Its a Beautiful Day... Instrument check ride done!!!

Final Flight before Instrument Ride...

New Flight Instructor... Mitch..

Another brush up flight...

Crew Chief Training.... 10-18-11-28

Cessna C-172 IFR Review with Brett

Simulators and Bookwork!

Well over the last few days I've spent time flying the simulators (at school and home) to en-grain a consistent pattern to my flights. And when not doing that I've been looking for weak areas in my IFR knowledge.  Nothing too exciting but I'm making progress each day I fly three or four approaches I've never flown to see how I do and gain experience. I'm hoping to take my check ride at the end of the month after a trip for the Navy (gotta make some money!).  Overall I'm happy I've chosen to step back and get more experience before I move on. In the big picture I'll still be a certified flight instructor after starting no with certificate in five months, and doing it in an enjoyable way. (the whole goal in my career change).  Plan to relax the rest of the weekend and get some chores done!

Second Evaluation Flight...

Well at 7am Brett and I were headed airborne for another flight.  This time Brett was looking to find the problem areas (yesterday he wanted to see how I did on my own). During the flight, we shot some approaches I'd never seen before to see how things went. After landing we went over my strong and weak areas. Overall I'm close but I need to hit the books, practice in the simulators and some more flights. Overall Brett noticed that I haven't developed a consistent pattern to my set up for each approach and en-route work.  Brett reminded me of the metradome theory he'd taught me during my VFR flying. I should have a constant rythem to getting things done and keep looking for things that need attention.   We agreed to meet later in the day for some ground work, to test my oral knowledge for my next check ride.   I spent the rest of the day studying and going over non-published holds with Jared.  This afternoon I met with Brett and thankfully he only found a few holes in my knowledge, nothing that can't be resolved with some flash cards!  We chatted about my plan to get done and agreed it would work but I needed to find some cash for flight time. Overall I was happy but mentally tired!  

First Flight Cessna 172 and IFR at that!

Well today was successful in some way and no so in others. I met Brett at 7 this morning and soon  we were airborne headed out to test my skills. In theory, Brett didn't give anything that was too crazy or above my skill or knowledge level but I still struggled.  A small percentage of the challenge was my unfamiliarity with the plane, but that was not the majority of the issues. After the flight we went over my weak and strong areas, he told me to relax the skills will come.  On the bright side my first landing in a 172 was smooth as silk!
  As luck would have it my sister and her family were in town so I spent the remainder of the day with them at the U.S.S. Midway Museum.   During the visit I was able to chat with Dale regarding my flying troubles, he told me not to stress about it and take the check ride when I was ready, reminding me IFR flying if done wrong can be deadly unlike being a VFR pilot.   Overall the day was educational and fun, it was fun to hang out with the nephews.

Too Rusty...

Well I was skeptical and for a good reason. The first flight back in the air wasn't as bad as my instrument ride (nerves) but my skills were rusty and I had forgotten some basics.  Leaving me in the need of some re-training, and now were close to a check ride (at-least in my opinion) Since I'm at the end of my instrument training I'm out of multi-engine time with the school, so any time I fly the Seminole I am burning time against my cross country hours I need to have for my commercial certificate.

So I had to come up with a plan today!   Honestly I was little perplexed on my next step.  Jared was confident I'd get it and we could push past things.  But I wasn't so sure.  So the first thing on the list was to call Joe and cancel the check ride for tomorrow.  While talking with Joe I asked for his advice.   And what I received as some wonderful advice and backing.  He was happy I called myself and knew my own limits. (made my day!) He reminded me that I'm new to the IFR world and being gone would a little to get back to where I was. Additionally he gave me some idea on how to get past my problem with nerves. Another wonderful example the advice available from your local designated pilot examiner (DPE) if you ask. Remember they are there to help and develop pilots.   With his advice I called Brett and asked if he was available to give me some IFR training. Luckily he was and we have flights scheduled in a Cessna 172 for tomorrow and Wednesday.  I'm hoping Brett will be able to find the little items that I can't put my finger on but know I'm missing to gain the strong confidence and skills I want and desire before my next check ride.  So this evening was spent going back over the IFR notes with plans for a early morning flight with Brett tomorrow.

Hours in the simulator, knocking the rust off.

Well I've spent that last few days knocking the rust off in the simulator. It's been over 50 days since I've flown a plane so I needed to get the hang of things and recover my scan.  So after five days of flying the simulator I'm headed to the sky tomorrow. The goal is to clean things up and take my re-ride for my instrument test tomorrow.  I'm a little skeptical but Jared my instructor is optimistic.  

Now to tackle instrument rating monster.

Back from my motorcycle touring.. Now I need to crack on to getting my instrument rating accomplished. After reflection and thought about my instrument checkride failure, I came up with some areas that I needed to improve and fix. (attached for those wanting to learn from my ways)   Overall my knowledge is there and I love flying IFR. However I need to put it all together and learn to keep the nerves out of if and learn it's a job, and move on if something goes wrong.

Motorcycling adventures!

Just back from eight days of motorcycling..  our travels took us east towards Lake Tahoe, north of San Francisco and back to San Diego. It was great to spend some time with John on the open road. Additionally on the trip we stopped at my parents house twice making the trip even more special. It's always great to hang out at the parents home.

Recovering from Jet Lag & Motorcycle ride prep

Well I've spent that last couple of days recovering from jet lag (I was in Jakarta two days ago), and prepping the motorcycles for an annual ride with John.. my college buddy and best friend.  Over the past eleven years we have gone on a annual ride to enjoy the open road (started in college). So this year John is flying out to California to borrow one of my bikes for a ride around Northern California. Looking forward to some open road and returning to knock out my instrument rating.

Off to Japan to learn a new job and make some $$

Heading to Japan to fulfill my loadmaster duties for awhile.  Looking forward to the trip as it is my last detachment as a loadmaster. After this trip I'll be finishing my crew chief upgrade requirements so my next detachment will be as a crew chief!  

