Saturday, October 29, 2005 - 11:33:40 ET

Intro Flight Completed!

Woke up at the crack of dawn this morning to give Buttonville dispatch a call to make sure the intro flight was still a go. Everything is good, so I head down to be at the airport at 815.

I took care of all the paperwork and only had to wait less than five minutes for the instructor to meet me. Introduced each other and headed to the airfield. At first she really didn't seem into it, but as soon as I started asking questions she seemed more interested.

We did the walk around, I got to check the fuel for sediments/contaminates (I'm sure the only reason is because the FI didn't want to do it ;) ). She started to quiz me:

FI: What's that?
Me: The Ailerons!
FI: *a little surprised* Good!

By this point I didn't detect that "unwillingness" anymore from her! So we hop in, and she starts going through her pre-start checklist. Fires up the engines and we're off. She lets me taxi to runway 33 all the while explaining how the torque of the engine causes the plane to yaw and its necessary to apply more right rudder when taxiing. This whole time, I wasn't nervous at all. We hold short of the runway and she asks the tower if we can take off, they clear us and off we go. The FI is just going to control the throttle and she lets me know when to pull on the yoke to take off. A lot sooner than I thought! I was surprised that the airplane can accelerate that fast.

We climb to about 2500 feet and we continue heading north to Cooks Bay (aka, Lake Simcoe) and I start quizzing her on airspace. She showed me how to read the map and what altitude which airspace starts, ends, etc... The area we're heading for is Class "G", or uncontrolled.

FI: So is there anything you want to do, turns?
Me: Uhmm.. how about a stall?
FI: Sure, we'll need to climb higher.

I pull the nose up a bit, and she adjusts the throttle/trim. She takes the controls and drops the RPMs and points the nose up. The plane stalls. The whole thing was pretty anti-climatic and I agree, a little shuttering, the nose drops, and that's it! Apparently power-on stalls are more violent. She suggests we do a steep turn. This is the first time I actually "feel" the plane. I think the bank was around 30-45 degrees. You can actually feel the G forces push you against your seat.

It's time to head back. So I turn the plane and start heading back to the airport. She shows me some landmarks you can use to determine how far from the airport you are. This is important because you have to request permission to enter Buttonville's airspace.

Me: So when would you ever be denied entry?
FI: Uhmm.. If it's really busy, the controller would ask you to circle and hold.

I think I've learned more about this area in the 30 min in the plane, than my entire 20 years of living here. We can see so much when you're 2500' in the air.

FI: Do you know the phases of the circuit?
Me: Yup!

So she explains which landmarks I can use for making turns for the base and final legs. It wasn't until Im writing this do I realize it was a right hand traffic pattern (which is the opposite of most airports?). So I'm on final and surprised to find I'm still in control. The FI adds some flaps and adjusts engine speed. She's telling me what to do as the plane is getting closer and closer to land.

FI: You still ok?
Me: Yup!
FI: Ok, keep the nose down, i'm going to add more flaps which will cause the plane to pitch up.
Me: Ok.

Right above the numbers, she drops the throttle. I see that there are two other planes waiting to take off.

"You guys are waiting for us! hah!" I think to myself.

By this time she's holding onto the yoke and controlling the decent, we flair, and land!

I can't believe it's over!

I taxi back to the parking spot and she goes through the shutdown checklist. We chat about what the next steps are as we head back to dispatch. The feeling of walking on the ramp was pretty cool.

I take care of some paperwork and the FI explains that I can use this time towards my license! So, I'm going to add 0.9 hours to my flight time counter.

The FI was an excellent instructor, she was able to answer all of my questions and admitted to me that I've been one of her more interesting intro flight students. Yay!

So where are the photos you ask? Well, I was so excited to get out the door this morning.. I forgot my camera at home :(

So what's next? I'm going to think about things for the next few days. The FI did mention that I should spend some time thinking about which training path I want to take.

Comments (3) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Friday, October 28, 2005 - 15:34:06 ET

Cleared for Take-off....Whoops!

So apparantly there was this pilot that ran out of fuel while trying to get to his destination. He was able to land safely on a 4 lane highway.

The cops decided that it would be fine for him to take off again from the highway, so they closed the road and let him take off.

It didn't go as planned as this video shows.

The news article can be found here.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Thursday, October 27, 2005 - 15:17:45 ET

Intro Flight Booked!

I just got off the phone with Buttonville dispatch. I booked an intro flight for Saturday at 8am. This will be chance to take a good look at the airport, the facilities, and the instructors.

I have to give them a call at 7am to make sure that everything is still on the go (weather wise). I was surprised to find that the FI thats taking me up is a female.

I'm going to bring my camera along.

Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Thursday, October 27, 2005 - 14:11:37 ET

Hearing Test for Cat1 Medical

I had my final portion of the medical exam done yesterday - the audiogram. I passed, but not with the results I had in mind. The results showed that I had some hearing loss in the higher frequencies. "loss" is an extreme word in this case. The graph dips down just a little bit for those frequencies (I think 5-10 db).

There were two main tests: Pure Tone and Speech. The pure tone test just sends a tone into your headphones (you're placed in a soundproof booth) and you have to push a button every time you hear the tone. The tones change in frequency and intensity. With the speech test, you have to repeat what you hear. The words change in intensity as well.

In any case my hearing is good enough for Transport Canada. So now I play the waiting game.

Someone asked me why I'm getting a Category 1 medical certificate, when you only need a category 3 (I think) to become a student. The answer is twofold:

1. You need a Cat 1 to become a commercial pilot. How crappy would it be to make it all the way, then not be able to get your commercial license because you fail the medical exam?
2. Tax purposes. If you get a Cat 1 certificate right from the start, then according to Revenue Canada your intentions of going to flight school is for a career. Therefore you can claim your schooling cost as tuition and get a tax break.

So I don't know what I get in the end.. Probably a piece of paper that I can show people that I'm medically fit.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 10:38:02 ET

A little airline humour

This made it into my inbox today.

After every flight, Quantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor.

Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Quantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded by the maintenance engineers (marked with an M).

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
M: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
M: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
M: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
M: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
M: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
M: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
M: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
M: That's what they're for.

P: IFF inoperative.
M: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
M: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
M: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
M: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
M: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
M: Cat installed.

P. Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
M: Took hammer away from midget

Comments (3) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Monday, October 24, 2005 - 21:10:08 ET

Do you want to fly "the big jets"?

I just got a copy of "Visualized Flight Maneuvers Handbook" (for high wing aircraft) today and had a chance to take a look at it.

You can consider this book to be a cheat sheet for all the maneuvers you will need to do to get your license. They cover everything from pre-flight to some crazy things you will have to do if you want to become an instructor (like spins, cross control stalls and chandelles).

A Sample Page
(Click for a larger image)

This book does have an American bias to it (especially the test prep checklists). Overall I feel that this handbook is going to be a good asset to having when trying to visualize some of the maneuvers I will be doing.. and provide a good reference.

I've been thinking if it would be possible to start the flying portion of my training before the schooling portion. Specifically if I can start ground school at Buttonville before the Seneca classes start. I'm also thinking of booking a introflight at Buttonville soon as well.. just so that I can ask an instructor some specific questions I have while in actual flight.

Someone today asked me if I wanted to fly "the big jets". I told him I did, but whether or not its filled with people or cargo, I haven't decided yet. I think it would be great to fly people all over the world, it's a lot of responsibility and probably more rewarding than shipping stuff for FedEx.

Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Thursday, October 20, 2005 - 23:47:08 ET

Officially Launched!

Welcome everyone. This website is now officially live! :) I just sent out an email to all my friends letting them know.

Feel free to read any of the previous posts!

There are still a few bugs with the site that I will be working on in the next few days.

I encourage everyone to sign up for site updates (on the left hand side of the page). Don't worry, I promise you wont get any spam! :)

Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Site News

Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - 15:08:28 ET

VFR Flight Plans

Just discovered another difference between American and Canadian airspace rules. In the states you do not need to file a VFR flight plan regardless of where you are going. In Canada, you must file a VFR flight plan if your destination will be further than 25NM away from your aerodrome of departure.

I also noticed that Americans dont use the term aerodrome.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Monday, October 17, 2005 - 09:45:40 ET

Whats the purpose of flight following?

If you are flying under VFR you can pretty much do what you want. Climb, descend, turn, at will. You don't need to let anyone know (unless you are in uncontrolled airspace... where you have to announce your new heading/altitude on the UNICOM frequency to let others know in case there is a conflict).

What would be the purpose of "flight following" then? What this means is that ATC will keep an eye on you and (I'm assuming) will advise you if there are any conflicts. However, since you are flying VFR its up to the pilot to make sure that no conflicts occur. The pilot is still responsible for avoiding collisions regardless if ATC is flight following or not.

So.. whats the advantage?

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 23:14:55 ET

Done the medical exam... almost.

