Short Field

After many days grounded because of the weather, I finally flew this morning in "my" good old Tecnam Sierra. My instructor decided this was a good time for us to do some short field stuff.

SNS has one literally short field. Runway 14/32 is an old strip from the days of WWII. The strip has cul de sac like things on each side which my instructor said was where they stored airplanes surrounded by sand bags during the war.

The Tecnam unlike most other aircraft, requires flaps to be in normal takeoff position for a short field takeoff. My instructor first demonstrated the take off and then a landing.

On my first takeoff, even though my instructor had told me that I would need a lot more right rudder than usual, I didn't expect it to require so much to keep me coordinated. And it was quite unnerving that the attitude looked really similar to my power on stall attitude. I guess that's the reason why we practice those stalls!

Once I was clear of the "50 foot" obstacle, it was back to best rate of climb, and then stay in the pattern for a landing.

I came in too fast on my first attempt and had to go around. The second time I had to add a little bit of power to make the runway, but it wasn't a pretty landing. The third time was a beauty even if I say so myself. I landed just a few feet beyond the runway threshold and stopped quickly (I know I know, the point is not to stop quickly but to touch down on the first 200 ft of the runway).

Subsequent landings though went downhill. But I do think I got the hang of it....somewhat. Enough atleast to want to go back tomorrow and practice some more!

More Cessna 140

I flew today with my instructor again in the Cessna 140. "My" Tecnam is still isn't fixed, but apparently will be before I fly next. In the meantime, I wasn't going to pass up any opportunity to fly a tailwheel aircraft. It was a short trip to WVI and back where I fueled up the plane at the self serve gas pump. That was quite an experience. The weather was great, hardly any winds, and the Cessna as usual flew beautifully. That thing is a joy to pilot. I nailed both take offs which left me beaming the rest of the day. I seem to be getting the hang of proactive rudder control during rolls down the runway. The landings still were bad, but I can see that I am getting better at it which is good.

I can imagine that most people would think that it is a bad idea to switch planes frequently when taking flying lessons. This is something I too think of every time I agree to fly anything other than my primary trainer - the Tecnam Sierra. However, I also feel it is more important to be actually flying so that one is learning something instead of being grounded for a few weeks.

I am convinced that because of my taildragger flights the last few times, including my first dual cross country and night flight, that I will be a better pilot in my Tecnam. Why?

For one, I am more acutely aware of turn coordination and how important it is. I am also less dependent on various instruments - the Cessna being bare bones makes it pointless to look for instrumentation on an almost empty panel. I also know that I can land better now, with the nose pointing straight down the runway more times than not.

Of course I didn't master these skills in the Cessna. Far from it in fact. I would probably need a good ten hours more in the Cessna to solo in it. I have already soloed in the Tecnam. What the Cessna has done to my flying however is raise my awareness of the airplane and how it flies, and that I think is invaluable.

While this gives me great confidence as I get back to the Tecnam, I am also a wee bit nervous as I haven't gone solo in more than three weeks now. My instructor doesn't seem to be worried at all, and I trust his judgement completely. I am sure he will come with me the next time I fly, and then let me go on my own once he is sure that I haven't lost any skills.

I definitely look forward to getting back to the Tecnam as that would mean faster progress towards my PPL. But I know for sure that once I am done with it, I am getting a tail wheel endorsement. I wouldn't have it any other way.

First Dual Cross Country

Yesterday my instructor and I went on my first dual cross country in his flying megaphone (Cessna 140). This cross country accomplished several things - the cross country, night flying, and night landings.

I was supposed to chart a course to Santa Maria, CA (SMX) and back from SNS. I picked SNS-PRB-SBP-SMX. The return route was the same.

My instructor and I had gone over creating a flight plan a couple of times. However, doing it all alone was rough. The part that I found most challenging was trying to remember all the IAS, CAS, TAS, TC, TH, MH etc. and the conversions from one to the other. After many hours refreshing my knowledge of those topics, I finally gave up on doing them. I just charted the course on the sectionals, calculated distances, and went to the airport with the rest of the navigation log empty.

My instructor and I then sat for an hour and he guided me through completing it. It was so simple! However, I have to say that I would much rather a computer program build me a flight plan. With today's technology, my time is probably better spent paying attention to weather conditions than worrying about headings. I might be wrong, but I will have to see what conventional wisdom around SNS is.

Anyway, because we were leaving late in the afternoon, the idea was to make the return leg a night cross country. This was going to be exciting!

My instructor called Flight Services to file the flight plan as I made notes on how it was done. It seemed pretty straightforward. I also made a note to myself not to be shy to ask for clarifications.

Once the preflight was done and the tanks topped up, we were asked to taxi to runway 26. I found that I was having a much easier time taxiing the airplane this time. This was going to be fun!

