Transformation Through Flight

11th flight - Lesson: “Just Do It”. Life is too short to have regrets.

2012-04-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Bryan and I have been flying together now since November 2011, and it's been a blast. After our last flight though, Bry brought something to my attention, more and more when he’d offer to let me fly, I'd turn him down.

Mind you, Bryan handled all the critical phases of flight (take off and landing), but he'd let me fly straight and level and practice some maneuvers and all. So after our last flight Bry advised me that the next flight would be all mine, even the take-off. I’d have to talk to ATC (Air Traffic Control) as well.

During the next week, I kept coming up with a bunch of reason of why I was too busy to go flying the following week. It finally hit me that after six years of not flying, I had pretty much lost my confidence that I could do it. I was actually scared that it just was not possible for me anymore.

Once this realization hit me, it became clear what I had to do, I’m flying the next flight; no excuses. So with Bryan as my CFI (Certified Flight Instructor), we started out on March 19^th at around 4pm. I was amazed that my radio calls were pretty good (with only 13 hours of flight training more than 6 years ago). I skewed a bit from center after takeoff (not enough rudder; I had forgotten just how much was needed).

On our way to Goodspeed Airport (42B) in East Haddam, Connecticut Bry had me practice some steep banks and power-on stalls. Wow, I really forgot how much rudder the stalls took. Bryan must have yelled rudder more than a dozen times. All the stalls and exercises were great work out though; I was purely exhausted at the end of the flight.

I loved the simple beauty of Goodspeed Airport, and I love, love, love the cute red house at this airport. The airport identifier is right on the roof of the airport house, too cool. Once we landed we saw a sign reporting $5.00 landing fee. The cute red house had envelopes and a deposit box on the porch where you could drop off your landing fee. Bryan mentioned, “Wow, talk about the honor system”. We deposited our $5.00 before we took off again. Since we had to use a restroom and Goodspeed Airport’s facility wasn’t open, we flew a short hop over to Chester Airport (KSNC, 4 nm SW from Goodspeed).

After our brief stop-over at Chester Airport we headed back to republic. It was an exceptionally beautiful day and awesome flight. The lesson that hit home for me on this flight, (like Nike’s ad) was “Just Do It”. Life is too short to have regrets. Thank you Bryan for pushing me to get back out there!

10th Flight: Fuel scare, Lesson Stay calm

2012-03-16T21:44:00.076-07:00

March 5th, we started out early this Monday; Bryan was set to complete his IPC (Instrument Proficiency check). We took out the 'S' model Cessna again. Bryan did quite well in the two approaches needed to finish up his check ride. Especially since the winds were really kicking it up today.

I found myself for the first time in a long while getting a little nauseated; totally not fun (as you can see from my picture below. After Bryan finished the two instrument approaches to Long Island Mac Arthur Airport (Islip KISP), we headed back to Republic airport to check on the weather, before we headed back out again.

We planned to go out to Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Connecticut to that wonderful restaurant 121 again. By the time we had headed back out again the winds had died down a bit (Thank God), and I was feeling better.

In route Bryan noticed that we were only drawing fuel from the right wing (Cessna has two tanks on each wing). We didn't know why that was as it appeared the fuel selector was set to draw from both tanks. Bry was about to change to the left tank, when I asked "What if the reason it's only drawing from one tank is because there is a problem with the fuel line on the left side? If we changed tanks then, isn't there a chance the engine could stop?"

We talked about the options. Without mechanic we could not verify if there might be a problem with the fuel line, and if the worst happened and the engine stopped, we could definitely try to restart it, and if that didn't work do an emergency landing. The final option was just to land and check it out. So we decided not to touch the fuel selector till we landed. Luckily we were close to our destination airport in Oxford CT. Once we landed we took a better look at the fuel selector, and realized that while the selector was pointed to 'Both', it was actually not in the grove completely. We do not know how it moved as we flew earlier in the day, and hadn't moved it. I guess during our bumpy early afternoon flight it must have moved slightly. Once we placed the selector completely on the 'both' setting we got ready to take off and head back home. The 121 Restaurant we found is closed Mondays.

On our way back we saw that the fuel was indeed drawing now from both tanks. Thank god an emergency had been avoided and all was well.

It was crystal clear on the way back and we could see New York all the way from Connecticut. By the time we made it back home it was 10pm. We grabbed a quick meal outside, before we called it a night; yet another wonderful day of flight.

