Commercial Pilot

Sorry for the delay, its been a heck of a couple of weeks.  Well, the title says it all, I am officially a commercially rated pilot.  About freakin time!  It did not come easily, though.  The checkride was one of the most challenging things I've faced, not in the sense of weather conditions, or emergencies, or whatnot, but the examiner was a bit of a handful.  The oral exam went well, with a few hiccups on some of the weather charts (anyone want to explain what a "dry line" is on a surface analysis chart?).  That said, once we got into the airplane, things just couldn't fall my way.  First off - it was windy, and they were swinging around all over the place.  I've flown in much worse conditions (ask me sometime about an A36 Bonanza into Nashua, NH), but its certainly not what I wanted on my check ride.  Secondly, the examiner wanted me to perform the check ride, and its associated maneuvers, HIS way, as opposed to the standardized way I was taught at FlightSafety.  


I was warned about this before, but didn't expect it to be as bad as it was.  Throughout the flight I was concerned with failing - he constantly told me how bad my maneuvers were and how I should be doing something different - and was worked up, but never let it show.  As we came back to Vero, I was soaked in sweat and exhausted, with only one landing left to make.  We sailed in along the glideslope, wind knocking us about like a dingy in a hurricane, and I fought to keep the airplane aligned with the center of the runway.  I rounded out my approach into the flare, and waited for the airplane to settle down, keeping my cross-wind correction in and hoping a gust of wind didn't float me past my touchdown point.  The resulting landing was only realized when we could feel the cracks in the runway pass beneath our tires.  No sound, no jolt.  The examiner's smile betrayed the mask he had been wearing throughout the flight, as he later said he is especially stern on commercial students to see how they react to pressure.  Thirty minutes and $400 later, I had my ticket in-hand.

So there we are!  The ink had barely dried on my Instrument rating and I was issued another "Temporary Airman's Certificate."  The economist (read: analyst) in me can't let the moment pass without some number crunching, though.  The total cost of my training from Instrument to commercial was $10,644.54 - nearly a full $4,000 less than what was originally quoted to me from FlightSafety.  I attribute the savings to a few factors.  FlightSafety quotes time and cost numbers based on "average" time needed to complete a rating or certificate (under CFR part 61).  Coming to FlightSafety, I was already a fairly proficient pilot, and didn't need a lot of recurrent training to adapt to their standards.  Also, I was very proactive in my studies and classroom preparation, a point which the Chief Flight Instructor mentioned makes a significant difference.  Further, my schedule was only limited by my instructor, aircraft availability, and work schedule.  Not once did a lack of preparation or available funds restrict my flying.  To that point, only 70 days had passed from my first flight (3/17) to my commercial check-ride (5/25) and in that time, I amassed 50 hours in my logbook, bringing my total to 271.2 hours.

So what's next?  Well my multi-engine training has started.  Its only 17 lessons, 5 of which are in the simulator and one or two briefs, so it should go fairly quickly.  I hope to be on my checkride by the beginning of next month.  First thoughts on it though - things get a bit complicated when an engine fails.  In single-engine aircraft, you have one option when your engine quits:  Land.  In multi-engined aircraft, you're still flying, so your approach to handling the emergency is much different than anything I've learned before.  The challenge is certainly fun, and I can't wait to have to learn to handle it all, AND fly an instrument approach.  Geeze... 


Flight Instructor ground school starts on Monday, so I'll be back to report on how that is going as well as a multi-engine update.  I'll leave you all with something I came up with while talking to a friend of mine, trying to describe why I love flying:


"It's always a sunny day above the clouds..."

Requesting Flight Following

Beep beep, beep beep, beep beep.  Fuel pump - ON, switch tanks, reset and start timer, Fuel pump - Off

Every 30 minutes I'd go through the same routine.  In-between I'd be checking my course through landmarks on the ground and navigational beacons, timing the distance between them, calculating my ground speed, and talking to air traffic control.  Sitting here now, it seems like a blur, but my 667 mile cross country is behind me.  Having cancelled twice already, due to weather, I was happy to take off from a cloudless, 71 degree Vero Beach and head off to my longest flight, yet, and log more flight time in a single day than I ever had before.

