When I flew yesterday, the winds changed on me suddenly and the stiff crosswind was not indicated in the ATIS. I wizened up today and was very careful to notice the windsocks (0:41) at midfield and one end of 25R. Winds were reported from 290 at 4kts and that matched the windsock indication.
The airport was really busy today. You can see the number of aircrafts waiting in the run up area and holding short at (3:34) in the video. I did two patterns today and on both I was asked to extend my downwind leg and tower called my base turn. On the second pattern, tower asked me to come to a full stop because it was so busy. I pulled up near the old fuel station and watched for any signs that the traffic was going to subside. After a while, I decided to call it quits for the day.
At the start of my pattern work, another aircraft asked for flight following (0:00). The track log for today’s flight can be found here.
My first time flying solo from start to finish. ATIS indicated calm winds on this morning. Right from the time I took off, the ball wouldn’t be centered and I didn’t realize there was a stiff crosswind from the south (my left). That unnerved me although you couldn’t tell from the video. My turns were shallow and the pattern was really wide. After just one lap around the airport, I pulled off and waited for a while near the fuel station. Thats when I saw that the windsock reflected a stiff wind. I was in half a mind whether to go back up and after a few minutes of reflection, decided to call it a day. This was the shortest duration I’ve flown so far.
ATIS is generally recorded once an hour and as was evident today, if the weather changes quickly then ATIS isn’t accurate. Also, ATIS reflects winds at the surface and the speeds above the surface can be quite different due to the lack of surface friction and other obstructions.
The winds were a light 6kts from 250. Steve mentioned that 123 airplanes landed at the airport for the Super Bowl. Five Rivers Aviation expected about 80. The aircraft turned around quickly so they didn’t have to close 25L as was previously expected.
Srinath flew a few patterns around the airport and on a couple of them we followed twin aircraft. Then Srinath was asked to fly his first solo – at a towered airport (KLVK). By now the winds have shifted to 230@7kts.
I’m exercising my solo privileges today. For the first time, I drove to the Livermore airport and flew 906MD entirely by myself and parked it back in the northwest tiedowns.
Weather was perfect; calm winds and very good visibility. I started off with right closed traffic clearance for 25R. Soon I was asked to extend downwind and then switched to 25L. Even though I landed fine on 25L, I was uncomfortable making left traffic. I requested traffic control to switch me back to 25R and while they initially asked me to make one more touch and go on 25L before switching me, they soon put me on 25R.
After 5 touch and go, I called it quits. The landings were all pretty good today!
Today wind was 240@9kts at Livermore.We departed right downwind towards Byron where the wind was 210@6kts and clear skies.Apparently I was still on Livermore tower frequency (00:21:12 in the video) when I announced on the radio that we were inbound for Rwy 23. We did a short field landing (02:09:00) at Byron followed by a maximum performance takeoff (02:35:00). Next we proceeded to Tracy (winds 260@10) and did a soft field landing on Rwy 26 (05:32:22) followed by a regular takeoff.
We next headed to New Jerusalem which is only 7 miles away and aimed for Rwy 30. Winds were from 260 (no ATIS or AWOS in New J so we go by the Tracy weather) so it was a crosswind (06:39:00) for Rwy 30. We only employed 20 degrees of flaps and that caused us not to sufficiently slow down and remain low for landing. As we approached the runway, the airspeed got very low to 50kts and Steve pushed the throttle for a go-around at the last minute (07:32:19) as the stall horn started going off. I was apparently not watching the airspeed at all, being more intent on getting the plane low enough (through a slip) for the landing (10:02:04). That was a close call. On reflection, the thought did cross my mind that perhaps I should go around given I was so high. I should have gone around as soon as the thought crossed my mind. We did two more successful attempts before heading back to Livermore.
