Observation Flight! :)

I recently took my first flight in the Piper Seminole. It was with my flight instructor and Jessica and we went over to Tooele and did engine out manuevers! I even got a sick picture with the propeller stopped. It was cool. I got to see how the airplane handles and feels and operates with only one engine operating. We talked about all the different scenarios for engine out situations during takeoff and also enroute. A lot of planning is required to do a flight in a multi-engine aircraft. Our preflight talked a lot about the different parts of the Seminole like the downlimit switch, up limit switch, squat switch, gas heater, scupper drains, and many other systems for the Seminole and how they differ from the Arrow systems. We did a few landings at Tooele and then headed back to Salt Lake. The Seminole is much heavier than the A/C we're used to flying and handles much differently in the pattern than an Arrow. I'm excited to get myself behind the yoke and try her out!

Blog Post #5 What I learned from Multi-engine Ground

To pick two things that I have learned from this class I would have to say that is that two engines are not necessarily better than having one engine. If you lose one engine you lose 80% of your performance, Therefore it is important to plan for each phase of flight, takeoff, en route, and approach to landing, what to do if you lose an engine. Another thing to think about is which engine is your Critical Engine. A critical engine is the one that if you lose it, it most adversely affects performance. There is no critical engine on the Seminole because one prop spins counter clockwise and one spins clockwise. I also learned in this class that in order to safely operate a multi-engine aircraft it requires improved flight-deck management, crew resource management,aeronautical decision making, and you must have improved workload management. Imagine flying a multi-engine aircraft in IMC and you are just approaching the final approach fix, this situation requires a great deal of workload management and situational awareness. I also learned that it takes the average pilot 8 seconds to react to emergency. I liked the class a lot, I think that we had a good time and still learned a lot. I liked the idea of blogging about our experience and having the observation flight which I think will be really fun. I wish that we could have more time to finish the PCATD and observation flight assignments because they are due on Tuesday and I haven't finished them yet. I think it was cool that when we had a test all five of us would study together, that really helped. And the fact that Julie answered any questions we had on the phone. I hope that the last two tests go well for us too. I think overall this class has helped prepare me to hop in the seat of the Seminole and operate it safely.

Accident Report Aspen Arribal

Our assignment was to read an accident summary about a Gulfstream III and its passengers. While reading it I noticed that the flight plan from the beginning was a tight squeeze to fit. They originally only had a slim margin of time to land the aircraft because circling minimums were not allowed at night anymore so they had to get down before a half hour after sunset at 6:58pm. On top of their tight time constraints the Boss of the charter flight spend a lot of money on the dinner they were to attend in Aspen and called the charter dispatcher to insist the aircraft take-0ff even though the pilots knew they were going to arrive late. They took off late knowing they would not make the landing curfew. They also ignored the signs because around 5 jets went missed approach prior to their arrival. The visibility was very poor and the crew wasn't sure of their position or of what action should be taken. The GPWS alarm kept going off and the first officer states, "to the right" which the capitan repeats but the runway is off to the left. I thought it was weird that there was a NOTAM stating that circling was not authorized at night and since no straight in minimums were published for the VOR/DME approach the entire procedure was not authorized at night and they should never had been cleared to fly the approach. The main lesson from this article is that even if you are pressured as a pilot...don't do something that your not comfortable with. "Get there Itis" is a dangerous thing

Single Pilot IFR

Basically you need to have skills to be flying Single Pilot IFR. I really like how they say a near perfect performance is what you need to bring to the table if you want to be sucessful. They say that more than three to five tasks, depending on the individual, accuracy and effectiveness deteriorate rapidly. That makes me think about the Hudson River Miricale. The pilot, an ex-airforce pilot, had run into a flock of Geese and lost both engines. I bet he had a lot of Multitasking to do in a little amount of time. In single pilot IFR if you are getting overloaded you should ask for a delaying vector, tell ATC to stand by, slow the aircraft down or just fly to a VOR fix instead of programming it into the GPS. Since I got my IFR rating last April I have only done a couple of approaches. I wish that I still felt confident flying IFR but i haven't practiced enough flight plans to keep my skills up. I remember flying with Jeremy IFR and the biggest thing i got out of it was to always be preparing for the next phase of your flight, stay ahead of the airplane and know what you have to do next. I learned more about the use of Flight Watch on 122.0 mhz for enroute weather advisories. I'm not sure if I feel ready to fly single pilot IFR...It says in the reading that if your mind can't arrive at an event at least two minutes before the aircraft then you are not ready for SPIFR...therefore I believe i would pass on it until I get a safety pilot, do alot of ground work, and practice in good weather first. I have not reason to take ne risks! except that i want to be good at it..

What is a Dry Sump, and what is a Wet Sump?

The difference between a Wet Sump and Dry Sump oil system is that a Wet Sump is what you have in your car. The oil pools at the bottom of a pan and a pump moves the oil from pool all the way through the engine. A dry sump makes the oil return to a reservoir by scavenger pumps. Oil gets pumped to the engine bearings by a pressure pump. This system has a dual oil pumps.

Blog Post #1

I have never had the opportunity to blog before and this is my first time. I'm pretty excited about trying it cuz it looks fun. Even if it is for the multi-engine class I'm taking. What I hope to get out of this class is the knowledge to feel safe when it comes time for me to get into the left seat of the Seminole. I also hope to get to know my classmates and the teacher better and ultimately learn the knowledge necessary to pass the FAA oral exam. I expect to have fun in the class because of the people that are in it know how to have a good time and still learn. I'm looking forward to this class and this semester overall because i have all aviation classes! YEAHHYA.