Wheels-up came just after 11:30 in the morning, and I lifted off into some of the most beautiful weather I've experienced yet, here in Florida.  Winds were relatively light, thanks to the high pressure following the front that cleared the day before.  I settled in at 6,500 feet, opened my VFR flight plan and contacted Orlando Approach for flight following (they monitor your flight).  The eastern corridor was quite busy north of Melbourne, FL.  I was getting several traffic calls, including a Mooney which passed me 500' below and to the right (same direction) and a Beechcraft 400 jet going in the opposite direction.  The flight also carried me just west near Cape Canaveral, and I was able to see the entire space center from the air.  The open-structure launch pads rose up along the coast, pointed like fingers towards the heavens.  In the middle of it all, the immense Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) sat like the nucleus of the atom which made up KSC, and just east, the legendary pads 39A and 39B sat.  The former waiting to launch the final two missions, carried out by shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis respectively.  It was awe inspiring.

Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39B, the VAB, and Pad 39A (Left to Right)

I landed at St Augustine Florida (KSGJ) right on schedule, and decided to take lunch.  Its fortunate I did, for the FBO (Fixed Base Operator - the private aircraft terminal) was receiving a delivery of AVGas and couldn't fuel my plane until they'd finished.  The restaurant at SGJ was quite good, and I fully recommend the Western Burger.  While I sat back in the FBO, in my uniform and duly playing Angry Birds on my iPad, an Air Force pilot waiting to depart came up to chat about the iPad, and its usefulness to a pilot (including playing angry birds).  It was nice to be treated as an equal by the Major, a fellow professional pilot out accomplishing a mission, bound by a common passion.

As I departed St Augustine, I fired up the bluetooth GPS module my instructor let me borrow. The DUAL XGPS 150 is a bluetooth enabled, WAAS capable, portable GPS receiver that, when coupled with my iPad, would present my real-time position on a sectional/en-route chart, including GPS altitude, groundspeed, and heading, using the App ForeFlight.  To any pilots reading my blog, the iPad, XGPS 150, ForeFlight combo is probably one of the single greatest investments you can make.  Considering you can get a portable, WAAS capable, moving-map GPS, and will geo-reference your position on CURRENT aviation charts, for less than $600 (plus a $75/year basic subscription to ForeFlight) - its absolutely amazing the situational awareness you are able to obtain, especially in older, less well-equipped aircraft. Not only did I get my en-route briefing through ForeFlight, via the iPads built-in WiFi, but I was also able to correctly file my flight plan with the FAA from it, and track my progress along the way!  I should get a commission from those three companies for the plug I just gave them...

Okay, back to the flight.  So St Augustine was nice, but I had to keep trucking along.  Its certain that the designers of the seats in the poor Cadet did not have long-range flights in mind, because after about an hour, my butt started to go numb.  At least it kept my attention, unlike the boring, flat landscape, and the quiet control frequency.  I arrived at Albany, GA (KABY) without issue, and made a silky smooth landing on Runway 16.

Over the boring state of Georgia

The controller at KABY was extremely nice, she warned me of smoke in the vicinity due to controlled burns by the local paper companies, and gave me constant wind updates, since it was varying between many directions.  As I departed on my final leg, I was more concerned about my butt than the fact it was the longest leg of my trip at 314 miles, but through the smoke I climbed up to 7,500 feet.  The Gulf of Mexico appeared to my west, and the sun began to dip towards its blue waters.  

iPad on the left, flight plan on the right at 7,500 feet

Looking over at the Gulf of Mexico

Flying along, while listening to Tallahassee approach, I heard a pretty cool traffic advisory to another aircraft:

"Saratoga 9-2-Mike, traffic at your 2 o'clock, 2 miles.  You'll follow them in for final.  Flight of two F-22s.  Caution wake turbulence." 

 Damn I want THAT traffic call!


As I entered Orlando's airspace, I received a vector south to avoid the international airport.  On my iPad, I noticed my track was going to take me directly over Disney World.  Might sound cool, at first, but the FAA has a "permanent" Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) and I had no intentions of busting any airspace on my flight.  With my knowledge in-hand I queried Orlando about it, and was told I was cleared through it, so long as I was under their control.  Perfect!  Dusk was settling into night as I crossed over Disney World and was told to proceed direct to Vero Beach.  I made it back to KVRB at 9pm on the nose, 7.3 hours of flight later, and one step closer to my single-engine commercial license.


Today, I took my last flight (for a while) in the Cadet, and my last one with my current instructor, Chris.  The three of us have come a long way since I started here, but in that short time, I've gone from a recreational pilot, more concerned with my next tailwheel landing than checklists, to a pilot flying at a professional level, knowing every aspect of each flight I'm about to take.  Up next is the more-advanced and powerful Piper Arrow... Stay tuned!

