Instrument Checkride

December 23, 2012

After a two-day checkride, I am thrilled to report that I passed my Instrument Checkride!! I'm now legal to fly in any weather condition (granted that it's safe and meets FAA regs). I no longer need an instructor to go say hi to the clouds! This is a really big accomplishment and certainly one that I never dreamed possible just three years ago. Now it's on to Commercial training!!

My examiner, Bob and I after my checkride

Low IFR Flying

December 9, 2012

Today I experienced something that made me question my sanity. I was scheduled to fly with an instructor to practice for the upcoming checkride, however the clouds were... well... low... very low... 200ft above the ground. We arrived at the airport at 9:30am but knew we'd have to sit around a bit to wait for the clouds to rise a couple hundred feet as forecast. Why did we need the clouds higher? We would not be able to land with clouds at 200ft, we needed a minimum of 400ft. per approach regulations set by the FAA.

About 10:45am came and the clouds were reported 400ft. YAY! My CFI files an IFR flight plan and I preflight the plane. We agree to stay with the plan and practice approaches over at Alton. I'm nervous but definitely excited. I hardly have any experience flying in the clouds, and definitely have never flown with them this low.

We taxi out to the runway. Before picking up our IFR clearance for takeoff, I snap a picture of what we "can't" see from our position... the hangers. This is CRAZY! Clouds were still reported at 400ft. with 1 1/2 miles visibility and mist. 11:15am... Alright, lets do this...

Video can be seen by clicking here: Youtube.com

I didn't time it, but it felt like we were in the clouds within 1 minute of taking off. We never even saw the Mississippi River which is less than a mile from the hangers. I'd like to say I was left speechless, but I had plenty of talking to do with ATC. There was no time to freak out, I had two souls on board this aircraft, including my own, and it was time to prove to myself that I am ready for the responsibility of holding an instrument rating. ATC turns us to the east so we can set up for the Localizer Backcourse 11 at Alton. The air is as smooth as ice, with no icing conditions. We did run into a light rain shower, but nothing to be concerned about. I file a PIREP to ATC so they know what's going on up here at 2500ft. We're now on the inbound course and I follow the instructions on my approach plate. I make my descent to the minimum altitude allowed and once we arrive at the missed approach point, we still can see anything. Not the runway, not the airport, not even the ground. We obviously could not land even if we wanted to.

We begin our climb out and tell ATC we'd like to shoot the ILS 29 approach. They set us up and I intercept the inbound course. I'm being more cautious on this flight than a simulated (foggles) flight. Knowing that your descending towards the ground, of which you can't even see, is a little unnerving. I be extra sure to remain on the correct glidepath so that I don't risk running into a tower or trees. These approaches are proven safe if you follow them, so that's what I intend to do. We get close to our minimum altitude and wait for visual references to the ground. About 100ft left to descend, we start seeing the ground. At 50ft to go, we break out of the clouds and find the runway right at our minimum altitude. I make a huge sigh of relief and say a few choice words to release the nerves I had built up. We laughed it off and with no need to touch down, we begin climbing out.

Video of this approach can be seen here: youtube.com

After climbing back up to altitude, ATC vectors around and sets us up for the VOR 18 approach back to our home airport. This approach is in my opinion, the most important. Not only will I be flying low over the river bluffs, but I have to do this approach correctly so that we can safely land. While cruising towards home, we broke out of a layer of clouds and found ourselves in-between two layers. It was stunning. 

Pictures can't even do this sight justice...

I brief the approach plate out-loud for my CFI. The clouds haven't raised an inch which means we will be taking it down to the absolute minimum altitude allowed to try and get us in. Phew!! We're now inbound and I make my descents per the approach's directions. Back in the clouds again, we never even see the river upon crossing. This approach does not take us straight in to a runway, so once under the clouds we will have to maneuver onto the base leg, then final. We break out of the clouds right at the minimum altitude again. The hangers and runway are barely in sight, but we see them. I continue my descent and make my turns to set us up for landing. After the wheels gently touch down, I can't help but smile. I did it. (Video can be found by clicking here: youtube.com)

This flight felt like a crazy dream. I was in complete shock that 1) I'd even consider doing this flight, 2) That I actually did it, and 3) I was able to do it with barely any assistance from the instructor. I like to think that I'm ready for the instrument checkride. It sure would make a great Christmas present... ;-)

Updates

November 23, 2012

Over the last several of weeks I've had a few firsts:

Nov. 2nd - This was a very fun cross country. I took my commercial training instructor with me and our first stop was Rolla Downtown. This was a tiny, deserted airport that was surrounded by trees with a 37ft wide runway. I'm used to landing on 75ft+ wide runways. We practiced an instrument coming in which took us straight to the runway, however because of it's size, we didn't see it until we were basically on top of it. We flew outbound and got established then turned inbound for the landing. If successful, this would be the narrowest runway that I have ever landed on. Flaps down, throttle back, descend. The trees are all around; below me. I slowly lower us down, watching carefully to not hit the trees. I'm lined up perfectly and gently let the plane sink onto the runway. Tricky, but executed beautifully.

We then took off and flew to Bismark, which had a 50ft wide runway, also with surrounding trees, but the runway was 1000ft shorter than Rolla Downtown. The first attempt required a go-around otherwise I would've rolled off the end of the runway. The second time was much better. This runway seemed like a much bigger challenge than Rolla's. We then took off and with a lot of extra time, we decided to make a landing at Creve Coeur... on the grass strip. I have been wanting to try this for over a year and I knew today would be a perfect opportunity. We head into the airport and circle while waiting for a plane on the strip to takeoff. Now it's our turn. My instructor reminds that this landing will require a soft field procedure. Once over the runway, I hold it off until we lose enough speed that the plane naturally wants to touch down. With the wheels now on the grass, I use all my strength to pull the yoke back, keeping the nose wheel off the ground as much as possible. The grass is in good condition, but being nature, it's still quiet bumpy and we don't want to damage the nose wheel. After taxiing back, we takeoff and immediately make a turn to the north to avoid Class B airspace. It was a very exciting trip, one that I remember for a long time.

You can find videos of the landings on my YouTube page. Click the video button on the top of my blog to find the link.


