For lack of a better title, I’ve developed in my head The Bucket List, a wish list of aviation ‘To Do’s’:  Milestones I’d like to accomplish and airplanes I’d like to fly in.  On Saturday, I was extremely fortunate to cross one of those items off my list: “Fly in a Stearman”.  In the 1930’s and 40’s the Stearman Aircraft Company manufactured open-cockpit biplanes, the most common of which was the military trainer Model 75, the Kaydet.

I had just finished a solo flight down to Dekalb to practice some landings (yes, they still need work).  I had some extra time, and wasn’t in a hurry to leave the airport yet, so I wandered a bit.  I ran into a guy named Mike pulling out his very perfect 1942 N2S-3 Navy Stearman (The yellow one in the middle of the picture).  We talked a bit, and to my surprise, he offered me a ride.  I could NOT pass this up!

Mike preflighted his plane and his passenger (donning one of those cool aviation helmet you see in the old movies) and then I climbed in.  During his passenger briefing, Mike went over all the controls, because he assumed I’d want to fly it.  Wow!  We took off for an incredible ride.  A positive transfer of control in an open cockpit with no intercom is accomplished with a shake of the stick, a glance in the mirror, and some hand signals.  With that, I was flying.  I didn’t do too much, just some shallow and medium turns, and a couple attempts at Turns About a Point.  I just loved how that plane handled.  Thankfully Mike couldn’t hear me laughing and grinning like a little kid.  It was awesome.

We flew a lot longer than I was expecting, and I was loving every second of it.  Mike’s dad showed up in his Champ, and we did some formation flying around the airport.  It was so cool to have that open air perspective to a close formation flight like that.  I’m pretty sure Mike’s dad saw my goofy grin.

After we landed, I was in for another surprise: Mike offered to enter the flight in my logbook.  So this fortunate student pilot now has 1.1 hours of dual instruction in a Stearman permanently recorded in my log.

As quickly as one item is scratched off my list, it is immediately replaced by a new item: “Fly in a Stearman Again!”

This ‘runway’ is closed.

I’ve been meaning to write for days now, but the ideas and words are not there yet.  In the mean time, I wanted to share this photo with you.  I grabbed my camera and just snapped this without looking (I was kind of busy at the time).  Sure, the maze is upside down, but I still like the picture.  Hope you do to.

I learned to drive in my dad’s blue 1977 Chevy Impala.  My first ‘solo’ trip in that car was a 3 mile jaunt down to the grocery store to buy some Pepsi after church one Sunday evening.  While the memory endures, I’m sure that car has become a Pepsi can itself, or perhaps a refrigerator.  Cars just do not last the way airplanes do.  Airplanes can last for generations.  I recently read a news story about a 93 year old man who hopes that someday his 4 year old great-grandson will someday fly his Cessna 182.  A very realistic hope.

My Uncle Harold loved to fly.  A passion that he shared with his two younger brothers, Herman and Wayne.  Uncle Harold also liked to buy airplanes.  I’m not yet sure how many he owned over the years, but it seemed like if Piper made it, Harold Baker would buy it.  The photo to the right shows just the Cubs all lined up at Lobmaster Field back in the early 60’s.  Herman and Wayne soloed in 4600M, a PA-11 Cub Special (third from the left in the photo) that Uncle Wayne still has today.

One of my favorite pastimes is searching the internet for traces of these old airplanes.  Unless they’ve crashed (or in one case, burned), most of these planes from the 40’s and 50’s are still out there flying.  I recently located one Uncle Harold’s old Tripacers in Decatur, IL, and on a recent tour of some of Illinois’ finest cornfields, I made arrangements to see the plane. 

She doesn’t look the way she did in 1959, but she still has a lot of character, and I felt a neat connection to the past as I sat in that plane and as I saw Harold’s signature in the engine log book.  I never met Uncle Harold or Uncle Herman.  They were both killed in a crash before I was born, about a month after Harold signed off on an engine overhaul in this Tripacer.  They may be gone, but their love for aviation inspires me as I pursue my own pilot certificate.

