Tag Archives: Byron

Air work and strong winds

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After reviewing audio from the previous flight’s recording, we determined that the intercom was not working on the rear inputs. We can only hear the radio come through so unfortunately none of the cockpit chatter was recorded. While I squawked about this issue, since the plane is owned by Five Rivers Aviation it is really up to them to fix it.

Departed Livermore in the evening into a headwind. We flew our regular course towards Byron but the ASOS reported winds were too strong from 220 at 15 gusting to 21. Steve decided we should head towards New Jerusalem instead so we banked right over Fore Bay and did two sets of steep turns to the left then to the right. Followed by slow flight with shallow turns, power-off stall, a stall on right turn and a power-on stall. Then we did an engine out simulation.

By now the Byron area winds have increased to 20kts@220. We shot a straight in landing on Rwy 23. It was really bumpy over Fore Bay and more so as we approached the runway. We ended up being too high so the first approach and a landing wasn’t salvageable. We did a go-around and gave it one more try (good landing this time) before heading back to Livermore.

Air work on N906MD

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The Flying Particles club has added a new 1976 Cessna 172N Skyhawk. Unlike N25ES which was owned, the club has leased N906MD from Pete Sandhu at Five Rivers Aviation, LLC who is going to soon open and operate a new FBO out of the Livermore airport. 6MD has the same 180hp Lycoming 0-320 Series engine as 25ES but it is equipped with Garmin GNS-430 GPS.

Srinath flew 6MD today and it has been almost 3 months since Srinath last flew. His last flight was the solo on May 28. So he went back to brushing up on air work – power off stalls, stalls in the landing configuration and power-on stalls. Then we did an engine out simulation and after a couple of landings at Byron, we returned to Livermore.

Flaps + Power = Flower

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A couple of days ago on June 30 we did a bunch of landings at Livermore. All them were decent or better, with one of them very good that Steve didn’t feel compelled to give me any instructions.

We started today with steep turns, power-off stall and then a simulated engine-out landing at Byron. On this approach we had quite a bit of altitude to lose. We tried a slip but that didn’t bring us down much because of headwinds. Then we tried S-turns to lose altitude. After 4 landings, we decided to head to New Jerusalem. It was a warm and cloudy day. The density altitude at Tracy was reported as 1600′. Reflecting on the landings at Byron I suggested that maybe extending downwind would have made it easier to land. Steve was emphatic (7:34 into the video) that that was not only necessary but it will provide more opportunities to botch a landing.

On the first landing at New Jerusalem, I came down hard and bounced up quite a bit. I didn’t react quickly so Steve shoved in the throttle (8:24) and did a go around. Rightfully he gave me an earful. The second landing was ok – flared up a little too much but was able to bring the plane down just fine. After two more good landings, Steve endorsed me to fly solo.

It was unnerving to hear Steve ask me to fly solo but once I got into the cockpit and started the preparations, all such nervousness dissipated. During the flight there was so much to mentally manage that there was no time to feel nervous. I felt ready to handle it with all the training I’d received. The first landing was alright but on the second landing I bounced. And bounced high. Thankfully Steve’s words must have stuck in the back of my mind because I immediately pushed the throttle forward and did a go-around. The nose wanted to point way high up with full flaps deployed for the landing and I remember pushing forward hard on the yoke to fly nearly level and build up airspeed before climbing and slowly retracting the flaps a notch at a time. Perhaps I came in too fast and too flat causing the serious bounce. Since I did a go-around, I decided to do two more landings for a total of 4. They were not great but I managed to make them stick. The rest of the flight back home was uneventful.