Time with family & Reflection on success and failures

Well over the last few days I've taken some time to hang out with my family and decompress a little. Which I think has been good to allow some reflective thinking on my recent set backs with my instrument rating. 
OnThursday I handled some errands that needed to be attended to for my upcoming trip with the Navy. Afterwards I spent the evening with some cousins and aunts in town for a family gathering.   Later in the evening  I trekked up to Valencia to hang out with my sister and her family.  That was a good time, Dale and I got to chat some more about his career and what he went through to get his ratings.  On Friday I drove up to hangout with my parents.  Dad and I kicked around doing a few errands and the evening was spent at the local pub with a great meal.   On Saturday, I had the honor of having my Dad re-enlist me in the Navy one more time, and later that evening we went to a Bluegrass concert.  And today I relaxed in the morning before driving back to San Diego and prepping for tomorrow's trip.

On the aviation side of things.. I spent some more time reflecting on my recent instrument rating check ride failure, and the possible causes.  I do know that I was worrying about the test too much just by how well I've been sleeping since test was over.  Up to the test I was sleeping horribly and not feeling good.  So I know I need to learn to remove the emotional side more and relax otherwise I'll have continued issues.
As I continue to work on my assignment from Joe, I'm starting to see trends of what caused failures at each moment.  I'm not happy I failed but as a pilot I must keep learning, and from this experience I feel I can gain a great deal about myself and my future career.  ... (Needs more editing)  More to come!!  

Simulator and Paperwork...

Today was another day filled with FAR/AIM studies broken up by an awesome session in the simulator and some paperwork for my second try at the Instrument rating test with Joe.   I was extremely happy with my simulator flight, not perfect but it was great. I nailed the VOR A approach in Oceanside, the GPS in Carlsbad and the single engine ILS into Montgomery was great, overall Dane and I were happy.    Dane and I reviewed my new flight plan to Santa Maria that Joe asked for and he signed off my remedial training for the re-ride as required by 61.49 .   So this evening was spent trying to relax and having a nice diner.  Hopefully I'll get a good nights rest.  Good night..

FAR Review and Studying..

So with my oral exam failure I was concerned I had missed more then Joe had pointed out and found so I dug into the FAR's heavily the last few days.  Still confident in my flying skills I focused on my knowledge of the instrument flying regulations.  My studies were mostly confined to the actual FAR/AIM and Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot (much easier and funnier reading!).   I believe I had a greater understanding of the rules and regulations, though I would have learned the lesson another way, it was still valuable and I know I'll be a better pilot for it.  Thanks Joe!
Since I haven't flown for a few days Dane is going to put me thru my paces in the sim tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it! 

Checkride day and the education begins..

Well I woke up early again today. Darn!! So I started studying some more hoping to find something that I had missed in my instrument knowledge.  Around 10ish I headed off to the school house to get ready for the check-ride.  After finishing up some paperwork I grabbed a bite to eat, knowing I need a full belly to fly and think.

At 1300.. I met with Joe and started the oral portion of the check-ride...  I felt relaxed, I told myself I knew the material and I was happy with my flying so I didn't have much to be nervous about (so I thought).   Well things started out a little rough, Joe was asking questions in more of a critical thinking and scenario based format then straight questions. And for some reason it took my brain a little to shift gears (my tiredness was showing). Joe even commented "Derek what's up"  I just told him I was tired and adjusted my thinking process.  Joe's line of questioning is great in the fact that he handles three or four theories in one question.  And as a teacher myself I like it.  Then we started looking at my cross country plan. Joe assigned me a flight from Montgomery to Santa Barbara to plan out.  This was fairly easy in the fact that the route is a canned route under the label of tower en-route section in the Airport Facilities directory.
 
So my only challenge was to check the weather confirm if an alternate was needed. The weather was planned to be good at the time of departure so my alternate to Santa Ynez would be fine for the flight.   Now a little side note about the alternate...   I choose a alternate and filed one because it was my personal minimums that required one. 

Well this was were my knowledge had some descripencies with my understanding of the Federal Aviation Regulations, and Joe found it .. quick!     Joe asked me when is a alternate required.. and I simply stated the 1,2,3  rule .. being one hour and one hour after the intended ETA the weather must have 2000' ceiling or greater with 3 miles visibility if not an alternate is required. Being the smart educator he is, are you sure. And I said yes!  Then I knew I was in trouble, as he told me to look it up.  As I looked it up he guided me through the wordy legal type wording under
91. 169...  (a) of this part; / (2) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, an alternate airport. / (b) Paragraph (a)(2) of this section does not apply if : / (1) Part 97  ..  so after much pulling from Joe the light came on for me..  you always need an alternate expect for ...    Strike one!  Then we discussed my plan and how I'd fly the flight, the weather and etc.  

Joe gave me my clearance information for the flight I had developed and he wanted to see how I'd fly the flight..   The clearance was   cleared to  SBA,  left 270 - Radar vectors to OCN, climb to 3000 expect 4000' within 10 minutes, freq 119.6, squawk 1234.   


I read it back and took off on "paper".   Once airborne at 200', I lost my radios.   Now what? Joe asks.   So I tell him I'm going continue my climb after passing 827' (400' AGL).  I'd turn left 270 degrees while climbing to 4400' the  minimum safe altitude, go to the mission bay vor then turn direct to ocean side vor. 

 Once over OCN I'd follow the minimum en-route altitudes (MEAs). His eyebrows raised as he told me he needed a break. I took the hint and started looking again.  Unfortunately I didn't find anything, nor did I remember the wise lesson Brett had given me yesterday (to follow soon).  Once back I told Joe my route and went over the route religiously following the MEA's along the route.   He said ok, and we moved on for a few more questions.  After about five minutes, he was done asking questions, but informed me that I had failed my oral portion of my checkride, and we were done for the day.  I was shocked!  What had I missed, darn it!!    Now comes the education from Joe!   
Joe walked me through me my errors, and he explained I failed because of my confident understanding of the minimum altitude rules under lost communication.  The problem I was confident yet wrong.   So I looked up the rules again under 91.185  section 2.

