Tuesday, June 26, 2007 - 08:48:46 ET

New Tower, Thunderstorms, Supervisory

The awesome ATC guys and gals at Buttonville moved into their new tower this morning. Hope you like your new digs!

The new tower brings frequency coupling to Ground and Tower. With the old tower, you would only hear one side of the conversation (the controllers) when one controller was working ground and tower. This meant that you might be trying to call them up on ground when they were talking on tower. Usually this results in a "aircraft calling ground, say again".

Now you will be able to hear the pilot side of the tower conversation on the ground frequency and vise versa. I wonder what other new tools they have in the new tower. I'm also curious to know why they picked a Tuesday to move in. Maybe it's the airports' slowest day?

I highly doubt that I will be able to do my supervisory ride tomorrow. There is a cold front that is slowly making its way east that will bring thunderstorms. The temperature today is supposed to reach a high of 33°C with ~65% relative humidity. If that's not a recipe for severe t-storms, then I don't know what is (Forecasters are saying 80% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon).

So I got my log book all sorted out and here are the numbers to date:

Total Time: 109.2 hrs.
PIC: 25.8 hrs.
Flights: 87
X-Country: 10.4 hrs.

I totally thought that my PIC time was a lot higher.

I have a mid-term on Instruments and Avionics tonight, so I've been studying the inner workings of the "six pack", VORs, NDBs, and the ILS. We have to describe in detail how these instruments work and how they work with their respective navaid. I always love learning about how things work ;)

Last flight I took the "long way" to the practice area. By long way, I mean via Downtown. I took some quick snaps as I headed around the CN Tower across the shore, up over the Zoo, and into the Claremont training area. I will be posting my GPS track later.

The flight was bumpy. The winds at Buttonville were around 320°, while the winds at City Centre were 180°. Thats ~180° wind direction change in less than 10 miles. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the downtown buildings were adding to the mechanical turbulence.

Coming back to the airport, winds were 6 knots gusting 16. With a 10 knot gust factor, changing my approach speed to 70 knots and 20° of flaps was in order.

The clouds also rolled in, but (and and correct me if I'm wrong) they looked pretty lenticular to me. Probably due to all the turbulence. The photo doesn't do it justice.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Monday, April 24, 2006 - 19:45:55 ET

Great Circle Mapper

I came across the great circle mapper website that allows you to plot on a map routes you have taken from airports. I tossed in all the flights (that I can remember) since 2000. Total distance traveled: 67654 km

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things, Pre Training

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 11:00:06 ET

Summer Ground School

I've registered for my summer semester courses last night. They start in the second week of May and run until August.

Tuesdays: Instruments and Avionics
Wednesdays: Navigation
Thursdays: Personnel Management

I was hoping that four courses would be offered, however, this schedule good (especially for the summer) as it gives me Mondays and Fridays off.

I haven't been able to study for the PSTAR test at all. I really want to get it out of the way so that I can solo as soon as possible. I have, however, been studying my emergency checklists.

As part of the pre-take off checklist, I have to provide a take-off briefing to my FI. In a nutshell, it lets her know what's going to happen if/when the engine fails on the take-off roll. I have recently added a new bit of information to the briefing in order to help me remember the best glide speed for the 172:

"If there is an engine failure or malfunction before rotation with sufficient runway remaining, I will abort the take-off and stop within the remaining runway.

If there is an engine failure or malfunction after rotation with sufficient runway remaining, I will land the airplane on the remaining runway.

If there is an engine failure or malfunction after rotation with insufficient runway remaining, I will put the plane into best glide at 65KIAS and land within 30° of the runway center line."

Before I used to say just "best glide" without stating the airspeed.

It's important to communicate this to your passenger or co-pilot in order for no misunderstandings or freak-outs to happen if something doesn't go right on take off. You would put this plan into effect if you notice that your "parameters are not in the green":

- Full Power?
- Engine Temp and Pressure in the green?
- Speed is alive (and climbing?)

If any one of those items don't pass.. abort the take off.

I've booked lessons all the way up to the end of June. Hopefully by then I wont need my FI as I will have my private license by then. I hope to get up this weekend, I haven't been in the air for almost 2 weeks now.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Thursday, December 29, 2005 - 22:13:05 ET

Please, step into the simulator

My first flying lessons have been booked!

