Hase Flies

Day 101 and Beyond - The Adventure Continues

2013-02-12T21:00:00.000-06:00

It is now February 2013 and I have yet to receive a paycheck for services rendered in the air. How can that be, I am a Commercial rated Multi-Engine Pilot and Flight Instructor?

What happened to the story of becoming a career pilot?

THE STORY IS NOT FINISHED!

Nine days after I took my CFI checkride, my wife submitted her dissertation and received her Masters Degree. These were huge milestones in both of our lives and a time of great transition; our formal schooling was complete and we were both ready to launch ourselves into the career market.

Shortly after my return home, I began searching for jobs that could render my services. I did not limit my applications to pilot-only positions. I applied for openings (and some non-openings) at aerospace/aviation companies as well; office positions, programming/IT related positions, and e-learning development positions to name a few. The search went on with little to no bites, it was discouraging. Due to minimal income at the time, I was unable to justify flying for leisure either. My buddy who was flying freight in a 310 invited me on one of his scheduled routes, that was nice. It was a long winter.

In February 2010, my friend's father mentioned that one of his business associates was looking for professional assistance in his computer repair shop. I bit the lead and landed some part time work. I had been doing computer/networking/consulting as a side job for nearly 6 years. I incorporated my business as an LLC and started taking on more work. The flying gig was on hold.

In the summer of 2010, I landed a full-time 3 month IT contract with a medium sized (300+ employees) company. A week before the contract was up, they offered me a full-time position. I am still working for the company today and loving it.

In the spring of 2011, my wife and I bought our first house. The home underwent a summer of renovations and remodeling. We were living with her parents at the time, which allowed us to save up a considerable amount of money to assist in the home preparation We moved into our new home the beginning of August 2011 a couple weeks before our first child was born.

Why have I not pursued a career in aviation?

A combination of a few things:

Landing the IT job when I did.

Starting a new family when I did.

THE IT JOB

My two passions in life (prior to my wife and children), were aviation and computers. Both passions date back to my childhood. My father instilled a love for aviation in me. He was also responsible for introducing me to my first computer, a Commodore 64 when I was 6. Long before I started the journey of becoming a pilot, I knew there was a chance I would end up in IT.

Prior to my entry into flight school, I was 90% sure that I wanted to fly for a living. The other 10% was relaxed knowing I had something to fall back on, my Aviation Management Degree and knowledge in IT. Some may ask why I made such a financial commitment to something I was not 100% sure about. Well, this was the prime time to do it. I had just finished my undergraduate, my brain and attitude were primed for higher education. I also had the option to finance the entire ATP program. A burst of complexity would offer many benefits in the future. My wife and I were not waiting much longer before creating offspring either.

Through my undergraduate studies and flight training I would continually tell myself that my ultimate job would include a combination of the two. Working for the Aces Studio at Microsoft would have been a dream job. They are the guys responsible for all of the Microsoft Flight Simulators, they were closed in 2009.

Schedule:
My current IT position provides a steady and predictable schedule. I currently work from 7-3:30 M-F. This schedule is extremely family friendly. I enjoy dinner with my wife and children ever night.

Compensation:
IT pays. My starting wage is 3-4 time more than that of an entry level flight instructor in the MN area or a common regional pilot. I still wonder how I would have been able to afford my ATP loan payments and support a family with an entry-level flying job. The stress levels on my wife and me would have been through the roof.

Opportunity:
My current position is only the beginning of my adventures in IT. The opportunity in this industry is so broad and diverse. I have no worries that my schedule, compensation, and opportunities will only better over time.

STARTING THE FAMILY

My wife and I had expectations of bringing our first child into the world shortly after landing full-time career jobs. So, a couple of months after I landed my full-time IT job, she got pregnant. I had been working the IT job for a little over a year when our daughter, Skylar, was brought into this world. Had I landed a flying job, we may have considered pushing the kid thing back a couple more years.

My father-in-law is a retired doctor that now operates as an Aviation Medical Examiner. He owned his own practice for a number of years as well as 9 airplanes. Of all the people I know in aviation he has more exposure to a wider variety of pilots than any one, he also loves to talk. I love asking him about the current buzz in the flying portion of the aviation industry. The talk is usually grim. From what I have gathered, a small percentage of professional pilots flying for airlines have maintained a healthy, happy family, and a career. Furthermore, the entry level positions at regionals leave pilots struggling to make a living. Divorce rates are high, schedules offer many challenges, and union structures can have you working the tough positions for a long time. On a positive note, there are a number of pilots that are very happy with their career choice, many of them are reported as being bachelors or people that are on the top of the union ladder, with comfy schedules. My first flight instructor and good friend recently took a position as a corporate pilot flying a nice private jet. At one time he told me he had not been home in 30 days. He loves it. He is a bachelor.