Joe and I read the rules and he explained that I followed MEA's but failed to follow the highest of the three rule, and I should have never gone below the 4000' I had been given. By not doing that I had stayed on the MEA route's religiously but had gone below the last assigned and missed a minimum crossing altitude change over LAX.. (I totally missed the symbol and blew through LAX's pattern at 2500') He joking mentioned "this is where you made the news!"   I laughed but understood the gravity of my understanding (and lack of) of the rules.   Joe also reminded me that I should always know my route and have a plan if I lost coms, so I'm not having to look for MEA's and MCA's in a moving plan at night in the rain! (because radio always break at night and in the rain!)

It was about that time it hit me! Brett gave me 5000' clearance yesterday, and I thought I comprehended do not go below the last assigned but I missed it today!!!   DARN IT!!!     DARN IT!!!  DARN IT!!!
I shared with Joe my lesson from yesterday, only if I had absorbed it.  He reminded me that Instrument rating is challenging, its better to learn the lessons on the ground and I will be a IFR pilot soon.

As we wrapped up I shook Joe's hand and told him I understood and took to heart the lesson he showed me. The detail matters, and I had missed them today. From my military background I knew that lesson but some how lost that lesson.   I had missed the word except.. and the rules of the alitude during lost communications.   Some people may say it is not a big deal and it is smantics but I don't believe that and as a professional loadmaster and someone who makes a living in aviaition I understand my errors.  


Yes,  I'm mad and disappointed but it was my fault and I missed those details.  And missing details will kill you in aviation. So tomorrow I will hit the FAR's again and reread each one slower understanding each , except and or!     My makeup checkride will be this sunday or next wed.    
So tonight I'm headed to bed for a good nights rest.  

Last flight and Paperwork...

Well this morning was spent going over items with Brett and seeing if he could find some holes in my education and improve my knowledge.  Brett as usual was good and found the items I didn't know.  But that was great and fun at the same time.  I'm finding that the instrument stuff is falling into more of a fun category, then the confusing and challenging category it was two weeks ago..  The afternoon was filled with my last flight before the check-ride.   After today's flight I actually felt like I was a IFR pilot from take off to land I felt I knew what I was doing and was ahead of the plane.  The flight was far from perfect, but the mistakes were more technique and finesse items.   So with the flight completed Dane was happy and signed off in my log book that I had the knowledge and skill to fly IFR without his help.   This step itself is a proud moment.   With the day filled I choose to relax a little this evening and try to get some rest before my check-ride tomorrow afternoon. 

Study Day..

Nothing exciting today.. just a study day.   I'm getting more confident and comfortable with the material and feel like I know it well.  So I'm looking forward to my checkride. 

Simulator and Ground School Work

Well today was filled with more studying and a two hour simulator ride.. Thankfully I'm actually liking the simulator these days, so  I'm spending my time perfecting the misc techniques and approaches. So far they are getting much better and I was happy with today's flight. 

Yikes the date is set!!

Yikes.. my instrument rating check ride is set for this coming Thursday.  I'm excited yet little nervous. After the last few simulators and last flights Dane let me know I'm ready for my check ride, so the date is set for August 4th.   I'm excited to be wrapping up the instrument training and happy that I've proven that I can fly well enough consistently to get a instructors sign off.  So I'll be flying in the simulator from now till the ride, and will have one last flight on the third.  Then the test.   Not much to do now but to keep studying and reviewing things.  

Light at the end of the Tunnel, two more tests passed!

Well today was another great aviation day.  Dane and I headed to sky in the morning and I spent the afternoon studying and taking my last two tests.   Today's flight carried us to the Hemet, allowing me to finish my required cross country time needed and complete another GPS approach.  The flight went well, which I feel is result of me relaxing more in the plane.  More then less I find myself relaxing and enjoying the flights, which in return allows me to spend more time prepping for the approaches I'm being tested on.  After landing in Hemet, we headed back south towards Montgomery.

On the way back Dane tested me on unusual attitude recovery. 

This maneuver tests the pilots ability to identify what attitude the plane is in (done while the student's head is down and eyes are closed) after the instructor upsets the plane and does maneuvers to confuse the student.  Basically one has to figure out if the wings are level, if the plane is diving or climbing or both, and the correct for it quickly but without making it worse before hand.  

After that test Dane pointed us toward Montgomery,  due to traffic we completed the approach quicker then usual, but I seem to be getting better with each ILS approach. 

After lunch I spent a few more hours studying for my Instrument rating, and Flight Instrument Instructor tests.   Once the time came to take the tests I was a little nervous but confident.   First up was the Instrument rating,  thankfully I passed it, so I took the Flight Instrument Instructor test.  Thankfully I passed that too.   Finally the written tests were done!   Now I can concentrate on studying for the practical test. The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to get brighter.  N ow all I have to do is get past the practical test later this week.   Well enough for now, I must get back to the books.

One Test Down.. Two to go!

Well today was another boring but effective day.  I spent the entire day studying for the three written tests I need to take for my instrument ratings.   I took practice tests all day, taking breaks every so often, wandering across the street to watch planes and see what was going on at the airfield.  By the end of the end of the day I felt I was ready to take a test.  In total I'm going to take the Instrument Ground Instructor (IGI), Flight Instructor Instrument (FII), and the Instrument Rating (IR) tests.  The IGI is not required for my Airline Career Pilot program but it is a bonus for the resume and covers the same material as the other two tests, so I figured I might as well spend the money now and get it done.  I choose to start with the IGI test today, as it is optional so if I did not do well on the test I wouldn't fail the important tests additionally the IGI would give me a chance to see how I would do under true testing conditions.  Thankfully my studies paid off and I passed the IGI tonight.  The score wasn't great, but it was passing. I'll work on my weak areas tomorrow and take another or both tests if time permits.  Additionally Dane and I will be headed to the skies again so I can practice more approaches.  With my check ride coming around the corner I'm feeling more confident by the day, thankfully.  
I'm happy with the instruction I'm getting at ATP, and Dane has been great at being paitent  from Dane, but I want to have Brett help me look for holes in my training too.I want to go into my check rides knowing I did everything I could to prevent a "bust".  It is a lofty goal but I'm trying to get through all of my ratings without a failure or a "pink slip" . In the Navy we use multiply instructors and trainers with a student to provide different means of teaching and views on the subject.   I'm hoping this method helps me, I figure at worst I'm spending some extra money.  In all I'm looking forward to being done with my instrument training, thankfully the I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.   Goodnight for now!

