cross country flights...

i am relieved .. bc a few days ago i removed over 1,000 photos from my phone finally. initially i thought i didn't have the pictures i took from my solo hoquiam cross country flight. and this left me highly disappointed. i have taken pix of the airports i solo to, to prove i've been there. (except for my first shelton trip i think? maybe not, maybe i'll have to dig up the ol' photo archives again.. )

anyway, i thought the day i flew to ocean shores / (hoquiam/bowerman technically) that all my photos taken were accidentally erased. but when i removed the images from my phone the other day i found out they in fact were there! and that made my day. so, i have a post to write about my cross country ocean trip as well as my jefferson county flight. all of my solo flights mean something to me .. so it's especially important i photographically document them as i am leaving.

and yes, of course i know it's also especially important i fly the plane.

new posts (about old flights) to come. until then i will just continue to revel in my accomplishments. (and temporary borrowed hoquiam airport photos up too ... MINE to come w.the new posts :)

dear towel,

yes, i know. i haven't posted anything for quite some time. you're very sad i can see this. but fret not i will return. soon. october was the most insane month i have ever had in my entire 29 years on earth. a great month, just very busy. so busy i had to cancel all but two flight lessons. and with that being said the flying towel has been temporarily hung up. but only until spring.

in the mean time i am going to have to find something else interesting to captivate me throughout the winter season. i hope it comes along soon since spring is oh so very far away. (as a side note i plan on being on the look out for more towels to hang -permanently.)

836 .. you're not ready for us. just yet.

friday. sept. 11. 2009. i knew it was coming. and i'm not talking about what you think i am talking about. rather i am talking about my trip to tacoma narrows airport.

you see. i've been training at a non-towered airport (meaning there's no tower folk to communicate with). i'm quite used to (and far more comfortable) with the idea of essentially making my own calls. typically no one to reply to. i just tell other pilots where i am & what i am up to. that's it. but when you fly to a towered airport you have to talk to the people manning .. the tower. and holy moley. what a different world that is. for me at least.

doug & i have been there only twice before. once was a ride along with another instructor & his student so doug & i could pick up the plane that i train in. so mostly i was sight seeing. and the second time we went doug did 99% of the radio work. (while i wrestled the airplane on to the runway like someone wrestles an alligator -i imagine). i'll never forget the crosswinds from that lesson. they kicked my ass right in to .. well, let's just say they just kicked my ass. anyway. i've only been there twice. and the goal for last friday's lesson was to head over there together. do a couple landings & then return doug to the mothership while i ventured back to tacoma. alone.

ehh.

i was clearly very apprehensive from the very beginning. but one thing i have learned up to this point in my training is that i keep surprising myself. even when i feel nervous about the lesson plan, i am pushed outside my comfort zone only to come out alive still. i grow as a pilot each time i am faced with tasks that require spreading my wings out further than i sometimes feel comfortable. so when the lesson was to return to the towered airport i figured this was another moment where i literally thought i couldn't do something but ended up doing it.

but this lesson.. proved otherwise. another thing i've discovered in my 28 (almost 29 -ahhh) years on earth is that attitude can make or break you. and going in to this lesson with the apprehension that i did screwed me up, down, sideways and backwards. (did i leave any out?) for another record, i'd like to blame at least half of it on attitude.... and the other half on actually not being ready.

and off we went. just to check it out if anything. see where it left me. and needless to say it left me on the edge of my seat. they talk fast. and you have to respond fast. and you have to know what the heck they're saying so you can respond essentially with the same information. i did a good chunk of the radio work in the beginning. until we got in to the pattern & i started changing my focus on the legs & landing. it took me a while to get radio work down while flying the airplane. but this seemed to be on a whole 'nother level. i almost feel like responding to the towered folk 'can't you see i am trying to fly here?' but i'd probably get shot down if i said anything other than what he was expecting to hear. (ps, that was a bit o' sarcasm by the way).

another overwhelming aspect of this whole towered airport thing is all the other traffic around me. folks coming in. folks going out. folks lined up in front of me and behind me. folks on the runway. folks at the hold short line. (ps, it wasn't really thaaat busy but there was far more traffic than i am used to. so i thought i'd paint ya's a pretty (busy) picture of what it felt like for me.) point is you are really forced to focus on communication & listening for your call sign to get your next direction and or rejection.

we made a few landings. requested some stop & go's. and it appeared in the midst of my traffic pattern the towered folk changed out their crew. bc next thing i know i am talking to some other guy that almost appeared clueless as to what we were trying to achieve. and he denied our request for a stop & go. also made us turn base earlier to accommodate for the mooney behind us. -which also made me want to say 'hey, i was here first.' so by this point i was completely overwhelmed as it was and then he threw in the altered pattern. i believe it was then that i officially decided that i wasn't ready for going to this airport alone just yet.