Oh, and the Tripacer is for sale…

After an almost two week hiatus since my first solo, it was finally time to go flying.  The weather was really ‘iffy’ all day with low ceilings.  When I left the office, I had no idea if we would actually fly or not.  Turns out, by the time I got out to my neck of the woods, er, I mean cornfields, the skies turned very favorable.  Our goal for this lesson was to fly the perimeter of what will be my practice area and then a couple solo takeoffs and landings.  As an added bonus, my friend Jamie would be along for the ride (my first unofficial passenger).

My preflight showed we were a little low on gas, and the fuel truck at Dacy was empty, so we’d be starting out with a short trip over to Poplar Grove (C77) to top off the tanks.  This would be my first landing at another airport, and my first on asphalt.  The takeoff role at Dacy was a lot longer than I’m used to because of the added weight of my passenger.  In hindsight, with the winds being as light as they were, I should have used the much longer runway 27 instead of 18.  I got it off the ground but I really noticed the lack of performance during the climb out.  It was hot and we were much heavier than normal.

Finding Poplar Grove was a little challenging with the haze we had, but not for Jamie.  He’s spent a lot of time there when he was more actively teaching.  I entered an upwind leg for runway 30.  My turn to base was way too soon, so as a result on final, I was WAY high.  I considered going around, and even asked my instructor if I should, but she said I’d have enough room to land, so I did.  As the plane slowed, I was introduced first to the centerline, which at this point was anywhere BUT under the center of the plane, and then I met Wheel Shimmy.  Ugh, I didn’t like that at all.  I think Maggie is going to have her shimmy dampener looked at.

We filled up with fuel, and headed out again, ready to define my play, er, practice area.  Pilotage in this area is pretty easy for me, since I’ve driven most of these roads and spent far too much time on Google Earth.  Navigating the perimeter was just a nice relaxing flight, and my GPS was working well, so I got a decent groundtrack too.  I’m still looking for a good way to share these tracks in a more interactive way.  For now, I have to stick with the screen capture method.

Our fuel run to Poplar Grove used up any time available for my second supervised solo, but I was okay with that.  Instead of soloing, I got several new experiences instead.  As an added bonus, I found out at the end of the evening that Jamie had been recording my takeoffs and landings.  What a cool perspective that I normally never have.  Maybe I should have a camera in the back seat more often.

Another 1.3 hours logged.

This year was my second time attending Airventure in Oshkosh, WI.  I took a bunch of pictures, and put them up over on Flickr.  There was a reason I picked opening day this year.  It was to see the mass arrival of DC-3′s.  It’s the largest formation flight of DC-3′s since D-Day:

I am truly blessed to have some amazingly funny and talented friends.   The following original artwork and description were given to me as a gift:

“Ace” Cleghorn

Water Color on Paper

2010

The above watercolor on paper was composed by the famed artist Jamie Carter after witnessing Brad Cleghorn’s first solo on July 21, 2010.  Thee artist was so inspired to pick up his watercolo paintbrush, something he had not done in over 32 years and paint what can only be descried as the 482nd most memorable event in aviation history.

The piece’s fluid composition is of course due to the fact that it is a watercolor.  Forever etched in the prime central position is the central subject of the subject, the 1979 Cessna Skyhawk, masterfully detailed.  Note how the level attitude maintained by “Ace” denotes stability, courage, fearlessness, and discretionary income.  The diverse multi-color figures could depict a new age of tolerance and understanding so inspired by this event.  But in actuality, the artist wanted to use every color in his Dollar Store pallet.

So congratulations to “Ace” Cleghorn.  May all your landings be at the end of your flights.  And thank you for inspiring me to join the cheese and wine set.

Signed:  Jamie, Kendra, Caleb, & ????

I couldn’t sleep last night.  It was a very familiar feeling, yet this time it was different.  Unlike the sleepless nights of the not too distant past, this night was not filled with worry and stress.  Instead, I just laid there with a big grin on my face thinking of three little letters: “PIC”

What a difference a year makes.