This unfortunately ended up being my last flight on N25ES. In the following week another member of my flying club flew the plane and while practicing touch-and-go at Livermore bounced hard on a landing. The plane porpoised but the pilot did not attempt a go-around expecting to salvage the landing. The nose gear touched down first and the prop stuck the tarmac. The pilot was fortunately alright. He was a low-time pilot (having recently earned his private pilot’s license on the Cessna 152 and only a couple of hours of experience on the 172) and didn’t realize the seriousness of what had just happened. He did a few more touch-and-go before calling it quits. Later inspection revealed that the tip of one prop had broken off and the firewall had buckled. The plane ended up as a total loss and an insurance claim. The club has started a search for a replacement 172.

PS: In case you are wondering about the title of this blog, check out (9:37) into the pre-solo video.

Crosswind landings, stall recovery under instruments

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We started off with Steve handing me stylish eyewear i.e. flying under the hood. After maintaining a heading and then tracking a VOR, I practiced two stalls in the clean configuration and recovery. Using only instruments under the hood. Then I practiced an approach to landing stall. First by initiating a descent, slowing down to 1500rpm and deploying flaps. The idea is to simulate a landing approach. Then pulling up the plane in this configuration and initiating a stall the plane. Recovery is similar to a stall in the call configuration with the exception that we have flaps deployed. So slowly retract flaps step by step when a climb has been achieved.

Next, I practiced slow flight with shallow turns. And then Steve pulled the power out simulating an engine out situation. We scouted a field and when we got pretty low, Steve pushed the throttle and we headed over Byron.

The winds were really strong at 20kts but fortunately it was a headwind on Rwy 23. Still the ride was really bumpy, perhaps the bumpiest of all our flights thus far. We practiced a couple of touch-and-go and then headed to Livermore for a couple more.

On the second touch and go at Livermore, we ballooned after touchdown due to the wind so Steve immediately did a go-around. I wasn’t quick enough to react and this was a good learning experience. After one more landing, we called it quits for the day.

Falling leaf stall

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We started with an engine out simulation as we were climbing on downwind leg out of Livermore. Steve explained why we couldn’t go back to Livermore – because of headwinds if we turned towards the airport. After scouting a place to land, we quickly pushed the throttle back in and climbed on.

After we crossed the hills east of Livermore, Srinath tried three power off stalls. On the second one, the stall wasn’t fully reached before recovery and that is clear from the video where the nose didn’t quite drop.

Next, Steve showed us something new [2:55 into the video]. He forced a stall and instead of relaxing the back pressure as we usually do to break the stall, he kept it all the way back. So the plane continued to be stalled. One of the wings (left) dropped and without using the ailerons, used only the rudder to pick up that wing. [In the audio, Steve misspeaks about the right wing being down and using the right rudder to compensate]. Then he asked Srinath to hold the elevator all the way back and use only the rudder. He later mentioned that it was called the Falling Leaf Stall.

I needed to research this maneuver because we didn’t discuss it further that day with Steve. It turns out to be an uncommon high air work and found this article in the AOPA Flight Training magazine from 1998. In short, by keeping the wings level this maneuver makes the plane resemble a falling leaf. As the wings rock, it is picked up by using opposite rudder. In a stall, the ailerons have very little to no authority. The rudder is above the turbulent air flow washing off the wings and hence still has authority allowing the yaw to compensate for dropping wings.

We got to about 2000′ MSL and we ended the maneuver by breaking the stall and powering up the engine. Next was turns around a point and then figure 8 turns. Winds were from 220 at 21kts so that certainly made the ground references challenging.

We proceeded to Byron. Winds were from 220 at 22 gusting 29. It has been the most sustained turbulence we have experienced thus far in training. Srinath suggested we’d land on Rwy 30 which was the wrong choice. So Steve decided to give us an education by attempting the landing and then doing a go-around when the full rudder deflection wasn’t sufficient. The plane was visibly crabbed at an extreme angle and that was still insufficient for the launch. After the go-around, Srinath did two landings on Rwy 23 before heading back to Livermore for a landing well after sunset.

Happy new year!

