Commercial Success!

I passed my commercial glider pilot checkride today.

This was my goal at the beginning of the season and here I am with it all achieved!  What a great feeling - and what a weight off of my chest.

I let myself get all wound up for the ride and as my instructor said, "bad rehearsal, great performance!"  It all started with a less than stellar performance a few days prior to the checkride.  I simply performed poorly - much more poorly than I usually do, starting with the takeoff and tow to altitude.  Granted, it was quite gusty and we were getting pulled around quite a bit but still, it was not a great start.

As we started in our base leg, the wind had really picked up and I realized we were dropping like a stone.  I abandoned the base and aimed for the runway, accelerating to get closer before we lost too much altitude. The wind gradient made for moderate turbulence on final with loss of airspeed, gain of airspeed, crosswind, you name it.  I managed to get us down in one piece and without damaging the glider, but my confidence was shaken.  It was too rough to fly after that, so we rescheduled for the next day.

After a rather sleepless night, the next day's tasks went fairly well with one major issue - being able to rollout to stop inside a designated 100 foot box.  The solution was relatively minor, I needed to let the glider get a little bit lower on final.  I was simply carrying too much energy into the landing in the form of altitude.  My instructor reluctantly signed me off and I stuck around to do some touch and goes with some friends from the field - including Bryan, who was also going for his commercial checkride the same day.  We flew until we could nail the spot consistently.

When the big day came, Bryan went first and, as I was certain he would, nailed the ride and passed easily.  Then it was my turn.  First we did about 1.5 hours of oral question and answer, followed by 3 flights.  The examiner, Jim Rizzo, was really, really, good about getting me to relax and being very conversational.  We went over the weight and balance I prepared, a cross country I built in advance, the weather and so on.  By the time we were ready to fly, I felt pretty good.

The flights went pretty uneventfully.  I made several lame attempts to thermal and after the second landing, I caught my foot on the side of the glider and fell out onto the grass.  I asked if that amounted to points deducted and he laughed.

We did one really cool combination of maneuvers.  He asked for a steep turn in one direction, and after I went around once, he asked me to roll into a steep turn the other direction, then at the completion of that turn, to pull up into a turning stall.  That was pretty neat.  I'd always practiced them as separate maneuvers without linking them, but this was both more challenging and more interesting.

I did well at keeping my airspeeds right, I think I did average at coordinated flight, and after our third landing, we went inside and he filled out my temporary flight certificate for commercial glider pilot.

I worked really hard for this.  I wasn't afraid I would fail because I didn't know how to do the things I was supposed to do.  Rather, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to demonstrate them to the examiner.  In the end, I was able to do that and I've got another level of certification for my continuing journey in soaring.

I owe thanks to many people for getting me this far, particularly my instructor, Ron Ogden.  He takes all kinds of personal time to come out and train us for flight and gets nothing back for it.  Thanks, Ron!

Into the breach

Well, it's been a whirlwind since I passed my commercial written exam.

I contacted the examiner and he told me he has an opening next Sunday.  Like....6 days from now.  Gulp.

I took it.  But I also synched up with Bryan Reigal, one of my fellow prospective commercial pilots.  We're both scheduled for Sunday with the examiner and we're both pretty nervous about it.  Like, that sort of butterfly in your stomach-a little nauseous feeling you have when you're about to do something like bungee jump.

But it's now or never.  There's no question I know how to fly, I'm already a pilot.  I've knocked the rust off of my skills by flying as much as I can lately and I've been practicing to the Practical Test Standards that are published by the FAA.  I'll go flying tomorrow afternoon with my instructor and we'll practice for the test.

I *know* I can do it.  The real question is whether I manage to demonstrate that on the day of the test.  We'll see.  Until then, I am on pins and needles studying, prepping, and worrying.

Oh yeah, the weather Sunday is calling for a South wind of about 9 knots, which can cause all kinds of issues like extended takeoff roll, less effective ailerons as you take off with a tail wind and big sink on final approach.  In my note to the examiner I mentioned that if it was a strong wind I might need to reschedule.

More likely, what will happen is it will be *kind* of strong, making the decision gut-wrenching.

I'll post on my progress with my instructor later this week.

Phew! That was crummy.

Well, the good news is that I passed my commercial glider pilot written exam!  That's one major paperwork detail that had to be taken care of before I could progress to setting a date for my flight exam.

To get your commercial glider pilot's license, you have to pass two tests.  One is a written knowledge test that is proctored by an FAA authorized testing facility.  They're dead serious about it, too.  I've seen less security at an airport checkpoint than at the test facility.  The 100 question test has about 90 questions that don't seem to have much to do with flying a glider in a commercial setting safely but nevertheless it is required.  So, I studied for it and now I have passed it.

