Flying
Thirty-three Gusting Thirty-nine
I flew up north this morning. Not as far north as Aviatrix is, but well north-west of Calgary. Some people might call it Rocky Mountain House but pilots would likely refer to it as CYRM. It was a long slog up there. A really long slog. The winds aloft were forecast to be 330 at 43 knots and based on our groundspeed of 73 knots, I don’t think that forecast was far off. And I was too busy battling the light to moderate chop to muck around with the GPS to calculate the actual winds.
But the best thing about a consistent headwind is that it becomes a tailwind on the return flight. The same route that was a 1.3 hour flight going there, was a mere 45 minutes on the return. The bad news though is that the winds at Calgary/Springbank (CYBW) had increased from ”20 gusting 30” to ”33 gusting 39”. At 30 degrees off the runway, with some fluxuation, that put me dangerously close to exceeding the aircraft’s maximum crosswind component of 17 knots. And, in fact, the maximum would be exceeded during the gusts.
For students, or even licenced pilots, who are are unaware, don’t understand or simply don’t use the correct crosswind landing technique, the notion of a maximum crosswind component may be lost on them. When a pilot improperly employs the use of crabbing on short final in order to return the aircraft to solid ground, kicking the rudder at the last second to bring the aircraft in line with the runway, a maximum crosswind component doesn’t really exist. Or there’s no need for it to exist. If they kick within the last couple feet the aircraft will drift, but on a reasonably wide runway they can get away with that simply by ensuring that they start the kick with the aircraft on the wind side of the centre line. That way the drift simply brings them inline with the centre of the runway and at the very least they have some room to play with. So in a sense, the maximum crosswind component for a ‘kick’ method landing is really related to the width of the runway because for pilots employing this method, the higher the crosswind, the more they’ll drift.
Ultimately though, as Sam points out in his Slipping and Sliding, Kicking and Screaming post, the crabbing method can be dangerous, not only to the airplane structure but to the crew’s health should a runway excursion occur. But with the proper side slip technique, you bank in the direction of the wind and keep the aircraft aligned with the runway using opposite rudder. Here’s where the maximum crosswind component comes in; you can counter any crosswind using this technique but the higher the crosswind, the more bank required. And at some point, your angle of bank will be such that should you continue this all the way to the ground, your wingtip will contact the ground first. And to overstate the obvious, having your wingtip contact anything but air at anytime is a bad thing, but when that wingtip is the first thing to contact the ground on a landing, well, it’s not likely that things will end very well. It’s impossible to tell from the report as to when during landing this Delta aircraft wing strike happened, but I’d say they were lucky. In any case, the maximum crosswind component should make sense now.
So what did I do for my landing in this extreme crosswind? Although this was my first landing with a crosswinds anywhere close to the maximum crosswind component, I planned to do what I always do: side slip on final to correct for the crosswind. I did, however, request an extended downwind. That way I could ensure I would have a little extra time to stabilize my final approach. Although anticipated the tailwind I’d have on the left base for runway 34, my turn to base and turn to final were still one fluid movement. I then myself up in a side slip for the two mile final, during which I time I was able to monitor frequency of the gusting and how much more slip was required. I maintained the slip all the way to the threshold, at which point, unable to ensure I wouldn’t strike the wingtip, I transitioned to a bit of a combination; a partial crab of no more than perhaps two or three degrees with a slip to offset the rest of the crosswind.
I have so much time on the Warrior (though likely not as much as David so perhaps he can comment) that I am never surprised by the touchdown; it’s like having a built in radar altimeter. That said, I’m not entirely sure that it was the best method and I’m not sure that I would recommend it to anyone else unless they too were intimate with their aircraft. But the plane is home safe and without any undo stresses placed on the aircraft or it’s pilot. What I would recommend, however, to any pilot put into any situation on landing that they aren’t used to, is to setup for a long, stabilized final approach. Forget that rule about turning base when the threshold is 45 degrees off your wing in the circuit (or pattern) and instead ask for an extended downwind and thus an extended final. If it’s good enough for the big boys, I don’t see why us bug smashers shouldn’t use it also.
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IFR Lesson #16
At this point in my IFR training, I can get the aircraft in the air, navigate to where I want to go and hold in place there, but I can’t land. At least not if the weather is overcast such that I don’t have visual on the airport from my cruise altitude. So now that we’ve finished up with holds, we are moving onto approaches, which will allow me to follow a procedure down to, hopefully, a safe landing at the desired airport.
We did a handful of approaches at two different airports this afternoon: the VOR 25 at Calgary International (CYYC) and the VOR A at Empress (CYEA). Like all the training thus far, the first time doing VOR approaches is a bit of a gongshow. Everything seems to come too fast, mostly because I’m too slow. I’m too slow with FITS check, too slow with my CRATOG check and too slow trying to get the aircraft settled down and ready for the approach. But it was good to be done holds. Holds are brutally boring. At least I find them as such.