and off we went. departed the pattern & happy to get the hell out of there. (eh hem, well, i was!) and port orchard here we come. port orchard is a baby airport. even compared to bremerton. i've been there a few times now. practiced simulated engine failure, my short field take offs & landings. and well, that's it. but we've done it a hand full of times up to this point. doug decided to cut my power & i'll admit it always makes me cringe bc i think 'why do you do this me when i am not expecting it.' but that's the point. engine failure isn't always anticipated. so i go through my checklist and start descending .. but i descended too much too far from the runway. and had it been an actual engine failure.. i would've failed at getting it to the runway. but rather succeeded in ending up in the trees at the end of the runway. and this just frustrated the hell out of me. seems i was experiencing my least favorite lesson ever. so i threw my hands up & said i was done. let's go back. well, doug doesn't always let me give up. so we made another go at it. and THEN we returned home.

even though i didn't do the tower all by my lonesome that afternoon i still walked away with a valuable lesson. attitude is everything. and thus far i have amazed myself so i need not convince myself i can't do something. bc when the time is right i WILL conquer the lesson plan.

(side note: also, i got to experience the tacoma airport from another perspective. the first two times we flew there i saw it from runway 17. but this last time i got to see it from runway 35 & let me tell you .. the approach to 35 is pretty damn amazing. there's a cliff there (basically at the end of the runway) i hadn't been able to notice before bc rather than approaching it i had always taken off from it. and then there's the lovely tacoma narrows bridge in the background. it was so beautiful and of course reminded me why i love flying so much.)

you spin me right round baby right round

tuesday's lesson was not your typical flight lesson. although it had 95% of the typical flight lesson elements in it.. the other 5% made it above par compared to previous lessons.

since day one doug & i have talked about spinning the plane. he knew i was up for such a thrill. since (as most of you know) my first flight experience ever was in an aerobatic airplane with a crazy (in a good way) pilot who did all sorts of maneuvers. hence where my dream of flying began.

but first. here's a sweet little lesson on spinning & spin recovery. there are four phases in a spin.

1) entry ---> it's like saying 'hey, i have an idea. let's spin!' to enter you pull the carb heat, power to idle & pull back on the elevator all the way until the plane stalls.

2) incipient ---> 'alright folks, we're planning on spinning. hope you don't scare easily.' once the stall is fully developed you apply full rudder (today's choice of rotation was to the left) and the rotating begins!

3) developed ---> uh, yup, it's affirmative. we're spinning. there's no denying it.' this is when everything becomes stabilized. the rate of rotation and the airspeed as well as vertical airspeed. (so basically you're heading straight for the ground. only spinning. while heading. straight. for the ground. and fast, might i add.)

4) recovery. you apply full opposite rudder & gradually relieve the back pressure of the elevator. break the spin & come out of the dive.

sounds crazy. i know. but i did it. well. WE did it. and it's everything i thought it would be.

first we flew to tacoma narrows airport bc a piece of my checklist includes flying to a towered airport, making three full stops & kapeesh. sounds easier said than done. i am nervous & overwhelmed by the idea of flying to a controlled tower. it shouldn't be bc they tell me what to do. rather than me announcing what i am doing to the other traffic around me at an uncontrolled airport. so tacoma's trip wasn't any easier than i expected either. needless to say i don't feel ready to venture to a controlled airport alone just yet.

we departed to the southwest & climbed our way up to 5,000' over the hood canal so we could spin!!! we announced our position & did the clearing turns & doug explained what we needed to do once we reached 5,000'. then he says 'whenever you're ready.' .................. i took a deep breath, pulled the carb heat, brought the power back to idle, created a nose high attitude, induced a stall & shoved the left rudder to the floor. i fully expected to scream. and loudly. i warned doug that i would. (something he's experienced with me before - poor fella.) however, i didn't scream. instead i recall having held my breath & completely bracing myself. i don't know how many times we spun since it happened so damn fast. but he told me ahead of time that it most likely would amount to three spins before we started the recovery.

one thing you're to note is the airspeed. you don't want to touch or exceed the red line or it could cause structure damage. and guess what.. we don't want structure damage. and so here i am completely relying on him to recover (thinking i am just along for the ride) but apparently i managed to allow the plane to come all too close, if not touch, the red line on the airspeed indicator. needless to say my first spin recovery experience wasn't all that graceful. if you do it the way he explains, then you'll lose roughly 1,000' feet during the spin. we however lost 2,000' feet the first time. leading me to believe we spun more than 3xs or we shot straight for the earth during the 'recovery' much longer than we should've. (now, don't get me wrong .. i KNOW & KNEW doug was there & had my back no matter what. i know that i wasn't completely 100% in control of the outcome. no matter what he has my back .. and that's really comforting to know. so you readers must be aware of that too!)

we climbed back up to 5,000' to do another spin. i was shaking. not necessarily from being scared (since i put 150% trust & faith in my instructor to keep or pull us out of danger) .. i was shaking bc the adrenaline i was feeling was like my very first time flying.

he covered where i went wrong and i tried it again. took a deep breath, pulled the carb heat, power back to idle & shoved my foot down on the left rudder & back & down we went. in more circles. fast circles. spinning toward the earth. again i wasn't paying a lick of attention to the airspeed. just focused on the earth spinning towards us. and waited for the count que from doug of when to shove the opposite rudder down. and then the que came and gradually returned the elevator to the neutral position. and out we came from the dive. again i expected doug to be a part of that whole recovery. but he proceeded to tell me i did it on my own. said he hands his hands waiting by the controls but apparently never once touched them.

