Now blogging from San Diego, CA!
The flight to San Diego was good. It was 2:30 long and it felt like it was only 1:00 long. As we approached KSAN, the marine layer was covering SoCal and we got vectors for the ILS runway 09. I saw the coast as we broke under the clouds and we touched down at a pretty cloudy and cold San Diego. I sat at the end of the plane and I was the last one to go through customs. The CBP officers were cool and they stamped my entry without asking me much.
A friend picked me up at the airport and we got to the flight school. I met the administration personnel there and they are really nice. I was fascinated and I still am by the aviation atmosphere here at Montgomery Field. You get to hear and see tons of planes. There are rows and rows of Cessnas, Pipers, Beechcrafts... you can even hear and watch the F-18s and V-22s practicing at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
After giving the necessary information and copies to the school, my friend and I went to Casa Machado to eat. It's a real good restaurant and it has a view to the general aviation platform. We went to Marv Golden Pilot Supplies store and it's just incredible to see so many books, charts, supplies and stuff for pilots. It really is a candy store for me.
We drove back to the school and after saying bye to my friend, I got the keys and bed stuff for my room where I'm staying now. It's a nice condo with swimming pool. I share this appartment with an indian guy who is also studying at National Air. He's a mess as a roommate and a pilot, but I don't care.
Yesterday, I went to the school and began to watch the Jeppesen Instrument/Commercial DVD. It's a good refresher of the stuff I already know. When I walked home, I stoped by at Marv to buy the stuff I need. Flight bag, Los Angeles Terminal Chart, plotter (I didn't have one), Private Pilot SEL PTS, FAR/AIM, VFR Navlogs, etc.
I began to read the FAR/AIM in the night before going to sleep.
Today, I went to the school to continue watching my DVD. I finished watching the second of three DVDs and as I was reading/studying the FAR/AIM, the flight instructor came out and asked me if I wanted to go flying today. I wasn't expecting to fly today, but sure! Why not?
I wanted to fly in the 172 because the chief flight instructor recommended me to fly with the Skyhawk first to get accustomed with the communications and airspace. We found out the 172 was grounded because they are certifying its GPS. It's strange an airplane has to be grounded for a GPS certification. We agreed to fly to the northwest at 4500ft. We then decided to fly in the Piper Warrior. It was going to be my first flight in a Piper Aircraft and I already had read the information manual, so it wasn't going to be a thorough transition to the Warrior. The flight instructor showed me how to preflight check the Warrior and then he showed me how to use everything in the cockpit.
The Warrior is very simple to use and it's very comfortable. I ran through the checklists, engine start and we taxied to the nearest taxiway. I reported my position and received taxi instructions to runway 28L. After runup, we took off and climbed to 4500ft. When we got to the training area, he instructed me to do some slow flying. The Warrior is very easy to control. The constrols are solid and the throttle movement is excellent. You can establish a flying configuration very quick and precisely. I practiced a power off stall, power on stall and some steep turns. We turned back to Montgomery Field and descended to keep clear of the Bravo airspace. As we approached MYF, I contacted the tower and asked for touch and goes. I received instructions to join left downwind of runway 28L and abeam the runway, the tower instructed me to follow a Cessna Citation and touch and go on runway 28R.
I reduced the power and extended 10 degrees of flaps. I then joined crosswind and turned to final. The Warrior glides perfectly with full flaps. When I crossed the threshold, I started my flare and touched down. It was a pretty good touchdown for my first landing in a Warrior. I applied full power and rotated. After 1 more touch and go, I made my final landing. As I taxied out of the runway, I was told to cross runway 28L and contact ground. After completing the after landing checklist, I requested taxi to National Air and taxied to the overnight position at the school. After shuting down and securing the airplane, we got out of the plane and I filled the logbook entry. After covering the plane, I walked to the office and asked the instructor for a debrief. There was nothing significant he had tell me. Just to maintain the nose down until reaching the flare height. In general, he was satisfied with my flying. After making the entry in my logbook, we completed the paperwork and went out from the school. He gave me a ride to my appartment and said goodbye.
I'll have my first groundschool lesson tomorrow with him at 13:00.
I now completed writing this post after hearing my roommate's experiences in gambling and casinos. He's obviously not the kind of person that will become a professional/airline pilot.
It's good to be flying again!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
T minus 4 days
In 4 days I'll be on my way to San Diego.
Almost everything is set. Passport with visa, I-20, etc. The only problem is that the mexican civil aviation authorities haven't answered the FAA verfication mail for my PPL conversion. I sent an e-mail to the FAA asking them if they already got an answer from Mexico City for the verification of my private pilot license. The answer:
As soon as I read the reply, I called the licensing personnel in Mexico City. The secretary told me that supposedly the FAA won't recognize any license with a revalidation annex. I revalidated my PPL on the 16th of February 2011 and they gave me an annex. They are only recognizing plastic licenses.