Over the Altamont pass just before I was going to call Livermore tower, I saw an aircraft coming straight at us. I simply pointed it out to Steve (11:32:24) who immediately banked us sharply to the left and we noticed the other aircraft pass us (slightly below). It seemed like it would have been a head-on approach and that got me quite shaken up. I should have gotten us out of trouble the moment I saw the aircraft. In reviewing the radio communications just prior, there were two aircrafts that had departed Livermore. 53MM was ahead of 7E(something) and 7E(something) confirmed to the tower that the Cherokee traffic ahead of it was in sight (11:02:11). Tower then approved 7E(something) for a frequency chance and then radio’ed 53MM that traffic was behind to its left at 2500′ and had 53MM in sight. 53MM’s frequency change was next approved. So both those aircraft were heading towards us and no longer talking to Livermore Tower. We were tuned into the Livermore Tower frequency but the three of us were neither talking to each other, nor talking to the Tower. We were in a see and avoid territory and while I saw what was most likely 53MM, I was slow to avoid. Maybe I had a premonition about this event because I asked Steve a question at the start of our flight (00:02:18 in the video) about how we deal with oncoming traffic that uses the same general path.
Back at Livermore, Steve sent me off to fly my solo in a pattern around a towered airport. I did 3 touch and go’s and on all three attempts I was #2 behind another aircraft. I had to extend my downwind leg, watch for the aircraft ahead of me before turning base.
Perfect weather today with calm winds. We headed to Byron first. An airport vehicle was performing runway field inspection at Byron on the 23/05 runway, but only after radioing to confirm nobody will be headed that way. We announced our intention to land on 30.
We did a regular landing and takeoff at Byron followed by a soft field landing and takeoff at Tracy and a no flap landing at New J. On the last one, I significantly overshot the runway (because we were faster than usual) before correcting for the landing. On the next landing, used a slip to slow down and drop altitude. Balked landing next – “there is a cow on the runway”. Final landing was a bit rough, after which Steve asked me to fly a solo completing three patterns around the airport.
There was a pickup truck beside the runway at New J which we had spotted on the first approach. It was apparently owned by a CFI who happened to be there that day to fly a paraglider (which was tucked into his trunk). After the solo, Steve told me that that CFI complimented me on all three landings and takeoffs.
We didn’t know Steve was going to ask Srinath to do his second solo today. The training started off with Srinath flying through Byron, Tracy and New Jerusalem practicing soft field takeoffs and landings. The solo was then at New Jerusalem where he did 3 takeoffs and landings. I gave Srinath some relief by flying 6MD back to Livermore.
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.
Today we turn left downwind towards our usual practice area. Winds 300@15. As soon as we turned downwind, the controller asked us if our transponder was working. It turned out that we had not turned on the transponder! Note to self: add this to the checklist when we check if the radios are set.
Steve handed Srinath stylish eyewear and Srinath flew under the hood, maintaining 3000′ on heading 095. Later he navigated using a couple of VOR stations that Steve tuned in. After reaching our practice area, Srinath was asked to stall the plane in a clean configuration under the hood (using instruments only) for the very first time. Next, Steve asked Srinath to forward slip the plane in order to lose altitude since we were pretty close to crop circles and Steve was planning a ground reference maneuver for turns around a point (maintaining 600′-1000′ AGL typically). After turning around a crop circle, Srinath turned around a lone tree nearby for another ground reference maneuver.
At this point, Steve pulled the power and simulated an engine out. Srinath had to react quickly to establish a glide slope and scout a place to land. New Jerusalem was close by but with the engine out, we could not make it that far. Steve spotted a road nearby and as we got pretty low, it was time to gun the engines and make a go for New J.
Srinath did three landings at New J. On one of the approaches, Steve said there is a cow on the runway, prompting Srinath to react quickly and do a go-around. On the third landing, Steve took over the plane and declared that Srinath was going to fly solo. It came as a surprise to both Srinath and I, neither of whom were mentally prepared for this occasion. Later, Steve would tell me that he solo’ed Srinath because his landings were consistently good.
While Steve signed Srinath’s logbook and his student certificate (3rd class medical) with the solo endorsements, I reminded Srinath that Steve would not have solo’ed him unless he felt Srinath could handle it. But that Srinath had to be very mindful of maintaining airspeed especially on the turns to base and final and not hesitate to do a go-around if he didn’t feel things were going well on the approach. Even more importantly, never to get over confident especially when things are going well.
