A Nice Day For An Instrument Currency Flight

Flying like shooting. It is a perishable skill. Instrument flying even more so.

Instrument currency can also be a pain to maintain as it is like herding cats to find a safety pilot sometimes, and you need a safety pilot for those practice approaches to count.

So I got up early this morning and headed to the airport to meet Scott who I had convinced to be my safety pilot.

It was a beautiful sunny day to fly, if a tad windy, with gusting winds at 10 knots from 100 degrees.

 After the preflight and adding some oil, we got ready to go.

I got flight following and let then tower know I would be doing practice approaches and they got me all setup.

A nice takeoff and tower had me initially turn on course for Flint and then changed their mind and had me go due north for traffic, and then handed me over to Detroit Approach, who almost immediately handed me over to Great Lakes Approach. 

This led to lots of good practice switching frequencies quickly with the new Garmin 650XI GPS unit.  We have just replaced the 23-year-old GPS 430Ws units that were in the planes with nice new 650XIs.

We went from this:

 to this:

 

 

Some serious improvements in 23 years, including a touchscreen, better integration with the autopilot, much easier entry of Arrival and Departure Procedures and T-Routes, and a much more intuitive process -- that does take some training and study to get used to and take advantage of to use it safely.

I had studied and used a simulator of 650XI, and had used it for a VFR flight, and this would be my first time using it for IFR approaches. 

So we headed to Flint and I put the foggles on, and we started doing approaches. Unfortunately Flint's main runway is closed so no ILS approaches were available, and it would be an RNAV day.

The first approach quite frankly sucked. 

The controller dumped us to join the approach right on top of the Final Approach Fix for the RNAV 36 at 3,500 feet and it was chop, drop, and try to get on glideslope and glidepath time.  The plan was to make it a missed approach even if it was good. This one truly was not and was blown from the start and was missed pretty much as soon as it began.

Went missed, climbed out, got a little bouncy at 2,500 feet in light chop from the wind shifting all around, and tried again and had a much better result.  The controller had us vectored in from a much more doable distance from the final approach fix rather than past it.

Then tried it with the 650 and Autopilot flying the vectors and then the approach to the final approach fix and that went well as I manually adjusted the altitude as we reached the waypoints.  Then hand flew it in the rest of the way. Then did it one more time.

After that it was back to Pontiac for two more approaches. 

The last approach I hand flew and was right on track on the glidepath and glideslope both, even with the crosswind. Landed it like butter and it was a great finish to some very focused practice, and I'm now instrument current again.

That's 1.9, 6 approaches, and 1 great landing. 

The Flight Back From KMCD

Once at the Airport, I called for a weather brief.

The briefer was very enthusiastic and helpful and suggest flying at 5,000 on the way back to  avoid a lot of the clouds and such on the way.  He also noted there might be some light precip but no issues affecting the flight.  He then filed the IFR flight plan for me, which was rather nice, and it was quickly approved.

We then headed out to the plane and I did the pre-flight, started it up, went to the run up area for Runway 8 and did the run up and then called Minneapolis Center on my cell phone for a clearance. 

I got the clearance and then did a good take-off and started flying back to Pontiac.

Once in the air and at sufficient altitude I gave Minneapolis Center a call and  got cleared to climb to 5,000 feet.

We headed over Bois Blanc Island in the haze.

 We were pretty much under the clouds in the haze most of the way home and we did fly in a fair bit of clouds and picked up some light rain that washed the plane as we flew in them.

 Other than the clouds there was haze.  Lots and lots of haze. I probably could have counted a fair bit of the time ion the haze as IFR as visibility was impressively limited, but just counted the time in the clouds themselves. Leah napped as usual.

We did have ground contact through the haze most of the way, and were only in clouds for about a half hour of the trip  so it was pretty uneventful. We got passed off to Great Lakes Approach and continued on our way.

We then flew over Saginaw Bay.

 

If you embiggen and then look hard, by the second bridge in the river you can just make out the USS Edson in the picture.

The haze continued all the way back to Pontiac, where I did a visual approach to Runway 9R and did what Leah described as a fantastic landing. Completely greased it in nice and smoothly.

That was 1.9, .5 instrument time, a fantastic landing and a great day trip to the island.

Saturday Flyday - To KMCD

Saturday morning I got a weather brief, and then picked Leah up and headed to the airport.

Things were,  however, delayed due to some git hitting and destroying the gate mechanism and motor to enter into the hangar area.  So we could not enter through the normal gate.  There was a sign that says to use the Astropark entrance but not saying where the Astropark was located.  Very helpful, that.

So, I had to call Airport Maintenance and find out the alternative entry point and also the access code for same.

Made it to the plane, did the preflight, and filed for an IFR departure and a flight at 8,000.

Got the plane started, got my clearance, which was approved as filed, and after a run-up we got to take off. 

We were soon up on runway heading climbing to 3,000 feet in the haze and on our way.

Detroit Approach had me then go direct and immediately start the climb to 8,000.

We then got handed off to Great Lakes Approach, and were flying over Saginaw Bay in heavy haze.

Right after Saginaw Bay, we entered into IFR conditions.