That's odd, because a friend of mine sent the documents to the FAA for the PPL conversion with his revalidation annex two times and on both requests, he got the letter from the FAA with the verification!
It's also very strange that "the FAA isn't recognizing the annexes" and in fact, many airline or independant crewmembers fly to and from the US with the revalidation annexes.
What I also find quite difficult to understand is: Why is the FAA still waiting for their response, if supposedly they don't recognize the annexes? They would have told me something like: "Your license can not be verified because of this and this..." instead of saying they are still waiting for the response.
Anyway, I have to fly to San Diego because of the entry date written on my I-20 form. I can't enter the US after that date. I hope I can solve this problem there. Maybe a Designated Pilot Examiner can tell me what I can do. What about passing the written and practical test for the PPL?
Once more, this is a testament of the inefficiency and stupidity of the mexican civil aviation authorities. Why give them a responsability and too much work when they can't do anything right and everything can be more efficient and decentralized? They only make aviation more complicated and bureaucratic. They kill the dreams of every persons desire to become a good pilot and stop the further learning and training of someone who has tons of potential.
With that rubbish covered, I also have something good to tell you: About two months ago, I developed a logbook for my future career. I went to a printing office downtown to get it binded. It's basically a professional pilot's logbook in english and spanish. It contains pages for personal information, a record of certificates and ratings, flight proficiency and medical certificate hisotry, pilot record, aircraft record by make and model, flight records and a groundschool record. This will allow me to have everything well organized. It also facilitates checking the amount of time flown in different airplanes and if it was as PIC or SIC, in actual or simulated instrument flight, number of approaches flown and checking if you're current to fly as Pilot in Command in IMC, at night, with passengers, etc.
Let's see what happens in the near future. The flight to San Diego will be in a made-with-pride-in-Hamburg Airbus A319. It'll be 3 hours long.
I'll write again when I'm there. Bye!
Almost everything is set. Passport with visa, I-20, etc. The only problem is that the mexican civil aviation authorities haven't answered the FAA verfication mail for my PPL conversion. I sent an e-mail to the FAA asking them if they already got an answer from Mexico City for the verification of my private pilot license. The answer:
Daniel,
We contacted Mexico on February 6, 2012 and then again on March 14, 2012. We are waiting for their response.
Thank you,
Foreign Verification Department, AFS760
As soon as I read the reply, I called the licensing personnel in Mexico City. The secretary told me that supposedly the FAA won't recognize any license with a revalidation annex. I revalidated my PPL on the 16th of February 2011 and they gave me an annex. They are only recognizing plastic licenses.
That's odd, because a friend of mine sent the documents to the FAA for the PPL conversion with his revalidation annex two times and on both requests, he got the letter from the FAA with the verification!
It's also very strange that "the FAA isn't recognizing the annexes" and in fact, many airline or independant crewmembers fly to and from the US with the revalidation annexes.
What I also find quite difficult to understand is: Why is the FAA still waiting for their response, if supposedly they don't recognize the annexes? They would have told me something like: "Your license can not be verified because of this and this..." instead of saying they are still waiting for the response.
Anyway, I have to fly to San Diego because of the entry date written on my I-20 form. I can't enter the US after that date. I hope I can solve this problem there. Maybe a Designated Pilot Examiner can tell me what I can do. What about passing the written and practical test for the PPL?
Once more, this is a testament of the inefficiency and stupidity of the mexican civil aviation authorities. Why give them a responsability and too much work when they can't do anything right and everything can be more efficient and decentralized? They only make aviation more complicated and bureaucratic. They kill the dreams of every persons desire to become a good pilot and stop the further learning and training of someone who has tons of potential.
With that rubbish covered, I also have something good to tell you: About two months ago, I developed a logbook for my future career. I went to a printing office downtown to get it binded. It's basically a professional pilot's logbook in english and spanish. It contains pages for personal information, a record of certificates and ratings, flight proficiency and medical certificate hisotry, pilot record, aircraft record by make and model, flight records and a groundschool record. This will allow me to have everything well organized. It also facilitates checking the amount of time flown in different airplanes and if it was as PIC or SIC, in actual or simulated instrument flight, number of approaches flown and checking if you're current to fly as Pilot in Command in IMC, at night, with passengers, etc.
Let's see what happens in the near future. The flight to San Diego will be in a made-with-pride-in-Hamburg Airbus A319. It'll be 3 hours long.
