away from home. I also desperately needed to start making some money since most of the money I had was depleted. Not the best way to end the program, but just glad I don't have to leave anymore.
However, when I woke up the morning I walked down stairs to find my car not where I parked it. I freaked out thinking that it was stolen and I had a lot of my stuff in it for my checkride. I called the police and thankfully it was towed, not like this was any better. I called my instructor and she gave me a ride to the towing company and I pulled my stuff out and we went to the airport. We weren't in too much of a hurry because the marine layer decided to linger over the Inland Empire and my checkride ended up being postponed until the following Tuesday. I drove home frustrated.
I drove back to Riverside and got up the next day and took my checkride. It was a fun ride and I received the two ratings. Afterwards, we flew the Seminole to prepare for the CFII checkride. I woke up the next morning and we flew over the airport where the DE was located. We arrived a little late and I pulled all my stuff out for the DE to look over. He took a look at my new Temporary Airman Certificate for my commercial rating and noticed that it didn't say "Instrument" on it (a mistake the previous DE made). I couldn't believe the misfortune. He couldn't legally give me a checkride if I "technically" didn't have my instrument. He seemed upset, I was upset, and we departed ways.
We flew back to Riverside and I told my instructor that I was going find a DE where I live and finish the checkride there. I was tired of those little mistakes that caused numerous delays and time spent away from home. I also desperately needed to start making some money since most of the money I had was depleted. Not the best way to end the program, but just glad I don't have to leave anymore.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Pink slip, passed, and moving on...
Well unfortunately I officially failed my first checkride, the oral portion of my Multi-engine Instructor Initial checkride. I felt pretty comfortable up to the day previous my checkride when ATP informed me that I was going to take the checkride with a FAA examiner instead of the examiner I originally was supposed to go with. I was very hesitant to go through with it, but I studied all that day and prepared myself the best I could. It was a rough 4 hours the next morning. I knew the information sufficiently, but explaining it proved difficult and the examiner thought it would be necessary for me to get more training. I was pretty disappointed, both in the circumstances of my examiner being switched the day before, and also in myself for not being prepared or confident to perform adequately. I learned a lot from the experience and now looking back at it, I'm not as disappointed.
I returned home from Las Vegas that day and I was going to have to wait a couple of weeks until the examiner returned from a trip. Fortunately, ATP was able to schedule a different examiner for me and I returned to Las Vegas the next week. This checkride had it's moments as well.
Luckily the examiner just had me do the portion of the oral that I had failed on instead of requiring me to retake the entire portion. I felt a lot more confident and I passed the oral portion, not without some minor mistakes though. Then to the flying. We went out the plane and I was pretty nervous due to the fact that I hadn't been in the Seminole for two weeks. I made some stupid mistakes but luckily we took off and began to fly around the pattern. I immediately noticed that I wasn't able to maintain the proper climb airspeed as we were climbing to pattern altitude and I commented to the examiner about it. He continued with exam (pretending to be a private pilot student) and as we finally were able to reach pattern altitude, he failed one of the engines for me to teach and make a single engine approach to landing. When we fly on one engine we maintain an airspeed that will provide us the best performance, but I couldn't maintain this airspeed with a significant descent. He noticed the problem as well and decided to give me back the failed engine and I made a normal landing with both engines. He kept asking me what I thought the problem was but my mind was racing and I just made the decision to go back and park the plane.
According to the engine gauges, both engines were performing within their normal ranges and maximum performance, but we weren't seeing it. On final, him and I noticed the airspeed jump about 30 knots and he had mentally figured out the problem, when I was making sure I didn't mess anything else up. When we returned to the office, I thought he was going to fail me because he didn't seem happy and I thought I wasn't flying my best. We finally discussed what happened and we figured out (mostly he did) that there was something wrong with our pitot/static system which tells us our airspeed and it was giving us erroneous indications. So even though we were trying to maintain 88 knots to climb, we were really flying at about 120 knots, and not maintaining a proper climb. I learned a lot from this experience and wished I would have troubleshooted the problem accordingly, but I do give myself credit due to the fact that it was a checkride and I was under a huge amount of stress as it was, and I made a good decision not to continue with the flight. What bad luck to have on a checkride.
We then waited for another plane and we went up and I was able to perform without major faults. I felt very good about my ability during the second flight and he passed me. Overall, that day was one of the most stressful and both mentally and physically draining day I've ever had. We started at 10:00a and didn't get done until 5:00p. I was unbelievably relieved and happy for passing and I drove back home a lot happier than the week previous. I am now an instructor.