 Not much to see outside, so I was right on the instruments.

Leah had fallen asleep before we hit the Bay and she woke up inside the clouds which was a tad disorienting for her.  Her first time in instrument conditions in a small plane.  

Thankfully the clouds were happy ones - not much turbulence at all and very stable air for a nice, smooth ride. 

At times we were in between layers which was rather serene and pretty. 

 

We stayed IFR practically all the way to Mackinaw Island.  Minneapolis Center had me descend to 3,000 and we broke out over Beaver Island.

 

Still all sorts of hazy, but I saw enough so I could do a visual approach to the airport and Center had advised that two prior planes had done the visual with no issues.

I then did a nice visual landing on Runway 8 at Mackinaw Island and closed my IFR flight plan.

I parked the plane and we went in and paid the landing fee.  Another plane landed as we did so. 

 

Then we walked into town.

 1.8 on the way up, and 1.2 of that in IFR conditions, and a very nice landing.

Tuesday Fly Day - Now With More Instrument Currency!

I got up early this morning and met up with Joel at the airport.

It was time to take the Dakota up as the Archer has some maintenance being done.

Did the pre-flight and then headed to Flint to get some approaches in.

It was quite hazy at 3,000 feet and above, likely due to the Canadian wildfires. Haze got impressively worse but we still had six miles of visibility but good luck seeing anything farther away than that.

I first did the ILS 27 at Flint, then did the RNAV 18 there for a change as the wind was favoring that, even as it was getting a bit gusty.

Both approaches went well, then I headed back to Pontiac and did the RNAV 27L in even more haze and a very gusty crosswind of 15 knots. I rode the glidepath like it was on rails and it was a great approach and landing.

Joel complimented me on my landing, and didn't scream even once during all three approaches, so I must have done something right.  Tower had me roll to the end, cross 27R, and then head back to the hangar.

The approaches went very well and I'm now current for another six months. It was worth getting up early to get a nice and useful flight in.

That's 1.2, 1.0 simulated instrument time, 3 approaches, and one very nice landing. 

Saturday Flyday - IFR Flying With Mr. B.

This morning I got up and headed to the airport.

I was going to fly the Archer, but I don't have my key back from when i dropped the plane off at the avionics shop.

Luckily, as the conditions were pretty marginal, the non-IFR rated club member had cancelled his flight in the Dakota, so I switched  to the Dakota, did the preflight and then drove to the south side of the airport to meet Mr. B.

I filed an IFR flight plan to fly to Troy and back to Pontiac for a round robin IFR hop as the clouds kept getting lower. We then drove back to the north side. I got the plane out, picked up my clearance, and after a run-up took off flying runway heading.

We then headed up into the clouds climbing to 3,000 and headed to Troy.

Kinda soupy, but pretty smooth.

Flew to Troy and did the full procedure RNAV 10 with a circle approach and it went pretty well.  Id did a missed approach and flew the published miss and got back in connection with Detroit Approach

Then back to Pontiac and did the RNAV 27L again in the soup.

Did a very nice approach and then went to do it again.

By the third approach the clouds had lifted a bit but not much.

 Flew the approach very well and did a very nice landing.

We then put the plane away after cleaning and refueling it, and headed back to the south side so Mr. B. could get some approaches in.

It was still quite soupy at 3,000 feet. 

 

We then flew up to Flint and Mr. B. Flew the approaches like they were on rails.

Great Lakes Approach handled the approaches a little weirdly.  Instead of putting us on an initial approach fix, they kept vectoring us to the final approach fix.

Mr. B. broke us out perfectly lined up on Runway 27.

Mr. B. did a missed and did it again.

Then we headed back to Pontiac and Detroit Approach put us on the initial approach fix on the RNAV 27L and Mr. B. did another great approach breaking out nicely.

 And he brought it in for a great landing in a touch of a crosswind.

 After getting our approaches in, we headed to lunch at a Mexican restaurant Mexico Lindo near the airport that turned out to be really good.

It was a great morning and we're both on track with our approaches and have maintained our currency on our instrument ratings.

A great time flying with Mr. B.

That's 1.3 and three approaches and a hold for me, and a darn good landing.

Saturday Flyday To Mt. Pleasant

Today the weather started out yucky with low IFR conditions and low fog/clouds everywhere.

This all burned off by 10-ish am so we were good to go.

Mr. B. flew over, and while he was flying over to Pontiac, I did the pre-flighting of the Archer. When he arrived, I drove over to the South side of the airport and met him and we then drove back to the north hangars and took the Archer up for the trip.

We decided to head north and hit the casino at Mt. Pleasant, and Mr. B volunteered to be my safety pilot so I could get a couple instrument approaches in to maintain currency.

We took off from Pontiac's Runway 27R and the weather was excellent.  Nary a cloud in the sky, calm and clear. Contacted Detroit Approach and got handed off to Great Lakes Approach near Flint and we continued northward.

I then did the RNAV 27 approach into Mt. Pleasant.  It was a good approach although clearly I was a bit rusty, but the landing was a chef's kiss with the wheels just kissing the runway in a beautiful transition from flying to rolling.

