Cirrus SR22 Turbo training - Day 3

Today’s 3.3 hour training flight focused on IFR work.
We flew from JGG to KDAN (Danville, VA) and shot the ILS there. I flew that one by hand, using the flight director as a terrific way to “cheat”. Just like a video game – keep the yellow thingie nestled in the green triangle bars!


Then we filed IFR for the trip to KFKN (Franklin) to shoot the GPS 9 approach partial panel (we failed the PFD). A quick stop for fuel (good prices!) and we were off again to JGG. We had to stay down at 1500’ to remain VFR until we could pick up an IFR clearance. For some reason we couldn’t pick up the clearance on the ground via the GCO (ground comm outlet) – it might have been out of service.

ATC was fairly busy during that last leg. In fact, one pilot was chewed out for not responding to calls from ATC. He was then promptly told “radar service terminated” and to “stay OUT of the airspace and get off my frequency”. Seemed a little excessive on ATC’s part, but I imagine the pilot was not very professional. After hearing that I tried to be extra concise on the radio and use a deep, confident, professional-sounding radio voice - well as much as I could muster that is.

I got my first holding pattern from ATC today. Someone was on the ground at JGG with an IFR clearance that had the airspace tied up for a few minutes. We spent the time making a couple of circles around the HCM VOR while I learned how best get the autopilot to fly it. Once he was cleared out of the area, ATC sent us right in to the airport. We were advised that another plane was behind us, in the hold until we were out of the way. Luckily we were able to cancel IFR right then so that the other guy didn’t have to do a few holds.

I ended the trip with a B+ landing. Well, it was actually a D+ landing since it was supposed to be short field and I didn’t touch down until 500 feet down the runway. The other landings went well though, including one that was a little crosswind. For some reason I really like the feeling of crabbing my way down the final approach and then dropping a wing and kicking opposite rudder just before touchdown. It feels very, ummm, aeronautical.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Updating data on the Garmin Perspective system

Image
After changing from the Avidyne system to the Cirrus Perspective (G1000) system, I had to relearn an important part of owning an airplane: how to update all the data the systems use. There's even more data in the Perspective, including AOPA directory data and more charts. In this walkthrough, I make use of the Jeppesen app for Apple OS X: JDM .  It has worked well for me, though I did need to call Jeppesen when I first set this up to get my subscriptions fixed up.  They gave great customer support when I did. The process starts (optionally) by hooking up a ground power unit (GPU).  In the case of the Cirrus, you can certainly do this without it, but I tend to hook it up just to be sure.  The systems draw about 8-10amps while updating, but you won't generally have the power on for long.  One tip I've read: power up the GPU before plugging it into the plane, at least for the one I bought.  That saves the plane from seeing any power spikes that might have occurred when t
Read more

Hiking to Rocky Peak in Steamboat Springs

Image
Did a great hike today that is not in the commonly used hiking apps.  The trail is generally easy to see, though there were times that we lost it.  There are plenty of bushes and undergrowth draping over the trail, so bring long pants. Leg gaiters might be nice too, just to protect your legs a bit. Many parts of the trail are actually drainage ditches.   Here's a KML file from our trip down - we followed the trail much better after learning what to avoid on the way up. We went right after a thunderstorm had come through the previous night, so got pretty soaked due to the plants being wet.   Found the path to the top and saw 2 moose along the way - gorgeous views for the entire trek.  2 miles to get to the top from the parking near the hot springs with about 1800' of elevation gain.  Certainly not a beginner's hiking trail, but not a problem for those with some experience (and lungs that are used to the altitude).
Read more

G1000 transistion training - emergencies - final flight

Image
For the final flight in my G1000 transition course we focused on failure scenarios. Not the "engine goes POOF" kind but the avionics kind. Normal situation This picture shows what the 2 Garmin screens show in a normal (non failure) situation. You can see we have 2 screens - the left PFD focusing on flight performance (airspeed, heading, attitude, altitude) and the right screen (MFD) focusing on engine data, mapping, checklists, and everything else. Failed PFD screen In this scenario the screen that is right in front of you (the PFD) has failed. This basically means the screen has gone dark. We simulate that by dimming the screen down to 0% brightness. After darkening the PFD we shot a GPS approach into Rock Hill. When this failure has occured you shift the G1000 into Reversionary mode. That means the info that is normally split across 2 screens is now merged into 1. It actually duplicates the same data on both screens, but since the PFD screen is no longer functioning
Read more