Today was my second instrument lesson of Stage 2. It was all about holding procedures and ILS (Localizer) tracking. Since it was my Dad's birthday, I let him join us.
I won't go into too much detail, so I'll keep it quick. We took off and flew east. Once on the east heading, I called up St. Louis Approach and told them that I wanted to do the ILS Back-course for Runway 11 at Alton. He cleared us for the approach, then handed us off to Alton's tower once we got closer. We followed the Localizer, which is a navigational aid, into runway 11. Mark told me to look out the window for a moment, and sure enough, the runway was right in front of me.
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| Photo of an ILS Approach by Flight Attendant Chronicles. |
Since we didn't need to land, we told ATC that we were going missed. The controller then vectored us (gave us directions) around the Alton airport so that we could follow the ILS Front-course for runway 29. Again, it put us right on track to land if we chose to do so. We went missed again, then told ATC we were done with approaches.
Mark told me to fly west and hold west of the St. Louis VOR. I verified the VOR was operational, then tracked it to the station. Once there, we use the VOR and the DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) to help guide us when to turn. I entered the hold with a teardrop entry, then we did about two laps around the pattern before ending the lesson.
Dad enjoyed watching so much that I decided to take him flying again, but this time it was just us and no instructor. We took off and flew east to follow the Mississippi River to downtown St. Louis. Once we received clearance to enter the airspace, we circled the Arch.
Following the Arch tour, we followed the Missouri River back to the airport. We landing shortly after sunset, which was gorgeous. Dad and I had a wonderful day together. Happy Birthday Dad!
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