Bravo Zulu Aviation

For a long time now I have thought that immersion in a subject is the best way to learn it.  I have been making strides to integrate more aviation into my daily life, hoping maybe to learn by osmosis.  Unfortunately the schedule at home always tends to fill up no matter how hard I try to prioritize working towards that instrument ticket.  I finally made the decision to force the stars into alignment, and upon a recommendation, enrolled in a flight school. I write this post from the Albert Lea Inn, in Minnesota.  I have just finished my second full day of training at M N Aviation.  I haven’t yet been in an airplane, but have made great progress towards my goals.  My check ride is already scheduled for this Sunday, so that means I have some intensive studying and practice until then.  So far I’ve spent most of my time here doing ground instruction to assess my current knowledge and fill in gaps, with about 5 hours in the simulator.  The simulator is an evil concoction that takes away all of the joys of flight, and magnifies all of the pesky details.  Once mastering the skills in the simulator,  flying an airplane is easy.  Tomorrow morning will start out with my written test, which I plan to ace.  Then we’ll check the weather (pray for IMC conditions) and do a round-robin 250NM+ tour of the local area including 4 approaches along the way.So, I’ll try to keep up with the blog during these fast-paced weeks, but my Commercial and Multi check rides are tentatively scheduled for July 7th;  which means I’ll have only a few spare moments. Back to the books for me…

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This past Friday I had planned to use my shiny new complex endorsement to fly with my wife up to Maine in our club Arrow. My early preflight planning showed the ugly weather that had passed through upstate New York earlier in the day had not made as much progress east as I hoped it would. The TAF at PWM (Portland Jetport) showed a stubborn overcast layer at around 3-400 feet. I looked at some other airports nearby and realized that my sister-in-law was driving near an airport near Boston that was showing a little better weather. So I picked my wife up in Syracuse and hit the sky with the goal of Minuteman Airfield (6B6) where her sister was waiting to drive us the rest of the way.

The first part of the flight was beautiful. Smooth air awaited us up high (9500′) and a tailwind boosted our groundspeed to 165-178KTS…great! This lasted for the first 100 miles of the flight.  Just as we entered eastern Mass however, a low overcast layer crept underneath us. I did some math for fuel planning purposes and concluded that we had plenty of fuel to fight the tailwind back if were not able to find a hole through the clouds at our destination.  30NM from 6B6 I stepped it down to around 5000′ to try to pick my way down.  Unfortunately the overcast was solid. I monitered the AWOS/ASOS at all of the nearby airports and discovered that BED was calling only a low broken layer. I arranged a clearance into the Boston Class B to have a look. A couple of pilots on the frequency in bigger faster airplanes piped up with their advice that there was no hole over Bedford.

Some pilots choose to never put themselves in the situation of having to make difficult decisions. I feel that you should be able to make the smart decision in any situation. This is possible if you identify what external pressures might push you towards an unsafe decision.  I had people waiting, a passenger who was more than happy to get on the ground, and the personal desire to get there. All of these can be hazardous if you allow them to sway your decision.  The weather at Minuteman was above the minimums for the NDB/GPS-A approach. I had the current approach plates, an IFR capable airplane, and have done 18 approaches in the last six months. So when Boston approach asked my intentions and if I was IFR capable…what was my answer?

Negative.

I still do not have an instrument rating. I had a number of great, safe options to descend through the overcast layer between our beautiful blue sky above and the runway below, but no legal way to do it. So I did what I was able to do as a VFR only private pilot: Turned west, thanked Boston approach for their help and went on my merry way.

I took this opportunity to check out an airport near my little sister’s home in Troy, NY. I managed to stick a great landing where the numbers once were on this run-down strip in Rensselaer. 5B7 is a cute little airport set in the hills near the NY/VT border. Make sure your first landing here is during the day! Trees on both ends and a runway that could use some love kept me on my toes. The Arrow proved to be a great short field performer as well as a traveling airplane.  We had just enough time to give my sister a hug before we headed back to Syracuse for the evening.

I hope to have my instrument ticket by the end of this month and I look forward to a little bit more flexibility for family trips. We may have missed a great reunion in Maine this weekend, but we’ll make the next one…

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FINALLY! I got up in the air.  It seems that the weather has been plotting to keep me on the ground just to rub in the fact i’ve not yet earned my instrument rating.  I managed to coordinate some free time with a decent weather window and took to the sky to work off some rust.  Some high school classmates of mine were having a dinner party in DC this past Sunday, which made for a great cross country destination.  I enjoyed a great tailwind on the way down and mostly smooth air despite an AIRMET for turbulence.  The fun part of the flight was the last 20 minutes.  My destination for sneaking into DC was Freeway airport.  This great little 2400′ strip is tucked right in close to the Flight Restricted Zone, which is the inner sanctum of the Air Defense Identification Zone.  Not to mention underneath the complex Class B airspace for BWI airport.  So some careful navigation, and good communication with Potomic Approach led me right into the heart of the Baltimore/DC metro area and onto downwind for runway 36 at Freeway.Now I had to quickly remember how to deal with a crosswind and made a respectable approach despite a gusty crosswind component close to the limit of my trusty 172. My friend was waiting to pick me up and drive me into the city. My trip home the next morning was a little more exciting and involved a stop about half way to check the weather. There was a little more cloud cover than forecast, but the layers petered out by the time I got back to PEO and landed under blue skies.

