Flight - 7/24/2010

I just got back from my Flight today. I flew up to AXH to get signed off to rent the Piper Cherokee 180 that Dutch Wings has. I had a blast flying the Cherokee. I can't wait to fly it again. After that, I headed over to LBX to get a $100 Lunch at the Windsock Grill located at the Airport. The Gried Shrimp is very good. Awesome place to eat. After that I Flew back home. Logged 1 hour in the Cherokee, and 2 hours in the Cessna 172.

Here are a few pics.

Flying tomorrow...

Tomorrow I'll be flying up to Houston Southwest Airport (AXH) to get signed off to fly a Piper Cherokee PA-28-180 from Dutch Wings. This will be my first flight in an Aircraft that is not a Cessna!

I'll try to take pics and vids tomorrow.

First Flight as a Private Pilot

So today I had the chance to head over to the Airport and take my First Flight as a Private Pilot! I invited my Brother to tag along, and it was also his first flight in any kind of Aircraft. Just a nice Local sightseeing Flight.


We departed Runway 13 at BYY and departed to the Northwest with the goal to find my Dad at work. We did so with no problem, and did a few Turns around the area to give my Brother the time to take a few pics.
After he got a few photos I waggled the wings and turns South. The plan was then to head to the Coast and fly along it. While headed South we Climbed up over the Clouds and went up to 4,000ft. While up there, my Brother asked... "Hey, is it normal to have a Rainbow around the Plane's shadow?" I told him it was a Pilot's Halo, and had him take a few pics. It did not come out all that well, but oh well. While headed South I looked at the GPS to see what the Ground speed was, as it felt horribly slow. It was showing 60-65kts of Groundspeed. A far cry from normal. So I turned east and descended back down below the Clouds in an attempt to gain speed. We started getting 75kts. When we reached the Coast, we turned east and started getting 95kts GS. We then turned North towards the Airport and flew over my House. We took some pics and turned back on course. We then turned west and flew over the place we used to work. Snapped a few pics and headed to the Airport. the Landing was made less graceful by a Crosswind, but I got her down nice and smooth.

Ok, here are some pics my Brother took. I'll have a video up soon as well.
Me and the plane...

Pilot's Halo...

Up with the Clouds...

Birds...

Passed the Checkride!

I'm proud to say that there is a new Private Pilot in the Skys over South Texas, and I'm him!!!

The Oral went fairly smooth, I messed up a few things but he was a really relaxed, forgiving, Examiner. The Oral seamed more like a glorified Ground School lesson. He did most of the talking (Not that I minded that lol).

The Flight went very well, other than I forgot to take the 10° Flaps out after the first Take Off. He just pointed, and I reached down put the flaps in. I expected he would fail me, or at least scold me, but he never said a word about it. The other maneuvers went well for the most part. I had to do a Go-Around after I was unable to get the 40° of flaps in. That impressed him that I had "The presence of mind to Go-Around, and not try to save the landing." I was thinking about why I could not get the last 10° of Flaps in, when it hit me. I was going to fast, and with Manual Flaps, I could not put in the last 10° of Flaps. Simple fix, came back in and nailed it.

Now I have my License to learn, and can start getting some "Real World Experience" as the Examiner said.

I'm also happy to say that I got my License at the minimum age required, of 17! Just 9 days before my 18th Birthday!

Passed the Knowledge Test!

I did my PP-ASEL Knowledge Test today and passed with an 88%!

Almost Ready for The Written Test!

So today I went up to BYY for a Flight Lesson. This time I wanted to fly and do ground school. My last few lessons were nothing but Written Test prep. I've been working up my grade week by week till today when I got an 87% on the main test, and an 88% on the ones I missed from the first test! Better than the 75% I got last time! So my CFI said that we should meet once or twice more during the week and he'd sign me off for the Knowledge Exam! So if all goes well in a few days, I'll have my sign off and I'll schedule the Written Exam for next weekend!

The Flight went well. We did Steep Turns, and a Power off Stall, then came back to the Airport for some Soft Field Take offs and Landings. They all went pretty well. Just a bit of brushing up, and I'll be ready for the Checkride!

My new Blog....

Check it out. I just made a new Blog for Weather purposes.

http://dustinsweatherblog.blogspot.com/

Flight to IWS...