Shortly after I landed my full-time IT position I made the decision that my aviation career was officially on hold. People have asked me if I regret going to school for aviation. Absolutely not! I have achieved something that can not be taken away. I have expanded my knowledge and human experience. By committing my time when I did, I have broadened my opportunities for future endeavors.

When I look back at the past couple of years I can not say anything other than, I am blessed! The fact that I achieved my dreams of becoming a Pilot with numerous certificates and ratings as well as landing a career as an IT professional supports the claim. I have a happy, healthy family that I support through monetary, physical, and emotional needs. I personally believe the first 8-10 years of a child's life are the most important in terms of development. The next 8-10 years of my life will have a heavy focus on just that and my current situation supports this strategy.

What did I gain from my experience at ATP?

Certificates and Ratings.

The obvious.

Multi-Engine time.

This would have been hard to accomplish in such a short period of time had I not attended ATP.

Increased confidence.

I can tell people I am a multi-engine commercially rated pilot and flight instructor, even if I am not getting paid. The little piece of plastic the FAA granted me says so.

Respect.

Any pilot knows, most people look at you differently when they know you can drive airplanes.

The opportunity to share my love of aviation with my children on a rich level.

If my children show any interest in aviation, I will be more than prepare to nurture that interest.

A nice addition to my resume.

On my IT specific resume, I like to slip this into Experiences and Certifications.

Unforgettable experiences.

I love reminiscing about the memories I have created during my experiences in airplanes.

A future opportunity.

This may all lead to new and exciting experiences in the future.

Debt.

This would have been a lot more challenging without financing as an option.

Future plans for aviation?

I will continue to renew my CFI every other October.

I will continually look for that dream job that will bring my passion for aviation and IT together, it is out there somewhere.

My children will be not be strangers to my love of aviation. I have intentions of taking them flying for the first time between the ages of 8-10. I foresee the budget allowing for more leisure flying at this point in my life.

I will continue to have my eyes turned skyward!

Day 31 thru 101

2013-02-12T20:00:00.000-06:00

1,281 days later since my last entry...

My last logged time in an ATP aircraft was on October 21, 2009 for my Multi-Engine Instructor checkride (I passed). So, where did the other 71 days of blogging go?

Once I got into the thick of my instrument training, the blogging got pushed to the bottom of my priority list, and all together pushed off my list of things to do.

In the interest of the ultimate goal of this blog, I will present an overview of the final 71 days of my time at ATP. The following is written from memory with assistance from log book entries, pictures taken, emails, excel documents, etc.

DAY 29 - 38

8/10/2009 - 8/19/2009 - Instrument Preparation

I logged 18 hours in the simulator, 8 hours under the hood shooting approaches, and many late nights of studying the PTS in preparation for my written exams, oral exam, and instrument checkride. I passed the Instrument and Instrument Instructor written exams on 8/17/2009 with flying colors.

DAY 40 - 41

8/21/2009 - 8/22/2009 - Instrument Checkride and Oral exam

There were no surprises with the examiner, Joe, as he had taken me through the ringer for my multi-addon less than a month prior. The oral exam went smoothly. The checkride was going great...

After some holding pattern work, the first approach, GPS into KCRQ, went well. After the planned missed, things began to pile up extremely fast. Joe had me line up for the VOR approach into OKB immediately after the missed approach, OKB is only 6.5 nm south of CRQ. The needle never came to and was at full deflection right off the bat. I committed to getting the needle centered and finished the approach. Joe did not tell me at this time that I had busted and I was not certain if I had. We proceeded back to KYMF for the ILS approach which went very well. It wasn't until we were out of the airplane and walking back to the school when Joe told me I had busted. I was not surprised, the VOR approach had been very sloppy. He expressed that if I had made the decision to go missed instead of searching for the needle, the checkride would have turned out differently. I was too determined to fix my mistake and it cost me that portion of the checkride. The nice thing about a bust is that you only have to demonstrate the area you messed when you go up again. So, we scheduled the checkride for later that same day. I called the flight off after the short taxi due to incoming thunderstorms. The practical was rescheduled for the following day.

On 8/22/2009, Joe and I shot the VOR approach into SDM with no issue. I received my Instrument Airplane Rating.

DAY 43 - 56

8/24/2009 - 9/06/2009 - CMR & Cross Country Training

After some prep time in the simulator and a short cross country flight to San Luis Obispo with my instructor, I was prepared for some CRM/Cross Country time building.

These 11 days are by far the greatest memories that came out of my experience with ATP. One other gentleman, T.J. Nalisnick, and I had the opportunity to fly from coast to coast for cross country time building. We departed the morning of 8/27/2009, arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on 8/30/2009, and arrived back in San Diego on 9/04/2009.

