Long XC solo in the books. KVNY-KPTV-KBFL-KVNY XC Solo KVNYKPTV-KBFL-KVNY - YouTube Never been to those airfields, so it was interesting. Porterville seems to share is CTAF with about 5 other fields, so looking for planes that you don't know are 20 miles away because they don't announce it is fun. Bakersfield has the longest displaced threshold ever... Never flown so high....fun, never flown so far...... worrisome, never flown to a new airport without my instructors, even more nerve racking.. 3 hours ... 3 airports... 3 takeoff's... 3 landings.. I think my best landing was at Porterville with a cross wind which is my biggest fear .. worse was Van Nuys with a head wind (which I normally love)..... she floated and didn't want to come down, but we both survived.. On to the next stage................ Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
FerrariTech, I don't mean to bust your chops but I will (perhaps for your own good). These are great pictures and I certainly remember my first XC solo vividly. To be honest I wish I had pictures of it too. However, I have to question your judgement in taking so many pictures while flying your first cross country solo. Right now, your focus should be 100% on flying. You should be looking for traffic like a hawk and you should be nailing every aspect of your flying. Look at your PFD pic for instance. Your altitude bug is set at 2500 and you are at 8500 ft which would indicate that you are descending (or should be). Yet, you are pitched up 2.5 degrees which means you are actually climbing at 100 ft/min. Your heading bug is set to 360 deg yet you are right of your GPS course to GMN. Are you updating your baro and it happens to be at 29.98 or did you just have it set as std baro? At this stage, you should be paying attention to these things like a hawk. You should also be nailing your approach speeds minimizing float. I am only giving you a hard time because I have seen too many disasters from people that don't take flying seriously enough. Please do as I want to see you have a long career flying. It is truly one the most joyous things I get to do.
Bust away, I post for constructive criticism and words of wisdom I understand your concern regards about taking the pictures. I only take them when the autopilot is engaged, and after I have performed a cockpit flow check, also each picture above has a sister picture of me pointing at the chart to the landmark in the photo. My mental way of comparing and reviewing my flight after. As a time comparison I was flying for 3 hrs and snapped 12-15 pictures with my phone, but I am fully aware of the possible distraction. I scan continuously for traffic, also the G1000 in my plane has traffic awareness ( not sure if all G1000's do), but understand it will not pick up everyone, so am continuously looking, to the point on this flight that I saw an aircraft on the screen but could not pick him up visually, so I asked LA center about his location and track and where they a factor.. You are right about the ALT bug, I set it for my initial ALT out of Van Nuys and did not change it until I was on the ground again. I had already noticed that error and made a mental note about it for the future. The pitch, again the auto pilot was on maintaining ALT. The heading bug is still set to the runway heading at Van Nuys, I was navigating via my charts and looking out the window for 99% of the flight, of course at certain times, I used the Heading setting on the Autopilot so obviously the bug was set to the course required. Being off to the side of the GPS course is something my primary instructor has me do when using the GPS, his attitude concerns everyone in the air using the GPS and ending up at the same point on a collision course. He wants me to use the GPS as a back up reference to the NAV log/plan he has me fill out, set the GPS course then fly off to one side of it, and look out the windows. He wants me to be able to see the VOR (for instance) on the ground out my side window and not fly right over it. So we practice flying parallel to the GPS track. I change the Baro based on what ATC was giving me (I had flight following so was talking to SoCal approach/departure, LA center, Bakersfield approach/departure etc) they changed it on me 3 or 4 times, I think when the pic was taken they had me on the Burbank altimeter. As you can see in the video clip above my main issue is with the center line once I'm in the final flare with the stall horn blaring... I'm getting more consistent, now the balloon/flare issues are maybe 2 out of 10 landings instead of 7 out of 10. My instructors frustration lies in the fact that when I get it right they are great...just learning to replicate it. Here is one of my better ones. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OgCs-Yh8mY]Best landing VNY - YouTube[/ame] Your comments are welcome and have been taken on board in the spirit they are meant. I review my video footage after the flights and parts I have questions about I forward to my instructors for their opinions and comments. I take every flight and every aspect of the flight very seriously, I am continually scanning inside and out of the cockpit, checking fuel flow and CHT/EGT's, oil pressure, rpm's speed, alt, fuel tank switch, circuit beakers etc etc. Every flight I catch something that keeps me on my toes and fully aware of the responsibility I am carrying when flying, and I thank you for your words of wisdom and advise.
These last two posts have been very interesting... I'm not actually a pilot... Question: why are you flying on autopilot? Is that just 'the way it's done'? Do people not hand-fly any more - at all? I'd think that hand flying, at least on this flight, would be more valuable; yes? no? And, Also, wondering what happens if the screen goes out? Are there other instruments to be able to carry on? Is using the old analog gauges a part of flight training? or are there even any on the dash? ????
Good Questions. Yes 90% if not more of my flying is "hand flying". But I am required to learn and become familiar with all the aircrafts equipment and systems, the Auto pilot being just one of them. Once the aircraft is trimmed correctly it will pretty much fly straight and level on its own, (at least in my C172). The is an old aviation saying, "the worst thing you can do to an airplane is put a pilot in it" we want to over correct and over compensate, the plane wants to fly. Turning on the auto pilot allows the plane to correct for wind drift, turbulence etc and keep on going in the right direction. There are back up systems, and gauges, the reason I am taught to file a navigation log and manually write a flight plan, is for the exact reason you mention, if all the gadgets go away, I need to know where I am and how to get back. In fact on my first long cross country my instructor did just that, turned the screens off so all I had was my map/chart, analog gauges, a compass and a stop watch, found the airport and found my way home again. This is a picture of a cockpit similar to mine, you can see the back up gauges below the G1000 and the compass up on top off the dash. Image Unavailable, Please Login
D- From your response it's abundantly clear that you're taking flying seriously and I'm very happy to see that. Honestly, your response is exactly what I wanted to see. One note however: don't be lulled with a false sense of security about traffic. Your G1000 will only notify you of traffic with transponders. I can't tell you how many times I have seen crop dusters, experimentals, older planes, etc that did not show up on the G1000. If you are cruising in the flight levels (on an IFR flight plan of course) I could see sitting back and enjoying the scenery. VFR, please use the Mark I Eyeball for traffic avoidance religiously. Enjoy the training. Safe skies and tailwinds.
Agree. I had a biplane, maybe it was a Stearman, cross in front of me one day in the pattern of an uncontrolled airport. He crossed mid-field at pattern altitude and then did right traffic even though I was on the downwind leg doing left traffic. Normally people cross mid-field at 500 to 1000 feet above pattern altitude. I don't think he ever saw me in the 172 I was flying. My instructor at the time said "keep a close eye on him". Followed by "Even if he has a hand-held radio, he probably can't hear your transmissions". "Announce that you're extending your downwind leg to allow him to land". Sure enough, he turned right base when I probably would have turned left base if I hadn't extended my downwind leg. Can you imagine being nose-to-nose in the pattern with some one? Yikes! Gotta watch out for some of those other planes out there. .
For Sure. Perfect reason for that here... This is an area I fly in frequently and I'm surprised there are not more of these. NTSB Investigating Deadly Midair Collision Over Ventura County « CBS Los Angeles
Looks like you are just about ready for your check ride. It makes me want to get back up in the air. Its been too long.