Next up is to set a date for my commercial flight check.  You have to have an oral question and answer session with a designated examiner from the FAA and then take several flights with him/her to get their endorsement for your commercial rating.  That's the test that makes the most sense to me.  I'd rather go through an exhaustive Q&A in person than a computerized test that seems designed to trip me up than test my knowledge.

My focus now is to fly with Ron Ogden, my instructor, to brush up on my flight maneuvers, emergency procedures, etc. and get ready for that in-person test with the examiner.

I've been using the Practical Test Standard guide from the FAA lately and trying to fly all my maneuvers in accordance with that guide.  Earlier this week I flew at minimum controllable speed for about 30 minutes in ridge lift, practicing my turns to the left and right without stalling.  I've practiced a few stalls, done some steep turns, and I've also been letting my son sit in the front of the glider while flying it from the back.  It's actually kind of fun to fly from back there.  Definitely more room in the back.

Amazingly, now I'm almost (almost) looking forward to the check ride.  I got some practice flying a passenger last week when one of our club members had a relative visiting and he asked me if I'd take her for a ride as he was busy doing his flying duty.  I had a chance to preview my technique giving a ride to a stranger and I had a good time doing it!

I'll continue studying for the oral test but there's no reason except for the examiner's schedule, that I can't get my rating by the end of July as long as I demonstrate that I know what I'm doing.

Pulling the trigger

I've set a date to take my commercial pilot written exam.  It's two days from now.

I'm really nervous about it because although I've been studying a lot for it, I keep getting high 70's on my practice exams.  It's not that I don't know the material, I do.  It's just that they way they phrase the questions makes me get them wrong -even when I know the right answer.

Anyhow, I'm not improving on my scores so I'm going to resign myself to getting a crummy score and get it over with.  The only thing I DON'T want to happen is to get less than a 70 on it.  The test costs $150 to take and I'd have to deal with the examiner to explain why I failed it.

Funny thing is that I'm pretty good at the oral questions.  I sat down with my flight instructor and he was satisfied that I knew the basic information necessary to pass the oral exam with the designated examiner.  It's different when they ask you the questions because you can ask for clarification or demonstrate that you know the answer by explaining the details around the question.  Even if you get it wrong, it's not usually totally wrong.

I could also rail on about how the questions on the written exam ought to be aimed at making sure the applicant knows how to keep the airplane right side up rather than a lot of stuff you'll never need to know that is competing with space in your head for the stuff you actually need to know.

Okay, one example I'll give you is there are several questions about how to fly a course with an NDB (Non-directional beacon) instrument.  The last time I saw an NDB was when I took instrument training for my private pilot license.  Why in the world I would need to know what heading to turn to to intercept the NDB at a 30 degree angle give my magnetic heading is beyond me.  You don't even fly that way.  First, you match your magnetic heading to the NDB heading, then you make the 30 degree course correction.  Done.  Not to mention there is something called VOR and GPS.

To be fair, you might find yourself in a motorglider trying to fly a course.  Okay, but how about a VOR question, then?  Even the VOR questions use an RMI (Radio Magnetic Indicator) as the display instrument.  I've never actually seen an RMI although I suppose they're out there somewhere.  It just doesn't add up.

But it doesn't matter.  I have to take and pass the written to get my commercial license and that is the end of that.  So, Friday I'll find out if I passed or should have taken longer to study for it.

Kevin flies

My youngest son has become interested in glider flying.  He's just joined our junior program and has taken instruction in 8 or so flights so far.

Kevin's first flight lesson

I haven't either encouraged or discouraged him to fly.  Becoming a pilot is a lengthy and challenging process.  It requires persistence and will to make it from student pilot to licensed private pilot.  You have to not only learn how to fly, you have to pass your written test and a flight test with a designated examiner.  In short, to be a pilot, you really need to WANT to be a pilot.

No amount of encouragement will make someone who doesn't want to become a pilot suddenly love it.  For that reason, while I've encouraged him to fly with me from time to time, I haven't done anything beyond explain how the program works.  I did have him accompany me to our winter ground school this year but that was more to expose him to the book work that is involved and to let him see how much you have to know to become a pilot.

Last year when I flew with him, he liked it but would get dizzy when we circled in a thermal.  This year, he doesn't have nearly the problem with it he used to.  I think he was a bit frightened during the flights and that made him feel poorly because now that he's the one doing the flying, he has gained a lot more confidence.  When you learn how it is done, you become familiar with it and usually less afraid.

