It just keeps getting better and better . . . .

The track above is from FlightAware.  It's the second half of my IFR long cross country, part of IFR training.  Hand flying I was doing great until I leaked off to the right while I was supposed to be direct KSRQ.  What happened?  Expectation bias.  I kept thinking and knowing that I would get vectored right for the LOC RWY 14 Approach.  What I learned?  You gotta wait for the Controller to tell you to go right before you go right when you are IFR or the Controller will ask you where're you going!

A question for you who are smarter than me, what is that blue line on FlightAware?  See the picture above again.  It ain't how we were cleared.

Regarding it getting better, the whole flight was wonderful!  Starting at KSRQ with a planned missed over KISM and then direct KOCF I got to fly in actual IMC for the first time. It was a little hair raising knowing I was going to pilot a plane to 200 feet above the ground and was hoping to see the runway before that altitude!  I wish I recalled when we actually broke out but I don't.

So after the long cross country all the requirements for IFR rating except the total hood or actual time have been met.  It's all practice and study now.

A few other learnings:

• From KSRQ to KISM, N65995 appeared to be cleared to KNEED then KISM but we were never told about KNEED and swore the Controller kept saying MEAD.  After some confusion, the Controller fixed the issue and vectored us to KNEED.  Next time?  Ask the Controller to spell the fix if I can't find it quickly.
• The two pilots in the plane couldn't find SOWMU on Enroute L24.  Duh, it's one of the IAFs for the RNAV RWY 18 at KOCF.  Next time?  Remember you briefed this approach and look at the plate if you can't find a fix on the enroute chart, even if you are 40 miles out and not near ready to load or activate the approach.  It was embarrassing when I asked the Controller to spell SOWMU and he added, it's the IAF.
• Being embarrassed just means you have the right attitude and learn from all these incidents.  It means you're human.  It means Controllers and pilots have to work closely together and communication is critical.  One example, while on the RNAV RWY 18 at KOCF we were told to report over FIBUS.  After not finding that fix I was getting dejected, but then I asked if the Controller meant CUMIB.  Nope, he meant LUGGY and had misspoke.  FIBUS is the FAF for the RNAV RWY 36.  LUGGY is the FAF for the RNAV RWY 18, the approach we were on.

Just amazing . . . .

Click here.  Then click play.  You will see Niner Niner Five depart KSRQ, fly to KBOW for fuel and lunch, fly home to KSRQ but with a couple of twists.  Literally!  Flying over the Sunshine Skyway was intended.  There was a first-time-ever-in-a-small-plane passenger aboard and you have to admit the Sunshine Skyway is one of the coolest tours in the area.  But the three 360s out over the Gulf were just because we were number 6 to land at KSRQ.  Number 6!  Never have I seen the airspace so crowded in the area.  At least I got to practice maneuvers.  But you can see without a ground reference you can make perfect circles but you drift with the wind.  What I could have done is marked a waypoint and flown perfect circles around that waypoint which would have supplemented my instrument training but I didn't think I was going to go round three times.

Y2020 vacation . . . .

My boss knows.  It's on my calendar.  This I gotta do!  Around the Caribbean Sea.  How cool is that going to be?

Details are not on the website yet, link above, but they are coming.  I am sure friends and family will be able to watch the track of N65995 at the website when the flying starts, if you want to watch.

Proud of this landing . . . .

Today was a great day flying.  The first part of the day, an hour of IFR training under the hood with the odd ending where Tampa Approach 119.65 basically terminated the flight.  The sequence of events:

• A first ILS RWY 14 practice approach including a clearance for the published MISSED APPROACH, hold at MURDO
• A canceling of the clearance to MURDO upon going missed with the ask, SAY INTENTIONS
• An ask and a clearance for a second practice approach but with the admonition, this approach will end in a full stop.

I stuttered a bit in the read back at the beginning of this second practice approach saying, uh, okay, Niner Niner Five.  My instructor and I moved to a bit of ground school after the full stop.  He was surprised too and had never heard a flight not being cleared for the option and given a choice.  The airspace is filling up in and around West Central Florida!

The second part of the day, because the training flight ended early there was time to join a flock of five Cubs at Havana Café of the Everglades in Chokoloskee.  Great company and food.  Great cafe to fly or motorcycle to.  The flight was KSRQ VPCLE KX01 and the reverse.  A smooth ride down and back over beautiful land, beaches, water and Everglades.

Then the best part of the day.  Back at KSRQ the winds were 18018G27 which meant that the crosswind was 11.6 steady and 17.4 gusting.  You can bet I was quietly repeating to myself the whole descent, go around if, go around if, go around if.  I had already decided Albert Whitted was the alternate since they have a RWY 18.  The landing at KSRQ?  My passenger thought the right wing was going to touch the ground before the wheels and was amazed at how smooth the touchdown was.  After clearing the runway, crossing the hold line, unclenching, connecting with Ground, I smiled all the way to engine off.

The worst part of the day?  Tomorrow's weather is forecast beyond my personal minimums and Alexandra is going into annual Monday.  Hopefully she won't be more than a week there.

Specifications and decription . . . .