Soon Srinath was on his way and Steve and I watched him like grounded hawks, listening to the engine drone and running a commentary guessing his actions based on auditory and visual inputs. There he pulls back to 1500rpm and there he pulls the first notch of flaps etc. His first landing was great and Steve was so excited that he jubilantly pumped his fists in the air, shrieked and and danced in joy. I was excited too, but more importantly I was videotaping his landing. Seeing the plane on a steady approach gave me confidence. His next two landings were good too and he turned around on the runway to taxi back towards us.
Later while viewing the in-cockpit video, I could tell that Srinath’s voice and tone got more and more confident with each go-around. Clearly he was understandably excited after completing his solo. My only worry again was that he shouldn’t get over confident. It was a proud moment for a father to see his son complete this milestone.
After a few minutes, Steve and I get into the plane to head back home. Srinath cranked the engine. The prop turned once then seized. No luck even after pumping the throttle and retrying. Steve got off the plan to hand crank the prop the old fashioned way. Three tries and still no luck. The prevailing theory was that the battery was dead and a spare battery was in our hangar at Livermore. We were stuck at the New Jerusalem airport. In the middle of nowhere (which is the reason Steve likes to solo his students here). Nobody in sight.
We unload the plane and scouted around for decent sized rocks to secure the wheels. It was dusk and pretty soon it would be pitch dark. Steve called a couple of club members and got hold of Doug who was once Steve’s student. We hoped that Doug would drive up to Livermore from his home in Pleasanton and fly the Cessna 182 to New J to pick us up. Tomorrow, Steve would haul the spare battery and drive up to New Jerusalem with somebody else to start the engine and fly the 172 back to Livermore. However, given how late in the evening it was, Doug was not comfortable flying the 182 knowing it would be nearly dark by the time he arrived at New J. The runway is not lit so it would be a challenge for somebody flying solo to locate the airport at all. Doug made a good call of driving over in his truck. And he had the presence of mind to call one of his friends who lived in Tracy to head over to New J to meet us, since it would take a while for him to drive over. His friend showed up within 10 minutes.
In the meantime, we secured the plane, carried all our gear and walked towards the gate. Unfortunately the gate was locked from the outside and we couldn’t find an opening to get out. Doug’s friend drive along the fence and came back to report that there was no exit! As if Srinath’s solo wasn’t exciting enough for the day, Escape from New Jerusalem was going to keep our adrenaline pumping for a bit longer.
Steve had worked for Caltrans and was hoping that Doug or his friend would have a shovel in their truck. This was an old trick Steve had employed in his past life. Stick the shovel’s handle through the chain link fence, halfway to the top. Once person would hold the shovel on the other side of the fence while we stepped on the protruding part inside the fence to hop over. Unfortunately, neither Doug nor his friend had a shovel. We tried improvising but nothing worked. By now it was dark so they had to turn on the headlights towards us so we could plan an exit strategy.
Doug had two large water drums on his flatbed truck. So we planned to toss one inside the fence and pull up the flatbed truck all the way to the fence. That way we could step over the drum, jump over the fence and land on his flatbed on the other side. Everything seemed to be going well until it was my turn. Since I wasn’t tall enough, I was barely able to kick one leg over the fence and land on the flatbed on the other side. Unfortunately the other leg was still on the drum and I was stuck straddling the fence at the top. The chain link caught my jeans at an unspeakable location and it wouldn’t free itself. Neither could I force it off. After much struggle and with help, we were able to tear the jeans off the fence so I could cross it.
So now the drum was still inside and all of us were outside. We couldn’t leave it this way so were stuck again, trying to find a way to haul the drum over. Miraculously, Doug had a shovel in his flatbed unbeknownst to him. So finally we had a chance to try Steve’s trick. Doug hopped over the fence onto the protruding shovel handle, tossed the drum over and then jumped off the shovel safely onto the truck. We were all clear. Finally! What a surreal night.
Using the maps app on our smartphone we navigate our way out of New Jerusalem’s backroads in the darkness to Tracy and then to I-580. It was almost 10pm by the time we got back to our hangar in Livermore. After filling out our logbooks we were back home around 10:45pm. Hopefully N25ES would be safe in New J for the night.
Crab Tales 