Fly With Blake | Fly With Blake |
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IMG_0383.JPGDate: 16/09/2007
At: Dec 05 2008 00:00Z
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Sunday, January 27, 2008 - 15:44:49 ET
FSS would like everyone to use 123.15 for opening, closing, and filing fight plans in the YKZ area. 126.7 is too crowded and congested. As you get further north (Muskoka) they suggest you use 123.475. If all else fails, try 123.275 which is the FSS out of YYZ. This has been in the works by NavCanada for a few years now. The original announcement about this was made in AIC 23/05. The RCO redesign project aims to reduce the amount of interference on 126.7 by eliminating FSS services (or FISE, Flight Information Services Enroute) on that frequency. They are asking pilots to perform their normal position reports on 126.7, but if they need to contact an FSS, do so on the new discreet frequency. Check out a map of the new FISE frequencies in the London FIC. You can also check out the official NavCanada site about this project. As well, DF steers are no longer available at Buttonville. The reason? Nobody has asked for one in the past 4 years! See section 3.3.1.18 of the NavCanada Study. Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Sunday, January 27, 2008 - 11:09:25 ET
Chalk 1.3 hours under the multi column in my log book! I was able to get up yesterday for my first in plane multi-engine lesson to tackle circuits. I was demonstrated the first one, then I proceeded to do another three before we called it a day. Doing all the pre-flight checks and run-ups is pretty much the same in a single, except you have to do it twice. Once for each engine. Plus since this is a constant speed prop, you have the additional feathering tests you need to perform. The first thing I noticed about the Seminole, is how heavy it is. It has a lot of inertia when taxiing. I am being taught to do a static take-off. Brakes on, power up engines to 2000 rpm, confirm engine gages, full power, then release brakes. The thing really takes off. Perform the usual checks, full power/rpm, engine temp/pressure in the green, airspeed alive. Rotate at 85KTIAS. When insufficient runway remains to land, gear up. While on the climb out set power to "twenty five squared". Reduce power to 25" of manifold pressure, then adjust the pitch of the props to maintain 2500 rpm. A constant speed prop allows you to adjust the speed of the engine and prop independently of each other. The RPM gauges tell you how fast the props are spinning, while the manifold pressure gauge tells you how "hard" the engine is working. By this time, I still have about 200-300 feet of climbing to go before I can turn my crosswind leg. I'm maintaining 100KTIAS. Get to the downwind, perform my downwind checks and lower the gear. Yup! One more new thing to worry about. You can actually feel the airplane slow down when the gear is lowered. I confirm "three green and one in the mirror" (there is a little mirror on the pilot's nacelle so you can see if the nose gear is lowered properly. Turn base, add one notch of flaps, reduce speed, start slowing the plane down. Turn final, another notch of flaps. Do a GUMP check: G - Gas - Confirm both tanks are on, and none are cross-fed. Short final, add your final notch of flaps, and start reducing power. Now here comes the hardest part (for me at least). Flaring and reducing power simultaneously. I just need to get the hang of it. You have to leave power in during the flare, otherwise the plane will literally drop like a rock. I was actually pretty happy with my performance after my lesson. I told my FI that it feels like "upgrading" from a tricycle to a mountain bike. I'm glad this rating will only take me about 7-10 hours. I don't know how long I can take seeing $345.00 under the rate column for my lessons. Ouch! Next lesson is going to be upper air work. I'm both nervous and looking forward to it at the same time. Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Training
Friday, January 25, 2008 - 10:35:25 ET
I was able to get up yesterday for a ultra quick flight to keep my rental currency for another thirty days. I did it with a FI in the schools newest airplanes; a C172S. Leather seats, working interior lights, fuel injected! The Cadillac of the TAL cessna fleet. It's a nice plane to fly at night. I'll be taking this baby on my commercial cross country - the extra $30/hr. or so is worth it. Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Training
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 12:30:31 ET
Caught this clip on the liveatc.net feed of Buttonville the other day. The pilot was not familiar with the area, and from what I (can only assume) was an improper altimeter setting. Depending on the winds, arrivals into Pearson (YYZ) overfly Buttonville at 3000'. So its important to heed the altitude restrictions noted in YKZs' ATIS. Better yet, avoid the class C shelf by *not* climbing above 2500'. Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Monday, January 21, 2008 - 14:33:26 ET
