So.Cal

I spent the long labor day weekend in California. Four firsts for me! 

1. Flew on Alaska Airlines (737-400),
2. Flew in and out of LAX, 
3. Visited the Space Shuttle Endeavour and
4. Saw 16R at Van Nuys.

Right now, KLAX is my new fav. #avgeek airport. The flight from PDX was amazing. Flight time was 1hr59min. We flew the SADDE SIX arrival and then after SOM we joined a right base for a visual approach to runway 24R. Amazing views over the entire LA basin.

SADDE SIX STAR KLAX

The flight back was more evenful. We were delayed an hour due a late change of aircraft. We flew back in 1hr41min thanks to a 50kt tailwind. The Captain (PF) flew a high speed decent and visual approach onto 28L at KPDX. This happened at night and was one of the coolest approaches I have had for a while. Overall, I was very impressed with Alaska Airlines. 

The ATC feeds on liveatc.net offer a mix of heavy and GA traffic. I haven't stopped listening to the LAX Final (North/South) feed since I arrived back in Oregon on Sunday evening. 

Both Phoenix and Portland have lacked a steady stream of heavy jets. At LAX, they arrived and departed throughout the whole day. I only wish I had a decent camera to capture some cool shots.

On Saturday afternoon I was surfing on Trip Advisor and discovered that the Space Shuttle Endeavour was in LA and open to the public. Spent a couple of hours touring the California ScienCenter where Endeavour was housed. I never managed to see the Shuttle fly but this almost made up for that!

My trip to Van Nuys was unplanned therefore I didn't research it very well. Couldn't find any decent places to take photos, but I can say I have seen 16R.

Endeavour

Tiles!

KLAX

16R Van Nuys!

Prop Blur

Attempting to fix my GoPro HERO 2 prop blur issue with a $7 fix versus a $77 fix!

I've ordered a .6ND, 20x24 2 Stop Neutral Density Lighting Filter which according to the internet will fix all my issues. Hope it arrives before my next flight.

Here is a sample video from YouTube courtesy of @climiek. Okay, it's not perfect, but definitely better than what I have now.

99.2hrs PiC

Flew 0.7hrs to and from Aurora State Airport (KAOU) today. This has brought my total PiC hours to 99.2hrs. I will be taking a week off from flying next week as I am heading to Disney in CA. I have 3 people lined up for my next few flights, one being my Dad who has never flown with me! I am going to have to decide who gets that 100hr flight with me! I really want to fly to Boeing Field. Need to find out if my Dad will be happy to take the longer flight with me.

Pre-Flight N5440H

NAV1 GPS Mode KAOU

Solo Cross Country

I titled this entry "Solo Cross Country" for a reason. Flying a new aircraft (M model) in a new area (Oregon) is like learning to fly all over again. It's about having the confidence in my ability to explore my new surroundings by air. 

With each flight I am getting a little more adventurous and am flying further afield. This is all good preparation for my flight to Boeing Field (KBFI) which I intend to fly in the next two to three weeks.

One of the challenges flying in Oregon has been the conversion from KTS to MPH on the IAS. Sounds simple right? It has taken me a couple of flights to nail those approach speeds. I am basically adding 10 to the IAS. Where before I would have been 75,70,65 on approach, I am now 85,80,75. 

Really inspired my daughter with this flight. She hasn't stopped talking about it. Can't wait to take her flying again soon!Check out the #GulfstreamGirl photo I took during the flight.

Future #GulfstreamGirl

Class Bravo Flying

Been thinking about the class bravo flights from the last six months. So far flying into KPHX has been my best aviation adventure so far. I hope I get to do this again at some point. This is just not possible back in the UK/Ireland.

Right Seat Flying

Flying right seat with @cholubaz

CHD-TUS-CHD

Always a Student

Continuing to learn valuable lessons in my short time as a Private Pilot. Today it was about proficiency and not taking too long away from flying!

Back in the saddle today. Wx improved to BKN024 but decided to remain in the pattern. 5 landings. That's 1.5hrs in the last 7 weeks and it showed. Allowed my speed to get too slow over the runway, as a result I didn't have sufficient elevator authority in the flare. This resulted in hard landings! For one landing, I had to take my hands away from the throttle to pull back harder on the elevator. I really don't like doing that in case I need to go around. 

The aircraft i'm flying is in MPH (95% of my hours are in aircraft with kts). Need to make sure I nail the approach speeds speeds (75/70/65/60kts = 86/80/74/69mph). Or other words, add 10.

Flying again within the next week.

N5440H Full Elevator Deflection!