There and Back Again

The adventure included:

18 legs
46.0 hours of total flight time
7.2 hours of taxi time
I logged 42.7 hours of PIC time
2 nights in El Paso, TX (there and back)
2 nights in Monroe, LA (there and back)
1 night in Panama City, FL
1 night in Ft Lauderdale, FL
2 nights in Jacksonville, FL (socked in due to T-storms)

Flying Along the East Coast of Florida

T.J. and I spent the day of 9/6/2009 finishing up our cross country fulfillment with a couple short hops between airports in southern Cali.

DAY 57 - 68

9/07/2009 - 9/18/2009 - Commercial Training

When T.J. and I arrived back in San Diego from our Coast-to-Coast trip, a pleasant surprise was awaiting on the tarmac. My wife had flown out from MN to visit for a week. After a couple days of mental relaxation, I was ready to dive into the Commercial Training. My instructor and I took the plane up twice for a total of 5 hours in preparation of the initial commercial checkride. I logged about 16 T/O and landings in these two sessions.

On 9/18/2009 I passed my MEL-Initial Commercial Checkride.

DAY 69 - 81

9/19/2009 - 10/01/2009 - Commercial SEL Add-on and a Trip Home

The day after I passed my initial commercial ride, I began prepping for the SEL add-on. My good friend invited me to be a groomsman in his wedding on the 26th, so I spent the 24th - 27th in Minnesota. The 90 day fast track program is a tight-knit schedule, so these 4 days of "leave" set my starting time in CFI school back by at least a week.

In the following 3 days after my return to Cali, I spent 11.6 hours and logged 50 T/O and landings in the Cessna 172 in preparation for the SEL-Commercial add-on.

On 10/01/2009 I passed my SEL-Commercial Add-on Checkride

DAY 82 - 101

10/02/2009 - 10/21/2009 - CFI School

At the time, ATP only offered CFI training in a handful of locations. The closest location to San Diego offering the training was located in North Las Vegas, NV at KVGT. My training was scheduled to begin on Monday 10/05/2009. I spent the days leading up to it moving out of the apartment and packing everything I needed to bring with into my car. My aunt and uncle were kind enough to take me in for a couple of days in the interim. I departed for Las Vegas on 10/3/2009.

The CFI course has a maximum capacity of 12 students at the KVGT location and usually averages 6 students for each 2 week period. Myself and T.J. were the only students enrolled in this 2 week course, which was described as being an uncommon thing. T.J. and I were also the only 2 in the large apartment owned by ATP, big enough to house 6 people.

The CFI training was rich with content. Fortunately, we had loads of material and a pre-test to prepare us for the flood of information. On the morning of 10/06/2009, long before the sun came up, I received my spin training over the desert north of Las Vegas. I remember failing to engage the first spin attempt because I let the yoke come forward about an inch. With the second attempt I pulled the yoke back and held it full aft. That was a fun first-time experience, better than any roller coaster I have ever been on!

Flight Instructor - Spin Training 61.183(i)(1)
I certify that Joshua Hase has received the required Training 61.183(i). I have determined that he is competent & proficient in Instruction Skills for training stall awareness, spin entry, spins, & spin recovery procedures.DATE: 10/06/09

The first week was made up mostly of lecture, between 6-8 hours a day. The expected flight portion of our initial CFI checkride had a very structured approach, a way of standardizing to get maximum efficiency out of a large class I imagine. I went up with an instructor on 3 separate flights on Wednesday 10/7, Friday 10/09, and Monday 10/12. My flight with Frank, the head instructor and lecturer we listened to the week prior, was only .8 hours long. The point of the flight was for him to determine if I was ready for the checkride. I do not recall what I needed to work on, but he told me I needed to work on something. So, after one more flight on 10/15/2009, I was ready for my initial Multi-CFI checkride.

After my flight on the 15th, T.J and I took a short drive to witness the Hoover Dam. At this point, T.J. had opted out of the CFI training knowing his commercial certificates were going to land him a job back home, Alaska. He departed on his long drive home in the following days. I had the apartment to myself.

Hanging off the Hoover

Due to high winds that had been dominating the area over the week, my Checkride was getting pushed back. This came as a blessing. It gave me the opportunity to compile an enormous CFI binder, structured around the PSTs. I committed 50-60 hours of time into compiling this thing over the span of 5 days. The goal was to not only produce something that would blow the examiner away, but also serve as source of knowledge when I began flight instructing. This thing was impressive, colored tabs, index, glossary and all. My approach was that the examiner would not expect me to know everything and would be impressed that I had taken the time and care to put together a robust collection of pertinent information. After all, I can not count how many times CFIs expressed that you do not truly begin to learn until you start teaching; on this front, I was prepared.

My oral and checkride were scheduled for 10/21/2009. I blew the examiner away with my binder! He said he had never seen something so elaborate and detailed, especially from someone that was not a CFI yet. I believe this sealed the oral exam portion, which lasted less than 2 hours. The flight portion was relatively easy compared to the flights preparing for it.

On 10/21/2009, I received my Multi-Engine Instructor Certificate.

