Fly Me Friendly

I really enjoy reading aviation books (funny that) and especially (auto)biographies that give me an insight into the experiences of the times, from growing up to learning to fly and then on to surviving various aviation adventures. With that in mind, it was a pretty even bet that I’d probably enjoy reading The San Joaquin Siren, An American Ace in WWII’s CBI by William M Behrns & Kenneth Moore.

Not only did I enjoy the book, I loved it. It starts with a fascinating look into Bill’s life and his experiences learning to fly in the US Army Air Corps with speaking tubes & “follow my lead on the controls” methods. From there Bill progresses to more advanced training in faster, more complex machines before eventually attaining his goal of flying the P38 Lightning. Along the way he describes a number of adventures in the air and ground at various military institutions.

After some time flying patrols in the Pacific North, Bill is transferred out to the China/Burma/India theatre with a group of other pilots from around the USA who stand up a new squadron. The descriptions of the journey to the front line, conditions in India and the environment they find themselves in give a fantastic view of attempting to conduct a war in very challenging conditions.

The rest of the book covers Bill’s combat missions in the theatre, his rec-leave in India and his final return to the USA. We’re again treated to some amazing experiences and lessons that can be learned even by pilots in peace time personal flying.

A well written book that engages the reader & keeps things moving at just the right pace. A couple of minor typos were found in the eBook version I read but not enough to distract me from enjoying the story. The inclusion of a few photos helped round out the descriptions of aircraft, people & circumstances.

I definitely recommend reading this book.

This was my first flight with Pete Wright (my other instructor) and included a climb to 4,000′ AGL where we found ourselves above a thin layer of stratus, seeing our shadow on the cloud with a rainbow halo around the basket.

I was at Mildura as part of the Australian Ballooning Federation’s “The Lake 2010″ event

Here’s my notes from the flight:

• Intensity has stepped up as Pete’s working me towards a commercial level
• “Fun” intro is over – it’s time to get serious
• Pete has a different style to Paul so I’m changing to “step up”
• Pibal on launch & use of compass to compare goals to wind direction
• Pete’s “Top to Bottom” flow checklist / walkthrough
• Building a 3D view of environment & awareness of other balloons
• Setup & rigging of balloon & way to stand & hold ropes (plus getting them out of the way of pax)
• Also consideration of instrument positioning WRT pax
• My first inflation with Pete observing & guiding
  • Short burns
  • Position of flame
  • Wait & see how it reacts – let fan help
  • Watch for fabric stretching out
• Climb up to get winds
• “The voice” is still an issue but am pushing it back & focusing on the flight
• Getting used to working the valve & burners
• Descent & intermediate landing in a clearing
• Discussion on the ground about landing & considerations for take off
• Take off & ascent to about 4,000′ AGL to see what winds were doing above a thin layer of stratus cloud
• Got to see shadow of balloon on cloud below with a halo around the basket – wow
• Didn’t find the direction we wanted so came back down, skimmed trees & worked with what we had to get into a dirt patch between what seemed to be sown crops
• Terminal descent again – 1,000fpm at one point – even more wow!
• Getting the hang of descending towards that big, hard ground below is going to be “interesting” (& essential :)

Click here to view my log book entry at JetRecord.com

This was an afternoon flight where the light winds shifted dramatically part way through, making us reassess our route & target landing spot.

I was at Mildura as part of the Australian Ballooning Federation’s “The Lake 2010″ event

Here’s my notes from the flight:

• Set up @ Werrimal School oval – worked through rigging & prep with Paul
• Used hands on / hands off method to heat balloon & launch
• Up & over Werrimal but couldn’t keep constant height:
  • Would put heat in but the balloon would start to descend
  • Was it thermals?
  • Was it low pressure from a depleted tank?
  • Must learn to check burner pressures while flying
• Flew out over trees north of Werrimal & scraped through the top of one
• Pete Dutneal’s balloon had a valve “buldge” – went up to check him from above after he’d landed
• Stayed high & started drifting left (west) of where we thought we’d go
• Watched Andrew “Harry” Fewtrell land on a field – his layout indicated wind shift was at ground level too
• Also saw dust cloud from tractor working in a field to the north had shifted direction compared to when we had driven past on the way to the launch field
• Changed plans, targeted clear area near dirt-track road
• Winds moving us towards tree – called crew into crop field for a handling line
• Got to experience impact of handling lines – need to burn once crew grab line due to down force exerted as they stop/slow forward momentum
• Worked to keep us light but not too buoyant
• Touched down on side of dirt-track and deflated
• Dug up a massive mallee root for use on camp fire – very dense wood so it’s good for long burning
• Flights today have been fun & educational, great introductions to what is coming up & amazing to see the difference between perspectives of crew, pax & pilot roles
• Loving it! :)

Click here to view my log book entry at JetRecord.com

This was my first instructional flight in a hot air balloon.