Oshkosh Summary - Ford Trimotor Flight

Nine social media friends and I took a ten minute flight in a 1929 Ford Trimotor whilst at Oshkosh. Short taxi out to runway 36 (L) and then a 2 mile wide pattern back to runway 36 (L). This was one of the highlights of my Oshkosh trip.

Twitter Friends - Ford Tri-Motor

Thanks to @cholubaz for allowing the staff to take this photo with his camera.

Oshkosh Summary - Seaplane Base

One of the best kept secrets of Oshkosh is the Seaplane base that sits about 5nm SW of KOSH. I ended up spending a few hours there on both Friday and Saturday with my GoPro filming the operations. I recorded the background noise and ATC audio on my MP3 recorder. I plan to produce a short video showing the operations once I have had time to edit my video and audio.

Oshkosh Seaplane Base

Busy Seaplane Photo

Cessna Float Departing Cove Area

Searay

Back From Oshkosh

Ended up having WiFi issues at Oshkosh at the university dorms. This meant I couldn't provide any blog updates. Check back soon for my wrap-up.

Oshkosh Day 0

Flew from Portland to Phoenix yesterday. Great flight from KHIO to KIWA aboard a EMB-145. Had to re-route due to weather along in SE Oregon. Highlight had to be seeing Area 51 off the left wing and overflying Nellis AFB, NV.

On arrival at KIWA, I made my way over to KCHD for a night flight with Chris Holub (from In The Pattern podcast). We flew CHD -> TFD VOR -> TUS VOR and then a visual approach into 11L. What a flight. Chris filmed some of it. Hopefully he will release it after he returns from Oshkosh.

It's Thursday morning. About to head to KIWA to catch my flight to Appleton, WI (KATW).

Holding Short 31 HIO

Right Deviation For Wx

Nellis AFB

N98711 Power Checks 04L KCHD

Chris Departing KCHD

Time for Oshkosh

................and the wait it finally over. I'm heading to Oshkosh today via Phoenix. Check back for daily updates providing I can find a good wifi connection!

Update

Not been flying much recently. Heading to Oshkosh next week. Lots of flying planned for August and September. Please stay tuned!!

Seeing as it's summer and many pilots are talking about Density Altitude, I will share with a video of my first visit to KFLG which lies at 7000'MSL. On this day, the temp was in the 50's. DA was 7900'.

Seattle Update

Didn't fly in Seattle at the weekend due to OVC010 at KRNT. Aircraft was only available in the morning. Cloud didn't burn off until 1300L. I should have booked an afternoon flight! Wasn't expecting the marine layer to be so dominant. 

Despite that, I still managed to get my aviation fix over the weekend at Kenmore Air and a walk around on the ramp at KRNT!

Beaver Departing Kenmore Air Seaport Base (Lake Union, WA)

Beaver Departing Kenmore Air Seaport Base (Lake Union, WA)

Gray OVC010 Skies at KRNT

Seattle Flying

If everything goes to plan, I will be taking a sight seeing trip out of Boeing Field on Sunday morning. Stay tuned!

Twin Oaks Pattern Video

Enjoy my short video from yesterdays pattern work. Happy with my performance with this being my first flight in four weeks.

Back Flying

Can't believe it's been a month, well 4 weeks to be exact since I last flew. Enjoyed the short break. I headed down to Twin Oaks for the monthly EAA blueberry breakfast fly-in. This sparked my excitement again for flying. Ended up flying 0.6hrs on my own around the traffic pattern. Performed 3 take-off and landings. This has taken care of any currency requirements!

@pilot_ngb ready for breakfast and flying!

Cessna Stationair Float Version (want one!)

Cessna 140

Celebrating 1 Year

One year ago this week a dream of over 12 years came true. I had tried several times to get my license in Ireland but life got in the way. My dream became reality in early 2011 when I started my FAA PPL training in Arizona. On June 27^th 2012, I passed my checkride and became a Private Pilot.

One year on, I realize that I will be a student for the rest of my flying career. My last flight three weeks ago didn't go so well. Lack of a sterile cockpit led to me departing my home base in Oregon without completing finishing all items on the pre take-off checklist. Flight was uneventful, but it was my first real miss in terms of checklist execution. This knocked me back for a few days, but I am now ready to get back into the air again. Lesson learnt, I can't strive for perfection, but I might never fly that perfect flight.

I've been on so many small adventures since getting my ticket. Some of the highlights are as follows;

1. Two weeks after passing, I found myself transitioning SFO's class bravo airspace. Amazing flight with Marc.

2. Flew an overnight trip to Luke Air Force base in a C172 and spent two days with F-16 pilots and other Arizona GA pilots.