We then got picked up by the shuttle and hit the Casino.

I proceeded to get slaughtered at Craps, and so we took a break and had a good lunch at the Casino food court.

We then played Mr. B's preferred game of Blackjack and we had a lot of fun.  My first time playing Blackjack in a casino, so I learned some of the game etiquette which was a bit different from what I expected, but it was a fun time. Nice dealers, and nice players, so it was a fun experience.

We then headed back to Pontiac, and I got in touch with Great Lakes Approach after we took off from Mt. Pleasant. Great Lakes Approach  was handling a few military flights and it was interesting listening to them. We got bounced around a bit by some wind and thermals. We then got handed off to Detroit Approach south of Flint and about 14 miles of so from Pontiac.  The wind had picked up slightly and shifted, so they were now using the 9-side of the field.

It was a bit busy so we were number 4 for the approach and got some spacing vectors to make for separation from other aircraft also coming in on approaches and landing.

I then did a really excellent approach, I man right on, and another truly excellent landing.

Much appreciation to Mr. B. for leaving the comfort of his air-conditioned and fast Cessna twin, and joining me in the Archer that goes half the speed of his aircraft (at, to be fair, less than half the fuel burn), and with no air conditioning either. The man didn't scream even once as I maneuvered and did the approaches under the foggles.

That's 2.2, 2 approaches, and 2 damn good landings.

Flying - Instrument Practice Made A Tad Bit Exciting

The sun was out the sky was clear up to 25k and it was windy.

A lot of wind. Indeed a lot of crosswind.

10-22 kt gusting at Pontiac and  it was blowing from 180-200 degrees. Pretty much a direct crosswind for Runway 27L.

 I had James along as a safety pilot and we did the preflight and run up on the Piper Dakota, and I arranged for flight following to Flint to get my approaches in and regain my IFR currency.

Good takeoff with quite the gusty wind to keep me on my toes. The Dakotas has plenty of power and is heavier than the Archer and I'm still getting used to it, but that weight and power sure makes the winds a bit less of a factor. 

I then put the foggles on right after takeoff and got on the instruments. Adding to the fun, there was  a fair bit of chop and bounciness as well.

I contacted Detroit Approach and we headed to Flint.  Used the autopilot to try it out and it was rather nice.  Got handed off to Great Lakes Approach and setup for the RNAV 27 approach at Flint and all was going well. 

Got vectors and started the approach on autopilot, and was cleared for the approach and switched to tower and got the option for Runway 27 and soon things started getting weird.

After getting established, I had massive back-pressure on the yoke which was kinda disconcerting as it was trying to climb the plane, and how.   Disconnected the autopilot and it was still very heavy backpressure which was weird.  Pushed the trim forward and still a lot of backpressure.  The autopilot came back on at some point (there's a chance James hit the wrong button as we were diagnosing it bit that's not for sure) and backpressure remained and so we turned it off again, but still a lot of backpressue.

We decided to land to figure things out.

Did a good approach even fighting the yoke and did a very nice crosswind landing under the circumstances.  Taxi'd to the run up area and checked everything out and ran the autopilot preflight proceedure again, and checked its actions and it worked just fine.  I think the trim got out of whack at some point with the autopilot and once we re-trimmed the heck out of it, all was well again.

Then we took off again and no further problems, but I decided to hand fly it just in case.

We did the RNAV 27 again.  This went much better and even with a heckuva crosswind correction in I did a really great approach.  We went missed and then I did the ILS 27 approach. Even with the winds pushing us around a lot, causing the controller to give us some revised headings as the ones he gave initially didn't correct enough for the wind, I got on the localizer and glideslope and ran it like it was on rails. That was pretty happy making.

I still need to fly the Dakota more as I'm not nearly as intuitive with it as I am the Archer and the power adjustments need to be refined.

We then headed back to Pontiac and I did the 27L RNAV to land on 27L. I did a great approach, even though I was getting blown a lot by the wind and had to correct for it quite a bit so we were coming in at quite an angle with the nose pointing to the left of the runway.

22 knot direct crosswind and about 10 knots of wind shear on short final made for an exciting landing.  That was the most crosswind I've handled in a while and the wind shear made it even more challenging. Still, it was a darn smooth landing for all that.

I mean, James didn't scream even once during the entire flight.

So, I'm now IFR current again, and it is a real confidence booster that I can handle the plane in those rough and windy conditions and still make the approaches and landings happen. That was some great instrument practice.

That's 2.0, 1.6 simulated instrument time, 2 impressive crosswind landings, and 4 approaches.  This was also the final entry in my first logbook, on to logbook #2.

Flying: Now IFR Current

Went flying with my friend Dean who not only is a pilot but he's also an instructor. So good friend to have.

I filed IFR as the overcast was at 2,900, might as well file it like I planed to fly it.

We decided to fly to Flint first to do some approaches there, and then back to Pontiac.

I was rusty and out of practice and really needed this hop badly.

My radio communication was still excellent.

Took off from Runway 27R and flew runway heading.  I had foggles on and Dean was the safety pilot.

Detroit approach had us climb to 4,000 instead of our filed 3,000 and we got in the clouds at about 3,500.