Lovely 121Restaurant (picture by CTpost.com), which we hope to eat at soon once again.

9th flight - Lesson: Be open to unexpected surprises

2012-03-07T18:31:00.009-08:00

February 26th 2012

Today we headed over to the airport early. Bryan was going to get checked out in the 'S' model Cessna. After that he did a little simulator work on instrument work, to get current again (IPC-Instrument Proficiency Check, this is where a Certified flight instructor tests you and checks to make sure you are up to speed on all your instrument flying; in other words flying by sole reference of your airplanes instruments and not by looking out the window. This is very important if you get stuck in clouds or bad weather).

Bryan did awesome work on both fronts. The CFI (certified flight instructor) after completion gave him the sign off and okay to fly the 'S' model Cessna (As per the FAA you must be certified and checked to fly any new type or model aircraft you wish to fly. The 'S' model comes with some digital instruments or glass as they are referred to in aviation, and when you get checked out in any aircraft you must be able to demonstrate complete knowledge of all the aircraft systems).

The CFI though advised that Bryan he needed to go up for just two more instrument approaches before he could sign him off to be instrument current. Unfortunately we had to end the flight before Bryan could complete these two approaches as someone else was waiting for the airplane.

In the latter part of the evening, Bryan and I planned to take the Piper Cherokee aircraft (he's checked out in this aircraft) out for a night flight. A couple of weeks earlier Bry had seen on-line a nearby airport with an awesome restaurant lounge that overlooked the runway. We figured we could fly out over there for some chow. The problem, we realized was we just could not remember the airport or even the state the restaurant was in. We thought it was perhaps in RI, so we both set about looking on-line at all the small airports in the state of Rhode Island, and checking to see if we could find and/or recognize the place.

After some time of looking and having no luck, the crew from the Downwind aviation Club came walking in, and upon seeing Bryan and I, invited us to go to dinner with them at a nice restaurant at Waterbury-Oxford Airport (KOXC) called "121 Restaurant".

We figured, way not as we didn't seem to be finding the eatery we were hoping to go to we said yes. To make a cross-country of this trip (a flight of 50 nautical miles (nm) from the original point of departure), we first flew to Meriden Markham Municipal Airport (KMMK), and then took off toward Waterbury-Oxford Airport.

After parking our plane and walking over to the restaurant, we were immediately shocked when we realized that the very airport restaurant/lounge we were looking for on-line was this very establishment. Wow, what a happy accident. Well this flight taught me to be open to the unexpected surprises of life. We had a delectable and mouth-watering dinner with excellent company. I highly suggest “121 Restaurant” the food and ambiance is amazing and the staff was super attentive. Things could not have turned out better.

8th flight Lesson: A healthy lifestyle, effects not only your body

2012-02-03T16:46:00.001-08:00

This weekend our mission was to take a short hop over to KDXR-Danbury Municipal Airport. Our plan was to land at Danbury and then take off and do some air-work. We were seeing our flight to Danbury as a sort of practice run, being the coming Monday we were planning to fly in at night for an FAA sponsored seminar: "The Physiology of Pilot Error !".

For those of you who are not familiar with this airport, it is especially hilly coming in on runway 35. You have to maneuver in between two hills to reach the runway. There are also other obstructions (including trees, hills, and a temporary unlit tower reaching 750 msl) around the airport. Making this airport an interesting challenge to land at, particularly if it is windy. So we felt coming in during the day would be great practice to prepare for Monday's evening flight.

Landing at Danbury CT

After landing and setting up to take off on runway 17 (notice you can see the hills I mentioned earlier on the reciprocal of runway17; runway 35 in the picture below). After taking off we stayed over the water near Bridgeport Connecticut. Bryan first practiced some slow flight. The he had me do two clearing turns, one to the right, then to the left to check for traffic.

Then Bryan demonstrated some steep banks for me. We started with a 360 degree turn at a 30 degree of bank. Basically this is making a full circle holding, a 30 degree bank angle and keeping your attitude, airspeed steady and coordinated control input (of the rudder, ailerons, elevators, power). You should finish the circle at the same point you started. If you do it right you will feel a slight buffeting at the end of the turn; which is your your aircraft wake created by wingtip vortex (wikipedia:"vortices) is a spinning, often turbulent, flow of fluid/Air. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow. The motion of the fluid swirling rapidly around a center is called a vortex").