I was at Mildura as part of the Australian Ballooning Federation’s “The Lake 2010″ event

Here’s my notes from the flight:

• Paul’s FICOM check process
• Cold, crisp conditions with steady light winds
• Inflated under Paul’s guidance & did a “3 Bounce” take off:
  • Stay on the ground line
  • Inflate & get lift
  • Let it return to the ground
  • Repeat 3 times
  • Launch on peak of next lift
  • Lets you identify false lift
• Went to about 2,000′ to check direction of winds aloft
• Wasn’t totally comfortable at altitude (“the voice”)
• Back down to low level again – skimming the ground was great fun
• Stand up landing in a field
• Got out and rode with the chase crew so Cynthia could get in & fly the second hop
• Elation to be flying at last
• So much to learn
• Paul’s “count the balloons” method for keeping track of others

Click here to view my log book entry at JetRecord.com

Late last year my 42nd birthday came around and, while the number 42 has deep, universal meaning, I didn’t arrange any major, special celebrations. Kitt, however, did decide to buy me some time flying aerobatics with Andrew Temby in his Yak-52TW.

I’d met Andrew back in September when I interviewed him for the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast. Nykolai had been sitting in the cockpit during the interview, much to his delight. Andrew had said if I ever wanted to do some aerobatics I should give him a yell and while we stayed in touch, I’d never had the spare cash to take him up on the offer.

When Kitt started suggesting an aerobatic flight and that she’d put in most of the funds, I immediately contacted Andrew and we were on. I chipped in a few extra dollars and we also arranged a flight for Nykolai, his first ever aerobatic flight and his first flight in a “real” aircraft (tail dragger, radial, inline seating – it just doesn’t get much better :)

On the day we showed up on time and met Andrew at his hangar at Coldstream airport (YCEM). We helped prepare the aircraft in the hangar and then get it out around some of the other craft it shared space with. Once outside Andrew completed his preflight and we got Nykolai strapped in. He was nervous, but very excited (as was I :)

After warming it up, Andrew taxied out, took off and we were left to hang out. I caught up with Tom and his Luscombe 8A as he was getting ready to fly off to Sheparton (YSHT) for one of their fly-in lunches. Not long after Tom left, Andrew returned with a VERY happy Nykolai in the back seat. When I popped the canopy and asked him how it went, he replied:

“You’re right, dad. Life *is* better inverted!”

That’s my boy :)

Andrew took him through some good introductory aerobatics and he pulled +4G / -1.5G. He also had some stick time and Andrew reckons he’s a natural. Looks like we may wind up with a race to see who gets their license first :)

Once Nykolai was out and relaxing in the shade, I strapped in and got ready to go. I had plugged in my audio recorder so I could get our discussions (and my inevitable “Yaa HAHs!”) and had that strapped to a knee board so it wouldn’t go anywhere. As I’d done for Nykolai, I made sure I had a few sick-sacks on board so they could be easily reached if needed. I was counting on the psychological aspect of having them easy to get to meaning I wouldn’t wind up needing them. Good theory, no?

I had also made sure I had some food earlier so I wasn’t flying on an empty stomach and had lots of water to drink so I was reasonably well hydrated. All good ways to help keep your stomach from taking over and cutting short a good aerobatics session.

Once everything was ready, we fired up the engine and headed out. Andrew did a low power take-off as Coldstream is a gravel strip & he didn’t want to get any chips in his prop. He’d managed to collect a couple back in September during the airshow when I met him and had only just had the prop repaired.

After a nice straight climb-out to the north we headed over King Lake area and Andrew handed me the controls. I flew it around a bit as we headed over to a place where one of Andrew’s friends had an airstrip. It’s a very responsive aircraft and doesn’t require much stick movement to get it where you want it. Definitely an aircraft where you *think* what you want to do and before you know it, it’s doing it. Quite different to the Cessnas & Pipers I’ve flown before and even better than the Alpha I was last doing aerobatics in.