I had no issues being in the clouds which was great, was able to hold heading well, altitude was a pain with a climbing tendency I had to always be aware of and counter.

Flew to Flint and did the ILS 27 approach, and it was ugly. Then I did the RNAV 27 approach and it went better.  I then did the ILS 27 approach again, as I was very unsatisfied with how the first one went and the second time I had it down.  Then we did the VOR 36.

The wind had then shifted for our return to Pontiac so I did an RNAV 9R approach and an ILS 9 approach and landed.

Overall I felt rusty as heck and was glad Dean was along to keep an eye on things. By the end of the flight, I felt much better.  I'm refreshed, and I promise I will keep current and shanghai a safety pilot on a  more regular basis so I do not go this long without IFR time again.

That's 2.1 with .2 actual, 1.8 simulated, 6 approaches, and 1 landing.

Not Flying - All Fogged Out

Was going to do some flying today and while the weather by the house had cleared up nicely by the time I left, at the airport it was a different story.

 Fog and zero-zero visibility.  About as Low IFR as you can get.

That's looking south from the north hangars along taxiway Delta.   Runway 27R/9L at the end of taxiway Kilo is not visible, nor is the parallel runway, nor is the tower on the south end.

Under Part 61, which is the rules I fly under, I could legally takeoff in these conditions.

Legal, but dumb.

Dumb, because you can't legally land in zero/zero and if you have an issue at or shortly after takeoff your options are rather limited.

While I both want and need to get some IFR practice in, this was not the day to do it.

Zero/Zero is substantially below by personal minimums for IFR, so, no flying for me this morning.

Flying - There We Have It

 At long last, it is done.

I am now an instrument-rated pilot.

The short of it:

 I came, I flew some approaches, I passed.

The long of it:

Happily, the winds were at 190-200 so we would do the west approaches almost as planned.

He threw a bit of a kink in it by doing it in slightly different order of KVLL first, then the KPTK Localizer Backcourse 27L and finally the RNAV 9, rhater than having the localizer last.

Further kink was Pontiac had Runway 27L shut down for some unknown reason, so that could complicate things.

Did the preflight, takeoff briefing, forgot to say it was a no-smoking flight, which apparently you're supposed to say even if no one around smokes.

Then got flight following, took off from 27R and immediately was told to start heading southeastwards even before hitting 1,500 MSL, which is non-standard, to make room for further departures.

Then contacted Detroit approach and did the KVLL RNAV 10-28 (the same as the RNAV 9-27 but finally updated in the charts to relfect the new runway markings).  Did a good entry but got blown a bit in the hold turn by the wimds and need to compensate more for that.

Then did the circle well, had the landing assured, and practically touched the runway before he told me to go missed.

Pontiac then opened Runway 27L which made things a bit simpler.

Then I got up on the missed and contacted Detorit Approach, who began to vector us for the Backcourse.  Then the examiner turned off the G5s and I was left with a turn coordinator, compass. and GPS box to act as DME and provide course headings.  

Kinda early to turn it off.  I had the backup NAV already turned and immediately identified the localizer.  Got established, did the approach, started the timer at the final approach fix and descended right to minimums and then went missed at the appropriate time on the timer.

Then up and the controller started to vector us first for a more direct RNAV 27L approach and then changed his mind and sent us out to KUHNA.

That's when the examiner took the controls and said we're goign to do some unusual attitudes.  So I had to put my head on my chest with eyes closed as he really wrung the airplane out until he said:

"RECOVER".

I then got my head up, saw the instruments and immediately corrected for a downward left turning unusual attitude - power back as gravity doesn't need the help, level the wings, gently get back to straight and level, add power back in, and return to original altitude.

Then more head on chest and getting really wrung out.

"RECOVER".

This time it was an upward facing altitude complete with a turn.

Recovery is full power, push forward on yoke,  level wings, and return to original altitude.

Then back towards KUHNA for the RNAV 27L approach.  My brain was still sloshing inside my head from the unusual attitude work, so it felt a little rough for a bit.  I then got everything stabilized and rode it like rails all the way down and landed the plane, taxi'd to the ramp, shut the plane down,  and then he said:

"Well, you're an instrument pilot now, so you can finish putting away the plane yourself and I'm going inside to get started on the paperwork".

I had passed.

In the debrief he noted I was very methodical, had great procedures, and had excellent radio work.  He stated he threw a lot of stuff at me and I kept my cool and just got everything done.

Yep, finally, I am now an instrument-rated pilot.

That's 1.2; 3 approaches; 1 hold; and an instrument rating!

Flying IFR - Lesson 59 - A Pre-Checkride With Possibilities

So I pre-flighted N8570F and got ready for today's lesson.  Wind was out of the West gusting at 290-320 around 13-20 knots.

The problem with deciding what we were going to do today is the winds for Friday are forecast to be out of the East.

This means the examiner will not do the route he had originally selected on the day of my oral and discontinued checkride.

The problem is also this:  The VOR at Flint is down for maintenance and will be down until August 12.

The examiner has also not done an instrument checkride with winds out of the East since the VOR dropped on June 21. The upside is this takes out of play the Lapeer VOR-A approach which sucks rocks so that's a good thing.