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This morning the winds were from 050 at 9kts. So runway 7L and 7R were in operation. This meant a long taxi from our hangar and a good time to lean the mixture. Carburetors are calibrated to properly mix fuel with air at sea level. During normal engine operation, a proper air-fuel mixture is fully burned in the engine for optimal performance. When the engine runs at a low RPM (for instance while taxiing), the rich air-fuel mixture isn’t fully burned due to a cooler engine. This causes carbon buildup in the spark plugs and the fouling can result in lower engine performance. The carbon buildup can also occur if the mixture is too rich e.g. at higher altitudes where the air density is lower but unadjusted fuel density remains higher. For better engine performance, less likelihood of spark plugs fouling up and to warm the engine sooner, leaning the mixture is recommended when a long taxi is anticipated.

We start off by performing power-off stall recovery in the clean configuration. I was very slow in powering up the engine to recover from stalls and as a result dropped over 500′ on the first couple of attempts attempt. After many tries, ended up with between 50′-75′ of altitude loss.

Then Steve demonstrated a power-on stall with 2200 rpm on the engine i.e. not fully powered up. Power-on stalls typically occur during takeoff or a go-around. Listen for the stall horn and drop the nose. Steve demonstrated a tendency to spin to the left if the stall is not recognized quickly. If that happens, the first thing to do is to pull back the power and relax the back pressure to increase air speed over the wings to produce lift. Then power up and pull back.

Next was engine out simulation. First trim for a glide speed of 65kts. Then run through a checklist

  • Was the fuel selector accidentally kicked around or is the selector still on both?
  • Is the mixture rich?
  • Is the carburetor heat off?
  • Check the throttle
  • Check mag switch positions and whether that revives the engine
  • Check the primer if it is IN i.e. off.

Once the usual suspects have been eliminated, observe the wind and look for a place to land into the wind. Brown fields better than green (wet). Smooth fields better than plowed fields. If plowed, along the furrows better than across. No railroad tracks. Since we identified a place to land and it was pretty much beneath us, we had to lose altitude quickly. One could either perform 360 turns to lose altitude. Or, in this case Steve demonstrated a forward slip.

Time for a ground reference maneuver – turns around a point. It is important to enter the maneuver downwind and maintain about 800′ AGL. On the first orbit observe the effects of the wind and remember mental landmarks where the turns should occur. Subsequent turns are expected to be more accurate. At one point, Steve suddenly took over controls and performed an evasive action by banking the plane to the right. This was upon spotting another plane in the vicinity. Then back to the ground reference maneuver this time turns to the right.

Finally, time for some touch-and-go’s at Byron. Steve talking on the radio for each leg of the approach to Byron is quite informative. The first landing was pretty hard, second was good and the third was below average.

On the way back to Livermore, we had a close call with a Skycatcher coming towards us. Tower told us that the Skycatcher was 3 miles out at 2000′ and we were at 3100′. A couple of minutes later, the tower informed the Skycatcher (which was now at 2400′) that an inbound Cessna was 1.5 miles in front and suggested that he turn right. As I was commenting to Steve that 3100′ was about our altitude, he gestured me to turn right. While I was trying to process the information, the tower asked us to turn right because of the Skycatcher and Steve jumped on it right away to avoid the oncoming aircraft.

Foray into night flying

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Srinath’s turn to fly today. I headed straight from work to the airport. Unfortunately we forgot to pack the GoPro so today’s video was shot on a handheld iPhone and we don’t have an audio feed.

We started with high air work – steep turns, slow flight, stall and recovery. Then we headed to Byron for some landings. By now it was inching closer to dusk and since this was a training flight with our instructor, we were not constrained by the night flying rules.

Speaking of night, there are three different definitions in the FAR for different purposes. FAR 1.1 defines night as the time from the end of evening civil twilight to the beginning of morning civil twilight as published in the air almanac, converted to local time. This is for logging night flying hours. FAR 61.57(b) defines night takeoff and landing experience required for PIC. Night in this context is defined as starting one hour after sunset and ending one hour before sunrise. Three takeoffs and landings to a full stop are required within the preceding 90 days to be current. Finally FAR 91.209 talks about turning on position lights from sunset to sunrise.