Me and another CAP Pilot flew up to IWS for a SAREX. It was a nice Flight there and back. Even though the Ceiling was dropping as we headed back to BYY.

It was cool flying home surrounded by Pink and Orange Clouds as the Sun was setting.

Time Flys When You Can't See...

I went out to the Airport this morning to finish up the last 1.4 hours of Instrument training needed.

It was a great Flight, we got up above the Scattered Layer of Cumulus Clouds and were cruising at 3,000ft. Once, we took off we headed to the PSX VOR. At first I had a bit of trouble holding my Heading and Altitude but got better as time went on. After getting a FR reading on the VOR we turned and maintained a heading of North. After flying north for a bit, we did a few Standard Rate Turns. Once we did a few of those, we did Unusual Attitudes. Those went fine. After that we turned to a heading of 150 to intercept the 054 Radial outbound of the PSX VOR (Leads you right to Runway 31 at BYY). Once back at the Airport, we found we had a 10kt Cross Wind from 020. The landing was fine, just a bit off center despite Slipping the Plane.

I logged 1.1 Hours, making my total come to 47.3 Hours logged.

Now the only thing standing in my way of the Checkride is my Written Test. So I'm going to focus on studying for the Written for a few weeks while my CFI will be out of town. Once I get that knocked out, CHECKRIDE HERE I COME!!!

What a Nice day to fly.

After Work today I headed out to the Airport to do my last Solo XC Flight needed to get my PPL. Now the only thing standing in my way is a few more hours of instrument work, and my Written Knowledge Test!

I now have 46.2 Hours logged.

I got to the Airport, worked out my Flight Plan and got the green light from my CFI to head down to VCT, Solo!

I was wheels up at 19:05z. The climb up to 3,000ft was a bit turbulent, but nothing uncomfortable. Once at VCT, I was cleared to land on 12R. Made a rough T&G landing, then continued on course. Nothing big to report on. Just a nice leisurely flight.

Here are a few Pics I took. I took some video as well, and I'll have it up on Youtube soon.



The Old Bird....

The PSX VOR.

Flight Lesson: 05-01-10

Had a very interesting Flight this morning. I took off this morning on my last solo XC Flight needed for my FAA Minimums. I got about 6nm West of BYY and the Ceiling dropped from 2,600ft and 7nm Visibility, to 1,600ft and about 3nm Visibility. Though in places I was having trouble staying clear of clouds at 1,000ft. So I opted to turn back to BYY and wait for a better day to Fly.

I knew that along my Flight Path, there is a Tower going to to 1,543msl. Being that I was down to 1,000ft, continuing on course would risk hitting the tower half way up.

"It's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the Air, than to be in the Air wishing you were on the ground"

Flight Lesson: 04-25-10

I awoke this morning, eager to get out to the Airport as I was going to be doing a Solo XC to VCT. My CFI was not going to be at the Airport, and he had a copy of my Flight Plan and we were going to both work one out then compare them, and make the Go/No Go Decision. We ended up making the call to scrub the Flight due to the Winds being higher than forecast (320 11KT G18). I left the Airport a bit disappointed that I did not get to make the Flight, and that I would have to wait yet one more week in hopes that the Weather would hold.

Then, about 6pm this evening I got a phone call from my CFI asking if I wanted to go up for a Night Flight to knock out the last seven landings I needed to finish up the Night portion of my training. I with out hesitation jumped at the chance to fly. The weather was perfect, so on wards, and up wards we went. The landings were a bit rough, but it's not like I have had a ton of Night Landings under my belt. lol

I landed with 0.9 hours on the Hobbs, coming to a total Time of 44.0 Hours total in the books. My CFI says I just need to knock out the last Solo XC and I'm ready to start preparing for the Check Ride!!!!

Flight Canceled...

Well, the winds at VCT were higher than forecast with the winds at 320 at 11 gusting to 18. So my CFI said to wait fr a better day.
Oh well.

Solo Cross Country Tomorrow....

With my CFI's approval, I'll be making a Solo Cross Country Flight tomorrow morning. The Weather Forecast is looking great for a XC Flight tomorrow. Can't Wait.

I'll make sure I bring the camera tomorrow and make a Video of the Flight.

Fly Safe,
Dustin

Flight Lesson: 04-10-10

I just got back from todays Flight Lesson. not the best weather, but not bad.

