I was listening to two commercial pilots today practicing for their CFI. I'm amazed how badly they were doing (for instance, instead of spin they were talking about 'wing overs'... FYI: you are going to scare the shit out of a student pilot with 5 hours with talk like that).
And their conversation made me think about the experience I've gained and how much I've learned since I got my CFI. I look at the other two guys as inexperienced, but I realize that I'm inexperienced too compared to a lot of other pilots...
The old joke of you start with a full bag of luck and trade it for experience to put in an empty bag. Hopefully you fill the bag of experience before your bag of luck runs out. I've had some close calls (nothing too close luckily thus far) and it's amazing what I've learned.
3/29/08
Newbie Controller
Newbie controller on the airwaves at tower position today... Talk about a cluster fuck and I am glad no one got hurt (that I know of). Unfortunately, my student isn't the greatest on the radios and is an ESL student, and gets confused when someone starts yelling at him...
Best exchange of the day:
ATC: Cessna 49439, turn base.
Student: Say again?
ATC: Cessna 49439, TURN BASE!!!
*Student looks at me with deer in headlights look*
Me: Cessna 49439 is on final, unable turn base.
Another quality exchange:
ATC: Dakota 8183X, go missed approach [for runway 18]
8183X: Dakota 8183X going missed.
ATC: Cessna 49439, do you have the Dakota in sight? [we are on final for 14]
Student: Looking for traffic.
*30 seconds later and we are on short final*
ATC: Cessna 49439, do you have the Dakota traffic in sight?
Student: Negative.
ATC: It's right off your right wingtip!
*I know the Dakota isn't anywhere near where we are*
Student: Negative traffic
*student begins to take evasive action on short final and I tell him to fly the aircraft before we become a smoking hole*
8183X: We have the two cessnas in sight
Later on, I talked to the Dakota pilot and she said she was 500ft away from the Cessna behind us in the pattern. I bet the other Cessna had no clue they were about to die if the Dakota didn't maneuver out of their way. GO ATC!!!
I hate this controller, and on a busy day like today he screws up and begins yelling at the pilots. Then the flight training becomes totally unproductive with students b/c the student is getting yelled at for not complying with non-nonsensical demands and they shut down.
Best exchange of the day:
ATC: Cessna 49439, turn base.
Student: Say again?
ATC: Cessna 49439, TURN BASE!!!
*Student looks at me with deer in headlights look*
Me: Cessna 49439 is on final, unable turn base.
Another quality exchange:
ATC: Dakota 8183X, go missed approach [for runway 18]
8183X: Dakota 8183X going missed.
ATC: Cessna 49439, do you have the Dakota in sight? [we are on final for 14]
Student: Looking for traffic.
*30 seconds later and we are on short final*
ATC: Cessna 49439, do you have the Dakota traffic in sight?
Student: Negative.
ATC: It's right off your right wingtip!
*I know the Dakota isn't anywhere near where we are*
Student: Negative traffic
*student begins to take evasive action on short final and I tell him to fly the aircraft before we become a smoking hole*
8183X: We have the two cessnas in sight
Later on, I talked to the Dakota pilot and she said she was 500ft away from the Cessna behind us in the pattern. I bet the other Cessna had no clue they were about to die if the Dakota didn't maneuver out of their way. GO ATC!!!
I hate this controller, and on a busy day like today he screws up and begins yelling at the pilots. Then the flight training becomes totally unproductive with students b/c the student is getting yelled at for not complying with non-nonsensical demands and they shut down.
3/27/08
Flying - the ultimate rush
One reason I love flying is the absolute feeling power you get.
Takeoff has to be one of the greatest rushes known to man (short of illegal drugs). Roll onto the runway, line up and look down the runway. It's a piece of concrete (or even grass, mud, gravel, or who knows what) and at the end there is a fence. Behind the fence there are trees. You are going to go OVER the trees!!!
Bring the engine up and triple check the instruments that they are all in the normal range. Finally, you let go of the brakes and begin to roll. Airspeed indicator alive! Roll out those ailerons, keep it on centerline, the centerline stripes are now starting to come fast and furious, V1, V2, ROTATE! Goodbye fair world! So long suckas!
