Getting Away for a While

I finally got to get away from TKI for a while yesterday. After we did some short field landing practice we decided to head up to our new field where the TFC will be operating out of while the runway gets resurfaced at TKI. We started our flight to SWI (Sherman Municipal) but the closer we got, the lower the ceiling was becoming. About 2 miles out of SWI we saw that there was no way to get into to land because the ceiling was so low. We decided to go to GYI (Grayson County, also in Sherman) on the other side of town. The ceiling was just barely within limits there. According to Richard, GYI used to be a B-52 base a long time ago. Now it has 2 parallel runways (17L - 35R and 17R - 35L, but this side is closed) that are aligned the same way TKI is. The 17R - 35L runway is not in use but it looked like they were towing gliders off of it. There is also a short crosswind runway (13-31).

As I was making my turn to base from downwind, I had a little wisp of a cloud I had to fly through to get to base. That's how marginal it was. I even considered putting down and staying until it burned off but as I put it down on the very rough runway, I saw that it looked great to the south. I made one more lap around the pattern, then headed back to TKI. It was getting late and I needed to get the plane back. So I dialed up TKI on the GPS and flew an intercept course for the ILS to do a practice ILS approach.

I have flown ILS approaches on my simulator many times but this was for real. As I started getting the signal from the ILS, I began my turn at 3000 feet. I was just about perfectly centered left and right and when I hit the outer marker, I was just a bit high on the glide slope. A little throttle back and then pushing the nose over got me to the center of the glide slope. After that, it was a piece of cake getting on the ground smoothly.

The good thing is I got a new endorsement in my logbook today. Part of why we were going to Sherman in the first place was so I could do some touch and goes at SWI so I could get a sign off to do solo work at that airport. The way the endorsement reads is as follows: "Solo landings and takeoffs at another airport within 25 nm 14 CFR - 61.93(b)(1)

I have given _____ the flight training in both directions over the route between TKI and GYI, including entering and exiting the traffic pattern and takeoffs and landings at the airports to be used, and find him/her proficient to practice takeoffs and landings at GYI, subject to the following conditions ______".

Since SWI is only 7 nm away, I can now do solo work at SWI when we temporarily relocate there for the construction.

I think I'm ready for starting to do some cross country work now. After all of this I have 15.8 hours (I really need more) and 128 landings. I need to work on finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow so I can fly more. I'm looking every time I see one.


My E-Logbook

Back At It

The last time I flew was August 15 so it has been over 5 weeks since I have been up. After having had my head buried in my computer since I returned from my vacation, I got fed up today and checked the reservations for my favorite 172 and saw that after 4 PM, I was OK. So I called my instructor to see how long he would be out at the airport for some flying. He told me to do some solo flying. After the shaky solo I had and laying off for 5 weeks, I decided to do a day of dual training.

I am really glad I did as we had a cross wind and I was rusty. Finally after about 8 sloppy landings, I was getting the hang of it again. I was really challenged today with people extending their downwind legs farther out than I have ever seen. During one approach, we went all of the way to the outer marker 5 miles out. I made right hand traffic, left hand traffic, extended downwind legs and even thought we might get a wave off because of a slow plane on the runway. All in all it was a good refresher. As we were getting into the swing of things, Richard called the tower and asked for an option. As we turned to final, he said that I needed to do some solo work today. I told him that I just wanted to build up my confidence and get back in the saddle today, not do some solo work.

So we took the option to take off again and this time we headed south instead of staying it the pattern. I told Richard that all I have done lately is work on landings and haven't done anything fun. I wanted to fly over my house. Since Richard lives across the street, he knew the way by heart. We got another bonus as we had to fly over the area where the Plano Balloon Festival had their remaining balloons taking off. I was at 2000 feet and they were at about 900 feet. So we flew around the neighborhood, then headed back, past the balloons, and landed from a right hand pattern again.

All in all, it was a great refresher and I needed it.

My E-Logbook

Vacation Time

I've been so busy with work and then a trip out of the country for business and pleasure, I have not had a chance to fly. While on vacation in London, I found the only pilot shop in London. It was about 2 blocks from my hotel and we found it by accident. I spoke to the two people who were working there (I forgot their names and didn't have my camera) and had a great talk about the problems with GA on their side of the pond. I am very happy to be where I am.

I spoke at great length to them about the user fee crap that they have to put up with. The government in the UK wants to tax everything (and I mean everything) so GA is not immune. The dollar is taking a beating in the world markets, as I can attest to, so $2 US = £1.00. I found a little flying school just west of Edinburgh Scotland and the best they had to offer was a 5 hour block for £650.00 including VAT. That comes out to £130.00 per hour or $260 per hour for a Katana, at least that is wet. The government isn't worried about take offs as much as it is in landings. Even the small airports have a hefty landing fees.

Because everything costs money (weather briefings, landings, BIG fuel taxes and precision approaches) the pilots there will fly past minimums in order to not have to pay for another approach (which can be very expensive, sometimes as much as £200.00). This makes flying in European airspace very dangerous. The sad thing is that our own government has even been considering doing something like this. That is where the AOPA has come in to help with the fight. They have been fighting this hard since the beginning of the year. If you feel so inclined to help out, you may want to consider joining the AOPA. It is more than just a political lobby. If you are a pilot, they have a lot of great information to help you become a better pilot.

Enough of the soapbox. Below is a picture of me in London at the Transair pilot shop (I went back and got my camera but they were closed by then). They were great to talk to but recommended that if I wanted to buy something, get it back in the States.

My E-Logbook