Family Vacation to South Dakota Day One

I just got back from a big flying adventure, and I have a lot to write about.  I will break it up into several parts to keep it from getting too long.

My week started early Monday morning as we loaded suitcases into the back of the Cessna 205.  We had the FBO remove the rear seats in preparation, so there was plenty of space for our light packing.  We buckled in for the longest leg of our journey to the heartland.

I had filed an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan so I would be in constant communication with the controllers in the event of needing any assistance.  Monday turned out to be a beautiful clear day as I pushed the throttle forward and headed south down runway One Six Right (16R).

Runway 16R / 34L is the only operating runway out of Paine Field’s three runways.  11 / 29 has 787s parked all over it, and has had for about 2 years.  16L / 34R has been closed for a couple months as it gets dug up and replaced.

As soon as we were airborne, I was told to turn to the east and contact Seattle Approach Control.  From there I was vectored nearly directly to the Ellensburg VOR, and then "as filed."  "As filed" means I was to follow the path I gave in my flight plan.  I had filed to fly a preset airway named Victor Two (V-2) across the state of Washington at 9,000 feet, over the Idaho panhandle climbing to 11,000 feet, through the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, and then land in Missoula.  Think of it as I-90 for airplanes.

With the monster tail-wind we were getting, this course would get us to Missoula in time for lunch.  However, even a consistent 160 knots over the ground could not make up for having been delayed before takeoff, and then falling behind an hour at the Idaho / Montana border, we ended up landing around 2 pm local time.

Missoula the the forest fire smoke in the background

At Missoula, I was instructed to fly a left downwind (parallel and south of the runway, or fly a rectangle making left turns) but shortly before getting there, a fire bomber airplane returning from fighting the fires reported in to the south of the airport, so we were switched to a right downwind on the north side of the airport.

I kept the plane high on final above the flight path of the heavier plane that had just landed in front of me to avoid the wing-tip-vortices.  We landed without any excitement, and were taxied to Minuteman Aviation.  We were guided into a parking space and escorted into the terminal with the other business jet passengers.  It was pretty nice.  Their staff topped off the plane, the attendant loaned us a "crew car" and we drove towards town for lunch.

Our longest leg was behind us.  2:40 minutes in the sky.

After lunch we strapped back into the plane for a short hop from Missoula to Billings.  This would not be an easy run though, and led me to my first use of my instrument flying skills on the trip.  As I mentioned earlier, there was a large forest fire burning to the south of Missoula.

Missoula is down in a valley at about 3,000 feet above sea level with tall valley walls to either side.  To get out the valley, you must fly a preset course through the valley, climbing to at least 9,000 feet before attempting to fly out of the valley.  So first we flew back to the Northwest -- the way we had just arrived, climbing to nearly 7,000 feet, and then turning around and continuing our climb.

As we crossed back over the city, it became apparent we would not be able to climb over the wall of smoke being cast by the forest fire.  I requested and receive clearance to attempt to parallel the smoke wall to the north until it thinned out, but after several miles it became apparent the smoke was not abating.  We turned back to the east and entered the smoke.  There was no visibility outside the plane, just brownish orange haze.  I looked down at my flight gauges and pressed on.  We were in the smoke for what seemed like forever, but it was probably only 10 minutes or so.

Back out the other side the sky ahead was hazy with the orange glow of the sun behind us and the particulates of the smoke ahead of us.  We were soon getting 160 knots of ground speed out of our normally 120 knot airplane.  Tailwinds are wonderful things.

The air cools about four and a half degrees every 1,000 feet you go up.  So while at an altitude of 11,000 it may be a nice cool 60 degrees outside the plane, peeling off the 8,000 feet necessary to get down to the runway means the airplane and passengers heat up to 95.  Combine that with some bouncing around and you have a recipe for passengers arriving at the destination separate from the food they left with.

Isaac helps with the Plane in Billings

In Billings we were vectored for the visual approach to runway two eight right (28R).  We were held high south of the city a little longer than necessary, so we ended up making a diving left turn with a tail wind over the city, then paralleling the ridge line with the formerly helpful tail-wind rolling up and over it to create some interesting flying while I slowed plane down for landing.

The trip from Missoula to Billings took 2:10 minutes, and we all agreed it was time to stop for the day.  Edwards Jet Center tied down the plane and my passengers got a much needed break in the hotel pool.

Not Everything That Happens In Vegas Stays There

But somethings will...

My wife and I spent a few days in Las Vegas.  In planning our trip, Sandra asked if I had already landed a plane in Nevada and if there were any states near Las Vegas in which I had not landed.  True enough, I had not landed in Nevada.  Since I already had California and Arizona, Utah was the only other near by. 

I have attended several safety seminars on stalls and spins put on by Bruce Williams of Bruce Air and recall he kept his plane in Nevada part of the year.  Bruce gives really solid training on aerodynamics and flight upset, and he seems like a stand up guy, so I decided to start my search for a plane with him.  On his website, he recommends Monarch Sky.

Monarch's website makes them appear like a normal FBO in the desert southwest, but it hides a wonderful secret.  Monarch is a sister company to Sky Combat Ace (SCA)!  For less than the cost of an afternoon of my playing blackjack, they strap you in the business end of a 330 horsepower aerobatic lunch expulsion vehicle.  This however would NOT be my destiny.

I have been trying to find opportunities to build tail-wheel time.  I got a tail-wheel endorsement a little over a year ago from Snohomish Flying Service in their woefully under-powered Aeronca Champion.  This is an honest airplane.  Every wiggle, every adjustment, every sneeze changes some axis of this airplane's flight.  There is no "trimming it out" and cruising; you are always adjusting this, or correcting that, or leveling this, or stepping on that.  And even if there was trimming it out, the meager 80 knot speed is far from cruising.  But it teaches you to fly.  It reminds the pilot why the rudders are there.  It honestly exhibits adverse yaw.  It teaches you to be using the rudders in the sky and on the ground.

