IFR Training

Lesson #28

2010-06-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Log Book - 6/12 C172 IA24 Local IA24 0 1.2

I had my logbook endorsement from my instructor so this flight really wasn't necessary so I decided that I wanted to get up and do some partial panel work and a couple more unusual attitudes. We took of towards the IOW VOR and I flew to the VOR and did a hold partial panel. On the way back to GCAC I did a couple of unusual attitudes and it was time to head back. Kind of a boring report, but the flight was done for my own piece of mind. 8^)

IFR Check Ride

2010-06-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

Log Book - 6/17 C172 KOTM Local 3 1.5

The day finally arrived and as you can guess I was very nervous. I had been watching the forecast the last few days and noticed that is was supposed to be hot, humid and a strong SE wind. Today arrived and it was just as forecast when I looked out the window at 6:45 this morning. The wind was already swirling and it was already in the 70's. I checked the weather and there was a small disturbance making its way across the midwest part of Iowa. It was scheduled to get here about the time that I was ready to depart at 11:30. I headed out to the airport at 10:45 knowing that I would be the flightline guy and have to fuel the plane. Things weren't looking good for me getting out when I wanted as that small disturbance was making its way towards IA24. I checked radar and called the examiner to tell him that I might be a little late as I might have to wait out the storm. I was able to depart after it passed and actually got there on time. I was going over the notes (my oral cheat sheet) when the DPE arrived. We exchanged pleasantries and he told me to give him a few minutes and he would be ready. He got things ready in the conference room and asked me to come in when I was ready. IACRA info was done and it was time for the oral part of the exam. I was given KOTM-KSUS for a flight to plan and when I was finished we discussed my flight plan. During the discussion we talked about several parts of the flight, including whether an alternate was needed, the different things to look for on the approach plates to determine if it can be used as an alternate, etc. We then spent several minutes going over approach plates. We discussed basic weather briefing and had me read and current METAR and TAF for an airport. After that we got into a discussion of the standard 6-pack of instruments and which ones were powered by the electrical system and by the vacuum system. The pitot and static systems was discussed what you would expect if the pitot tube was blocked or the static system was blocked. We discussed what items were needed for IFR flight above and beyond the minimum VFR instruments. We then took a few minutes discussing regulations and how many approaches, etc needed to be done. After that, we checked the aircraft logs to make sure the altimeter, transponder, static systems and the VOR's had been checked in the last 30 days. The DPE felt that there really wasn't anything that he needed to discuss with me anymore so we started the discussion of what we would do during the flight portion of the exam.
Three approaches were going to be done after we took some time for climbs and descents to heading and unusual attitudes were flown. After that he would give me vectors to the ILS 31 then directly into the LOC/BC 13 to the missed approach hold and follow that up with a partial panel VOR 31 circle to land 13. The winds were horrendous 15014G24 so I knew that there was going to be some definite crabbing to keep aligned with the approaches. That also meant a steeper than normal 400-500fpm descent on the ILS approach and 600-700fpm descent on the non-precision downwind approaches. We took off and when we had climbed through 500' AGL I handed the controls over and put on the Foggles. After getting the controls back I was instructed to turn left to 090 and climb to 2500'. After I was to 2500' and trimmed I was instructed to fly heading 150 and climb to 3000'. Once I was at the heading and altitude it was time to do some unusual attitudes. I was directed to close my eyes and look down while the plane was put into an unusual attitude. After what felt like 30 minutes and being on a roller coaster ride I was told to look up and recover the airplane. I was given a nose high climbing turn to the left. I advanced the throttle and pushed the nose over and maintained wings level. The trim wheel had also been adjusted because it was trimmed nose high so I had to adjust that as well. Once I was back at 3000' and on a HDG of 150 I was directed to see how well I was able to keep the plane level by using my ears only. After about 30 seconds I was able to look at the instruments to see how I did. I was at 2950' and at a HDG of 120. Not too bad that I had only lost 50' and 30 degrees on the heading. After I got back to 3000' I was given vectors for the ILS 31 (Link located below) approach. I was directed to fly HDG 290 and maintain 3000' until established on the LOC and I was cleared for the ILS 31 approach. I was doing real well on the LOC and GS although it was a real steep descent for an ILS to keep the GS needle pegged. I was descending between 700-800 fpm and was getting bounced all over the place with the gusty winds. This approach was flown to minimums and I was instructed to climb to 2500' and start the LOC/DME BC 13 (Link located below) approach. I started climbing to 2500' and twisted the OBS to 132 and waited for the DME to click up to 12.4m. Once I was there, I started the timer and maintained my heading to keep the LOC needle centered. Once 2 minutes arrived on the clock it was time to start the procedure turn. Knowing the wind was going to push me to the north I used 250 as my heading on the outbound leg of the procedure turn. After 1 minute expired it was time to turn inbound on the procedure turn and wait for the LOC to center. This approach was working out good as shortly after I was wings level on the inbound leg, the LOC needle started to center. I gradually turned to a heading of about 150 and looked at the LOC to see if I had selected enough of a crab angle to keep the needle centered. I was doing really good considering that the LOC BC gives you the opposite indication on the needle. Once I was established on the LOC I descended to 2400' and waited for the DME to wind down to 12.4m. Knowing it was a strong headwind, I knew that I didn't have to do the normal dive for the runway which is typical for a non-precision approach. I passed 12.4 and started my normal descent around 500-600fpm. I got down to MDA with a mile to spare before the MAP and held the altitude waiting for the DME to get to 8.4m. Once there, I called missed, started my climb to 2500' and proceeded direct to the OTM VOR which is the actual published missed approach procedure. As I was about 4 miles from the VOR, the DPE asked what type of entry that I was going to use for the hold. I told him that a teardrop entry was best and he agreed. As I approached the VOR and was ready to start the teardrop entry, I hadn't given the wind any thoughts and how it was going to affect the hold. After reaching the VOR, I turned outbound on a heading of 078 (45 degrees from the outbound heading) and started the timer. For starters I should have used an outbound heading of 093 (30 degrees from the outbound heading) instead of the incorrect 45. Once my timer reached 1 minute I started the standard rate turn to the right and waited for the VOR needle to move to get aligned on the 303 radial inbound to the VOR. Well that is when all hell broke loose. My first mistake was the initial outbound turn to start the teardrop entry and the second mistake was not allowing for the strong crosswind drift. As it turned out, my incorrect heading associated with the wind had me outbound perpendicular to the VOR rather than 30 degrees. This is when I started to sweat and had to think in my head that I needed to get back to the VOR and start the hold. Given that I was a little over 1 mile NE of the VOR, I started my standard rate turn to the left and centered the OBS to get back to the VOR. Once I passed the VOR, I used the correct wind drift entered a parallel entry to the hold. You would be amazed when you use the correct drift heading how easy these really are. After getting back into the hold correctly, the DPE had me do a hold and once we were again established inbound and we crossed the VOR he had me fly a heading of 060 and maintain 2800'. We flew for a couple of miles and then I was told that we would do one more unusual attitude. I had my eyes down and the DPE changed the OBS and also put me in a left turning descending spiral. I was given the instructions to correct the problem which I did by pulling back on the throttle, leveling the wings and pulling back on the yoke. After I had leveled back to 3000' I was told to fly direct to the VOR and start the VOR 31 (Link located below) approach. I centered the needle after adjusting the OBS and made my way towards the VOR. When I was about 1 mile from the VOR, my vacuum pump failed. Oh no, I just lost my attitude indicator and heading indicator. No reason to panic, I had just learned a lot from my previous botched hold to know that I needed to correct for wind drift, so this approach wasn't going to give me any problems. This approach was probably one of the best of the day. I felt real comfortable and at about 100' above the MDA I was told to remove the Foggles and prepare for a circle to land approach. I called on the CTAF that I was on the approach end of RWY 31, and that I was going to overfly the airport and enter a left downwind for RWY 13. Things went well as I had the airplane trimmed and the RPM's set for 90 knots and that I couldn't descend below 1260'. I have always maintained a small cushion for my circle to land approaches so I circled at 1300' and waited until I was on final before I descended down to land. Upon landing we taxied back to the FBO.
After shutting down the engine we sat in the plane for a few minutes and we discussed what the DPE liked and didn't like. I will start with the bad first:
• The ILS approach was good but he could tell that I wasn't comfortable with the descent rate at 700-800 fpm. We were 1 dot below (which meant I was too high) on the glideslope the entire approach.
• The wind drift correction that I failed to use on my missed approach hold. I had a moving map GPS that I was allowed to use except for the partial panel work, but my ego got in the way and I decided to remove it from the yoke. After the fact, he mentioned that any device that I can use for situational awareness should be used if you are comfortable using it. I was comfortable with it and will use in for future flights.
• He felt that on my circle to land I should have used the same steps that I always use when setting up for a landing. While I typically will add one notch of flaps on downwind and the 2nd notch on base, I didn’t add any flaps until I was on base leg. I explained that I thought anything extra that I was doing that didn’t need to be done can wait and that I was comfortable landing the airplane with no flaps if needed. I didn’t feel it was necessary to add any more tasks when doing a circle to land approach. His thoughts on this were if I was flying a retractable gear airplane (which I fly the Arrow and he saw that in my logbook) that if I didn’t keep the same steps during downwind, base, etc. that it could be a situation where I might get to complacent and forget the gear.
And now for the good:
• While I mentioned above the non standard descent rate on the ILS approach because of the downwind he said that I did good in mentioning it to myself out loud before I the hit the FAF. (he noted the ground speed during the ILS 31 approach was 115 knots and during the LOC/BC 13 was 67 knots)
• The LOC/BC approach was flown real well as several of his applicants forgets the reverse sensing LOC needle.
• While I really screwed the pooch on the initial hold, I did very good in not allowing it to get to me and that I did good in correcting it the next time.
• He said that my partial panel approach was one of the best that he had seen. 8^)
We then headed back into the FBO and he asked me for my logbook and pilot’s certificate. I was hoping that this was good news and it was. He came back and handed me my temporary certificate and told me to check to make sure the address and everything was correct and if so, that I could sign it. I did so and felt a huge relief came over me. I was feeling nervous that I wasn’t ready but my CFII insisted that I was one of his better students and that he was more than comfortable sending me for the checkride. My endorsement from my CFII came as I had 40.0 hours of instrument time. After a 3 day delay, I went with 41.2 hours in my logbook after going up for another training flight.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/ILS+RWY+31/pdf
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/LOC_DME+BC+RWY+13/pdf
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/VOR+RWY+31/pdf

Lesson #27

2010-06-15T13:56:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 6/6 C172 IA24 KMUT IA24 2 2.0

I needed to get some more time as I was at 38.0 hours and the FAA requires 40. Given that KCID is under a major renovation (runways 09/27 and associated precision approach equipment being replaced) I wanted to do some ILS approaches. We decided to head down to KMUT (Muscatine, IA) and do some ILS 24 (Link located below) approaches. I filed for IA24 IOW KMUT IOW IA24 (Link located below) late morning once again hoping for some actual. I was again saddened to have the conditions improve enough that Foggles were required. 8^( We departed and I called for my clearance when airborne. I received my clearance and squawk code and off we went. Things were typical and Dale and I were able to chat about my upcoming check ride. We went over possible oral exam questions and just things that I needed to be aware of during the check ride. CID APP handed me off to Quad Cities APP and the controller asked what my intentions were at KMUT. I said that I would like a couple of vectors to the ILS 24 approaches. I was given heading instructions and started the approach. Things went well but I ended up a little high, but given that I wanted to build time, I decided to do another approach. This one went better and after going missed, we headed back to IA24. We arrived back at GCAC and Dale and I discussed some more about the check ride and about me getting my IACRA application sent to him so that he could approve it.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/MUT/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+24/pdf
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7717U/history/20100612/2025Z/IA24/IA24