3. Flew a C172 into Sky Harbor International (PDX).

4. Landed parallel to a F-16 at KTUS.

5. Seen the joy on my kids face when they are up flying with me.

6. Flew with Marty in San Diego.

7. Expored the airspace around Phoenix enjoying every second talking with ATC.

8. Met some amazing people who I can now call friends thanks to social media and flying out of CHD.

GA is amazing in the US. I hope everyone can fight to keep it affordable. I will leave the US in 2014 back to Ireland knowing that I made the most of my time here in the US.

Over the next month I will be passing through the 100hr PiC mark. I'm planning a trip from Oregon to Boeing/King Field in Washington State.

Who knows what will happen in the next 12 months!

Short Final Half Moon Bay, CA

KPHX Cutter Aviation N54288

Overnight Flight KLUF Air Base

Planning 100hr PiC Flight

Most people quote their total time (TT), however my first aviation goal was to get to 100hrs Pilot-in-Command (PiC) time whilst living here in the US. Progress has been slow over the last few weeks, but right now I sit at 95 hours PiC. It's time to start planning that 100 hour flight.

KBFI and KSEA

Where better place to go than Boeing Field (KBFI) in Washington State. To be honest it was a coin toss between KPAE and KBFI. I have already visited the Boeing Factory at KPAE (by car!) plus I wanted a more challenging arrival. KBFI is located on the approach path to KSEA. Yesterday SEA was landing on 16L and 16C. Aircraft on the approach were switched to SEA TWR right over the top of BFI at about 2000' MSL. I will enjoy the challenge flying into BFI below the traffic.

Transient parking is available at BFI. I plan to visit the Museum of Flight before heading south back to Oregon.

Hoping this flight will take place a week or two before Oshkosh 2013. Failing that, I will take the flight in early August. 

My home airport in Oregon is 7S3. There is a VOR (Newberg) a few miles south. My flight north will take be outbound on the VOR through the class delta of KHIO. I will then pick up flight following with PDX DEP.

7S3 -> SEA (initial routing)

Father's Day at the Boeing Factory

Went back to the Boeing factory today. This time I took my wife and kids for the first time. They loved it. Last month I saw the first three BA 787's. This time I saw the fourth one (BJD) outside the paint shop.

Unloading 787 Parts KPAE

Tried to get a look a the new 787-900 but it was out of sight. However I did enjoy viewing the 747-8, 767, 777 and 787 production lines. At the front of the 787 line was the fourth Aero Mexico order and the first Jetstar (Qantas) order.

Out on the ramp area I saw several finished 787's including two of the other BA's and one Thomson jet. 

Will probably head back again in another month or two to see what progress there has been. I would love to get up there for BA's first delivery flight but I doubt that will happen.

Poor Checklist Execution

Short video showing a non sterile cockpit and then me missing checklist items due to distractions.

Back Flying! (no 6 week break!!)

I'm over my disappointment from last week. Should of, could of, would of. 

Going to go flying again next week! Lesson learnt? Sterile cockpit! It's quite clear from the video that I was not focused during the taxi out. I was talking with the CFI and had cable issues with the MP3 recorder.

In the mean time, I am heading to Seattle this weekend for another Boeing tour. First time taking my wife and kids. Quite excited about spending an aviation day with them on Fathers Day.

Flying above thin layers in OR

Having A Break

Was today’s flight something to beat myself up over? I am going to have to learn to stop beating myself up over mistakes. I hadn’t flown for three weeks since leaving Austin TX. I flew in Oregon with an independent CFI on a familiarization flight. This was my decision. Not screwing around with the wx.

First mistake – I was distracted during the power checks by the aircraft behind me on the taxi way commenting on my nose gear strut over the radio. I proceed to take off without setting my instruments. The DI was 30deg off. I realized the mistake at 300’ as I commenced my noise abatement turn. Uneventful but I’m so annoyed at missing the second step of the before take-off checklist.

Second mistake - Later in the flight I was performing a 360 to lose height. I failed to put the mixture back to rich as I passed through 3000’. I was about to start my pre-landing checks. I would have spotted it then, but the CFI brought it to my attention. I felt embarrassed. I need to learn to stop beating myself up over small mistakes.

I proceeded to go missed at KTMK due to 28021G30 rwy31 (a good decision made by me and not the CFI). At KAST, I went around at 10’ due to not being aligned with the runway centreline (another good decision). Not beating myself up over that. I made good decisions. I returned to Twin Oaks feeling confident that I had at least seen some of the local landmarks. For the first time, I flew VMC on top. It was a small insight into the joys of flying IFR.