 Things to remember for the ADIZ:

• Plan ahead!
• File an ADIZ flight plan from your ‘gate’ of entry (Wooly in my case) to your destination airport within the ADIZ.
• Open your plan with Potomic Approach before you enter. Obtain a discrete squawk code and clearance.
• Enjoy your flight!
• More information here: http://www.aopa.org/adiz/adiz.html
• And here: FAA Safety

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Well, it’s January, almost February…and there is definite progress on the non-profit project. Build to Fly, Inc. is an official NYS non-profit corporation, and we’ve begun the never ending IRS paperwork to obtain our tax exempt status. This week we’ll start our first program.A group of Colgate students will be building small projects to learn metalworking techniques. Then we’ll build on those skills by applying them to building Sonex #1158. We still have a long way to go in the fundraising department, but the workshop is set up with all the tools and supplies we need for now. We have all the materials to build 16 student projects, and some extruded angle to start scratch building some of the airplane parts. Very, very exciting! Please check out the website: http://www.buildtofly.org

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So to start the student educational process of Build to Fly, Inc. (as soon as it’s official…hopefully this week) we plan on building the same projects that Sonex uses during their workshops. To that end, I’ve begun building one myself.

Fun to be finally playing with metal in the shop. Starting to feel like we’re getting somewhere!

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So folks, the ball is rolling. I’ve been busy as of late, and slow to update this site. Here is an update on what’s going on in the ever-colder central NY.

• I’ve filed articles of incorporation for Build to Fly, Inc. 
• I’ve scratch built a couple of small parts off the plans I own for Sonex #1158
• I’ve started setting up the workshop at H30 (see picture below)
• The student projects are in the mail as we speak.

Now, back to work. Stay tuned for the official project site (separate from this one). 

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Well, the ball is officially rolling. Plans ordered. Next step, lawyers, accountants, and insurance…oh my.I’ve send of the order for a set of plans from the Sonex folks. I hope to have at least some of the legwork on the non-profit paperwork accomplished before they arrive. 

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With some anxiety I keyed the mic just as the sun was rising over southern NY:

“NY Approach, N73450″

” N73450, go ahead”

“NY Approach N73450 is a Cessna 172, level 3000ft, over Dutchess Co, with Kennedy information X-Ray, landing Kennedy”

I could only wait, and hope for the best. I had spoken with a number of commercial pilots about their experiences and advice about venturing into JFK, VFR, in a 172 nonetheless. I received responses across the board: ‘You’re crazy’, ‘I’ve been turned away with paying passengers’, ‘no problem’. I kept the ‘no problem’ in my head and listened.

“73450, squawk 0345″

“Roger, squawk 0345, 73450″

“73450, radar contact 5 miles south of Dutchess Co. airport, cleared to enter Class Bravo, direct Kennedy.”

I looked over at my co-pilot in disbelief: it worked! Easy as easy can be. We proceeded direct, were vectored onto a downwind for 31R and landed after a close-in base-final. The controller brought me a good ways down the runway before sending me into the confusing world of JFK ground. Taxi Diagram. Apparently not so, the ground controller cleared me all the way to the General Aviation Terminal via bravo to november to quebec. The friendly staff at the GAT was ready and waiting. I paid my $25 landing fee and they shuttled me off to the JetBlue terminal to pick up my waiting friend. We were taxiing again 25 minutes later, it could not have been any more convenient.

I contacted clearance delivery requesting direct to the Hudson River, VFR. He gave me at or below 1400′ to the Verenzano Bridge, departing runway 31L. I contacted ground and to my astonishment, I heard a familiar voice. He was in a much better mood on this morning. I was cleared in increments, but never had to hit the brakes before I received further instructions. I ended up number 9 for departure on the Zulu taxiway. I made sure to maintain my distance behind the line of jets ahead of me, more than once I thought I might take off in place with the jet blasts from ahead. It was really cool to hear instructions for the ‘big boys’ to follow the Cessna, and to see 10 or more stacked up behind me. The highlight of leaving JFK was two fold:

1. Wheels up before the numbers, and left turnout just after the 1000′ markers.

2. This comment from the controller:

“JetBlue #### cleared for takeoff runway 31L, caution, wake turbulence departing Cessna“

The Hudson River run was awesome, we made a 360 near ‘The Lady’, 700′ MSL gives a great view of Manhattan and the traffic stopped on the GW bridge. We were back on the ground at Dutchess 35 minutes later. Awesome!

So in closing, you can do a lot of things in a 172 with proper planning and a little gumption. I would definitely do it again, but 6AM is probably the best time.

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More importantly: How do I work all the stuff in my fancy new airplane? I will not deny the fact that I’ve been a slight computer geek for most of my recent life. I grew up around computers and can’t remember life before cell-phones and email.What does this mean for aviation? For starters…let’s take a new Garmin hand held GPS…I can probably learn how to use it while on hold for a flight briefing these days. One of my first orders of business when I become a CFI is to help ease the transition for ‘more experienced’ pilots from the steam gauges to the modern technology we have available to us today.

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I’ve made some progress in my research/thought organization over the past week or so and have started focusing on a nonprofit structure to build a Sonex.

Mission Statement Brainstorm:

The Aviation Education Initiative is a nonprofit created to provide hands-on learning opportunities to the local community. We aim to form a venue for experienced members of the local aviation community to work with high school and college students. The students will build airplanes from commercially available kits. The completed planes will then be maintained for introductory flights and primary flight instruction for students.

As I organize my aspirations and short term goals, this seems like a great way to benefit the local community and rejuvenate local interest in aviation. I am currently working through some tasks that should lead to more refined plans and goals to get this project off the ground.  Once I get a more finalized Strategic Plan I will post it here for input. This program should dovetail nicely with the already established Sonex Education Initiative.

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