The Apartment Hunter

NOTE:  I'll add pictures as soon as I can find the cable to plug my camera into my computer...


Well I'm happy to say the train got Dan and I here safely.  In fact, we arrived a whole hour early - a rarity in modern US train travel!  After de-training, Dan and I headed over to Sanford-Orlando International Airport to visit long time college friend, and a protege of mine, Jeff Russell.  Jeff attended and is now a flight instructor for AeroSim Aviation, formerly the Delta Connection Academy.  

Arrived in Sanford!

We eventually checked me into the on-campus housing FlightSafety offers its students.  FlightSafety offers 4 options for housing: the Bungalow, a single room studio; a 3-Bedroom Apartment; the 2815 Dormitory, a two-bed version of the Bungalow; and the Landing Strip, a single or two-bed apartment (depending on layout).  I was lucky enough to get a single-bed landing strip, but at $39 per night, it wasn't financially viable for me in the long run.  

My bedroom on campus - Fully furnished! (Dirty jeans on the bed not included)

My hunt for somewhere a little cheaper started on Craigslist.  Since the economic downturn in 2009, the housing market in Florida has collapsed pretty hard.  Rental prices range from $450/month for a studio apartment to $1200 for a 3-bedroom condominium, and typically, utilities are included.  One thing I quickly found were some of the "special conditions" many of these places have:

2 Bedroom, 2 Bath condo with very private garden view of lush landscape. FIRST FLOOR, no stairs, reserved parking space & guest parking.
Very large living room - dining room combination with pass-through from the kitchen. All appliances and window treatments are included.
Water, Sewer and Trash as well as the Condo Maintenance fee is paid by the owner.
This condo is spacious and very attractively priced for an Unfurnished Annual Rental at $560/month.
The condo association does not allow pets. The owner does not allow smoking.

$560/month!!??!  Hell yeah! Find me a roommate and...

Age 55+ condo community...

Shit


After sifting through these age-restricted landmines, (the motto down here is "newly-wed, or nearly-dead") Craigslist turned up a few results, which I visited and looked nice.  My eventual crash-pad came to me in the form of a flyer on a bulletin board at FlightSafety.


I'm settled into a wonderful 3-bedroom apartment in a gated apartment community for only $400/month.  Save for my bedroom, the apartment is fully furnished and utilities are included.  The complex has a full gym, pool, game-room, tons of jogging paths, and is only a few miles from the airport.  To top it all off, I'm living with two FlightSafety students.  One just finished the CFI course and is working on his CFI-I and MEI ratings, the other about to enter his training for his instrument rating.  Having a student ahead of me and one behind will offer unique opportunities to not only learn from both of them, but also to help teach from some of my experiences.


So I have a futon mattress to sleep on for now until I finalize my furniture situation, but my computer is set up, and I have a pantry full of food.  The weather for the next 7 days is sunny and in the mid-to-upper 70s, so I guess I'll hang out at the beach for the majority of the day tomorrow, for Monday is when the real work begins...

Vero Ground, ready to taxi...

Cleared for Departure

Cleared for departure to the Vero Beach Airport.  Upon entering controlled airspace, radar vectors to Commercial Single/Multi-Engine Land, CFI, CFII, then as Filed.  Maintain 3000, expect One-Zero Thousand, 10 minutes after departure.  Contact Miami Center on 132.250.  Squawk 0720.

Yeah its cheesy, but its appropriate considering my departure today.  I sit here in my parent's house, in my somewhat empty room, filled with more emotion than one person should be allowed to have.  Excitement, anxiety, fear, happiness, nostalgia - I could go through a whole list of thoughts racing through my head right now.  But that time has come and gone.  Right now, I have the task ahead of me, for this is the beginning of my great adventure.  My career.  My life.


Let me give you a little background of who I am and why I am writing this blog.  For as long as I can remember, I've had an inexplicable obsession with aviation.  According to my parents, my first word was "airplane" and my first phrase "airplane go bye-bye."  Having been born on Maui (hence "Flyin Hawaiian), we would have to fly everywhere to visit friends and family.  If you've ever been on an airliner, there's always that ONE person who thought it would be a good idea to bring their 6-month old child with them, which ends up crying from startup to shutdown.  Not me.  On my first trip from Hawaii to the mainland, aboard a United DC-10, I was not only quiet as can be, but I sat up in the bassinet, and looked around, fascinated by my new airborne world.