Nov. 4th - Today I took up a friend/ co-worker and her boyfriend to see the Arch. Usually when I do the Arch tour, I'm too afraid of accidentally entering Class B and/or Class D airspace, so I just take a different route. It's normally follow the Mississippi River to the Arch, then turn around and follow it home, avoiding the city entirely. This time I was going to step outside of my comfort zone and use an iPad app called Foreflight to help me navigate the airspace. We fly over St. Peters, head towards Creve Coeur, find Hwy 40 and turn left to follow it downtown. Off to our left side is a St. Louis favorite, Forest Park. Straight ahead we see downtown. I call a local airport tower to get clearance to enter their airspace, then I circle us around the Arch a couple times before heading northbound. My passengers are taking pictures right and left and apparently can't stop smiling... I'm happy. We follow the Mississippi back home and land. I'm so glad they had a good time. I live to put smiles on people's faces, especially when I can provide them with an experience of a lifetime.


Nov. 16th - I finally took the dreaded FAA Instrument knowledge exam... and PASSED!!


Nov. 18th - I met with our Chief CFI and took the Stage 3 Check/ End of Course test. This consisted of an oral exam, followed my a flight exam. By the time this was over, I was exhausted! Thankfully he signed the required documents saying that I could schedule the final checkride if my CFI and I agreed that I am ready. I think I'll fly a couple more times to fine tune some things, then schedule the checkride. I'm so close to finishing!!

Route Names

November 3, 2012

Today I found an article on the St. Louis Post Dispatch online website. I thought it was pretty neat so I had to share. It was written by Bill McClellan.

"The times change in ways that most of us do not notice. Old heroes get pushed aside for new ones.

That is happening now, unseen, in the air above us.

The Federal Aviation Administration is phasing out its ground-based navigational system and replacing it with GPS technology.

In the lingo of the air traffic controllers, routes in and out of airports are called flight procedures. These routes, or procedures, have names.

In the past, if you were flying out of Lambert, you might have been on a Lindy procedure.

Under the new system, Lindbergh has been replaced by Chuck Berry. Actually, the hometown king of rock-and-roll has four procedures — Chuck, Berry, Johnny and B Goode.

Technically, they are CHUUC, BERYY, JAHNY and BGOOD.

Each designation must contain five characters and be unique because the designations get entered into flight computers. So if there is a CHUCK somewhere else in the system, we can’t have it here.

In addition to procedures, there are turn points — locations along the routes at which the planes turn. These turn points also have names.

Most common names are taken. People in the air traffic control system come up with the names, and there is a tendency to name these things after themselves.

So Chuck Berry will have to be content with CHUUC BERYY.

It is not just Chuck Berry who has been honored. TEDDD and DRUSE will ring a bell to any pilot who knows anything about frozen custard.

The idea of honoring local icons came from the controllers at the St. Louis Terminal Radar Approach Control. That facility is located in St. Charles County.

While the air traffic controllers at the airport control a five-mile radius around Lambert up to 3,000 feet, the controllers at TRACON control aircraft within a 40-mile radius up to 15,000 feet. They operate out of a large, dark room, lit mainly by radar consoles. It looks like something out of “Star Wars.”

It’s high-stress work. Mandatory retirement comes at 56, although some controllers join the administrative staff.

I visited Thursday and met with controllers Tom Tierney and Buel Warden, who is also the facility’s union rep, and Tim Shegitz, the district manager. His district includes parts of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and all of Arkansas.

Tierney, Shegitz and the late Phil Harman, a staffer who died of a heart attack this spring, came up with most of the names for the procedures and turn points.

So who’s honored? Harman was a hockey fan, so turning points ALMAC, BAKIS, BERGY, BHULL, FDRKO, KRIYA, OSHIE, SUTRR honor Al MacInnis, David Backes, Patrik Berglund, Brett Hull, Bernie Federko, Paul Kariya, T.J. Oshie and the Sutter brothers.

Football fans will recognize BAKKN, JHART, DOBLR, WHRLI, BIDWL, KURRT, BRUUC, FAULK, HOLLT, VERML, SSAMM and JACSN.

STAAN, YADDI, OZZEE, BGMAC, GIBEE, JBUCK, FLUDD, PUJOL and KARPP will be familiar to pilots who follow the Cardinals, and they will likely hear Mike Shannon’s voice when they approach the turn point GETUP.

It’s not all sports. EEMOS and PROVL will speak to pizza-lovers, while fans of toasted ravioli will appreciate TRAVS. Classic rock gets a nod from turning point KSHE.

Perhaps the most iconic St. Louis approach will be for pilots who hit, in order, turning points BUUDD, WEIZZ and EERRR.

The old system had a little bit of local color itself. In addition to the LINDY procedures, there used to be a navigational point called COORS.

It pre-dated the fellows I met with, but Warden said he heard a story that an executive at the brewery had said something negative about the controllers during their ill-fated strike in 1981, and in response, the controllers had named a navigational point COORS.

Supposedly, that designation used to annoy a certain pilot, August Busch III.

In 2004, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association had its convention in St. Louis. The brewery generously hosted a party at Grant’s Farm.

Shortly thereafter, COORS was changed to AUGIE.

AUGIE still exists, a part of the ground-based navigational system that will be used by older aircraft that do not have GPS technology.

But LINDY is being phased out. Roll over Charles Lindbergh, and tell Tchaikovsky the news."


Click here for the website article.

Pumpkin Drop

October 27, 2012

Today was a fun day. Not a lesson, not a cross country, not even ground studies. Today was my airport's Annual Open House and Pumpkin Drop Competition. We attract a lot of visitors, some of which are pilots and some are not. It's a day that people from all around the area come to hang out, talk airplanes, eat food, have a little friendly competition. They can also check out the Corvette car show, experimental planes on display and get up and close to the old Air Force Planes.

I don't have to work dispatch today, so I invite a lot of family to come out and visit. I pick up my brother and arrive at the airport at 10am. First thing on the to-do list is to register for the pumpkin drop. The sooner that I sign up, the sooner my bombardier and I can throw pumpkins out of the plane. The rest of my family shows up and we hang out for a bit until it's my turn to fly.

The competition works like this: You pay $20 for one round, and one round consists of 3 trips in the traffic pattern where you will drop one pumpkin on each trip. There is a 100ft diameter circle target on the ground. The goal is to get your pumpkins closest to the center of the target. I will fly about 300ft above the ground and fly at a slower airspeed. After all three drops, you get a score based on the distance that your pumpkin fell from the center. The person will the lowest score (meaning closest to the center) wins!

My brother is going to be my bombardier, but I have a backseat so I ask if any of my family wants to also ride along. My sister-in-law speaks up. It's our turn, so I grab the keys and we all walk out to the plane. I do the preflight inspection, buckle everyone in, then start the engine. I taxi us out to the runway behind a couple other planes. They takeoff one by one, then next up is me. I watch for traffic and listen to pilot's radio calls for positioning reports. The pattern is packed with planes. We sit for 5-10 minutes because there just isn't a place for us yet. Finally we catch a very short break, and I take it. Lift-off.

We follow the traffic pattern around, being vigilant to watch for other traffic. After turning onto final, I start my descent and slow the plane. My brother opens the window and starts giving me directions; a little to the left, little more, perfect. He releases the pumpkin and it falls from his hands, 300 ft above the ground, and plummets to the ground. SMASH!

I add power and climb back up to pattern altitude. My passengers look out the side window and see that the B25 Bomber is making it's way into the pattern. It was directly off our right wing. Wow, how cool is this? Sharing the sky with a sweet old Air Force bomber! We then turn onto downwind, still watching for traffic. It appears that there are at least six other planes up here with me, and all are flying different patterns; some wide, some narrow. I look out the left window and see another plane also on downwind! Well crap. We are literately side by side, and I'm not sure if they know I'm right next to them. Making our turn onto base is going to be interesting. We watch to see what he does, and it looks like I'm going to be able to squeeze onto base first. I make my radio call and then turn. All works out ok but man, I'm getting stressed. We descend and turn onto final. Window open, line up with the target, drop some airspeed, then release. SPLAT!

One more chance now. I climb back up to pattern altitude and watch traffic. Thankfully this time, some of the planes were done with their round and were landing. Less traffic to deal with, and my blood pressure slowly starts coming back down. Breathe... we turn onto downwind, then base, descend, turn onto final, slow down, line up, drop!

That's all we have left, so I fly the pattern around again so that I can set up to land. The wind was breezy and coming from the north, so we land on runway 36. Nice and smooth, just how I like it. We taxi back, turn the plane off and turn in the keys for the next person.

That was fun! Not long after, half of my family leaves and the other half stay so that we can walk to the other side of the airport and check out all the other planes and corvettes. I won't know until after closing who won the competition, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be us.

We walk around for an hour or so before calling it a day. My family goes home and I decide to stay for another hour to hang out with airport friends and watch the B25 drop its pumpkins. The bomber starts up its engines and taxiis out to the runway. He takes off, flies around, lines up with the target then BAAM! He releases about 10 pumpkins, some of which were hollowed out and filled with flour. They shoot towards the target and slam into the ground.

He flies back around for another try. This time he absolutely nails the target. It was incredible, and it made the Channel 5 News! Click here to watch: KSDK.com

After he finished up, I decided that I had enough sun and the cold wind and was ready to head home. It was a lot of fun and probably the most fun I've had since my airport started holding this annual event.

Update: We did not win, but that's ok. Still worth doing!

C 47

C 47 cockpit

Me sitting inside Air Force One!

B 25 Bomber

2 Year Anniversary

October 21, 2012

It's a beautiful Sunday morning, and I'm up early preparing for my cross country trip to Iowa. I've never been to Iowa before, that I can remember. I'm excited!

I get to the airport and preflight the plane. It's a little cool outside but sunny and clear with low winds. I wait for Devin to finish up with another student, then we will fly together for the first time. He's not a new CFI, but is our airport's newest CFI/MEI.

His plane pulls up and they get out. Now it's our turn to fly. I taxi us out to the short runway and do a soft field takeoff from runway 9. We head north and turn onto the course heading. No need for foggles today because this is time building for commercial. I call up St. Louis Approach and get flight following. After reaching the desired altitude, we level off, sit back, and relax. Ok not exactly... Devin reached over and tunes the GPS to something completely random and says, "uh oh, the GPS failed! Now what?" He warned me that he was going to do this. I start using another chart that doesn't show my current location and start compared landmarks to what I see outside. I confirm where we are. This is called "Pilotage." Devin continues with the navigation quizzes for at least 60NM until we reach Quincy airport. We're not stopping but it makes for a perfect checkpoint.

We eventually get passed onto Kansas City Center, and they keep us on radar until we reach our destination of Keokuk, Iowa. We see the Mississippi River straight ahead, and just on the other side appears to be a fairly large city. We made it!

We tell the controller that we will be doing the NDB approach for runway 14 on our own and no longer need flight following. Since Devin is an instructor, he helps me practice doing the approach. We fly directly over the runway and once we cross the NDB on the field, we continue flying outbound for one minute. The approach plate then tells us that we need to make a procedure turn to the left for one minute, then turn right to start heading inbound. I'm not looking outside the plane so that I can practice simulated instrument flying. Devin is now my safety pilot. Even though we followed the approach plate instructions, he can visually see the runway and tells me that we are about to blow right through the approach course (due to winds aloft). I just continue making my turn inbound and line up with the runway. I descend down to the altitude published. Once close enough, Devin says I can go visual again because we can safely make the landing. I bring the plane down and make a nice landing. Half of the airport's runways and taxiways are closed, so we have to stop and assess our position on the field and figure out a way to taxi back to the runway for takeoff. 

After takeoff, Devin tells me not to use the GPS yet because he can teach me how to use the NDB to get us on course for home. After a series of calculations and turns, he proves to know what he's talking about. I can use the GPS now. I call up approach again for flight following and head towards Quincy, our checkpoint. Now that I've shown Devin that I can navigate without GPS, he decides to test me in other ways. What does this mean? What does that stand for? Are you legally able to do that? What can you do? List all of the left turning tendencies. For nearly and hour and a half, he quizzed me on random aviation knowledge. 

We finally make it home and enter the pattern. On downwind, he cuts the engine out to idle and instructs me to do a power off 180. So now I have no power and have to accurately glide my way to the runway. In addition, he wants me to land on a specific spot +/- 100ft. This is a maneuver that's required of commercial pilots. I kept my airspeed a little too high which caused us to come in fast and high. I drop all flaps and wait patiently as the plane sinks down and slows down. It was in all a nice landing.

This was a nice flight and a great way to ring in my two year anniversary of my first flight lesson.

My current status of my hours logged are as follows:

• Total time: 163.2 hours
• PIC (pilot-in-command) time: 111.4 hours
• Cross country time: 35.1 hours
• Simulated instrument time: 50.1 hours
• Actual instrument time: 1.6 hours

I'm getting there..!

Gone Flyin'

Oct. 19th, 2012

With as much flying as I've been doing lately, I can't keep up with writing a story for each flight. So for a while I will probably just write a summary of two or three flights and post them together.

• First up was a cross country with my Commercial CFI, Ryan, to Cape Girardeau on October 7th. It was a scattered cloud kind of day, but a bit chilly. The heater was going to be needed. We take off and head south, then contact St. Louis Approach to get flight following. Now in radar contact, we climb to 3,500ft and assess the clouds. We planned on cruising at 5, 500ft, however it looked like the layer of scattered clouds were hanging out there. "Oh, what the heck..." we thought, and called up Approach and notified them that we were climbing to 7,500ft. I was a bit nervous dodging the clouds as we climbed up over them. This was a first for me to do under basic VFR, but wow was it beautiful. It seems that the more I get to be one with the weather, the more I crave it. 

It was about 17 degrees up there and our heater was luckily keeping us warm. Eventually, we had to come back down under the clouds. I study the openings and my speed, figuring out which clearing I would go for and how much time I'd have. I find my spot and bring the power back. My descent is fast and steep, which is something I need to know how to do for commercial training anyway. Without violating VFR cloud separation rules, we make it under. At Cape Girardeau we decide to practice a Localizer Backcourse instrument approach. With Ryan as my safety pilot and the help of ATC giving me vectors and clearances, I make my way inbound. The airport is Class D, which means there's a control tower on the field. I need approval to land, which I quickly get. The wheels gently touch the ground and while we are taxiing back to the runway, we hear a conversation between an incoming jet and the tower. "Tower, can I ask you a question? Why did VFR traffic get priority over IFR traffic?" The pilot was clearly upset that he didn't get to land first. The tower responds, "I don't know, if it were me, I wouldn't have allowed that." The conversation continued for a couple minutes before we were cleared to take off. Sorry guys!

We make our way north and pick up flight following again. There was no point in going over the clouds again, so we just stay under. They were clearing up anyways. ATC tells us to fly to the Cardinal VOR at 3,500ft. Ryan and I look at each other and smile. I don't get to do this often. The Cardinal VOR station is on Lambert Airport's field, meaning we will be going right into Class B airspace and directly over the busy international airport. Woooo!! Once over top, we get switched over to Tower's frequency and she vectors us home. Nothing special on Lambert's field today... oh well. We set up to land on Runway 18, and are no longer talking to ATC. Another decent landing, and another 2.8 hours logged. I'm happy.

• I did an instrument lesson on October 13th, which was uneventful and not worth writing about, so I will continue on to my next instrument lesson. Just a day later, October 14th, the weather was clearly different that its previous day. Clouds were fairly low and the winds were strong. A front had just moved through. It appeared that most students were canceling their lessons, but I want to go for it. My instrument instructor, Mark, and I file an IFR flight plan. We get out to the plane and it's swaying in the wind so much that it looks like it's going to take off from the ramp. This was going to be an interesting flight. I look up and see the clouds soaring across the sky. We taxi out to the runway and I call up Clearance Delivery to get approval to take off. I'm nervous, but excited. "First for departure, runway 18" I tell them. We have an obvious crosswind from the right and shortly after leaving the ground, the wind tries to push me left (click here for video). We fly out north and set up for the Localizer Backcourse at Alton. I peak out of my foggles to see that we're flying right at the cloud base... no wonder the turbulence is intense! After a successful approach, we do a hold then get vectored around for a different approach. While inbound, we had a heart racing moment. The plane drops... 40 feet, instantly and unexpectedly. Even while buckled, Mark and I are lifted off our seats momentarily and Mark bumps his head on the ceiling. Both of us now have all hands on the yokes. In the moment it freaked me the hell out, but after it was over, I busted out laughing. That was insane!

       
         After another good approach, we head back home. The wind is strong. Our airspeed indicator reads that we are flying at 100kts, however, the GPS shows our ground speed as 60kts. The winds up here at blowing at 40kts and we are crawling as we fly directly into them. The turbulence had taken its toll on me. The foggles must come off, I'm actually getting nauseous. The flight home seemed to drag, I was ready to be on the ground. I ask Mark that if I were to file a PIREP report, how would I classify the turbulence? He said moderate turbulence to heavy chop. My jaw drops open... this was officially the worst I've ever been in. 

There's no one flying at the local airport today so I make a straight in approach to land on runway 18. Down low, there's a 30kt crosswind from the right. I crab into the wind, then on short final I correct for the wind. Ailerons into the wind, opposite rudder to keep the plane aligned with the runway. My hands are gripped hard on the yoke and the controls are almost as far as they will go. The wind is the devil. I fight hard as the wind clearly doesn't want to me to land on the runway. One wheel touches the ground, then the other, then the nose wheel lowers. But I'm not in the clear yet. The wheels start skidding to the left and Mark grabs the controls to help me stay on the runway. Once on to the taxiway, I stop the plane, take a deep breath, and then look at my watch to see if we had time to do it again, nauseous or not... but we don't. I taxi us back and turn the plane off. That was one very wild day. 

• Lastly, I flew with a pilot friend on October 15th to Farmington, MO. He wore the foggles on the way down, then I wore them on the way back home. The trees were almost in their peak fall colors though, which made for a pretty sight. The flight's route was nearly identical to the Cape Girardeau route, so there's nothing special to note. We got to fly over Lambert again though, which is always cool. 

After coming home and adding up my hours in the logbook, I happily find that I made some achievements. I finally logged over 100 hours total PIC (pilot in command) time and have exceeded 150 total flight hours. YAY!!! I fly again this weekend and as always, I look forward to it ;-)

Recents

October 3, 2012

So what have I been up to lately? Flying, what else? I've had three flights since my last post, so I thought I'd just say a few things about each.

• First, I flew with a pilot friend on Sept. 29th. We flew to Decatur, IL (which I flew wearing the foggles), we landed there after doing a GPS approach and then switched seats. It was his turn to fly for the trip back wearing the foggles. This way we can both log simulated instrument flight time. He did a GPS approach into Litchfield, IL, then flew back home. It was a fun trip and excellent practice, not to mention the first time I got to be someone's safety pilot!

Me on final approach for Decatur

Coming into Litchfield

• Second flight was an actual instrument lesson with a different instructor, Tracy. We started off by doing unusual attitudes which has gotten to be pretty routine. Then we called up St. Louis approach and remained in contact with them for the rest of the lesson. I flew us over to Alton and the first thing on the list was to the Localizer Backcourse for runway 11. I figured this would go better than last time, but sadly no. I understand what to do, but for some reason I still mess it up. After that disaster, we did the ILS for runway 29. That performance was much better, but I have a lot more practice and those in addition to loving them. Once we were done working at Alton, we flew to the published hold and practiced that a couple times. I didn't do too bad. Afterward, we flew back home and did the VOR approach for runway 18. It's another fairly easy approach and I did ok. By the time we landed, I had logged a 1.5hr flight but felt a bit disappointed in my performance. Tracy claimed I did alright though. It was the first time for me to fly with him, so I guess with his different teaching styles and extra tips, I felt like I was behind the curve... but I know better.

• The third and final flight was actually on the same day as the one with Tracy. My commercial instructor, Ryan, asked me to be his safety pilot so he could perform multiple approached to remain IFR current. We went out to Spirit airport and he did three ILS approaches all while wearing the foggles. After finishing, he flew back home and did the GPS approach, followed by a VOR approach. He did a really good job and I enjoyed observing. 

Lastly, I thought I would just share a couple pictures of last nights sunset and rainbow at the ole airport. Enjoy!

My next flight is another cross country! Tune back this weekend for another story of adventure :-)

Lake of the Ozarks

September 24, 2012

Finally, with our third attempt at making this cross country (XC), we finally get to go. My instructor for Commercial training, Ryan is sitting right seat and my husband is sitting in the back. I'm so excited that he gets to go with us. I do the preflight inspection; wings... check, tires... check, fuel...check. Ryan and I discuss the plan for the trip. It looks like we will contact ATC and use Flight Following. It's nice to have them follow us on radar. The other thing we planned to do, was to fly to the Ozarks without GPS... yes, we're going old school. This was going to be a test (and good practice) of flying by using Pilotage and Dead Reckoning.

• "Pilotage is the art of knowing where you are by reading a map and comparing it with the surrounding terrain and landmarks, while Dead Reckoning is the art knowing where you currently are by using a compass, your ground speed, a clock and an initial known position." - wiki.flightgear.org

This is something you are required to know in order to pass your Private Pilot checkride, but I haven't done it in a year. So yes, I'm nervous because I have been known to get lost in the past. Here's the good news, I now have a program called ForeFlight on my iPad and it has a GPS with moving maps to show you where you are as you fly. This was coming with me, and Ryan was going to be the only one using it (to check my performance) on the way to the Ozarks, then I would get to use it on the way home as a reward (if I did ok). 

The wind is blowing fairly strong, but it's a beautiful clear day. We roll onto Runway 18 and I apply full power. It's 12:40pm. At 25ft off the ground, we feel the wind kicking us around like bugs. Is this what it's going to be like for the entire trip? I think to myself. While fighting the wind, we climb to 2500ft and turn onto the predetermined heading. Shortly thereafter, I call up St. Louis Approach and request Flight Following. They now have us on radar and will "watch over us." 

We climb to our cruising altitude of 6,500ft. It's much smoother up here, but the temperature has dropped significantly. I close the air vents. My navigation chart is on my lap, and I constantly compare what I see on the ground to what is labeled on my chart. I decide that another safe thing to do is to fly by VORs. I tune in the Foristell VOR first, and fly to it. Once we pass Foristell, I tune in to the Vichy VOR which is located at Rolla Airport. We're cruising at 100 knots indicated airspeed, however we are flying nearly straight into the wind. It feels like we're barely moving. Ryan looks at ForeFlight and it tells us that our Ground Speed is about 75kts (equivalent to 86mph in a car). I continue to read my charts and track to the VOR. Eventually we cross over the VOR station. Next up should be our destination... K15 is the airport identifier. Off in the distance it looks like maybe some legs of a body of water. Is that the lake?! I'm getting excited. 

The skies are starting to get cloudy. We have to descend to remain clear of them; now at 4,500ft. St. Louis Approach passes us over to Mizzou Approach. As we get closer, Ryan and I agree that I will practice an instrument approach. He pulls up the approach plate, hands the iPad to me and has me brief the procedure. It looks like we will need to do a procedure turn that looks like a holding pattern (racetrack shape) before heading inbound to the runway. This should be done at 2700ft, then the inbound leg should be at about 1600ft.

We finally make it to the lake. It's gorgeous. ATC tells us that we have a helicopter ahead at about 1000ft below us. It's a local agency doing some work around the area. ATC instructed us to not descend below 4000ft. We performed the procedure turn and was ready to head inbound. However we were still at 4500ft! ATC told us time and time again not to go below 4000ft. The helicopter below us was flying all around the area. It appeared to look like a search and rescue mission. We start flying inbound... above 4000ft. Finally after much frustration, Ryan called ATC and got strict with our request to land. Finally, we get approval to descend.

Power completely out to idle, descend at 1000ft+ per min, with our airspeed climbing to the border of the yellow arc on the airspeed indicator. Down to 3000ft. Starting to feel the wind knock us around again, this time the wind is bouncing off the hills, making it challenging. Finally hitting pattern altitude of 1600ft on the downwind leg of Runway 14, the wind is going crazy. Hopefully I can pull this off. I look over to my left and see that directly in front of the runway is a highway with buildings, trees and power lines. This was about to get reeeeeaaalllyyy interesting...

Once abeam the runway number 14, I timidly pull the power back and lower a notch of flaps. I was nervous about descending this low over buildings on a windy day. I fight the controls and turn onto the base leg. Now on to final, my heart is racing. At this point I'm thankful that I have a CFI next to me. "Oh I really hope the turbulence doesn't throw me down" I think to myself. I clear the buildings by about 50ft. Ryan announces that we're clear of all obstacles. Now I just have to quickly descend to make the runway.

Google maps

I bring us down, and with a little help of the instructor, the wheels touch the runway. I took a huge internal sigh of relief. We taxied down a taxiway of rolls hills and parked at the FBO. It's now about 2:30pm and we really don't have time to mess around but after that white knuckle ordeal, I needed a restroom break and a minute to breathe. I get out of the plane, check to make sure we have enough fuel for the trip back, then go inside and do my thing.

It had been estimated that the trip to the Ozarks would only take between 1-1.5 hours, instead with the headwind, it took nearly 2. I only had the plane until 4:00 and Ryan was on evening traffic watch duty, which meant he had to depart our home airport by 4:00. We finally took-off between 2:45 and 3:00pm. The wind was going to be on our side this time, as it should give us a nice tailwind. 

We call up Mizzou Approach again and request Flight Following for our trip back home. Ryan took the controls for a moment so that I could take some pictures of the gorgeous scenery. I feel like I can somewhat enjoy the view now. The iPad is on my lap and the paper chart is filed away. I must've met with his approval on my navigation earlier, because now I get to play with ForeFlight for the first time. No VOR navigation needed, we were just flying back direct. The GPS tells me what heading to fly but I still back it up by having the VORs tuned. Our groundspeed of 75 knots going there, is now a wonderful tailwind and is giving us a groundspeed of 110-120knots. We're cruising now!!

Halfway back home, we have to descend again to avoid the clouds. We're now in contact with St. Louis Approach and cleared to enter Class B airspace. That means we're almost home. My iPad's calculation states that we should arrive at 3:52pm. I can see the Mississippi River and with my eyes, I follow it east to find our home airport. There it is! We begin our descent and cancel Flight Following. I got it from here. 

We listen to the weather and determine that Runway 18 is the most appropriate for landing. Ryan asks me if I want to do a right hand pattern (left is normal). I tell him we're not allowed to and that I have maybe done only one since I started flight training anyways. He says that yes we can do it if we radio our intentions to local traffic, and that it would be good practice. I shrug and say ok. 

I enter downwind from the opposite side of the airport than I'm used to for this runway. I make a right hand turn on to base, then right on to final. This only threw me off slightly. I bring us down, however we have a 20 degree crosswind. This is going to be fun, as the winds are gusting to 17knots. Ryan reminds me to turn the ailerons into the wind, and use opposite rudder to keep us aligned with the runway. I feel like I'm doing good, then as we go to touch down, the airplane balloons. With Ryan's hands on the controls, he helps me out. It's 3:54. Wow, the iPad pretty much nailed it!

I taxi us to the hanger and Ryan rushes out. He's off for traffic watch. I calculate the time the airplane had been flown to find that I rung in 3.2 hours of cross country time today. Yay!

That was an amazing trip. I feel like I learned a lot, challenged myself, and had a fun time while doing it. In less than a week from now, I'll be doing yet another cross country!


Flight Log to Date:
Hours flown: 146.9

More Maneuvers

September 9, 2012

Today was a special day... my birthday! What better way to celebrate than by flying?

I met with my CFI for the day, Ryan. The agenda involved learning a new commercial flight maneuver and practicing the ones I learned the previous lesson. After a soft field takeoff, we go out to the practice area and set up. First up, 50 degree steep turns. I'm still too timid to bank the plane that much when I'm only used to 20 degree for my instrument training. Oh well, here we go! I turn the yoke to the left and watch the horizon move sideways. "Keep turning," Ryan says. I read the instruments far too much (again, blaming instrument training). He decides that I just need to go back to my roots and "look outside the plane." I start a new turn and Ryan covers up the attitude indicator. Crap. I roll into a 50 degree turn and Ryan says to just hold it there, keeping my eyes on how the horizon looks at this attitude. I roll into a turn in the other direction. Turns out he was right, I did much better by just looking outside.

Now Ryan tells me to look down and close my eyes. He says to fly the airplane straight and level just based on my senses without sight. Alright, no big deal... I've done this before. Then he throws in a curve ball, "now turn to your left." "What?!?!" I say. I do as I'm told... this is much harder. I hear the pitch of the engine changing and based off the tone, I correct my pitch attitude of the plane (climb/descend). Now I'm asked to turn to the right. This one was much more interesting. I hear the engine's tone change again, I know that I'm gaining speed, which means I'm descending. I try to pull up, but it feels as though someone (Ryan) is pushing the yoke down. I almost asked if he was messing with me. I don't want to pull up too much because I don't want to stall the plane. Ryan tells me to open my eyes and recover. I was in a fairly steep left turning descent, and I was the only one to blame for it. Wow! Gotta love spatial disorientation...

Next up was review of Chandelles. First time around I had the concept right, but didn't get the airspeed slow enough. Lets try again... getting better. Now one in the other direction... not bad. After a couple more we were both satisfied.

Now we climb up to 4000ft and try my hand at a new maneuver, Steep Spirals.

airplanegroundschools.com

The goal is to complete three 360 degree turns around a point on the ground, and finish at least 1000ft AGL (above ground level) all while having your power at idle... gliding. Here we go! I pull the power out, turn carb heat on, drop my airspeed to 65 knots (best glide speed), and start my turn around the point. This is fun! After each complete 360 degree turn, we rev the engine just to keep it warm, then pull it back out to idle. I finish all three turns with over 1500ft to spare. Nice!

The end of the Steep Spirals maneuver altitude set us up almost perfectly to jump right into Eights on Pylons. I need to be at 700ft AGL for this, so we descend just a bit more, then pick our two points. I fly in between the points, then make a turn to the left and circle the first point. Now onto the second point... I circle it, then move back to the first point. If you were standing on the ground looking up, it'd appear that I was flying a figure 8.

We feel that was enough practice for the day, so I fly us back to the airport. The only thing left is to try and perform a better Power off 180. I get us on downwind, this time closer to the runway. Once abeam the runway number, I pull the power to idle and make my initial turn in. This time I wasn't short of making the runway, I was actually a bit too high. But no problem, I'll just glide the plane in ground effect until it's ready to touch down. After a nice landing, we look at the time and see that we still have a half hour before having to turn the plane in. Lets go again!

This time, we got stuck behind another plane in the pattern and couldn't do the Power Off 180, so a normal landing it was... sort-of. Ryan asked me to gently touch down with the main wheels, but keep the nose wheel off the ground (like a soft field landing) and to see how long I could do a wheely down the runway. I made it about half way, haha. 

We takeoff one last time with a short field takeoff, and this time around I was clear to do the maneuver. Power to idle, carb heat on, airspeed to 65kts, turn onto base, drop flaps, turn onto final, stay at 65, drop remaining flaps, and keep gliding. Still to high, but I just glide it in like the first time. Not as good, but good enough.

We taxi back to the hanger and call it a day. 

Next on the schedule is some cross country time building. I need 50 hours for Commercial and I only have 22 hours. Time to say hi to some new airports!

Hurricane Isaac

September 1, 2012

Today I logged a first. I flew through a hurricane. Hurricane Isaac. Well to be honest it was the remnants and now a tropical depression, but a hurricane sounds cooler so that's what I'm sticking with.

Isaac at time of flight. 

I arrived to the airport at 2pm, but thanks to the weather, we didn't start flying until 3pm. After speaking with Clearance Delivery, we departed VFR then picked up our IFR flight plan once airborne. It didn't take long until we were flying in light rain and clouds. The controller vectored us towards Spirit Airport. After a successful ILS approach, we flew back north to set up for a VOR approach at Smartt. My only mistake (which was not really a mistake because I still performed it correctly per the approach plate) was that I could've dropped down to a lower altitude near the end. This would've allowed me to be low enough to safely make a landing, however I was essentially on Final but still at 1,160ft which was too high to land. We went missed, circled back around, then made our landing.

After going back inside, Mark asked how I felt about the lesson. I was all smiles because I had just realized that for majority of the flight, I was able to manage 98% of the radio calls, handle the airplane, and fly the approaches almost effortlessly, all while having a solid conversation with Mark, my CFII. It felt great. The flight was also breathtaking. I love when I can experience IMC (instrument meteorological conditions).

Commercial Maneuvers!

August 27, 2012

Well, as a newly married young lady, I'm happy to say that I finally got back in the air today after taking nearly a month off. I wanted it to be extra fun, so what better way than to go and try my hand at some commercial flight maneuvers for the first time.

I will need to learn (click each to learn more):

• Chandelles
• Lazy Eights
• Eights on Pylons
• 50-60 degree steep turns
• Steep Spirals
• Power-off 180s

I'm so excited to tell you about everything that I don't even know where to start... "That good, huh?" you ask. "YES." 

After a departure to the north, I start getting a feel for the airplane again. It's been so long! My CFI for the day recommends that I do a power-off stall and some normal steep turns to prepare me for the commercial maneuvers that will be similar in concept. First up was the stalls. Ugh, I hate stalls. Power back, carb heat on, drop flaps, slow down, drop rest of flaps, then pull the power completely to idle. I pull back on the yoke to force the nose of the plane up, now I just watch my airspeed die... the stall warning goes off, then it stalls. I recover nicely. My CFI then asks me if I have ever done or seen a stall without dropping any flaps. I wasn't sure, so he volunteered to show me. It was a drastic difference. He managed to keep it in a stalled state for a period of time without the nose sinking to one side or the other. It was fascinating to watch. We then moved onto steep turns. Keep in mind that I've been an instrument student for a year, meaning that my turns are kept quite shallow. I roll left into my first steep turn. I quickly hear, "Steeper, steeper! Keep going. More." The 20 degrees that I was at felt steep. My CFI took the controls and rolled it to the 45 degrees he was looking for. "Holy crap!" I say. He laughed and said he could tell I'd been an instrument student for a while, being that I was so timid. After a couple more tries, I do much better.

Now on to the real stuff. Number one on the list is Chandelles. 

Websters Online Dictionary

At first look, it doesn't look like much. But actually doing it is a bit trickier than expected. My CFI demonstrates first, then I go. I start by adding full power and rolling into a 30 degree turn to one side, I go left. Then smoothly pitch up while maintaining the constant turn. The goal is have the airplane at just above stall speed by the half way point of the 180 degree turn. I hold that maximum pitch angle throughout the second half of the turn, near stall speed. I finish by rolling out with wings level. Well that was interesting. Now I do the maneuver to the right side. Not to bad for my first time.

Next up, the hardest maneuver... Lazy Eights. Why are we jumping into this one? Two reasons. One- It's very similar to the Chandelle; Two- The clouds were too low for us to do some of the other maneuvers.

http://airplanegroundschools.com/Performance-Maneuvers/

"A lazy eight consists of two 180° turns, in opposite directions, while making a climb and a descent in a symmetrical pattern during each of the turns. At no time throughout the lazy eight is the airplane flown straight and level; instead, it is rolled directly from one bank to the other with the wings level only at the moment the turn is reversed at the completion of each 180° change in heading." - airplanegroundschools.com

My CFI shows me (with perfection), then I attempt it. I make my turns, climbs, descents and more turns. I don't have it down perfectly but I'm really happy with my performance. 

We move on to another maneuver, the Eights on Pylons. 

Flight Training blog

These are basically an advanced version of Turns Around a Point. It requires you to to know (in my case to learn) Pivotal Altitude (PA). It equals ground speed in knots squared divided by 11.35. If groundspeed is 100 knots, PA is 881 feet above ground level (agl). My CFI didn't need to show me this, so I jump right in. We determined that I needed to fly at 1200ft MSL (800 AGL). Instead of going from one point, to the next (like a sideways number 8), we focus on just getting it right with one pylon. After a few times around, I'm getting the hang of it. Now onto the other pylon with turns in the opposite direction. Cool! My CFI says it was my best maneuver so far.

As our lesson is coming to an end, we fly back and enter the pattern. I was just hoping I could make a decent landing after not flying for a month, but instead my CFI decided that I would perform my first Power-off 180*, a type of accuracy landing. Usually in the traffic pattern, you decrease your power and turn onto legs called Downwind, Base and Final. For this maneuver, you completely pull the power out to idle on Downwind abeam the runway number and glide your way straight to the runway.

NashvilleCFI

I pull the power and make my turn to the runway. I'm pretty far out so I'm not sure I can glide my way in or not. If this were a real engine failure, I'd be a bit concerned. I'm now on short final and low, very low. My CFI shows me a trick... adding 10* of flaps. That first 10* adds more lift than drag, so once the flaps were down, I watched the airplane rise. Hmmm now I think I have a shot at making the runway. I keep reaching for the throttle but have to remind myself that I "don't have any power." Oh man, I really don't think I'm gonna make it... nope, I won't... period. I'm given the "ok" to add just a touch of power because it's just a training exercise after-all. The landing was smooth.

Today's lesson was the most fun that I've had in a long time. It makes me want to finally finish Instrument so that every lesson can be this good. So until next time, I'm off to study my instrument books...

It's Been Awhile

August 3, 2012

It's been three weeks since my last lesson, and two weeks since I last flew. I must say, I was surprisingly a little nervous about going back up. Was I going to remember how to do approaches, how to talk to ATC, was I going to totally botch the landing? I was about to find out...