Yesterday afternoon I was having a hard time concentrating on work.  Instead I was peeking out the skylights to the blue sky beyond.  A quick call to my flight instructor confirmed what I was thinking: it would be the night I soloed.  Some have said that this milestone in flight training is the most memorable, even more so than getting your license, and it was my turn to find out.

I bolted out of the office.  The excitement of the moment was starting to set in.  By the time I got home, I was pacing quite a bit.  Not nervous, just crazy excited.  After a quick wardrobe change and something to drink, I headed out.  My family and friends would follow shortly behind.  I used the few minutes in the car to transition into ‘flying mode’:  I called for a weather briefing (clear skies, hardly any wind) and kept visualizing the entire traffic pattern I would fly.  I was glad I drove separate from my family.  I needed to clear my head.

Just as I was finishing my preflight, the family was arriving.  I directed them to the best viewing spot, and then got in the plane.  After a normal taxi and run-up, it was time to go.  The audience was waiting.

The audience.  As much as I tried to put them out of my mind, I just couldn’t.  “Dear Lord, please don’t let me screw this up.”  Either God’s got a sense of humor, or He just wants to make sure I stay humble.  Either way, my very first take-off with an audience was going to be ugly.  Really ugly.  You see, I forgot to add one notch of flaps for the takeoff, which is our standard procedure for this field.  The result was not a big deal, but the plane wasn’t ready to fly when I was, so it took a bit longer to get in the air and it rattled me just a bit.  On climb-out Maggie pointed out the oversight and reminded me to go through my checklist each time.

Typically a student pilot will fly three takeoffs/landings with the instructor, and then three all alone.  After two, Maggie was ready to get out.  It was all me now.  Time for another quick prayer.

Dacy airport is a grass field with three intersecting runways.  This evening I was using runway 27, facing due west.  Right where 27 meets runway 36 (N-S), there’s a bump.  Usually I hit that bump right at the perfect rotate time, when my speed reaches 55 knots.  I don’t know why, but for every single one of my solo takeoffs, I hit that bump just a tad early, around 50 kts.  It likes to launch me into the air just slightly before I’m ready.  I was already thinking about what this was going to look like on video.

It’s said that the most noticeable thing about the instructor note being in the plane is how it handles.  For me, it was less about the feel, and more about the visual.  On my first left turn in the pattern, I noticed Maggie’s absence because she wasn’t there to block the setting sun.  Huh, that’s different, I can see out the right side of the plane!  I finally relaxed a moment on downwind and enjoyed it for all it’s worth.  I glanced at my audience below and then looked all around.  I can’t believe I’m doing this!  Okay, time to start landing.

I think that I tend to err on the side of High and Fast.  Altitude and airspeed is a pilot’s friend, I’m told, and I guess I’m conservative about giving them away.  I tend to pull power late and dive for the field.  My landings seem bouncy and ugly to me.  “But they’re safe, and I’m doing this”, I tell myself.  Maggie lets me go around four times.  A couple landings I’m really happy with, a couple not so much.  Funny thing is that when I looked at the video later, none of them seemed as bad on tape as they did from the cockpit.  We don’t do touch and goes, so each time is a landing and then a taxi back to the starting point.  This gives me a chance to open the window for much needed cool air, and a chance to wave to the family as I taxi past.  My girls seems pretty excited, and Mom doesn’t seem nervous at all.

After my four trips around the pattern, it was time for some ceremony and celebration.  My CFI doesn’t normally cut shirt tails, but I talked her into it.  It’s an old aviation tradition, and I’m a traditional kind of guy.  I wanted a keepsake for my Pilot and Passenger Lounge (formerly know as “The Loft”).  Even though my name is clearly printed on each check I give Maggie, for some reason she still forgets my name now and again.  She played this up a bit when she signed my shirt.  We took a bunch of pictures and talked a bit and then it was time to find some AC.  It was hot, and I was hungry.  It was an amazing evening, and I added another 1.1 hours to my logbook, including 0.6 hours solo and PIC.