Part of the ATP 90 day fast track program includes the Single-Engine and Instrument Instructor add-ons. My goal was to return to San Diego and acquire these at MYF. I packed my car up and returned to my aunt and uncles on the 22nd. Apparently I only had a couple hours of SEL time and no MEL time to use and the San Diego location did not have the availability to get me in for this training for weeks. A combination of being home sick, away from my new wife for so long, viewing the CFI initial certificate as the precipice of my training, and ATP's attitude towards my final training, I decided my adventure with ATP was at an end. My sister flew into San Diego on 10/28/2009, we hit the road the following morning and drove straight through, arriving home in Minnesota on the evening of Friday, 10/30/2009.

Day 30 - Prepping for the Written

2009-08-11T23:48:00.002-05:00

I spent 2 hours in the simulator. This was the first of a few 'scenario' based flights I will be flying over the next week. William my instructor basically has a script he follows as I make my 'for hire' flight somewhere, have to divert, go missed due to weather minimums, etc. It offered a change of pace.

I then did a practice Instrument Written Exam. I am 5 for 6 as far as passed practice exams. I should be ready to take the actual written later this week.

Day 29 - Off to Palm Springs [KPSP]

2009-08-10T23:45:00.000-05:00

I finally got a chance to use my new headset! One word, amazing! The quiet nearly put me into a daze on our way up to Palm Springs [KPSP]. One downfall, I need to readjust my auditory senses to a much quieter airplane. For example, on one of the final legs to land, it sounded as if the engines were at idle long before they needed to be, they were so quiet. I had to double check my manifold pressure to verify they weren’t.

So, we flew to Palm Springs, for 10 night take offs and landings at a tower controlled airport. The pattern work was quick and straight forward. It seems like I have not had a chance to do a lot of direct pattern work in the past month, this was a nice refresher. On the seventh landing we turned base and we’re pointed directly at a 737 on final for the parallel runway, oh for fun. After my tenth landing, I was feeling comfortable enough to test out some tunes with the new headset, prior to our flight back home. Oh wow! Flying over the Californian mountains at 10,500’ at night listening to Stairway to Heaven puts a whole new perspective on music. For those of you wondering, the music mutes anytime ‘any’ communication is made, be it from ATC, the co-pilot, myself, traffic avoidance, etc. This will be a nice feature in my up and coming cross country flights.

The flight back on FlightAware.com.

I did my first ever full approach through IMC (Instrument Metrological Conditions) into home base [KMYF]. In other words, I got to fly through the marine layer (CLOUDS) on the ILS approach, completely in the soup. The effects from the NAV lights offered a new sensory experience. A lot of fun! 3.5 hours of flight time.

Day 28 - A Day of Studying

2009-08-09T23:33:00.003-05:00

Hours and hours of studying. My roomate and I moved the kitchen table and chairs out onto the balcony. This allowed me to sit outside in the beautiful California weather while studying my butt off.

In 28 days I have spent my time doing the following (the % is of the total of all the time I have been down here, these values are not precise):

Studying: 47 Hours - 5%
Flight Planning: 7 Hours - <1%
Flying: 30 Hours - 3%
Simulator: 35 Hours - 4%
Sleep: 203 Hours - 22%

Total time towards all things aviation: 156 hours - 17% (almost 6 hours a day, every day)

Day 27 - A Day to Study and Invest

2009-08-08T23:29:00.000-05:00

Study, study, study. My instrument checkride is less than 2 weeks which means I need to pass the written as soon as practical.

I also got a chance to invest in the protection of my hearing. I picked up a new headset. A Lightspeed Zulu. As far as headsets go, this is one of the best. It is comparable to the Bose X, only $150 cheaper, Bluetooth capability, auxiliary input, and a trade-in program. I love Bluetooth, I will be connecting this thing to the plane, my phone, my computer, my car, my house, my dog, and anything else I can get my hands on. I can not wait to put it to the test in the actual aircraft.

Day 26 - To Phoenix [KIWA] We Go

2009-08-07T23:06:00.000-05:00

The flight to Phoenix was great. 3.3 hours out and 3.2 back, with the following legs and missed approaches:

The leg from Montgomery [KMYF] to Yuma [KNYL] as filed: Flightaware.com to the VOR RWY 17 approach into Yuma. Runway 17 was actually closed, but ATC still allowed us to shoot the approach and go missed.

The leg from Yuma to Casa Grande [KCGZ] and onto Gateway Mesa [KIWA] as filed: Flightaware.com. Shot the GPS RWY 23 into Casa Grande and went missed and then ATC vectored us to the ILS or LOC RWY 30C approach into Mesa.

Mesa Gateway was a pretty neat airport, 3 parallel runways. I believe it was an old military base gone half civilian. William and I walked into town for a bite to eat before returning home.