According to the FI, the lesson is going to start with a ground briefing then off to the simulator. Once that's done then it's off to an actual Cessna 172 for the "real thing".

Simulator happens on Jan 3rd, then actual flying on the 4th and 5th (weather permitting).

I'm both excited and nervous. Nervous because I don't know what to expect, I'm confident that I will do fine.

I'm still researching headsets. I'm starting to lean towards the David Clark H10-13.4 model. They are going for as little as $200 on E-Bay or around $340 at Aviation World (or I can get the Stereo model at VIP Pilot Centre for $30 more).

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Sunday, December 25, 2005 - 14:26:41 ET

Eject Eject!

Too bad Cessnas dont have ejection seats.

This is a really cool video of a fighter jet hitting a bird in flight. They try to restart the engines to no avail and end up ejecting.

Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things, Pre Training

Sunday, December 18, 2005 - 11:40:59 ET

Enrolled and Ready To Go!

My medical certificate finally arrived. I was surprised at how quickly they processed it once the doctor sent it in. About 7 days! There really isn't anything special about the piece of paper. On the back they list the validity periods as well as places for renewal stamps. As you can see on the front there is a place for limitations and your signature.

Yesterday I headed over to the airport to sign some papers and finish up the enrollment process. By the time I got home there was an email waiting for me with information on how to access the online booking system. cool! As part of the enrollment process I had to let them know what kind of flying schedule I wanted to do:

Mondays: 0700
Wednesdays: 0700
Saturdays: 0700

We'll see if I can fly that early. The idea is getting an hour or so in before work during the week, and if possible, 2 hours on the weekend.

I did a few calculations to see how many hours a week will be devoted to non social activites once school starts:

Work: 37.25 Hours
School: 12 Hours
Flying: 4 Hours
Studying: approx. 5 Hours
Total: 58.25 Hours/wk.

I'm now looking for a headset. I've asked around a bit to see if anyone has any suggestions. Do I go cheap? or full out? I will be using it for probably 4 or 5 years. And prices range from $150 to over a thousand dollars. Feel free to leave a comment with which headset you use and if you like it or hate it.

I got a $25 off coupon for Blue Sky Gear from Aviation.ca. They are having a draw. All you have to do is sign up!

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 00:00:00 ET

Name That Part: 2005/12/15

I would like to thank Clumpinglitter for providing last weeks photo. Everyone got it right! It's an outside air temperature gauge with ice detector!

Without further delay, here is this weeks NTP!

A measuring device

I hope to make this weeks one a little more challenging! Hence, the super vague clue. Thanks again to Clumpinglitter for this weeks image!

Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Name That Part, Pre Training

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 23:17:29 ET

Top Ten

I found the "Top 10 of Everything Canadian 2005" book sitting on my parents coffee table tonight. So I decided to crack it open... some interesting aviation top ten lists:

Countries with the most airports:

1. USA (14,801)
2. Brazil (3,590)
3. Russia (2,743)
4. Mexico (1,823)
5. Canada (1,389)
6. Argentina (1,342)
7. Bolivia (1,081)
8. Colombia (1,050)
9. Paraguay (879)
10. Ukraine (790)

Busiest airports in Canada (2002)

1. YYZ (23,778,869 passengers)
2. YVR (13,457,418)
3. YUL (7,527,940)
4. YYC (7,429,410)
5. YEG (3,448,689)
6. YOW (2,872,814)
7. YWG (2,457,967)
8. YHZ (2,410,569)
9. YYJ (1,019,678)
10. YMX (981,827)

Airlines with the most aircraft (2001)

1. American Airlines (834 aircraft)
2. United Airlines (554)
3. Delta Airlines (551)
4. Northwest Airlines (437)
5. Continental Airlines (370)
6. Southwest Airlines (367)
7. US Airways (295)
8. Air France (247)
9. British Airways (236)
10. Air Canada (224)

Airliners in Service

1. Boeing B737-300 (985)
2. Airbus A320-200 (960)
3. Boeing B757-200 (813)
4. Boeing B737-200 Advanced (479)
5. Boeing B737-400 (464)
6. Boeing B767-300ER (422)
7. Boeing B747-400 (405)
8. McDonnell Douglas DC9-30 (308)
9. Raytheon Beech 1900D (278)
10. Boeing B727-200 Advanced (270)

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things, Pre Training

Thursday, December 8, 2005 - 16:57:10 ET

Tackling A Cross Wind Landing

Here is a good video of a pilot landing in a cross-wind situation. The manoeuvre is called a "crab" and it is standard operating procedure.

