People like us - pilots - part 1/3

This is a hilarious look at the lives of pilots. Be sure to watches parts 2 and 3 too.

Mad TV - Air Canada

Practicing Spins in a Cessna

So cool to see what a spin looks like from outside the plane.

What is an Instructor?

Tomorrow is my first briefing for my instructor rating. My assignment to get ready for it is to think of what a flight instructor is. Then we'll talk about learning factors, and if there's time, we'll start on oral questions.

So here are my thoughts on what is a flight instructor. I think that a flight instructor is basically a teacher, who teaches someone how to fly. This is done using explanations, demonstrations, and interaction with the student. The instructor can't force the student to learn something, so they have to setup an environment that allows the student to learn. The instructor needs to motivate the student, encourage them to continue to grow and learn. They should teach the student to think about what is safe, and how to make good decisions. Instructors have to let students make mistakes, then go over those mistakes and explain why they are wrong. They should make flying fun. Push students when they are doing well, and bring them up when they're feeling down. Students should see their instructors as role models. When flying with students, instructors can't have a lapse in judgment, or forget anything important, or the students will emulate their mistakes. Instructors need to be adaptable, and teach each student in the unique way that they will learn best. They need to be knowledgeable in what they're teaching, so they can really explain it to the students, and not just read it out of a manual. While teaching, instructors need to build a solid rapport with the student in order to gain their trust and form a strong student-teachers relation.

Am I missing anything?

Commercial Flight test

This past friday was my commercial flight test. I spent all summer building my cross-country experience, then the end of the summer perfecting my flying. My instructors told me I was ready, my friends told me I would do fine, but I didn't feel like I was ready. Nonetheless, this Friday I was determined to give it my best shot.

I showed up at the club 45 minutes early to get myself setup. I checked the fuel in the plane, and cleaned it up a bit. I prepared the briefing room with all the supplied I would need for the flight planning, and ground portion of the flight test. Got my route, got my weather, and completed the flight planning in the alloted time. For the next hour and a half I was grilled on every subject possible, such as what the symbols on the map mean, how to make entries in a Journey Log, emergency procedures, and much more. I was given an impossible weight and balance scenario. The only way we could have brought all the people and luggage on the 2 hour long flight was if we left with 4 gallons of fuel. Enough for about 30 minutes at normal cruise. I had to leave someone behind.

After the ground portion was over, we started getting ready for the flight portion of the flight test (a sign that the ground portion was a pass). After a quick bite to eat, we were off to the races. The flight proceeded like any other flight. First was the simulated cross-country departure to the west. I had to juggle both radios in order to keep in contact with the practice area traffic as well as Ottawa Terminal. Once I hit my first checkpoint, I gave a revised ETA that was way off my original ETA, but all the numbers were right, so I guess it was just a lower than expected groundspeed. We then broke off the simulated cross country and started with flying under the hood. The hood flying ended with recovery from unusual attitude (with a simulated vacuum failure) then we proceeded with the upper air work. I was able to pull off a nice spin. The examiner later confessed that she was expecting the spin to result in a dive, so she was surprised. Then we did a forced approach, followed by a precautionary on the same field that I used for the forced. It was a good field. Then we diverted to Carp airport, where I did a soft field landing as if I was landing in that field, then we headed back for rockcliffe for the final exercise, the power off 180 degree precision approach. Now this particular exercise was interesting because every time I had practiced it, 27 was the runway in use, but today it was 09. This along with the fact that I was doing the flight test in an airplane that I had not flown very much, and a particularly nasty cross wind meant the odds weren't in my favor. Despite all these factors working against me, I was able to pull it off. I taxied to the pums and shut down. Up until this point, I still wasn't sure if I had passed or not. My examiner was really quiet, so I was really second guessing myself. As soon as I shut down though that's when she turned to me and said "contratulations, you passed!"

It's such a relief to finally have that out of the way. They say that the commercial flight test is the hardest one. Now that I'm done with that, I'm going to focus on school and start working on my instructor rating.

Sunset while doing diversion

Red Bull Air Race Rio de Janeiro - Top Gun soundtrack

Halifax Radio

During my trip to NS, it would also be my first time talking to someone other than Quebec Radio for inflight services. When flying to Kingston, I would have been talking to London Radio, but Kingston always opened and closed my flight plans. I only ever talked to them over the phone.
The first time I talked to Halifax Radio was in Fredecticton when I called for weather and filing my flight plan. They were really helpful, giving not only a full weater brief, but tips about local weather phenomenon, such as the fog that often forms over the Bay of Fundy. He warned me about the local flight college and that 10 flight plans were just entered, so traffic would be heavy departing. He also suggested that while crossing the Bay of Fundy, I call them up and get the updated weather information for my destination so I could divert early if the predicted fog was present.
Leaving was the same, when I filed my flight plan, he said that it would be opened automatically at the time I said I would leave, but that I should call them when I'm at 2000 feet to let them know of the exact departure time to update my ETA. When I did call to open my flight plan, he gave me (without my having to ask) the latest weather information for Fredericton, which was marginal. I really felt they went above and beyond the call of duty and greatly appreciated this extra help.
This is not to say that Quebec Radio is not great, but I find that often they seem rushed. Probably just because they have more traffic, so higher work load overall, which means less individual attention.

Flying over Maine

During my trip to NS, I had to fly over the state of Maine. Flying though the US is hassle-free if you don't intend to land. You must be on a flight plan, with a discrete transponder code, and be in contact with ATC. I was talking with Montreal Center, flying at 3000 feet due to low ceilings that day.
When I crossed the border into the US, suddenly the small towns dissappeared and they were replaced with a vast span of nothing but forest. Montreal Center told me that there would be no way that Boston Center would hear me that low, so I was cleared to the en-route frequency. No one else was on the frequency in range, so for the next hour I sat alone in the plane, watching the dense forest go by. I didn't hear any other planes, or see any signs of civilization for an hour. It was like I was the last person left on earth. Every bump, every change in engine sound, I would freak out.
Eventually I passed by the Appalachans. Just a single mountain in the middle of this wasteland. It was a georgeous view, and I was right beside it. I knew I was on the right track, and almost past Maine. Eventually I started seeing houses, and closer to New Brunswick I also started hearing traffic. I followed the Saint John river to Fredericton airport just in time to get fuel before the FBO closed.

My 300nm Flight

One of the requirements for the commercial licence is that you have to do at least one flight that's 300 nautical miles from your point of departure, and stops at three different airports. I recently completed this requirement by flying from Ottawa to Nova Scotia. The total distance flown was about 600nm.

 Everyone told me that I was going to learn alot on this trip, and boy were they right. A long trip like this is nothing like the short 2-hour cross country flights we normally do. When you're that far away from your home base, you're forced to think on your feet. For example, I normally check the weather online before calling for a briefing. That way I have an idea of what to expect, and I can do my flight planning beforehand. This time around, that wasn't an option. When I called for a briefing (from a cell phone with a dying battery) I was told that fog was forecast for my destination at the same time I'd be arriving. I didn't have time to do any flight planning. I had to give my best guesses on the spot and went for it. I had an alternate inland in case the fog did form as forecast. Fortunately the fog never formed, and I was able to reach my destination.

Flying back was more of the same, only weather played an even bigger part. Weather systems move west to east, so on my way back, I was facing them head on. It took me 3 days to get back, spending nights in Fredericton and St. Georges.

Overall the trip was a great success. I had alot of fun, learned tons and this experience will definitely stay with me for a long time.