Maybe that is what hooked me on aviation.  Or maybe it was my dad, taking me to the runway ends of Gaithersburg Airpark (KGAI), Gravely Point in Washington DC (KDCA), watching F-14s at the end of NAS Miramar (KNKX), helping John Davis - captain for American Airlines - do a walk-around on an MD-82 (pre 9/11 of course), or any of the dozens of airshows my parents took me to as a baby.  In fact, at the 1988 Air Expo at NAS Patuxent River (KNHK), during Dale Snodgrass' F-14 demo, I took my very first steps.  There have been many instances, which can point to my love of aviation, but I just think its in my blood.  Like most pilots, I know I was meant to be up there not down here.


Fast forward 12 years, and my parents made me a deal:  Make honor roll for the entire school year, and I get flying lessons.  Take a guess what I did?  I took my first flight lesson on June 26, 1999 with Greg French, in a TB09 Tampico N55372.  It was amazing.  Me, doing what I've known to be destined to do, and doing like a champ.  I could hold straight and level, make turns, even hold a heading.  I could even handle unusual situations such as a vacuum failure, as I pointed out the gyrating DG to Greg.  I didn't freak out, I didn't panic, I just pointed it out to him, and thought "don't tell mom."


Through my involvement in the Civil Air Patrol, I attended the 2000 Maryland Wing Glider Academy, where we immersed ourselves into aviation and were guaranteed TWO rides in a sailplane.  Dave Pixton took me up in a Grob 103 sailplane for 30 minutes, and I was HOOKED.  Not only was glider flying within my parent's budget, (I was only flying powered once a month) but it was so much fun.  In a glider, everything slows down, and you truly feel like you're flying.  All you hear is the air rushing by, the sailplane rattling as if it were speaking to you, and your heart beating in your ears.  Sailplanes challenge a pilot in every aspect of VFR aviation:  Formation flying on tow, energy management aloft, dead-reckoning navigation, spatial orientation, situational awareness, stick and rudder skills, and dead-stick landings.  I soloed on July 2, 2001, 18 days before my 15th birthday. It was one of the greatest feelings of my life.  As I released that tow cable, knowing I was up there, alone for the first time, I knew I was a PILOT.  I'm not afraid to admit I wept in joy.  To this day, thinking about that feeling gets me choked up.  Granted, my next thought was how silly it would be if I ran into something (like the ground) because I was all teary-eyed, so I got it together and focused on the task at hand.


A year and 18 days later, in front of many friends and family members, I soloed Cessna 172R N172WG on my 16th birthday.  The following year, I was a licensed glider pilot.  Unfortunately, my departure to Penn State (from which I graduated) put my Single Engine - Land rating on hold, but not indefinitely.  In the Fall of 2006, my mom introduced me to my friend and mentor, JJ Greenway, and by introduced me, I mean he came and picked me up from school in his Cessna 172 - N20336 - and told me to fly us home.  Talk about a meeting!  This was the beginning of a wonderful friendship, and a turning point for my aviation career.  JJ helped me through my SEL Private Pilots Certificate (August 8, 2007), high-performance, complex, and tailwheel endorsements, as well as much of my instrument flying, and introduction to professional-style aviation.  I've logged more hours with him than any other person, and owe a lot of my attention to detail and knowledge to his expertise.


So here we are now.  I passed my Instrument rating checkride on February 9, 2011, and am about to leave for Vero Beach.  My Mazda is packed to the gills (minus my laptop - obviously), and the Auto Train leaves Lorton, VA at around 3:30pm - myself and my best friend Dan on board.  But why am I going to Vero, you might ask.  Simple - I am enrolled in the Commercial Single/Multi-Engine Land, Certificated Flight Instructor, and CFI-Instrument courses at Flight Safety International's Flight Safety Academy.  This blog is going to be a venue to share my experiences with my friends, family, and the world.  I will be posting updates as often as my schedule allows, and hope to continue it beyond this chapter, and into my career.


I apologize for the wall of text, but if you've continued this far, allow me to share with you a passage, which has sustained me through my challenges, and desire to accomplish my dreams:

"A career in flying was like climbing one of those ancient Babylonian pyramids made up of a dizzy progression of steps and ledges, a ziggurat, a pyramid extraordinarily high and steep; and the idea was to prove at every foot of the way up that pyramid that you were the one of the elected and anointed ones who had "the right stuff" and could move higher and higher and even--ultimately, God willing, one day--that you might be able to join that special few at the very top, that elite... the very brotherhood of the Right Stuff itself."

-From: The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe