Today I had an opportunity to do something that I have never done before. Outside of flying with the airlines as a passenger, I've never flown in a smaller multi engine airplane like this one today. It was my school's trainer, a Beechcraft Duchess (BE-76).
 |
| BE-76 |
The first time I looked at the cockpit, I was in awe. So many instruments, so many controls. Curiosity had captured my heart. As a private pilot I can earn my multi engine rating now, however I chose to earn my instrument rating first. Instrument is vital if you plan to be a commercial pilot, which I do.
 |
| BE-76 Cockpit |
I met with two instructors Aaron and Mark. I consider all the instructors at my school as friends. It's sort of a wierd relationship that we have; I'm a student, but co-worker, and a friend. Mark mentioned over the weekend that they were going to build multi engine cross country time, and he invited me to tag along. They decided that they wanted to fly to Peoria, IL. then to Mattoon, IL, stop to eat lunch and then fly home. I was just a passenger along for the ride, so I agreed with the plan. Aaron filed an IFR flight plan from his iPad. Even though it was a gorgeous, clear, sunny day, filing IFR allows for ATC to be an extra set of eyes to watch over and guide you.
I jump in the back seat and buckle in. I've never flown in this airplane before so I was slightly nervous. Aaron fires up the left engine, then the right. The vibrations and the roars of the two engines have got me excited. This will be fun. He taxis out to runway 36 and prepares for takeoff. I now understand why using your checklist in the plane is just as important as using it during your preflight inspections. When you reach high performance, complex aircraft, the checklist is vital. Aaron then states his plan for takeoff. It was interesting that they announce a plan in case of an emergency, which is not something required to say in my single engine plane. Aaron is in charge of flying for now, and Mark handles the radios. Mark calls St. Louis approach to open their IFR flight plan. The controller is a bit busy so he asks if we can take off VFR and pick it up in the air. No problem. The area is clear and we are ready for takeoff. I watch as Aaron increases the power. We start rolling down the runway, then before you know it, we're airborne. I felt like a little kid; all I could do was smile. This is soooo awesome!
Five minutes later, we picked up our IFR plan from ATC. We were then told to fly north at 4000ft. I get out my little note pad and start taking notes about anything from ATC instructions, to personal observations. Fifteen minutes later, we were allowed to climb to our cruising altitude of 7000ft. Flying this high was a first for me. The air was so smooth that you could hardly tell you were flying. We cruised along at roughly 125 knots (about 144 mph). Shortly thereafter, we were asked to contact Springfield as they would help us get to Peoria, IL. At 65 miles into this leg's 109 mile flight, Springfield asks us to descend to 6000ft. Five minutes later, down we go to 5000ft. Aaron makes flying this plane look so effortless. After 45 minutes into our flight, we're told to contact Peoria Approach. Peoria is a Class C (charlie) airport, meaning that it's the second largest type in regards to size and traffic. I've only been into a Class C airport once. At 25 miles out, the controller gives us a set of instructions to get us on course for the ILS approach into runway 31. We started picking up turbulence at 3500ft but Aaron still makes his turns and descents and brings us down nicely. The wheels gently touch down in the center of the runway. I snap pictures like crazy. We continue to roll as they prepare for takeoff. I hear the engines getting louder and feel the vibrations getting bigger. I look outside and we're 50ft off the ground.
The air was smooth again above 4000ft. We turn to a southeast heading that will take us to Mattoon, IL. After 20 minutes of flight, we contact Champagne approach and give our intentions. Sixty miles away from the airport, they switch pilot duties. Mark flies the plane and Aaron manages the radios. As we cruise along at 5000ft, we hear and feel a small thud. "What was that?" we all say. We look around the plane and check all the gauges. Everything appears to be alright so we continue on. The controller then vectors us north of the airport and sets us up for the ILS into runway 29. We descend down to 3000ft and make a series of additional turns. We are cleared for the approach and have the runway in sight. We no longer need ATC services so we cancel the IFR flight plan. Mark lands the plane beautifully and taxis it to a restaurant on the field.
 |
| Restaurant at Coles County Airport (Mattoon, IL) |
After turning off the plane, we climb out. As Aaron walks towards the front of the plane, he sees something hanging underneath the right engine. "Oh, that's got to be what we felt in the air," he says. A panel that protects part of the engine had broke loose. It's not a big deal so we decide that after lunch, we will just take it off and put it in the back storage area.
The restaurant was packed, however we seemed to be the only plane on the ramp. The food was delivered quickly and sure was delicious. I may just have to come back with family. After eating, we had a mechanic come out with a couple tools to remove the piece. We thanked him for his services and got on our way.
We departed the airport at 1:30pm and decided to fly back under regular VFR. At 4,500ft we noticed that it was still pretty bumpy. This was going to be an hour flight back home, so we wanted it to be smooth. Mark climbs us up to 6,500ft and levels out. Much better. We could see the Litchfield airport below us 45 minutes into our flight. It was our cue to start a descent to avoid Lambert Airport's class B airspace. We go down to 4,500ft and sit back as the turbulence knocks us around again. Less than ten minutes later, we can see everything. We see Alton airport, downtown St. Louis, the Mississippi River, and even our home airport. Mark descends down to 2,500ft to avoid the next ring of Class B airspace. Aaron listens to the local weather and makes his initial radio call to let traffic know that we're inbound. Just a few miles out, Mark descends to pattern altitude of 1,200ft. Although this has been a really fun trip, I'm kind of excited to be back home. Mark and Aaron play Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide on who gets to land the plane. Mark wins. He enters the traffic pattern and goes through the pre-landing checklist. He turns downwind, then base, then turns onto final. Again, he touches down like a pro.
Our total time in the air was 3.3 hours. That was some serious fun. I joked around with Mark who is actually my CFII (instrument instructor) that I was going to forget about instrument training and get my multi engine rating. That was waaaaay too cool. But in all reality, I'll wait a while until I need it. So for now, I'll tag along on other flights and keep learning through observation. No matter what, I'm still in the air and I'm still smiling :)
 |
| Me during the cruise |
No comments:
Post a Comment