We went up and did some Short Field Take off and Landings, and Steep Turns. Racked up one more hour in my logbook for a total of 43.1 hours.

After I got back on the ground from my Flight Lesson, I hung around the Airport and went up on an O-Flight with the Civil Air Patrol in a Cessna 182. We did some Steep Turns, and talked about weather, Flew over my House, and where I work.

Great Flight.

Flight Lesson: 03-26-10 - Long Solo XC

Man, it was a beautiful for Flying in the Skys over South Eastern Texas today. Great Vis, Clear below 12,000ft, light turb. I did my Long Solo XC Flight today. Went from BYY --> ELA --> VCT --> PSX VOR --> BYY, with Touch and Goes at ELA and VCT. Just as it should be, it was an uneventful Flight. Nothing really special to report on.

I got to the Airport and realized I had forgot the Camera, so no Pics or Videos this time around.

I plan to take advantage of the great weather forecast this weekend and go back up Sunday.

I now have 42.1 Hours logged.

Flight Lesson: 03-12-10

I got back from doing my Night XC Flight lastnight. We ended up flying from BYY direct to 66R, then flew direct to VCT, then navigated to the PSX VOR, and then turned for BYY.


After getting the Flight Plans ready, and doing the Preflight we taxied down to Runway Three One for Take Off. After going wheels up we turned on course for 66R. As we climbed up to 2,500ft we called and got Flight Following. It was a beautiful night for flying. We had probably, 20+nm visibility, no Clouds below 12,000ft, and no Turbulence what so ever. It amazing how many aircraft you see flying around you at night that you can't see during the day. At one point we counted seven Aircraft out in front of us. We made to in to 66R fine, got the other plane ready to go then we took off and headed to VCT. using the tailwind to our advantage we climbed up to 3,000ft. Made one Touch and Go at VCT then turned for the PSX VOR. Once we got the From reading on the VOR we turned for home, BYY.

I had a blast. One of my favorite things to do in Aviation is flying Cross Country, but I have to say that Night flying is a a very close Second Place.

I'm excited to say, I now have 39.8 Hours logged! Just off the FAA Minimums! The Check Ride is closing in!!!

Night Flight Tomorrow

Tomorrow evening I'll be going up for a Night XC Flight. The weather is forecasted to be great.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Flight Lesson: 03-05-10

We did another Cross Country Flight today. This time from from BYY --> ELA --> BYY. Had a great Flight. The weather was great. Vis was 10, Winds at 3,000 were 1415, Sky Conditions were Clear below 12,000 (Overcast layer above 12,000).

We did our Flight Planning, then I went out did the Preflight then we took off. Had a nice calm Flight there. Nothing really spectacular happened. We did however hear over the radio that Six Navy Helos were flying Eastbound out north of us. Did a few landings at ELA then departed to the southeast heading to BYY. Again, nothing to report on the way back. It was just a nice calm Flight. We did have a Turkey Vulture flying around at about 100ft agl abeam the numbers on Runway One Three. Lucky for us (and him) it stayed well clear of us.

I now have 37 Hours in my Logbook and will be doing my Long Dual Cross Country, or a Night Flight on my next Lesson.

What a crappy day

The weather was down right HORRABLE!! Blue Skys, Few Clouds up at about 4,000ft, and winds from 360 at 15 on the AWOS.

I know what your thinking.... "How is that horrible weather?'"

It's horrible weather when you had to cancel your Flight due to allergies kicking your read end.

Flight Lesson: 02-19-10

Once again it was a bad Weather Day for Flying, so we just did some Ground School today.

Weather not looking good...

Well, I have a Flight lesson set up for tomorrow but the Weather looks like it won't be favorable for Flying. We have a 30% change of rain tomorrow so I doubt we'll go wheels up.

Oh well, we will do some Ground School.

Flight Lesson: 02-12-10 - XC

The weather was quite scuzzy, but it was good enough to allow us to make a XC Flight to VCT. It was a fun flight.