Consistent Flying .. Finally

Again the day was filled with studying, this time it was broken up by a short simulator session, and the session was great!  Again I still need some more practice, but today's simulator session was more comfortable then painful.  The simulator session was actually fun ... a big improvement from a couple weeks ago. It is nice now that things are clicking!  After the simulator, I headed home for more studying.  I did spend some time this evening adding up my flight time (checking currency for my upcoming check-ride).  So far I have a whopping 148.4 hrs flying!  I have a long way to go but not doing too bad since I started at the end of April with 53.9!   So back to studying I go.I'm planning on taking my written instrument test tomorrow, hopefully that goes well.

Awesome Flying Day!

Well today was filled with lots of studying broken up by an awesome flight.  The flight carried us to Oceanside, over to Hemet and then back to Montgomery.  I'm finding that I'm not as nervous before each flight or simulator now which helps too!   Thankfully I'm getting the hang of this instrument stuff.  The flights are not perfect, I can say I'm not disappointed in my performance.

 While I still need more practice I feel like I'm making progress and will be ready for the practical portion of my check ride next week.   First approach up on the list was the lovely VOR A at Oceanside. This approach is challenging, as it requires a loss of 1000' of altitude in three miles while leveling off while looking for the airport.

And I can say that it went well, after completing a missed approach  (procedure when the airport can't be seen or a safe landing can't be completed, we point the plane back to the skies).  We headed to Hemet, for a GPS approach.  I'm comfortable with this procedure so it was a relaxing trip. After landing in Hemet, Dane was kind enough to give me a break handling the take off and departure as we headed to Montgomery.  Once leveled off at 5500' my break was over as I set up for the ILS into Montgomery.  My approach still needs more practice, but I was happy.  After the flight I headed home for more studying! 

Checkride Around the Corner

Well today was filled with some highs and lows..  The morning was filled with dealing with my divorce. Unfortunately I'm still without my dog, the judge postponed the court hearing again.  Oh.. darn.  So afterwards I pushed the deal out of my mind and went to school to study. 

Dane and I talked and decided that my instrument check-ride will be next Mon or Tues depending on the evaluators availability.  With that done, I spent the remainder of the day studying, it all seems to be blending together but I feel that I'm getting closer.  We'll see how I do tomorrow in the plane.

Well enough for now.
 

Flying with Brett for some ILS practice

Today was filled with some flight time and simulator time. For some extra in aircraft ILS practice I scheduled a flight with Brett today. The goal was for him to run me through my paces and see if he could find some holes in my training, studying and give me an honest evaluation of my instrument skills and let me know if he thought I was ready for my instrument check ride. 

The ride of the day was the Diamond DA-40, originally we planned on taking a Cessna 172 to allow me to get a check out ride and some practice all in one flight but Brett's plane was still in maintenance, leaving no extras from the club to fly in.  Most were headed to AirVenture in Oshkosh for the big airshow, oh I wish I could head out to Wisconsin too. 

Well after some quick oral questioning, Brett and I headed out.  He left all the work to me, which was good as I need the practice.  Once airborne, we headed north to Oceanside and the challenging   VOR approach.  The flight was hectic, I was having a hard time hearing the radios so it was detracting me too much from my job of flying the plane.  But I managed to get through it.  The holding pattern went well, and the approach was reasonable. Once complete we headed back to Montgomery for an ILS approach.  With less then two hours in the plane I was still learning how to slow the sucker down, the plane loves to scoot.  I finally figured it out, and the approach went well, and the "slide" down the 3 degree glide slope was consistent.  One of my best actual approaches yet.

Around five hundred feet Brett let me take off my "hood" and land. The landing was ok, not my best but it was effective.  So the evaluation from Brett, was that I still had some minor items to clean up but I was getting close. I'm happy with the advice, I know I did not fly my best flight, I was little distracted with the plane and the radios, but the areas I felt weak on Brett agreed and gave me some advice to fix it. 
With that advice I headed to school for some lunch and a break. After lunch I studied while I waited my turn in the "box".   Once in the simulator the session went well.  I repeated the VOR in Oceanside again, completed a single ILS approach to Carlsbad, and then completed a GPS approach (something new!)  to Montgomery.  I had a few little items preventing a perfect "A" grade but Dane and I were both happy. Finally I think I'm getting the hang of this thing! 
Well enough for now, back to studying.

Navy Duty, - Finally a Crew Chief Trainee!!

Nothing new on the studying for the instrument rating rating. But I did finally start my training as a C-40A (737-700) Crew Chief Trainee which is an upgrade from my current role as a Loadmaster. 

 
Basically the job is easy until things go wrong.  I'll be backing up the pilots during take off, landings, and emergencies while reading the checklists.  If the plane breaks it'll be my responsibility to ensure the plane is repaired correctly while supervising the remainder of the enlisted crew.   Getting to this point has taken some effort, gaining various maintenance qualifications. Now I just need to knock out the flying part.  Once I get qualified as a crew chief I'll be able to use 1/3 of my flight time as credit towards the 1500hrs needed for my Airline Transportation Pilot license, and it'll help me gain experience for an FAA airplane and power plant license.   The U.S Navy is the only operator of the 737-700 that uses a three person crew in the cockpit. But its nice considering the hours we fly (continuously) , and where we take our planes compared to civilian operators.   So I'll be spending the next couple months with the Navy training before a check-ride and flying by myself again. 