We then went on to 45 and 60 degree banks. The 60 degree banks totally freak me out. If you keep your attitude during this bank, you feel two G's against your body (twice your body's weight). The feeling is completely foreign then what we ordinarily experience in everyday life. For me I not only feel the weight, but completely disoriented (like my world just went upside down), and I feel the bleed drain from my head and the top part of my body which has me feeling a little light headed.

Bryan showing me a 60 degree bank, shortly after I start to get freaked

After the steep turns we handed back to the airport. When Monday hit, we arrived at the airport early, and took our time getting ready. Bryan as usual did a superb landing on runway 26 (see below for video of the landing). We arrived at the FAA meeting early, and were treated to a smorgasbord of food (complements of Sean Walsh of Motion Simulations, LLC).

The main topic as the title suggested ("The Physiology of Pilot Error ! -Understanding How Your Lifestyle Affects Your Flying Safety.") was seeing how a pilots over-all physical health, well being, and state of mind can effect a pilots decision making skills, and sometimes cause them to make mistakes they might not ordinarily make. Like for instance if you are tired, stressed, or sick; these states can cause you and your brain to not to operate at it's peak efficiency. Which can cause you to make mistakes that could lead to adverse consequences (like crashing).
One of my favorite parts and titbits of important information I picked up in this seminar, was the importance of staying hydrated which I often do not think about while flying (or otherwise actually). I bring water on every flight, but rarely drink it. What was even more revealing, was when Nina Anderson (one of the FAA speakers that evening) in her talk advised that most of the water we drink is depleted of minerals (that includes tap and bottled water), therefore we are basically drinking "dead water" as she called it.

The minerals missing from water are vital for optimum brain function. Nina didn't suggest a Gatorade during flight, due to the high sugar content (& caffeine in some) in these energy drinks. Which cause other negative effects on the brain (like crashing from a sugar high), which are also not good for optimum brain function. There is a solution to this lack of minerals in your water that has hit the market. It's called Electro Blast. It has all the electrolyte and minerals you need, and you can add it to almost any drink.

After this wonderfully put together event, we head back home. By the time we made it back to Brooklyn it was well past 11:30pm, and we were both exhausted. Both of us were also hungry and ready to park our vehicle as quickly as possible. Both of us carefully looking for parking on a Tuesday spot. In New York City certain blocks are "cleaned" by a public cleaning truck. On the day a side of the street is scheduled to be clean, you have to move it to the other side of the street. What was amazing, was in our exhaustion, we both choose the wrong side to park on that evening, and unfortunately received a parking ticket the next day.

It goes to show how important it is to make sure you are at your peak performance (physically) before you go flying. An error like parking on the wrong side of the street may be a slight inconvenience (having to pay a parking ticket), however in the air it could result in much worse.

7th Flight, January 7th 2012 - Lesson: "Unable"

2012-01-18T18:40:00.000-08:00

Republic Airport, quite busy; see all the planes lined up to take-off?

Today was truly a beautiful awesome day to go flying. The weather reached some 65°F. It felt like a warm spring day. When we arrived at the airport the parking lot was filled to capacity. I asked Bryan if there was a special event going on at the flight school (Nassau Flyers, www.flynfi.com). He said as far as he knew there wasn’t anything special going on. While Bryan got set up and got everything together I went in to the school ahead of him, and immediately spotted the owner Don. I asked him if they were having a special event or something at the school today, “Nope” he said, “It's just a beautiful day and we are very busy.” Wow, since Bry and I started flying together mid November the school had always been moderately busy, however today it was like grand central station.

After getting a weather briefing and using the restroom, we headed out to the airplane to preflight. We took off at around 2pm. For this flight we planned not to go too far out, and revisit Nantucket Island. The last time we visited it, it was during dinner time, and we really did not get to see too much in the evening. This time we hoped we could perhaps get a cab into the mainland of the Island and see a bit more of it than we did the last time.

Shortly after take-off we experienced some mild turbulence, and were rocked and rolled a bit. Bryan mentioned that the flight felt like summer flying. In the summer when the ground heats up, this creates “convective currents” ("convective currents are most active on warm summer afternoons when winds are light. Heated air at the surface creates a shallow, unstable layer, and the warm air is forced upward.”), which can cause some bumpy air during flight. After we got high enough away from the warm surface the air smoothed out, and was like glass for the rest of our flight over to Nantucket Island.