The flight back was really neat. Flying over the mountains near Palm Springs in the dark was a new experience for me. We did have a near full waning gibbous moon which offered some neat shadow effects on the terrain below. We landed at French Valley Airport [F70] and Ramona [KRNM] to satisfy a VFR cross country flight requirement for my commercial rating. We landed in Montgomery sometime after 1 AM.

Day 25 - Long X-Country, A No-Go

2009-08-07T23:04:00.000-05:00

Planned for my 250NM cross country to Phoenix. We had to cancel at the last moment because our plane was grounded due to a slash in the nose gear tire. We spent an hour and a half in the sim instead and I took practice tests for the Instrument Written from 6 -10.

Day 24 - Simulator.

2009-08-05T23:01:00.000-05:00

Made up some lost time in the simulator today, 1 hour and 18 minutes to be exact. We then did a two hour ground instruction session going over IFR long cross country planning and flying. This was based around our planned long cross country flight to Phoenix tomorrow night.

Day 23 - 4th IFR X-Country

2009-08-04T19:52:00.000-05:00

We spent two hours in the simulator prior to another flight up to Hemet-Ryan. We shot the following approaches:

VOR/DME into Ramona [KRNM] (went missed)
GPS RWY 5 into Hemet-Ryan Airport [KHMT]
ILS DME RWY 28R Montgomery [KMYF] (single-engine, I think I flew this better than I do with two engines.)

Nothing too exciting from today. Building my PIC multi time!

Day 22 - Long day in the Sim

2009-08-03T20:51:00.000-05:00

4 hours and 36 minutes of approaches and other instrument maneuvers. Need I say more.

Day 20 - 3rd IFR X-Country

2009-08-01T22:40:00.000-05:00

Much like yesterday, except we got into the simulator after flying. We flew another cross country to Hemet-Ryan aiport with the follwoing approaches:

VOR-A into Palomar Aiport [KCRQ] (went missed)
GPS RWY 5 into Hemet-Ryan Airport [KHMT]
ILS DME RWY 28R Montgomery [KMYF]

Nothing out of the ordinary on this flight.

We attempted to hop in the simulator afterwords. This was a mistake. I could not focus immediatley after flying the real thing. We only got 36 minutes in.

Day 19 - 2nd IFR Flight

2009-07-31T22:25:00.002-05:00

We spent four hours in the sim. It flew by, not really sure why. Was I actually enjoying it...no that can't be.

We then departed on my second IFR cross country flight and shot the following instrument approaches:

VOR-A into Oceanside Airport [KOKB] (Went Missed)
GPS RWY 5 into Hemet-Ryan Airport [KHMT] (we landed here to justify a cross country flight, seeing as it is over 50NM from Montgomery)
ILS DME RWY 28R Montgomery [KMYF] - We circled north to rwy 23.

This was a new airplane to both my instructor and I. N572AT, It was flown in earlier last week by some cross country students and exchanged for N263AT. Well, the DG was having some major precession issues. It would be 15 degrees off in less than 5 minutes, this was in slave mode. Anyhow, this forced me to fly off the old magnetic compass as I took orders from ATC.

It was busy up there today. We requested towerenroute and ATC was non-stop chatter. A little overwhelming for my second IFR flight, but nonetheless fun.

Day 18 - Yep, the Sim

2009-07-30T21:23:00.001-05:00

2 more hours in the simulator. I only have about 30 hours in the simulator left.

Day 17 - The Sim...Again

2009-07-29T22:21:00.001-05:00

Spent 2 hours in the simulator shooting approaches followed by three hours of ground instruction.

Day 16 - More Sim

2009-07-28T22:12:00.002-05:00

Spent 4 hours in the simulator today shooting approaches into various local airports. I have had such a hard time flying the sim up to this point. It is so overly sensitive. Well, I think I have figured it out. I simply pull the throttle way back and fly the aircraft at much slower than recommended cruising speed. It may take longer to get were we are going, but what difference does it make. It's not like we are burning valuable fuel. I have also figured out how to use the autopilot (I did this on my own time.) One other thing, I applied my computer knowledge and upped the simulator's graphical representation to maximum settings and resolution. It still does not compare to Flight Simulator X.

Day 15 - First IFR X-Country

2009-07-27T15:12:00.000-05:00

We requested a tower enroute IFR flight to Hemet Ryan Airport (KHMT). Hemet is over 50 NM from Montgomery Field and therefore counts as a cross country flight. As seen on the flight overview picture, we cancelled our IFR flight plan just inland and requested VFR flight following for the remainder of the flight. Seeing as this was an IFR training flight, I got to wear my instrument glasses (http://www.blockalls.com/.) For those of you that don’t know, these limit my vision to the cockpit instruments and simulate flying in the clouds or IMC, I log this time. The GPS approach into Hemet-Ryan Airport was my first official approach in a Twin-Engine Aircraft. After departing Hemet, William, my instructor acted as ATC and “barked” out orders. We also had flight following, so the “real” ATC was handing out vectors as we approached class Bravo around San Diego. We shot the ILS 28R approach into Montgomery.