The panel layout was not your usual one as there was a big space in the middle where you could stick your aerobatic sequence diagram using Aresti notation. The instruments were scattered around this space and it was easier to use the outside world as my reference with occasional checks of altitude & airspeed as we flew about.

Andrew took over when we got closer to the strip and we did a high-speed pass along its length, laying some smoke to say “HI!” Andrew pulled back the revs as we came down and along the runway so we wouldn’t annoy the neighbours with the noise.

After this we went back over the hills near King Lake and got stuck into some aerobatics. We eased into it with a few chandelles, loops, barrel rolls & aileron rolls, then got into a few more manouvers including cuban-8′s, an immelman and some others. All up it was great fun and had lots of inverted flight. We pulled about +4.5G / -1.5G and had a blast.

My stomach was letting me know it was around but it was in no way ready to let it all go. Still, we decided some straight & level was a good idea and so we headed over to Lilydale airport, joined the circuit & landed. Runway 36R at Lilydale feels like quite a bumpy strip (it’s grass) and a couple of the bumps got us airborne again until we slowed down enough to just ride over them. Andrew taxied over to the fuel pumps and put some more in the tanks as he was going to fly another person after me and wanted to be sure he had sufficient on board.

We departed Lilydale on 36L and were able to do a full power departure thanks to the grass strip. It was also a bit bouncy but not as noticeable as the landing on 36R.

Once in the air we headed off to the King Lake hills again and started into some more aerobatics. This time we did a few series, linking multiple manouvers together in a routine. One of the highlights was an avalanche which is a half loop with a snap roll at the top. Great fun.

After this lot of aeros I’d pulled +6G / -1.5G and we’d had a blast. Andrew suggested we go & do some “fun stuff” so we flew flat out & (relatively) low level up an empty valley then headed over to the lake near Maroondah where we did another high speed run up the lake but at higher level this time, venting some smoke as we went. Woo hoo!

From here Andrew handed over the aircraft to me again so I could fly us back to Coldstream. We were in the circuit and on base leg when he took over, not least of which was because I was getting way behind the aircraft and not managing height & airspeed properly. Andrew reckoned I was doing fine for someone who hadn’t flown an aircraft in ages but I felt rather embarrassed as screwing up so badly. Oh well – better luck next time.

Andrew made a great landing and we taxied back to the hangars to shut down. All up we’d been gone for about 1 hour & 20 minutes yet it felt like no time at all. We’d done the best aerobatics I’ve ever had in my life and I’d had a go at flying the fastest & most responsive aircraft I’ve yet had a chance to control. Wow. As I said to Kitt later: “Best birthday present EVER!”

Now to save up some money so I can go & do it all again :)

As I mentioned in the previous Fear of Flying story, the folks at Flight Experience Melbourne are running a competition for their 737 flight simulator. Write up your scary flying story and you could win a free session in the sim. Woo hoo.

Here’s the second of my scary stories and it relates to heavy aircraft taking off short runways – always a “fun” time :)

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My other “scary flight moment” was when flying from Buenos Aires to Australia back in the late 90’s. At that time Aerolineas Argentinas had exclusive rights to the trans-polar route between Auckland & Buenos Aires and were using their 747-200 aircraft.

With the prevailing winds behind them, they were able to go from Auckland to Buenos Aires non-stop but couldn’t make it in the other direction with those same winds slowing them down. To make the flight to Auckland, the aircraft would fly south from Buenos Aires to Rio Gallegos way down at the bottom of Argentina. From here they would load up with fuel and continue their journey to Auckland. Due to being full of fuel, they couldn’t take on a full passenger load so you sometimes got some extra space. That was about the only benefit to the flight.

The first time I ever flew back to Australia from Argentina, I had a window seat and was watching the stark, rugged approach as we neared the airport. The screen on the wall was showing our progress and as I looked out the window, I saw a runway that looked a bit short for a 747. Sure enough, we turned final and landed on it. Oh great.

After an hour or two hanging out in the terminal waiting for fueling to be completed, we trooped back aboard and the real fun began. I couldn’t get the image of the runway out of my mind. It really did appear rather short.

Being too big & heavy to use the taxiway, we went onto the runway, turned right and headed to the end where we did a 180 and lined up to take off. The pilots stood on the brakes and ran up the engines, first to check they were running OK then beyond to much higher thrust levels. The aircraft was straining against the brakes with the engines howling when, finally, the pilots released and applied full power.

Rumbling down the runway, I split my attention between the view outside and the screen on the wall at the front of the cabin that was showing speed, altitude, temperature, etc. With the aircraft shaking along the runway, we’d gone past the mid-point where the terminal was and still weren’t near what I figured was VR.

