IFR flight #11

Today we did 3 VOR approaches; 2 to West Point and 1 when coming back to JGG.

I was way behind the airplane at the start of the lesson and it took me a while to get back on track. This time and last time I have had problems maintaining heading properly, I believe that I am starting to focus too much on the att. indicator, which may be giving me slightly off bank indications. I think I need to focus on the heading indicator a little more.

Anyway, on the second West Point approach we did not go missed; we circled to the right to land on 27 behind another Cessna. I managed to set up the approach fairly well, but when we were just a few feet over the threshold we had to go around. The other Cessna was still on the runway, taking his time getting on the taxiway. He told us he was unfamiliar with the airport and that that caused his delay. I could see that b/c I did the same thing he did when I landed there with Krista a while back (taxied to the end of the runway before exiting). Of course, in my case I was landing way long, so I kinda had to. :)

Anyway, except for being about 30 seconds behind on my tasks, often, things went OK. We crossed JGG mid-field and landed on 13 with right hand traffic on the last approach.

Today I found something I did not like about the Jep. charts I am using; they do not have the awos freq for West Point (KFYJ). I also don't like that they do not show the approaches orientation to the field in the airport diagram (the FAA charts have an arrow showing where you plane should come from at the end of the approach).

I manage to find something that needs improvement every time I fly. I think that is especially the case since I am starting over again after a 7 year lapse and learning new stuff, but I'm sure it will always be the case. I will just hope that it is smaller items needing improvement as I go forward. Of course, having an instructor in the seat beside you is good b/c they can point out problems that you'd miss otherwise, since you are so busy in the IFR environment.

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

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

A-10C Standby Compass - Sun Shade

Image
 One of the final items to add to this instrument build (besides the text covers for the lower LEDs) was the sun shade for the AR LED box.  I made this out of thin aluminum sheets , cutting it from a template using some metal sheers .    My template was created by tracing some of the actual artwork from the DCS sim, and then scaling it to the proper size. It turned out ok, not perfect but pretty good.  Primed and painted it and then installed it using 2 of the 4 holes that were already on the LED box 3D print.  I used some heat inserts in those holes to give the screws something to bite, but the holes are really too big for my inserts so had to use some glue to help out.  
Read more