Click here for Alexandra's Specifications and Description.  She is NAV III.  This is Cessna's Description beginning with Serial Number 18281504.  Alexandra is Number 18281515 and so I imagine it describes here but it is not a given or a warranty.  (smile)

When you can't see outside . . . .

The work getting an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) rating was begun in November 2018, first studying and passing the IFR written and then taking lessons.  It is an interesting experience.  Flying only by reference to instruments is challenging.  Meeting the challenge will take lessons and practice.  The minimum experience for the rating are 15 hours dual, 40 hours total.  After racking up the minimum, or more if not proficient at 40 hours, a successful checkride with a designated or FAA examiner will secure the IFR ticket.

A substantial amount of the time spent on the IFR rating can be spent in advanced simulators.  I'll fly Alexandra for all 40 hours unless scheduling becomes an issue.  None of the time flying Alexandra can be alone.  Either my instructor or a safety pilot must be along in the right seat when I am wearing foggles or a hood.

Starting with the last flight to date here are a few flights making up my training and practice:

• KSRQ: four practice approaches ILS RWY 14 (three missed, one full stop)
• KSRQ: three practice approaches two RWY 4 and one 32

Flying IFR using VORs?

The picture above is a snip from the AFD.  The picture below is a snip of the airport diagram.

An easy way to handle the VOR check that is required every 30 days when you are based at KSRQ, taxi over to the intersection of Charlie and Foxtrot, tune the VORs to frequency 117.0.  Tune the Course to 152.  Confirm the Course Pointer is within + 4 degrees of the Course.  Viola!

Today, N65995 was + 0 degrees VOR1 and VOR2.

Who to believe . . . about leaning?

Is this really definitive:

Mike-Bush-Red-BoxRed-Fin.pdf

What Lycoming says:

I have been experimenting with the BMP.  I hope I don't need an overhaul sooner than TBO!  (smile)

FM 15020KT

When you can't go flying because of the weather, you study the weather.  But how would you decipher the phrase in a Center Weather Advisory:

• AREA EMBD OF TS AND SHRA WITH MOD-HVY PCPN MOV FM 15020KT

I still cannot find the definitive resource but an FSS 1800wxbrief briefer and I discussed it at length today.  I would love to see it in writing!

Flying to 09J . . .

On a trip from KSRQ to 09J, the most expensive vehicle, per mile, was not the plane!

Whups! UPDATED

It turns out the new stick gauge, FUELHAWK C-182/43.5, correlates very nicely with the electronic fuel gauges of the G1000 at 20 gallons indicated and with the self service fuel pump at KVNC.  It is dead on for the 43.5 gallons full tank measure, after adding 23.5 gallons according the fuel pump.  I will keep comparing for a few more different fuel levels before I trust this stick!

Whups!

The original FUELHAWK fuel gauge that came with Niner Niner Five that I have been using for more than a year was the wrong one!  It is for a C-182 with bladder tanks.  I now have the right one, FUELHAWK C-182/43.5.  Good thing that I didn't ever rely solely on the original gauge.  When the original gauge said 39 gallons I had 36 gallons.  When it said 30, I had 20.  When it said 20 I had 8.  When it said 10, I had 2!

Trust me I will be confirming that the new gauge more closely aligns with the electronic fuel gauges and my own estimations of fuel remaining before I have faith in it.

I feel stupid that I have been using the wrong gauge for a year but I feel good about starting to look closely at what information I was being presented, all instruments, all tools, and comparing.  The reason it hasn't matter before.  I like having half full tanks at minimum at all times and so was never close to minimum fuel.  The reason I started looking closely, I am soon off to the Bahamas and fuel planning will be different, and I imagine I will fly will lower fuel levels than I ever have before.

A good pilot is always learning.  Lesson learned?  Validate everything.  Now how do I confirm my tire pressure gauge is accurate . . . .

A good pilot is always learning . . . .

I haven't pinned down who first said that a good pilot is always learning, but you can remove the adjective, good.  There is just no way you don't learn something every time you get into a plane even if you don't intend to.  Click here for interesting blurbs, Great Aviation Quotes, many related to flying and learning.

Learning on the ground is as interesting as learning in the air.  The last thing I learned on the ground, you don't need a beacon for any flight operation, even for IFR NIGHT operations.  Who woulda thunk it.  Exterior lighting needed:

• NAV
• STROBE
• LANDING

Interior lighting needed:

• PFD BEZEL and BACKLIGHTING
• MFD BEZEL and BACKLIGHTING
• SWITCH AND CIRCUIT BREAKER PANEL
• STANDBY AIRSPEED
• STANDBY ALTIMETER
• MAGNETIC COMPASS
• ATTITUDE INDICATOR
• COCKPIT FLOOD

For VFR NIGHT operations you need the same exterior lighting but you can lose the PFD and MFD BEZEL lighting.

There's always a dream!

I wanna be this guy:

Can you guess why?  Eleven border-crossing decals!  I have the tail number of this craft which was next to Alexandra this morning in the group hanger.  Maybe I can tag along next time, cross the border.  I do already have my decal and current passport.

How many pilots does it take to replace a light bulb . . . .

Last night I went up to renew night currency.  It's amazing how fast 90 days goes by.  It was a pleasant night, a very short 0.3 hours for two stop and goes and one full stop.  But once on the ground and out of the plane again I discovered the beacon on the vertical stabilizer had failed.

At first blush it looked like it might be a several hundred dollar repair.  But that is for a new LED light.  Just replacing the bulb will be $19.95.

Replacing the bulb should be a repair that doesn't make you wince . . . .

03/24/2018 update . . . .

It only takes one pilot:

Green river . . . .

Can you tell it's St Patricks day?  Above is an untouched picture from 3500 ft MSL heading through the Bridge Transition, which takes you from East to West or West to East right over the center of KTPA.  It was a cool ride today from KBOW back to KSRQ, after an FAA Safety Team activity at KSEF, a presentation about Preventing Loss of Control.

The Bridge Transition described on the Tampa TAC:

And then here is the flight path of Niner Niner Five of the flight leg from KBOW to KSRQ:

No pilot deviation . . . .

A person in the Quality Assurance Department of the FAA Office of Safety determined my event on Saturday was not a pilot deviation.  Anxiety quieted!

The whole story revolves around transponder codes, busy airspace, missed communications, data tags, limited data blocks for ADS B data, and a helicopter who was flying in and around St Pete about the same time Alexandra was flying from Venice to Sarasota.  What I learned and was advised when I called to confirm and discuss the voice message shown above, make a cold call:  Tampa Approach, Cessna Skylane N65995 . . . .  This practice is opposite of what I thought controllers desired in busy airspace with cluttered airwaves.  I used to always wait for silence then go through the whole shebang:  Tampa Approach, Cessna Skylane N65995, two miles west of Venice, altitude 1 thousand 6 hundred, heading 3 6 0, VFR, full stop Sarasota.  That practice had always worked but what I now know is that controllers have to put our tail numbers in before they can do anything else.  Making the cold call allows the controller to respond quickly with, remain clear of Class C, if necessary, too.

The other thing I learned, in addition to writing down transponder codes when I get them, I will always make absolutely sure I hear:  N65995, radar contact.  I have to admit I was not always diligent looking for that language, but I have a new check box on my check list.  By the way, the deciding factor, I am sure, in the no deviation finding was the fact that Tampa approach used my tail number in a radio transmission before I entered the Class C airspace around KSRQ.

To round out the story, here is the flight of the helicopter that everyone but me thought was Alexandra:

That straight line from St Pete to just west of Venice is very suspicious.  Flightaware admits tracking data for this position-only flight is incomplete and potentially inaccurate.  But what happened to the helicopter?

Very few things about flying cause anxiety . . . .

. . . . because I long ago accepted the risks of piloting a small plane.  But, yesterday after landing on Runway 14 at KSRQ, turning off at Taxiway Delta, and stopping after the hold short line, this was the conversation after Tower handed me to Ground:

• [Niner niner five]  Sarasota Ground, Niner niner five, clear of 14 at Delta, parking at Dolphin
• [Ground]  Niner niner five, right turn off Delta, Alpha to Dolphin . . . and call Tower for a possible pilot discrepancy
• [Niner niner five]  Delta then Alpha to Dolphin for Niner niner five, will advise when ready to copy phone number
• [Ground]  You can get the number for Tower from Dolphin
• [Ground]  Niner niner five, advise when ready to copy number for Tower, I can give it to you
• [Niner niner five after parking]  Ground, Niner niner five ready to copy
• [Ground]  941 XXX XXXX

What then ensued was a couple of phone calls between me and KSRQ Tower and at least one phone call between KSRQ Tower and Tampa Approach.  I only have half the story at this time, mine.  I will share the outcome of all this once the FAA investigates further.  Stay tuned . . . .

You can imagine this has something to do with airspace.  The picture above are the details from the ADS B OUT of Niner niner five for the flight at issue, VFR from KPGD to KSRQ.

I'm glad all of the communcations are recorded, and that I had three friends, read witnesses, in the cockpit.  (smile)

One of the greatest hours flying ever . . . .

I think my mission is changing!  Today I got to fly N924GM, a Cubcrafters Carbon Cub Experimental with Executive Panel and amphibian floats.  What a blast.

Next step is to get a SES rating, while simultaneously shopping for the next plane, and determining how to sell Alexandra just before I find the ideal amphib.

More pictures:

Note that flying over the weeds was at just 100 ft AGL.

It's Christmas and I didn't buy myself anything . . . .

But I am thinking!  I gotta go get my seaplane rating.  And then something like N54BK may be on the wishlist.  Or, just put floats on Alexandra.  New floats on Alexandra may cost $100K.  N54BK is for sale right now for $375K, and is the better overall value given the newer higher horsepower engine at just 25 hours SNEW.

But getting a rating is first, and there are lots of options nearby:

• Jones Air and Sea
• Browns Seaplanebase

Looks like it'll cost about $2500.00 for a rating in a complex plane.  But I can begin learning for free:

• Sun Airaviation SES Study Guide