Sim Time: 1.5 hrs
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IFR Lesson #15
Today’s lesson was simply a ground brief on approaches. Yes, approaches. Finally. In talking with my instructor Jason today, it seems that my thoughts on people quitting were right. According to Jason, most people that start IFR training but never finish end up stopping somewhere in their holds training. Good times. Did I mention I’m happy to be past that part of the training? Of course, I suspect that there will still be holds in my future sim training, but at least that will just be part of an approach now.
Approaches, in a sense, are the easiest part of IFR flying as everything is basically spelled out for you on the appropriate CAP; outbound on this heading, turn this direction for the procedure turn, descend to this altitude here, etc. Granted there are various methods for starting the approach after reaching the initial fix but everything after that is written down on the CAP. And if you don’t follow those instructions to the letter, not only are you breaking the CARs but you risk running becoming one of those CFIT statistics, especially in mountainous terrain.
That’s not to say that expect approaches to be easy. Although you need to review the approach plate before starting, you need to be sure that you are at least one step ahead of the plane so that you aren’t fumbling around from one step to the next. And thus far, staying ahead of the plane has been my biggest challenge.
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Groundspeed: 155 kts
Ali and I flew up to visit our friends in St. Albert yesterday evening. We had planned to leave between 4pm and 5pm local time but we were running behind. And that was okay anyway since Mother Nature was playing havoc with us anyway. Up until 1730h or so, the weather around Calgary was completely socked in. But then, like magic, the sky cleared and our only issue was a small pocket of cloud around the Red Deer (CYQF) area.
By the time we arrived at the flying club, did the walk around and packed our luggage, it was 1855h when we started up. Our wheels up time was 1906h; a mere two hours behind our scheduled time, which actually worked out okay as it would allow me to stay night current. As we climbed up to 6500 feet, the small, rolling hills below our route started to fill with misty-like fog, which made for a scenic start to the flight.
As we leveled off and our climbing power was transferred to cruise speed, our groundspeed increased to 125 knots, thanks to a forecast wind of 180 @ 25 Kts. Abeam Red Deer to the west, the wispy fog and low broken cloud began to dissipated leaving a clear route for the rest of the trip. We watched a Peace Air aircraft descend and pass below us and although both of us were talking to Red Deer Radio, it weird to have another aircraft so randomly close when there’s so much space above the ground. But it was good reinforcement for my ‘all lights, all the time’ policy.
Shortly after passing Pigeon Lake (22 nautical miles south-west of CYEG), our ground speed picked up and was averaging 140 knots (+/- 5 kts), which to date is the fastest cruise to date I’ve achieved in CFC’s 25-year-old Warriors. And neither of the PA-28s have wheel pants or any of the other goodies that help achieve a faster cruise. And the best was yet to come, because as we approached Villeneuve (CZVL) and left 6500 feet for 5000, I achieved yet another new speed record. With the RPM just in the green and in a 500 fpm descent, we were able to hit a peak groundspeed of 155 knots. Amazing. More so considering that the PA-28-161 has a fixed-pitch propeller driven by a 160 hp engine. And while the handbook says that you should get 112 kts TAS, I’ve always found it to be more like 105 kts.
We were cleared direct to a right-hand base for runway 08, which made for an interesting crosswind final approach. But in the last 100 feet the wind became calm and we landed with ease, a mere 1 hour and 19 minutes after our take off from Springbank.
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IFR Lesson #14
Jason called me this morning and asked if I could come in early for my sim booking. The ceilings at Calgary/Springbank were fluxuating between 300 and 1000 feet, so pretty much all his bookings (in fact all the club’s bookings) were cancelled. I agreed, and after gobbling down some breakfast and swinging by Zymeta to restart our Telus ADSL modem after a power outage, drove like a maniac out to the club.
When I arrived at the airport and turned onto MacLaurin Drive I was suprised to see a retractable on what looked to be a fast approach… with gear up. Ever the optimist I figured the pilot must be doing it on purpose, though in the back of my mind I wondered if I might see my first accident. Of course, with ceilings so low that no one was in the circuit, I’m sure the tower controller was watching the aircraft and had it not been some sort of authorized maneuver, would have told the pilot that his gear was up. In any case, by the time I had parked the car, the aircraft had pulled up and seemed to disappear into the cloud.
