Tutorial

This is for those of you that like me, have problems taking pictures.

Pilot's Log : Airports

Just to see if it works, I thought I'd do a quick map of the airports I've flown to. (FYI: You can close the left side to show more of the map by clicking on the border between the listings and the map or see it full-screen here)

(removed inline map)

Pilot's Log : Hours 23.7 - 26.8

Two flights this weekend. Great weather for both. These were also my first flights with a new instructor. I think he will work out well. He's 180 degrees different from my last CFI. My last CFI was reserved and very military-like. It was a good way to get started--more strict to make sure I did everything right. This guy is a bit of a frat-jock type. I don't usually get along with those types of people, but he's really cool so far.

On my first flight this weekend, he wanted to teach me applicable "pilotage" skills. That basically means flying by looking at the sectional map. (vs. the GPS or VOR nagivation)

The big bonus of the flight was that I got to do my first soft-field landing. I landed on a grass strip named--and I'm not kidding here--"Happy Landings". That's the official airstrip name.

It was awesome. I had to clear some trees at one end of the runway, land with a crosswind, take off again and make sure to clear the fence at the other end of the runway. Fun as hell.

Today's flight was quite different. Today was what's called "hood work". That means that once I took off and got up to altitude, I had to put on a hood that blocked me from seeing outside of the airplane. It's meant to simulate flying in the clouds. FAA regulations require that I spent a few hours in simulated IFR conditions, so this was a chunk of it.

Tough stuff. My eyes hurt and I feel exhausted. When you can't see outside the plane, you have no idea what is going on. No idea. None. You just can't imagine how disorienting it is. So you have to trust your instruments. That wasn't too tough for me to do, but to just fly straight and level, I have 6 instruments I have to continuously scan and adjust for. And when I mean continuously, I mean it. Whenever I'd stare at one instrument for 10 seconds (which I shouldn't do), one of the others went way off. (i.e. if I stared at my direction for 10 seconds to do a precise 5 degree correction, I'd look up and we would suddenly be decending at 300 feet per minute)

By the end of the flight, I got to the point where I could scan all 6 of those instruments in about 3 seconds. (that's probably about average) But, of course, when I started to get comfortable flying like that, my CFI added some additional work. He pointed at the map and said "we are here--now get me back home". No looking outside. No GPS. Now I had to do some planning and start using 2 more instruments. With some guidance from my instructor, I successfully got us within 3 miles of my airport. (at that point I had to take off the hood to enter the traffic pattern) Tough but awesome.

Fun For Everyone

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about my Crohn’s because not much has been happening. My doctor and I have found a good medication routine that seems to work well for me. But some Crohn’s-related stuff has been going on lately, so I thought I’d share.

It’s all in the genes

According to Reuters, scientists are starting to release findings showing that they think they have isolated some of the genetic component to Crohn’s. That doesn’t mean a cure is forthcoming, but the first step in curing a disease is to understand what causes it. This is great news for us afflicted. First, Crohn’s doesn’t get a lot of press time because it’s fairly rare and let’s face it, it’s not exactly pleasant dinner conversation…

But this is also heartening to see visible results from ongoing research. Very little is known about the cause of Crohn’s—outside of this research very little is known about the cause than wasn't known 25 years ago.

Hopefully this will eventually lead to better understanding and better treatments. While I’m forever grateful for the medications I get, they do seem a bit dodgy. Controlling my disease by suppressing my immune system isn’t an ideal treatment and surely not without its long-term effects.

So, “way to go, scientists!” I’ll try to remember not to kick sand on you at the beach.

Smores

I haven’t said anything about this yet because it’s far from final, but since we are on the topic… Every year in a few locations around the US, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) puts on a summer camp for kids with Crohn’s and/or Colitis. Some of these kids have a hard time getting out much and don’t normally have people around them that understand what they are going through.

So, for a few days they get to go to camp like all the other kids and be surrounded by people who know what it’s like--people they can talk to about it and not be embarrassed. And for some kids with IBD, this is their only chance to actually camp out in the woods--this isn't an outdoor-friendly disease. (and you thought that you had a tough childhood)

I’m trying to get on as a volunteer camp counselor at the camp here in Texas. I’m not sure if it will happen yet, but it would be really cool.

Long Weekend

Hey, folks. Apparently I was in a blogging mood this weekend, so check the last couple days worth of whatever.

And, yeah, I changed my blog format again to keep some people on their toes.

Pilot's Log : Hours 22.7 - 23.7

Well, this was my second flight of the day and my last with this CFI. It really sucks to see him go. I really liked how he taught me and he was a very friendly, easy-going guy.

My earlier flight went well, so you can guess how this one went... It was still a beautiful day, but the winds picked-up a bit and tossed me around quite a lot. It kept me from properly concentrating on what I needed to.

The plan for this flight was to fly down to Sugarland Regional Airport and do a full-stop landing with my CFI. If all went well, I'd fly back, drop him off and do it myself. It would be my first solo landing at another airport. If I did well, I would have gotten another endorsement--allowing me to fly to and land at any airport.

Needless to say, things didn't go as planned. You see, West Houston Airport (my airport) is uncontrolled. That means it doesn't have a tower. When you are flying around my airport, you are in charge of what you do. You watch for traffic, announce what you are doing and then do it.

Sugarland is a controlled airport. That means that there are nice people up in the tower running things. Contrary to popular myth, the folks in the tower may be in charge, but their job is to help me out. They make sure I can do whatever I need/want to do. As a general rule, they seem to be good people. Just make sure you play by the rules.

Anyway, my problem is talking to the tower. About 2/3 of the time, I know what I need to say/do, but for some reason I get very uncomfortable and screw it up. From all of the training materials I see advertised in flying magazines, I think this is a common problem people have.