I got to the airport early only to find my CFI already there. So we went in to his office and did some Dead Reckoning. My Flight Planing skills were quite rusty as I had not done a Flight Plan since October with my first CFI. After getting both Flight Plans together we headed out to the plane to Preflight. Once that was complete we taxied down to Runway Three One. After Take Off, we established Cruse and called the FSS to activate the Flight Plan. On our Flight Plan we had the Cruse Altitude at 1,500ft because the AWOS at BYY was reporting 1,600ft Overcast. We quickly found out that 1,500ft was just barely in the Clouds so we had to go down to 1,400ft to get below them. The Cloud Layer kept coming down as we flew farther and I stayed at 1,200ft for most of the Flight. As we flew on, my CFI turned on the LORAN to show me how to use it. After playing with it for a a little while it would not Display the info, so we just flew on using VOR and Pilotage to Navigate (Remember this part). I had some trouble staying on course, but found the Airport just fine.

This is where it got interesting, as VCT is Tower Controlled, and I had never talked to ATC before. I feel sorry for the poor guy sitting in the tower having to talk to me. I botched up the Calls pretty good till I got the hang of it. lol

About 5nm out from VCT I found out that I had forgot to finish up getting the headings for the return trip. So we got what we needed by navigating from VCT to the PSX VOR, then from the PSX VOR to BYY (This is where the LORAN would have been a big help lol). I made sure I was even more strict on keeping the needles on the VOR centered up, as well as knowing where I was on the Sectional at all times than normal. I stayed dead on course the whole time, and got to BYY with no problems.

Despite the Scuzzy Weather, and messing up the Flight Plan it was a great Flight, and I would not change it if I could. A few lessons Learned, that I'm glad I got with a CFI on board.

I logged 1.8 Hours, which brings me up to 35.3 Hours.

Flying Tomorrow Morning...

If the weather holds out I'll be flying tomorrow morning. As far as I know we are still shooting for a XC to VCT, but I guess that all hinges on how the weather is. The forcast from NOAA is as follows.

"Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. North wind around 15 mph."

Flight Lesson: 02-05-10

I had a great Flight Lesson today. Had the set back the flight due to Weather. It was foggy, and had a quite low ceiling for most of the morning. I was flying the old bird, 1964 Cessna 172E. We were planing to do XC work today, but we did not have time for the flight due to the weather setting us back. So, we did some VOR work, Steep Turns, then came back to the Airport for some Stop and Goes.



After Pre-flighting the Plane we pulled her out of the Hangar and taxied down to Runway Three One. Did our run up and took off with a West Departure. As we turned West you could see the sun reflecting Orange off of West Bay. A pretty sight. then, we did some Nav Work to the PSX VOR, then did some Steep Turns. After we did that we headed back to BYY for some Stop and Go Take Off and Landings. I was amazed at how good my Landings were as I have not had much Flight Time in the past while. My flying was close to being how it was back when I flew the C152.

we did some Short Field Take off and landings, some Soft Field Take Off and Landings, then normal landings. On the third Normal Landing my CFI told me to taxi back the the hangar. Then told me to Turn Right, rather than Left like normal. He then opened the door and said, "Ok, I'll let you solo. Do me Proud!" So I taxied back down to Three One, did all my checks while my CFI got his Hand Held Radio.



I took off and went one round in the Pattern. Boy did the 172 Climb like a fighter without my CFI next to me (Just as the 152 did when I soloed in it). My landing was good. Tad bit high over the Numbers, though. Second one was a lot better, We made the Third one my last. It was good too.



It was a great Lesson. I now have 33.5 Hours logged.

Today's O-Flight

I had a great Flight today. Me and one other CAP Cadet had an O-Flight from BYY to GLS then back to BYY. The weather was great, we had a Overcast Ceiling of 1,900ft. The Air was slightly Turbulent but not to bad. Once on the Ground at GLS me and the other Cadet swapped seats so he could get some time in the Right Seat. While being a passenger for only the second time in a GA Aircraft I took the time to take pics of the return flight to BYY with my Cell Phone (You'll find the pics at the Bottom of this post).

When we got back to BYY and after I downed some Pizza for a quick Lunch I was given a chance to take another O-Flight and do some some Flight Maneuvers such as Stalls, Steep Turns, Climbing and Descending Turns, Slow Flight and Ground Reference Maneuvers. We even did two Simulated Engine Out Approaches in the field over which we were doing the Ground Reference Maneuvers. We had a lot packed in to the short Flight. After finishing up all the maneuvers we landed the plane at LBX, which was my old home Airport. It was great to be back at LBX. I even saw the old Cessna 152 I flew for most of the time I've logged. I loved flying that old Bird.