More studying again!

Again nothing too exciting today, spent the day studying for the written and practical exam.  Ah.. I'm getting tired of this but it seems my brain has a slow absorption rate these day. So I'll keep at it.  I'm getting close but still cutting 80's on the practice tests.  Seventy is passing but I do not want to just skim by, I want to know this stuff cold.   Well back at it.  This weekend will be filled with my Navy duties so I'll have a slight break from the studying.  

Great Simulator Day

Finally I had a good day in the simulator.  After some work flying Microsoft Flight Simulator practicing my instrument landing system approaches (ILS), it paid off.  Dane ran me through my paces flying in the simulator today, I was not 100% happy with my progress but I was happy. I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of it.  Dane agreed that my flying is getting better and told me I was getting close to my check-ride, after we cleaned my ILS approaches.   I agreed that my ILS flying needed some work but I was a little shocked Dane felt I was getting close to the "ride".   I'll keep flying my flight simulator, and get some extra flight time with Brett for some extra practice. 

 Unfortunately I did not feel I was ready for my instrument rating written exam, so I postponed it til a later time.  Well back to studying!

More studying

Today wasn't too exciting just more studying for the Instrument written exam.
Unfortunately my pending divorce is having an effect on me causing some lack of sleep so today was not as productive as I'd like.   But I'm still pressing on. I'm planning on taking the tests tomorrow.

Studying for the Intrument Rating Written Tests

Well today wasn't too exciting.  I spent 95% of the day continuing my studying for my instrument rating written tests.  The written tests are based from the FAA's Federal Aviation Regulations  (FARs) and the Airman's Information Manual (AIM). These wonderful books known as the FAR/AIM have loads of great useful information, but like most government documents lack that attention grabbing pzazz needed to keep the students attention. Borrowing from my study technique used for my private pilot written, I'm using computer programs. For me a major portion of  being successful at taking the FAA's written tests is studying for the test not knowledge needed for real world flying unfortunately.

So I'm using a combination of Sporty's Study buddy (downloaded from Itunes) and ASA's study program (provided by ATP at school) for the test. These programs allow me to spend my time going thru the 900 question deep bank.  This has been my world the last few days, and will be the next couple.  I need to take the tests by the end of the week before drill weekend.  On the positive side, my efforts will allow me to take three instrument related tests in one day, instrument rating (IRA), Instrument Ground Instructor rating (IGI), and the Flight instructor instrument (FII).   A little bit of my evening was spent flying on the simulator (FS) working on my scanning skills that has hampered my ILS flying skills.   Well enough for now..  For those following, I'll get caught on the missing days soon.  Thanks for following along

Sim and Flight..

First the sim then the actual...

Studying.. more studying.. more studying!!!

Well over the last five days I haven't done much besides studying .  I flew for the Navy on Thursday, and was one call for a trip for Friday -Sunday.   After canceling my training for the rest of the week and this weekend I was told my Navy flight was canceled. So I decided it was ok, I'd spend the time studying.  Being a self paced student its my responsibility to stay up to par on my studies. Additionally I didn't want cancel training then call it back on again.
So Friday I started studying my Jeppesen Instrument / Commercial Manual  with intent of getting through the whole book.

I haven't taken the time to get thru the whole book, and all its quizzes, leaving what I felt was little holes in my knowledge.  So I dug into the book after my morning work out.  I kept at studying till today.  I did take off for three hours on Saturday to check out some radio control planes at the club field.  And unfortunately I missed out on a road trip with a buddy yesterday. Oh well I'm hoping all the studying will pay off, I want to take my written test this coming weekend and my practical test by the end of the month.   I've decided that studying for the IFR rating is like getting my private pilots license again and more.  However I do fell that the studying has paid off, I feel like I'm now not behind, and now I just need to find the holes in my knowledge.  So now I can concentrate on flying  verse having to learn and learn to fly IFR too.   So now I'm looking forward to just flying, which is good because I'm scheduled for two trainers and one flight tomorrow!!

Weather Strikes in California

Who would have guessed that weather would be a factor in Southern California.  Well it was today. After completing my morning routine (workout then studying) I headed to the school house for our flight. 

After checking the weather I found the weather not great but it was ok for instrument flying.  Heck that is why we learn to fly in the weather.   However as I was pre-flighting the plane, the weather got worse, with icing along our route. So Dane and I canceled the trip and settled for some ground work.  With all my studying I felt I was getting a better handle (still not great) on my instrument rating knowledge so I asked Dane to look for holes in my knowledge.  Well he found some but thankful I held my own.  However I had a list of items to restudy.    I'm scheduled to fly with the Navy the rest of the week so I'll have alot of time to study. 

More Simulator Work

Today was spent studying and spending some time in the simulator.  After spending the morning working out and then studying. I headed to the school house for a simulator session.  Its getting to be fun again. There are more students now so there is a great comradeship and support for each other.   Today's lesson was more approaches and holding patterns.
After two hours in the simulator, I felt good about my "ride" it was nice it was the first time I felt good about my job in the sim.  I wasn't perfect, but did feel like if the flight was real I would have completed the flight well.    Tomorrow we'll be flying to Riverside and back.  Wow hoo.. more flight time 

Fourth of July Weekend...

Well I spent the most of the weekend flying for the Navy as a loadmaster.  I spent sunday evening relaxing after returning from our trip. I spent today studying for my IFR rating.  It amazes me how much studying is required.  Nothing too exciting but its a fact of being a IFR student.

A Day of flying ...

Today was another great flying day!  I met Brett at the field at 7:45 this morning with intent to get a check out on the flying club's Diamond DA-40 and Piper 6 Cherokee.

