got back in the saddle today with some decent weather on the way out of my home airport, then 9k cruise with tops 7.5k. imc the whole way down to 400 ovc and 1 1/2sm. hardest part of the flight was working out the music for the approach! no turbulence, light precip so the plane gets a wash, what a nice way to get back into the system.
thanks to sim, it all felt so familiar. this was the first ifr flight with the bose a20 headset with bluetooth. picking up the clearance and release was so much easier.
another first, i pulled the weather via the stratus in foreflight and checked in with ' have numbers', worked like a champ.
technology definitely makes things convenient, but I still enjoyed hand flying the whole way.
couldn't have done today's legs without an instrument rating and the business would've suffered as a result. GA with an instrument rating still blows me away in terms of what you can do in a given day.
fun flights
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Keith Smith
- Posts: 9942
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
- Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
- Contact:
Re: fun flights
Stories are good but videos are better 
Nice to hear from you!
Nice to hear from you!
PE ID: 29
FAA ATCS
FAA PPL ASEL
FAA ATCS
FAA PPL ASEL
Re: fun flights
Can we get a hint as to who you were visiting/who you were meeting? Would provide some insight on the inner workings of PEKeith Smith wrote:couldn't have done today's legs without an instrument rating and the business would've suffered as a result.
!X-Plane 10.45
Pilotedge - V3/I11 (N2253F; UAL/CAL 2253; TPX___)
Alphabet Challenge - 2 Legs Completed
Pilotedge - V3/I11 (N2253F; UAL/CAL 2253; TPX___)
Alphabet Challenge - 2 Legs Completed
Re: fun flights
Keith,
That is great.
I just got my instrument ticket over a year ago and am absolutely loving it. I find myself hoping for "actual" when I have a trip planned.
And, as you say, It's amazing how much the sim helps keep you sharp . . . and I have to tell you how much I've found my real world ATC communication improve since using PilotEdge. I flew 4 hours this weekend and shot 5 approaches. It seems so effortless now picking up clearances and repeating back the dreaded "heading, alt to the localizer, cleared ILS xx." I sound like a freaking testimonial commercial here, but I'm seriously amazed at the difference it has made for me in my real world flying. Radios were never my strong point. I used to hate even using VFR flight following because of it. Now I'm loving the radio.
I'm also using the Bose A20 bluetooth headset and have also had a Stratus 2 for about a year. Traffic, weather, georeferenced charts, backup AHRS with synthetic vision. This technology at your fingertips is pretty amazing.
That is great.
I just got my instrument ticket over a year ago and am absolutely loving it. I find myself hoping for "actual" when I have a trip planned.
And, as you say, It's amazing how much the sim helps keep you sharp . . . and I have to tell you how much I've found my real world ATC communication improve since using PilotEdge. I flew 4 hours this weekend and shot 5 approaches. It seems so effortless now picking up clearances and repeating back the dreaded "heading, alt to the localizer, cleared ILS xx." I sound like a freaking testimonial commercial here, but I'm seriously amazed at the difference it has made for me in my real world flying. Radios were never my strong point. I used to hate even using VFR flight following because of it. Now I'm loving the radio.
I'm also using the Bose A20 bluetooth headset and have also had a Stratus 2 for about a year. Traffic, weather, georeferenced charts, backup AHRS with synthetic vision. This technology at your fingertips is pretty amazing.
Rod
PPL, Instrument, ASEL, ASES
2013 Cirrus SR22T N877MS
2018 Icon A5 N509BA
1946 Piper J3 Cub N7121H
1942 Stearman N2S N6848
PPL, Instrument, ASEL, ASES
2013 Cirrus SR22T N877MS
2018 Icon A5 N509BA
1946 Piper J3 Cub N7121H
1942 Stearman N2S N6848
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Scott Medeiros
- Posts: 321
- Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:49 am
- Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: fun flights
I always encouraged my students and anyone interested in getting a pilot license to get an instrument rating. It makes for a more comfortable and competent pilot and opens all kinds doors for your flying.Keith Smith wrote:couldn't have done today's legs without an instrument rating and the business would've suffered as a result. GA with an instrument rating still blows me away in terms of what you can do in a given day.
On that topic, for anyone not familiar with the FAA Wings Pilot Proficiency Program, it's a program put on by the FAA in order to promote GA safety and most of the seminars are FREE.
Check it out here... http://www.faasafety.gov/WINGS/pub/learn_more.aspx
Coupled that with the Pilotedge Real World IFR and Pilot Training programs, and you'll have a pretty good knowledge base.
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Keith Smith
- Posts: 9942
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
- Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
- Contact:
Re: fun flights
Flight #2 was ASH to PWM (Nashua to Portland), entered clouds at around 300ft during the departure, IMC to the destination with the ILS approach. Broke out at 2000ft and shot the visual instead.
2 days of recording ground and sim material for the upcoming Real World VFR product later, it was time to head home. Here's the interaction with Portland ground/tower getting out of there: http://assets.pilotedge.net/recordings/ ... proach.mp3
Some of the calls are clipped at the start because the liveatc.net scanner covered multiple freqs. Thankfully the other freqs were quiet, so the only delay was literally just it scanning the other freqs when it was quiet.