I'll write again when I'm there. Bye!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Flight Briefings
Briefings help pilots review and comment operational procedures and factors, that will be performed in the flight, and exterior factors that influence and may affect different phases of the flight. That way the pilot or flight crew is more aware of the flight conditions, so that he or she can make a decision of what to do in case of an abnormal or emergency situation. Briefings are done in sports, races, in the military, etc. The team basically discusses and reviews the overall outlook of what will be done. In aviation, it improves safety by enhancing situational awareness.
If you want to read more about briefings and other topics visit smartcockpit.com/flightops.
Airbus has published many articles and notes about operational and human factors. The one I read about flight crew briefings is this note.
I recently developed a briefing checklist for my future flights. I checked some briefing checklists and excerpts from Flight Crew Training Manuals and Operating Manuals to get an idea of the sequence a briefing checklist should have. I made a 'beta' briefing checklist and then I changed the sequence of the items giving it a more efficient and inteligent arrangement of the items. The weather should be discussed at first, then the terrain, the charts and resources that will be used in the flight deck, the airplane configuration, speeds and fuel, what to do 'in case of', operational considerations and questions and/or comments. The sequence is arranged so that the first items are taken into consideration in the following items. For example: You can't determine the departure runway if you don't know the wind direction. The external factors (weather/terrain) are taken into consideration for the internal actions.
I divided the checklist into 3 parts: Departure Briefing, Cruise Briefing and Arrival Briefing.
I would do the departure briefing after starting up the engine, copying the ATIS and receiving the ATC clearance. After taxi and the runup checklist, I would repeat the takeoff and departure procedure as instructed by ATC.
When flying at the cruise altitude, I would perform the cruise briefing. 10 minutes before the top of descent, the arrival briefing. I would plan the top of descent at a comfortable and flexible point so that I level off at the published altitude of the Initial Approach Fix with a constant descent and so that if I get radar vectors and altitude instructions, I wouldn't get to the approach too high. That way I can perform my arrival briefing with time and not in a hurry or already in the descent.
An example of a departure briefing in an IFR flight with a Piper Warrior would be as follows:
When completing the before takeoff checklist I would repeat and confirm the takeoff and departure procedures:
Some may think briefings for small aircraft flights are not that important nor necessary. I developed this briefing checklist to get accustomed with airline procedures and operations. Also, because the commercial aviation safety level is greater than the general aviation one. I'd use airline operating methods and habits to enhance the safety of my flights. This may give a general aviation pilot good confidence and safety for any flight.
The briefings may give the pilot more workload, but it is a matter of practice, flight deck resource management and discipline that will enable the pilot to effectively execute all the procedures and tasks of a flight.
If you want to read more about briefings and other topics visit smartcockpit.com/flightops.Airbus has published many articles and notes about operational and human factors. The one I read about flight crew briefings is this note.
I recently developed a briefing checklist for my future flights. I checked some briefing checklists and excerpts from Flight Crew Training Manuals and Operating Manuals to get an idea of the sequence a briefing checklist should have. I made a 'beta' briefing checklist and then I changed the sequence of the items giving it a more efficient and inteligent arrangement of the items. The weather should be discussed at first, then the terrain, the charts and resources that will be used in the flight deck, the airplane configuration, speeds and fuel, what to do 'in case of', operational considerations and questions and/or comments. The sequence is arranged so that the first items are taken into consideration in the following items. For example: You can't determine the departure runway if you don't know the wind direction. The external factors (weather/terrain) are taken into consideration for the internal actions.
I divided the checklist into 3 parts: Departure Briefing, Cruise Briefing and Arrival Briefing.
I would do the departure briefing after starting up the engine, copying the ATIS and receiving the ATC clearance. After taxi and the runup checklist, I would repeat the takeoff and departure procedure as instructed by ATC.
When flying at the cruise altitude, I would perform the cruise briefing. 10 minutes before the top of descent, the arrival briefing. I would plan the top of descent at a comfortable and flexible point so that I level off at the published altitude of the Initial Approach Fix with a constant descent and so that if I get radar vectors and altitude instructions, I wouldn't get to the approach too high. That way I can perform my arrival briefing with time and not in a hurry or already in the descent.
An example of a departure briefing in an IFR flight with a Piper Warrior would be as follows:
"The prevailing conditions are IMC. The ATIS reported no thunderstorms nor windshear in the area, light rain so there could be some runway contamination; the temperature is 15 Celsius, dewpoint 13; altimeter 29.97; visibility 2.5 miles, overcast at 800 feet, broken at 2000 feet and the wind is 290 at 6.
Most of the elevetad terrain is at the east with the highest obstruction at 5200 feet. The MSA for our departure sector is 4400 feet and the airport elevation is 427 feet.