When the Champ grew up it became the Citabra, and when I found Monarch had one of these, I realized I could simultaneously knock two more states off my list and build tail wheel time.  John from Monarch scheduled me with Chris.  A great match.  Chris is semi-retired, and has flown since his 'teens, and is now flying whenever he can for Monarch and SCA.

At 6:30 AM Monday morning the alarm on my phone jolted me awake (that's what you get for waking up in Vegas).

continues after the jump

By 7:30 Chris and I were exchanging pleasantries.  We discussed my goals, we briefed the flight, loaded up on water bottles and climbed aboard the plane.

We departed Henderson Executive Airport to the south and turned left to head east over the ridge-line a couple miles from the airport, and then direct to

Boulder City and Hoover Dam.  In route the plane and it's little 150 horsepower motor scraped at the hot dry air to get every bit of climb-rate it could muster.  We leveled out at 7,500 feet for the 100 or so miles to St. George Utah.  We followed the lake east along the Nevada-Arizona border

and then turned to follow it north up to Overton and on to Mesquite Nevada.

The charts depicted the lake reaching up to Overton, but it was a dry valley.

As we crossed the Arizona-Utah border, we followed the Colorado River and I-15 through a very steep walled valley.

We passed south of the St. George airport to enter on a left-down-wind-forty-five, and set up for landing behind a Cessna doing touch-and-go landings.

We taxied in and went to reload our water bottles, leaving the plane open to keep it from collecting the 100+ degree heat.  St George Municipal airport is a nice big airport.  Bigger than I would have expected to find in the unused corner of Utah.  The FBO, Above View Jet Center, is a large comfortable facility where they hand out welcome bottles of spring water.

Chris and I spent several minutes sampling the fuel quantity.  Each wing tank holds 18 gallons, and the 1.5 hours we spent flying out should have consumed about 12 of those gallons of fuel, leaving us with about 24 gallons.  But the testing process was showing we had about half a tank in each side.  We considered various possibilities:  Was fuel leaking?  Did we start with less than full tanks?  Was I sampling the quantities incorrectly?  Chris repeated the sampling process and reached the same half-full conclusion.  If we used half of our fuel to get there, we would use the next half to complete our return, with no reserves.  Regulations require a plan for 30 minutes of reserves.

The Nall report is an annual report of general aviation accidents.  As pilots we like to learn from others mistakes because we know we can never live long enough to make them all ourselves.  The important bit in the report is that about 11% of aircraft accidents are due to fuel management errors.  You know, things like "running out of gas."  It is my belief that ALL of these accidents are avoidable.  Chris and I discuss the three things that are useless to a pilot in an emergency:

1. Altitude above them.
2. Runway behind them.
3. Fuel on the truck.

We have the FBO put 10 gallons of fuel in the plane.  The left wing tank won't quite hold the extra 5 gallons. We were mis-reading the fuel sample process. We had plenty, but now we are sure.

The airport is at about 2,900 feet MSL, and it is about 100 or so degrees out and density altitude is about 6,500 feet -- It's going to take some runway to get this little plane off the ground.  As altitude and temperature go up, three important things happen:  The wing needs more airflow to create lift.  The propeller (a spinning wing of its own) is less effective in thin air.  Finally the engine is less able to produce power.  Each of these creates conditions to reduce the airplane's ability to fly.  Chris and I are rushing to get airborne before the hottest parts of the day. 

I plan to put the airport's 9,300 foot long runway to good use.  We taxi into position and run the engine up.  I lean it out to get it creating every bit of extra power I can and start my roll.  I push the stick forward to hold it on the ground while we develop speed, and at 65 knots the little plane pops up off the runway.  I hold the stick forward to keep the plane in ground effect and accelerate to 80 knots before letting the the nose rise and the sky fill the windshield.  We climb over the valley for 8,500 feet for some cooler air on the trip back to Henderson.

Aside from some extra negotiation with the controller, the trip home is uneventful. Chris makes pleasant conversation; we discuss our families, careers, and love of aviation.  Soon we are back at Henderson admiring the toys that await someone for the next adventure.

Thank you Sandra for giving me time to do this, John for making the arrangements, and Chris for keeping us safe.

Adding Nevada and Utah

FAA Medical

Unlike a driver’s license, in order to operate an airplane, pilots must have a medical review periodically. In general, airline pilots get checked every six months, charter pilots get checked every twelve months, and general aviation pilots get checked every twenty four months. Mine came due at the end of March. 

I have been getting my medical from Dr. Randal Franke since 1997. At the time I chose him, it was because he was close. Based at the airport, and a short bike ride from my house, I saw him every couple years to get updated. But recently he left his practice at the airport, and opened a new office in a residential community about half way between the airport and downtown Seattle. He told me his reasons for switching, but since this blog is about me and not him, I will recommend you see him for the story. 

I made my appointment on line -- that was easy. But shortly after I got an email from him assuring the reason for the appointment, negotiating a better time, and confirming I had filled in the correct FAA "MedExpress" forms to initiate my visit. From his mobile phone! The email came from HIS mobile phone. He was making sure everything was arranged during his casual time -- on email. 

Today I made my way to his new office. Honestly I was a bit surprised. His office is in a building that was quite clearly somebody’s home at one time. A sign in front says "Professional Building," but upon walking through the entrance it is clear you are in what was someone’s living room. Directly across is a kitchen, and to the left are offices that were once bedrooms. No receptionist, no medical assistant, no check in counter. On the door labeled "Randal Franke, MD" a yellow sticky proclaimed "with a patient." I sat down in the living waiting room. 