It looks a little extreme, but it seems to do the trick.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things, Pre Training

Thursday, December 8, 2005 - 00:00:00 ET

Name That Part: 2005/12/08

Last weeks NTP didn't go too badly. 2 people commented! Lets see if we can get 4 people to comment on this weeks part.

You need this to determine density altitude

In this example of the part, it also makes a good ice detector! Please submit your (correct or otherwise) guess by clicking on the comments link below.

Comments (3) | Permalink | Category: Name That Part, Pre Training

Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - 23:41:15 ET

Still No Medical Cert

I decided to call the Civil Aviation Medicine Branch of Transport Canada today to inquire about the status of my medical certificate application.

The person on the other end of the phone was extremely nice and helpful. All you need to do is quote your file number. If you dont have one (like me) because its your first time getting a certificate, just your name and date of birth is required.

They said they havn't received the application yet! Wow! She suggested I call my doctor and ask them what is going on. I do it. Turns out there was some delay in getting my hearing test results to the doctor. The application was just sent out a few days ago they said.

I will call Transport Canada sometime late next week to make sure things are in order.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 23:50:39 ET

Learning your A,B,C's

Take a look a the map that I photoshopped the other day as a reference. Today I'm going to talk about the different classes of airspace around Buttonville.

There are actually 5 classes of airspace around Buttonville, but you can only see four of them on my map.

Lets start off with what you can see and I've highlighted.

Class Charlie
Class "C" (or Charlie) airspace is the most common (I think) airspace in and around Toronto.

Rules:
- You must have a radio
- You must have a transponder
- You must have clearance before entering the airspace

Services offered:
- Conflict resolution upon request (help with not colliding with anyone)
- Air traffic information (who is where)

For VFR flight inside class charlie you must be 500' below any cloud and 1 mile horizontally away from cloud. 3 miles of visibility minimum.

Class Delta
Class "D" (or Delta) airspace is found around some of the more active smaller airports in the area.

Rules:
- You must have a radio
- Transponder only in designated areas
- You must establish radio contact before entering (you dont need to ask to enter, just let them ATC know where you are)

Services offered:
- Conflict resolution conditions permitting (if the controller has time to)
- Air traffic information

For VFR flight inside class delta you must be 500' below any cloud and 1 mile horizontally away from cloud. 3 miles of visibility minimum.

Class Echo
Class "E" (or Echo) airspace is found around only at the Downsview control zone. I have no idea why.

Rules:
- Transponder requred in designated areas
- Radio optional
- No clearance or radio contact is required before entering.

Services offered:
- Air traffic information conditions permitting

For VFR flight inside class echo you must be 500' below any cloud and 1 mile horizontally away from cloud. 3 miles of visibility minimum.

Now for the items you cant see on my map.

Class Foxtrox
Class "F" (or Foxtrox) airspace is also known as restricted airspace. There are specific rules governing the use of that airspace. The closest location of Class Foxtrot space is located north of the Oshawa aerodrome. It is reserved for flight training.

Class Golf
Class "G" (or Golf) is located "everywhere else" and is also known as unrestricted airspace. This is the area where no other classification is given below 18000'.

Rules:
- None

Services offered:
- Flight information and alerting (weather, flight planning, etc..)

For VFR flight inside class golf you must be clear of all cloud and 2 miles of visibility minimum below 1000' AGL. Above 1000' AGL you must be 500' below any cloud and 2000' horizontally away from cloud. 1 mile visibility minimum.

Phew! I'm sure I can remember all this.

Comments (3) | Permalink | Category: Air Law, Pre Training

Saturday, December 3, 2005 - 23:27:45 ET

Learning About Airspace

I spent some time today looking at the Toronto VTA and the CFS entries for Buttonville (YKZ), Downsview (YZD), Pearson (YYZ), and Toronto Island (YTZ) airports. My goal was to try and understand the airspace around my home airport (Buttonville).

I think I've figured it out. But first, some definitions:

Control Zone
Those are the highlighted areas around the aerodromes (blue for class "C" airspace, red for class "D" and green for class "E"). Their purpose is to offer better control between IFR and VFR traffic. They are only present around aerodromes with a tower (notice the lack of a CZ around the Makrham airstrip to the north east of buttonville).