I returned home from Las Vegas that day and I was going to have to wait a couple of weeks until the examiner returned from a trip. Fortunately, ATP was able to schedule a different examiner for me and I returned to Las Vegas the next week. This checkride had it's moments as well.
Luckily the examiner just had me do the portion of the oral that I had failed on instead of requiring me to retake the entire portion. I felt a lot more confident and I passed the oral portion, not without some minor mistakes though. Then to the flying. We went out the plane and I was pretty nervous due to the fact that I hadn't been in the Seminole for two weeks. I made some stupid mistakes but luckily we took off and began to fly around the pattern. I immediately noticed that I wasn't able to maintain the proper climb airspeed as we were climbing to pattern altitude and I commented to the examiner about it. He continued with exam (pretending to be a private pilot student) and as we finally were able to reach pattern altitude, he failed one of the engines for me to teach and make a single engine approach to landing. When we fly on one engine we maintain an airspeed that will provide us the best performance, but I couldn't maintain this airspeed with a significant descent. He noticed the problem as well and decided to give me back the failed engine and I made a normal landing with both engines. He kept asking me what I thought the problem was but my mind was racing and I just made the decision to go back and park the plane.
According to the engine gauges, both engines were performing within their normal ranges and maximum performance, but we weren't seeing it. On final, him and I noticed the airspeed jump about 30 knots and he had mentally figured out the problem, when I was making sure I didn't mess anything else up. When we returned to the office, I thought he was going to fail me because he didn't seem happy and I thought I wasn't flying my best. We finally discussed what happened and we figured out (mostly he did) that there was something wrong with our pitot/static system which tells us our airspeed and it was giving us erroneous indications. So even though we were trying to maintain 88 knots to climb, we were really flying at about 120 knots, and not maintaining a proper climb. I learned a lot from this experience and wished I would have troubleshooted the problem accordingly, but I do give myself credit due to the fact that it was a checkride and I was under a huge amount of stress as it was, and I made a good decision not to continue with the flight. What bad luck to have on a checkride.
We then waited for another plane and we went up and I was able to perform without major faults. I felt very good about my ability during the second flight and he passed me. Overall, that day was one of the most stressful and both mentally and physically draining day I've ever had. We started at 10:00a and didn't get done until 5:00p. I was unbelievably relieved and happy for passing and I drove back home a lot happier than the week previous. I am now an instructor.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
CFI School Update from Las Vegas
It's week two in North Las Vegas, Nevada at CFI school. We operate out of North Las Vegas Airport (KVGT). Before coming to Las Vegas, everyone at ATP hears that the CFI course is the toughest part of the program, and from experiencing it first hand, it is definitely true. I haven't ever studied or worked this hard, even through my college years. The material being presented, although mostly review, is extremely overwhelming. The main instructor, who teaches the week-long CFI class, is a good instructor and knows his information well. I would say, though, that he lacks the small things that students look for in an instructor (motivation, encouragement, etc.). This may be a tactic of his to make us study as hard as we can, but in the end the checkride isn't nearly as bad as he makes it, from what I hear.
My checkride is this Friday. I've studied like crazy last week and this week and I feel prepared. I was lucky enough to get the same examiner as my roommate and flight partner when he attended the CFI course the week previous. He was gracious enough to write me a gouge on him. With that gouge, plus the two others that other students wrote, I can expect what the oral and flight portions of the checkride will be like. I'm still nervous, though. I want to pass and go back to California more than anything. And with the stress and overwhelming feeling I have, I know it will be all lifted off once I pass.
My last flight is tomorrow, and we'll be just flying the pattern. Flying wise, I feel prepared. I just don't know what will be asked during the oral. This is a big step in receiving my ratings and once I have this accomplished, I have a few more which will be down hill from here. I've also decided that I will most likely be teaching locally at the FBO at which I received my PPL. I'm not sure if I would enjoy teaching for ATP. A big part of which is not being be home with my wife. I'm looking forward to teaching, though, and I even have some future student prospects once I get back.
My checkride is this Friday. I've studied like crazy last week and this week and I feel prepared. I was lucky enough to get the same examiner as my roommate and flight partner when he attended the CFI course the week previous. He was gracious enough to write me a gouge on him. With that gouge, plus the two others that other students wrote, I can expect what the oral and flight portions of the checkride will be like. I'm still nervous, though. I want to pass and go back to California more than anything. And with the stress and overwhelming feeling I have, I know it will be all lifted off once I pass.