Dr. Franke came out to let me know he would be with me soon. Shortly after he called me back, and I had one of the BEST experiences with a doctor that I can recall. I've long recognized Dr. Franke is a thorough doctor, and has seemed like a nice guy, but today was different. He was relaxed and conversational; he asked about how my life had been in the last couple years and followed up with questions about my health. It wasn't like he was prying; it was like he was paying attention. 

I told him how much I liked interacting informally via email, and how I would be willing to pay my doctor a recurring retainer for such freedom. He said I could email him anytime. 

He performed the rest of the medical review, filled out my paper work and sent me on my way. In reflecting on the experience, I realized what I got today was better than an FAA medical, I got humanity. Thank you Dr. Franke! We’d all be better off with more doctors like you.

It's all about me being the right temerature

I am discouraged today.  Had the big rolling over the odometer birthday last Thursday (not why I am discouraged) and that day, I realized I could hear the flame part of our furnace but the blower motor was not coming on.  It was making heat, but not pushing it around the house.

It had been a warm couple of days, and the forecast was for a few more warm days, so I declared "It's my birthday, I'm not going to worry about it today!"  

The furnace has been a source of sadness since we built the house.  We needed zone control so we could meter out heat to separate sections individually.  If an area was unoccupied or warm enough already we did not want to be heating it.  And if the furnace is not blowing heat into the whole house, it does not need to be blowing at full speed.  Therefore as different zones request heat, the motor is programmed to run at different speeds.  

But the furnace we installed was a bit too bleeding edge for it's own good.  The Lennox Pulse 21V furnace with a Harmony Zone control system loves to burnout motors.  

The furnace was installed just before we moved in back in August of 1994 (it has been running for just over 18 years!).  But by November of 1995 the original motor had failed.  It seemed to be a weak link in the system, and the motor was just not up to the demands of running at various speeds necessary as different combinations of zones demanded heat.  Lennox had released a second generation motor (the heralded ICM2) and a new set of control boards.  The new motor was installed that Autumn and warmth filled the house again.  

... Until December of 2001.  Poof the second motor failed.  This one was not covered by warranty and six hundred dollars and a 40 mile trip to Kent later and the again we were warm.  

This motor lasted the longest.  It ran until July of 2010.  Not too shabby.  When the third motor failed my wife and I discussed replacing our furnace with a heat pump -- Hooray for air conditioning that will be used three weeks a year.  Ouch!  That is going to be expensive.  But about the time we were going to write the check, other family demands reset our priorities and we settled on what was now a new thousand dollar fourth motor to carry us through.  

Now here we are March of 2013 -- not quite three years later -- staring down what could be our fifth one thousand dollar Lennox 39L2801 one horse power variable speed motor.

Lennox has a reputation for using highly customized components, where vendors like York use more generic (read "interchangeable") components.  I have on my desk here next to me a three year old bid for a York heat pump.  So I go read the review.  Lennox?  Number 45 out of 56 (boo!)  York?  Number 34 out of 56.  (gulp!)  34th?  Only 29% of their customers recommend them.  yikes!  Oddly Kenmore (Only a single review -- Sears anyone?) and Emerson score pretty high.  I guess it is time to get more bids.  

Why I Fly (Chapter 20)

The documentary movie "Air Racers 3D" was released about a year ago.  It was just after the crash at the Reno races in which my friend's brother was killed.  They were at the races together with their parents when the plane went into the ground just behind their box seats.  The debris passed over my friend, his wife, and father who were all seated, but his brother was standing and the debris passed through him.  It was a traumatic and terrible event.
The movie played briefly at the IMAX theater near my house, but I was unable to carve out time in my schedule to see it.  As a gift to myself I decided to make the trek to Evergreen Air and Space Museum to see the movie and take in the museum.

I filed an IFR flight plan for the trip down, we got off the ground late, and then got some ridiculous routing before getting on course to the west of Sea-Tac's class "Bravo" airspace, and then we were vectored around further for traffic.  The weather was perfect, and I really didn't need to be IFR, but I wanted the practice in the system.  We ended up arriving with minimal time to get across the street to the theater.
The museum was created by the Evergreen International Aviation Company.  Most recently this is the company that coordinated the 747 LCF, and the 747 fire suppressant tankers.  Early in their history they were recognized as Air America.
When I was last there, it was a single large building housing the HK-1 (nee H-4) Hercules and a chaos of other planes squeezed in where there was space.  The campus has since been expanded to four buildings .  Most prominent of the new buildings is the one furthest to the west with a 747 mounted on top with water slides protruding from the sides. Next in line is the original building that still houses the spruce goose, then the IMAX theater, and finally on the east end is the space building.

The original building is now much better organized, containing primarily propeller driven planes with piston engines.  Notable displays include a several of the more famous WW II planes including the P-38, P-51, F-4U, and some German FW-190 and ME-262.  There is even a fair amount of empty space.

SR-71 and J-58 engine

The space building contains some very well organized history of rockets and missiles, mixed in with newer jets.  The SR-71 that was once strewn unceremoniously below the tail of the spruce goose now has its own space. 

Rocket Engine and Control Ring

One of my favorites is the 3 foot tall control ring off of a Saturn V rocket of the Apollo Mission fame.
We arrived at the museum just in time for the movie to begin.  The movie is short, only about 40ish minutes.  I may be aviation biased, but of all the 3-D movies I have seen, the is the first that really works to add to the story-telling and immersing the viewer into the story.  We ended up flying for three and a half hours to see a 40 minute movie, but the flight, movie, and museum were quite enjoyable.  Any of the activities alone would have made for a good day.  Sandra, my wife, also watched the feature on Lewis and Clark, and came back disappointed she had not insisted our kids go with her.