Today was another day of NDB holds, again with wind. My grasp on holds is much better now. I have no issues with the type of entry to use and I am almost to the point where everything just flows. But that only happens when I am able to keep ahead of everything, which I sometimes find a little hard to do with the elevator so touchy on simulator. I can see hand flying holds and approaches to be a lot fun for real but there is something to be said for an autopilot that will do most of that for you while you write down a clearance or set up for an approach.
For example, today I accepted a hold clearance from Jason (aka ATC) and as I was figuring out everything I blew by the beacon. In this case, Jason let me fumble around for 15 seconds until I simply asked if he could put me back again so I could get organized and try again. While I realize that simply isn’t possible in real life, today is training and a man can only fall behind and fumble around for so long before frustration sets in. The second time around was much better.
I am, however, still trying to account for wind from hold to hold, when it’s more than likely that this will never be the case. So I have vowed to never again try to account for the wind on the first ‘lap’ unless I’m 110% sure of where the wind is coming from. The Garmin GPS in GXHO has a cool feature where you tell it your magnetic heading and airspeed and it tells you the wind speed and direction, which would be awfully handy for times like this. The other lesson I learned today is that no matter how good you are, you are rarely going to execute a hold that is perfect, mostly due to fluxuating wind direction and speed. Up until this point, the possibility of that had never entered my mind but I guess the Wlite software we are using is smart enough to vary the wind.
Overall, today was a good sim day and I’m glad to be leaving holds behind now (for the time being) and moving onto approaches.
Sim Time: 1.1 hrs
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Now With Knowledge
I re-read the IFR Diary this evening. I hadn’t read it since well before starting my own IFR training (back in October 2005), and it was neat to read it again, only this time understanding most of what was written. When I first read it, I used it to try and figure out what to expect for my own training, but didn’t know what the 5 T’s were, what the protected side of a hold was or what the heck a DME arc was. But now, with many hours of sim time and even more hours of homework and studying, IFR Diary is an even more enjoyable read, given that I know or have experienced most of what the author is writing about.
The other great thing about the re-read was my ability to check out the various airports mentioned using either Runway Finder or directly via Google Maps. I found that especially helpful in day 8 of the article when the author requests a ’low approach on 27 to land on 33 at Oakland. Unless you you’ve been there before (for real or in a sim) or have seen the bird’s eye view, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to imagine how this might work. At least I couldn’t.
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IFR Lesson #13
This afternoon’s work in the simulator continued where we left off last lesson; NDB holds. Only now we’ve added realism… wind, that is. I think I’ve now reached the point where people who never finished their IFR training most likely stopped at. Why do I think that? Because for the past 5.1 hours in the simulator all we’ve done is drive around in circles. Or in this case, racetrack patterns disguised as something cooler by calling them ‘holds’. That’s not to say that I am bored or that I am the master of all things hold related, but I can see now why people might quit. This phase of the IFR training is boring, monotonous and, at times, frustrating.
The thing with holds is that whether it’s a VOR, NDB, DME or some other fix, essentially it’s all the same. The other things that change are the entry method, the instrument(s) used, and the crab angle. The entry method used depends on your heading to the fix relative to the outbound heading in the hold. The instrument(s) used depend on the fix type. And the crab angle depends on where the wind is coming from and at what speed. Everything else is the same. But that didn’t stop me from turning the wrong way on an offset entry to a non-standard lefthand turn NDB hold. Made worse by this magical wind that seemed to be blowing from whatever direction would make my predicament; or so it seemed.
My problems are partially due to two week time lapse between lessons. It’s hard enough to make headway at one lesson a week, but one lesson every two weeks is almost impossible. But by the end of the lesson, I was getting back into NDB holds and holds in general. And more importantly, I was starting to be able to handle holds with wind. Alsa, based on today’s overall performance, Jason decides that next lesson we will do a few more NDB holds before moving onto approaches.
Sim Time: 1.4 hrs
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Filing Flight Plans
There’s an article in the March COPA Flight Newsletter about flight planning. The article starts off sarcastically with ”We all file flight plans or flight itineraries when we fly, don’t we? Uh huh.” The article goes on to show examples where flight plans weren’t used, weren’t opened, or weren’t closed. It’s a reasonably good article, if you believe the premise that flight plans or itineraries are not used (as required by CARS 602.73) all the time. Perhaps I’m being naive, but I see little reason why most people flying in Canada wouldn’t file a flight plan, even for NORDO aircraft given today’s world of good cell phone converage and 1-800 numbers for FIS.
Obviously, all IFR aircraft are required to file a flight plan. That leaves VFR traffic. But if you are in the vicinity of a major airport, you are likely going to have to transit their zone. In Calgary, that means either a call to YYC VFR Advisory’s 1-800 number or you call FIS on their 1-800 number and file a flight plan. Alternatively, at least leaving Calgary/Springbank, you could simply go the ‘scud running’ route, flying low so as to stay away from Terminal’s airspace. You could then make your way wherever you need to be, avoiding controlled airspace as you proceed.