So it is a bit of an open question as to what he might do for this ride, as he used to use the VOR 18 or 36 with a circle  to land at Flint, do an ILS at Flint and then back to Pontiac for a Partial Panel RNAV or ILS/Localizer approach.

So we tried to prepare for the unexpected by doing the unexpected with the wind out of the west rather than east.

Since the clouds were low around Flint we filed IFR.

Planned a route to 9G2 (Lapeer) to do the RNAV 27 circle to 9 (again there is no actual circle there but the examiner simulates one), then to Flint for the RNAV 18 Circle to 27 and then back to Pontiac for then RNAV 27L and the Localizer Backcourse 27L.

Lapeer comes up pretty quickly after takeoff and we got passed quickly by Detroit Approach to great lakes Approach, but by then we were practically at the initial approach fix.  We got clearance to do the approach and then remain in Flint's Class C and head on 300 degrees to do the Flint approach.

Oh, and we went into IMC conditions as we headed to Lapeer. 

This time I stayed solidly on the instruments, decided the world outside did not exist (in a cloud it really doesn't anyways) and did a good job of controlling the plane.

Did the approach at Lapeer, did a really good circle to 9, and as we had a heckuva tailwind only went lowish on final but had the runway made if I wanted it, and then went missed.

Then went and did the Flint RNAV 18 to 27, into IMC again, then popped out and did another really good circle and went missed.

Then back to Pontiac with an nice tailwind and a bit of bouncing around, with winds swaying from 280-300 and back and forth, and went for the RNAV 27L which went really well, and the Localizer Backcourse which also went really well and did a nice landing to finish it off.

Overall, I'd say it was a very positive flight and I feel ready.

Let's hope for good weather flying conditions, and preferably calm winds from the west on Friday, but I'm confident I can handle whatever he might try to throw at me if winds are from the east as well.

That's 1.8, with .5 actual, 1.0 simulated, 4 approaches, and a very nice landing.

Flying IFR - Lesson 58 - Now With Actual Spatial Disorientation

So today clouds were kinda low and started getting lower as we flew.

The examiner had announced the route we would take for the checkride, assuming the wind is blowing from the west so we did that starting with VFR flight following to Troy and back to Pontiac.

First off to KVLL Troy, where I did a perfect entry into the hold, had announced I was turning inbound, and I then got cancelled off the approach by Detroit Approach due to arriving IFR traffic that got priority.  Flew 360 degrees north for awhile then got vectored back in and did the approach. Overall good but had stayed too close and too high during the circle, but still would have made the landing so it was good enough.  Next time fly a little farther downwind before turning base and I need to announce leaving minimums when I turn base bit other than that it was good.

Next was the RNAV 27L at Pontiac starting at KUHNA.  The approach went pretty much perfectly if I do say so myself.

Then the Localizer Backcourse 27L.  And that's when it began to go sideways, and up and down, too.

Clouds had dropped and at 2,500 feet and we were then in and out of them and I was not comfortable not being an IFR flight in that even if we had ground contact we clearly were not within VFR conditions. I told the instructor I'd rather get an IFR clearance as there was no visibility to the front nor sides at all.

So I got the clearance, climbed to 3,000, then Detroit Approach had me do a turn to 360.  I then got the worst case of spatial disorientation in the turn and climb that I had ever had.  My body, completely irrationally, had become extremely convinced that I was pointed straight up, even though the instruments showed we clearly were not nor had we been before entering IMC. Heading control was crappy as was altitude and even totally focusing on the instruments I was having a ridiculous amount of trouble and could not hold the heading as I normally would off by the tens of degrees and swinging every which way.

That was not good.  Nor was it a particularly pleasant feeling, and that was a bust of an approach.  Finally settled down and got back and lined up and finished it up for a good missed approach but needed to do that again.

Then went to do it again.  

Much better the second time, even in IMC, I had good heading and altitude control.  Much lighter grip on the controls, I then started verbalizing everything and had it right where I wanted it. Not absolutely perfect headings but within range, altitude was good, and I brought it right in for a really nice landing, and all was well.

So yep, still not perfect, probably made my instructor think I completely suck (assuming he doesn't think that already),  and that's rather annoying. Well yet more stuff to work on.

Good actual practice and learning how to deal with unwanted and sudden onset of some impressive spatial disorientation.

That's 1.9 with .7 actual instrument time, .9 simulated, 1 hold, 4 approaches and a really nice landing.  With any luck, only 1 more lesson before the continuation of the checkride.

Flying IFR - Not Exactly The Checkride

So this morning, bright and early, I got up and did all the calculations -- by hand --for a pretend route of flight from KPTK to KMDW via the CCOBB2 Departure and PANGG3 Arrival. That's the preferred route from Pontiac to Chicago Midway per the Chart Supplement, so I could easily defend that choice of route.

Why did I do that route?  Because I was assigned that as the test route for my checkride and today was the day.

That took about a bit over an hour and a half to get all the wind correction, heading adjustment, speed, flight time and fuel burn calculations in for the 2 pages worth of the Nav Log for the flight .  I also calculated time and fuel burn to my selected alternate, KDPA. An eraser and choice language was used quite a bit.

