Flightblog

Two New Airplanes in Two Days

I've wasted no time in exercising the privileges of my new Private Pilot license. In fact, I've been introduced to two new airplanes in the last two days, both of which are a big step up from the little C-152 Aerobat I trained in.

Yesterday I had some errands to run in town in the morning, and on the way out of town stopped by the airport (with a pizza) to have lunch with the CFIs there. As an up and coming pilot, one of the best things you can do is to just hang around the CFIs and learn whatever you can.

As we ate pizza, Fletch and I talked about the systems and capabilities in our school's new Cessna 172SP. They just got this plane a few weeks ago and she is very nice. It's a 2001 and has about 1000 hours TT. She's sweet: IFR certified GPS, dual Nav/Com, ADF, Autopilot, all the instruments are calibrated, control cables are tight and solid feeling, fuel injected, leather upholstery...she's a really nice airplane. I've been looking at her eagerly since she came in, hoping the day would come when I could take her flying.

While we ate, I asked about the GPS and how I could use it for VFR flight. Fletch was really helpful, explaining the nearest and direst features in great detail. After lunch, we went out to the plane and he turned on the avionics master and showed me how it works. Simple and intuitive, but also quite capable. No moving map, but it provides more than enough information to get safely back to the airport...even at night.

When we got done and walked back to the hangar, I asked when we could do a checkout flight. We looked at the calendar and 542SP was booked into next week already! We looked for any open slots in the next few days and there was nothing...except, if I wanted to we could do it right now.

YAY! I grabbed a headset and strolled out to the plane. After the preflight inspection, we sat for a few minutes while I got familiar with the checklist (it's a lot bigger than the other planes). Everything was pretty straightforward with the only item requiring special attention being the engine start. If it's cold, it has to be primed.

We cranked her up and taxied out to the ramp for a runup and I was already delighted. Even on the ground she handled well. Those nice, tight control cables make it oh so easy to maintain the centerline while taxiing. Down the ramp a little ways and we found an unoccupied spot to do the runup. Mags: good, ammeter: good, carb heat: what carb heat? Got the radios all set and copied clearance for a NE departure and we were good to go.

The pre-takeoff checklist is not much bigger than the 152 and before I knew it we were in the air. What a bird! At full power, she climbed at 1000fpm at Vy, that's awesome performance compared to 7332L! 542SP's big, powerful 180hp Lycoming got us to altitude quick and as we leveled off we accelerated to a cruise speed of 125kts, nice!

As we flew up the coast a little ways, Fletch gave me an in the air tutorial on the GPS and radios, isolating the pax from radio comms and leaning. For the most part, she's just like the 152 and the older 172's, just nicer and with better toys.

At Opana Point we did some basic airwork: slow flight, steep turns (both of which I aced, ironically enough), stalls. The plane handles very, very nicely...like a new car. Enough airwork, let's head back to the airport for some landings. The pattern is the same as in the 152, just a little faster. 90kts downwind, 80kt base and 70kt final...rounding out to slow to about 60kts as we cross the threshold. I landed 3 times with the wind gusting about 10° across the runway and had a nice full stall landing on each. On the last one I got a little sideways and Fletch helped me out, but they were all 3 OK. One more to a full stop and that's 4 and we're done.

Checked out in the nice, new SP in .9. Now I'm ready to fly an airplane nice enough to take even nervous passengers.

This morning as I made breakfast, I got a call on my mobile from a number I didn't recognize. The man on the other end was Mark and explained that he'd gotten my number from Maui Aviators, understood I was a new private pilot and then started talking about the C-182 he is a partner in. Wow. All of a sudden he's asking me if I would fly to the Big Island with him today and help with the radios.

He was maybe a little taken aback when I asked if I could fly the return trip so I could log the time, but he agreed. I told him I'd meet him at the hangar at 11:30 and went out to my office to get a weather briefing. Weather was starting to happen already. A low pressure to the NE was creating some instability that was resulting in towering cumulus clouds on the mountains. Our route looked pretty good offshore, but it got sticky on the interior of the Big Island. I wondered how this pilot (whom I don't know) would handle weather decisions, and decided I would go and find out.

Down at the hangar I got an update briefing and called the Waimea (our destination) AWOS. The AWOS was reporting BKN 600, OVC 1900 at Waimea, which is IFR, which means we cant' go there. 20 minutes later it was SCT 1200, OVC 2200...so I thought it might get better, but resolved to get out of Mark exactly how acute a case of get-there-itis he might have. He was really cool, when I explained that our destination sounded pretty marginal, he said that's what he'd heard and that he would only try to get in there if it looked good from the coast, otherwise we'd go to Kona. Great, that was a big relief.

I can see how it would be a really awkward position to be in, having another pilot pressuring you into making a decision you don't feel good about. I don't ever want to let myself get into that position.