It will be a departure from runway 28L. Radar vectors to the airway with an initial heading of 360, climbing to 2000ft. Mission Bay VOR has been entered in the NAV2 and identified, NAV1 set with Homeland VOR and NAV1 standby with the ILS28R in case we must return to land.
Seeing the airport diagram, we will taxi from 'here' via Golf and Hotel to runway 28L. There's a hotspot at the crossing point of Golf and Hotel.
It will be a normal takeoff; my controls and communications.
Flaps 0 takeoff, rotate at 60 knots, Vx 63, Vy 79 and cruise climb 87. We have 40 gallons of fuel and the takeoff weight is 2200 pounds.
In case of an abnormality or engine roughness on takeoff roll, I'll abort the takeoff. In case of an engine failure below 1000 feet, secure the airplane and land at the most suitable area. Above 1000 feet, glide speed to the most suitable area, perform engine failure checklist and in case the engine doesn't start, declare emergency. In case of an electrical and/or communicacionts failure, we will proceed as cleared and we will continue the route.
The NOTAMs at Montgomery: Taxiway C is closed. Sterile flight deck below 3000 feet.
Questions or comments?"
When completing the before takeoff checklist I would repeat and confirm the takeoff and departure procedures:
"Flaps 0, trim set, rotate at 60 knots, maintain 63, then 79 Vy crossing 500 feet. Climb to 2000 feet and fly heading 360"
Some may think briefings for small aircraft flights are not that important nor necessary. I developed this briefing checklist to get accustomed with airline procedures and operations. Also, because the commercial aviation safety level is greater than the general aviation one. I'd use airline operating methods and habits to enhance the safety of my flights. This may give a general aviation pilot good confidence and safety for any flight.
The briefings may give the pilot more workload, but it is a matter of practice, flight deck resource management and discipline that will enable the pilot to effectively execute all the procedures and tasks of a flight.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Almost there...
Moin moin
Not many news I can share to you... I already got my student visa and I'm just searching for cheap tickets to San Diego. Volaris has a direct flight to San Diego; the problem is, they only have flights for the 21st, 29th, 30th and 31st of march. I prefer to fly in the 29th so that I won't have to pay the march housing rent. The flights for the 29th and 30th have the expensivest rate Volaris offers. I'm hoping they'll give discounts in the 13th of march as they always do.
I've been studying with the Instrument Flying Handbook lately. I've learned and still learning many things I didn't know about instrument flying and it is great! That way I'll know many things when I begin my groundschool and simulator sessions of the instrument rating. It's also a good way to reduce the instructor time needed ($) to learn and 'digest' something new.
Human factors in instrument flying is very important. You must understand that the workload and procedures in instrument flying are very demanding. The handbook introduces you to single pilot resource management. It's basically to keep everything organized and manage the information available for the flight in a way that it won't affect the pilot's performance during the flight.
The handbook also gives you tons of information about icing and how it affects the performance of the airplane. A pilot must understand the weather basics very well and interpret the weather reports and services so that he or she does a thorough planning of the flight.
I'm currently learning about basic instrument flying and maneuvers. Instrument flying is awesome. It's a new way to gain more experience and proficiency. It also demands a better understanding and discipline.
I'll write more about instrument flying when going through the instrument rating phase of the flight training.
Bye for now...
Not many news I can share to you... I already got my student visa and I'm just searching for cheap tickets to San Diego. Volaris has a direct flight to San Diego; the problem is, they only have flights for the 21st, 29th, 30th and 31st of march. I prefer to fly in the 29th so that I won't have to pay the march housing rent. The flights for the 29th and 30th have the expensivest rate Volaris offers. I'm hoping they'll give discounts in the 13th of march as they always do.
I've been studying with the Instrument Flying Handbook lately. I've learned and still learning many things I didn't know about instrument flying and it is great! That way I'll know many things when I begin my groundschool and simulator sessions of the instrument rating. It's also a good way to reduce the instructor time needed ($) to learn and 'digest' something new.
Human factors in instrument flying is very important. You must understand that the workload and procedures in instrument flying are very demanding. The handbook introduces you to single pilot resource management. It's basically to keep everything organized and manage the information available for the flight in a way that it won't affect the pilot's performance during the flight.
The handbook also gives you tons of information about icing and how it affects the performance of the airplane. A pilot must understand the weather basics very well and interpret the weather reports and services so that he or she does a thorough planning of the flight.
I'm currently learning about basic instrument flying and maneuvers. Instrument flying is awesome. It's a new way to gain more experience and proficiency. It also demands a better understanding and discipline.
I'll write more about instrument flying when going through the instrument rating phase of the flight training.
Bye for now...
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