The take off wasn't as nice as I wanted it to be and gave me one anxious moment when it looked like I would be flying towards the tower. But that was corrected quickly and I quickly trimmed the airplane for best rate of climb.

I turned around to fly south to PRB. The course was very easy to follow - all I had to do was follow 101 all the way south, and keep to the valley. We called to open our flight plan and then called Norcal for flight following. No hitches there.

As we were getting closer to PRB, I knew we would be going close to a couple of restricted areas. The plan was to follow the road from south of King City which would take around the edge of those areas. My instructor told me to keep to the left of the road to give us a comfortable margin. As we were going through calculating time and distance using land marks, I let the airplane cross the road and get to the right side, very close to the restricted area. My instructor very firmly said, "I am serious about keeping clear of the restricted area. You could get yourself shot down there at worst, or our flying certificates stripped. Always aviate, navigate and communicate in that order".

I dropped my maps and E6B and got the plane back clear of the restricted area.

When I was above PRB, I turned towards SBP. The sun was setting this time over the ocean and my instructor called a time out from the navigation to look at it. It was absolutely beautiful. There was some turbulence on this leg which was manageable. Once over SBP, I changed course towards SMX, the last leg. This leg had a lot more turbulence. Once I started my descent, I also saw that there was a big updraft because of which, try as I might, I couldn't get the airplane down!

I got SMX in sight and Oakland center (to which I had transitioned from Norcal) asked me to call the tower. I was asked to get on a right pattern to runway 30. It was dark by this time and this was also my first night landing. To compensate for the updraft, I had lowered the nose more to get us down quicker, but once I had gotten below 2000 feet, the updraft had disappeared and I had descended to below the pattern altitude which was 1300 feet. I was at 1100 feet. Tower called and asked me to get back to pattern altitude which I did. I should have kept a closer watch on the altimeter.

I was jittery at this point not because it was night, but because it was an unfamiliar airport. Moreover, like most student pilots, I don't like right patterns as I can't see the runway very well. As a result, I got on to final a little bit too high, but nothing that a slip couldn't correct. The landing again was nothing to write home about. Suffice to say that I didn't land with the nose pointing straight down the runway.

The plan was to run to the restroom, fill up on fuel and head back to SNS. The return flight we estimated would take about 30 mins more than the journey coming down because of a stiff headwind for most of the way.

This was going to be my first night take off, and it was from the same runway 30. We called flight services to close our flight plan and reopen one for the return journey. The navigation this time would be purely by magnetic heading and by reference to the runway.

I took off more cleanly this time and headed to SBP. The big surprise for me was how much easier it was to navigate when it was dark. Though I couldn't see any landmark, the highway and the airports in the distance with the beacons were all visible easily. It was also very easy to make out the shape of the highway with the lights along it which helped when looking on the sectional. I opened the flight plan and got flight following with no problems.

The night flight was pure joy. The Cessna 140 has little skylights and the stars were absolutely brilliant. I could see the navigation lights of other planes in the distance, and the occasional shooting star. The return flight for me was very peaceful and relaxing. This was probably because I knew what to expect, and the route was the same. An occasional check of altitude, heading and the engine indicators was all that was required to keep the Cessna going straight.

The return trip was uneventful. As I got closer to SNS, I knew the tower would be closed so I announced myself on the same frequency. Runway 31 would be the best option with the wind. I was also flying straight towards it on a 70 mile final.

I assumed that the runway lights would be on, but couldn't see any runway at where I knew the airport to be. I knew about pilot controlled runway lights, but I forgot that SNS had them. My instructor asked me to click the TX button seven time. And boy was it a sight! Runway 31 lit up like a Christmas tree! I felt very important indeed. A few more clicks to get the brightness to medium, and we were all set.

I used flaps this time since I was coming in very fast. I cut power and gently descended. A little bit more power to get me over the threshold, and then I was over the runway. Down, down and with the descent rate, I got the plane into landing pitch and touched down at home.

What a trip!

Class C Flying

As part of my flight training, I have to fly into a class C airport. The closest one to SNS is Monterey, CA (MRY). MRY would have to be one of the less busy class Cs around, unlike say San Jose (SJC).

Due to an unexpected problem with oil pumps for all Rotax engines, all the airplanes that I usually fly in my flight school were grounded. My instructor called me Wednesday evening and gave me two options. 1) Put off the flight till the airplanes were fixed, or 2) Fly his personal Cessna 140

It wasn't a difficult choice. For those unfamiliar with that aircraft, the 140 is from the 1940s and is a tail dragger. I also knew that my instructor had invested in a new engine very recently, and that it was now going "like a rocket".

I had never flown a tail dragger before. So along with all the confusion around communicating in a class C airspace, I had to pay attention to what I was doing with the airplane. My instructor though belongs to the school of thought that emphasizes flying based on feel. Indeed, once I got the basics in place, most of my flying has been done with all the instruments masked. All he said was "Don't think about it too much. Just fly the plane."