On my frequent flights to Edmonton/Villeneuve I’ve seen a few of these scud runners, flying much lower and making turns to avoid anything other than Class G airspace. I have to wonder why those pilots choose to fly so low and if those are the same people that aren’t filing flight plans, then I think I’m insulted to be included the “We all” group listed in the quote above. Flight plans are, first and foremost, about safety. If you don’t show up at your destination, the friendly SAR Techs from the Canadian Forces start looking for you. And with a flight plan, ATC knows you’re coming and won’t be caught off guard when you call them up to ask to enter their zone or get flight following. And that means you can fly up higher where, if something goes wrong, you’ll have more options. It’s a win-win situation for all involved.
Personally, I have yet to take a flight outside the 25 nautical mile radius where I haven’t filed a flight plan. And for all my local flights within that magical radius, someone knows my plan and route and timings. Maybe it’s because I’m extra cautious, or because I consider my licence a priviledge, or because I’m just a rule follower. But whatever the case, I think it would have been more appropriate for the article to start off with something like ”Only stupid pilots don’t file flight plans or flight itineraries when they fly.” But maybe that would have been too offensive to the morons who fly unsafely and break the regulations by not filing a flight plan/itinerary.
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Fresh Coat of Paint
I was trying to catch up on my RSS feed reading this afternoon and somehow wound up looking at pictures of various aircraft at the Rochester Flying Club, courtesy of Paul Tomblin.
After a few minutes of clicking, I ended up looking at a Piper Dakota (N8323Y) and I was absolutely astounded at the difference a fresh coat of paint can make on an airplane. Both pictures are the same 25 year old aircraft but which one would you buy? Check the before and after photos to see what I mean.
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Formation Flying
Yesterday’s trip to Montana was scrubbed. The weather at wheels up time was fine but the forecast for the return was dismal; snow, freezing rain, icing… you get the idea. As it turned out, the weather was fine all day. But the forecast was enough for most of the convoy PICs to cancel, leaving three planes to do some flying. We decided to go far enough that cross-country was involved but not so far as to be stuck should the forecast weather arrive early. The decided target: Vulcan. Again.
I brought along my friends Jamie and Aaron Seigo to act as co-pilot and navigator, which was a treat. Jamie did some pilot training in the past and thus was able to work the radios, GPS and other electronic equipment and was also able to temporarily fly the plane when needed. And both were useful for navigating and looking up info as needed. And of course, they were both good company, which is especially important when sitting together in a small space for a couple of hours. More so when the small space is basically inside a small tin can strapped to a single controlled combustion device (aka Piper Warrior PA-28-161)
The flight to Vulcan had the GPS showing a ground speed of 125 knots thanks to a nice 13kt wind out of the north. We were the last to arrive and I decided on a touch & go first followed by a full stop to join the other two aircraft. Apparantly no one heard me call for a touch and go as there were inquiries as to why I felt the first landing was botched. In any case, both approaches were done with only 10° of flap and carrying a little power and resulted in the two best landings I’ve executed in the Warrior; a good way to instill confidence in two new passengers.
After some lunch in ‘downtown’ Vulcan, it was decided that Drumheller would be next on the visit list. The three planes all started up, did the run-up and departed back to back to back with the idea that we would try to fly within close proximity so as to get some air to air photos and video footage (I bought a buddy’s digital video camera). I again departed last and the C-182 in the group needed to drop flaps and reduced MP to allow myself and the other Warrior to catch up. Formation flying is forbidden by the club but it wasn’t much of a formation anyway. It was more like flying in proximity air space. Close, but not close enough to be dangerous or considered ‘formation’ for that matter. But ‘formation flying’ sounds cooler. The resulting pictures were great; I’ll post a link once I get Gallery set up for public consumption. Drumheller presented us with a slight crosswind and although my third landing of the day wasn’t as perfect as the first two, it was still pretty good. I made the classic mistake of changing the plan on final approach (decided to land long to reduce the taxi time) and I think that blew it for me.
After some time at the Drumheller ‘terminal’, which included story time with Jamie, we headed back to Springbank direct, which gave us a great view of Calgary International Airport (CYYC) from the air, and finished up with another reasonably good, if not slightly long, landing at Springbank. All in all, it was a pretty good day given that we didn’t get to flying to Montana.
And yes, I have the landing light on. I was trying to make XHO more visible when trying to catch up to the others. Then I forgot about it and left it on. Maybe it’s a safety thing.
Update: You can read Aaron’s account of the trip on his blog. And it looks like the Montana convoy is rescheduled for March 18th.
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