Mark did a preflight on N99MV as I recorded a flight plan at FSS and my what a pretty plane! 230 HP, constant speed prop, 140kt cruise...high performance baby! We got all situated in the cabin and started our taxi. The airplane is really well kept and it shows. Nice avionics, nice interior. It's neat the difference between the school airplanes and someone's personal ship. There was a POH, flashlights and nice flotation vests all in the plane...nice being able to leave some stuff in the plane.

As promised, I worked the radios while Mark flew. We dodged clouds at 3500' on the way across the channel and tried tracking VORs that we could somehow never clearly receive. Eventually we came up on the coast and Upolu Airport was right off our nose, exactly where it should be. The north shore was thick and gray with clouds so we went around to the south, following the shoreline. Up the hill, where our destination lay, was totally socked in. The AWOS was reporting 500 OVC and isolated cumulonimbus, yikes! Mark and I exchanged a glance with each other and decided to go to Kona and rent a car and drive up there...good call. I dialed up Kona approach and the Kona VORTAC and called in our position. They assigned us an approach and in a few minutes we were on the ground at Kona looking for a car.

We wound up taking a cab up to Waimea, Mark and his girlfriend and daughter all had dentist appointments in Waimea. While they went to the dentist I played with my cellphone and went to lunch with the cab driver. Mmmm...teriyaki beef and shoyu chicken, 2 scoop rice and mac salad. I wonder if I'll be able to find a place with good plate lunch in Atlanta...

It rained and rained while we were in Waimea. Fletch called and let me know it did not look good for coming back across the channel. He had heard pilot reports from someone coming from Hilo who reported thunderstorms. Fletch suggested I call now and get a standard weather briefing and then get an update briefing when we get back to the airport so I could see any trends starting to develop...good advice. The weather briefer let us know VFR was not recommended due to limited visibility and isolated showers off Maui's southwest shore, other than that the channel looked clear of precip and with a scattered layer at 4500'. Not that bad.

As we came down the hill in the cab and got underneath the clouds, we had a great vantage point from which to see lots of sunshine on the water. That's a good sign too. An hour later, back at the airport, our update briefing was good: lots of clouds over the mountains, drifting off the north shores, avoid the showers between Makena and Kahoolawe and we should be fine. The go/no-go decision was mine and I decided we would go.

We launched and tracked the Kona VORTAC outbound on the victor 7, which would take us around the back side of Kahoolawe. Before we could get centered on the airway though, HNL Center diverted us north a little to stay out of the way of a Gulfstream descending into Kona.

As we climbed to a cruise altitude of 3000', Mark handed over the controls to me and let me fly back to Maui. What a blast! Clipping along at 150, holding a course and altitude, from the right seat...how fun! I got to lean out the mixture and set up a 23"/2300 rpm power setting for an economical fast cruise home. I really felt like a pilot. Heh, this and I'm talking to center the whole way, advising of our progress.

We had to descend to get under some clouds about halfway across the channel and as we did, saw Kahoolawe in the distance. It looked pretty clear so instead of taking the long way all the way around the west side of Kahoolawe, we cut the corner and headed for the east side. As we drew closer, we could see two rain showers off the east side of Kahoolawe, between the small island and Makena on Maui's south shore. Right between these 2 squalls we could make out Molokini in the haze. I turned right toward Molokini as Center handed us off to Maui approach, almost home.

As we hit the rain in the gap between these 2 squalls, I saw how pilots let themselves inadvertently get into IFR conditions. It didn't happen to us, nor was it even close (we got some rain but never lost sight of Molokini, which was 5 miles away at least), but I saw how it happens. If you see a hole in weather, and count on it staying open long enough for you to fly through it, there is the risk that it won't. Weather can change very quickly, especially in unstable air. Seeing this from the perspective I saw it from was a very good lesson. The more conservative decision today would have been to fly around the 2 squalls, staying in the sun all the way around the back side of Kahoolawe...like the weather briefer suggested. The path I chose, through the channel and between those 2 squalls was safe, but slightly more risky: what if those 2 squalls closed in on one another while we were crossing? What if the big cloud above them all of a sudden let go right where we were flying through? See?

Today I saw why there are so many NTSB reports about dead pilots who thought they could push through weather. It's so easy to go for what looks like a safe route through the weather, if you do, you'd better hope it stays safe. Better to take the safest, most conservative route you can.

Please dear reader, do not come to the mistaken conclusion that we flew dangerously today: that couldn't be further from the truth. We maintained way better than VFR minimum visibility and cloud clearance all the way through even the rain...no problem for us. BUT, I got to see what it is like for the pilot who accidentally winds up in the clouds, not knowing how he got there. I saw how that happens to pilots. It is not something I will let happen to me, I'm going around the west side of Kahoolawe next time if that's what the weather briefer recommends.

When we got established on final for RWY 2, Mark never moved to take back the plane. I guess it's my landing. I got a little slow in the flare and had the stall warn going pretty good before we finally touched down. We were maybe a little side loaded but slow and gentle, not a bad landing for my first try in a new plane.

It was a really great flight, I feel way more like a pilot today than I did yesterday. Hoping Mark invites me along again, that was really fun!

Posted by johnpeace at May 8, 2004 12:25 AM