Terminal Control Area
You can see this area on the map by the blue radiating lines around Pearson. It's purpose is to control IFR traffic to arriving and departing aircraft. The space between the floor of the TCA and ground level is uncontrolled. For example, at the 15NM marker, the TCA is between 2000' and 12,500'. From ground level to 2000' the airspace is uncontrolled. VFR traffic is allowed to operated in this uncontrolled area. VFR traffic is allowed in the controlled portion, however they must request clearence to do so.

Ok, so lets run through a scenario. Lets say you take off from Buttonville and head north. From the time you take off until you reach Highway 404 and Stouffville road (#1 on map) you will have to remain below 2500'. Technically you can go above that, but you'd have to contact Toronto Centre to request clearence into Pearsons TCA. Once you are north of #1 and you are below 2500', then you are in uncontroleld airspace. Although you dont see it on the map, the TCA ends just north of Newmarket. From that point on, uncontrolled airspace extends up to 18000'.

If you take off from Downsview and head North West, you'd have to stay below 1700' unless you want to request clearence from Toronto Centre. From listening to ATC most people request clearence to enter soon after taking off.

Let me know if I've gotten anything wrong.

Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Air Law, Pre Training

Thursday, December 1, 2005 - 11:44:22 ET

Name That Part: 2005/12/01

Every week (or so) I'm going to post of a photo of something aviation related along with a clue. It's your job to guess what the part is by leaving a comment (using the link below).

Named after the French physicist that invented it.

Good luck!

Comments (4) | Permalink | Category: Name That Part, Pre Training

Monday, November 28, 2005 - 20:49:26 ET

More On Curriculum

The course outlines for the classes I will be taking at Seneca are now on line.

Aeronautics
The main textbook is "From the Ground Up" which I've already done about two thirds of the workbook. Some highlights:

1. Components, structure, loads, stresses, documents
2. Bernoulli's Theorem, Newton's Laws, airfoils and production of lift, weight and C of G, drag, couples and turning moments, wing design, high lift devices, attitudes and movements, stability and control, flight performance
3. Flight instrument, pitot-static system, gyroscopic principles, magnetic compass
4. Design and construction, definition of horsepower, 4-stroke cycles, cooling, lubrication, fuel system, ignition system, electrical system, the propeller, engine instruments, engine operation
5. Runway and taxiway marking and lighting, aerodrome traffic procedures
6. Altimeter and standard pressure regions, high and low level airspace, control zones, aerodrome traffic zones, control areas, terminal radar service areas
7. Clearance and instruction, flight rules, flight plans, cruising altitudes, weather minima
8. Transmission and reception of radio signal, wavelengths and frequencies, communication equipment and facilities and procedures
9. Care of the airplane, weight and balance, aircraft performance
10. Personnel licensing, aircraft registration and airworthiness requirement, documentation, inspection requirement, flight rules and procedures
11. General health, diet, physical fitness, hypoxia, hyperventilation, decompression sickness, sensory illusions, alcohol, drugs, fatigue, emotional stress, checklist for safe flight

Meteorology
Here the prescribe texts are the AIP and a new book I'm not familiar with: "Air Command Weather Manual" from the Department of Defense.

1. Weather basics
2. Aviation weather information services
3. Hazards to aviation
4. Flight Planning

Human Factors
All about how flight influenced the human body. Many textbooks for this class, one of which I already have.

1. Cockpit Design
2. The body
3. Stress and fatigue
4. Judgment and decision making
5. Crew resource management
6. Human factors in aircraft accidents

Computer Systems
I'm hoping not to have to take this class, however I don't know enough about the crappy programming language they use to try to get a prior learning assessment credit from them.

1. Basic language fundamentals
2. Building an application using VB
3. Arrays, loops
4. Sub procedures
5. Building an aviation related visual basic application

I might be able to build something cool... perhaps some sort of software that will help with flight planning?

So thats just a rundown of schooling I will be taking. I hope to be able to squeeze in 2-3 days of flying in there as well.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Friday, November 25, 2005 - 16:25:53 ET

Questions Answered!

I got a call back from the FI I did my intro flight with the other day and she was able to answer all of the questions I had.

She said that it might be possible for me to write my PSTAR exam before becoming an "official" student at the school. Just to come in when the weather is crappy (I'm presuming that's when the CFIs have nothing better to do). However, writing the Radiotelephone exam (for my radio license) would have to wait.