Marthas Vineyard (MVY)

When we arrived at Nantucket Memorial Airport, ATC (Air Traffic Controller) gave us clearance to land on runway 24. Just as we were setting up to land, I heard another airplane coming in head of us, and he specifically requested runway 33 from ATC. I wondered why until we got a bit closer and lower to runway 24. The sun was almost blinding as we came in. Lucky Bryan due to his sharp flying skill was able to complete a perfect landing right on center. I realized that for me though, I wouldn’t have been comfortable coming in with the sun that bright and in my direct line of the runway. I would have most likely done what the other aircraft had done and request the other runway.

I’m learning that as the pilot of the ship you have the final authority over the operations on the flight. So if ACT requests you to do something that you feel is unsafe for you or that is beyond your capabilities, you have the right to say: “Unable”. They will ask you: “Say intentions”, and then you can give them your suggestion or plan of action.

This reminds me of a taped transmission I recently heard between a major commercial airliner and a controller. ATC had asked the commercial airliner to come in on a certain runway. Due to crosswinds and low fuel the pilot did not feel that runway was the safest course for them. The pilot requested another runway. The air traffic controller came back to the aircraft asking them to continue on course (and basically ignoring their request for the other runway). The pilot of the aircraft upon hearing this said if ATC would not comply with their request they were going to declare an emergency. As per the federal regulations, a pilot can declare an emergency if they feel the flight is in danger (As per Federal Aviation Regulations AIM: Chapter 6: "The pilot-in-command of an aircraft is directly responsible for and is the final authority as to the operation of that aircraft. In an emergency requiring immediate action.” Chapter 5: "pilot who encounters a DISTRESS condition may declare an emergency by beginning the initial communication with the word MAYDAY”).

To hear this transmission click the attached

This flight taught me, to be honest with ATC, if I can not comply with a request and doing so would be unsafe to the flight, I have the legal right to say: “Unable”.

When we arrived we headed over to Nantucket Memorial Airport’s wonderful restaurant “Crosswinds” for some lunch. We did notice upon entering the restaurant that the celebration vibe in the air had deflated. The last time we had been there was just before Christmas, and the air definitely had a festive ambiance. When we walked in the staff was taking down all the decorations. The food was of course as wonderful as it was the first time. This time both Bry and I choose to have fish and chips. The fish was so fresh it literally melted in your month.

Well, till next flight.

6th Flight Lesson: God is in the Details

2012-01-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

We decided to fly into 2012. We started the evening of December 31^st 2011 at Applebee’s, at the mall near the airport (200 Airport Plaza Farmingdale, NY, 11735), and had a scrumptious meal. The service was excellent and so was the food. Linger of Christmas was in the air, with the festive lights and decorations throughout the restaurant.

We made it to the airport at around 10pm, Bryan did a thorough preflight (which not only includes checking the airplane, but weather, airspace (like any TFR’s or in the area), risk factors that would make flying unsafe, or external pressures, such as impatient passengers that have "get home-itous”). It was during the preflight that I learned or I should say remembered a very important lesson. Half way through the preflight Bryan asked me to get some oil in the back seat. I went to retrieve the oil and when I returned a few moments later I noticed that he had started the preflight from the beginning. I had asked why he was starting from the beginning all over again; he said he had lost track of where he was on the check list. So to be safe he started from the beginning.

This reminded me of my training several years back. On one of my early training flights, I went out a head of my CFI (Certified Flight instructor) and started the preflight. When I was pretty much done my instructor asked me to go to the front of the plane and stand back a bit and give the airplane one last look to make sure everything looked okay. Consequently he said I should also always do this same practice on my way out to start my preflight as well.

I did as I was instructed and took several steps back from the front of the airplane. My instructor then asked if anything looked out of place, I promptly advised that all looked good to me. He gave me one final warning, asking “Are you sure?”

Yes, I said everything looks okay to me. Okay he said let’s get in. Now you probably are not aware, however in the Piper 28 Warrior the door on the pilot side does not open. You have to climb in through the right seat (passenger or CFI side) to get to your seat. So in we climbed, and once we were in our seats, my instructor asked: “Where is your check list?” It was then that I caught a glimpse of it; it was sitting right on the nose of the airplane.

Agh, I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner; without delay, my CFI launched into a lengthy lecture on the importance of a thorough preflight. Since I had assumed all was in place I had completely not seen what was quite plainly right in front of my eyes. My instructor said to always examine the airplane as if you are expecting to find something wrong.

