Cloud City

As I talk more and more to the students around me, I realize I’m the only one that doesn’t seem thrilled to be flying. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun. But I don’t seem to get giddy about it like my peers. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not the flying part that somewhat disenchants me. It’s the fact I’m in a small 4-seater aircraft.


I’ve only been in a Cessna 172 once when I was younger on vacation in Guatemala. My grandmother had a group of friends and family she would organize trips for called Tina’s Travelers, and we would go to exotic locations around the world. The great thing about these trips was that they were designed for budget minded travelers but did not give up all the luxuries we are accustomed to. Don’t get me wrong we stayed in some really interesting places in some locations such as Indonesia’s Wamena Valley, but for the most part all the hotels were very nice. The other great thing about these trips was the fact that I got to go with my parents on every trip until college (Yes I’m still bitter). Almost every summer or Christmas brought a new adventure: Kenya, Thailand, Chile, and Easter Island, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Indonesia just to name a few.


On this particular day we were heading to visit the temples of Tikal. I don’t remember the exact story, but here is what I remember. Our guide asked if there was anyone willing to follow the regional aircraft with a different pilot in a Cessna. One of my grandparent’s friends volunteered and asked me if I wanted to go with him. I had never been in a small plane like this so of course I jumped at the opportunity. I think I was maybe 10 or 11 years old. Off we went and landed at a small airport in the middle of nowhere. That has been my only encounter with small planes.
I much prefer the regional jets and anything up to a triple seven and beyond. Of course I completely understand why I need to learn in the Cirrus, then the Seminole for multi-engine first. I really have no desire to own or fly around in these small aircraft after I get to the airlines or fly in the corporate world. I wish there were a commercial class I could take to bypass this stuff, but that’s like saying someone wants to play lead guitar for Metallica when the only experience they have is playing Guitar Hero or air guitar.


Tuesday was my first day flying with “foggles” on to practice IFR (Instrument Flight Rules). Some of you may be thinking - “Already?” Remember this is an accelerated curriculum. VFR and IFR are combined. These foggles or “half glasses” so to speak only allow you to see the instruments in front of you and take away the outside world. This is more like a videogame (YES… I know there’s no reset button on this) and I actually enjoy flying this way more than flying VFR.


A day had passed with weather that did not allow for me to fly. A tornado warning threatened from the south and was due to come up north. We were at the plane performing the inspection when my instructor looked out at the horizon to see some nasty clouds coming our way. He asked me how I would feel about canceling the flight. I looked out in the direction he was staring and called back to him, as long as it’s not a “no show” I’m fine with it. The following morning I called in for the weather briefer to get the scoop on weather conditions for my area. I wanted a VFR flight from here to Melbourne, no landing, with an approximate 2 hour time so my instructor and I had enough time to poke some holes in the sky. Clouds were low. VFR was not suggested. I approached my instructor who had been talking to other instructors who had just returned that had all the same information. Once you break that first layer of clouds it was a beautiful blue sky. My CFI decided to file an IFR flight plan and if we found some good clear skies he would cancel the IFR flight plan from the radio and allow me to complete my lesson.


As we took off we headed straight for the clouds and poked through to a sunny gorgeous sky. He had me set up the autopilot for MLB (Melbourne) and off the plane took us as we scanned between clouds for some clearance so I could put my foggles on and perform stalls and slow flight. THIS I will say was one of the best experiences I have had in a small plane. The plane flew through and among the clouds like they were passageways to other worlds- huge columns of puffy white cotton like a well-lit cavern with passages leading to the dragon’s treasure. THIS has slightly changed my mind about small planes. Of course, if I want to continue flying like this, I will have to get IFR. Suddenly my instructor disengaged the autopilot which brought me back from my happy little world, and took a sharp turn through two huge columns and into what I imagined as a large valley with a still white cotton lake below us. It seemed as if these pathways and pillars of clouds all spilled into this reservoir in the sky. I put my foggles on and took the controls. Slow flight clean (without flaps) and slow flight dirty (with the flaps) PERFECTLY executed! Then for power on stalls, followed by power off stalls. BRILLIANT! I had been talking to some of my class mates about the stalls and as it turns out, I don’t need to wait for the plane to really dip down before I can recover. As soon as the plane buffets or begins to drop, I can push full power and recover the stall, which made things quite a bit easier than to wait for a more uncontrollable situation than needed! I also remembered to use my checklists more than I had been rather than having my instructor keep reminding me. Damn these checklists… they take the fun out of everything!! I think I also finally got the concept of using the power lever for altitude and using pitch for speed. In other words: If you want to pick up speed, pitch the plane slightly down, and to gain altitude you only need to add more power to the engine. The gas pedal in your car is actually the power lever or I call it the “stick shift” in a plane. As we flew back to Sanford again my instructor surprised me by grabbing controls and diving the plane down and to the right between two clouds that got us below the ceiling of the first layer of clouds. If I recall, this was about 1500 feet, and I took the controls again to bring us in to SFB for a VFR landing. My take offs have been great. Nice and smooth. My landings… that’s another story. I could tell he was really letting me line her up this time and it wasn’t until we got very close to the landing strip that he corrected me for touchdown. We rolled down the runway and exited on Romeo. After we were cleared I attempted my best to speak to Sanford Ground “Sanford Ground Connection 419 clear of niner center at Romeo requesting taxi to DCA ramp.” WOOHOO I DID IT!! Ok… here it comes… Ground is going to tell me how to get back… “Connection 419 taxi right side center line Charlie to Kilo.” However! What I heard was “Connection 419 taxi right side of mumble mumble blah blah blah!” I looked at my instructor and said… taxi right side of center line… What the hell did he say?” I pressed the radio button anyway. “Sanford Ground taxi right side… ummmmmm.” I un-clicked the button and my instructor chimed in “… of center line Charlie kilo. Connection 419.” DAMNIT!!! I wanted to do that! Ugh… well… I think I’m starting to get it. After another hour sim focusing on power on stalls, power off stalls, slow flight “clean” and “dirty” with and without the foggles on it was time to call it a night. I went home.