Lesson #26

2010-06-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

Log Book - 6/4 C172 IA24 IOW IA24 1 1.5

I arrived and the plane was sitting next to the fuel pump and ready for fuel. I added the 100LL and pre-flighted while Dale finished up with his IFR student who had just finished. As we sat there, we discussed what we should do today. I wanted as many OTM approaches that I could get without travelling to KOTM, so we used the IOW VOR to fly the OTM 31 (Link located below) approach. Dale has used that in the past and it provides ample altitude to do the approach down to MDA. He also wanted me to fly the approach partial panel to get used to what might be expected of me on my check ride. It was VFR so after departure I called CID APP to let them know that we would be maneuvering within 10 miles of the IOW VOR at or below 3000’. I received my squawk code and proceeded to IOW. About 5 miles from the VOR Dale covered the AI and HI to simulate a vacuum pump failure. I flew the full approach using the IOW VOR down to minimums and then we decided to do unusual attitudes and steep turns on the way back to IA24. We climbed back up to 3000’ and back to the VOR. We stayed at 3000’ and Dale had me remove my hands from the yoke and that he had the airplane. I sat with my eyes closed and waited for Dale to say it was my plane. He at first gave me a climbing left turn which I was able to recover from. He also messed with the trim wheel which through me for a loop. The second one was a descending turn to the left. This was an easy recovery as well. One thing to remember is whenever you are in a descent, you must first level the wings and power off before messing with the elevator. You can actually accentuate the spiral by pulling up on the yoke when you are in a descent. After I was done with that Dale asked if my stomach was OK for a +45* steep spiral to see what it looked like and for me to correct for it. I did a 45* steep turn to the right and then one back to the left. Dale felt I was comfortable doing those so we headed back to GCAC. When we arrived back, we got our schedule set for out last couple of flights and to make sure that we took some time with some ground instruction to get me ready for the oral part of the exam.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/VOR+RWY+31/pdf

Lesson #25

2010-06-04T11:09:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 6/2 C172 IA24 KOTM IA24 2 1.8

I arrived a little early today as I was able to sneak out of work early. It was all for not as the plane wasn’t back from an earlier lesson. Oh well, Dale and I were able to work on polishing my knowledge for the oral part of my exam. Once the plane arrived, I went out and topped off the tanks as we had planned our journey to KOTM again. I filed a flight plan as conditions were supposed to be OVC at 4000’, but that didn’t happen and the weather turned out better than forecast. 8^( I had flown the ILS 31 and VOR/DME 13 approaches into KOTM several times, so we thought it would be best to work on flying the LOC/BC 13 and VOR 31. We departed and I picked up my clearance airborne. I was cleared as filed to KOTM direct IOW and as filed at 4000’. This part of the trip was getting boring as I had done it several times in the past few months. I was handed off to CHI CTR and he was once again unable to find me on radar. As we progressed towards Ottumwa he asked what approach I wanted. I responded with LOC/DME BC 13 and then the VOR 31 (Links located below) approaches. He gave me vectors and then asked how far from the FAF I wanted to start the approach. I told him 3 miles, but wished that I would have said farther. The reason is that in order for him to have me on radar I needed to stay at 4000’ as long as I could and that ended up proving to be a problem as I started my published descent. As I started there was no way that I was going to get down in time without hitting about 1200 FPM. I tried my best and was able to get there, but then the plane was ahead of me and that is a situation that asks for trouble. I was a little behind on the LOC and given the altitude that I had to bleed off along with the added distraction I also forgot that the BC gives a backwards indication. After realizing my errors, I finally corrected and was only 1 dot off the LOC at MDA. I flew the missed, which was direct to the OTM VOR and called CHI CTR. I told him that I wanted to fly to the VOR, enter the hold and then fly the VOR 31 approach. He gave me the instructions and it was then that I finally was able to collect my thoughts after the previous approach. Once I arrived at the VOR, I executed a teardrop entry into the hold and finished the racetrack, only to be lined up for the next approach. This was good practice as I am pretty sure my flight exam will be similar in the fact that it will go from one right into the other. Once I was at the FAF, I started my descent down to the runway. Without the distractions of the high approach, things went much better on this approach and once at MDA, I pulled off the Foggles and did a touch and go (need those x/c hours). After climbing out to pattern altitude I called CHI CTR to get my clearance back to IA24. I had originally filed IOW CID but once I started receiving the CID VOR I asked for clearance direct CID. I filed for 5000’ hoping that I would get into the clouds on the trip back. There were some scattered cumulus clouds with bases around 4500’ that I passed through, but that was it. As we approached IA24, I cancelled my IFR plan and then switched to UNICOM for an uneventful landing.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/VOR+RWY+31/pdf
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/LOC_DME+BC+RWY+13/pdf

Lesson #24

2010-06-01T11:20:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 5/30 C172 IA24 KCID IA24 2 0.8

I arrived at the airport and found the plane sitting next to the fuel pumps almost full of fuel. Finally I thought to myself. I cannot remember the last time that I flew without filling up first. As I mentioned earlier we were going to go to KCID and do a couple of ILS approaches. The winds were 190/14 so there would be a sufficient crosswind to deal with on the ILS 27 (Link located below) approach. We departed on the SE runway at GCAC and I contacted CID APP for my request and was given a squawk code. I was then vectored to the ILS 27 approach. The approach went real good again and the only thing that I was having issues with was the GS with the bouncing that we were experiencing. I arrived at the DH and was lined up with the runway and went missed. I had requested a full stop landing on the second approach so that I could ground test the VOR. I called DEP after the missed and was given vectors for another approach. Given the closed taxiways at CID, they wanted me to circle to land on RWY 13. I descended down to the circle to land minimums and turned to intercept a left downwind for RWY 13. After landing, we taxied over to the VOR ground check located and checked both VOR’s. They were within limits, so I noted the amount of error and wrote up a note to put in the logs. We were given instructions to back taxi RWY 13 to depart, which we did. While we were climbing out I received my clearance back to GCAC at or below 3000’. Dale gave me vectors to a left base on RWY 15. We landed and met in the office. We discussed out next flight and decided that we would fly back down to KOTM and have me fly all 4 approaches. This would allow me to be familiar with all of them which I also plan to do on FlightSim as well.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+27/pdf

Lesson #23

2010-06-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Log Book - 5/29 C172 IA24 KOTM KIOW IA24 1 1.5

I now have an appointment setup with the examiner for June 14, at 8:30am. Given that and the fact that I will be doing the test at KOTM (Ottumwa, IA) we decided to fly down and do an approach there. It also is helping to pad my x/c flight hours as well. We didn’t file a flight plan as it was great weather. There were some CB clouds in the area so it was a little bouncy and warm. We climbed to 4500’ to make the trek to KOTM and because it would also be a little cooler. We planned doing the VOR/DME RWY 13 (Link located below) approach and Dale was just going to give me vectors for the approach. We needed to stay outside of 12.4 DME as that is where the FAF is located on the approach. As we reached 20m from the VOR, I started the VOR 20m DME arc until arriving on the inbound course of 124. I followed the inbound course and used the DME for my stepdown fixes. We were in VFR conditions and there was another plane in the pattern which made it an interesting approach. The approach went well and when I arrived at the MAP and looked up under the Foggles, we were a little to the left of the runway. A quick call to CTAF and we did a quick turn to final and did a touch and go. After the touch and go, we climbed out on the left crosswind and started out flight to KIOW. I checked the low altitude chart and dialed in the VOR to follow V216 to the IOW VOR. From there, I would then be able to do the IOW VOR-A (Link located below) approach. As we were flying Dale had me identify the MEA & MOCA altitudes on the chart. As we were approaching the VOR, Dale asked me what would happen if ATC would have asked me to enter a hold on the airway at a given DME. I recited what information I needed and he agreed with my response. I flew the approach (which I have done more times that I can count) and then went missed after reaching 7.7 DME from the VOR. I was then given vectors back to IA24. After landing, we discussed what our plan would be for the next flight. We decided to do some ILS approaches up at KCID. At that time, I would also land and we could do a ground VOR check.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/VOR_DME+RWY+13/pdf
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/IOW/IAP/VOR-A/pdf

Lesson #22

2010-05-28T09:42:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 5/27 C172 IA24 IOW IA24 1 1.3

After completing my IFR x/c I spoke with Dale about being reluctant to set the RPM on approaches and leaving it there. Given that I also wanted to do some more partial panel flight, we decided to spend the session doing just that. The plane once again needed fuel, so after I arrived I headed off to the pump and added about 13 gallons of 100LL. Dale had been there but was talking to a possible new IFR candidate so I went ahead and preflighted the plane and got ready to go. It was warm today, but not as bad as it had been so we decided to contact CID DEP and tell them we would be maneuvering around the IOW VOR at 4000’ and doing the IOW VOR-A (Link located below) approach at the different altitude. It was clear so we decided to depart IA24 and call DEP on our way to the IOW VOR. I was given my squawk code and was cleared to the IOW VOR to 4000’. I donned the Foggles once we were on downwind and headed to IOW. Shortly thereafter, Dale covered the AI (attitude indicator) and the HI (heading indicator). I was now flying partial panel and it still felt like I was cheating looking at the compass and being able to see outside. Oh well, that is what happens when you are flying VFR partial panel with the Foggles on. We were heading for the VOR and Dale asked how I would enter the hold at IOW. Taking a quick glance at the approach plate, a parallel entry would be the correct answer. Once we were over the VOR, I tracked outbound on the 45 for 30 seconds and then turned to the outbound heading which was 197 degrees. After a minute it was a standard rate turn back to right to join the inbound section of the leg. This hold procedure is a non-standard left turn hold. Once I was established on the inbound leg, I waited for the DME to count down to 0 (it actually doesn’t ever get to 0 because of the slant range). Once over the VOR it was time to start the standard rate left turn until we were abeam the VOR to start the timer. Although the wind was light, I still needed to add a little correction. The partial panel was going much better this time and I kind of forgot about me thinking I was cheating. Given there was slight tailwind, I let the timer get to 55 second before I started the standard rate turn back to the inbound leg. My timing was very good as the inbound leg was just a touch over 1 minute in length. We did one more racetrack around the hold and then Dale told me to track the VOR inbound to IOW for 3 miles. Once the DME reached 3.0, he then told me to fly back to the VOR and start the full approach including the procedure turn. I then flew the entire VOR-A approach partial panel but at our new altitude as we didn’t want to disturb the incoming and outgoing traffic at IOW. As we got to the MAP, I removed the Foggles and saw that we were directly over the airport. I put the Foggles back on and started the missed approach procedures which was a climbing left direct to the IOW VOR. After I called missed to CID APP Dale fixed the vacuum pump so I had all of my instruments back. Yeah. We flew back to the VOR climbing to 4000’ and Dale then told me that once we reached the VOR to fly the 240 radial and to descend to 3000’. This was done to once again allow me to set the throttle and for me to leave it alone. 8^) After we descended down and I intercepted the radial, Dale had me call CID APP and tell them we were heading back to IA24. The nice thing about Green Castle is that it is directly southeast of the CID VOR on the 150 radial so I changed the navigation frequencies and I intercepted the radial. Once IA24 was in site Dale gave me vectors to overfly the airport to join the left downwind for RWY 33. I typically would have just entered a left base for 33, but there was other traffic in the pattern so we joined in with them. Once on the ground, we discussed our future plans. Dale informed me that it was time to talk with the examiner and talk about scheduling the checkride. This made me both happy and very nervous. Once I talk with the examiner and verify where the checkride would take place (probably KOTM Ottumwa, IA), we will decide what we will do to finish up. My logbook now shows 32.2 so I still need almost 8 hours before I can take it.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/IOW/IAP/VOR-A/pdf