There was a gear light still on during the retraction (the micro switches which drive the lights can be finicky), so I stayed in the pattern and recycled the gear. All went went on the second retraction but by then I was abeam the numbers. So, with such wide open space and no perceivable traffic, I figured I'd do a low approach and enjoy the view. Apparently they did, too.
The Falcon had finished the engine start as I got to my plane (we left from the same FBO). He was heading to Spain, then Athens, then Africa. There were about 20 people in the FBO to see everyone off...half of them boarded the Falcon. I did a bit of probing and they were simply going for vacation. More power to 'em if they can swing a Falcon for recreational flying!
Notice that ground assigns rwy 18 but the Falcon request 11. I'm guessing he was heavy if he was heading all the way to Spain!
2 days of recording ground and sim material for the upcoming Real World VFR product later, it was time to head home. Here's the interaction with Portland ground/tower getting out of there: http://assets.pilotedge.net/recordings/ ... proach.mp3
Some of the calls are clipped at the start because the liveatc.net scanner covered multiple freqs. Thankfully the other freqs were quiet, so the only delay was literally just it scanning the other freqs when it was quiet.
There was a gear light still on during the retraction (the micro switches which drive the lights can be finicky), so I stayed in the pattern and recycled the gear. All went went on the second retraction but by then I was abeam the numbers. So, with such wide open space and no perceivable traffic, I figured I'd do a low approach and enjoy the view. Apparently they did, too.
The Falcon had finished the engine start as I got to my plane (we left from the same FBO). He was heading to Spain, then Athens, then Africa. There were about 20 people in the FBO to see everyone off...half of them boarded the Falcon. I did a bit of probing and they were simply going for vacation. More power to 'em if they can swing a Falcon for recreational flying!
Notice that ground assigns rwy 18 but the Falcon request 11. I'm guessing he was heavy if he was heading all the way to Spain!
Re: fun flights
Nice. What did you do on the low approach that was "impressive"? I'm imagining full speed over the numbers, maybe a barrel-roll? Coffee spilling on the controller's shirt?
Rod
PPL, Instrument, ASEL, ASES
2013 Cirrus SR22T N877MS
2018 Icon A5 N509BA
1946 Piper J3 Cub N7121H
1942 Stearman N2S N6848
PPL, Instrument, ASEL, ASES
2013 Cirrus SR22T N877MS
2018 Icon A5 N509BA
1946 Piper J3 Cub N7121H
1942 Stearman N2S N6848
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Keith Smith
- Posts: 9942
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
- Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
- Contact:
Re: fun flights
I don't really know, quite honestly. I was at 75% power and lean of peak (the plane runs hot, I generally reduce power and get it LOP shortly after takeoff in the summer months). It was a pretty good bank angle because it was no wider than a normal pattern but it was flown at cruise speed prior to the descent, and I didn't back off the power for the descent during the base. There were some houses not far from the airport on final, so I kept it fairly high until I was over the numbers, then I brought it down.
The climbout was shallow and then it was a normal bank to get on course. My guess is that it was at around 195kias and relatively low just before the climb out, probably not something they see very often. I only checked the speed because I wanted to ensure I didn't bust the 200kias limit for the inner core of the Charlie. There's really no way to get from 1000ft AGL to the surface in any short period of time without reaching Vne (235kias), so I tend to do them at reduced power.
The plane looks fast when it's parked on the ramp, lots of controllers get a kick out of any type of low approach from Lancairs and Glasairs.
The climbout was shallow and then it was a normal bank to get on course. My guess is that it was at around 195kias and relatively low just before the climb out, probably not something they see very often. I only checked the speed because I wanted to ensure I didn't bust the 200kias limit for the inner core of the Charlie. There's really no way to get from 1000ft AGL to the surface in any short period of time without reaching Vne (235kias), so I tend to do them at reduced power.
The plane looks fast when it's parked on the ramp, lots of controllers get a kick out of any type of low approach from Lancairs and Glasairs.
Re: fun flights
https://youtu.be/1zjorOI34GM
Low pass by a Lancair 360 Mk II (Not Keith nor Keith's airplane). Pretty impressive to me!
Low pass by a Lancair 360 Mk II (Not Keith nor Keith's airplane). Pretty impressive to me!
V-3 CAT-11 I-11
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Keith Smith
- Posts: 9942
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
- Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
- Contact:
Re: fun flights
flew back to ASH, got checked out in a 172 and then did this set of legs over 2 days and 1 night:
KASH-KMPV-KASH-KMHT-2B9-KMPV-KASH-1B2-KBID-KBLM-KTEB-KBOS-KASH
KTEB and KBOS were pretty interesting. 2B9 is quite simply the prettiest airport I've ever seen.
The plane had 4 GoPros and a video capture of the iPad I was using throughout the flights. I don't envy the job of the editor for this production. Thank goodness it isn't me this time
Should be a neat product when it's released in a couple of months.
KASH-KMPV-KASH-KMHT-2B9-KMPV-KASH-1B2-KBID-KBLM-KTEB-KBOS-KASH
KTEB and KBOS were pretty interesting. 2B9 is quite simply the prettiest airport I've ever seen.
The plane had 4 GoPros and a video capture of the iPad I was using throughout the flights. I don't envy the job of the editor for this production. Thank goodness it isn't me this time
Should be a neat product when it's released in a couple of months.