And you are now a bird, and your are only limited by your skill and fuel in the tanks :)
Takeoff has to be one of the greatest rushes known to man (short of illegal drugs). Roll onto the runway, line up and look down the runway. It's a piece of concrete (or even grass, mud, gravel, or who knows what) and at the end there is a fence. Behind the fence there are trees. You are going to go OVER the trees!!!
Bring the engine up and triple check the instruments that they are all in the normal range. Finally, you let go of the brakes and begin to roll. Airspeed indicator alive! Roll out those ailerons, keep it on centerline, the centerline stripes are now starting to come fast and furious, V1, V2, ROTATE! Goodbye fair world! So long suckas!
And you are now a bird, and your are only limited by your skill and fuel in the tanks :)
3/26/08
Wensdays
Student first solo... I hate student first solo's. They never go as planned and you truly don't know WTF is going to happen.
Then a student failed a stage check. And he had his check ride scheduled for Friday. And he is leaving a week from Friday back to Alaska. I hate my life...
Went home for lunch, and got a short nap.
Then I taught PPL groundschool. This is somewhat depressing, but somewhat uplifting. The students study a little, but they really don't know the material. I wish I could scream "JUST LEARN THE MATERIAL BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MEMORIZE IT ANYWAY".
4 hours billed, at work from 8 AM - 11AM and 2PM - 9:30PM. Welcome to the CFI world, get paid for half the time you are at work...
Then a student failed a stage check. And he had his check ride scheduled for Friday. And he is leaving a week from Friday back to Alaska. I hate my life...
Went home for lunch, and got a short nap.
Then I taught PPL groundschool. This is somewhat depressing, but somewhat uplifting. The students study a little, but they really don't know the material. I wish I could scream "JUST LEARN THE MATERIAL BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MEMORIZE IT ANYWAY".
4 hours billed, at work from 8 AM - 11AM and 2PM - 9:30PM. Welcome to the CFI world, get paid for half the time you are at work...
NOS vs. Jepp
Forewarning, if you don't know what NOS is, you don't get a say in the debate. NOS is now NACO charts.
When I see stuff like this: http://joe.emenaker.com/Aviation/JeppVsNACO.html, I cringe.
My first rebuttal would be that Jepp charts don't pay to flight test the approaches, but neither does NACO. The FAA flight tests the approaches to make sure the layout and navaids still work. My second rebuttal to the cost is that the government can't be sued for bad charts but Jepp can. Good luck with a multi-billion dollar suit when an airliner augers in and it could be your fault.
And truthfully, I know that Rand McNally cribs off maps published by city/state/national governments. You too can get one by writing your local state congressman (or stopping by the local DOT). Jepp isn't the only company profiting by duplicating a government publication.
The cost issue isn't all that bad. First, Jepps cost about twice what NACO charts cost. In my case (WI/IL), it costs me $145 for Jepps and $50 for NACO for a year. On the other hand, my Jepps show up at my door in advance and I don't need any planning to keep up to date charts in my flight bag. And, if you count the 28 day updates for Jepps, I get twice the chart updates for about twice the price!!! Why take the chance you missed an MDA change?
The chart holders are a one time cost. Plus, Executive sized 3 ring binders work well for Jepp charts $3.50 at staples.
Lately the Jepp charts have been publishing full updates every 56 days. I love this because I can throw my old charts out and not worry about it. It's not as bad as it used to be.
Let me now get into the artistic gripes.
Gripe 1: Do I give a rats ass about military airports? Also, brown blends in pretty well to the various background stuff (especially at night in bad lighting). I prefer my airports in high contrast to the background.
Green vs blue, is easily distinguished under red and white lighting. Plus, it highlights those airports and makes them easier to pick out.
Also, if life is going to hell in a hand basket, the last thing you are going to be doing is looking at the chart. It's called radar vector to divert please.
Gripe 2: I like having the huge compass rose's. It makes it much easier when you need to go 'off roading' and not follow the airways to your destination.