What’s the worst that happened today? I identified the instrument issue on departure. I resolved it and continued on-route. The mixture issue would have been identified during my pre-landing check. Yes, it wasn't ideal to descend through 3000’ down to 1300’ with the mixture leaned out.  I’m annoyed that the CFI said it before I spotted it. I should have had a sterile cockpit during the 360 turn.

Why am I beating myself up here? Pride with a having a new CFI on board? 3 weeks too long for a break? Is it time for another break? 

In Arizona, everything was familiar. I was hungry to fly. Not feeling the same here right now.  Seems my mind is focused on more important things than aviation at the moment. I’m deciding to take a break for a few weeks. I am going to go to OSH13 and fly again in August. I will still be current when I return but will probably fly with a CFI.

My parents are visiting Oregon in September. My Dad has never flown with me. In August I will fly to Seattle. In August I will fly pass through 100hrs PiC. In September I will take my Dad flying. Then everything will be good again. By then I will be hungry again.

Pacific West Coast

Navigating Pacific Coast

 After 3 weeks away from   flying, I flew 2.2hrs today. Flew from my new home airport which is Starks Twin Oaks (7S3). Although being cleared to fly by the local FBO, I decided to take an independent CFI with me on a familiarization flight.

We flew out to the pacific west coast where we tried to land at KTMK and KAST. Had to call the approach off at KTMK 2nm on final due to a wind at 28021G30 on rwy 31! KAST wasn't much better. I performed a go around at 10' on rwy 31 due poor correction on my part in a crosswind. We proceeded back to 7S3 via KHIO delta airspace. 

Overall I was happy with the majority of the flight. With a 3 week break, I was already a little bit rusty.

Twin Oaks Airpark

N5440H

Mastering Clearance Delivery

The majority of my 95hrs PiC time has been flying in and out of delta airspace. Most Private Pilots want to land at the airports with the big airliners and/or military traffic. This normally involves visiting either a class charlie or bravo airport. In Phoenix, I had two choices with KTUS and KPHX being on my door step. One difference between charlie/bravo vs delta is the requirement to make an initial call to a clearance delivery frequency. 

KCHD and KIWA Class D  (under KPHX class B)

Looking back, I realize that I made hard work of those initial radio calls. Most initial calls to ATC should involve (a) who you are, (b) where you are and (c) where you want to go. The clearance delivery call should not be that different. My issue has been failing to get  all the information into the initial ATC call.

As you will see from the following charlie example (KTUS ), the controller had to come back to me more than once requesting information. I should have been able to give them all the information at once. In this case it was the (a) aircraft type SKYHAWK, (b) my location and (c) I needed flight following. 




As I gained more hours in the air away from the delta airspace of CHD, my calls started to improve. Here's another example but this time from a class bravo airport (KPHX). Almost perfect but I failed to say "Phoenix Clearance Delivery". I only said "Clearance Delivery". I'm a perfectionist! (let's not mention the part about Chandler!)



In Austin, I finally nailed the call to ATC on two occasions. However I didn't record it, therefore you will just have to believe me!

Welcome from Cutter Aviation at KPHX

#letsgoflying

Have a C172 booked for Sunday. Going to have my second flight in OR. Good news is that I will be taking along the MP3 recorder and GoPro. Expect it to look a little different that the video below!

Fav. Photo

Love taking photos whilst I am out and about flying. One of my favorite photos was taken at Coolidge back in February. Thanks to Chrisk48 for taking this photo. His timing was perfect, just like my landing!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisk48/8441916624/

Texas Flying - Wx Woes

Friday was the day after getting checked out in N733CP, I was starting to keep an eye on the weather for my Saturday trip. The TAF showed OVC009 until 11:00L. I had the aircraft booked from 7am till 10am. In my mind I was not flying on Saturday. I was already disappointed. I perked up after lunch on the Friday when we were allowed to finish early. I went straight onto the online booking system and secured 733CP for a couple of hours that afternoon. Took a work colleague with me. Had a couple of delays at the airport but we departed 17L at KAUS at 14.15L. 

Holding Short 17L KAUS

By the time we got airborne, the wind had increased.  The visibility was quite poor. Ended up cutting the flight short. Flew only 0.7 hours. Again, I failed to film with the GoPro (sorry!). My colleague from India had never been in a small aircraft before. He had an absolute blast up there despite the short time. 

As with my checkout flight, I received several vectors from a very helpful Approach Controller. I did make one mistake. Rather than saying "Austin Approach", I said "Austin Arrival". I was a bit tongue twisted that afternoon.

The flight on Saturday was cancelled. However I did go to an aviation event in Hondo Texas. I will blog about that next. There was one other attempt at flying after the weekend. I will blog about that too.