Lesson #21

2010-05-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Log Book - 5/24 C172 IA24 KUIN KOTM KCID 3 3.2

Today I have my IFR X/country planned. I plan to fly IA24 to Quincy, IL, then over to Ottumwa, IA and finish off with an instrument approach at KCID. Given that we were going to depart early Monday morning, I went out to the airport and filled the tanks on the 172 Sunday evening. When I arrived Monday morning, I got the plane out of the hangar and was starting to pre-flight before Dale arrived. The weather was hot and humid and Dale and I discussed whether he would bring along his Garmin 496 with XM weather. The thought was to throw it in the back seat just in case. I had filed all 3 flights early that morning and the weather was clear so I took off and picked up my clearance airborne. My flight plan was filed as IOW V67 BRL V63 COBOD (flightware.com link located below) which would take us close to the VOR/DME 22 (Link located below) approach into Quincy. Things went well and the weather was much nicer at 5000’ with the temps below 70 and free of the high humidity. The flight went as planned and I wasn’t having any issues along the way. Dale even messed with my iPad and the SkyCharts Pro application that I had running on it. I was passed off to CHI CTR and then KC CTR before we started our approach. I had planned on flying the LOC/DME BC 22 approach but the LOC was NOTAM’d O/S (out of service) so I decided on flying the VOR approach. With the long x/c you need to fly 3 different approaches, so I had to be careful to not fly the same type of approach twice. Several of the runways at Quincy were closed for repair so we decided to do a low approach to the missed and start the next leg of our flight. I cancelled my IFR and told KC CTR that I would like to pick up my next clearance after going missed. They approved and told me to change to advisory. I made my callouts on the CTAF and then did the missed approach. After getting to about 1500’ AGL, I called KC CTR and they gave me my clearance to KOTM. We climbed out and started our trek to LOAMY V52 OTM (flightware.com link located below) to Ottumwa. The reason that I picked that airport is because I will most likely have my flight test done there as that is where the examiner is located. Given we were heading in from the SE, it would be best to ask for the ILS 31 (Link located below) approach as it would be a straight-in approach. The winds were 190/16G23 so the approach would be flown with the circle to land minimums. After being handed off to CHI CTR, I requested the ISL 31 approach and was given vectors for the final approach course. Everything on this flight went well too and I was getting very comfortable in the system. The only thing that I would have liked was for the weather to be actual. Oh well, you cannot have everything. 8^) The warm weather was wreaking havoc on the approach as we were bouncing all over the place. I have to be more cognizant of trusting the RPM setting and using the elevator trim for minor pitch changes. I was a little up and down on the GS, but the LOC was right on. I flew down to the circle to land minimums (1260’) and circled to RWY 22. It is required of me to land at one of the airports in order to log the time as x/c so we decided to land this time. While we were on the ground, I figured that I would put some fuel in the plane as well. 10 gallons was added as we waited in the FBO. We used the rest room, got something to drink and were ready to roll. I paid for the fuel and we headed out. My only mistake on the flight was my flight plan that I made for the next leg. I had filed RIDCO V294 CID (flightware.com link located below) and after talking about it with Dale, we had no real way of getting to RIDCO without vectors or an IFR certified GPS. The probable route was to fly direct CID which we did after I amended my flight plan with CHI CTR. The flight back to KCID was uneventful and I was given vectors for the LOC 9 (Link located below) approach. This worked out well, as the GS was O/S at CID as well. The winds were 170/17G25 and all of the commercial planes were landing on RWY 13. This setup an interesting scenario on final, as shortly after I contacted TWR I was told that I might have to break off the approach early due to inbound traffic on RWY 13. As I was just about to the LOC MDA (1200’) TWR told me to break off my approach, fly heading 120 and to contact DEP. Oh well, Dale had me take off the Foggles and take a look at where I was. That approach went well even with the extra commotion thrown in. We then flew back to IA24 and landed. After getting back to Green Castle, we discussed the flight and Dale pointed out that I really need to get better at trusting the RPM settings for the different approaches. I seem to keep my hand on the throttle and adjust more than necessary. That will be what I work on as I get ready for the check ride. Today’s flights got my Simulated IFR to 25.1 and Actual IFR to 5.8 for a total of 30.9 hours. I now have less than 10 hours to go before I have the required 40 hours necessary to take the test. I will probably need a few more than that, but time will tell. The landing at Green Castle also marked my 500th day time landing in my flying career. Man I cannot believe that I have landed a plane 500 times during the day. 8^)

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7717U/history/20100524/1425Z/IA24/KUIN
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/UIN/IAP/VOR_DME+RWY+22/pdf
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7717U/history/20100524/1555Z/KUIN/KOTM
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/ILS+RWY+31/pdf
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7717U/history/20100524/1725Z/KOTM/KCID
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+09/pdf

Lesson #20

2010-05-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

Log Book - 5/13 C172 IA24 KAWG KIOW IA24 2 1.3

The day started off cloudy and rainy, a perfect IFR training day. I called Dale to ask about a possible change in our plans for today. We had talked about spending today doing partial panel work. While I know that I still need some work on that, I felt that was something that I could do on my long x/c that is scheduled in the next couple of weeks. With the low clouds that I saw this morning and were forecast for this afternoon, I figured it would be a splendid day to saddle up the Cessna and head down to Washington, IA (KAWG) to work on DME arc approaches. I filed the flight plan in the morning for a 5:15pm CDT departure. Our route would take us over the IOW VOR and then outbound on the R-142 to start the DME Arc. I arrived at the airport about 4:45 CDT and pulled the plane from the hangar. After filling the tanks and pre-flighting Dale and I were ready for departure. Unfortunately the weather had deteriorated to VFR, so obtaining my clearance on the ground before departure wasn’t necessary. 8^( After takeoff and turning our crosswind leg, I called CID DEP and picked up my clearance. I was cleared to IA24 via IOW KAWG IOW with approaches at both KAWG and KIOW. I donned the Foggles and started the trek. As we were flying towards IOW Dale and I discussed the procedure for flying the KAWG VOR/DME (Link located below) approach that includes a DME arc. At 26 miles, it is one of the widest DME arcs that I have ever seen. This makes for a good introductory to them as things won’t be moving as fast as they would on a shorter arc. We decided to do the R-142 as we were already on a heading of 150 to get to IOW VOR from GCAC. As we approached 25.5 miles on the DME, I had calculated the new heading that I would need to turn to and start the 5T acronym (turn-time-twist-throttle-talk). After the initial 90 degree turn and the twist of the OBS, the CDI centers it was again time to turn and twist. The strong wind out of the west really slowed down this approach which also made it easier as the workload wasn’t as fast. Using the turn and twist method kept me within a half mile of the 26 mile arc, well within standards, so I felt pretty good about the approach. After getting to the inbound portion of the approach, I started my descent and waited for the DME to count down to 15.3, which was the MAP. I called missed on the CTAF and started my climb back to the IOW VOR. After contacting CID APP I was given vectors for the KIOW VOR-A (Link located below) approach. I have done this approach several times and felt real comfortable with it. We contacted APP after executing the missed and Dale gave me vectors back to GCAC. Coming in from the southeast and given the fact that there weren’t any planes in the pattern, I did a straight in to RWY 33. The strong crosswinds gusts did their best to keep me from doing a great landing, but I did it anyway. 8^) We went back to the office and discussed the flight and what our next step will be. I have my written planned for the following Friday and Dale had planned to visit his daughter next week, so we decided that whatever time that I could be flying would be better spent hitting the books. My x/c country is planned for 5/24, so that might be my next session. I am hoping for crappy weather so that I can get some actual.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/AWG/IAP/VOR_DME+RWY+36/pdf
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/IOW/IAP/VOR-A/pdf

Lesson #19

2010-05-12T12:51:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 5/11 C172 IA24 KALO KCID IA24 2 1.5

When the day started I wasn’t sure that I would be able to fly tonight. The weather was calling for scattered thunderstorms in the area and that is something that I didn’t want to be a part of. As the day progressed things were looking much better and at the time when we were going to depart, CID was showing a light wind from the NW and an overcast base at 1500’. Another great day for flying in actual instrument conditions. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I would like as much of my training in actual conditions. From the first flight in actual conditions, there is no comparison between actual and simulated. We got the plane pulled out of the hangar and over to the fuel pump. 13.6 gallons of 100LL and we were ready to go. The conditions were VFR at IA24, so I was able to get my earlier filed flight plan once we were airborne. After checking all of the radios, etc after runup we taxied to RWY 33 and departed. Shortly after getting airborne I called CID APP for my clearance instructions and squawk code. After getting that, I was vectored over the CID airport for incoming and outgoing traffic. I was in and out of the clouds around 2000’ and had filed for 4000’ so I knew that the majority of the flight would be done in actual and wouldn’t need the Foggles. Once vectored around, I was given proceed own nav on V67 to ALO. Soon I was handed off the ALO APP and given an assignment to descend to 3000’. In doing so, I had descended out of the clouds and back into VFR, so I donned the Foggles. I asked for the LOC/BC 30 (Link located below) approach. This was the first time that I have tried a Back Course approach. For those not knowing what that is, you are using the localizer from the runway on the opposite side (ie, RWY 12 at ALO has an ILS RWY 12 approach). Given that, the LOC needle works in reverse. You need to make sure that you remember this or when you think you are correcting to fix a moving CDI, you are actually going farther away than you wanted. This worked very well for me and I didn’t have any issues with this at all. Once I reached the DH, I took off the Foggles and proceeded to do a touch and go (required to log the flight as a x/c flight). I once again received my clearance while airborne for the trip back to CID and received altitude and heading instructions from ALO DEP. Once I was clear of their airspace I was given a vector to proceed back to CID on the V67 airway. I had filed for 3000’ and we were in and out of the clouds, so I figured it would be wise to keep the Foggles on. Shortly after getting on the airway, I was given an altitude assignment of 4000’ from ALO DEP. That worked well for me as the extra altitude put us back in the clouds. I was given vectors for the ILS 27 (Link located below) approach. The approach went well with the exception of I was a little high. As I glanced over to the tach, I was able to see why. I was about 1500 rpm above my usual ILS descent of 2200 RPM. Once that was corrected the approach was flown to DH and a missed was announced to TWR. We made our way back to IA24 under the cloud deck and I made one of my better landings on the narrow 27’ wide asphalt strip. Dale and I then discussed the next couple of training sessions and what we would work on. One session will be more partial panel work, a session doing a DME ARC approach at a local airport and then some VOR and airway hold patterns. I have my x/c schedule and am still working on a route that Dale and I will be comfortable with.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7717U/history/20100511/2130Z/IA24/KALO (1st Leg)
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/ALO/IAP/LOC+BC+RWY+30/pdf
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7717U/history/20100511/2225Z/KALO/KCID (2nd Leg)
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+27/pdf