My last flight is tomorrow, and we'll be just flying the pattern. Flying wise, I feel prepared. I just don't know what will be asked during the oral. This is a big step in receiving my ratings and once I have this accomplished, I have a few more which will be down hill from here. I've also decided that I will most likely be teaching locally at the FBO at which I received my PPL. I'm not sure if I would enjoy teaching for ATP. A big part of which is not being be home with my wife. I'm looking forward to teaching, though, and I even have some future student prospects once I get back.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Moving right along
Today I passed my checkride for my commercial certificate in the Seminole. I’m very pleased with the progress up until now and I’m looking forward to the last two weeks of the program in Las Vegas.
I was originally supposed to take my checkride last Saturday and then go to Las Vegas for the CFI course Monday the 6th. However, there were a few problems during the checkride. For one, there was a date that was incorrect on my application which the examiner caught and therefore we had to redo the application. This particular examiner is adamant about the paperwork being correct and ready upon the beginning of the checkride. He’s known to have charged people for them not correctly filling out their application. Luckily, he didn’t charge and we were able to redo the application and move on. The second problem occurred when he was checking my log book for the appropriate entries to be applicable for the commercial checkride. One of the flights my instructor and I made a few months previous had not been signed. The other flight that same day was signed, but not this particular flight. It is part of the regulations that this flight be completed before taking the commercial checkride, and with out a proper flight instructor endorsement, the flight is void. So, the examiner said that we’d have to reschedule and the earliest time was the following Thursday.
I was very disappointed because I was set on going to CFI school on the 6th, expecially because I had prior engagements the week after I would have been done. I’m over being upset about it now, there’s nothing I really can do. And I’m happy that I’m a commercial pilot now. Strangely enough, I’m only a commercial pilot in a twin engine plane, not a single engine plane. But I will get that certificate later during CFI school in Las Vegas.
Rumors are that the initial CFI certificate is the most difficult checkride yet. I’m not looking forward to that, but I’m sure I’ll get through it fine.
I was originally supposed to take my checkride last Saturday and then go to Las Vegas for the CFI course Monday the 6th. However, there were a few problems during the checkride. For one, there was a date that was incorrect on my application which the examiner caught and therefore we had to redo the application. This particular examiner is adamant about the paperwork being correct and ready upon the beginning of the checkride. He’s known to have charged people for them not correctly filling out their application. Luckily, he didn’t charge and we were able to redo the application and move on. The second problem occurred when he was checking my log book for the appropriate entries to be applicable for the commercial checkride. One of the flights my instructor and I made a few months previous had not been signed. The other flight that same day was signed, but not this particular flight. It is part of the regulations that this flight be completed before taking the commercial checkride, and with out a proper flight instructor endorsement, the flight is void. So, the examiner said that we’d have to reschedule and the earliest time was the following Thursday.
I was very disappointed because I was set on going to CFI school on the 6th, expecially because I had prior engagements the week after I would have been done. I’m over being upset about it now, there’s nothing I really can do. And I’m happy that I’m a commercial pilot now. Strangely enough, I’m only a commercial pilot in a twin engine plane, not a single engine plane. But I will get that certificate later during CFI school in Las Vegas.
Rumors are that the initial CFI certificate is the most difficult checkride yet. I’m not looking forward to that, but I’m sure I’ll get through it fine.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Cross countries completed
I just recently completed the cross country phase of ATP. My partner and I flew clear across the United States from Riverside, California to Jacksonville, Florida. The students over in the west coast are lucky due to the fact that we are able to fly all the way to the other side of the country. They do this so that we can take our jet ride in the Cessna Citation, which is usually located somewhere in the east coast. Students on the east coast usually don't make it all the way to the west coast because there is no need.
The cross country phase was definately a learning experience. From the first day of you cross countries, you are required to call ATP dispatch between 7:00 AM and 7:30 AM and find out where you will be flying that day. My partner and I were lucky in that our second day we were able to fly up to Salem, Oregon. Not many students from Riverside are able to make this trip. My partner's family lives up there, so we were able to visit Portland and we had a good time seeing Oregon.
We began our journey to the east coast around the 4th day of the cross country phase. It took us about 4 days to reach Atlanta, Georgia which was where we would fly the jet. That was definately the best experience so far. It reminded me of the first time I started flying.
I gained a lot of hours and experience during our trip and it was definately a worth while journey. I created a Google map of the trip with each stop we made. The green line represents the trip to the east coast and the red line represents the trip back. The blue line represents the jet ride. By clicking on the lines it will tell you which day we made the trip and where we stayed the night.
ATP Cross Country Map
Picture 1: Me standing in front of the Citation.
Picture 2: Me and my flying partner.
Picture 3: The start of weather, which is nearly unheard of in SoCal.