On the way home we skirted east along the south side of Portland's class "Charlie" airspace until we were above it and on flight-following before turning north over the top of the airport and headed for the east side of Seattle over the foothills of the Cascade range,

Mt St Helens

bringing us in close proximity to Mt St Helens and

Mt Rainier

Mt Rainier.
My oldest son had hiked to the top of Mt Si earlier this week during his spring break.

Mt Si

 He asked if we could see it from the plane, so we made a slight detour on the way home.

We were home in time for a nice meal at a local restaurant, and over dinner everyone agreed it had been a great day.

Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

While practicing instrument approaches other day, I was struck by how fortunate I have been.  So I decided to write about some of the flight instructors I have had over the years. 

The first entry in my log book is from my sister’s neighbor.  A quiet, unassuming man, not very tall who was approaching the end of his time at Boeing.  He has a charming wife and three daughters about my age.  He took me out in a little Cessna 150A from Wings Aloft.  Not knowing any different, it did not seem odd to me when he helped me into the parachute.  In my first "flight lesson" we looped, and barrel rolled, and spun, and aileron rolled, and talked.  Turns out Col. J. Rev Allender did a fair amount of flying in the Air Force before moving on to a civilian career.  He flew F-104 Starfighters.  Two of the Starfighter flights ended in what Rev euphemistically called "separate landings."  You can read about him ejecting TWICE.  Rev went on to be one of the Air Force’s test pilots on the SR-71 Blackbird (#215).  He told me he did the envelope testing for altitude and speed - how high, and how fast will it go?  He also told me that he still cannot tell me how high, nor how fast it will go.  In civilian life, Rev became an instructor for Boeing, teaching new crews how to fly the 747. 

Years later I was able to take Rev out for instrument practice in my plane, where he demonstrated the ILS at airliner air-speeds.  Straight down the ILS at 140 knots, and the needles never moved outside of the small circle in the middle of the gauge.  Rev also gave me my introduction to tail wheel airplanes in his personal Cessna 140. 

My next instructor was Lewis Townes.  Perhaps I was inexperienced and impressionable, but Lew is the best natural pilot I have ever flown with.  Lew and the airplane are one.  Where I wrestle the plane onto the runway, Lew introduced the two gently.  We once flew down the runway touching one wheel, picking the plane back up, and then touching the alternating wheel, picking the plane back up, and then touching the alternating wheel back and forth five or six times.  It was amazing.  Lew went on to fly KC-135 aerial refueling planes and later C-17 transports.  He was flying for Untied when Al-Qaeda hijacked the planes and used them as missiles.  Lew was furloughed in the airline slump that followed, after and extended stay in the business sector, Lew has recently returned back to flying, first with Horizon, and now with Alaska.  When Lew got married, my wife and I flew to his wedding, I thought it fitting. 

I still see Lew, and have a great admiration for him.  When Lew left, Sean helped me complete my private pilot certificate.  Sean went on to become a pilot for Alaska Airlines. 

My check-ride was with a serious military man.  I’ve read many descriptions of Col. Bob Roetcisoender, but this one stands out: "His appearance and his office scream efficiency."  Like Rev, Bob also has a storied Air Force background.  Crew-member on a B-47 bomber during the Cold War, commander of a Titan strategic missile wing (ICBM), and SR-71 Blackbird Reconnaissance Systems Officer (#160).  I introduced Bob to Rev, and Bob said, "I remember reading your reports!" He is a serious, disciplined, and skilled pilot.  Since that first check ride, Bob has since gifted me with an Instrument and Commercial certificates.  I consider Col. Bob a great mentor. He has accompanied me on test flights after maintenance and provided me with his safety pilot services in efforts to keep me IFR current. 

There were more instructors; Mike Hatler started my IFR, and gave me a complex endorsement, Jason Mauk lured me into a lesson I won’t forget - and later flew me from JFK to SEA as Captain of a Jetblue Airbus, Howard Hurley taught me practical ways to enter a hold - "when you cross over the fix, make the shortest turn to the outbound course, and figure it out from there."  Howard reports to have flown all of the "Century Series" aircraft (F-100 through F-106).  Carolyn Moeller gave me my High Performance endorsement and then went on to win the FAA flight instructor of the year award (not related to my endorsement). 

There is one instructor I have spent more time in the plane with than any other.  When Mike left for bluer skies, I was scrambling for a new IFR instructor.  Again I stumbled across a gruff old military pilot – but again, no ordinary pilot.  Col. Charles Smith was transitioning out of the Army Reserve and into civilian retirement.  Chuck was the commanding officer of the Army Reserve unit at Paine Field and coordinating relocating the unit to JBLM.  In the Army Chuck had flown Beavers, Barrons, King-Airs, Bells, Hueys, and Chinooks to name a few.  But never jets or fighters.  When Chuck was a teen, his father owned airplanes and Chuck tells of teen pranks committed with Cessnas.  He tells of flying with the crop dusters, dead-sticking and bouncing planes across irrigation canals to make the runway.  Chuck did not fly the planes with excess power; he flew the planes for real.  He flew in the system, in the soup, and at the nap of the earth.  He tells stories of duct-taping glow sticks to the tips of the helicopter rotor blades so they could see them easier with night vision goggles while flying in tree-lined valleys.  He tells of wrapping fuses with aluminum foil gum wrappers and putting them back in to complete night IFR flights. 

I believe Chuck has chosen me, not just as a student, but as a friend, or even a surrogate family member.  A couple years back, Chuck was awarded a “Wright Brothers Master Pilots Award” for 50 years of aviation experience.  I was honored to write a recommendation for him.  In it I said, "Since that first day I have added IFR, Commercial, and Multi-Engine privileges, all with Chuck sitting in the right seat next to me.  And Chuck has pushed me beyond the practical test standards for each one.  His depth of experience drives him to expect more of me and all of his students.  And I am both a more cautious and confident pilot due to Chuck’s high expectations.  I believe those that fly with Chuck come away better pilots for the experience." 