Lesson #18

2010-05-10T14:11:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 5/7 C172 IA24 KCID IA24 2 1.0
I had the day off from work today as my daughter’s were supposed to have track and field day at school. It was cancelled due to rain, which meant a perfect day for IFR flying if Dale didn’t have anything going. I gave Dale a call mid-morning to see if he was available for an afternoon flight. He was and we decided to do a flight from IA24 to KALO which is over 50 nm and I can use it for a X/C flight for my logbook. As I was planning and checking weather, there was a NOTAM that the ILS at ALO was OTS. Well, that ruins that. I called Dale back and informed him of the bad news. He still wanted to fly given the conditions, so we decided to go to CID and do some ILS approaches. I arrived and got the airplane pulled out before Dale arrived. We decided to top the tanks before departure. I did the pre-flight and got everything ready for the flight. After starting the engine, I called CID APP and asked for clearance for multiple vectors for the ILS 27 approach. I waited for my readback and squawk code. Once that was received I was told to wait for release. I called them after the runup and before I back taxied RWY 33. I was given my clearance departure slot and told to call them on departure. As I was climbing through 600’ AGL, I contacted APP and was given vectors for the ILS 27 approach (Link located below). The winds were strong out of the NW and it showed on the DME (67 knots) as we were approaching the LOC. Things went well for the first ILS approach in the 172 in a couple of months. At the MAP I called missed and we were given vectors for another. The ceilings were right around 800’ AGL so most of the approaches had been done in the clouds. 8^) As I was on the second approach, we decided that 2 was enough for the day and asked for SVFR back to IA24. The TWR controller said that conditions were VFR and that I didn’t need the SVFR clearance back to Green Castle. After the missed, I contacted DEP and flew back to IA24. When we returned Dale and I talked about what else that I need to do before I am ready to take my test. As I am still 8 hours short of the x/c hours mandated by the FAA, we plan to do our next flight to a location that is greater than 50nm from IA24.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+27/pdf

Lesson #17

2010-05-10T12:58:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 5/6 C172 IA24 KIOW IA24 2 1.1

As you can see by my notation listed above, the Cessna 172 has finally arrived back from its engine overhaul. It had been 2 months and 6 days since I delivered it to our A&P to have the engine done. While this is an extraordinary amount of time for an overhaul, it is also the way the GCAC needs to do it so that it keeps our costs down. After the last lesson, Dale and I decided that I would do some partial panel work this lesson. The 172 was sitting out as it was being used for an IFR training flight prior to mine. There was plenty of fuel in it, so it was just a matter of doing the typical preflight. The weather was VFR so there was no need to call CID APP before departure. I got the radios set, checked the instruments to make sure the compass, heading indicator and turn coordinator were OK while taxiing for departure. Once airborne and climbing through 1500’ I called CID DEP and requested a couple of KIOW VOR-A (link located below) approaches at KCID. Partial panel in an IFR environment means that you have lost your attitude indicator and heading indicator. You must rely on your turn coordinator and the compass for your heading and attitude. The 172 has an older turn coordinator which took some getting used to. The first approach was questionable as I was felt I was cheating looking at the compass although that is one of the instruments that you need to rely on when in actual conditions. While it’s not technically cheating, I felt that looking out at the clear VFR day with the Foggles on while checking my heading on the compass was cheating. After descending to the DH, I waited while the DME clicked up to the MAP distance. I started the missed approach procedure and contacted CID APP. They gave me instructions to fly the VOR-A again and contact them when inbound on the procedure turn. This approach went a lot better as I was able to get over my “cheating” complex. After reaching the MAP again, Dale instructed me to twist the ODB to the IOW R-330, which should take us right back to IA24. I intercepted the radial and made by way back to land. The second approach went real well and I was feeling more comfortable with partial panel approaches. We will spend some more time with partial panel on my X/C flight which should be coming up soon.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/IOW/IAP/VOR-A/pdf

Lesson #16

2010-05-03T12:30:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 5/1 P28R-180 IA24 KOTM IA24 1 1.4

I had to cancel on Thursday due to expected strong winds (18023G35KT), so I was hoping that my session scheduled for today was still on. The winds were stronger (23016G24KT) than normal, but not so bad that we had to cancel for the day. Given that I will be taking my exam at KOTM (Ottumwa, IA) and I still needed some more x/c hours, we decided to head down to KOTM to do an approach and work on partial panel on the way back. The Cessna 172 is expected back any day, but still wasn’t here so I decided to take the Arrow rather than trying to wedge ourselves into one of the Cessna 150’s. I filed for the IFR flight earlier that morning, so there were just the normal preparations for the flight. I arrived about 15 minutes before Dale and got the plane out of the hangar and started the preflight. The tanks were filled to the tabs, which meant that we had 36 gallons of fuel available to us. After verifying that I had all the necessary charts, etc. we proceeded with startup and taxi. After all of the necessary instrument checks, we taxi out to RWY 15 for departure. The day was gorgeous with the exception of the wind, so I was able to take-off from IA24 and pick up my clearance when airborne. I don the Foggles and call CID DEP. (Flight plan link can be viewed below) After getting our clearance, altitude and squawk code we proceed direct to the IOW VOR up to 4000’. After turning outbound from the VOR, we get turned over to CHI CTR. The last time I flew this route, there was no radar coverage from CTR, so I had to give DME reporting points along the way. The same thing could be said for today’s flight. As I was approaching about 15m DME from the OTM VOR, CTR asked what type of approach that I wanted at KOTM and to let him know when I had the weather. I tuned to the ASOS and replied that I wanted the ILS 31 (Link located below). Knowing that it wasn’t the best choice given the wind, I figured this way I could circle to land on runway 22. All of my approaches so far haven’t included circle to land procedures, so this was a good thing. Plus, I also need to land in order to pacify the FAA to log this as a cross country flight. I started getting vectors about 10 miles out from the VOR. That worked good as I could get the NAV1 tuned to the ILS freq, verify the identifier and get the OBS set for the approach. I was finally given vectors to intercept the LOC, but was still at 4000’ to make sure that I was still on radar for the CTR controller. This was the first time that I had been given this type of approach and I have to admit that it threw me for a loop. It was strange because the typical altitude for this approach is 2800’ so on I was being vectored 1200’ higher than I expected. Once I was established on the LOC, I called CTR to cancel my IFR and was told to squawk 1200 and to change to advisory. This was one of the most difficult approaches I have done to date. Once established, not only was I changing the transponder, COM1 radio frequencies and calling CTAF of my intentions, I also had to descend at a higher than normal rate (1000’ fpm) to establish myself on the GS. Not only that, but a gusty crosswind was also aiding in my difficulties. The circle to land minimums are 1260-1 so at 1300’ MSL, I added power to stop my descent and took of the Foggles. Normal traffic pattern for RWY 22 was left hand so I announced on the CTAF and continued on my runway heading. Once past the airport boundaries, I started a turn to the left at 1300’ to enter into a left downwind. I maintained 1300’ and made sure that the airport environment was in my sight the entire time. Once on final, I put out the extra notch of flaps and landed. Once we landed and we were taxiing back to the departure end of RWY 22, Dale mentioned something that could have been done to help with the more than expected descent was to extend the landing gear. The landing gear extension speed on the Arrow is well above our approach speed, so that is an option for the future if this were to happen again. We waited for a few minutes before departing back to IA24 as we discussed what we would plan for the trip home. Given that Dale needed to be back, we decided to fly direct to the CID VOR partial panel, which would take us directly to Green Castle. Once we were airborne and receiving the CID VOR, Dale proceeded to cover the Attitude Indicator and Directional Gyro and had me fly back to CID simulating a vacuum pump failure. This was a fairly easy assignment on this trip, but as Dale explained, this will get us ready to do several VOR approaches into KIOW partial panel in our next lesson. We got back and we debriefed in the office afterwards. We discussed things from today and we scheduled our time for our next lesson. He then told me to start thinking about my IFR cross country and to be thinking about potential destination airports. I will spend the next few days using Flight Sim to work on my partial panel skills. While the sim is not the same as real world flying, it does wonder with the instrument scan.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N3936T
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/ILS+RWY+31/pdf

Lesson #15

2010-04-25T09:12:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 4/24 P28R-180 IA24 KICD IA24 1 0.7

It has been over a month since my last training flight. I have been very busy with my kid’s baseball and softball schedules. I finally got my schedule setup for the rest of April and May hoping that I can finish in late May or early June. I am still waiting for the return of the 172, so we decided to take the Arrow up for another spin. The weather was definitely IFR so I expected some actual. 8^) I have cut and pasted the conditions at CID at the time of departure: KCID 241935Z 07012G17KT 2SM -RA BR OVC007
Dale was running a little late so I got the plane filled and preflighted. Once Dale arrived, a call was made to the CID TWR to inform them of our intentions. We did our pre takeoff IFR planning and made sure charts were available for the expected runway. Dale brought his Garmin 496 with XM weather so we could keep up to date on the weather approaching from the South. We departed IA24 and once we were at pattern altitude I contacted CID APP and received my squawk code. At around 1400’ MSL we started entering the base of the clouds. I brought my son along on this flight so that he could have some backseat time in actual conditions. I was given vectors for the ILS 09 (Link located below) approach. Once we were vectored onto base, we heard a regional jet being vectored to land behind us. As we were turned to intercept the LOC, I was also told to keep my speed up for the approaching regional jet. We intercepted the LOC and maintained 2500’ until intercepting the GS. When we were 1 dot above the GS, I threw out the landing gear and added a notch of flaps. I added a little power as the gear created more drag. As we started down the GS, I realized that my initial power setting wasn’t keeping us on the GS and I needed to add a little more power. We broke out at 1200’ which is still a little more than 100’ above the DH, so we called missed. We got a better glimpse of the conditions and decided that it would be best to call it a day and head back to Green Castle. The weather seemed to be deteriorating and we didn’t want to get stuck having to call my wife to pick us up at CID, so we requested a Special VFR clearance back to IA24. We stayed at 1300’ and made our way back. Once the airport was in sight, CID DEP told us to squawk VFR and change to advisory frequency. Once back on the ground, Dale and I discussed the flight. He made a reference that this time in actual was much better, and I felt much more comfortable. The one thing that I noticed was that I needed to add a little more power once on the glide slope and make sure that I kept making sure that the heading indicator is corrected with the wet compass.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+09/pdf

Lesson #14

2010-03-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Log Book - 3/18 P28R IA24 KCID IA24 4 1.5