6 hours later I was back in the operations building submitting a ticket for my next lesson at 0700. I had a test at 1400 and a second flight later. My instructor came in with a cold and asked if it was okay he canceled the flight. I was fine with it. I wanted to head home and study for my test, though I knew I was ready for it. Unfortunately, even though my CFI was sick, it didn’t mean I was off the hook. They found another instructor to take over my lesson for the day. I went home for another couple hours of sleep and headed back hoping my sub CFI would be cool. I’ve seen some real jackasses whom in my opinion look for any reason to “no show” their student so they can still get paid for the day and claim their student wasn’t ready for the day’s lesson. Whether it be not having a certain book in their flight bag or have some sort of piece of equipment on hand that our class is not even required to have until we reach a higher level in the lesson plan. I waited in the operations building and got the name of who to look for. My substitute CFI approached me and asked if I was ready. He asked if I had the required stuff like: Government issued I.D., medical card, and my flight log.

“Check, check, check.”

“Let’s Go!”

We walked out onto the ramp and began inspecting the plane. So far this is going well. Even though this is a standardized curriculum it appears every CFI has his own approach and or style of doing things. I was enjoying a fresh set of eyes and hands to mold me into a pilot. We got in and we taxied off to spot 5 for the engine check. Everything was in order and he said he would handle the radios today. He wanted me ready and relaxed for my maneuvers. Though I would have liked the practice talking to ATC, I enjoyed hearing another voice to see another style for ATC. He lined us up and said, “Your controls…. GO!” Mixture to rich, fuel pump to boost, flaps to 50%, power lever to 50%, “engine parameters all green all go” power lever to 100%. HOLY SHIT! I just did the takeoff checklist from memory! Put me in a situation with a little pressure and I surprise even myself! At 65 knots I pulled back and off we went. It was a touch cloudy and it was a little while before we found some open airspace for me to do my maneuvers. My slow flight was perfect. We started the stall maneuvers and I completely botched the power off stall. He took the controls and showed me while I held the controls with him. I tried again and nailed it! This is where the difference in CFI was evident. My sub made a BIG deal out of me getting it right. High fives went around and I felt good. WOW… someone who understands positive reinforcement! Not that my regular CFI isn’t good, but he doesn’t really give enough of a positive vibe when I get something right. It’s almost expected I do it right the first time. I don’t really work that way. I need repetition to really let something sink in. THIS is working! We headed back to SFB. My instructor could tell I was tired and decided to fly us back to the pattern for landing. I wasn’t paying attention to the radio when he spoke but when ATC answered back I heard Connection 422 like it was my name. “Connection 422 you are cleared for the option on niner right” I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. He gave back the controls and said “Ok… land her.” Flaps to 50% and ride the balloon… under 100 knots flaps to 100%. If anyone doesn’t know what flaps do exactly they are designed to allow a plane to have a steeper descent rate without increasing speed. When they are engaged you get a sensation of the plane “ballooning” up when you start to really descend. I aimed for the numbers on the runway. I was doing pretty well compared to my previous attempts. Suddenly my instructor called out “GO AROUND.” Without hesitation or questioning I pushed the power lever full put flaps to 50% and reached to make sure mixture was rich. More high fives! I was on a high. We came around again and did 2 more touch and goes before he said lets go home. We were cleared for niner center and unfortunately I wasn’t on and he corrected my landing. I was tired but felt good. I had about 20 minutes to get to class for our test. I will spare you all the details but… I only missed one question that I should have gotten right! Something about where can you get VORs? A. Around ground level B. Low earth orbit or C. Both of these. Why I thought you could get a radio signal in low earth orbit I don’t know. But I answered C. Oh well. Just one question wrong! I’ll take that!


So tonight… It’s study the gleim for the test on Monday. Thus far I have not been able to score higher than a 70 on my study tests at home. Which, is passing for FAA… but to not get grounded I need 80 for DCA standards. Strategically, getting lower than 80 would allow more study time for me and not have to worry about my flying lessons. Though… I won’t accept this of myself. I will study it and hopefully… kick some ass!