Chuck has welcomed me not just in the airplane and in his office, but he and his saint-of-a-wife have welcomed my entire family into their home for meals, and bridge, and movies. 

When my wife gave me a training flight in P-51 Mustang, my instructor was John Posson.  John seems like a regular enough guy, but when he is not thrilling Stallion 51’s customers, he is flying formation aerobatics in an L-39 Albatross as the left wing of the Patriot's demonstration team. 

During my tail wheel training I got in one flight with Arnold Ebneter, who also is a retired military pilot, having flown the F-105 Thunderchief or "Thud."  But Arnold's most recent claim to fame is having designed and built his own airplane, the Ebneter E-1, and then flying it coast to coast, setting two records. 

Thank you for all who have made this such a great ride! 

A good challenge.

OK geek friends, I think #2 on this list is pretty compelling.

Replace Email

Here are things I think should be required. 

• guaranteed delivery -- eliminate "Did you get the mail I sent you?"
• Verified identity -- eliminates anonymous spam.
• Ubiquity -- can be on any domain like email.  Facebook messaging or proprietary is no good.  

Add you thoughts!

New toys from google

I just installed the blogger application to my phone from my desktop over the web.  

Go to www.google.com/mobile/blogger and click the link to the right that says:

Get Blogger

Blogger for Android

Download from Google Play

21 Down, 29 to go.

Recently we went on a family vacation to Arizona.  Ahead of our departure I looked up flight schools (fixed base operators of FBO in pilot speak) in the Phoenix area and there are plenty.  Unlike my seven state tour of earlier this summer, I knew I would not be crossing any state boundaries, and all I wanted was to land a plane.  I didn't even want to get checked out.  Just grab an instructor and head for the sky.

On Tuesday I started calling the FBOs on my list hoping to find an open spot on their schedule for me to fill.  We were staying at the Squaw Peak Hilton, making Scottsdale the most convenient airport.

I called Alliance Flight Schools during business hours and got their answering machine.  Weird.

Next I tried Arizona Flight Training Center and, the phone was never answered.  Even werider.

But then Alliance called me back, and I scheduled a flight for 9:AM Thursday morning with Mike.

I was just pulling out of the resort on Thursday when my phone rang.  I hit the button on the steering wheel (I love Bluetooth).  Mike was sick and had to cancel.  Bummer.

I switched to the aerobatic school in Chandler.  Flying inverted is always fun, and I want tail-wheel time.  But try as I might, I could not find a phone number on their website using the tiny browser on my phone. Turns out it is right there on the upper right.  In an image.  So my phone cannot find it to help me dial.  I wonder if these guys ever tried to use their own website while I send them an email.

Mark Bolstad from Alliance calls and says he is available Friday at 2:PM -- I book it.  The aerobatic school emails me back.  Too late.

My briefing with Mark is pretty simple.  We are flying a Cessna 172, a model with which I am very familiar.  I want to land at least once.  I want to fly around.  Mark knows the airspace, he will keep us out of trouble.  Plus he can play with my new Garmin 796 while I fly.

We take off and fly to the west of Squaw Peak, and then turn right and fly east bound between the south side of Squaw Peak and the north side of Camelback Mountain.  We look at the resorts at the base of the mountain, and make some turns around an abandoned swimming pool that Mark refers to as a "Skate Board Resort."

Track of the flight

We fly further east out past the Talking Stick Resort an around a redrock peak.  Mark pushes me close to the mountain to stay out of Falcon Field's airspace.

I ask Mark about Fountian Hills, and he points to the north.  We fly north.  Mark points down to the west at a golf course where his girlfriend works. As we arrive at the lake we find the fountain is turned off, but we circle anyway.  Mark says he grew up here, and is parents live on the northwest side of town.  We go circle their house.

We head further north to Carefree, and fly a big circle looking at the houses perched on the mountain.  As we cross around the east side we spot a new home being built wedged into the rocks.  It looks small at the base of a pile of BIG boulders.  I think if I were the owner, and saw it from the plane, I would question the wisdom of building there.

We turned pointed the plane back south east towards the Scottsdale airport, picked up the current weather conditions and called up the tower.  Mark took care of this and the playing with GPS.

No matter how good the flying was, every pilot is always judged by the final 3 feet before touchdown.  Drop too fast on those last three feet and hit hard or bounce and everybody in the plane knows what kind of pilot you are.  My first landing was pretty good.  I was proud of if.

We circled around for a second go at it.  Mark wanted to see if the little plane on the 3D vision display touched down at the same time we did.  My second landing was spectacular.  No bump or collision with the ground.  Just the soft scrubbing of the tires on the ground as we rolled out.  I was a thing of beauty. And Mark reported the GPS matched exactly our wheels touching the runway.

Adding Arizona, my 21st state.

He also said he wished he could teach his students to land like that.  I revealed my knowledge of good landings.  There are three secrets to a good landing, and no one pilot knows all three of them -- including me.

To prove my point, the third time around we arrived with a solid thud and we called it a day.  1.1 hours and one more state off my list.

Convergence

I love convergence. When what was once a wrist watch becomes a stopwatch, I consider that a good thing -- getting two functions where there was just one. When a pocket knife also becomes a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, its functionality multiplies, when a phone becomes a clock, email, flashlight, browser, magazine, game console... It becomes indispensable. When my game console lets me watch video on demand, my use and enjoyment of the console increases.

I've written about this before. Remember oh-so-long-ago when our PDA was a separate device from our phone? (Hooray for Handspring!) I wanted a single device.

Well I think I found an area where convergence does not pay off. Behold my Garmin GPSCOM 190.