I have been wanting for some time to try out the Arrow for my IFR training. The main reason is that the 172 is still under the weather and I was getting frustrated with the crappy radio equipment in the 150’s. I decided that today would be the best as the weather was decent and I had figured out the problem with the radios not displaying the frequencies on the NAV/COMM1 radio. I arrived and pulled the Arrow out of the hangar and up to the fuel pump. Wow, now I realize just how light the 150’s are compared to the Arrow. My preflight was completed and I waited for Michael (Dale was flying a charter flight so I asked one of the other CFII’s to join me). We talked through our plan for the day and decided that we would use this flight for some ILS approached at KCID again. I thought it would be the best to try something familiar beings this was my first flight in the plane under simulated IFR conditions. This plane feels completely different from the DA40 or the 150 that I have been flying. It took some time getting used to the different panel as well. We got the radio configured and called CID APP with our intentions. There was a lot of traffic in the area so we were given vectors around traffic shortly after talking with them. I was given vectors for the ILS27 (Link located below) approach and it was apparent that my earlier time in the Arrow was paying off for me on this flight. I was once again having altitude issues, but once again a new airplane and trying to get power and trim settings set correctly. The approach was good this time but took a little longer than anticipated given the vectors for traffic etc. I was a little busier on this approach as I had to worry about landing gear etc. this time. GUMPS check was done when the GS was 1 dot high. With everything configured and 1 notch of flaps extended, my speed was just above 90 knots, which works out fine. We start the descent and everything is looking good. I have a slight problem with heading corrections again as I am over correcting a little too much. Michael tells me it’s not too bad, but should be corrected before check ride time. Michael teaches me a few more things that I hadn’t learned from Dale. Most of them are items that should be done while enroute on a longer flight, so this helps with my mental preparation for our approach. After going missed, TWR mixes me up a little and has me make a right hand turn to HDG 360 and contact DEP on 134.05. While at most locations it wouldn’t make any difference, CID is different in that there are North APP/DEP and South APP/DEP frequencies. I switch the standby freq to 134.05 and get vectors for another ILS27 approach. This time the traffic is heavy again, and I find out that APP has vectored a Cessna 172 behind me on the ILS 27 approach. While this shouldn’t matter in VFR conditions, we were landing directly into the sun and the Cessna behind me couldn’t see me in front of him. As I was descending down the GS, I was given a “turn right 360 immediately” call from TWR as the Cessna behind me must be getting closer and is unable to see me. I do so and was told to contact DEP. After that we are given vectors back around for another approach. This one again goes well and we decide to call it quits for the day. It is starting to get dark and we aren’t sure if the lights in the plane work. 8^) We are told by DEP to fly HDG 180 and to let them know when IA24 is in sight. We see the airport environment and are told to squawk VFR and switch over to advisory. As I approach Green Castle I notice that I am little high and realize that I am a little rusty with the trusty Arrow. We turn final and are still a little high and past the extended runway centerline. At that point, I decide that a missed approach is called for, so I power up and wait until I get a positive climb before retracting the gear and flaps. The second approach is a little better, and this time I am able to get the plane on the asphalt. It’s a good thing that my son wasn’t taking video on this approach. 8^) We get the Arrow back in the hangar and go back to the office to discuss our flight. Everything was good with the exception of my altitude deviation during the first approach. Michael did notice that I corrected it on the subsequent approaches so he was comfortable with that. I was happy with this flight in the Arrow given that the equipment worked better than the 150 that I was using. I will probably continue to use it until the 172 is back from the shop.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+27/pdf

Lesson #13

2010-03-19T09:21:00.001-07:00

Log Book - 3/18 DA40 KCID 3 1.0

I wanted to finish my dual checkout in the DA40 and had been fighting bad weather the past few days. After having to cancel due to fog yesterday morning again, I decided to sneak away from work over my lunch hour. I made arrangements with Jim to meet him at the airport at 12:00. I arrived about 11:45, pulled the airplane from the hangar and preflighted it waiting for Jim to arrive. After Jim arrived we discussed our strategy for the day and decided that we would get as many approaches in during the hour that we had decided upon. GND was contacted with our intentions and we received our squawk code and taxi instructions. Runup was completed and we were ready to go. A Northwest CRJ was on a 3 mile final so we were told to expedite our departure or we would be waiting until they landed before we would be able to take off. We took off and I put on the Foggles. We were given vectors for the ILS27 (Link located below) approach. Things went very good this time. I was still a little off keeping my altitude at 2700’ while being vectored, but that will come as I gain more experience with the trim and power settings on the DA40. The first ILS went very good as I kept the needles within 1 dot on each side of center. I looked up at 1100’ and was very happy with where I was and could easily land from there. We then climbed out on RWY HDG per TWR instructions and waited for our call to contact DEP. I wanted to hand fly the GPS 27 (Link located below) approach this time so I entered the approach into the Garmin 530 and was vectored to CIBNO (IAF) and was directed to call when inbound from CIBNO. This was only my second GPS approach with the DA40, so I found out that there are still many things left to learn. The one thing that I was doing wrong was turning to the next waypoint before I was supposed to. The Garmin 530 would warn you of your upcoming turn, and I made the mistake of turning then rather than waiting for the actual “turn to HDG xxx” instruction. Obviously, that wouldn’t happen if I had been using the auto pilot to fly this approach rather than hand flying it. This approach went well and it’s really nice to be able to look at the screen of the 530 to track your progress. Another neat thing is that the HSI needle works similar to if you were flying to a VOR or ILS meaning that you need to correct towards the deviation indicated by the CDI needle. After the missed I decided that I was going to use the AP to fly the final ILS27 approach of the day. I punched in the ILS27 approach into the 530 and set the altitude on the KAP140. I then used the HDG functionality of the AP when given vectors for the approach. My altitude on this approach was near perfect (I wonder why) and as I was given vectors to intercept the LOC, I selected APP on the autopilot. This armed the APP and as the LOC needle started to move, APP took over. As we reached WAVUM (the FAF) the AP took over our pitch command as well. The only thing that I had to do was run the timer and make sure that I stayed at 90 knots. As we reached DH, I clicked the autopilot disconnect on the stick and configured the plane for landing. This might just be me, but with the funky gusty cross wind that we had today, I felt that I had better control of the HDG on my approach than the AP did. We landed and I received taxi instructions back to the hangar. Jim commented that the altitude issue that I had on the first approach was much better and getting more comfortable with the plane will really help with that. He signed me off as being competent to fly the DA40 solo. Not only did I get that, I was able to get some hood time in as well. It was a great flight and I look forward to many more.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+27/pdf
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/RNAV+%28GPS%29+RWY+27/pdf

Lesson #12

2010-03-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Log Book - 3/13 C150 IA24 8C4 KDVN KCID IA24 3 2.3

I woke up about 5:30am and couldn’t sleep; knowing that today was probably going to be my first flight in actual instrument conditions since the early 1990’s. We had originally planned for a 9:15am departure, but decided to delay 90 minutes as the weather was 500’ OVC at KCID. The TAF’s showed things to be much better in a few hours, so Dale and I planned to meet at Green Castle about 10:30 to start our journey. I have included the TAF’s for KCID and KMLI, which is about 10 miles SE of our arrival airport:

KCID 131335Z 1314/1412 01019G25KT 2SM -RA BR OVC005
FM131700 02014G23KT 6SM -RA BR OVC012
FM132000 36012G20KT 6SM BR OVC020
FM140500 36014KT 5SM BR OVC015

KMLI 131121Z 1312/1412 02012G18KT 4SM RA BR OVC010
TEMPO 1312/1316 2SM RA BR OVC006
FM131600 01015G23KT 4SM -RA BR OVC012
FM132000 03014G20KT 5SM BR OVC020
FM140500 01012KT 4SM BR OVC015

As you can see, the ceilings would improve if we could delay our departure. I arrived and started preflighting the plane in the hangar as it was raining lightly. I finished up about the time Dale arrived, so we pushed the plane to the fuel pumps and I filled the plane. I called for departure and was granted release and to call after departing IA24. We finally get airborne and contact CID APP. I was given my altitude restriction and resume own nav. Given that I had planned the VOR 11 at 8C4 on the way to KDVN, I had planned the intersections on the VOR approach as my waypoints. OOPS, I forgot to mention that I was in actual IFR once we were about 800’ AGL. Oh my god, what a difference between actual and simulated. I truly didn’t think that there would be that much difference as it had been so long since I had flown in it, but I quickly learned that I was wrong. After getting disoriented a few times because I sensed a feeling of a steady left turn, I slowly got used to trusting the gauges and things went better. As we were getting closer to our first waypoint, I asked APP for vectors to the FAF for the VOR 11 (Link located below) approach into 8C4 (Vinton Memorial Airport). As we reached JAMMS, I started my final descent and started the timer. 3:24 needed to elapse and I could descend down to 1300’. I proceeded down to 1300’ and waited for the clock to get to 3:24. Mistake number 1 on this approach was that I needed to realize that the time was associated with ground speed and not indicated airspeed. I got to 3:24 and still couldn’t see the runway. Well, I wonder why given the groundspeed that we were seeing with a quartering headwind gusting to 23 knots. I should have used 5:06 for the timer given our 65 knot GS on approach and finally saw the airport environment about 4:00 into the approach. I called UNICOM and called low approach and started my missed approach per ATC to fly HDG 090 and climbing to 3000’. I tuned to the CVA VOR and notice that I am not getting an identifier. At that point, CID APP hands me off the Quad Cities APP so I call them and ask for vectors for the ILS 15 approach (Link located below). I get vectors for the approach and get my radios tuned for the ILS. I finally get vectors and notice that what was given isn’t getting the needle to move, so I request a bigger turn to the east. I get that and finally start to see the LOC needle move. I wait for the GS and start my descent. I break out of the clouds at 1500’ and circle to land on RWY 03. What a flight, but I feel that I have so much to learn. We land and I taxi to the FBO for Dale and I to take a break. While taxiing, I call CLNC DEL to cancel my flight plan, and decide to open the new one knowing that we wouldn’t be on the ground long. We sit on the ramp at the FBO and discuss the flight. Things went well and I am certainly happy that I was able to get some actual in today. I found little things with the airplane that I certainly wouldn’t have been noticeable, and I file them into my brain for future flights. We figure it’s time to get going, so I get the engine started and configure the radios while taxiing to the runway. We depart RWY 03 and start to fly towards our first intersection. I call Quad Cities DEP and get for vectors to BILOX and instruction to climb to 4000’. The needles start to come alive on V294 and we proceed towards KCID. After hand off to CID APP, we ask for the VOR 27 approach into KCID. The only reason that we require the approach is to get down below the overcast to make our way to Green Castle. We are instructed by APP to fly HDG 290 vectors for the VOR 27 approach. As we are making out way to the FAF, we are told that there are a few departures heading out RWY 09 and that we cannot continue the VOR 27 approach. I let them know that the ILS 09 works and then I get vectors for the approach. I finally get vectors for the final approach course and wait for the LOC to come alive. Once I see some movement on the needle, I start a turn to what I think will be close to the final heading for the LOC. I get the LOC needle centered and wait for the GS needle to come alive. I start down the GS and am very happy with this approach. This has to be the best ILS approach that I have had and we break out of the clouds at 1500’. I call TWR and ask for SVFR back to Green Castle. It is approved and I am told to contact DEP. We are at 1500’ just below the clouds and are tracking towards IA24. We finally get the airport in sight and are switched over to UNICOM. This was the first time that I had ever requested SVFR and at one point in my flying career was afraid of it. I always figured that SVFR was when you were in trouble and needed to find a place to land. 8^) We landed after a low approach and made our way back to the hangar. As much as our flight was different for me, I started to feel comfortable in the actual IFR environment and can’t wait for the next time that I can fly in it. My flights are shown below in the flightaware.com link.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N5219Q
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/8C4/IAP/VOR+RWY+11/pdf
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/DVN/IAP/ILS+RWY+15/pdf

Lesson #11

2010-03-12T09:10:00.001-08:00

Log Book - 3/10 C150 IA24 KCID IA24 5 1.4

The weather has been crappy all day with low ceilings and rain. The TAF’s for CID show that the weather is supposed to improve about an hour before we are scheduled to fly. I call Dale around 11:00 and make sure that everything is set. I get to the airport to find out that once again I need to add fuel. We discuss our plan for the day and I decide I want to get better with the ILS approaches. I feel that my overcorrecting needs to be fixed and that the first thing that I want to do is get it corrected before it starts to diminish my other skills. We depart Green Castle and contact CID APP in hopes of getting vectors for multiple ILS 27 approaches. I get the squawk code and then get vectors for downwind and base for the approach. We do everything to identify the ILS frequency and finally get it. I am given vectors to the FAF and watch the LOC needle swing back and forth. At this point, I start to wonder if the gauge is working correctly and then I get a call from APP letting me know that I have just flown through the LOC. I acknowledge them and let them know that I am correcting. I finally get the TO flag and get the LOC needle centered, waiting for the GS needle. I am getting frustrated as once again I am chasing the needles. Sometime I wonder if some of the problem is me or the crappy equipment that I am using. I get down to the DH and call a missed and get vectors back for another approach. As we make our way back to the FAF, Dale and I discuss the last approach and I explain that some of the reason behind blowing through the LOC was the issue that we are having with the navigational equipment. I tell Dale that if I have the same issues on the next approach that I am calling it quits for the day. We get the call for final approach vectors and wait to see what the instruments tell me. I have the altitude pegged and once again wait for the LOC needle to move. WooHoo, it seems to be working this time. I find myself flying this approach much better. Corrections aren’t over done this time and I am keeping the LOC and GS needles within a bar. I am feeling much better this time, and get down to DH within reach of the runway. 2 more similar approaches and its back to IA24 for the day. When we get back to the office, Dale and I discuss our options for my next lesson Saturday and decide that we will work on longer flights to different airports to get away from the same thing over and over. Plus, it will help me gain some more X/C time to obtain the required 50 hours prior to my check ride. We are also thinking that we will take the Arrow out for a flight on Saturday. The Arrow brings DME to the table where I haven’t used it since the 172 went to the shop.