It was good to fly with Brett again, as usual he found the knowledge I didn't know but was great at instructing me through the preflight.  Once in the plane, the first impression is that the view is great. Then the cabin starts to heat up.  Once airborne, I was surprised about how responsive the plane was without being too twitchy.  Brett ran me through the paces of slow flight, emergency landing scenario, and stalls.  Once come we headed back to Montgomery for a few landings.  Overall I liked the plane, the only down side I found was the noise from the air vents.  I'm still surprised that an aircraft manufacturer can put a plane into production, that either has poor ventilation (Seminole), or noisy ventilation.    I hope to use the plane for some cross country flights to visit my family or maybe a date.   With an array of electronic gadgets it will make life easier during trips.

Diamond DA-40 .. a little sports car

 Once we finished with the Diamond we headed over to the Piper 6 to work on the second check out of the day. Unfortunately the registration was not up to date so we were grounded, I didn't feel like risking a legal battle with the FAA.  So after about a half hour of ground training , we called it quits and agreed to complete the actual flight later when the registration was updated.

Piper 6.. the SUV of the sky.. not sexy but it'll haul five friends and lots of stuff to Vegas with ease and comfort.

 
After signing my logbook for the Diamond, Brett was off for a contract flight, and I headed to lunch.

I met up with Dane after lunch and some studying for our trip to Long Beach.   With each flight, I'm getting more and more responsibility for the safety of the flight, communications, and navigation as my IFR skill get better.  Once airborne I concentrated on my instrument scans to hold heading and altitude.  If I gave myself a grade it would be a B-, I still to get better at my instrument scans and holding altitude.  On the positive side, I know I have an ability to keep the big picture in mind, staying on top of my location, the terrain and the air traffic around me.  I'm still enjoying things and learning life is good! 

Tomorrow I'm headed to Virgina with the Navy, which will help my bank account, but I'll miss out on on hanging out with my family for the 4th of July weekend.   On the bright side it will give me ten plus hours of studying on the airplane.   My instrument rating written test is still looming around the corner.

Well enough for tonight... time to pack 

An Awesome day of flying

Today was a great example of why I'm switching to being a pilot as a career. A bad day flying is better then any day at a desk. And a great day flying is just fun!   The morning was spent studying and picking up a rebate check.  The check came from the owner of 57361, the plane I did 98% of my private pilot instruction in. The owner was offering a deal fly five hours and pay for four. So I took advantage of that offer, and now I'll use the rebate check to get some more aircraft instruction in different planes.  I plan on getting signed off  (approved to fly) on two different planes. One s so I'll be able fly with more people and the other to fly faster, thus making flying to my parents cheaper when I splurge and fly to their house vs driving.

Tomorrow, Brett and I have four hours set aside to get me signed off. I can't wait. Additionally Matt and I'll be headed to Long Beach for some more instrument approaches.

Today Matt and I headed to Hemet and back to Montgomery. The flight was designed to give me more time flying "under the hood".  Overall I completed a Global Position System (GPS) approach to Hemet, then navigated my way back to Montgomery.  Once near Montgomery I then was given instruction to complete an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach to 28R. Its pretty cool flying around just watching instruments and then looking up to see a runway in front when I look out.
A very educational flight, but I still have much to learn, and more skill to gain.  Overall a great day of flying. 
Tomorrow is set to be even better, I'll be flying for over six hours tomorrow. 
   Well enough for now, back to studying and early to bed. 

Reserve Duty and Paperwork!

Today was technically an off day for school. I spent the morning and early afternoon flying as a loadmaster for the Naval Air Reserves. The flight was local and easy, so it gave me time to handle some paperwork and personal errands.  The rest of the was spent studying IFR charts and all the little symbols.  Lots of memorization, but I can't wait to have the skill and knowledge to fly under instrument rules.   Tomorrow should be fun, we are scheduled for some ground training and an actual flight.. no simulator!

Back in the Groove

Nothing too exciting today, the day was filled with studying in the morning, some ground training and simulator work in the afternoon.  Overall the change to self paced has not slowed my progress down but has taken way the press if I need to take some time off.  Overall I'm happy and its making things fun again.   The instrument rating has lots of material to cover, some of it is new and some of it is being recovered from VFR studies. So now I'm trying to get a grasp on the items I don't know well enough to pass the written test scheduled for next week.   Not much new today.. back to studying.

Back to Having Fun....

Well this past weekend was spent working and flying with the Navy fulfilling my Naval Reserve duties.  So I didn't get much studying for my instrument rating done.  The time out gave me a chance to reflect and I decided I wanted to slow my training down a little bit to a rate I'm happy with.  And that decision removed some stress for me.  So today I told ATP that I was going to pursue the self-paced training track.  Which will give me time to deal with my divorce, fly with the Navy (for extra $$) and most importantly give me time to let the knowledge soak in!  

As a result today was an awesome training day; I was able to take the time to study and watch a bunch of instructional videos.   Later this afternoon, I meet with a new instructor Dane, (Matt is busy with a new student).  Dane put me through my paces in the simulator and for the first time I actually enjoyed it. It is still a huge challenge and I expect that, but I was learning and enjoyed working on various instrument approaches.  And finally I was not combating the altitude the whole time.    I'll spent the remainder of the night studying. 

Challenges with the Simulator and Internal Stress

Well the last two days have not been fun for me. I'm still struggling with the simulator and flying smoothly, while trying to learn the art of instrument flying.  During yesterday's lessons I was all over the place, making my life not fun. My troubles are basically summed up by a few things, over controlling the control yoke, not scanning my instruments quick enough and focusing on things too much, (altitude being the major culprit). So with these troubles I was having a hard time concentrating on learning new challenging skills, such as holding patterns, single operation IFR, and various approaches.  Overall I'm learning alot, but I feel like I'm not learning it quick enough.    Matt tells me that these challenges are tough and the flying I'm doing will be the toughest it gets.  Which makes me feel better but still worries, and frustrates me.  The simulator troubles came to a head today with me, I couldn't handle the altitude and it pushed me to far. I had to stop the training and ask Matt to help me figure the simulator troubles out. So thankfully Matt was patience and worked with me, till we figured out the issues.  Finally by the end of the day, I was able to hold altitude and stay on course.  I learned that I was being gentle on the controls, but when I got into trouble I was over controlling. Once I figured out the control feeling to keep the altitude under control (still needs work but better). Matt pounded into me to keep my scan of the instruments moving.  Finally after a few hours I was feeling better and the simulator and I were getting along... Thanks Matt!
 
