Vectors To Final

Today I got the chance to take my sister and Dad on a quick flight over to Petersburg, VA. The goal was to spot a few civil war battlefields. We took off around 3:20 on runway 13 with light winds. We turned due south for noise abatement, but exited the pattern in a non-standard direction to avoid some inbound traffic. Turning the long way around to a heading of 275 we were on course for KPTB. Upon reaching 3,000 feet I hand flew the airplane for a bit and then turned on the autopilot. That lets me get into a very thorough traffic scan without having to worry too much about nailing altitude. I pointed out the sights as we motored on to KPTB (a 27 minute trip). We saw various landmarks that my Dad and sister drove by to come up for the visit, as well as other local sights like ferry vessels, the ghost fleet, and my neighborhood. Approaching KPTB we cross midfield and entered downwind for 05. A few radio calls later and we were on the runway. We taxied back, waited on an Extra to ...

This morning Maciek and I flew over to Newport News for a quick touch and go and then toured the area NW of Williamsburg. We had a good time; the cool air was very stable and traffic was relatively light. We had to spend a bit of time clearing the frost off the wings before takeoff. The flight school owner had already sprayed de-icing fluid on it (and preheated the engine) which made it a simple matter of moving the slush off the wing and control surfaces with a rag. He told us a little story about a flight instructor who only cleared off the leading edges one morning and made it about 2 miles before crashing. Needless to say, we made double-sure the wing (and tail section) was clear of any frost. I made a great landing at Newport News but made up for it with a "plop in" (my term for a landing where I stall a foot or so too high) back at Williamsburg. Maciek plans to take an intro/discovery flight with an instructor sometime soon, so I guess today's flight didn't ...

I stumbled on this site with Aerial Photos today (thanks to geekpress.com). Just click on one of the five images shown on that page to see all the incredible aerial photos! Man, my photos look so lame compared to those. :)

Today I did my first solo flight under an IFR flight plan. It went really well, helped in no small part by very still, cold air. I went to RIC and did the ILS34 approach. From there I shot the full VOR approach into New Kent (W96) and then the VOR back into JGG for 1.5 hours of engine-running time. The ILS went really well, I had it on "rails" all the way down to decision height. Once it was trimmed up the airplane flew right down the glideslope without much help needed from me. The rest of the approaches went well too, though I did come in a little high on my circle-to-land into JGG. I'd rather be too high than too low any day though. :) Things I learned/relearned today: If you are getting "vectored-to-final" you don't have to do the procedure turn Entering the hold (an approach hold/PT) counts as the procedure turn (you don't have to do a full loop unless you need to lose altitude or need time to get setup - any extra loops require ATC notificati...

I wanted to fly with a friend this weekend but Saturday was a bit too windy and today was worse, with snow. So instead, I bought the 172R simulation from Flight1 and did the flight using it. I have enjoyed that airplane model so far; fits with the plane I fly in real life much better than the 172 that comes with Flight Sim (I think that one is a 172SP?).

For Christmas I received the Flight1 Piper Meridian model for Flight Sim 2004. I only recently had my joystick working again (my computer has been in Doom3 and Half-life 2 mode for quite a while) and started playing with the new airplane today. I have to say I am impressed with Flight1's handiwork. They have created what appears to be an excellent simulation of the Meridian; not that I have first hand knowledge (what does that plane cost, $1.5M)?! I have flown a couple of flights so far, both terminating in an ILS approach, and found that I was quickly able to get the hang of it with the help of the included documentation. I also got the DVD movie with it that shows an actual Meridian flight in WA state. The DVD was pretty good but is a little dry; only made for true enthusiasts. I plan to look closely at their 172R model and the USA Roads package as well.

Posted by my wife: Jason took me up tonight for a sunset/New Year's Eve flight. He reserved the plane yesterday so we'd have it today from 4:30 to 8 pm, giving us some leeway on either end. We picked up the key this morning since the flight school was closing at lunchtime today. We got to the airport around 4:30, and Jason began the preflight. The sun was below the trees but still seemed to be in the sky. We hopped in and taxied out around 5 pm for a smooth takeoff on 13. Jason had picked the Dinwiddie-Petersburg airport (KPTB) for us to head to first. This was nice since it took us out over the James River and directly into the sunset. It was a bit hazier and cloudier than would make an ideal sunset to see from the sky, but it was still nice with lots of soft oranges and purples.