Lesson #10

2010-03-08T05:59:00.001-08:00

Log Book - 3/6 C150 IA24 KCID IA24 3 1.2

Arrived at the airport about 8:20 and pulled N5219Q from the hangar. While I normally pull the plane to the pumps when they need fuel, I felt lazy and decided to taxi the plane to the pumps this morning. After filling the tanks and preflighting, Dale arrived and we climbed in the plane for our training today. Another different airplane that I had never flown, so we had to go through the steps of figuring out radios, etc. We depart and I put on the Foggles and attempt to call CID APP. After the initial call, APP tells me that the radio is unreadable. I level off at 1900’ (below the lower limits of the Class C airspace) to try to figure out what is happening with the radios. We decide that COM1 isn’t the best choice and switch over to the COM2 radios. The COM2 radio is working well, so we get our squawk code and proceed to CID for several ILS 09 approaches. We get final vectors for the ILS 09 approach, so I slow to 90 knots and get ready for the ILS needle to start to move. As I turn towards the runway, the winds are light from 130 so I realize that I will need to approach at a heading of 100 to help correct for the winds. The GS needle comes alive and I wait for the FAF. Once there, I start the descent down to the runway. OK, there are now 2 things that I need to worry about, heading and altitude. I once again am overcorrecting on the heading and getting very frustrated because of it. I eventually get back on course and am still a little high on the GS when I reach decision height. I look up from the Foggles and see that I would be able to get configured and land, so I call missed and wait for my instructions from TWR to contact DEP. I get my assigned heading from DEP and chat with Dale about what I need to do to correct my over correcting. I once again get HDG instructions for the vectors to the FAF and start configuring the airplane for the approach. I once again find myself overcorrecting on the LOC and am hoping that I can figure out what I am doing wrong. I end this approach a little to the left and high, but still manageable. After some more discussion with Dale, he thinks that I should try small rudder corrections in lieu of aileron to correct the LOC errors so I figure it’s worth a try. I once again get vectors for the last ILS approach for the day. As we turn to the FAF, I remind myself repeatedly that I will stay light on the controls and use small heading corrections. The rudder pedals also will hopefully alleviate the errors that I made on the first 2 attempts. Everything this time is going great and I have the needles centered for the majority of this approach. As I follow the GS down, I realize that I am a little low and provide some power to correct the deviation. DAMN, I spent too much time on the VSI and GS needles and realize that I am now way off on heading. I try to get the needles closer to center before reaching DH, but am unable to do so. I look up at DH to see that I am a little right and high, but still close enough to the runway to get down safely. I get vectors and altitude instructions from Dale and he gets me lined up for left base for RWY 15 back at Green Castle. Off go the Foggles and I land the plane and taxi back to the ramp. Once we are finished and back in the office, Dale comments on my last approach and tells me how good I was doing until getting mesmerized on the GS needle and VSI and forgetting my scan. It will take some more time to get the scan down, and wonder how much easier it would be if this were a newer plane with the more popular inverted T 6 pack of gauges, like the DA40 that I fly.

Lesson #9

2010-03-05T14:02:00.001-08:00

Log Book - 3/5 DA40 KCID 5 1.5

I knew yesterday afternoon that I would have a chance to get away from work for a couple of hours today, so I emailed Jim to see if he would be available for some more dual instruction in the DA40. Given that I have already been checked out in the DA40, the remaining dual time that I needed to pacify the insurance would be flown under the hood. I finally got my security card and hangar key from airport security, so I was able to get there a little early and get the plane pulled from the hangar and preflighted. As I was finishing up, Jim arrived and we discussed our options for today. I had mentioned in an email last night that I wanted some hood time and Jim agreed with my request. I called up GND and requested vectors for multiple ILS 09 approaches (Link located below). We then proceeded to taxi out to RWY 13 and Jim asked if I was up for a no vis take-off with the Foggles on. As much as I wanted to, I thought it would be in my best interest to get a little more comfortable with the plane. Maybe our next flight I will take advantage of his request. We departed RWY 13 and I donned the Foggles. I was given vectors for the ILS 09. I found out today that I REALLY need to pay attention to my altitude with the DA40. It is so aerodynamic that it climbs in a hurry and I soon find myself well above my planned altitude of 2500’. I then find myself chasing the altimeter with the electric trim. Well, as I am flying what is considered my base leg, I start configuring the plane for approach. I finally get vectored to the FAF and I wait for the needle to move. As I turn and start my approach, I find myself over correcting on runway heading and I think that I am starting to lull Jim to sleep. This has been a concern of mine as I find myself watching the CDI and trying to correct, rather than watching the Attitude Indicator and scanning the other instruments. I make my way down the ILS and look up at 1100’, pretty close to the centerline and well within my reach of getting to the runway. After the missed, I fly runway heading and wait for the handoff to DEP. I hear the call from TWR and I call DEP for further heading and altitude instructions. After obtaining a heading, I decided that I want to try my hand at having the Auto Pilot handle the tasks for me. I turn on the AP and set the HDG and ALT assigned by ATC. About 2 minutes after getting everything set, I get a trim warning from the AP so I switch off the AP using the button on the control stick. I then use the heading bug alone on the AP and hand fly the altitude and speed. I get vectors to proceed on the ILS 09 approach and once again see that I am overcorrecting everything. DAMN!!! I am staying within one bar on the LOC and GS, but the constant weaving back and forth is putting Jim to sleep. I pull the Foggles at 1100’ and see that I dead on the centerline but still a little high. I contact TWR and tell them missed and await the call to contact DEP. I get the call and get my HDG and ALT requirements. Once I have the heading and altitude set, Jim informs me that he is going to try to fix the electric trim by cycling the power to the avionics. He flips the “Avionics Master” switch and we wait for the Garmins and AP to go through their self test. Once they are done, I then set the HDG and ALT in the AP and program the Garmin 530 for the ILS 09. Everything seems to be working better now and the electric trim is once again doing what it is supposed to. Once on base, I configure the plane for landing and switch the APP button on the AP. This should keep my heading bug active and ARM the AP to start the approach when the LOC needle comes alive. This should be an easy approach, as all I have to worry about is the speed. A perfect approach is flown and I pat the KAP140 to show it my appreciation in having it in the plane with me. That is how an approach should be flown. 8^) I then wanted to hand fly the final approach so I shut off the AP and tried my very best to maintain HDG and ALT that was assigned my ATC. I am doing a very good job of keeping my altitude and heading this time, but I let the airplane get ahead of me before reaching the FAF. I blow right through the FAF, where I should have started my 500fpm descent and started the clock. I didn’t so I was pretty much screwed on that approach. I had the LOC needle centered, but ended up not getting the GS needle back. I called missed and we decided to stay VFR and circle to land. I pulled off the Foggles and Jim asked if I knew what had happened. Of course I did, I didn’t start my descent and the timer at the FAF. I have to admit that I am so used to seeing the needle on a normal GS that the HIS threw me off when I didn’t see it. I need to learn how to read the new technology. 8^) We circled to the downwind and requested permission to land long on RWY 09. The plane is hangared in the East T’s and it doesn’t make sense to land on the numbers and taxi the entire length of the runway. After arriving back at the hangar, Jim endorsed my logbook and he needed to run so I pushed the plane in the hangar and closed things up for the day. I am now just 0.4 hours from satisfying the insurance company and cannot wait to take my wife and kids up in the Diamond. It is a joy to fly and the opportunity Jim has given me will never be forgotten.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+09/pdf

Lesson #8

2010-03-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

Log Book - 3/3 C150 IA24 KCID KIOW IA24 3 1.5

So I decide that I am going to take off work an hour early on Wednesday’s until I am done with my training. The sun is setting a little later so this should work to get about 1.5 hours before it gets dark. I arrive at the airport and for the first time in quite awhile, the airport is buzzing with activity. The warm temps and melting snow have brought pilots out of the woodwork. The 150 just happened to be parked in front of one of the other planes in the hangar, so it was already sitting out when I arrived. I changed clothes, preflighted the airplane and checked to make sure that I had the ILS 27 charts for KCID handy while I waited for Dale. Once Dale arrived, we crammed our way into the airplane and got ready for departure. We discussed our plan for the day and decided that we would head to KCID to shoot some ILS approaches. This was the first time in the plane, so I took some time getting familiar with the panel, etc. We blasted away at 80 knots and 500 fpm and Dale took the plane while I donned the Foggles. As we climbed I called CID APP and received a squawk code and I requested vectors for multiple ILS 27 approaches (Link located below). As I was being vectored over to WAVUM the IAF, I got the comm and nav frequencies tuned. As I was flying towards WAVUM, I noticed the GS needle hadn’t moved since I tuned the radio to the ILS frequency. I changed the nav frequency again and verified the Morse code. According to my cross checks, it appears that the GS was not working on this airplane. Time to quickly change the approach, so as I reached WAVUM, the clock started and I changed over to the LOC 27, rather than using the ILS. As I arrived at 1300, I slowed my descent and waited for the clock to reach 3:40. At that point, I pulled the Foggles and looked to see where I was. Another perfect approach, yeah whatever. I was very sloppy on this approach as I was very frustrated with the instruments in the plane not working correctly. I didn’t have the CID VOR 27 plates with me, so we decided to request vectors to IOW to practice the IOW VOR-A approach. I flew the VOR-A approach to minimums and flew the missed procedure back to the IOW VOR. Once there, I was told to go ahead and enter the published hold over the VOR. I entered the hold via a teardrop pattern and did 2 circuits in the hold. I wanted to do the 2nd racetrack as I didn’t correct enough for the crosswind and wanted to do it right. After the second loop I once again did the VOR-A approach to minimums and called CID to tell them that it was time to head back to Green Castle IA24. I was given a radial from the IOW VOR that would take us to IA24 so I changed the OBS and intercepted the radial to take us back. The pattern was empty so I did a straight in to RWY 33 and we called it a day. As I was pushing in the plane, one of the other instructors came out to ask how it went. When I told him the GS wasn’t working, he claimed that he knew that as no one ever uses the 150’s for IFR training. Great, now they tell me. 8^) Scratch this plane from the list of planes to use for my training. I found out that of the 3 150’s that the club had, one of them had a working ILS. I have once again adjusted the club’s schedule to incorporate another plane. 8^( Today’s lesson worked out good though as I needed some more work with holding patterns, etc. The new plane also had different power settings so I got accustomed to those as well. Hopefully the weather holds and I get a chance to get back up Saturday morning.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+27/pdf