The stress from my pending divorce is bothering me more than I'd care to admit which is not helping. Additionally the days I'm taking off to deal with the divorce lawyer and the Navy Reserves, are getting me behind with school and in hot water with ATP.  So if I can't wrap things up soon, I've been told I'll need to go to the self paced program (vs the 90 day program I'm currently in), which may be better for me, but it costs another five thousand dollars so that creates a little problem, I'll need to find the cash before I can go that route.

Just a glimpse of the items affecting my training with a little venting!!!   Overall I'm loving it, and can't wait to be a professional pilot, but I need to get past the instrument rating monster, a skill that is tougher then I expected, but not insurmountably, very useful and important!     Well enough for now, time to get ready for my Navy duties with weekend.

Simulator and Mental Gymnastics

Today was another day filled with the simulator and ground work. We keep moving forward covering some new subjects, some old ones, just a little deeper then during the VFR training.  All of the information is alot but I'm trying to get as much as I can during the first look. And make good notes to go back and study those I'm still fuzzy about.   Today's lessons were basically centered around the theory of intercepting headings and holding at a fixed point while waiting for air traffic control's instructions to land.  The challenge is to keep flying while mentally thinking about which direction to turn, at specific rates, and time the turns to make them consistent.   I was warned that the instrument rating is the toughest to get, but now I'm really understanding the warnings.  It's all good though..

The best part of the day was that I was able to tame the simulator and my pesky altitude control issues.  I didn't master it, but there were many more times were I had the altitude holding steady then they were out of control.  Better but it still needs practice.  So with the altitude under control, I was able to concentrate on the task of learning the new holding and intercepting procedures.   I'm loving it all, it is a huge challenge leaving me pretty mentally tired at the end of the day. But I must keep going my test is only two and half weeks away. Yikes...   Matt promised we will actually go flying tomorrow after the morning simulator, so that will be a blast.  It'll be early though.. class starts at 7...   With that thought  I'm headed to bed.

Bookwork and Simulator time

Well today wasn't exciting but it was educational. Matt held a little ground instruction on instrument rating work. The knowledge for IFR instruments is much like VFR instruments but a deeper knowledge of the instruments is required for IFR flying.  In addition we covered anti-icing and de-icing capabilities.  After lunch we headed to the simulator. 

 Matt was nice at first, having me fly solely by instruments, the engines kept dying on take off, giving me a challenge, even causing a nice fireball at one point proving Matt's point about staying awake.   Afterwards he covered more basic maneuvers that I've seen before, but now I was doing them solely by instruments.  I was doing ok, but still very frustrated with the sensitivity of the simulator. I can get the handle of the turning, but I can't stay on altitude to save my life.   I keep telling myself to be gentle and I'd tried flying using three fingers, but still no luck. Matt keeps telling me "baby corrections" but smoothness is still elusive.  Grrrrr.   After a quick break, back to the simulator we went.  This time around Matt ran me thru some basic instrument maneuvers, climbs, turns, climbing and descending turns.  All my maneuvers were ok, not good or great. My frustration with altitude control was making things tougher then they needed to be.   Finally after four hours in the simulator, Matt gave me a break and we wrapped up the day with some more ground instruction.   Tomorrow beholds more ground instruction and simulator work.  In total I'll spend 50 hrs in the simulator, only 38 more to go.  I'm going to practice the altitude control on my own tomorrow.  I need to stop fighting with the simulator and get a handle on the altitude control!...    Well back to studying!

First Multi-Engine Instrument Cross Country

Awesome first instrument instruction day! Today was long but a lot of fun and educational. The morning started with some review of VFR rules, airspace and chart identification.   After a brief break we meet up again and started going over IFR flight planning.  Matt and I planned a trip to San Luis Obispo. The plan was to fly up during the day and then return in the evening.    Our flight would take us over Carlsbad, Burbank, and then on to San Louis Obispo.

The flight was uneventful, my landing sucked but it was effective. We headed into town for a bite to eat. The San Luis Jet Center   kindly loaned us Toyota Prius to drive into town.  

Picture of the Ramp in front of the Jet Center

 Thankfully Matt went to college in San Louis Obispo so he knew where to go.  The chosen eatery was Firestone Grill, and we weren’t disappointed.   I had the Tri-Tip sandwich and Matt had the Steak Cobb salad.  The dinner and conversation was good.  After returning to the jet center and checking the weather.  Matt and I had an hour and half wait before we could take off to log night hours, so we reviewed the IFR charts, some much of it is new to me so it looks greek. Some of the features are common to the VFR charts but most are not.  It was a good use of our time.   

 As the evening United Airline flights landed, Matt and I headed airborne.  Once we leveled off at 9000’ the lights of LA were off in the distance.   Matt and I chatted about IFR rules and flight as we made our way south.   As we flew over LA we watched the fireworks over Disneyland.  

Unfortunately about the time we were getting comfortable with our flight I noticed the attitude indicator starting to go bad,  then it started to tumble.   Matt just smiled and said now you have a partial panel.   After a little awhile I got the hang of it.   Soon we were given decent directions for Montgomery.  Matt reminded me to watch out for the night illusions on landing.  

Thankfully, my landing was acceptable .. not bad for my first multi-engine landing.    Well it’s a late night…  tomorrow that simulator is waiting for me.  Darn it! 

Prepping for the up coming week.. Starting Instrument Rating

Today was a fairly busy day, the morning was spent hanging out with the family.  After a great lunch, I headed south to San Diego.  Once at home, I reviewed all the subjects for tomorrow's Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) classes. Its nice to have a "new" subject.  I suspect I'll be singing a diffirent tune at the end of the week.   Until tomorrow.. 