If the weather is well I will be making a XC Flight next week to start knocking out my XC time needed for my PPL (Private Pilot Licence).

On to the Pictures. (Beware: The pics came from my Cell Phone and are not very clear)


This is a Pic of BYY as we crossed over Midfield for Runway Three One.

The refinery East of BYY.
LBX as we flew over Midfield Enroute to BYY. Note that the Runway is being resurfaced (Boy did it need that) and you must land on the much narrower Taxi Way.

Highway 288 just east of LBX.

A view of the Gulf Of Mexico just West of GLS out the Left Wing.

The Moody Garden's Pyramid's North of GLS.

Over looking the Marsh west of GLS.

Western tip of Galveston Island

Flying Tomorrow...

Well, it looks like I'll get to fly tomorrow. I can't log the time as it is a Civil Air Patrol O-Flight (Orientation Flight) and the Pilot is not a CFI. Never the less, I'll get to go up and fly around for a while and gain Flight Experience.

Fly Safe All!

+1 For The Weather...

Once again the rainy weather cancels another Flight Lesson. I still may get to fly this weekend, and I have another Lesson set up for a week from now. I hope and pray the weather holds out.

XC Flight

I made a XC (Cross Country) Flight last Friday from BYY to IWS in a Cessna 172K. I got to use a handheld GPS to Navigate for the first time. It was awesome.

Below I attached a picture I took with my Cellphone.

I'm also planing to Fly again this Friday and start knocking out all the XC Flights I need to finish up my Private Pilot License.

No Flight today...

The weather is horrible today so I could not fly. I did meet up with my CFI and we did some ground school. It will be about 2 weeks or so till I can fly again, but when I do go up I'll start on XC flights again. I can't wait.

Flying Again This Friday, Weather looks doubtful.

I'll be doing another Flight Lesson this Friday, but there is a 80% Chance of Rain, and Thunderstorms. It's looking more and more doubtful that I'll get to fly.


I was looking forward to flying on that day, due to the fact that on that same date just one year earlier "The Miracle On the Hudson" took place when Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, and First Officer Jeff Skiles made a forced landing in the Hudson River after the Airbus A320 they were flying lost all thrust in both engines due to a Bird Strike with a flock of Canadian Geese while climbing through 3,200ft on the initial climb out.

Flight Lesson: 01-08-10

After two Months of no Flight lessons I got back in the Left Seat!! On top of that, It was my first time flying with my new CFI, and his 172E. Top notch CFI, and I loved the way the old Vintage 172E flew. It was like the perfect mix between my two favorite Planes. a C152, and a later model C172. Anyway, on to the lesson.

I got to the Airport and met my new CFI. Great guy. We sat in the terminal for a second and talked, while he looked over my Logbook. Then we braved the biting cold on the short walk to the hanger. It was about 35F. I preflighted the Plane then we pulled the old bird out of the hanger and taxied to to Runway Three One. We climbed up to 2,000ft and established cruse. We made a few turns then I put the plane in Slow Flight. After we did slow flight we started doing stalls. We started off with some Approach to landing stalls. After we did those we did some Departure Stalls. My CFI asked me to talk him through what I needed to do for the Departure Stall (to see if I knew the proper way to set it up). I'm glad I did, because the way my old CFI taught me to do them is far from how they should be done. After a few Departure Stalls we headed back to the airport for some Touch and Goes.

We had a a nice 17 Knot Crosswind gusting to 24 Knots. Couple that with a much narrower, shorter runway than I had been using and two months of rust built up on my Airmanship skills and we had a nice challenge for my first few landings. Over all, not to bad.

I had a great time with my new CFI, and flying an old bird like his 172E was a blast.

I'm not sure at this point when I'll get to fly again, it should not be 2 months this time. I'm shooting for a week from now.

I now have 31.8 Hours logged.

Taking Flight Today...

Well, Today's the day!! I can't wait to once again take flight!
The weather is looking great, too.

KBYY 081347Z AUTO 35014G20KT 10SM CLR M02/M09 A3053 RMK AO2 T10201095

My Youtube Channel

Here is a link to the Youtube Channel I use for my Aviation related videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Pilot69047

First Flight Lesson in 2 months

At the end of the week, I'll be getting my first Flight lesson in over two months, my first flight of 2010, and my first time up with my new CFI. I'll be flying a Cessna 172E.