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/IOW/IAP/VOR-A/pdf

Lesson #7

2010-03-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Log Book - 3/1 C150 4K6 OTM IA24 0 0.9

I preflighted the C150 for the flight home. This will be the first time that I have flown in a C150, so this could be an interesting trip. I am 6’-2” and I was concerned with how much room there was in the cockpit given the non-adjustable front seats. Another reason that I wanted Dale to come along is that this plane might be my new instrument training plane while the 172 was down, so I needed to see if we would both fit in the plane. After we crammed ourselves in, we talked about what we would do on the flight back to IA24. As much as I wanted to do a couple of approaches on the way home, it was well after noon and I needed to get back to work. We figured the best thing to do was to fly to the OTM VOR and then direct to the CID VOR. This would take us right over IA24, so that is what we did. After take-off, I donned the Foggles and received heading instruction from Dale waiting for the VOR signal. After we climbed to about 2500’, we got the needle to move and received the ident code. I then proceeded to fly direct OTM and then to the CID VOR. As we arrived closer to IA24, Dale then gave me heading and altitude callouts and set me up for base to RWY 33 at Green Castle. I must say that I was real happy with my first landing in the C150. It was a squeaker and right in the center of the 26’ wide runway. After landing, Dale and I discussed my upcoming flight schedule and what plane I wanted to use while the 172 was in the shop. I felt comfortable enough in the 150 to continue to use it as long as the temperatures remained low. I am guessing our weight won’t be our friend when density altitude is added to the training equation. We will try a few flights in the 150 and if things don’t work out I can always transition over to the Piper Arrow that the club has in its fleet of rental aircraft. While it would cost more for training, it is still available if need be. We then discussed my training schedule and how the absence of the 172 (possible 6-8 weeks at the shop) might affect my upcoming check ride. I told him about my share in the DA40 and he mentioned the possibility of using that for my check ride. After discussing that at length, I decided that it is my best option. I figure that I will get approx. 7 hours of hood time in the DA40 while finishing my required dual instruction to pacify the insurance company. I will keep flying the 150 until I get close to my ride. Once my check ride is within reach, I will then use the DA40 for the final few hours of my training.

Lesson #6

2010-03-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

Log Book - 3/1 C172 IA24 IOW OTM 4K6 1 1.6

The Cessna 172 that I fly needed to be delivered to our A&P so that it could get a required engine overhaul. The club had a Cessna 150 sitting waiting to be returned from its annual. I thought what a perfect way to get some hood time in without paying for the planes and helping out the club, so I volunteered to fly the 172 to Bloomfield, IA (4K6) and pick up the 150, so I scheduled my CFII to fly with me as well. After talking to Dale Sunday afternoon, I decided to go ahead and file an IFR flight plan so that I would get used to the filing process and also the different ways to pick up a clearance either at IA24 or in the air. I filed Sunday night IA24-IOW-OTM-4K6 at 4000’ and departing at 1515z on Monday. I knew that I had 2 hours after our planned departure time so I felt safe filing for the time that I did. I arrived at the airport, fueled and preflighted and waited for Dale. After Dale arrived, we talked about the different ways to go about getting our clearance. I decided that I wanted to get our clearance on the ground at IA24 rather than picking it up in the air after departure. I found out after the fact, that it was a mistake. I ended up having to sit on the ground at IA24 for 5 minutes waiting for my departure slot (I thought that only happened at big airports). After take-off I contacted CID DEP and received my direct IOW proceed own nav on the trip. I flew to IOW and then started my turn outbound to OTM. I was getting back to having the needles almost centered. While doing my normal instrument scan, I noticed both VOR needles showed that I was right of course so I proceeded to correct my heading to the left waiting for the CDI to center. After several minutes with no CDI movement, I turned the OBS knob on both VOR’s trying to center the CDI to find out what was happening. Oh crap, they were now showing that I was way left of course. You can see my flightaware.com track on the link below. This old plane and its crappy equipment is really starting to piss me off at this point. During this tracking issue, I had been told to contact Chicago Center. I had my Fujitsu tablet PC with moving map software and I should have used that to cross reference my position. Given the fact that was the first time that I had it in an airplane, I hadn’t included it in my normal instrument scan. After recognizing the error with the instruments, I validated the problem after thinking about the GPS that I had attached to the yoke. I immediately started my correction back to being on the correct course. As I was correcting back, I called CHI CTR to request vectors for the OTM VOR DME 13 (Link located below) approach. I received the vectors and was told to descend to 3000’. After passing through 3400’ I was told by CHI CTR that radar contact was lost and to climb back up to 4000’. I received several more vectors before being told to fly HDG 150 and cleared for the VOR DME 13 approach. At that point I cancelled my IFR flight plan and flew the approach. At 1150’ I pulled the Foggles and found the runway directly in front of me. I then went missed and proceeded direct to the OTM VOR as described in the missed approach procedure. After arriving there, we turned to the south and followed the 189 degree radial down to 4K6 per the Bloomfield AF/D. Dale gave me vectors and altitude instructions to get me lined up for downwind for RWY 36. We landed and I taxied the airplane to the waiting A&P that would be tearing it down within hours of its arrival.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7717U/history/20100301/1525Z/IA24/4K6
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/OTM/IAP/VOR_DME+RWY+13/pdf

Lesson #5

2010-03-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Log Book - 2/27 DA40 CID IOW CID 2 0.6

As you can see it’s been over 2 months since I had any IFR time, so I was ready to get back up in the plane and fly under the hood. As you may have noticed from the plane type, I changed planes for this flight. I have been getting checked out in a Diamond DA40 and we figured now that I was almost competent to fly the airplane except for x-wind landings, we may as well use some of the extra dual time required by the insurance company to fly simulated instruments. We had just finished up steep turns, power on and power off stalls at the SW practice area which is just west of KIOW. After we were done, we decided to go ahead and do a touch and go in Iowa City (KIOW). Before we started our turn to IOW, Jim asked me to find your way to IOW using the instruments that are available to you. By the way, did I mention the plane is equipped with a Garmin 430/530 radio stack and a Bendix/King KAP140 Auto Pilot with altitude preselect. Well, that is another story. So, I go to the 530 and select direct IOW so it shows the magenta line to IOW. As we start our turn, Jim asks if I want to have a go at flying the IOW GPS 30 (Link located below) approach into IOW. What do you think I would say, no? 8^) So using my knowledge of the 530 (which appropriately enough was obtained using it in FS9 & FSX) I was able to plug in the GPS 30 approach into the 530 and started my approach using OCUCI as my IAF. This approach did not require a procedure turn which made it a little easier. I didn’t use the auto pilot for any of this approach as I wanted to hand fly the approach. The Garmin 530 does an excellent job of pointing me in the correct direction. It also alerts you to when to start your next turn prior to reaching the waypoint, which is really nice. While the 530 does an excellent job of heading input, it doesn’t do anything for altitude on anything other than ILS approaches, so I am still required to make sure that altitude is within the approach requirements. The KAP140 will make that a snap if and when I would ever use the AP for an approach. After the touch and go, we then headed back north to Cedar Rapids (KCID). I hadn’t done any x-wind landings in the plane yet, so we figured this would be a good time to do that. Winds were 310/16G24 so this was a perfect day for x-wind landings. After contacting Approach Control, I asked for vectors for the ILS 27 approach, which was granted. “N316LV, fly heading 070, maintain 3000’.” I responded and went to work configuring the Garmin 530 for Vector for ILS 27 (Link located below). While waiting, Jim told me some interesting features of the 530 once the approach is set. The unit will auto tune the ILS frequency and alert the pilot of the correct OBS setting for the HSI. I could really get used to flying this plane in IFR conditions. 8^) After getting some more vectors, we finally received “6LV, fly heading 290, descend to 2700’, maintain 2700’ til established, cleared for the ILS 27 approach. Contact TWR 118.7”. After contacting TWR, it was time to get ready for the approach. GMPS is my acronym for the DA40 (Gas Mixture Prop Switches) and I then slowed to 90 knots and 1 notch of flaps prior to reaching the FAF. Given the stiff x-wind, my heading on the ILS varied from 290-300 while descending down the glide slope. Nolan asked after the fact why I was swinging the nose back and forth rather than just keeping it at the same spot. I told him that I was making small corrections via the instruments, rather than having a visual aspect of the approach. After reaching 1100’, I took off the Foggles and there was the runway. I added the 2^nd notch of flaps and did a touch and go as Jim wanted me to do several more x-wind touch and goes. After a couple more on RWY 27, we then decided to switch over the RWY 31. On base leg of the approach and cleared for the touch and go, Jim cut the power and I then called TWR to say simulated engine out. The planes glides better than anything that I have ever flow. The only thing that I can do now is trim for best glide speed and wait. As I approached the numbers and I knew I had the runway made, I extended the flaps and did another touch and go. Once more loop around the pattern and we called it a day.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/IOW/IAP/RNAV+%28GPS%29+RWY+30/pdf

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+27/pdf

An Update

2010-02-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

For those following my adventure, the weather here in Iowa has taken its toll on my flight training. I have been at a standstill with frigid temperatures or low ceiling and icing. I have been hitting the books hoping to have the written done by the end of the month. An incentive for taking the test soon is the mandatory additional $50 fee that the FAA is implementing March 1, 2010.