Oh crap :(

Subconsciously my hands went to the arm rests of my seat and began pulling up on them as I thought “Come on you fat pig, lift! Fly!”

I was really starting to get concerned when I felt the nose lift and then the rumbling ceased as the mains left the ground. WHEW!

When you take off from a major runway in most large airports, the gear is probably already retracted before you’ve passed the end of the runway. Not this time. I’d only had a second to start relaxing when the end of the runway flashed by and the gear started to retract. Wow!

Once we were in the air and on our way I started breathing again and realised I was still holding the arm rests. Letting go I looked out the window, wondering how they ever got approval to operate fully loaded 747’s from Rio Gallegos. I wished I could have experienced it from the cockpit – the view would have been incredible.

I only did the Buenos Aires -> Rio Gallegos -> Auckland trip twice and both times I was stressing about getting off the ground before the runway ran out. Eventually QANTAS started flying the route and their 747-400’s could go non-stop between Buenos Aires & Auckland. Aerolineas Argentinas soon upgraded to A340s and Rio Gallegos was no longer required on the trans-polar route. These days QANTAS are using their 747-400ERs which can make it non-stop from Buenos Aires to Sydney so you don’t even have to stop in Auckland if you don’t want to.

I’ve got to say, there are some things from the “good old days” of flying that I really just don’t miss :)

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It’s interesting that QANTAS are using their 747-400ERs on the Buenos Aires route. I guess with the A380 on the SYD <-> LAX and MLB <-> LAX routes the -400ER’s were available to fly additional routes. It certainly makes getting to Buenos Aires a lot more comfortable :)

The folks at Flight Experience Melbourne are running a competition for their 737 flight simulator. Write up your scary flying story and you could win a free session in the sim. Woo hoo.

I’ve had two very scary flights in my life and I’m adding them to the collection even thought I can’t win ‘cos I’m staff (I run the blog :) So, here’s the first of my two stories.

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We were returning to Boston on United Airlines (from memory a 757) in the mid-90’s. It was coming up on winter and the weather was grey, windy and lots of rain. The pilot came on the PA to advise that due to weather, Boston Logan airport (our destination) was going to be closing. We were to be the last aircraft that would be allowed to attempt a landing and that the crew would give it their best shot to try and get everyone where they were going on this dark & stormy evening.

He also told us all to ensure we buckled up tight and stowed all loose gear because it was probably going to be a bit of a ride. Oh joy.

All cabin crew were strapped in, lights were off and window shades were open as we descended further into the soupy clouds. I had a window seat behind the wing on the right hand side and was watching the outside world as we descended.

The turbulence started to kick in as we got lower and then we broke through the overcast, coming in over the grey, seething waters of Massachusetts Bay. Now the thumps and rattles which had us all shaking about in our seats were “enhanced” by rocking & rolling as we got closer to the surface.

Looking out the window, I was seeing alternate dark grey sky and then very dark grey sea. The aircraft was rolling with the engines surging while the ailerons & spoilers were deflecting madly as the crew fought the variable & gusty winds down the approach path.

Soon we were over the inner harbour and I was starting to see some of the navigation equipment that’s anchored in the water. We were still having quite the roller coaster ride but it eased off as we got over the tarmac, although the crew were still working hard to keep us aligned.

Finally we thumped it onto the deck, the spoilers deployed and almost immediately the thrust reversers were applied. Through the rain on the window you could see the airport buildings and aircraft looking very windswept and miserable.

As we taxied off the runway, the lead flight attendant came on and in a slightly shaky voice said “Welcome to Boston, folks.” There was some laughter but it was mostly a quiet cabin as we all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

On the way off the plane I stopped to chat with the captain as he stood at the cockpit door (remember when they used to do that?). I congratulated him on the landing and said it was the hairiest ride I’d ever had. He agreed it was a pretty good one but noted that he was ex-US Navy, at which point we both agreed that night landings on a carrier are the most intense experience of all (I think there’s a joke about that, right? :)

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Given this is my personal blog, I can share the joke with you:

The best things in a pilot’s life are a good landing, a good orgasm & a good shit. Night carrier landings are the only way you can experience all three at the same time :) :)