I also drew the route in pencil on the paper Low-Altitude IFR map.

Note that in the real world, you do this in Foreflight or another flight planner application in about a minute, and it will be more accurate.

I had previously done the weight and balance by hand this weekend in preparation for the "flight" and had that all written out and ready to go. Again Foreflight makes that a lot quicker.

I also ran and pulled a full flight brief and downloaded that as well.

Then I had a couple eggs for breakfast and headed to the airport and checked in at DCT and set myself up in the test room at 9.  The test begins at 10, but DCT wants you there an hour early.

Looked like a nice sunny day but with a fair bit of wind. 

Unfortunately DCT didn't have the airplane logbook all tabbed out for the test so that was a major PITA finding everything, especially as it didn't arrive before 10 am.  Very fun and off to a great start.

So I got logged into IACRA, produced all my documentation proving who I was, and that I was qualified to take the IFR checkride and the oral portion of the checkride then began. 

I correctly answered question on what I need to be able to legally fly, what the airplane needs to legally fly, weather, lots of IFR related questions, IFR chart questions, how an altimeter works (it has aneroid wafers inside which is the key answer there) etc.

We went over my flight plan and he ran it and the numbers worked, so I passed my flight planning.

But, I still had a couple brain fades and got stumped on some questions, including this one:

"What is the white D in the black square in the airport diagram at the bottom of the approach plate?"  

I actually knew the answer to this question back in January, but it apparently left my mind in the meantime and never registered that it was gone and needed to be re-memorized. So with all attempts at mind data retrieval failing, I had concede that I had to look it up. 

Yep the D at the top of this diagram:

I proceeded to tell him everything else that was on that entire approach plate not, just this small diagram that was a part of it, but could not remember for the life of me what the fargin' D was for

That D means that declared runway lengths are available to look up for the airport.   So now you know too.  This will clearly make your life better.

As a GA pilot I will never actually use nor need to use declared runway lengths and you don't need them to fly GA IFR, so this is all part of the mind-f___k that is the oral portion of a checkride. They keep asking you stuff until you can't answer it, regardless of its actual utility to show you that you don't know it all. 

I already know rather well that I don't know it all, thank you very much. The stuff I don't know can and does fill volumes.

So, after that bit of demoralization, I then learned I had passed the oral.

I then went out to preflight the plane, and noticed the winds were getting pretty gusty, as I was doing so got a text from my instructor whoi was up flying with another instrument student that the wind gusts were pretty bad, it was very bouncy and turbulent along the route and hard to maintain altitude, and that I should probably discontinue the test at this point.

After all, if turbulence drops or lifts you beyond the 100 foot above, zero below the set altitude you still fail regardles that it was turbulence rather than you that did it.

So what to do?  I had the feeling of get this checkride-over-with-already- warring with the feeling do -not-screw-this up  and I chatted with Mr. B for some advise.  After all, when in doubt, consult a friend.

I also called Flight Service to see what they had and they reported rather gusty at ground level and no sign of it letting up.

I did end up deciding to discontinue as it would have been dumb to go up on a checkride with conditions stacked against me.

Unfortunately, the examiner's next availability is not until July 15, even as tomorrow's weather is forecast to be perfect.  So I will be hoping that July 15 offers better weather. 

So, yet again, this is not over. It's going to take yet more time, require more lessons to maintain proficiency, and as usual take much longer than I would like which seems to be a recurring pattern with my flying instruction.

There's 60 days available in a discontinuance and after that I have to do the whole thing again and pay a whole 'nother full fee for it, so I'm hoping I get an opening and decent weather at the same time in the next 60 days, which is gonna be hard as he's booked solid.

There may be an end to this, but it sure ain't here yet.

Flying IFR - Lesson 57- Can You Hold Please?

Yesterday, I did the remedial flight. I decided to really focus on keeping the altitude under control no matter what.

I did the preflight for N9570F and requested fight following for approaches at Pontiac.

So I got passed off to Detroit Approach, starting with the RNAV 27 full procedure starting at GUZVY.

Did the full procedure at GUZVY with a parallel entry and did a nice approach to 27L.

Then up and did it again.   I kept the altitude pretty much within specs or corrected it if it started to get out of the 100 foot permissible range. Still the plane wouldn't trim out perfectly, but by always going back to the altitude indicator, I at least caught it as it tried to get out of the permissible range. Hard to do when having to do multiple things at once, but I may have finally got that part figured out.

Then I did a Localizer Back course for 27L this time with the full procedure turn, about the first time I've done that as I normally get vectors.  Once established then the G5s were turned off and I did it partial panel and did it rather well.

Then I did it again, again with the procedure turn and partial panel, and came in for a landing.

That 1.7,  4 holds, 4 approaches, and 1.4 simulated and a very nice landing.

Flying IFR - Lesson 56 - More Pre-Checkride Practice

Wind out of the west, sky clear, nice and hot out, time to go flying.

This time I actually got N8570F and did the preflight and we then were off to the the Troy-Pontiac IFR loop.