John

Lesson #4

2009-12-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

Log Book - 12/17 C172 IA24 CID IA24 3 1.5

The day I have been waiting for since I decided to dive into the IFR training has finally arrived. It was time to fly an ILS approach in a real airplane. I was so juiced; I left work 30 minutes before I needed to just to make sure that the plane was fueled and everything was ready to go. As it turns out, it was perfect timing. By the time I had the plane preflighted and fuel added, Dale was just arriving. We hopped in the plane and discussed what we would do on this flight. We listened to KCID ATIS and found out that they were using RWY 09 visual approaches. Given that we were going to be doing ILS approaches, we pulled out the ILS 09 approach plate (see link below) and Dale and I went the chart, noting altitudes and what frequencies we should have setup in the comm and nav radios. We got things setup accordingly, and decided it was time to fire up the airplane and get started. While taxiing to the runup area, we once again checked ATIS (Information Whiskey) to verify that things hadn’t changed in the last 20 minutes. After a routine take-off I donned the Foggles at 600’ AGL and had Dale give me vectors temporarily. I then tuned CID APP, told them my location and received my squawk code. After verifying my location, the next communication was one that I had been waiting for with baited breath. Approach asked “N7717U, please state intentions”. WooHoo, now the fun begins. I replied multiple vectored ILS 09 approaches. I was told, turn HDG 270, remain VFR at or below 3000’. According to the DME, we were still about 10m from the CID VOR and flying away from the airport. After listening to Approach for a few minutes, I quickly realized that this afternoon wasn’t the best time to be practices approaches at an airport where commercial service was also being served. We finally given a turn right 360 and descend to 2500’. Hoorah, finally being vectored toward the airport. Dale told me that there are several things that should be verified before being vectored for the LOC intercept and the base leg is the best time to do that. We then go though our approach checklist and wait for our next vector. Finally I hear, “N7717U, Turn right HDG 070, maintain 2500’ until established, clear for the ILS 09 approach”. I respond with “Right 070, maintain 2500’ til established, cleared for the ILS 09 approach, 17U”. Shortly after intercepting the LOC, App told me to contact TWR. I changed frequencies and received instructions from TWR “17U, cleared for low approach, after miss, HDG 110 remain VFR at or below 3000’”. I replied and we started down the GS. Things went well for my first ILS approach, but found out that I was over correcting when I saw the LOC needle move even the slightest amount. The GS adjustments came a little easier as I had the proper descent RPM settings for the 172. Once the plane is trimmed for the proper descent, power settings are used for altitude correction on the way down the GS. After we reached 1055’, Dale told me to remove the Foggles and take a look. I couldn’t believe it, right there to the left of me was the runway. I know, I know, it should have been right in front of me, but you do remember me writing that I had issues with over correcting. I wasn’t able to get the needle centered, but I was within 1 dot meaning that it was acceptable. I called the TWR and told them missed, HDG 110 and I then was switched to DEP. I contacted DEP and told them I wanted another ILS approach, so I was given instructions to turn right HDG 270 and maintain VFR at or below 3000’. We then stayed at 270 and flew for several miles. I was then told to turn right HDG 360 and descend to 2500’. Here we go again, base leg here we come. This is when things got interesting. We could hear on the radio that it was starting to get busy, and shortly after that, we were told remain on 360 for landing traffic vectors. We then blew right through the LOC and ended up flying several minutes before getting turned back to the ILS. After travelling back at 180, we were once again told to stay on 180 and back through the LOC again. That was an extra 15 minutes that I wasn’t real happy about. It’s not like the controllers are paying for the plane and instructor. 8^) Dale mentioned to me that while we weren’t flying the actual approach, it was still good practice to maintain an altitude while being vectored all over the place and to also gain experience with ATC communications. Well, we were finally vectored back to the LOC and started our base leg checklist again. We were vectored towards the LOC and started the approach again. This one went much better and I was within a half dot on the entire approach. Once we were down to 1055’ the Foggles were removed to a perfect approach centered right on the runway. After telling DEP that we wanted one more ILS 09 before heading back to IA24, we were once again vectored back to the approach end of the ILS 09. The 3rd approach was the best yet and I was feeling really good at that point. We then were given vectors back towards IA24 and once CID DEP handed us off Dale gave me vectors and altitude callouts to line us up for a left base for RWY 15 at Green Castle. Once at pattern altitude, I removed the Foggles and continued the approach to landing. Being out in the middle of nowhere, we always look for wild animals on the runway as we turn final for landing. While it’s usually deer occupying the runway, several turkeys started to make their way onto the side of the approach end of the runway as we were about the land. Given the fact that there was enough room, I added a little power and flew over the top of them and landed a little long. That was the last thing that I was expecting on this flight. 8^) After getting the 172 and 150 back in the hangar, we went to the office to debrief. Dale mentioned before we took off that he wanted to man the radios until I got the hang of it, but I pleaded with him before we left IA24 that I felt comfortable with the radios and still being able to control the airplane. He told me that my radio skills were great and that ATC communication is one of the main factors that most IFR pilots initially have issues with. We will once again plan on ILS approaches at CID at my next lesson. While there was some wind today, it was mainly straight down the runway and Dale wants me to get used to flying an ILS with a crosswind of some kind. Things are going good and I look forward to my next lesson. I really cannot wait to fly in some actual IMC.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/CID/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+09/pdf

Lesson #3

2009-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Log Book - 12/12 C172 IA24 IOW IA24 2 1.4

With a fresh snow on the ground, my son Nolan and I spent the morning digging snow out around the hangars so that we could open the door. I braved the cold pulling the 172 out of the hangar and preflighting. Since getting my license, I have always been a fair weather pilot and have never ventured out with it being cold or having any snow on the ground. Well, today changed all of that. We discussed our plan in the office and decided that we would do some more VOR intercepts, holding patterns, the IOW VOR-A approach (see the link below) and the missed approach procedure. I took off, donned the Foggles at 500’AGL and flew direct IOW. As the DME counted down, Dale said that we would fly to the VOR and intercept the outbound radial to the Muscatine VOR (DDD) which is about 20 miles from the IOW VOR. During the time while flying, he explained to me the proper procedures for using the second VOR in the plane and thinking ahead and tuning appropriately. After reaching the VOR, I went through the 5 T’s mnemonic (Turn-Twist-Time-Throttle-Talk), and started flying to the DDD VOR. With the needles correctly centered, we flew a few more miles. I was then asked to head back to the IOW VOR and for me to figure out how to get there. I knew it was behind me so I started my standard rate turn to the left and centered the needle using the OBS. I then flew direct to the VOR and started watching the distance start to wind down on the DME. Our next maneuver was to enter the published holding pattern over the IOW VOR. Dale asked me what the proper procedure to enter the hold at the IOW VOR. Given the direction of our flight, I answered correctly that we should enter the hold with the teardrop entry. Once over the VOR, I turned to a heading of 230 and started the timer. After a 1 minute on that heading, it was time for the left hand standard rate turn. We then proceeded back to the VOR and did one more published hold before starting the VOR-A approach. I flew the entire approach down to minimums (in VFR conditions) and then proceeded with the missed approach. The air was so calm while flying above 2500’, you could certainly tell when I was descending to the airport. The missed approach takes you back to the VOR, where I flew the full approach back to IOW. Dale did most of the communications with CID Approach during the procedures so that I could concentrate on my flying and not worry about the radio. At first I had hoped to do it all, but am happy with his decision to handle part of my tasks. We then departed the IOW area and headed back to IA24. With Green Castle in site, Dale had me remove the Foggles and I contacted CID and was switched over to Unicom. After a successful landing, it was time to get back to the office and discuss out flight. Dale said that things went well and if there was one thing that I needed to work on it was my altitude deviations while make turns. It seems that I am always applying back pressure on the yoke when making turns and need to make sure to lighten the pressure. He said everything went well and that he could tell that I was using Flight Sim in a positive way. We discussed what our next lesson would entail, and that we would spend the time doing ILS approaches at KCID. WooHoo, I cannot wait. The bad thing is that we are expecting several days of bad weather over the next week. Hopefully we can sneak a session in between the snow.

Lesson #2

2009-12-14T05:58:00.000-08:00

Log Book - 12/1 C172 IA24 IOW IA24 1 1.0

The day started with discussion about whether we should go. Dale and I had canceled the previous Sunday because of high winds and gusty conditions and today wasn’t much better. We decided to go, so I preflighted the plane while Dale went to get approaches charts, etc. We discussed what we were going to do while on the ground with the engine stopped. The plan for the day was to work on holds at the IOW VOR. We departed IA24 and I put on the foggles. With the wind gusting out of the SW, I initially had issues with flying the correct heading to intercept the VOR. The initial heading that is usually flow from IA24 to IOW is 150 degrees. I had started flying with a 15 degree correction to 165, but that still wasn’t enough, so I corrected to 180. As we approached the VOR, given the heading in which we would be intercepting the VOR Dale decided that we would go ahead and go outbound, do the procedure turn and then track the VOR inbound. After crossing the VOR, I would then start the hold. After crossing the VOR, that is when the fun began. The hold has an outbound heading of 197, so given the winds I tried a heading of 220. As I turned to 220 and started the clock, I waited the typical 2 minutes had before I started my standard rate turn. Before I got that far, Dale explained to me that given the strong winds, I need to be aware of the winds and what direction that I am flying. With DME (distance measuring equipment) installed in the 172, we should be around 2 miles from the VOR when we start our standard rate turn back to the VOR. Looking at the DME, I see that we are just a little over 1 mile out, so I need to adjust my time given the wind. We then turn back to the VOR and do the VOR-A (see link below for approach plate) into IOW and called missed at the MDA. CID Approach then vectors me back towards IA24. Once Dale has the airport in sight, he has me remove the Foggles and contact Approach to let them know. They switch us over to Unicom and then a normal approach and landing and we are done for the day. We headed back to the office to discuss our flight. While the wind was a major issue, Dale decided that it was best for me to get some experience as one never knows what the weather will bring. Our next lesson will include more holds, VOR interception and maybe an approach.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/IOW/IAP/VOR-A/pdf

Lesson #1

2009-12-14T05:50:00.000-08:00

Back in 1993 when I got my PPSEL, I figured that I would never consider getting my instrument rating as I didn’t really see a need for it. Having to cancel 3 flights over the summer it got me thinking that maybe I should put the IFR rating on my priority list. I figured not only will it allow me to fly when conditions are marginal; it will also make me a better pilot. I started chatting with my instructor while I was getting instruction for my tailwheel endorsement and we both decided that it might be a good idea to go up for a couple of hours to see how comfortable I felt with the Foggles on to see if it was something that interested me. Well, my schedule allowed me to take some time away from work yesterday, so off into the blue sky we wondered.
I have decided to jot down my lesson highlights for those that are interested. I have also included each lesson’s log book entry. This shows the date, aircraft type, where we flew, number of approaches & time logged:

Log Book - 11/23 C172 IA24 IOW IA24 0 1.2

We sat in the 172 for about 10 minutes and discussed the primary and secondary instruments for IFR flights and went over what instruments are powered by the vacuum and electrical system. Given Green Castle (IA24) is a private air field; we have no ATC, so we always tune to KCID ATIS while in the run up area. After receiving the ATIS and setting the altimeter and associated radios, we taxi to RWY 15. As we are back taxiing to 15, I turn the nose back and forth to make sure the compass, turn coordinator and heading indicator were working correctly. Shortly after takeoff I don the Foggles and am told to turn to 180 and climb to 2500. I was then told that we would use CID departure for traffic advisories, but I would be getting heading and altitude direction from Dale, my instructor. I was then instructed to get CID departure on the radio and inform them that we would be at the practice area 2500’ or greater. After receiving a squawk code, we then leveled off at 2500’ on a heading of 180. We then took some time to verify the power settings that I had written down for level flight, a 500 fpm descent and climb at 90 knots. After those were verified, it was show time. I then went through several standard rate turns at level flight, climbing and descending while turning both right and left. After Dale was happy with those, he asked how to go about flying to the IOW VOR. I tuned the radio, checked the Morse code identifier to make sure I had the correct frequency and then twisted the OBS to get the correct inbound heading. As the DME ticked down, we then went over the correct procedures for intersecting a different radial other than a direct line towards the VOR. Once that was complete, we turned back towards the IOW VOR and proceeded to fly the VOR-A (see link below) approach into KIOW. We didn’t do the full approach with procedure turn or descend per the approach plate, but just flew to the 017 radial from the IOW VOR to the airport while at 2000’. Once we were directly over the airport, Dale explained the missed approach procedure and we then flew the missed back to the VOR. We didn’t do the hold, although Dale asked if I wanted to. While I haven’t had much experience with holds in Flight Sim or my instrument DVD’s, I figured that I would much rather have a better understanding of them before I try to fly one. Plus, the clock in the airplane was acting funny so we wouldn’t be able to time the legs anyway. After overflying the VOR, I was instructed to fly direct to the CID VOR (which would take us directly back to IA24). I already had the CID VOR tuned to the 2nd VOR, so I turned the OBS until it was centered and then turned to a HDG of 330 direct CID. As we approached IA24 I removed the foggles and called CID approach to let them know that IA24 was in sight. I then squawked 1200 and changed to the advisory frequency. After landing back at IA24, we went to the office to discuss our flight. Dale knew of my flight simulator experience and said that he could tell by the way I was able to track VOR’s, etc. He could also sense my ability to not get confused with ATC instructions and read backs. He felt things went well and that we could start doing holds (if the clock gets fixed) in the next lesson.

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/IOW/IAP/VOR-A/pdf