Buttonville is now the 8th busiest airport in Canada, up 14.6% from last year with 168,258 aircraft movements in 2007. I have no explanation for the increase other than perhaps just an overall increase in the use of the airport by more students at Toronto Airways, the OPP and York Region Police utilizing the airport. This is good news for an airport thats constantly under threat of being shutdown. It's the second busiest airport in Ontario, beating out Ottawa International. The official report from Transport Canada can be found here. Comments (5) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Monday, January 14, 2008 - 11:57:59 ET
My flight on the weekend was canceled because of low ceilings. We need at least 4000' but were only getting around 3000' crappy. My FI is going to see if I can come in during the week instead of just the weekends. I have no issues flying at 7am if it means I get in the air. Only problem is, FI is booked every morning during the week for the next month or so. In the mean time I've been slowly studying for the commercial written and getting my checklists for the Seminole in order. The ones provided by the school are hard to read due to being a 50th generation photocopy. I'll see if they will accept my cleaned up version next time I'm in. I noticed a new piece of equipment on the field as I was driving down the highway the other day. It looks like a weather station. However, from what I can gather, it seems to be only recording wind speed and direction as I don't see any other equipment located there. You can find it on the south west quadrant of the field somewhere between taxiway alpha and runway 03. I have a question about some information found in the CFS: Take a look at an airport in the northern domestic airspace. The airport diagram shows the runway numbers, along with another notation. I've pointed it out in in a scan of the Alert aerodrome.  What does that notation mean? I'm not familiar with the "°G" indication. Comments (3) | Permalink | Category: Training
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 - 20:36:57 ET
The recent crazy weather has destroyed another Toronto Airways plane. "Both are write-offs, I'd guess," [Mr. Sifton, President of Buttonville Airport] said of the Cessna 172 single engine aircraft tossed on to their backs. "They have cracked fuselages, windscreens and other damage." Word on the street is that it was C-GDQG thats pictured in the photo in this Yorkregion.com news article. So far this year has not been good for flying, mainly due to the weather. All of the planes have been grounded by the school so that they can get a once over by the AMEs Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 - 14:22:53 ET
In the spirit of last years post, I present to you 2007 at a glance. Hours Logged: 57.3 (25.7 Pilot in Command) Website page views: 21,792 (up 419%) 1. www.google.com 2007 resulted in getting my PPL and night rating. I have met a lot of interesting people and still keep in touch with them.. mainly my FIs that moved on. 2007 was a year for a lot of opportunities for the FI at Toronto Airways. I'm hoping to get my CPL and multi-engine rating by late summer (weather permitting). All that's left is my multi-ifr which should be complete by the end of 2008. I'm not going to speculate what is going to happen in 2009. Comments (3) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - 14:45:27 ET
It was only recently brought to my attention that the site was not available to IE users. This was due to a Microsoft bug. The workaround is in place and you should now be able view the site in IE. Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Site News
Monday, January 7, 2008 - 23:58:59 ET
The weather here has been unseasonably warm. Temperatures in the low teens combined with the large amount of snow on the ground results in fog, a lot of fog. I haven't been able to fly the past two weekends because of the weather. I'm hoping that is going to change this weekend. I'm anxious to get into the Seminole. Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Training
Friday, January 4, 2008 - 11:14:49 ET
Although it's not 100% official and we're still testing things you can get a sneak peek at the Buttonville ground/tower liveatc.net feed. The feed is pretty good, but could be better. Ground transmissions are muddled, mainly due to the fact that the aircraft are not in the air, but on the ground (and their antennas usually point down). After a day or so of listening you're pretty much guaranteed to get all transmissions in the control zone. This is a great learning tool for students who are new to ATC communications. For now you can listen to the stream at this url: http://audio.liveatc.net:8012/cykz.m3u or http://alt.liveatc.net/cykz (if you're behind a firewall). It may be up and down over the course of the next few days as we get things figured out. Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
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A Few Changes Around Buttonville 