Did the approach and circle at Troy pretty much perfectly, didn't go too high nor too low, and would have nailed the landing no problem.

Then back to Pontiac for the RNAV 27L with the hold at GUZVY.

Which aside from the hold procedure I did perfectly.

The hold I then proceeded to f-up nicely.

I was about to enter the hold and figured it for a teardrop, when the 430W announced it would be a direct and gave a course heading that was weird, which was weird as it should have been a teardrop.  Rocky said that wasn't right and while we were discussing it I got in the hold and we figured on doing it as a via teardrop, but I dropped almost three hundred feet while futzing around, talking to him, seeing his iPad which showed the course (mine isn't allowed to show position for the test, because really stupid reasons)  turning, and trying to figure out what was off with the GPS and then got back to altitude.  Not good.

Need to watch the altitude constantly as the second I get distracted something always happens. I do scan for it, but this time I got distracted and it was a mess.

Carried on and did the rest of the approach just fine.

Then I did the Back Course 27L and did it very well if I say so myself without issue, probably my best back-course approach yet, everything was pretty darn well perfect.

Then we went out and did the RNAV 27L again, this time without a problem.

So, I need to go back Saturday and get another lesson in as that one wasn't acceptable due to the altitude loss.  FML.

Flying IFR - Lesson 54 - The Pre-Checkride Checkride Checkride

Yep, today I was up again.  Beautiful day, wind only 4 knots out of 300, beautiful sunny and nary a cloud in the sky and none anywhere that would make an issue.

Preflighted N85470F and Alec met me and let me know we would be doing the KPTK-KVLL Troy-KPTK loop.

Got flight following, did the preflight and we were off.

Had Detroit Approach route us to Celub for the full procedure for the KVLL RNAV 9(10) circle to 27(28).  

You get to Celub real fast and there's little to no tie to setup.

Unfortunately Detroit Approach did not have us switch channels to check the AWOS and as the examiner (for some dumb reason) does not let you split frequencies (listen to two radios at once) so technically I was supposed to ask them if I could drop off the frequency to get the weather and come back to it so  a minor error for me there.

Then did the procedure turn at Celub and headed inbound and let Detroit Approach know, then got on the advisory frequency for Troy and all was well.  Did a pretty good circle if I say so myself and would have had the landing made.

Went missed and back to Pontiac, first for the RNAV 27L. That went fine.

Then for the Backcourse 27L  partial panel.  First approach I technically failed because I didn't turn the OBS onto a heading of 275 for the localizer but kept it on 041 so I could switch to the Salem VOR if he did something tricky like cover the GPS DME so I couldn't know when I was crossing the final approach fix. 

The Localizer is the honey badger of the approach navigation aid world.  It doesn't care what your OBS is set to, its going to broadcast one signal, your VOR receiver will get it and it will line up regardless of what OBS you have.

In fact other instructors had told me to keep it on 041 for just that reason so you can always switch to the VOR and the needle will line up when you cross the intersection that is the FAF if you were lined up on the localizer.

Apparently I'm not supposed to do that.

Also needed to be more of a dive bomber on that approach, I had stayed at the required 3,000 until established and it took awhile to get established so I have to work on dropping faster. I mean I still would have had it made as a landing, but need to work on that.

So that was sucky.

Then up to do it again and it went much better this time.  Did the setting, got everything lined up, did an appropriate dive bombing run down to minimums and in for a landing no problem.

Overall Alec thinks I'm ok and just need to practice the KPTK-KVLL Troy-KPTK loop until its second nature.

Basically it felt like a 3.6 Roentgen Flight - Not great, not terrible.

So that's 1.6, 1.2 simulated instrument, 4 approaches and a good landing.

The Pre-Checkride Oral Exam

So this morning I met up with Alec to go over the oral component of the IFR checkride as a prerequisite to taking the checkride.

Went very well, I apparently have at least some idea what I'm talking about and got some good tips on wha tthe examiner is looking for.

First important tip:  The examiner was paper and lots of it - paper IFR charts and Paper chart supplements.  Never mind that all of this is available on Foreflight, I now need to go out and buy paper copies for the exam.  Blech.

Second:  You need to really know your paper chart symbology.  I was fine with that as I had studied expecting that to be the case.

Third:  Need to know how to explain how the Garmin G5s actually work - solid state gyroscopes, accelerators and air data computer.  We apparently don't need to know how to disassemble and replace the internals so there's that. 

Fourth:  Everything is fair game and there is a heckuva lot of it

Upside:  I passed and now have the checkride booked.

I do now have yet another pre-checkride requirement: a required pre-checkride flight with Alec to do this Friday, so I better not mess that up.

There may just be a light at the end of the tunnel, but it may very well be an oncoming train.

Flying IFR - Lesson 53 - The Pre-Checkride Checkride

Time for the pre-checkride checkride. Went to DCT and found they had swapped out N8570F for N5337F yet again, so this would make it a bit more challenging.

Raining as I drove to the airport but then it stopped and conditions became winds calm with a layer at 3,000 feet.

I preflighted N5337F and I had Bobby Carr as my pre-checkride instructor.  Never flown with him before but a nice guy.