So, instead of soloing to that airport, we just made 2 different runs at it. Good stuff. But my landings were horrible as well. Whenever I get uncomfortable or nervous, it shows everywhere. It also doesn't help that I haven't been flying enough. As relatively early as I am in my flying experience, it doesn't take long to get "rusty" at something.

So, the plan is this: start flying more frequently. I'm at almost 24 hours in the air. And my CFI says that I'm well over halfway to be ready for my check ride. I'd like to take my check ride in the next 2 months. It's taking me longer than average to get my license, but that's becuase I haven't been flying enough. But it's become clear from my CFI that I'm ahead of the curve in terms of experience/hours.

Pilot's Log : Hours 21.2 - 22.7

This morning was my first "real" cross-country trip. My CFI even had me plan it out. You can see my nav log above. It's been quite a while since I got training on how to fill this out and I did better than I thought for my first attempt. (For you Aggies fans out there, I flew right over their practice area. They weren't out yet, but I'm sure I'll buzz them more than a few times before I get my license.)

It was a really good flight. It was probably the calmest weather I've flown in yet. I learned a lot and my CFI seemed fairly pleased with my progress. At one point he turned off the GPS and had me use the rest of my instruments to figure out where I was and where I needed to go. Good stuff. I'm also starting to learn how to work the radios and such. Before we didn't need to mess with them much. But just on this flight I had to adjust about 6 different frequencies. Yeah, it isn't tough, but I had to learn how what all these damn buttons did... If you are interested, this is what my radio stack looks like:

HD Setup

With part of my bonus this year, I decided to join the 21st century and get a new TV. They finally got into the price range I was willing to spend. I took the lesser-traveled route and purchased a lower-priced set instead of going with a slighly higher-quality name brand. I went with a Vizio 50" plasma. I couldn't be happier. The pic above doesn't serve it justice--it has an amazing picture.

Last weekend, I got that new console to go underneath and mounted the TV on the wall. You can see that for the moment I've just got some cable management hiding the cables. I doubt that will be the long-term setup (I need to buy some high-quality cables and then route them through the wall) but you can see what I'm going for.

Pilot's Log : Hours 20.1 - 21.2

Another very cool milestone. This was my first flight by myself. It did an excellent job reminding me why I love flying. I can't describe how liberating it was to be able to fly wherever I wished. (within a 25 mile radius...) I took off when I wanted and landed when I wanted. I can't wait to do it again.

This was also the first flight I was allowed to enter myself in my log. Before now, my CFI had to record all of my hours. I can now log them myself. (yeah, it doesn't sound like much, but it's another big moment for me)

On a more somber note, it looks like my CFI got a job somewhere else. I knew it would happen eventually, but it still sucks. I really like him and we get along well. I feel like I'm learning and he's a good teacher. Oh well.

I've got flight scheduled in about an hour, but it probably won't happen. The clouds are about high enough (2,200 ft), but the ~20 kt winds are inadvisable... I'll just have to try tomorrow.

TiVo, I Hardly Knew Ye

Unsurprisingly, I finally got sucked into the big TV craze.  It took them long enough, but they finally dropped in price to a point that I was willing to hand over some cash.

All I can say is "damn".  Damn big.  Damn good picture.  Damn cool HD content.  What the hell was I waiting on?

Anyway, the point of this post is to say goodbye to TiVo.  My TiVo won't work with the HD cable reciever, so I had to replace it with the turd that Time Warner is passing off as a TiVo-like device.

So, my question to you folks: anyone not have a TiVo and need one? 

If you don't have a TiVo and aren't sure if you need one, take this quick survey to find out:

1) Do you have a TV and turn it on?

If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above, you need a TiVo.

For the cost of shipping and a beer next time you see me, my TiVo is yours.

Pilot's Log : Hours 18.6 - 20.1

It seems like I'm hardly flying anymore.  (because I'm not)  I had 3 flights cancelled last week because of weather and I cancelled another 3 this weekend because my folks will be in town.

But today's flight made up for all of that.  We started working on my cross-country training.  To start with, I had to learn how to use 2 more instruments--my VOR's.  It's how I can navigate without GPS.  And it's how those commercial planes you fly on get from place-to-place.  It's a fairly simple concept and not too difficult to work with so far.

The really good part of today's flight was the weather.  When I arrived, it was nice and mostly clear.  When I fly with my CFI, we don't always check the weather--he usually knows what's going on from being at the airport all day, so I didn't give it a second thought.

But once we got up, it was clear that clouds were rolling in quickly.  But we just got above them and did my training.  At 4,500 ft, I think it was the highest I've flown yet.  (yeah, it's not very high at all, but it's what I've got)

But by the time we headed back, it was clear that the clouds were really thick.  I found a little open spot and dropped from 4,500 to 2,000 through the hole.  But things weren't looking any better--another layer of clouds were right below them.

So, my CFI decided to give me some experience in the clouds.  He filed an in-flight IFR plan (Instrument Flight Rules--meaning you can fly through clouds) and had me fly in.  I've always heard that flying in the clouds is disorienting, and every bit of it is true.  I honestly couldn't tell you which way was up.  I had no idea.

I had to trust my instruments 100% to tell me what the heck I was doing.  (which is what you are supposed to do)  It's not as easy as you think.  I never realized how much attitude and altitude correction maintenance is a subconscious function enabled by having ground reference points.

But, of course, my CFI and Houston Approach guided me straight in.  Even though I couldn't see the ground--let alone the runway until I was about 700 ft off the ground and 1.5 miles from the runway (e.g. about 30 seconds away from touchdown), I was perfectly aligned and right on the glideslope.

I quickly remembered why I love flying.