Relaxing Fathers Day / Belated Birthday Weekend!

I didn't spend much time studying or thinking about studying on Friday or today.  But I did spend alot of quality time with my family.  Friday,  Dale and I took my nephew Austin to Magic Mountain, it had been years since I had ridden a roller coaster.  After Magic Mountain, Dale and I headed to my parents house to start Fathers Day / Belated Birthday weekend for our Dad.  The car ride over was great, I got hear how Dale clawed his way up the corporate pilot ladder, and all the great planes he'd flown. Amazing career, filled full of great general aviation aircraft.  I'm blessed to have Dale as a great resource within the family for career advice and guidance.   Dale's buddy John ( a CFII) joined my parents, Dale and I as we settled in at the local watering hole, Firestone Brewey.. after the pub the evening was down hill from there.  Aviation tales, airplane stories and everything else imaginable were covered as we chatted til late in the evening over beers!  I learned alot from Dale and John, and I think my parents learned alot as well. 
Saturday Morning was spent taking Dad to a trap range for his belated birthday present.   Dad had never shot skeet before, so we had to correct that.  The day was fun, guys, guns and a great lunch afterwards.  

till later!

Private Multi-Engine Rating.... Check!

Today was a long day, but a great day..  I passed my multi-engine check-ride and I was accepted into Emory Riddles Masters Degree program. I got up early to relax and have breakfast before running off to school for my multi-engine check ride.  I spent a couple hours before the evaluator showed, pre-flighting the plane and looking over my paperwork.  While on the ramp, I ran into Brett as he was pre-flighting for his contract flight.   It is nice to have such a great resource as an instructor.

The Mighty.. PA-44-180 Seminole.. N571AT  my checkride bird

 Next I turned my attention to the weather, it was a nice quiet morning at the field, because of the overcast cloud layer hanging over the field, so only IFR (instrument flight rules) planes were moving. That left me on the ground.  I hoped the layer would burn off quickly for my practical portion of the evaluation.
Once my evaluator Joe showed up we started the paperwork and then proceeded to the oral portion of the test.  After a couple hours of questions and answers, we turned our attention to the weather. Unfortunately the "San Diego marine layer had yet to burn off, so we agreed to meet back up in couple hours, I hoped the marine layer would burn off.   Joe headed to lunch and I took advantage of the "break" and relaxed while getting a bite to eat myself.
Luck was with us, the marine layer burned off quickly leaving us a opening to the east of Montgomery  over Gillespie to conduct our maneuvers and landings.   The practical portion was a blur for me, it was one maneuver after another, Joe was an expert he had all the maneuvers planned out, so they were all in sequence with no wasted time.  Then before I knew it, Joe looked at me and said " I have the controls"  After he took the controls I had a little bit of panic thinking I screwed up some how and the ride was over,  as I looked around I noticed I wasn't in the wrong airspace so I relaxed.

Then I started laughing, as I noticed it Joe 15-20 seconds to get the plane settled out and smoothly headed back to Montgomery.  His years of experience of flying came thru,  compared to my constant efforts and fiddling.   Joe just smiled and told me to relax and enjoy the ride back.  So I did, watching him, picking up some tips as we made our way back.   I expected him to give me the controls back  for the landing, but he did not.  After, " the after landing checklist" he gave me the controls back.  Once getting taxi clearance back to parking, he told me "don't break it, you are rated now".   I thanked him, wow a huge relief I had passed my second check-ride in thirteen days.  Now all I had to do was get the plane safely parked.  After parking, Joe headed off as I closed up the plane. As I walked in, I ran into Brett again. He congratulated me, giving me a  huge sense of pride. I felt like I did him proud, giving back to him for help he gave me.  Once I met back up with Joe  he certified in my logbook that I was a multi-engine pilot.  The joy was immediate, it felt better then my private.

After chilling for awhile  at school, I decided to head up to the visit the Wheelers getting an early jump on the Father's Day weekend plans.  Matt had canceled our evening flight due to weather and had given me the weekend off for Fathers Day.  So I packed and headed north, I battled the traffic for three hours but considered myself lucky considering I headed north at 3:30 on a weekday, I was going to hit all the traffic for San Diego and LA counties.  
Dale & Renee had prepped an awesome rib dinner for the feasting.  The rest of the evening was spent drinking some beers and chatting.  It felt great to be done. It was weird I felt more of an accomplishment with this checkride then I did with my first.   Well enough for now...

Final Prep for Multi-Engine Checkride...

Today was a good day... another flying day.  After a brief break I restarted my morning workout routine.  I spend a good hour working out as I listen to my favorite podcast "Airplane Geeks".  It's awesome to work out and come out motivated about aviation.  The podcast covers everything from general aviation to commercial aviation politics.  Just a great way to start the day, for an airplane geek!
I spent the rest of the morning studying my multi-engine aerodynamics and Seminole systems. After lunch I headed to the field to “chair fly the maneuvers” one more time before our afternoon
 After yesterday's flight, today's was mostly to burn up flight time, go thru the maneuvers one more time and have fun.  Matt and I headed west over the water to do the high work, then headed to Brown field for the landings.  I enjoy doing touch and goes, I was loving it.  After eight landings we headed back to Montgomery Field,  I think was Matt was bored. So it was a short "school" day.  But I was happy he was bored and not all over me for not being able to fly! After our flight, we took care of the paperwork for my test tomorrow and then I headed home for a bite to eat. 
In effort to curb test jitters preventing sleep I scheduled a flight with the Navy tonight, to conduct some Loadmaster duties (figuring I’d be exhausted).  Our flight to NAS Leemore was quick and fun, we took the sailors from the USS Vinson home after their deployment. For the most part the plan worked.  We landed at 10:30 and I was home and in bed by midnight.   That’s all for now.. It’s an early day tomorrow.