uh-maze-ing. (hey, why isn't it spelled that way anyway? seems logical. i mean, i always say uh, that was uh-maze-ing.) but i digress.

yes. the spins are amazing. and believe you me i am NOT referring to the alcohol induced spins. those my friend aren't amazing. complete opposite of amazing. again. i digress.

so that was that. thinking maybe one day i'd like to take a spin course. i mean, they're just too much fun!

so tomorrow it's off to tacoma. to talk to the towered folk. i hope i don't swear on the mic! wish me luck!

lessons in flight. and in life.

not my most flattering photo, yes, i know. so i will work on the top image. but for now the most important thing is to begin a new blog. for those of you who have read my blog previously you'll notice not a single one of the previous posts are available anymore. (rest easy knowing i still have them, just not on display.) i have been wanting to revamp my blog for quite some time. and now it's finally revamped. somewhat.

hopefully, if i am able to keep my butt in check, i will have a blog filled with stories about flying. as well as other miscellaneous things too, of course. but mostly about flying. i kick myself in the boo-tay for not hopping on board this type of blog when i started flying again a few months back, but oh well. better late than never.

my most previous accomplishments involving flying are having a lesson filled from beginning to end of no one but myself in the airplane. my instructor had other engagements to attend to so i was off to fend for myself. i went out to the plane & did the typical pre-flight checklist. checked the weather for the wind direction & made my way down runway 19. i couldn't believe i was doing this. honestly. i mean, solo is one thing. solo involves flying the traffic pattern three times. that's it. after having successfully completed my first solo i realized it was no big deal. i mean, i had done the traffic pattern enough times to know it's ok to do it alone. now now now, don't get me wrong. completing my solo was one of the most amazing things i had accomplished ... i mean i flew an airplane ALL BY MYSELF! whoa! never thought i would check that off my bucket list. but i did. and what an incredible day it was. but what became even more amazing to me was the lesson when i practiced the steep turns & s-turns maneuvering out there all alone. what. a. trip. honestly. i flew around with no one else in the cockpit with me for over an hour. went to the south end of the hood canal & flew above the water. in circles. literally. i had to practice my steep turns. and while i was up there i just couldn't believe it was real.

there's something that happens each time i venture outside of my comfort zone. i succeed in defeating the fear of failing. because each time i am apprehensive about the upcoming lesson, i am forced to ignore those fears & doubts & go out there and fly. i have proven more & more to myself .. and above all that i am perfectly capable of so many things i never thought possible.

during that same lesson of steep turns & s-turns i made my way out to the road we had previously practiced the s-turns above. once i got over there i announced my position, did my clearing turns and practiced away. some were great. others not so much. but that's why we practice. and i recall thinking how awesome it was to be where i was at that very moment. because i remembered who i was just a little over a year and a half ago. i used to be on the ground wishing i was up in the airplanes i always saw flying over head. soaring away or on a mission, regardless, they were up there and i was down here. in the midst of me remembering that person who was always wishing, i saw my shadow on the ground while i was practicing my s-turns. and how cool it was to see myself working on the very thing i had been day dreaming about for so long. not to mention i was already at the point of operating this very airplane all by myself. no one else in the cockpit but me.

when i returned from my lesson i was pretty impressed with myself to say the least. especially because i think i had experienced my first carburetor ice incident. i was on the 45 coming in to land so i managed not to panic too much. i pulled the carb heat soon as i heard the engine sputter and carried on with the rest of my tasks to complete before landing. did four full stops with my last landing being the most graceful followed by compliments from other pilots inside the flight center saying how sweet it looked from where they were standing. very nice to hear since my first thought/reaction to that particular landing was 'doug would be so proud.'

going back the following day for another lesson proved to be yet another huge accomplishment for me to be very proud of. since we (my instructor & i) had not been to the nearby shelton airport for quite some time we went there together. i practiced touch & go's with him in the plane, then dropped him off next to the runway while i practiced my 3 full stops. then i picked him back up and we returned to the mother ship, also known as PWT. aka the airport i'm training at. once we returned he exited the airplane and told me to have fun, be safe & said he'll see me in a little bit. and off i went. to return & land at that very airport we were just at.

only i was by myself. again. the trip takes about 10-15 minutes. so i am flying along. noticing how quiet it really is up there all alone in the cockpit. even with the engine running it's quiet. it's funny bc i caught myself becoming bored a few times. i know .. you're thinking 'she's BORED? of flying?' well, yes. i was bored. but not bored bored. lonely rather. i missed having my friend there to chat with. then i thought being bored bc no one was there wasn't so bad after all. being bored bc no one was there in the cockpit with me allowed me to soak up how amazing traveling to another airport, by airplane, by myself was.

i was no longer bored. and decided to take notice of how many docks there were in the lake i was passing over.