Mental Check

Yesterday something interesting happened to me that I haven't yet experienced in aviation. When I got to the airport in the morning, Amy told me we were just going to preflight the plane and fly without really doing much briefing on our lesson. The winds were supposed to pick up at around 9:30 and so it was best we get in the air before that. I knew mostly how to do the approaches she was going to teach me, so I felt briefing was not necessary.

After I had the plane preflighted, I went back into the hangar to get a drink and gather my things before the flight. As Amy and I walked back out, she commented "See this?" She pointed to her hair. "Its a natural windsock. I don't think the wind is coming from 320.

AWOS (Automated Weather Observation System)is exactly what it sounds like. It reports weather at the airport like wind speed, direction, altimeter setting, ceiling (cloud layer) sky condition (visibility), etc. On this day, AWOS was reporting winds 15 knots at 320 (north being 360). Amy said "I don't think the wind is coming from 320, that just doesn't sound right." Sure enough, as we taxied to do our run up on the ramp, we looked at the windsock. The wind direction was almost 180 degrees from what AWOS was reporting!

As we started our run up (the preflight check before takeoff, usually done on the ramp or out of the way of other taxiing traffic)we heard Oliver (another instructor) and his student on final for 35. The weather was still reporting wind at 320, when in reality it was directly behind them! They were about to land in a tailwind with about 15 knots. We observed their plane coming in fast and high, a very unstabilized approach. Amy was about to inform them to go around when we saw the nose pitch up and heard the roar of the engine as the plane started its go-around. Amy, notified the FBO of the problem and then had it corrected.

What I have learned from this experience is to constantly question your surroundings. If something doesn't feel right, don't blow it off. Ask yourself if you have the right information, if you have completed all of the proper checklists, what is the situation now, and how can it change for the better or worse? If you feel uneasy about something, DONT FLY until you have identified the problem.

And by observing the other aircraft, I can affirm what has been drilled into me time and time again. If the approach doesn't feel right, go around. Don't try and salvage the landing, you might not be able to salvage the aircraft afterwords.

Landing Competition and Flour Drop!

Each year, Hesston College aviation has missions week, where various aviation alumni come and speak on their experiences in mission aviation. The even is the entire weekend with various speakers and a meal. But the think I a personally looking forward to is the Hesston College Aviation Larks Rally. This is a time when the aviation students compete in two competitions: The Landing competition and the flour drop.

I'm not sure of all the details, so I will update you after this event takes place. I believe the landing competition is to see who can land in the shortest distance, between two markers. Either that or there is specific markers to see who can land between them. The flour drop sounds pretty straight forward in that teams will overfly the field and try to land their flower sack on a prescribed target.

I still need to get a team together, and I have two weeks to do that. The competition takes place on Saturday, April 10. Be assured I WILL post after this event to tell details and stories on what happened. I might even get some really good pictures!

Acronyms

I apologize for my lack of posting lately. College, as it were, just gets busier as the semester goes on. However, I realize that there are those out there (namely family members) that check my blog faithfully and because of that I have decided to make it a goal to post at least once a week.

Instrument is going well, although a combination of bad weather and health have kept me from progressing as fast as I would like. I am, however, confident that I will obtain my rating within the next few weeks. Focus and determination is what is what is needed.

Before I became a pilot, I didn't think much of acronyms. To me they were just silly words that meant the person was too lazy to actually say the phrase. But in aviation, acronyms are almost essential to safety and smooth function of the flight. Acronyms in aviation serve there purpose as memorized checklists. While the same information is on a physical checklist, it speeds up the flight and reduces pilot load if you have that checklist memorized. I AM NOT ADVOCATING FOR THE MEMORIZATION OF ALL CHECKLIST MATERIAL. This is dangerous, as you might miss something vital. But there are certain elements that can be memorized using a helpful acronym.

One simple example that most pilots use is the GUMPC check. This stands for Gas (fuel selector valve set to both), Undercarriage (In the down and locked position, verifying you have a wheel on either side), Mixture (rich), Prop (spinning), Carburetor heat (on). This is used on the downwind leg to final, or at the final approach fix to final in instrument. It means the pilot can quickly have his descent checklist done without having to fumble with a card while concentrating on his approach.

My favorite by far though is the three series of acronyms used to verify that you can fly instrument. TOMATO FLAMES, FLAPS, and GRABCARD. TOMATO FLAMES is used to verify that you can fly VFR in day conditions, TOMATO FLAMES + FLAPS is used to verify that you can fly VFR night. TOMATO FLAMES+ FLAPS + GRABCARD verifies you can fly in IMC conditions (assuming you are instrument rated that is).
Here we go:

T achometer
O oil pressure gauge
M anifold pressure gauge for each atmosphere engine
A irspeed indicator
T emperature gauge for each liquid cooled engine
O il temperature gauge

F uel level gauge
L anding gear position indicator
A ltimeter
M agnetic heading indicator
E mergency locator transmitter (ELT)
S eat belts

F uses
L anding lights
A nticollision lamps
P position indicator lamps
S ource of power

G - Generator or alternator
R - Radios for navigation (ADF/VOR/GPS...)
A - Attitude Indicator
B - Ball (inclinometer)
C - Clock
A - Altimeter (sensitive)
R - Rate of Turn (or turn & slip)
D - Directional Gyro (Heading Indicator)
*another D can be added for DME or RNAV above FL240

And there you have it. Other acronyms include AROW (used to verify aircraft documents are in order), AAVIATE (verify the aircraft has had proper maintenance and inspections), UNOS (North/South Turning Error with magnetic compass), ANDS (acceleration error with magnetic compass).

I hope this has satisfied a small portion of the postings that have been lacking. Until next week! (hopefully!)