Here is how I remember the three regulations. First of all, civil twilight is when the sun is at or up to 6 degrees below the horizon. At most latitudes (except as you approach the poles), civil twilight lasts less than an hour. So there are three regulations and they apply to three points in time – sunset, twilight and one-hour-after-sunset. Just as we would in a car, we should turn on the lights as early as possible. Sunset is the earliest of the three times and it makes sense to turn on position lights at this time. As a pilot in command carrying passengers, you want to be proficient in night landings. It makes sense for the regulations to stipulate currency requirements in the worst case scenario (i.e.) when it is the darkest. This is one-hour-after-sunset among the three times. That leaves night logging for hours starting with the end of evening civil twilight and ending at the start of morning twilight (i.e.) when the sun is at least 6 degrees below the horizon.

After a few landings, Srinath flew back to Livermore for a night landing.

Radio communications for VFR

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The FAR/AIM chapter 4, section 2 defines the general framework for radio communications. Starting with the facility being called, then your full aircraft identification, state your position when operating on an airport surface, type of message to follow or your request itself if it is short. Here are some examples that I’ve encountered so far.

Just before starting to taxi out of the hangar after receiving a weather briefing (Yankee)

Livermore ground, Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra Northeast Hangars taxi for takeoff with Yankee

Ground responds

Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra Livermore ground runway 2 5 right taxi via Bravo

Pilot’s acknowledgement

2 5 right via Bravo 5 Echo Sierra

After getting to the run-up area and completing the pre-takeoff checklist

Livermore tower Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra 2 5 right ready to go right downwind

Tower responds

Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra Livermore tower number 2 for departure hold short of runway 2 5 right

Pilot acknowledges

Hold short 2 5 right 5 Echo Sierra

Tower asks to wait

Cessna 5 Echo Sierra runway 2 5 right, lineup and wait, traffic in the pattern

Tower gives clearance for takeoff

Cessna 5 Echo Sierra, the upwind traffic is in the right pattern, right downwind approved runway 2 5 right, cleared for takeoff

Pilot’s acknowledgement

Cleared for takeoff 2 5 right, 5 Echo Sierra

Approaching Byron for a landing. It is a non-towered airport.

Byron area traffic, Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra is over Discovery Bay, inbound for right traffic runway 3 0, Byron

Approaching Byron airport for a landing. It is a non-towered airport.

Byron area traffic, Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra is on the 45, inbound for right traffic runway 3 0, Byron

At Byron airport, getting ready for a takeoff followed by a landing. It is a non-towered airport.

Byron area traffic, Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra is taking runway 3 0 for right closed traffic

Ready for a takeoff from Byron, heading to Livermore and on the way flying midfield over the runway. It is a non-towered airport.

Byron traffic, Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra is taking runway 3 0 for an overhead 2 7 to Livermore

Flying over midfield over Byron airport. It is a non-towered airport.

Byron area traffic, Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra is crossing midfield at 1200

Approaching New Jerusalem airport to check the runway, traffic pattern and wind direction. It is a non-towered airport with nobody around at the moment.

New Jerusalem traffic, Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra is about 3 miles to the northwest inbound for an overflight for wind check

After circling the runway in a left traffic pattern, we announce our location.

Cessna 2 5 Echo Sierra is left crosswind to runway 3 0 New J

Lesson 1 – part 2

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Today we flew over the Sacramento delta just north of Byron. Srinath got to do slow flying, engine out scenario, donned the goggles for instrument work, did a couple of takeoffs and landings with full stops as well as fly over midfield at Byron airport before returning to Livermore. For the engine out scenario, he spotted a dirt track and we came down to within 100′ simulating a landing before climbing back up. Byron airport is used for parachute jumping but since there was nobody there today we were able to fly midfield.

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