I won't put it delicately, OMFG, you want to NOT have terrain altitudes depicted on your chart!?!?!? DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH? GPS has gone this way and with good reason. Turning the wrong way in IMC in mountainous terrain has a way of punishing failure in ways that a IFR checkride doesn't.
Gripe 3: Jepp labels backcourses in big bold letters. Hell, they even have a SEPARATE symbol for backcourse. Congrats?
The update problem has been resolved. And if you use NOS charts that aren't in the book and are loose leaf, it's just as bad as Jepp.
But the other thing with Jepp is that it's not designed for someone tooling out in the practice area. It's for people who go places, and it is designed for that. The important information is bolded over the non-essential info. Information not needed when doing the approach is stashed away on another page. They put taxi diagrams for ALL IFR airports on a separate page, instead of tiny sizing it and putting it at the bottom where it clutters up the approach page.
At large airports, they are now doing color coded red circles showing runway incursion areas. When going to airports with temporary approaches, it's a different color of background paper.
My biggest gripe is that Jepp charts are expensive, but you get a superb product for the extra cost. And Jepp is starting to come around a little to it's smaller customers complaints.
When I see stuff like this: http://joe.emenaker.com/Aviation/JeppVsNACO.html, I cringe.
My first rebuttal would be that Jepp charts don't pay to flight test the approaches, but neither does NACO. The FAA flight tests the approaches to make sure the layout and navaids still work. My second rebuttal to the cost is that the government can't be sued for bad charts but Jepp can. Good luck with a multi-billion dollar suit when an airliner augers in and it could be your fault.
And truthfully, I know that Rand McNally cribs off maps published by city/state/national governments. You too can get one by writing your local state congressman (or stopping by the local DOT). Jepp isn't the only company profiting by duplicating a government publication.
The cost issue isn't all that bad. First, Jepps cost about twice what NACO charts cost. In my case (WI/IL), it costs me $145 for Jepps and $50 for NACO for a year. On the other hand, my Jepps show up at my door in advance and I don't need any planning to keep up to date charts in my flight bag. And, if you count the 28 day updates for Jepps, I get twice the chart updates for about twice the price!!! Why take the chance you missed an MDA change?
The chart holders are a one time cost. Plus, Executive sized 3 ring binders work well for Jepp charts $3.50 at staples.
Lately the Jepp charts have been publishing full updates every 56 days. I love this because I can throw my old charts out and not worry about it. It's not as bad as it used to be.
Let me now get into the artistic gripes.
Gripe 1: Do I give a rats ass about military airports? Also, brown blends in pretty well to the various background stuff (especially at night in bad lighting). I prefer my airports in high contrast to the background.
Green vs blue, is easily distinguished under red and white lighting. Plus, it highlights those airports and makes them easier to pick out.
Also, if life is going to hell in a hand basket, the last thing you are going to be doing is looking at the chart. It's called radar vector to divert please.
Gripe 2: I like having the huge compass rose's. It makes it much easier when you need to go 'off roading' and not follow the airways to your destination.
I won't put it delicately, OMFG, you want to NOT have terrain altitudes depicted on your chart!?!?!? DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH? GPS has gone this way and with good reason. Turning the wrong way in IMC in mountainous terrain has a way of punishing failure in ways that a IFR checkride doesn't.
Gripe 3: Jepp labels backcourses in big bold letters. Hell, they even have a SEPARATE symbol for backcourse. Congrats?
The update problem has been resolved. And if you use NOS charts that aren't in the book and are loose leaf, it's just as bad as Jepp.
But the other thing with Jepp is that it's not designed for someone tooling out in the practice area. It's for people who go places, and it is designed for that. The important information is bolded over the non-essential info. Information not needed when doing the approach is stashed away on another page. They put taxi diagrams for ALL IFR airports on a separate page, instead of tiny sizing it and putting it at the bottom where it clutters up the approach page.
At large airports, they are now doing color coded red circles showing runway incursion areas. When going to airports with temporary approaches, it's a different color of background paper.
My biggest gripe is that Jepp charts are expensive, but you get a superb product for the extra cost. And Jepp is starting to come around a little to it's smaller customers complaints.
3/24/08
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