Circuit Of Americas

N733CP

Exploring Texas - Getting Checked Out

Spent several years before I had a pilots license traveling around Europe, Japan and the US on business. During my spare time on the trips, I tried to keep the weekends aviation theme based, for example, visiting a museum or an airport for some spotting. But now being a Private Pilot, I can get checked out for a rental. This is what I did on a recent trip to Austin, Texas. 

I had some great plans to fly over the one weekend. However, low visibility and wind ruined my flying plans. However I did get to fly twice. A little bit of research and a visit to KAUS, I came across a couple of rental options. Ended up going with Above & Beyond Aviation based out of Atlantic Aviation on the east side of KAUS. After finishing work at 4pm, I ran over to the airport to meet the CFI that the owner has assigned to me. Flew 1.3hrs in SKYHAWK 733CP which was a C172N. Not the prettiest on the outside but flew lovely. Great value at $99 an hour wet!

KAUS Airspace (skyvector.com)

Prior to the flight, I hadn't spent much time studying the Texas sectional. I soon  realized why most of the runways were orientated North/South in Texas. Wind was almost always 17014G20!

Flew to Lockhart which is 20nm south of KAUS. There we did 2 touch and goes followed by some stalls and steep turns. KAUS airport lies within class charlie airspace. One of the fun parts of charlie airports is getting radar vectors from ATC. I had already experienced this heading into KTUS back in Arizona. I was inbound back to the airport at around 18:00L. ATC were very busy with inbounds for 17L and 17R. I received about 5 heading changes from ATC and was cleared for a "high speed" approach to a left base 17L. I landed behind a C152 and in front of a Challenger jet. After landing, I received praise from the CFI. He signed my logbook and I was approved for rentals over the weekend.

One regret. I didn't record anything on the GoPro and MP3 recorder. Could only find about 5 seconds of audio on liveatc.net  due to all the frequencies being very busy. 

N733CP

See Ya

Ever listened to liveatc.net a heard a rather over enthusiastic see ya from a Pilot? Happens all the time.

Here's my attempt. I get about a 50% success rate in the controller returning the see ya.

Blogging More

I think I need to blog some more about my flying experiences rather than just posting photos.

Looking back at Sedona

Whilst I flight plan for my next Texas flight, I have been looking back at some of the flights I took over the last 12 months. 

One of the best had to be Sedona, AZ. Talk about beautiful scenery on approach. I departed CHD in the early morning and flew up the east side of the PHX class bravo. Picked up flight following with PHX DEP and was then handed off to ABQ CTR. Video picks up as I check out with ABQ CTR a few miles south of KSEZ.

Last Flight Arizona

Took what was probably my last PiC flight in Arizona for the remainder of 2013. Flew 3.4hrs PiC with 4 landings/2 airports. Route was CHD -> DVT -> PAN -> DVT -> CHD. I picked up @cholubaz from Deer Valley (DVT) and then we flew to Payson (PAN) for breakfast.

PAN ended up being my 30th airport visited in the US. PAN has a pattern entry similar to that in Ireland. I had to fly overhead perpendicular to the runway and then join a left downwind for landing. Crosswind was 90 degrees off the nose which resulted in a crosswind component of 12-15ts. 

Dropped @cholubaz back at DVT and then my last class bravo transition over PHX back to CHD.

I am not going to miss the bumps and heat in Arizona :)

Big shout out to Chris for taking these photos.

Turning Overhead Payson

Final 06 Payson

Landings at DVT

Overhead Payson Airport

Last Flight Arizona

Flying on Saturday for what will probably be my last flight in Arizona before the move to Oregon. Right now, I am looking at the WX and considering which options are available.

Hasn't flying in Arizona been amazing?

Visiting KPHX

Another great flight into KPHX this week. All low hour Pilots should try their hand at flying into a class bravo airport. It's made easier for me by a very helpful TRACON.

First Oregon Flight

I have spent the last 12 months flying the same two aircraft from the same FBO. Today I took the plunge and got checked out in Oregon. Not sure why I was worried. Flew 1.2hrs in a C172D to two different airports. ASI was in MPH and knots. Simple conversion. Hardest part was figuring out there all the other traffic was. I don't know the landmarks well enough yet. I will be landings on runways less than 3000 ft long. Have been used to longer runways in Arizona. Time to focus on my short landing techniques! I performed five landings today. Slipped on three of them (20deg of flaps!) and performed one go around. The CFI was impressed that I chose to slip without being prompted. She was also impressed with my decision to go around. She wasn't impressed with me landing left of the center line though!!

It's going to be great learning to fly in a new state. God I love aviation.

Cub at Twin Oaks Airpark

Inside 08Y

08Y Pre Flight