He stated we would got to Flint, do the VOR 18 circle 9, then Linden for the RNAV 27 full procedure, then Pontiac for the Localizer Backcourse 27L and then the RNAV 27L with a procedure turn at GUZVY.

Amazingly I managed to get N5337F close to being trimmed out fro altitude so I just had to deal with the right turning tendency. Finally got the altitude issue under control.

So I took off and headed to Flint.   Controller just had us keep flying outbound from the Flint VOR for-flipping-ever, which always messes with you a bit as you're not doing the procedure turn as planned and you have to ignore your GPS and approach instructions and just keep flying all the way out on the outbound radial.  Then I finally got to turn inbound and did the  approach and circle and it went pretty well, even as I was doing a little s-turning to get on course. The circle was nice and tight and I had the runway made if I wanted it.

Then to Linden and another full procedure there, and I handled that one pretty well even though I fell for the GPS parallel turning trap but now that I know what it is (in short the displayed track heading is not the track heading you want when doing a parallel) we're all good.  Good approach and no issues.

Back to Pontiac and the Localizer 27L and did it partial panel and did it really well, which was good.  Got a couple tips to improve it. 

Then I went missed and did the RNAV 27L with a procedure turn at GUZVY and did a nice approach and landing.

Managed to do the trifecta of hold entries - a direct, a teardrop, and a parallel all in one flight.  Sheesh.

I passed the pre-checkride checkride.  

Now for the pre-checkride ground portion and  then I can book the checkride, again, finally, maybe, whatever.

That's 2.1, 1.9 simulated, 4 approaches, 3 holds and a good landing.

Flying IFR - Lesson 52 - Getting Rather Winded

So today I was up with Rocky in N6288J.

Downside - 6288J lacks a Garmin 430W but has the newer touchscreen one without a NAV 1 radio, so I got to try to mess with that a bit.

More Downside:  It was really rather windy and turbulent today, so a touchscreen really, really sucks for making selections - especially when you're not completely familiar with it as well.

Nothing like getting pushed side to side as well as getting lifted up on the regular to enjoy a flight.

Even more downside - The PTT switch on my yoke stopped working properly and was very intermittent even when being mashed down, so Rocky had to do all the radio work.

So yes, winds rocking from 200-240 at 16-22kts made for an interesting ride.

Went to 9G2 Linden and did the RNAV 27 and simulated a circle to 9 as we didn't want to be head on against local traffic as the wind was favoring 27 but the examiner will do a 27 circle to 9 at Linden now if the wind is blowing the other way,

Then to Troy, did a good approach but was getting constantly pushed around by the winds, very hard to drop altitude on the tight circle and the wind really pushed me over ,which sucks as you can't compensate as you're not allowed to be be more than a mile from the runway on the circle downwind or you fail.  As such, on turning base I got pushed hard past the runway  and had to gently come back.  Not great and I said so and that I would be going around from that approach.

Then to Pontiac for the Localizer Backcourse 27L.

First one sucked so hard as I get constantly blown this way and that, very crappy conditions, so we decided to do it again.  Partially the fault of Detorit Approach not quite vectoring me in right and then had dropped me way off the localizer and I had to fight hard to try and acquire it.

Second time was the charm, I rode it like it was on rails and down to a nice gusty crosswind landing.

Apparently, I redeemed myself sufficiently even with the prior mess-up that I will be getting the pre-checkride checkride soon once that can be arranged.

That's 1.9, 1.5 simulated instrument, 4 approaches, and 1 rather decent landing.

Flying IFR - Lesson 51 - Approaching Acceptable Approaches

Overall I'd say the practice on my own has paid off.

Approaches today were considered to be very good by Rocky, now I just need to fix altitude and heading while cruising as I was constantly up and down and couldn't get the trim on N5337F to trim the plane out level, nor would the bugger stay straight as it had a pronounced right turning tendency for me.  

As to staying level, it would not do it, either slightly up and or slightly down was the best I could manage, and often got both at the same time, which really shouldn't occur.

Since winds were out of 9 we went to Flint and I did the ILS 9 and the VOR 36 circle to 9 which was a fun change from the typical VOR 18 circle 9.

Did not bust minimums on any of them, did a good circle kept it in tight and would have had the landing made no problem so good there.

The back to Pontiac and did the Localizer 9 partial panel and did it just fine, had the minimums and held them and all was good.

Then back around for the RNAV 9R with one heckuva vectoring detour due to traffic and then rode the RNAV down like rails and then landed long as instructed by Tower, went all the was to the end, crossed 27R and parked the plane.

Overall, much improvement.

Unfortunately the examiner is apparently getting tricky and now adding the possibility of an RNAV at 9G2 followed by a circle to the other end of the runway.

Problem 1 - there are no circling minimums at 9G2, its an RNAV at either end so this is technically questionable but since you're doing the test under VFR conditions apparently you can do it.  That add some extra complexity to the test and now we need to have another lesson to practice that approach, yay, not.

So another lesson has to be flown, and if it goes well, then it will be time for the pre-checkride checkride.

 That's 1.7, with 1.3 simulated instrument, 4 approaches and a decent landing.