In the meantime I'm continuing my studying. I constantly get 95-98% on all of the mock exams I can find on line. It'd be sweet if I ace the exam!

Right now my weak spots have to do with the blast areas of different types of planes. I always get them confused. Is the take-off blast danger of a Jumbo jet 1600ft or 1200ft? (its 1600ft, 1200ft is for a Medium size jet).

I also took a look at the requirements for the in flight exam for the commercial license. It's pretty much the same as a private license except that the tolerances are much smaller. For example: straight and level flight for the Private exam might have a tolerance of +/- 100ft of altitude. For the commercial exam its +/- 50ft (these are examples... not real values).

I am going to be adding a new section to the site where I will have links to all the documents, mock exams, regulations that I have been reading.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 12:37:26 ET

Procedure or Politeness

Radio communication is a very important part of a pilots duties. There is specific protocol that needs to be followed in order for you to get your message across clearly in the shortest amount of time possible. Take a look at this example:

Controller: "American 1778, contact tower now on 122.8. Good day"
Aircraft: "Contact tower on 122.8, American 1778"

This is called a "hand-off". This particular aircraft wants to land, and the controller knows this because of the flight plan that was filed before the flight took off from their origin. The controller started his transmission with the call sign of the aircraft, followed by the instruction. The aircraft wont execute the instruction until he's read it back to the controller.

This is a pretty routine "radio transaction" between pilot and controller. The interesting part lies in the "Good day" portion of the controllers transmission. Some controllers say "Good day" or "Good evening". Some even like to use "so long" or "cya!".

I wasn't able to find any official documentation that specifies that you have to say "good day" when you expect to no longer talk with the aircraft. So I wonder if this was something that controllers just started doing to let the pilots know that you don't need to talk to them anymore.

Then there are some controllers who just love to have fun. In this particular clip, a ground controller from Boston slips in a few "go sox!" into his instructions.

Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Monday, November 21, 2005 - 12:25:20 ET

Ground School Details

Seneca has finally updated their website with class schedules and information. Classes start the first week of Janurary! Here is what my schedule will look like:

Monday: Human Factors
Tuesday: Meterology
Wednesday: Aeronautics
Thursday: Computer Systems

All classes are from 6:30pm - 9:30pm At Buttonville Airport, with the exception of Computer Systems. I'm going to try to see if I can get a credit for not actually attending the Computer Systems classes as the cirriculum is stuff I already know. So this first semester, the cost will be about $1500, plus $5,000 for the tuition.

I'm looking forward to meterology and human factors the most. Both should prove to be really interesting. Toronto Airways (the school that will be providing the flight training) has two types of ground school. One is a ten week course (two days a week) or an intestive all day four day course (thursday-sunday). Im not sure which one i'd like to do.

Just to clarify some things:

- Seneca is providing schooling in addition to the minimum ground school requred by Transport Canada. The only purpose for going to Seneca is to get a post-secondary diploma in aviation.
- Toronto Airways is the school that I will be using for ground school and flight training. The schedule and instructors are independant of Seneca College.

WIth advice from other students, i'm going to write my PSTAR and Radiotelephone exams as soon as possible. As such i'm starting to intensify my studying of the materials you will need to know for the PSTAR exam:

- Canada Flight Suppliment. This contains information on almost every single aerodrome in Canada. Along with other helpful information such as emergency procedures, cross-wind calculations, and airspace rules.
- Canadian Aviation Regulations. The "bible" of all aviation books in Canada. It contains all of the rules and regulations you need to know in order to fly in Canada.
- Aeronautical Information Manual. Contains the same information as the CAR but in "human readable" form. With suggestions by Transport Canada.

All of this information, with the exception of the CFS, are available online! The passing grade for the PSTAR exam is 90% and you have three hours to complete 50 multiple choice questions. Most students complete it in about one hour.

Comments (3) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - 20:57:43 ET

Saving $24,000 a year

I never thought that paint could be so heavy! In an effort to save cash, Air Canada is stripping some of their aircraft of most of its paint. Leaving the "au naturel" polished aluminum to bare the brunt of the elements. According to Air Canada, the paint weighs 360 pounds and takes about 12 days to strip off the airplane. This results in a fuel savigns of $24,000 per airplane. With 45 Boeing 747s that can result in a total savings of $1,080,000 a year!

