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

Flying Missouri

July 8, 2012

Today is going to be a big day... one of the biggest of all my flight training to-date. It was finally time for me to prove to my instructor that I can fly long miles without ever looking outside the windows. This instrument cross country flight needed to be 250NM round trip, with a landing at three different airports and perform three different types of approaches. The total distance planned however was actually 300NM, which I've never even come close to flying that many miles, VFR or IFR. The only thing going through my mind is that I'm totally excited.

I planned out the IFR route last night, so this morning all I needed to do was get a weather briefing. My Dad gets to come along for the trip today, so I pick him up at 8:30am. We arrive at the airport and I preflight the plane. After going back inside, we say hi to my instructor Mark. We wait while he deals with some company business, then he reviews my plans. Looks good! We go into a room and close the door. I call up Flight Service Station to file my flight plans and get an updated weather briefing. Looks like there's some storms out on the west side of Missouri. We should be ok because they don't appear to be moving much. The clouds are between 6000-8000ft. With this information, we decide it's safe to continue.

My instructor, Dad and I get in the plane and prepare for departure. We taxi to the runway and contact St. Louis Clearance Delivery. They locate our IFR flight plan and give us our instructions. We're ready to go. We takeoff and fly direct to the St. Louis VOR. I'm wearing my foggles now, which will be on during the entire 300NM flight. From the St. Louis VOR, I track straight to the Foristell VOR, then onto V44 (Victor44 is the "highway" that we're flying on). Mark informs the controller that we'd like to perform the ILS Runway 30 approach. He vectors us around to set us up and clears us for the approach. I read my approach plate and follow it down. Mark tells me to look up and I instantly smile... the runway is straight ahead.

We land, taxi back, get our new clearance, takeoff, and begin on our course for Kirksville. The controller notifies us that the line of storms is right in our way. Mark tells him that we'll continue to the airport and will keep him updated with the weather situation. We didn't mind running into some rain but did not want the lightning, so we let the controller vector us slightly off course to go around the edge of the storm.

It was somewhere around this point that we started picking up turbulence. I'm still wearing my foggles, so for me it felt worse than it did for my passengers. the plane wants to climb, descend, roll to the right, roll to the left. My heart is racing as I fight to keep the plane straight and level. Eventually it calmed down. I peeked a couple times to look at the rain. It was stunning. 

This is what IFR flying is all about. We reach Kirskville and Mark requests that we practice an DME arc for the VOR-A approach. I've never done one of these before because we don't have any approaches nearby that offer this. This part turns into a lesson as Mark explains to me how to do it. I'm so confused. After completing the arc, we turn inbound for the approach. I fly us down and we taxi to the ramp. It's lunch time.

An airport employee greets us. We wait for him to fill the tanks with 100LL. Just off to our side is this crazy looking yellow airplane. I walk up to it and assume it's some sort of cropduster because I could see sprayers under the wings. Mark confirms my assumption.

The tanks are now full enough, so we walk inside and pay for the fuel. Mark checks out a courtesy car and drives us into town. He lived here for three years and his recommendation was Pagliai's Pizza. After an hour of eating, a post-flight discussion and some random chatter, we head back to the airport. The weather doesn't look so ominous now.

We taxi to the runway and pick up our IFR flight plan. The controller clears us for departure and we takeoff. No need to follow Victor highways this time as there are none close enough. I program the GPS to fly us directly home. We're cruising at 7000' and the temperature at altitude was 55 degrees. A nice change from 90 degrees on the ground. The clouds are scattered, white and puffy and we get to fly right through/ over them. Again, this requires me to peek.

See video on my YouTube page

I find that I can't stop smiling, even if I don't physically show it. This is fantastic. We pop in the clouds, then out, and over, then under. There's nothing quite like the feeling when we see yourself flying at 110kts, heading straight for this giant white thing that will clearly consume your airplane. The sensation leaves you feeling exhilarated and awestruck.

We fly by Mark Twain Lake in which my family has property at. My Dad searched for our lot and snaps plenty of pictures. It's another site that I had to peek at. Stupid foggles, I can't wait to leave these at home in the future. The lake is gorgeous.

Now 20NM from home, Mark tells the controller that we want vectors to set us up for the GPS approach. Once there, I follow it down. Not bad! We enter downwind, I take off the foggles, and land the plane. After 4.2 hours of flight time logged, we go inside, Mark compliments my performance. On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the best, Mark gives me a 2. I'm thrilled. The news gets better when he tells me that I've proven my ability well enough that he's going to waive the next lesson's smaller cross country. Yay!

Now it's time to hit the books and study for my written knowledge exam. Any flight lessons from here on out are simply review. It's almost checkride time.