Day 12 & 13 - Instrument Ground Underway

2009-07-24T21:14:00.005-05:00

The last two days have consisted of IFR (Instrument Flight Rule) training. Much of the material we have covered is review from an instrument class I took at St. Cloud State. We spent two hours in the sim today which was also review. In the mean time, I have been preparing for the Instrument written test which I need to pass with a satisfactory grade prior to taking my checkride.

Day 11 - VFR Cross Country

2009-07-23T16:08:00.008-05:00

What a fun cross-country flight. I said it before, and I will say it again, it was so nice to get up there and fly the plane as it was designed. No maneuvers, no expected engine outs, and stress free landings. If you look closely at the first picture you will see 3 F-18's doing pattern work at Mirimar. This was a great site as I preflighted the aircraft. We had wheels up at Montgomery around 6:00PM and we clocked a total of 2.1 hours for the entire leg up to San Luis Obispo. The fourth picture down was the site as we descended from our cruising altitude of 10,500 to the pattern altitude at San Luis, 1,700. When we arrived at San Luis we had about an hour to kill before we could get back in the plane and fly back to Montgomery. Reason being, in order to log night flying hours for currency you can only do so an hour after the sun sets. In our case, the sun set at 7:54 PM. So, we headed up to the Spirit of St Louis, the restaurant located only 100 yards from the ramp that we park the airplane on. After dinner we headed back to preflight the aircraft and be on our way back to Montgomery.

Seeing as I have only logged 3 hours of night flying, the flight back was a lot of fun. Just as we flew the VFR corridor over LAX on the way up, we did the same on the way back. If you look at the night photos you will notice large areas of dark amongst a sea of lights, those would be the runways at LAX. It was also really neat to see the string of large jets on final for LAX, all stacked up off into the distance. As we departed south out of the L.A. area we notice the cloud banks had moved inland and it was apparent IMC conditions. About 30 minutes from our destination we tuned in weather at Montgomery and the clouds were reported as broken. So, we filed a pop-up IFR so we could fly an approach into Montgomery. However, as we approach the San Diego area the marine layer was beginning to dissipate and Montgomery was coming into visual range. At that point we cancelled IFR and flew the visual in.

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Day 10 - VFR X-Country Planning

2009-07-22T20:35:00.001-05:00

My instructor and I spent nearly four hours going covering weather and VFR cross-country planning. Much of it was review. I did all the planning for my VFR cross country flight that will be taking place tomorrow. We will be flying from Montgomery (KMYF) to San Luis Obispo (KSBP.) I have not done a VFR flight plan in over 2 years, so this was excellent review. When I got back to the apartment I refined the initial flight plan through AOPA's online Flight Planner, a great tool offered to AOPA members. The flight planner works with your DUATS account as well as giving you weather breifings, and the choice to file your flight plan via the website. The overview of my cross country can be found here: Flight Track Overview. I am excited to actually fly the airplane to a destination tomorrow instead of practicing manuevers. We will also be flying back to Montgomery tomorrow night so I can log VFR Night Cross-Country time towards my commercial rating. One other thing, we will be flying a VFR corridor directly over LAX at 6,500. I am excited for that!

Day 9 - Multi-Engine Add-On Checkride

2009-07-21T22:40:00.002-05:00

I can officially fly multi-engine aircraft, the Piper Seminole anyhow! The checkride went great!

I arrived at the airport about around 7:45 am, my checkride and oral exam were scheduled for 8:00. On my way out to the plane, to grab the maintenance logs, I came across Joe Leone, my examiner, getting out of his car. I let him know that I would be inside shortly and he agreed we would get things rolling then. unlike the stereotypical FAA Examiner Joe came across as an easy going guy. He was cracking jokes right off the bat. As Joe and I both settled in, we slowly got started on all of the paper work. Upon completing that, we moved right into the oral exam. His first question, immediately after he announced that the test was beginning (something FAA Examiners are required to do) he asked me what the decibel level of the Piper Seminole engine from 15' behind the airplane with the engine at 2200 RPM is. I did not panic, I simply told him that I did not know this value. I simultaneously begin to search the vast amount of information I had stuffed into my brain over the past 9 days. Something clicked. Just as I was about to tell him were this information could be found, he began to laugh. He of course did not expect me to know something as detailed as that, he also expressed that we are not engineers, we are pilots. When Joe began to ask actual questions he used the PTS (Practical Test Standards) book as a direct guide. This was a good thing considering I have been using it as a guide to my studies. All and all, the oral exam went very well.