Also, if you are distracted during any part of the preflight started over again. While he said the checklist on the nose of the airplane would most likely not cause any problems to the operations of the flight, another type of oversight could have caused a disastrous outcome.

There have been students of his, he advised who had taken off with the tow bars still attached, or in one occasion a student had not closed the fuel cap securely, and shortly after takeoff he noticed fuel was spewing out of the open tank on one of the wings. Which happened to be the same tank they were flying on? Luckily my CFI said he had noticed what was happening and switched to the other tank before the engine stopped.

Well the bottom line was I was reminded how important it is in flying and in life to pay attention to the details; "God is in the detail”.

After a very through preflight we took off and flew toward the Long Island coast. It was spectacular, even if we didn’t have a clock in the cockpit, we would have known that midnight and the New Year had hit. We saw fireworks going off everywhere, from all the boroughs of New York City to Connecticut. Bryan ended the flight with a wonderful prayer which concluded our wonderful flight. After which we head out for some bubbly to toast in the New Year. What an extraordinary way to start the New Year, this is going to be our best year yet. I pray the same for you!!

On the top left is the clock showing just after Midnight, YEAY! 2012!!!! Happy New Year!

5th flight Dec. 24th 2011 Lesson: Get out while you can

2012-01-05T17:03:00.000-08:00

5th flight Dec. 24th 2011

Lesson: Get out while you can

Photo by Paul Bates

Today we finally made it over to Niagara Falls. We had been attempting to make it over there on several flights, however the weather would not cooperate on our route. Today when we checked the weather all looked good. We got a move on early in hopes to get there while it was still light to explore the falls a bit on foot and then go to dinner. We left Republic airport at around 1:00pm.

We found on our way that we had a head wind which slowed our travels down slightly (we were traveling along at 60 to 90 knots). We arrived at KIAG -Niagara Falls International Airport at around 5pm. We landed briefly, and then took off toward the falls (Horseshoe and American falls) to see them from the air.

Bryan had printed a copy of Canada’s procedures for circling the falls from the air prior to the flight. Sadly since we arrived so late we couldn’t get many good shots with our camera, however visually the scene was spectacular. After circling the falls several times we handed back to Niagara Falls International to land for fuel and get some dinner.

Bryan looked up on AOPA.org a couple days earlier and found out about a nice Italian restaurant (Leon'sItalian Bistro & Pizza) close to the airport. We had planned to head on over there after landing. After we landed a very friendly and helpful lineman came out to greet us. We asked if we could get topped off, and if there was a phone we could use to call for a cab; we were interested getting some dinner at a restaurant close by. The man warned us saying since it was Christmas Eve there may not be many places open anymore. Oh no, I keep forgetting business in the rest of the United States closes at decent times; only New York City stays open 24/7. We headed into the FBO to make some calls and low and behold, not only was the Italian joint closed, but most of the establishments we called were also closed or just about to close.

Boy was I pissed. I had packed food on all the other flights; however we always seemed to eat out at one of the FBO’s, so this time I purposely did not bring any food. I thought why carry the extra weight. Moreover Bry and I had already discussed going to the Italian bistro after touring the falls. Well, this taught me, always come prepared no matter what. You can’t go wrong by carrying at least some fruit or nuts with you.

By the time we had reached Niagara Falls I hadn’t eaten in about 10 hours. Bryan noticing how unhappy I was, came up with a plan, a nearby airport in Buffalo NY (KBUF Buffalo Niagara International) had a restaurant open later that evening and it was close by the airport. He said we could fly over there, land and hitch a cab over to the restaurant, we checked the weather once again before heading out. When we left New York earlier the weather trend by Niagara Falls showed what seemed like some poor weather possibly showing up in the next 24-48 hours or so.

Although at the time it didn’t appear it would interfere with our trip, after checking the weather again we realized this was not the case, things were moving in much quicker than anticipated. We knew then the only course of action we could take was to get out while we could. We cancelled our plans for dinner and immediately packed up to fly back home. The flight back home was uneventful, and a slight tail wind we even made it back a little quicker. After parking the plane for night, we headed home, tired, hungry and exhausted. We learned two valuable things on this flight, always be prepared and get out while you can.

Till out next flight, which is due on 12/31/11, we are planning to fly into the new year.