On Easter Monday this year, I was hanging out at home and looking at the beautiful blue skies when the phone rang. It was Nico asking if I wanted to go flying today. HAH! What a crazy question :) I grabbed my gear, picked him up and we headed off to the Royal Victorian Aero Club at Moorabbin Airport (YMMB). We had been contemplating flying their Seminole out over Phillip Island and back, just for some fun. Turns out that was booked out over the weekend for a run up to Queensland. Fortunately, the club’s Alpha was parked on the ramp and just itching to be taken out for some aerobatics. Woo hoo!
The Alpha is a two seat side-by-side fully aerobatic trainer from Alpha Aviation in New Zealand. The aircraft at RVAC (VH-VCF) is an R2160 model with a Lycoming O320D (160Hp) engine, bubble canopy and a sporty look to it. Originally made in France as the Robin 2160, the rights to the design and the construction jigs were purchased by Alpha Aviation when Robin went out of business. Sadly, Alpha went out of business in 2007, which is a shame as these are beautiful aircraft and a lot of fun to fly.
Nico is an aerobatics instructor and certified to fly the Alpha from the right seat, so I got to log the flight as an intro to aeros. W00t! Getting into the aircraft was easy with a step behind the wing then onto the wing itself. It’s then a simple matter to step in, sit down and start adjusting everything. I’m over 187cm tall and there was about 1cm between the top of my headset and the canopy when we closed it. I’d say it was a perfect fit but the stick kept hitting my right thigh on full deflection. With a bit of experimentation we found places I could arrange myself when not flying so Nico was comfortable with the controls. Still, even when I was on the controls I would whack my right thigh when rolling. Oh well…
	The cockpit is well laid out with the standard flight instruments on the left hand side, Garmin gear on the right (including a GPS) and engine temp/pressure gauges (and the G Meter :) along the bottom. The instructor has the joy of looking left to see all the instruments but hey, they’re used to that :)
After a quick preflight we fired up and taxied over to the run up bay to verify that everything was ready to go. There was a lot of movement on the ground and busy circuits aloft, as is typical at Moorabbin when the weather is beautiful and it’s a weekend or public holiday. We taxied out to the hold point for the runway and were cleared to go after a couple of landings and touch-n-go’s went before us. The aircraft was quickly off and into the air, heading out from Moorabbin over Frankston and then to the training area. The Alpha is quite responsive and the view is great everywhere except just below the wing. We reached 5,000′ about the time we arrived at the aerobatics part of the training area. It’s conveniently located above a line of high-tension power lines which help to mark the area AND give you something to align yourself with during manoeuvres.
After doing a few steep clearing turns and waiting for one aircraft to transit the area, we were ready to begin. We cinched down the harnesses, verified everything was stowed and started off with a simple barrel roll. Yeee haah! From there we did a loop and then another barrel roll. After that we progressed to a stall-turn at which point we confirmed that yes, I am much heavier than Nico as the aircraft wanted to break left instead of right as Nico wanted. A bit of effort on the rudder and it did as it was told. I’d been following through on the controls and so after another barrel roll we went through a loop and then it was my go to do it with Nico guiding and following me. Works well when the instructor is guiding you and nudging at the right time :)
We took it pretty easy through all this (+3G to -1G) but it’s been *ages* since I last had a hit of Vitamin G, so by now I had the fresh air vent blowing right on my face and was apparently going a little white. I was smiling and loving it but yeah, time to head for home. Oh well :) We headed back to the reporting point (over the GMH factory) and had just called in when another aircraft called that they too were at GMH and on the same altitude. Yikes! Visions of the recent mid-air collisions at Bankstown and here at Moorabbin flashed through my head as we both looked everywhere for the other aircraft (stupid, I know, but you can’t help it some days). We finally made out the other aircraft a very long way off from GMH so we relaxed a bit. It was annoying that they were calling in at the wrong spot but understandable as, thanks to an increase in houses and factories in the area, the GMH factory is no longer such an easy to spot landmark. After calling in and being acknowledged by the tower, we were cleared to make our way over Sandown race track where the Easter Nats car races were going on. From there, we were lined up on base for 17L and cleared in behind another aircraft that was already on final. The bubble canopy certainly made for a great view as we turned onto final and came in for a beautiful landing (yes, that was Nico – not me – there’s a reason I use the handle Falcon124 :) We taxied back to the RVAC ramp and shut down. A fun flight in a great little aircraft. Good for getting from A to B and also good for throwing around the sky. Ya gotta love that! I’ve loaded all the photos from the flight into a gallery on my site. Now to figure when I can next get chance to go fly with a friend once again as that seems to be the only way I’m getting off the ground lately…