The cross country phase was definately a learning experience. From the first day of you cross countries, you are required to call ATP dispatch between 7:00 AM and 7:30 AM and find out where you will be flying that day. My partner and I were lucky in that our second day we were able to fly up to Salem, Oregon. Not many students from Riverside are able to make this trip. My partner's family lives up there, so we were able to visit Portland and we had a good time seeing Oregon.
We began our journey to the east coast around the 4th day of the cross country phase. It took us about 4 days to reach Atlanta, Georgia which was where we would fly the jet. That was definately the best experience so far. It reminded me of the first time I started flying.
I gained a lot of hours and experience during our trip and it was definately a worth while journey. I created a Google map of the trip with each stop we made. The green line represents the trip to the east coast and the red line represents the trip back. The blue line represents the jet ride. By clicking on the lines it will tell you which day we made the trip and where we stayed the night.
ATP Cross Country Map
Picture 1: Me standing in front of the Citation.
Picture 2: Me and my flying partner.
Picture 3: The start of weather, which is nearly unheard of in SoCal.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Instrument Checkride Passed!
I passed my instrument checkride today! It was the hardest checkride I've taken yet. I'll post more about it later.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
100 hours!
Somewhere between Van Nuys airport and Riverside airport I officially passed the 100-hour mark. Ironically it was one of the least enjoyable flights of flight training, but I feel that the mark was a milestone. This particular session was focused on instrument approaches and once I returned to the Inland Empire, it was one approach after another. In real life this particular situation would never occur, but for sakes of training, it was necessary. I think it was the frustration of having to complete multiple tasks at once that affected me, plus having an instructor next to me criticizing every move I made. I enjoy the steps in making a successful approach, it’s just when making such an approach happens in consequential order and in a matter of 5 minutes after completing a previous approach seconds beforehand.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Airports I've flown into
I've inserted a link to a google maps rendition of all the airports I've flown into. Not too impressive, but slowly growing. Check it out if you're bored.
Friday, June 22, 2007
MEL
Well it's been awhile since I received my Multi Engine add-on, but I wanted to post about the experience of the checkride. The date I had my checkride was June 9, 2007. I felt surprisingly prepared, although it seemed awfully quick for learning a completely new airplane (Seminole).
I knew which examiner I was going to have about a couple of weeks beforehand. Other students gave their insights on how he was. From their experiences and what my instructor taught me, I felt pretty prepared.
I was the first to go before my partner, Jon. As soon as we arrived at the airport, the examiner was there and he was ready to go into one of the rooms and begin the oral section. We arrived early because he was able to be at the airport at an earlier time than previously scheduled. The oral went really well. The examiner, Tom, likes to give real life situations as test questions rather than ask specific standard test questions. I enjoyed that. It was almost like we were just discussing aviation amongst each other. It seemed to end really quickly after it began.
After preflighting the plane, he arrived and I seemed to be over prepared for the flight. He asked where I wanted to go for the maneuvers and I had usually flown over Lake Matthews to perform them. He seemed like he wanted to go over San Bernardino airport for the checkride, so I said that would be fine, even though I was unfamiliar with that location. I had my terminal area chart, which I didn't use, and all the frequencies necessary for the flight (San Bernardino CTAF, SoCal approach, etc.) and I even tried to get the weather brief, which he didn't want.
We took off and headed towards San Bernardino. I made sure I kept lower than the Class C airspace for Ontario. Once we were clear, which he let me know (surprised), we climbed to 6,000 feet and began the maneuvers. Every maneuver went really well and he seemed pretty laid back (kept his eye outside most of the time, and at me to make sure I wasn't looking solely at the instruments). While setting up for a maneuver I heard Expressjet coming into Ontario and then moments later saw them fly over us at about 1,000. It was an awesome sight, I think I even vocalized "awesome".
We did an emergency decent to San Bernardino on one engine and then set up for landing. The only mistake I made, which seemed pretty existential, was that when I added power because we were below glideslope, I added a lot from the operating engine which caused us to yaw a lot towards the dead engine. I forgot to correct accordingly and the plane was yawing all over the place. Tom said, "watch that rudder!" I corrected quickly, but I felt like I made a stupid mistake. Once we went around the pattern a few times we took off and he said I could relax and he would fly the rest of the way back to Riverside.
It seemed like I didn't pass (on my own standards) but I knew that he was satisfied with my flight. He flew the entire way back and landed, then taxied back. I was very happy I had passed. It was a lot easier than I had expected, but I think I was sufficient enough to demonstrate I could fly the twin. Good times though.
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