The practical exam, or flight portion, went by rather quickly. We only logged 0.9 of flight time. As you see in the flight track picture we did something very similar to yesterday. The flight overall, was almost identical to every maneuver practice flight I had done the week prior except is was twice as fast. Joe was very helpful on the radios, seeing as I am from the quiet midwest, which does not compare to sunny southern California in terms of flight activity. After our maneuvers, we headed to Gillespie for a short field landing. We taxied back and for a normal takeoff into the pattern. He simulated an engine out shortly after takeoff and I was required to land on a single engine. Everything went just as planned. After landing Joe said "his plane" as he took the controls from me. He then took off, flew to Montgomery, and did the full landing. I was a little nervous and unsure as to why he decided to fly the aircraft back to base. I do know however, that if you fail, the examiner must tell you right then and there terminating the test portion of the flight. After we got back to the building Joe told me he had not flow in a while and simply wanted to have a practice landing. I can now say I have officially logged 1.4 hours of Multi-Engine Pilot-in-Command time!

Day 8 - Preparing for the First Checkride

2009-07-20T21:51:00.009-05:00

My instructor and I decided that we better get the flight out of the way first thing in the morning prior to the expected temperature increase. We decided that we had better practice some take offs and landings into Gillespie (KSEE) seeing that the examiner favors the airport. As you see in the picture of my flight track, we initially had a downwind departure out of Montgomery (we took off from 28R.) This was interesting seeing as you do not have time to fly the usual pattern with a departure, a 90 degree turn to the crosswind, and then a 90 degree turn to the downwind. Due to class bravo airspace you are required to cut the cross wind out of the pattern, which means you continue turning directly into your downwind leg, or in my case, downwind departure. (See images to the left. The red line represents a normal pattern.) After our downwind departure, we flew over Gillespie and then turned north to the North East practice area. My instructor failed the engine on me a couple of times just to be certain I had the memory checklists down. No problem. When we arrived at the practice area we went through each maneuver, as we have been doing everyday. However, today was a little different, my instructor was no longer there to help, he was simply acting as my practice examiner. I am quite confident that I have the maneuvers down pat and I am ready to display them for the examiner tomorrow.

After practicing maneuvers we headed south to Gillespie Field for practice landings and one-eng inop pattern work. I must say, to this point, Gillespie Field has offered the most interesting pattern work I have ever done. You actually have to fly around a small (1,500'+) hill that actually separates you visually from the runway. This happens moments before you turn the base leg of the pattern. When you turn from base to final you actually have to fly around the hill and through a shallow valley with a small hill on the other side. I was unable to get a picture from the cockpit but took some in FSX that give a visual representation of the pattern.

The four hours of scheduled ground turn out to be a little less. We reviewed nearly everything that I would need to know for the Oral Exam. I was really weak on my systems, namely propellers and landing gear. No worries though, I will study those tonight and have them down by tomorrow.

Day 6 - Rush Hour

2009-07-18T17:45:00.007-05:00

Well, my first time flying on a Saturday morning in the San Diego area. I am pretty sure everyone that owns an airplane was out flying as well. Two minutes after our initial takeoff, as we're climbing to 3200 for the coast, moments after turning north up the coast (see todays flight path picture) a Cirrus blew by us heading the opposite direction no more than 200' low and a couple thousand feet to our left. Rather close considering. The radios were buzzing with chatter once again. We continued north to the northeast practice area. My instructor pulled the engine on me a couple of times, I still need to smooth out my engine-out flow some more. We went through all of the manuevers, some of them twice. Continued to Ramona for 2 short field landings and 1 eng-out landing. That was rather exciting. Just after taking off from Ramona, after our first landing, my instructor pulled the throttle on the leftt engine, simulating an engine out. I then flew the pattern and landed with the single engine. At this point the one thing I really need to work on is establishing the correct airspeed in an engine out situation all while running my memory checklist as quickly as possible. When we finished the flight we jumped in the FTD for 2 more hours, the last time I will be in the FTD prior to my Multi-Engine Add-on Checkride this Tuesday. I took a low quality picture of the FTD with my phone

Day 5 - Into the Wild Blue Yonder

2009-07-17T22:30:00.001-05:00

I did not have internet in the apartment until Wednesday and have been quite busy settling in. The last couple of posts were written earlier and all posted only minutes prior to this one.

Day 2 and 3 both consisted of 2 hours of ground training and then 2 hours in the FTD (flight training device.) The FTD is an extremely touchy, overly sensitive, expensive, collection of hardware that I am going to spend 50 total hours in….ahhhh. The hardware has a tendency to produce a lot of heat and the AC in the flight school is set somewhere in the high 70’s. Needless to say, I was sweating by the end of the first day. However, my instructor was kind enough to position a fan on the cockpit the second day, making the experience much more comfortable. The FTD’s main purpose at this point is to offer practice in regards to twin-engine maneuvers and handling characteristics. Near the end of our session on the first day in the FTD, my instructor killed an engine on me. This caught me by surprise and my reaction was expectedly slow. This lead to me ultimately flying the plane upside down and backwards (not very realistic.) After the aircraft eventually settled (crashed) to the poor graphical representation of the San Diego landscape, my instructor advised me that the FTD will begin to do goofy things when it has been on so long. A potential calibration problem.