The winds were from the East, but it looks like everyone is still using the North runway. Time for some crosswind takeoff practice. Mark is in the seat next to me, there to help me out. After all preflight inspections, I tune the radio to all the frequencies we'll need and prepare for takeoff. The incoming traffic has by now landed, so I roll out onto the runway and apply full power. The wind is trying to play games with me, but I fight through it and safely make it off the ground.

Mark takes the controls while I put on the dreaded foggles. I take the controls again and keep us flying west. It's time to listen to Spirit Airport's weather, then call up STL Approach and give our intentions. It appears that Spirit is using their East runways, and since we are going to practice an ILS approach, I tell the controller that we want Runway 8R. He has us continue flying west for quite a while and at one point Mark told me to look up because the Washington Airport was just ahead of us. Wow, we really are way out there. The controller finally turns us onto the inbound course and not long after he clears us for the approach. I tell the Spirit tower that I'm inbound while following the course that my primary NAVAID says. Looking great! As my DME indicates that we're getting close to the runway, I start wondering when I can descend. I keep forgetting that when the needle starts to move down, I can start bringing the plane down. Thanks Mark for reminding me. Now we're looking really good, all needles are centered. I descend to the missed approach point, look up and smile.

We go missed and begin our climb. The tower tells us to contact Approach. We tell approach that we want to do the VOR-A at Creve Coeur Airport. He vectors us around to the inbound course while I'm scrambling to set up the new frequencies. Spirit and Creve Couer airports are less than 8 miles from each other so it didn't give us much time to prepare. Mark takes over the radio a couple times so that I can get organized. The VOR is now set and we can follow it inbound. Within minutes we were looking straight at the runway. Not bad at all!

After going missed, we turn northeast and climb to 1500ft. No need for a controller so we tell him goodbye and fly the remainder under VFR. At the last 5-10 miles, I get to take off my foggles. Ahhh, such a relief... today I needed the joy of flying with sight. This time, the airport is all ours so I go for the East runway. I'm feeling a bit confident since I saw that I could still handle instrument flying after being away from it for weeks. The East runway is the most hated runway that we have because of its short length with the added challenge of having power lines at the approach end. This should be interesting. I focus, and focus hard. I'm not in the mood to have a bad landing today. Power back, drops flaps, turn... drop flaps, push nose down, adjust power, turn... on final approach I drop the rest of the flaps and adjust power. I don't feel high and I'm not so low that I'll run into the power lines. I start smiling... I've got this. Just feet off the ground, I flare, hold it off, keep waiting... and touch down. Smooth. That has to be one of the best feelings for a pilot; a good landing.

Commercial!

July 11, 2012

UPDATE: I decided to discontinue Part 141 and switched over to the ever popular Part 61. The requirements are about the same, but Part 61 will be less stressful and I will finish sooner because of the amount of hours I already have. I would have needed an additional 120 hours for Part 141 Commercial, but Part 61 just requires 250 total hours from your first lesson ever to the end of Commercial. I'm closer than 120 hours to that big 250, so it only makes sense to finish up under Part 61. Yay!

Today I signed up for something that I never thought in a million years I would do. Since I'm so close to finishing my instrument training, I figured I would get a head start on my commercial training. Having a commercial certificate is the key to flying professionally. I'm so excited!

So what type of training does this involve? Well I've chosen to do it under Part 141, instead of the typical Part 61 training. This means that I follow a syllabus created by the FAA and I'm required to take stage checks along the way to test my knowledge and abilities.

Here's what is required:

Appendix D to Part 141 — Commercial Pilot Certification Course

1. Applicability. This appendix prescribes the minimum curriculum for a commercial pilot certification course required under this part, for the following ratings:

(a) Airplane single-engine.

2. Eligibility for enrollment. A person must hold the following prior to enrolling in the flight portion of the commercial pilot certification course:

(a) At least a private pilot certificate; and

(b) If the course is for a rating in an airplane, then the person must:

(1) Hold an instrument rating in the aircraft that is appropriate to the aircraft category rating for which the course applies; or

(2) Be concurrently enrolled in an instrument rating course that is appropriate to the aircraft category rating for which the course applies, and pass the required instrument rating practical test prior to completing the commercial pilot certification course. *(this is what I'm doing)*

3. Aeronautical knowledge training. (a) Each approved course must include at least the following ground training on the aeronautical knowledge areas listed in paragraph (b) of this section, appropriate to the aircraft category and class rating for which the course applies:

(1) 35 hours of training if the course is for an airplane category rating 

4. Flight training. (a) Each approved course must include at least the following flight training, as provided in this section and section No. 5 of this appendix, on the approved areas of operation listed in paragraph (d) of this section that are appropriate to the aircraft category and class rating for which the course applies:

(1) 120 hours of training if the course is for an airplane.

(1) For an airplane single-engine course: 55 hours of flight training from a certificated flight instructor on the approved areas of operation listed in paragraph (d)(1) of this section that includes at least—

(i) Ten hours of instrument training using a view-limiting device including attitude instrument flying, partial panel skills, recovery from unusual flight attitudes, and intercepting and tracking navigational systems. Five hours of the 10 hours required on instrument training must be in a single engine airplane; *(already completed from instrument training)*

(ii) Ten hours of training in an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller, or is turbine-powered;

(iii) One 2-hour cross country flight in daytime conditions in a single engine airplane that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure;

(iv) One 2-hour cross country flight in nighttime conditions in a single engine airplane that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and

(v) 3 hours in a single-engine airplane in preparation for the practical test within 60 days preceding the date of the test.

5. Solo training. Each approved course must include at least the following solo flight training:

(a) For an airplane single engine course. Ten hours of solo flight time in a single engine airplane, or 10 hours of flight time while performing the duties of pilot in command in a single engine airplane with an authorized instructor on board. The training must consist of the approved areas of operation under paragraph (d)(1) of section 4 of this appendix, and include—

(2) One cross-country flight, if the training is being performed in a State other than Hawaii, with landings at a minimum of three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles; and

(3) 5 hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight with a traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower.

6. Stage checks and end-of-course tests. (a) Each student enrolled in a commercial pilot course must satisfactorily accomplish the stage checks and end-of-course tests, in accordance with the school's approved training course, consisting of the approved areas of operation listed in paragraph (d) of section No. 4 of this appendix that are appropriate to aircraft category and class rating for which the course applies.

Confusing? Yes. A lot of work? Yes. But all the best things in life come from hard work and dedication. Flying to me is fun, challenging, and rewarding. I completely encourage each and every person to go out there and chase your dream. It can be done.

~Sara