Pilot In Command

I like the sound of that.  Here’s some photos, and there are a LOT more pictures over on Flickr.

Brownie points if you know what this post’s title refers to.

My wife and daughters are enjoying a vacation to the Upper Peninsula for a few days, and I’m missing them terribly.  From the looks of the grainy cell phone pictures that Becky gets out from time to time (cell coverage is almost non-existent up there), it seems they are having a blast.  Back at home, it’s just me and the cat, and I don’t think either of us are satisfied with the limited companionship choice.

Becky asked me before they left what I would be doing while they’re gone.  Flying, flying, and more flying, of course!  She said “You can’t solo when we are gone!!”  Bless her heart.  I didn’t even think that was a possibility until my lesson on Saturday.

I was scheduled to fly at 3:00, but I was a little bored, so I headed out to the airport early.  It seems that no matter how early I get there, I never beat my instructor.  There were isolated thunderstorms in the area, so getting there early did not pay off.  We had to delay for awhile anyway as a rumbling cell passed just to the north of the field.  We used this time to go over my pre-solo written exam.  The exam is a take-home test that covers general knowledge of the specific plane and airport I’m using and other FAA required questions.  Overall I did really well on the test.  There were a couple questions I was unsure of, and others where I seemed to exceed my instructor’s expectations.  The primary goal of the test is not the grade, but to spur conversation and follow-up to the topics discussed.  I think it’s also a way to establish expectations of what I can, or more importantly, cannot do once Maggie steps out of the plane.  It’s another required milestone that’s behind me.

After spending about an hour reviewing the test, the storms that had been in the area were no longer a factor, so we went flying.  Not a very long flight, but long enough for 3 landings and one go-around (that I probably could have landed, but decided against it).  Maggie is remaining pretty quiet through out most of my landings.  In fact on my last landing, she did not say a word through the whole pattern.  Once the plane was put away, she asked again when my family would be back.  She wants to make sure they’re around for the big day.

As much as I’d like to be flying as much as possible while I’m home alone, some things are conspiring against me.  First, all my aviation friends seem to be out of town this week.  Second, my training airplane is out of service for its 100 hour inspection, and third, I’m apparently so close to soloing that we’d just be killing time (and money) waiting for the big moment to happen.  So instead of flying, it’s just me and the cat home alone with a jar of peanut butter and old “Adam-12” episodes on Netflix.

Hurry home girls!!!

After a long delay, we finally set out to do ground reference maneuvers for Lesson 9 on June 29th.  The whole point of these maneuvers is to learn how the wind affects you in the air and to compensate for it.  We had been delaying this because the winds just have not been that strong.  On this particular evening the winds were still very light, but we needed to do the ground reference stuff anyway.  Maggie said it was the only thing left she had to introduce me to before I solo.  Unlike my last lesson, I remembered my GPS

during my preflight.  This would be a good lesson to get some ground tracks on.  Unfortunately, the batteries were dead.  Drat!  Now that I think of it, I’m sure I read somewhere about keeping extra batteries in one’s flight bag (usually for flashlights, not necessarily technology).  I’ll need to remember to do that from now on.

It was a great evening to fly.  The sky was clear and smooth, and it was a nice break to get away from the pattern for a bit.  I flew all three maneuvers: rectangular course, S-turns, and turns around a point.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from the S-turns, other than what I’ve read or seen in videos, so I asked her to demo one for me.  After that, all the maneuvers (I’m going to learn how to spell that by the end of this posting) seemed pretty straight forward.  For some reason, my right turns around a point seemed better than the left turns.  I didn’t expect that.  We’ll try them all again on a day with more wind, I’m sure, but for now, I’m OK with getting off easy.

Coming back to the airfield, we did a couple landings and one go-around.  My landings are not very pretty, but I am getting more comfortable with the process over all.  Maggie is very pleased with my pattern work.  In fact, after putting the plane away she states that our focus will be more pattern work as I develop consistency in my landings.  She says I’m very close to solo.

Yikes.

1.3 hours closer.