Tribute to 898

Wow do I love this airplane!



I awoke this morning to greater visibility and higher ceilings than forecast, and a quick call to the club reservation line confirmed that she was available until 10. A quick cup of coffee and shower, and I was at the field by 8:30 to practice performance takeoffs and landings.

In the cool morning air, with the sun just a few degrees above the Cascade Mountains on the eastern horizon, she really wanted to climb. My first practice takeoff was a short-field takeoff, where the pilot climbs in the shortest lateral distance possible, in order to avoid that (imaginary) obstacle at the end of the (imaginarily short) runway. The vertical speed indicator was pegged and all I could see ahead was sky. As the common expression goes, she was like a homesick angel...I had barely turned crosswind and she was at pattern altitude (1000' feet above the ground).

After an hour in the air, I landed so she could make her 10 am appointment with fellow club member Bruce. As they taxied out together and took off, I captured the scene on video.

Lesson at Shelton

Wednesday evening I had a lesson with Joel, and we decided since I am signed off to solo to Shelton that I'd fly up there to pick him up. We planned to meet there at 6:15 and even though we both agreed I'd take as much time as I needed to get there, I pulled up in front of his hangar at 6:17. Better to be lucky than good!

The flight was my first with my new video setup. The results were much better than clamping the camera to the front right seat...the view is over the cowling with minimal blockage (in fact, with it zoomed in a bit, you can't even see the cowling.) Only one remaining thing to fix: turn autofocus off! I'm thinking I need a little checklist for the video setup...will have to work on that.

The video is out on the YouTube channel; direct link is here.

After I picked up Joel we worked on high performance takeoffs and landings. These tasks, required for the private pilot license, simulate taking off and landing at short fields (where the runway is short and/or there is an obstacle in the way) and soft fields (muddy, snowy, grassy). It took a couple of times, but I eventually managed to perform each one within standard limits.

We then went out west of Shelton to practice stalls. A stall is a maneuver where the pilot intentionally raises the "angle of attack"--basically, the angle between the wing and the wind--to a critical level, so that the wing stops flying. Obviously, outside of aerobatics, this is not something that's part of everyday, ordinary flight, but practicing the maneuver helps pilots be aware of what causes it, and therefore how to avoid it...and also how to recover, should one occur.

Prior to the lesson, I was not 100% comfortable doing stalls solo, but the lesson gave me the confidence to do so. Hope to get that practice in on a near-future solo flight.

After an hour, I dropped Joel off at his hangar and flew back to Olympia. We reviewed the remaining things I needed to do before my test--and there aren't that many. It's mostly a matter of proficiency and comfort level at this point.

Video gadgets: ProMaster Clamper

Deb (my wife) wanted a new camera bag for Mothers Day, so we took advantage of a visit to Seattle to stop in at Talls Camera to shop. While she was trying out most of the bags in the store, I wandered over to the tripod section and had my attention drawn to a product called the Clamper. This cool little device seemed like it would work better than my current setup--using a GorillaPod to hug the top of the passenger seat.

The problem with the current setup is that it can't get adequate clearance over the panel. In every phase of flight except final approach (and, I suppose, steep descent), all you can see is the top third of the panel and blue sky. Not very entertaining.

I considered Frank Holbert's setup but was concerned about the camera blocking too much of the glareshield, not to mention bouncing around (Frank's assurances notwithstanding!)

In N75898, as in every C172 I suppose, there are about 4 inches of dash "overhang" above the panel...perfect for clamping a device like the Clamper. Remembering this in the store yesterday, I bought one (for the apparent bargain of $40). I went out to the airport today at lunch to try it out, and it worked great!

I've taken several videos with the current setup, but because of the limited view I haven't found them worth posting to my YouTube channel. But I expect that will change--maybe this weekend--with this new addition to the lineup.

Getting closer...I think

Went flying for a couple of hours after work last Friday. There were towering cumulus clouds (pilot translation: bad news) over both mountain ranges, but for the 50 miles or so between, skies were just about clear. However, given all those clouds over the mountains, I expected some turbulence in unstable air. And that's what I got.

I found enough pockets of smooth air north of Olympia to practice steep turns. During my maneuvers I requested (and was granted) "flight following" or VFR traffic advisories from Seattle approach. I like them knowing who I am and what I'm doing when I'm under a Bravo airspace shelf...and it helps to have them as an extra set of eyes for traffic. As expected the controller was courteous, helpful, and responsive, despite a fairly heavy load of IFR traffic (which takes priority over VFR traffic like me).

I did a low approach at KTIW...started off as a touch-and-go, but there were some squirrely winds on short final there, and I didn't feel good about the approach, so I went around. There were four other aircraft in the pattern, so I left and came back to Olympia. The trip back was pretty bumpy, and those cumulus build-ups were getting a little too close for my comfort.

The approach back into Olympia was one of those awesome moments, the vision of which caused me to take up flying in the first place...a beautiful, smooth ride right over downtown Olympia...the state capitol, buildings where I've worked, the field on which my son would play a little league game later that evening...just incredible.

After I landed, while waiting for carry-out dinner, I tallied up the hours in my logbook. I now have logged adequate time to qualify for a private pilot license. My comfort level is not quite there yet, but legally I am! I have one more long cross-country to accomplish, and simulated instrument flight, and some more practice...then I'll be ready. Maybe another 6 weeks?

Lesson with Joel on Wednesday. And the weather is getting better around here!

Windows of Opportunity

Wow, the atmosphere in western Washington is really unstable this time of year. We have had troughs and low pressure systems move through on a regular basis for the past couple of weeks, and next week won't be much better.

I did solo last Sunday, and it was terrific. This was my first solo in 75898, and my first flight in two weeks, so I decided just to stay in the pattern at KOLM for a bit and practice landings. Things went well, so I headed south to work on ground reference maneuvers. I found a nice bright red barn south of Tenino, descended to 1000 feet, and performed "turns around a point", the goal of which is to make a circle with the selected object (the barn) at the center, while maintaining airspeed and altitude. I did okay, but certainly need more practice. I climbed back up to 2500 feet and worked on steep turns more--these, I am getting the hang of, especially to the left. A little more work and I think I'll be ready for that part of the test.

I continued south to Chehalis (KCLS) and did two touch-and-gos, then back to Olympia to land.

My landings are much better now that I am really stabilizing my approaches and keeping the airspeed at 65 knots on final, then slowing to 60 over the numbers.

I have time scheduled in the aircraft tomorrow morning, but we'll see if the weather cooperates. These windows of opportunity are only about 12 hours long when they open, so I have to hit them just right. Hopefully the weather starts to improve, as I really want to move on to my cross-country flights while I continue fine-tuning maneuvers.