After a small briefing on communication procedures, we went out to his hangar to preflight the 140. It was a beautiful plane. I have always believed that tail draggers look the way airplanes ought to look. They look like they are meant to fly even sitting on the ground, as if eager to take off with the nose-high attitude.

Once the preflight was done and we took our seats, I started up the brand new engine. The panel was very basic though it had a GPS. My instructor told me he didn't know how to use that one because it was so old. The irony of it in a Cessna 140.

After getting clearance from SNS ground to taxi, I proceeded to taxi the airplane to runway 8. Rather, I tried to taxi the plane to runway 8. You see, I found out that tail draggers are very particular about the pilot being very aware of what he is doing. Unlike in a tricycle where one can let it drift around and still get it back going in a straight line, such thinking in a taildragger will result in one going in every direction except straight ahead.

I was therefore introduced to proactive rudder control. And boy was it difficult. What I did love about the taildragger was that I could spin it on the spot with the independent brakes.

My instructor said, "Now remember, once you get some speed on the take off roll, push the yoke in to get the tail up, and then pull it back up to take off. It's easy. Oh, and do whatever it takes to keep the airplane rolling straight down the runway"

I could immediately see myself being extricated from a burning Cessna 140 nosed over on runway 8.

As I began the roll and tried to be proactive with the rudder, the tail started swinging back and forth more than necessary. My instructor had to intervene, and I was very thankful that he did. Pick up speed, elevator down, roll along on two wheels, elevator up and a smooth take off.

What immediately struck me was how much more smoother this airplane flew than the Tecnam. But then, this is the design that has stuck around in essentially the same basic form through all the popular Cessna aircraft for 60 years now. They did get something right.

Getting Norcal approach and then transitioning to MRY tower was smooth. I made use of a kneeboard for the first time and was thankful that I did for all the writing involved. As I entered base, I suddenly realized that I had no idea as to how I'd land a tail dragger.

As I presented this problem to my instructor, the Zen master that he is replied, "Do you remember the attitude that the airplane had when sitting on the ground? Well just make sure that you have the exact same attitude when landing. Also, don't forget to keep the airplane going straight down the runway"

After trimming the airplane for the correct speed, I tried to push away those familiar images again - me being extricated from a smoking wrecked Cessna 140, this time on runway 10R in MRY.

As I turned into final, I found myself pulling back on the yoke as I was thinking about the landing pitch. A firm push back followed by, "Remember, it's not difficult if you don't think of anything except flying this airplane down the centerline of the runway" from my instructor got me corrected again.

Down, down, watching the end of the runway, the descent rate, and I start pulling back on the yoke. But evidently it was too soon as the plane lost speed and dropped down onto the tarmac, bounced up, and down again. This was followed by a very very loud noise as the tail wheel rolled on the runway. "What the hell is that? Did I break something?"

"Think of this plane as an aluminium megaphone. We are sitting at the big open end, and the tail wheel is at the small end." That made sense to me, though I was still afraid that the landing had to have jolted something loose. My instructor though did not look concerned at all. But then, this airplane had survived close to sixty years with a lot of pilots like me at the controls.

We taxied off the runway to think through what had happened, and to plan for the trip back. This involved noting down a bunch of frequencies, instructions etc. from MRY clearance.

After another interesting take off, I was handed off to Norcal Departure, and then to SNS tower. I quickly found myself in the pattern to land in SNS.

This time I was determined to get it right. I concentrated solely on flying the airplane. Trim set up, turn into final, keep the airplane pointing straight ahead. Down, down, watching the descent rate, pull the yoke up to the correct attitude, slight aileron for the cross wind. I touched down and miraculously didn't bounce up again or nose over. I was happy to know that the tail wheel was rolling along happily at one end of our flying megaphone.

I relaxed too soon and I think I was pretty close to a ground loop when my instructor interevened again and got us going straight again.

My instructor told me he was very impressed with my flying that day. He attributed it to me concentrating on flying rather than thinking. I attribute it to beginner's luck.

It is very very difficult to keep a tail wheel airplane going straight as I discovered. It requires a lot more awareness of and a feel for the airplane and what it is doing. The rudder which was almost a forgotten control in the Tecnam is in your face in a tail wheel. Adverse yaw was very evident in this plane (and I suspect in all the old taildraggers) which required considerable rudder input.

I flew into MRY twice more on Saturday in a Tecnam Bravo - a high wing airplane unlike the Sierra. I hadn't flown this type before and I didn't do a good job with it at all. I guess my luck deserted me. Maybe flying three different types in three days was too much to take. But hey, I'd do it again.

However, I did get the communication in class C done without any major mistakes. And that was the point of the lessons.