This just proves how tight profit margins are in the airline world! I personally think the new look is great! It's a throwback to the old school airplanes from the 50s, where most of them were not painted. The full story and more photos, are available at aviation.ca

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things, Pre Training

Monday, November 14, 2005 - 13:31:47 ET

Visualizing Air Traffic

FAA Flight information is available to the public (I'm still trying to figure out how I can get that data). Aaron Koblin put together some pretty spiffy videos of this data. Each dot represents an airplane flying to or from the US.

Be sure to check out the "overview documentation" (a video) on his website to understand how to interpret the data.

Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things, Pre Training

Saturday, November 12, 2005 - 23:42:11 ET

Waiting some more...

Went to the Seneca Open House with Melissa today. We were both somewhat disappointed, nobody was able to answer any of my questions about their part time course. I kept on getting redirected "to the website" and I kept on reminding them that it was out of date. I spent most of the time talking to the students. One showed me around the place. The Fracas simulators are pretty pimp. They have two, one for Cessnas and another that has a glass cockpit for (I think) a jet engine plane. The latter being good for ATP training.

In any case I walked away with not that much more information. Some good things about the Seneca program:

- You get to use their sims whenever you want, and it doesn't cost you a dime.
- The planes are inside a hangar, so no need to de-ice, scrape off frost. (Only get to use their planes in the full time course)
- Getting extra help from your instructors doesn't cost anything either.

I decided to go back to their website tonight to see if there was anything new. I did find one tidbit of information on it: December 15 at 6pm is an Orientation/Information session for what I can only guess is their Winter semester. This session is specifically for the part time program.

So I think I will wait until that session before I make a decision on how I'm going to proceed with my training. In the meantime, I'm going to continue learning on my own!

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 01:39:39 ET

Radio Navigation with MS Flight Sim

After reading over the chapter on radio navigation, I decided to try it out - using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.

I hopped in my Cessna 172, and departed Buttonville on runway 33. I climbed up to 4,000 feet and turned on the autopilot and told it to hold this altitude. First item on the list, understand how the ADF works. The ADF is a simple device that points you in the direction of the radio beacon. A simple arrow on a dial. Just turn the airplane until the arrow points straight up, now you're headed towards the NDB.
I tuned the radio to 248KHz (which was the closest NDB from Buttonville). I was surprised to hear the morse code identifier! Flight Sim rocks!

I turned the airplane into the direction until the arrow pointed straight up. I flew and flew until magically the needle swung around 180 degrees! I passed the NDB. Task one complete. The little pink icon (circle, not triangle) on the map on the leftis the NDB. You can see when I started homing in on it as my track veered to the right (east).

The next task was to use a VOR. VORs are used by everyone from private pilots to commercial airliners. They are the key to navigating the skys. I was a little confused as to how these work, since they are a little more complex than the simple NDBs. A VOR allows you to intercept it at a specific heading, called a radial. There is an indicator that tells you if you are left or right of the VOR. The idea is that you just keep the indicator centered and you will intercept the VOR at that radial.

I tuned my nav radio to 117.35MHz, the Simcoe VOR. Then I selected which radial I wanted to intercept. And flew towards the VOR keeping the marker centered. The closer you get to the VOR the harder it is to keep the needle centered. What I ended up doing was fly past the VOR then select a radial that was in the opposite direction I was going (in this case 240°) just so that I can exaggerate my track. So I started turning the aircraft until the needle was centered, then kept on flying. Once the to/from flag flipped I knew that I was on the other side of the VOR. I took a look at my heading indicator, and sure enough it showed 240°! Awesome!

I saved my entire flight in this PDF. When I decided to head north to fly past the VOR, I took the "long way" (as you can see by the little loop in the track just east of the NDB).

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Navigation, Pre Training

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - 23:54:08 ET

Questions, Waiting, Tax Benefits

I haven't been doing as much studying these past two weeks as I would like. I'm at the "navigation" chapter in my textbook and I am missing some tools that I need in order to complete them. Mainly a "real" E6B, some protractors and rulers.

I'm actually pretty excited about the Seneca open house this weekend. I'm going to chat with the FI I had my intro with after to get some feedback from her about what I plan on doing:

I'm going to pummel the Seneca people about their curriculum and their class sizes. I want to see if they are going to be able to have enough students for all of their classes. Also want to know if I can sign up for the winter semester, or if I'm too late. Their course calendar online is way out of date.