For decades iCom and Sporty's sold handheld VHF aviation communication radios that also included rudimentary navigation assistance with a VOR receiver and an OBS display. They seem to be standard equipment in any experienced IFR pilot's flight bag. And these things pretty much last forever. The aviation industry is nowhere near ready to move off either VHF communication, or VOR navigation (I suspect those may be fighting words to GPS direct adherents). These two systems have been in place for decades, and have decades more to go. Buying a handheld nav-com is just what IFR pilots do.

Not me. I see the advent of GPS, and instead buy a GPSCOM. Same idea, right? Half com / half nav -- same device only for the 21st century. This was a good device, and for the $1,000 I paid for it, it should be a great device. It provides a way to store routes, create user waypoints; it has airport information and data on frequencies which can be set on the communication radio. It had no way to display terrain; the low resolution screen is chunky. As time has gone on, the physical limitations of the hardware and been crushed by the new features available on newer devices (imagine trying to load your current PC environment into the same hardware you ran Windows98 on ten years ago).

Much like the GPS in your car, with new roads being built, off-ramps getting relocated, and new housing developments being spread on to the landscape like cake frosting, things in the sky are not static. New VOR’s are added, airports are closed, waypoints come and go, frequencies change, and even runway numbers are updated. Each of those changes would have required a database update in my GPS, and a couple years back Garmin stopped providing those updates and stopped supporting the GPSCOM 190.

The rechargeable Ni-Cad battery pack no longer holds a charge and now leaks battery guts. So I am left with a device that would still work for situational awareness, and would work as a backup communication device (which I had to use once!) but is no longer serviceable. No batteries, no data updates. Just an expensive piece of electronics.

So what did I learn about convergence?

1. Make sure the technologies being converged have similar development trajectories. Watch and a Stopwatch? Check. Knife, screwdriver, pliers? Check. Cell phone, pda? Eh, close enough.
2. Long life, stable electronics (think flashlight) should have standard batteries, not custom single application packs.

This is NOT why I fly.

Took some time to go flying today. It was rotten weather, low clouds, windy, gusty, raining with limited visibility. It wasn’t supposed to be. When I checked earlier the clouds were middleish (I don’t think that is really a word). There should have been plenty of space between the ground and the clouds to fly. But once I left the immediate area of the airport, the weather set in.

I headed east, out towards Snohomish and Monroe, but it just got worse. I turned and headed north towards Lake Stevens and Arlington. But there was no improvement over there either. At Camano Island I decided to head back. I turned back towards Paine Field for touch and goes.

I kept the power set at 23 squared – 23 inches of manifold pressure and 2300 RPMs. Typical cruise settings like this will get about 135 mph out of the plane. I pointed it back into the wind from the South East and was only making 85 knots over Port Gardner Bay as the plane clawed back into the headwind. I ended up just practicing my cross-wind landings. I made three landings while other planes made their circuits, and the tower steered me clear of their paths.

And then the strangest thing happened. Another plane from my same flight school called in. The shaken voice reported north of the field with limited visibility, and needing help getting back. The tower controller responded immediately, and the other plane did not respond. Again the tower called. And again. And again.  Still no response from the other plane.

I was redirected to another runway where I touched down for the last time that day -- left wing low, partial flaps, some right rudder to slip and counteract the left turn. One wheel on the ground. Hold the wing low. Roll the aileron in as the speed bleeds off. Both main’s on the runway, hold up the nose, rudder for the wind, full aileron to the left. Not a bad crosswind landing for as rusty as I am.

I tied the plane down and went inside. The controllers were still trying to reach the other plane. No response. Inside I talked to the flight school dispatcher and the owner. They called the tower.

I could imagine a student inside the plane, disoriented, panicked, lost, losing ground reference, bouncing around in the wind. Finally calling for help, but it being too late, ultimately losing control of the airplane as it went down.

But not today. The tower reported the student had switched frequencies and gone to one of the center controllers who had guided the plane home, where it had just touched down. Good rescue from the disembodied voices that watch over the skies.

But what did I learn from that? If you call for help on a frequency, stay there for at least a minute and listen for a response. And the second thing was just a reconfirming of a lesson I have not fully integrated. I hate being powerless to help -- knowing there is someone out there who needs help, but I am not the right one to give it.

Ego Surfing 2.0

Jean expands my interweb fame. Read more.

Replacing the chain oil pump on a Stihl 034

While running my chainsaw, I noticed the chain was getting tight on the bar, and not operating free.  As I examined it closer, I found the bar was not being oiled. It turned out that my oil pump had stopped working.  Here's how to replace it.

1. Get out your tools.  The 034 comes with a rudimentary tool kit that has almost everything you will need.  A flat head screwdriver, a number x torx, a 5/8th socket, you will also need a small flat head screwdriver, and a pair of needle nose pliers.
   The next four steps are pretty routine.  If you have never removed these parts, this guide is not for you.
2. Remove the cover from bar, and remove the bar and chain.  
3. Remove the air intake cover from the back of the saw (quarter turn on the locking knob and pull up).
4. Disconnect the spark-plug wire (pull straight from plug).
5. Remove the top cover (flat head screwdriver to loosen the screw on the top).
6. Remove the flat head screw that holds the metal chain guide plate on, and remove the plate too.
7. Drain the oil from the bar oil tank by removing the cap, unhooking the retaining chain, and pouring the oil into another container.
8. Remove the two torx screws holding the plastic cover around the flywheel, and lift the cover off.
9. Pry the lower cover up from near the bottom -- carefully.  It has a post on it that presses into a hole, so it you pry off to the side, you risk breaking this post.
   
10. Using a small flat head screwdriver, remove the snap-clip that holds the sprocket drive in place.
11. Lift off the washer and sprocket.
    
12. Lift off the flywheel.  
13. Remove the strap that stops the flywheel.
    
14. Remove the spark plug.
    
15. Now comes the tricky part.  To remove the clutch wheel, you have to stop the piston from going up and down. Stihl makes a special tool that is inserted through the spark plug hole and blocks the piston from moving.  We are going to use a clean (emphasis on clean) rope.  Thread a bunch of the rope down into the cylinder to fill it.
    
