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!