Once I get the info from them, I'm going to speak with the FI. Mainly to find out how it all works: what days/times ground school is at. What days works best for her in regards to teaching me. I plan on taking some of my vacation days from work to go to the airport mid week. I plan on going there 3 times a week. I'm also curious to know more information about her, what rating she has and if she's going to be teaching me for all the other endorsements I want to get (Night, IFR, Dual Engine). Then if all goes well, hopefully by next week I will be signed up and ready to go!

I'm still waiting for my medical certificate from Transport Canada.

So I found more information about claiming your flight lessons against your income tax. All of the normal stipulations apply (you can claim parking, books, etc..) with the addition of having the flying school fill out a TL11B form. This form is available only in electronic format (according to the CCRA website). The form outlines how many hours you've flown along with the total cost. The important bit is the Student's Disclosure which states:

The Canada Revenue Agency may review your claim and ask for more documentation.

This is where having a category 1 medical certificate will help prove that you are not just doing this for fun, but as education needed for a job/career. I'm assuming keeping all your receipts as well as your log book will also be used.

Comments (3) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Sunday, November 6, 2005 - 19:21:08 ET

Cutting It Close

I found a great website the other day. A seasoned commercial airline pilot seems to be blogging from inside the flight deck. Some great photos of what he sees out the window also accompany his text.

One of his entries talks about a take off problem. Because of the recent weather (a wet runway), the weight and balance calculations had to be changed. Weight and balance calculations are used to determine if the plane will be able to take off, land, fly properly, etc.. It takes into account the centre of gravity (you can change the COG by shifting fuel from one wing to another, or moving cargo around) and the actual weight of what you are carrying.

For this particular flight, they were able to calculate that 10 passengers were needed to leave the plane, in order for the flight to be able to take off. I find it amazing that they you are able to cut it that close (what happens if the 10 people were lighter than you expected?)

Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - 19:45:27 ET

Seneca Open House

Seneca College is having a open house on Nov 12, 2005. One of the campuses that is participating in this open house is at Buttonville.

I think this will be a *great* opportunity to check out what the school has to offer for their aviation program. I'm particularly concerned with their class sizes and whether or not they will be able to offer their par-time courses.

More information on the open house can be found at their website.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - 16:26:39 ET

Getting info from the TSB

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is the organization that (among other things) investigates aviation accidents.

I wanted to look up a specific investigation so I proceeded to their website. I knew the exact report number, however the report was not available on the website.

I decided to contact them via their contact form and asked them if I could get a copy of the report (and I cited the report number).

5 days later I got an e-mail back from their Public Affairs Advisor with a copy of the report in PDF format. I was actually quite surprised to get a reply back this soon (and with the information I requested).

Just because a report isn't available on their site, doesn't mean you can't ask for it (and get it!).

I am trying to read up on as many accident reports as possible. I find it an invaluable resource into learning what can "go wrong" when your in the air. You can always learn from other peoples mistakes!

Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training

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

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: Air Law, 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

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

Friday, September 30, 2005 - 13:46:55 ET

Medical Exam

One of the pre-requisites for the Seneca flight program (and for even flying) is a "medical certificate". There are multiple levels of this certificate, each with their own requirements.

I am going to get tested for the highest level (level 1). This is the same level that commercial pilots require and its the level that is needed for the Seneca program. I found detailed information on what the exam involves (in short: eye exam, hearing tests, and full physical). However I had a tough time finding out how long this certificate is valid for (turns out it is five years for individuals under 40 years old).

The exam has to be made by certified "Civil Aviation Medical Examiners". A list of them is available at the Transport Canada website. The closest one to me is in Newmarket.

Contrary to what most people think.. you don't need perfect vision to pass the vision portion of the exam. 20/30 vision is the minimum allowed by Category 1 and you are allowed to have glasses to bring you up to 20/20. However, do you have to pass the colour blind test with flying colours (no pun intended ;) ). However you wont be able to fly at night, or in aircraft with no radios (as coloured signals are used with these aircraft to communicate with the tower for approach/landing clearance).

Total cost of the exam, around $200. I am going to check to see if my work benefits will cover the cost of some of the tests. My appointment is for October 12th.

Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Pre Training