So I had my medical exam today. I opted to get tested for a Category 1 Medical Certificate (which is the one with the most restrictions). The event was pretty painless:

- Answered questions about my family history, if I am taking any medication, and how much alcohol I drink each week (I said "maybe two beers a week").
- Checked weight, height, hair colour, and eye colour
- Checked breath sounds
- Examined my eyes, ears, and throat (say ahhh!)
- Did a neat test to check my peripheral vision. The doctor just wiggled his finger and brought it closer to the centre of my vision and told me to tell him when I saw the finger. He did this while one eye was covered.
- Had to read fine print using only one eye (test both left-only and right-only)
- Did a colour blindness test
- Measured by vision acuity (left eye: 20/20, right eye: 20/20, total vision: 20/10)
- Peed in a cup and test it using a dipstick

The only thing left for me to is get an ECG done, and a audiogram (hearing test). I'm going to see if I can get the ECG done tomorrow morning before work.

The exam needs to be done by a certified aviation medical examiner. This guys office was weird. He had photos of airplanes all throughout the waiting room. Then as soon as you got to the doctors office.. clocks everywhere. He takes "normal" patients too.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 00:17:25 ET

Standard Traffic Circuit (Controlled Airport)

I've been reading a lot of other peoples blogs about their training. From what I gather... a lot of circuit practice happens. I keep on reading terms like "downwind leg" and "final approach", etc.. So I figured I might as well explain them to you as im sure you will need to understand at least in some part what all this means. (Canadians like to use Traffic Circuit, while the Americans call it Traffic Pattern)

The purpose of a traffic circuit is to expedite and seperate airplanes using the same airport.

The upwind side is the area on the opposite side of the landing runway from the downwind leg. Approach should be made into this area at or above circuit height. Circuit height is usually 1000 feet above aerodrome elevation (AAE)

The circuit joining crosswind is a corridor, lying within the airspace between the centre of the landing runway and its upwind end, linking the upwind side and the downwind leg.

The downwind leg is a flight path, opposite to the direction of landing, which is parallel to and at a sufficient distance from the landing runway to permit a standard rate-one turn to the base leg.

The base leg is a flight path at right angles to the direction of landing and sufficiently downwind of the approach end of the landing runway to permit at least a 1/4 mile final approach leg after completion of a standard rate-one turn to final approach.

The final approach leg is a flight path in the direction of the landing commencing at least 1/4 mile from the runway threshold, wherein an ariplane is in line with the landing runway and descending towards the runway threshold.

Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Air Law

Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - 16:28:17 ET

Random Thoughts

The aviation industry is littered with acronyms. I am actually struggling right now to increase my internal glossary to be able to parse all of these three and four letter words.

A commercial pilot is not one that fly's for the big air carriers - those are known as Airline Transport Pilots and they are a totally different class (and license). From what I understand, commercial pilots receive their ATP license after training with the respective air carrier they are going to work with.

A commercial pilot is one that can get paid for flying. All of the other licenses below are not allowed to get paid for flying an airplane.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Friday, October 7, 2005 - 09:57:46 ET

Starting to Sink In

I got a workbook the other day (the companion workbook to "From The Ground Up"). I started working on it. I know I will probably be doing this again when school actually starts, but I can't wait.

Answering the questions in the book actually makes what i've read sink in. I've been able to answer about 50% of the questions without having to go back to the text. The rest though... i've had to look up. Not a bad thing, just a reminder of how much I need to learn :)

I've found that im starting to remember things now! Reading a textbook is one thing, but actually trying to answer questions is another.

I've been looking at E6B Calculators on ebay to buy - not a lot to choose from. It is another essential tool needed by pilots. It is essential during flight planning and en-route to calculate ETAs, fuel burn, wind correction, ground speed, etc..

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Wednesday, October 5, 2005 - 15:14:07 ET

Pilot Logbook

One of the most important items a pilot must carry with him is his pilot logbook. The logbook is used to record all of the flights that the pilot has performed. They record such items as:

Date and Time of Flight
Type of flight (day, night, IFR of VFR flight)
Role of pilot (pilot in command or co-pilot)
Which plane was flown
Hours flown

My logbook just arrived the other day. I had ordered one from VIP Pilot Centre. This particular logbook seems like it will serve me well for the next year or so.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Monday, October 3, 2005 - 15:44:00 ET

Get With The Lingo!

For the past few weeks or so, I've been listening to local Air traffic controllers chatting to various aircrafts in and around Toronto. At first it just started off as pure curiosity. However, now, I'm making an effort to spend a few hours a week listening to the chatter in an effort to get a leg up on the "radio communications" portion of aviation training.

I figured this would be a good way to get a feel for the type and flow of information to and from aircraft and their controllers.

I also catch my self "spelling" words out phonetically when I'm reading things. This is another exercise for me to remember the phonetic alphabet. It's not E-X-I-T.. its Echo-XRay-India-Tango!

Not only will I be licensed to fly an airplane, but to also operate various radios. I believe the requirement comes from the CRTC. There is a pretty simple written test, as far as I understand, that will ask various questions such as how to operate a radio and radio etiquette.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training