I also had a chance to meet my FAA examiner. His name is Joe Leoni and he seems like a really nice guy. The instructors at the school say he is a pretty laid back examiner and I can see how that is possible, he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

Day 4 was great! We spent an hour and a half on the ground reviewing many items I had learned prior to acquiring my private pilot’s license. A lot of information I will need to review and have down pat by my checkride next Tuesday.

We spent the next two hours in the aircraft. It was nice to finally get into a real airplane. ATP’s Piper Seminole extensive checklist brings a time enduring startup. From the time we arrived at the aircraft to the point of initial taxi took anywhere from 25-40 minutes. This was of course the first time I had every done this on a twin-engine aircraft. Furthermore, I have no problem spending the time making sure I have checked each item on the checklist, after all, that is what it is there for. The flight itself was a lot of fun. We flew out direct to the coast and straight north to the North West practice area. The radios were buzzing with chatter and the amount of air traffic was much greater than anything I have ever experienced. Not to mention the complexity of the San Diego airspace. This little circle is Montgomery Field and the red lines represent our flight track. Needless to say, my flight instructor handled the majority of the radios excluding everything on the ground, which I had no problem doing. He also gave me headings and altitudes to fly. Once we were out to the practice area we immediately went into practicing maneuvers that I would need to be proficient in for my checkride. This includes steep turns, slow flight, power-off stalls, power-on stalls, Vmc Demo (minimal controllable airspeed without your critical engine), and emergency descent. My instructor also cut the mixture to my left engine. It was little weird seeing that propeller sitting out there not spinning. All and all, the most exciting part was the stalls, as always. One reason, when stalling any aircraft you increase the chance of entering a spin. In a multi-engine aircraft, it is extremely challenging to recover from a spin, therefore the pressure is on to recover from a stall while maintaining directional control. We returned to the Montgomery and I made my first official landing on my own.

Day 5, today, was much like yesterday, 2 hours in the FTD and 2 in the airplane. The flight was much like yesterday; we practiced each maneuver once this time in the Northeast practice area. I am proud to say each maneuver was within PTS (Practical Test Standards.) I am however, a little slow on my memory checklists leading to some slow recoveries. It is after all my second time flying a twin-engine aircraft. We then proceeded to Ramona Airport where I made my second landing in a multi-engine aircraft. We did two more landings at Ramona, two short field landings. The first was a little long, I came in over the threshold at 85kts and no the preferred 75kts. My second landing was within PTS, I touched down just beyond the numbers. We took off from Ramona and flew a straight in final to Montgomery. All and all, it was a very fun day.

Day 1 – The Training Begins

2009-07-13T23:01:00.001-05:00

My wife’s flight back to Minneapolis left San Diego this morning at 9:50. My aunt was going to initially drive her to the airport. However, my instructor called me Sunday evening to reschedule our ground lesson from 8:00am to 1:00pm. This was a nice surprise seeing as it now allowed me to bring my wife to the airport and see her off.

I have been waiting months for this day to come! I am excited to finally be back into the realm of aviation! I was more than impressed with the ATP Airline Career Pilot Program binder I received today. The organization of the program’s syllabus gets me really excited. I wished they had sent the binder out earlier so I could have planned more appropriately. I assume they avoid that to protect their program from those students whom quit before Day 1. It is nice to be involved in a program that is so organized. I am sure these 90 days are going to ‘FLY’ by.

I arrived at the airport at 12:45pm for my 1:00pm ground lesson. It wasn’t until about 1:30pm that I noticed my instructor had left a message on my phone letting me know that he bumped my lesson to 2:00pm. That was ok though, it allowed more time to study. The first couple hours consisted of the filling out of paper work, log book audit, training contracts, etc. I was also given a 50 question multiple choice test on private flight knowledge. I scored a 78%. I will admit, I am a bit rusty. However, every question was familiar; it was only a matter of knocking that rust off. If I took the test again, I would definitely score 100%.

From there we began to cover the systems of the Piper Seminole. When I had come down in June for my interview, the San Diego school had only 1 1979 Piper Seminole and 1 Cessna 172. In the past month they have traded the 79’ Seminole in for 2 2000 Seminoles and a DA40 Glass Cockpit. It will be nice to operate newer equipment. Although the 79’ and 2000 Seminoles have a lot in common, we have been covering the systems for the 2000. We also covered the practical test standards for multi-engine. This was something none of my instructors in the past had ever gone over with me. Not sure why, now that I see the advantage is gives.

We also took a trip out to the tarmac to familiarize me with the airplane. We pulled some numbers out of the POH and used them to calculate numbers from all of the performance graphs as well as weight and balance.

I will be studying for a couple hours tonight and tomorrow morning before my 10 o’clock lesson.