Yesterday he begged me to go to Harris Hill to get some instruction.  I obliged and Tim Welles flew three flights instructing him on the basics.  Everything seems to be going well and he's learning how to fly behind the tow plane, how to set up for the landing and they even got some thermalling in.  When he landed, he was pretty excited about managing to go higher than the tow plane took them.

I'm glad he understands my passion for flight and I'm hoping he'll stick with it and see his training through to his private pilot glider license.  That would make us a three generation aviation family!

Hop, hop, and away!

It's happened twice, now. On takeoff, just before I reach liftoff speed, I horse the airplane into the air and get a bounce, bounce, and airborne.

I know why, of course. The first time, I was rather pleased with my crosswind correction during takeoff roll but wanted to get airborne so I could establish a good crab angle and keep tracking straight. So I took off before I had all of the speed I needed. Bounce, bounce, liftoff.

The second time, there was even less excuse. NO wind but I attempted to liftoff about 5 knots too soon. Bounce, bounce and away.

It is now on my official list of stupid stuff I need to improve on.

Also, after great progress Friday, my thermaling flat out sucked on Sunday. I kept slipping as I circled. Despite paying close attention to it the whole time, I just couldn't coordinate it to my satisfaction. It doesn't help that glider 8 flies "funny" since they repaired it but that's no excuse.

Sigh. More work before I feel confident enough for a check ride.

Woo-hoo!

"We'll be up there tomorrow and we'll have a tow plane.  You around?  It's supposed to be good flying.

Indeed it was.  A couple of our instructors were getting their Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) ratings renewed and arranged for a tow pilot today.  The weather has been nasty or I've been gone and I've been itching to fly, so I was eager to go.  Even if I had to take some time off from work.

After I saw the weather forecast, I was MORE eager.  Plenty of thermals and a north wind at about 15 knots.  That meant the ridge would be working plus I might be able to fly away if I could connect to a thermal.

I showed up about 11 and was airborne by 11:30.  Sean Murphy towed me to a thousand feet where I let go and pointed the nose towards the ridge.  It was working, but it was a little weak.  Often, you will get either zero or positive lift as you fly along the ridge but this time I was getting some sink -about 2 knots or so mixed in with some lift.  The effect was net negative and I was slowly descending with each pass.

I started thinking I *might* have to set up for the landing pattern if this didn't get any more promising.  I was able to find lift on the west end of the ridge, but on the east side, not so good.  I decided I would zig-zag back and forth in the lift on the west side and see what happened.

Zig.  Zag.  A little bit of a climb.  Zig.  Zag.  A little bit of a climb.  Then it hit me.  "You moron, you are zig zagging in a thermal.  CIRCLE and CENTER it.  So I did and up I went.  3 knots of lift, 4 knots of lift, 5 knots of lift, 6 knots of lift.  I worked to center it, fly smoothly and coordinated, and also fly slowly to maximize the thermal time.  Up and up I went.  The longer I circled the stronger it got and a few minutes later I topped out at close to 6,000 feet.  I headed off towards the nearby shopping mall to see if there was any parking lot lift.

There was.  In fact, there was quite a bit of lift scattered all over the place.  I could hear other glider pilots talking about this cu or that cu but from where I was, the sky was blue.  Blue flying is more difficult because you can't spot the lift, but today I felt pretty brave.  First, if I got low near Harris Hill, I could hug the ridge and ride the lift back up high enough to enter the landing pattern.  Second, the thermals were not only fairly plentiful, they were pretty easy to center up and climb away in.

I could see Seneca lake and Watkins Glen in the distance and considered heading upwind to check it out.  I figured if I would lose the most altitude heading into the wind and could always make it back to the airport in Elmira if necessary.  Alas, work was calling and I didn't have enough time to try it out!

I returned to the ridge and figured I'd spoiler my way down to pattern altitude.  Instead, I decided to point the nose down and pick up some speed for fun.  Whenever I entered lift, I would accelerate to keep myself either at zero sink or a slight descent.  If the wind is blowing hard, this means you pick up a LOT of speed.  I was zooming along at over 90 knots at times.  If the lift stopped, I would raise the nose to slow the descent.  Eventually, after a lot of fun I was near pattern altitude.

The landing was to the North.  I held my pattern close to the field and turned base close to the field.  I carried and extra 5 knots of speed to deal with the gusts and opened the spoilers and planted the tailwheel right on my intended spot - the taxiway that cuts across the grass.  I heard it squeak as it touched down.

Was playing hooky worth it?  Absolutely.  Best flying of the season so far.