Halfway There

BFR time.

My last Biennial Flight Review was in November of 2007, so I've been trying to get a new one in the log book so that I can continue to exercise my Private Pilot privileges beyond the end of this month. I'd planned to fly it with my friend and CFI Travis, but his unexpected departure from DYL last month negated those plans. I'd also entertained the prospect of getting my tailwheel endorsement up at VanSant and having that count for my BFR, but after discussing it with Jay (the new FBO owner) we decided that it would be better to get the BFR done at DYL and then work on the tailwheel at my own pace. I'm budgeting 6-10 hours for the tailwheel and wasn't sure how quickly I'd be able to get it done, so I didn't want to be grounded with an expired BFR until that occurs. So, I met the new CFI at Leading Edge while on the ramp a few weeks ago and decided to jump on his schedule. We scheduled 10:30am to 1:30pm on Friday 11/20 for ground and airwork in N92789'er.

I woke up Friday morning to bright sunshine, clear skies, and calm winds. It looked like a perfect day to fly but a quick check of the TAF predicted otherwise. Winds were forecast to pick up mid-morning and get quite gusty as the morning progressed. Right on schedule, the wind speeds climbed and I closely watched the METARs as my BFR time neared. I got Doylestown at about 10am and parked near the departure end of Runway 5 to get my stuff together and reassess the weather situation. Automated weather was reporting winds 310 at 16G23!! Ugh. The windsock was pegged with almost a direct crosswind. I called for a formal briefing and was not surprised to hear that Airmet Tango was in effect through 03Z. The briefer repeated the winds for DYL at 310/16G23 and I also asked for our intended destination, TTN, which was reporting 330/13G19. Some quick calculations showed at +/- 22 crosswind component, which is well beyond both my personal and the aircraft limitations. I packed up and headed to the FBO knowing that I may not get to fly today.

Kian was ready and waiting for me. First question out of his mouth was "do you think we should fly today?" I quickly gave him the weather summary, shared my calculcations, and offered my opinion. In short, I told him that I would not launch solo into these condition. He got a big smile and said that I'd just passed the ADM portion of the BFR. Apparently, he too had no intentions of going flying, but was testing me. Off to a good start.

For the next hour and a half he grilled me on flying topics, interspersed with the occasional flying chit chat. Long story short, he's a young guy, recently ex-Piedmont Airlines pilot. Got tired of the schedule and saw furloughs on the horizon and decided to make a change. He's a wealth of information and is eager to share and teach. I think it will be a very good resource for me. I did well on the oral portion of the BFR, brushed off a few cob webs, and learned some new things.

We decided to try to fly again this Friday and booked 789'er from 12 - 3. Long range forecast looks decent. Will be closely watching in the coming days to see how things progress.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I think I'm going to do it...

Tailwheel. Yep. I'm going for it!

This has long been a dream of mine. My non-equity prospects have dried up. I'm in grad school through August so pursuing the IR in earnest right now is probably foolish. And our recent house appraisal was shocking and disappointing so now's not the best time to dive into full share ownership. I think that the tailwheel time might be the perfect way for me to do something new in flying without a huge financial or time commitment. Plus, I'm certain that it will help improve my technical skills.

My BFR expires at the end of November and I'm budgeting 6-10 hours for the tailwheel. While the endorsement would qualify as my BFR, I realize that my schedule, the weather and turf condition (VanSant is grass) may make this a several-week process. I don't want to be grounded if I let my BFR expire, so my plan is to knock that out at DYL in the next few weeks and then get on schedule up at Van Sant.

I was up there this morning and the place just overflows with classic airport charm. Bud was working the FBO desk at the new Vintage Aero and very graciously let me go snoop around the hangar. All I can say is "wow!" I had Delaney with me, and she and I cracked the big metal hangar door and peeked inside. Utterly amazing.

The photo below does not do justice to the collection of aircraft in the hangar at Van Sant. For the next 20 minutes she and I respectfully gawked at the planes. On this quiet, rainy, windy morning, Delaney and I stood alone in this hangar surrounded by flying time machines. Even she seemed to sense the significance of the moment. It was quite an experience.

We left as quietly as we'd entered, pulling the huge hangar door closed to keep out the howling winds. I am excited to return, hopefully next time behind the controls of the J3.

Beautiful Flying Weekend

Wow! What a perfect flying weekend. Mild temps, light breezes and abundant sunshine. Doesn't get much better than this in the Northeast in November.

Despite a to-do list that is out of control, I managed to squeeze in 0.8 in N94006 on Saturday morning. Had initially planned to fly to PTW and then home via a low approach at Van Sant (no grass in the rental). Saturday morning I thought I'd change the plans and make a stop at N10, but a briefing for busy jump operations made me decide otherwise. In the end, I just decided to sight see. I flew up and over Van Sant at 1000' above TPA and then just took my time coming home across the north end of Lake Nockamixon and then over Lake Galena before joining the pattern at Doylestown.

I knew the weather would bring people out of the woodwork to go flying, and tried to get airborne on the earlier side of the day. I was also exhaused from work and school this week so I didn't do a dawn patrol. I had a reservation from 9:30 - 11am, but got there around 9am. Temps the night prior had dropped to about 28 and there was still frost on the cars when I left, so I drove to the airport fully expecting to have to de-ice. Much to my delight, the sun had worked it's magic and 006 was frost-free when I preflighted. Leading Edge wasn't pre-heating on Saturday so I primed liberally and let her idle for a while before taxiing to the hold short line. Take off and climb were nice and smooth and the old 152 didn't do badly in the cool morning air. Radio was busy and almost immediatley I was looking for traffic. Lots of back and forth with other guys sharing the airspace but everyone's position calls were clear.

On the way home from Nockamixon, I cruised in via Lake Galena with the intent of entering the pattern on an extended crosswind. Just as I made the call, a twin Cessna inbound from the west announced his intent to also enter on the crosswind. Knowing that he further out but much faster, I initiated and called a 360 for spacing, for which he thanked me. This is where it gets interesting. I flew the 360 and re-established the extended crosswind, announcing the whole way. Just then, I see a small high wing (TriPacer, I think) climbing out on the upwind between myself and the twin Cessna. No biggie, I know the plane and believe he flies NORDO. But hot on his tail is a red and white RV. Mind you, the twin Cessna and I have been making clear position calls and the RV called his departure so I know he's on the radio. He takes off and climbs like a bandit aiming right for me! I call my position and ask him to confirm that he has me in sight... no reply. I expedited my turn to downwind and he climbs out behind and below me. By this time there's also a Mooney that is following me on the crosswind, whom this renegade RV cuts between. I call the midfield downwind because now I can't see the RV, and the Mooney gives me a head's up that the RV is very close. "Don't worry" the RV pilot now replies, we're departing to the SE. With that, he passes me from behind off my right wing at the same altitude! I made a sweet landing and probably could have made the first taxiway if I'd really wanted to. Cleaned her up and went around again. Another nice landing wrapped up a nice morning of flying.

Check out this picture. This plane landed gear up at Doylestown on Friday. I was told that is was not a mechanical failure, but simple pilot error. Apparently the guy was flying in for some sort of meeting with the local DPE. Bummer.

On another note, I'm thinking about enrolling in an Instrument Rating ground course at Doylestown in January. It's like $279 and runs two nights a week for a month. I haven't mentioned it to Kelly yet until I decide whether it's a good idea. Any thoughts? Anybody interested in joining me?