16. The clutch has left-hand threads, so turning it clockwise will cause the piston to block against the wad of rope in the cylinder and then loosen the clutch.  
17. The assembly that sits below and has a loop around the crankshaft is the oil pump.  Remove the nylon worm-drive gear from the center by turning it clockwise.
    
18. On the bottom of the saw, turn the oil feed all the way in.
19. Remove the two torx screws from ring on the oil pump that goes around the crank shaft.
    
20. The pump is pressed down into a ring recessed into the crank case.  You have to pry it out.
21. The pump comes with a new oil line so remove the old one -- and you are going to destroy it getting it out. Start by locating the brass grommet that fits inside the end of oil line where the oil is supposed to be coming out.  I had to dig at mine pretty aggressively to get enough of it exposed to grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers and pull it out.  
22. Pull the oil line and the oil pump out.  Yay.  

A chainsaw is a pretty dirty environment.  Spend some time cleaning things up before you start putting it back together.  The grommet that creates the seal between the pump and the reservoir is really a flange on the end of the oil pickup tube.  I suggest removing it as well and cleaning it out with some compressed air.

Reassembly:

1. Clean out the grove in the crank case where the oil pump presses in. This is important because if you don't the oil pump may not seal and pick up oil from the reservoir.
2. Feed feed the new oil line into it's passage way.
   
3. Put the two torx screws in to hold the oil pump in place.  Tighten them incrementally, alternating to minimize binding, but making sure the oil pump is securely seated.
4. Put the thrust washer back against the crank case.  
5. Put the bushing on the crank shaft. 
6. Thread the worm gear back onto the crankshaft.
7. My pump came with what looks like a long spring for a pen.  That spring is to keep the oil line from kinking.  Slide it inside the oil line.  Press the new brass bushing into the end of the oil line to the line in place.   
   
8. Thread the the clutch on to the crankshaft (remember it is left-hand threads).
9. Slide the roller bearing onto the crank shaft.
10. Slide the flywheel onto the crankshaft over the roller bearing.
11. Put the sprocket back on.
12. Put the thrust washer back on.
13. Put the snap clip back on.
14. Put the strap that stops the flywheel back on (make sure the break is disengaged).
15. The rest of the reassembly is just reversing the remaining steps.
16. Before putting the bar back on, clean the chain grove in the bar.  Also, take a look at where the oil line feeds the oil through the small hole in bar and clean it out too.

Most Active Blog Post.

Out of Tragedy comes Triumph.

OK, that's a bit over-dramatic. The blog post I get most comments on is the one about replacing broken mirrors on my truck.

It is nice to know I have helped others in some small ways. I took great joy in the comment from the Juanita Williams who was able to repair her husbands truck. I am excited every time someone says thanks. I figure maybe one in 10 folks comment, so the 40 odd notes of appreciation means somewhere I have helped 400 people.

But today's note elevates the post to a new high... "The instructions that came with my after market mirror consisted of ... the web address of your blog"

Yay! I'm famous!

Why I Fly (Chapter 16)

Last week, I was on a business trip to CT. I knew I also needed to spend the weekend on the east coast, so I decided to get checked-out for an airplane rental and take the plane on a quick tour of New England. As a result of casual conversation in the office, I decided to get checked out at Blue Sky Flight at Bridgeport's Sikorsky Memorial Airport in a Grumman AA-5.

It was from this airport the US cranked out F4U Corsairs, the planes featured in the 70's TV show Baa Baa Black Sheep. On my first visit to the airport there was one mounted as a popsicle near the passenger terminal's south entrance. The plane was removed a while back for restoration.

Blue Sky is on the north side of the airport, next to a little dive bar called the Windsock Inn. I stumbled onto the Windsock a couple years back, and try to go grab dinner there on each of my trips just to experience the local color and home cooked meal.

I made am appointment for 6 PM Tuesday night, and met my flight instructor for the week, Sheila Murchan. Getting checked out for a new plane at a new flight school can be kind of a pain. It is not like renting a car where having a license for a state 3,000 miles away and being over 25 years old is good enough. Nope, every flight school needs to confirm that the FAA approved Designated Pilot Examiner, and the list of flight instructors that came before them measure up to their standards. And every rental facility's standards are different.

How different? Here are some examples:

• I was holding the airplane's check list in my left hand, progressing down the checklist using my thumb to mark my progress. I reached across with my right hand to hit a switch and was reprimanded for not using my left had since it was closer.
• To control my speed during taxi, I reduced the RPMs below 1,000 rather than applying the breaks.
• On a simulated engine failure, I flew an arching right turn onto the runway rather than turning immediately over the runway and slipping for altitude...
• Oddly there was no handbook test to assure my familiarity with the aircraft systems and specifications.

Sheila knows the intricacies of the Grumman AA-5, and I had to fly it to her standards to get her permission to rent it, but I'm not convinced that any of her training on general flying is any better than what Rev, Lewis, Sean, Mike, Chuck, Patty, Howard, Bob (you get the idea) had taught me before.

Other than area orientation and the specifics of the AA-5 such as climb-out and approach speeds, I was frustrated by much of the training. Yet I know Sheila's goal is to keep me and the airplane safe, so I listened and perform the flight according to her standards.

After 2.4 hours of flying in circles, I was approved to fly N11840 on my own. Wednesday night I picked up the charts and manuals needed to navigate the New England area.

Friday evening back at the hotel, I found a large table on the edge of the lobby where I studied the charts and manuals to familiarize myself with airports, frequencies, towers, altitudes, landmarks and headings.

