End of Block

Happy Easter everyone! I flew my last review stage sortie on Friday. It wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be. My first and third rides were more difficult. It was on par with my second review stage flight. I flew a PAR to start things off. Everything went fine, but I got an engine malfunction at the end. I decided I was about to land, so I wasn't going to shut it down, but it turned into a fire, so I had to shut it down anyway. I misjudged the time I had on final. I should have just shut it down when I got the first indications, but I learned something there. I flew down to the valley and did a fix-to-fix to an arcing circling approach. That went single engine, but it was fine. I landed it. My ILS went to a localizer and I had to wave it off because of simulated weather. Then my IP played "bad copilot" and tried to have me land on the wrong runway during a visual approach. I caught it all and ended up with a solid end of block ride. Checkride tomorrow after a restful weekend.

Boom!

I had a great flight today. Yes, I said it. It was great. We flew down to the valley. I got in the seat at Port Isabel and flew a GPS approach with a turn in holding followed by a circling approach. Both approaches were single engine. All went well and my IP even said I flew one of the best point-to-points he's ever seen. The winds were only about 25 knots at altitude, but it was still pretty good. I had to put on the mask on the way back for simulated smoke and fumes in the cockpit, but I got to take it off after the fumes "dissipated." We went through that checklist and then shot another approach - this time a needle-only TACAN. The catch was he failed my attitude indicator, so I did a partial panel, needle-only TACAN. I'd never even heard of that until today. On the climbout we couldn't get the visual recovery, so we shot the ILS. He failed my glideslope, so we had to transition to the localizer. Then, he gave me a fire, so we went single engine. I got halfway through the checklist and decided to just land and deal with it on the ground. No major fumbles with a pretty tough profile, so I was really happy with my flying this morning. One more, then check Friday.

Checkride and XC

Thursday I had my mid-stage checkride. The brief went ok but my ground ops, of all things, were less than stellar. The flying part went fine with a couple hiccups here and there but pretty decent considering my checkride history. It was a checkride I feel like I can say went well. I flew a VOR approach at International, a TACAN circling approach at Rockport, and a no-heading PAR back at NGP. It was a typical checkride day in that the winds were such that we were on a runway from which I'd actually never taken off, the VOR was completely turned off in the aircraft, which I've never seen before, and my IP made me hold over a VOR, my least favorite type of holding. Despite these annoyances, I passed, and the IP even complemented my flying. I can live with that.

I spent a few hours Friday night planning my last-minute cross-country to Jacksonville FL. My IP and I are flying in a sort of mini airshow event on Monday, and I'll get some extra flying time.

We ended up flying up to Tuscaloosa for some Dreamland BBQ (highly recommended). You know you're at a quiet airfield when tower asks you about the paint scheme on your plane while your on the roll out. I shot the visual followed by the ILS. At NAS Jacksonville I shot the HI-TACAN from FL200, which was fun for a change and moves much quicker than low altitude approaches. I had a bit of a hiccup on that one. Fly and learn.

On base in the Navy Lodge for the next couple days. I'm exploring Jacksonville today.

Yesterday I flew down to the valley and did a few localizers and a localizer back course along with a TACAN circling approach and an NDB. The NDB approach was no fun. The needle swings back and forth, and you just have to sort of pick the approximate course you're going to fly. We ate more Mexican food and I flew a few more approaches on the way back. I finished with a visual back into the airfield. That was only the second time I'd ever done that. The first was in the T-6 at Lubbock Intl. Easy, but new.

Today I flew with an instructor who actually had high expectations. It just revealed the fact that I have to look out for myself and push myself, because the quality and expectations of the instructors varies. I learned a lot, but it was a little unnerving to feel behind when every other ride in the block I got good vibes from the instructors. The flight wasn't so hot. I overflew a holding fix and didn't even realize it for a whole minute. Thankfully, the IP gave me another shot.

I'm tired. Good thing it's the weekend.

Flying at Night

Monday was supposed to be my second night contact flight, but we were canceled for lack of aircraft. I flew that event yesterday night instead. We did a visual approach over at International and then did the pattern work at the aux field. It reaffirmed how I like flying at night. The air is calmer, less aircraft are up, and the lights and the stars make everything a little mystical. It's nice. One more night contact, then off to a slew of instrument sims.