Saturday morning, I updated my flight log for the current winds aloft, and called flight service to get a weather briefing and file my flight plan. Flight service is this great free service provided by the federal government. Pilots can call these guys any time, day or night, and get a 10 to 30 minute weather briefing on any arbitrary flight route in the US. For free. As often as we want. And we are encouraged to do so by regulation. But being a limited government guy, I wonder what part of the constitution empowers me to expect my neighbors, friends, and relatives to pay for this service for me. Heck, I wonder what part of the constitution authorizes the Air Force. But I digress.

The weather forecast is for intermittent low clouds in the morning, and improving as the day goes on. Good enough for me. The airport is clear, and I'm out for a joy ride. If things go bad, I can turn around and come back.



The plane's preflight reveals no surprises and soon I am at 3,500 feet east bound towards North Central State Airport, Rhode Island.

Summertime in New England is marked by the three Hs. Hot, Humid, Hazy. Today will be no exception. Even where the sky is clear, forward visibility is limited to about 20 miles.

The intermittent low clouds started showing up about 10 minutes out of Bridgeport. I considered climbing to stay above them, but I had no assurance I would be able to find a hole to get back under then at my destination, so instead I descended to 2,000 feet and skittered along below them.

Being unfamiliar with an area, it takes a while to be come proficient with identifying landmarks, and eastern CT is markedly void of landmarks I could recognize. Navigation then becomes a process of heading, speed, and time.

As the time for the airport's appearance neared, so did the Providence class C airspace. Class C airspace typically surrounds smaller commercial airports, or places served by the spokes of the hub-and-spoke transportation system. Their controlled airspace usually only extends out ten miles, but they often like some warning and ask for contact within 20.

I switched frequencies, and called up Providence Approach. They informed me there was parachute jumping in progress at my destination airport, and that it was 4 miles to my south east. I was glad they told me. I was still expecting to see it to the north east, and I had no desire to collide with a falling body. I circled to the north of the field until the radio reported the parachutes were open, and then entered into the pattern. About the same time the jump plane also entered the pattern on the opposite side of the field.

I was so busy looking for the parachutes and the jump plane, I ended up high on final and had to go around. By my second pass things were less busy, and I landed, taxied back, and departed. One new state down.




The plane climbed out quickly, and I turned north. I was becoming accustomed to finding landmarks as the distance between me and Boston's class B airspace rapidly decreased. Class B surrounds BIG airports, is usually about 30 miles in diameter, and shaped like an inverted wedding cake, with a smaller inner tier near the ground and progressively larger layers extending up to 10,000 feet. Boston matches this pattern pretty well.

I dial up Boston Approach on the radio to negotiate a path to the west of downtown, just below their airspace, and just above one of the smaller outlying community airports. The controller assigns me a squawk code, notifies me of approaching traffic and clears me to operate through the Class B. This is a sign of an experienced controller. He knows where I am, where I am going, and how I plan to get there. And he gives me some of his airspace to make my life easier. Thank you Mr Boston Approach Controller.

I got a nice straight in approach into Lawrence MA, where I landed, taxied back, and departed. Done. Two states down.



I followed a heading north paralleling the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean up to Sanford Maine. This was the section I was most concerned about weather wise. When I had checked the weather in the morning, Sanford was reporting 400 overcast with clearing as the day progressed. By the time I arrived there was no significant sky-cover. I made a left base entry I to the pattern, and landed long. I taxied to the other end of the runway where I parked the plane. At Southern Maine Aviation I got a new baseball cap, and had the fuel tanks refilled. And ate a cookie. Three down, and the first time I had set foot in Maine.



The plane climbed quickly to 4,500 feet. The AA-5 is a spritely little plane. At 90 kts it climbs at right around 1,000 feet per minute. This particular plane has been upgraded with a LoPresti Speed Merchants cowling and wheel pants to reduce drag, so It cruises level at a comfortable 140 kts. The distance between Sanford Maine and Keene, New Hampshire is quickly scrubbed away.



The plane descended across the airport and entered into a left down wind 45 for entry into the pattern. I rolled out onto the taxi way, zig-zagging over the crossing runway to the fuel pump. Here I found another AA-5 being refueled. It took very little effort to get one of the occupants to take my picture. Four states, and my first visit to New Hampshire.



The flight from Keene to Bennington VT drew me further inland from the coast. There were plenty of lakes, rivers and roads to mark my path. I was receiving flight following, and the controller had me swing south a little to avoid a parachute jump zone. I crossed over some wind generators on a small ridge of what might be called mountains, and maneuvered to land. At Bennington, there is a 300 foot tall monument that looks about like the Washington Monument, but for some reason it pokes up into the sky right where I am turning from downwind to base. I'm guessing the airport location committee and the monument location committee had no common members.



There is a bit of a cross wind here, but just one runway, so I roll in a bit of crab into the wind, and the transition to a left wing low slip. I floated a bit, but the plane still set down on one wheel with plenty of space to stop. I found a place to park, and the airport manager came out to greet me. "The EAA is giving away burgers and hot dogs on the other side of those hangars," he say as he chocks the left main wheel. I walk across the ramp at my third new state of the day only discover the grill has been put away, so no burgers for me, just a soda. I have a picture taken, I take a couple pictures, and check off landing in my fifth state.



Back in the sky, I follow the ridge line to my left and Hudson River to my right in what seems like the longest 40 minute flight ever. The terrain reverts back to the featureless ground that eliminates landmarks to gage forward progress. Dutchess County Airport comes into view, I contact the tower and make a right base entry for landing. Again I float long. And I land in my sixth state of the day.



The final leg back to Bridgeport is boring, the pattern is full when I get there, and I end up third for landing, with takes me far out over the Long Island Sound before turning onto final. This is my seventh landing of the day, back to where I began.

A tour of New England, set foot in three new states, landed in six new states, and experienced a good little plane to boot.