SPC#75 – We Have that Extra Foot

In Episode 75, we join Bill as he does another instrument training flight, more instrument pattern flying for practice, and an all new Beyond the Checkride Segment about buttoning up the airplane when doing cross country flying, or even at home. Enjoy.

Links:

Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! Visit the SPC website at https://studentpilotcast.com. Please keep the feedback coming. You can use the contact form on the website or send email to bill at student pilot cast dot com. The theme song for our episodes is "To Be an Angel" by the band, "Uncle Seth".

Legal Notice: Remember, any instruction that you hear in this podcast was meant for me and me alone in the situation that we happened to be in at the time. Please do not try to apply anything you see or hear in this episode or any other episode to your own flying. If you have questions about any aspect of your flying, please consult a qualified CFI.

Copyright 2008-2024, studentpilotcast.com and Bill Williams

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Today, we do another instrumentpattern, practice flight, and we have
another beyond the check ride for you.
So I hope you enjoy episode75 of the student pilot cast.
We have that extra foot.

(00:30):
Welcome back SPC listeners.
We've got another instrumentpractice flight for you today.
And to beyond the check ride segment thatwe obviously hope you're going to like.
While I'm thinking about the beyondthe check ride, please let us know
what you think of the new segments.
More importantly, what topicsshould we cover in the future?
Those of you who have run into asituation where you thought to yourself,

(00:51):
why didn't anybody teach me this?
Reach out to us and letus know what it was.
We love We love storiesas much as the next guy.
And if you hadn't noticed.
We like telling them to, andwe want to use yours if we can.
You can reach out to me at billat student pilot, cast.com.
And we can't wait to hear from youwe'll include this week segment,

(01:13):
which is about some tips and thingsto think about when securing an
airplane when you're done flying.
Especially when you start goingplaces away from your home airport.
But we'll include that after the flight.
First let's get to the flight.
By the way you may hear athird person on this flight.
We had a stowaway or, alright,I guess it was just a backseat

(01:33):
passenger for the flight.
He was another student who was aboutto start his instrument training and it
asked to fly along to start getting afeel for what the training would be like.
And since I was just startingto, it seemed to make sense.
So as my instrument training wascontinuing, we had another flight
to do some more instrument patterns.
These were supposed to be a littlemore complex than the first ones.

(01:55):
Uh, we kind of forgot aboutthat until part way through.
So I'll get to that duringthe flight, when we get there.
Again, if you didn't hear the previousflights, these instrument patterns
were designed to get me quote in thecockpit, if you will, under the hood
and getting more used to using myscan and controlling the airplane,
just by reference to the instruments.

(02:16):
Remember, this was all pretty new to me.
So practice was certainly needed.
So as usual, we'll start with theweather and we'll go from there.
Back to our original Tango,time one four five four zero,
wind zero four zero at eight.
Temperature eight.
Two point minus six,Altimeter three zero, two six.

(02:37):
Approach in use, runwayfour left and right in use.
Attention all aircraft, 5G numbersin effect for Falcon Airport.
For further information, contactflight service frequencies.
All arrivals contact towerone two four point six.
Advisors contact, you have tango.
Okay.
Full reckless take 71 19.
Room four left.
Clear and go.

(02:58):
Complete.
3, 2, 9.
Whole position patternis full at the moment.
Uh, probably be like a 10 minute delay.
Did you want to wait or doyou have another request?
Okay.
Uh, we will try.
Brakes are working.
3, 2, 9.
go out this way, right?
Yep.

(03:20):
You can just hold short to spot.
Five, four, continue.
Taxi.
3, 2, 9.
Okay.
So with the weather in hand, we couldstart our taxi toward the movement
area and then make our initialground call to get a taxi clearance.
Red Rock 91 a firm.
Falcon Ground Red Rock.

(03:41):
91 is at spot five with like asouth departure and we have Tango,
red Rock.
91 second ground four.
I texted Delta.
All right, we'll taxi to four,right via Delta Red Rock 91.
All right.
When we cross the ramp, wecan start our instrument.
C CrossFit check, C, CrossFit check.
So when we're out of the rampand into the active area, okay.

(04:03):
Yep.
So you're gonna hit left router.
See that six?
Perfect.
Back around right four.
Right.
Texas V Delta.
Now we check airspeed indicator,reading zero as it should be.
Attention indicator withinten degrees of the horizon.
Altimeter.
3026.
3026.
Thank you.
Uh, 3026 is set.

(04:24):
Got it.
That was the current altimeter for Tango?
Yes.
Okay.
Within 75 feet of field elevation.
Yeah, there we go.
2 1 0 within 30 degrees of each other.
Perfect.
RPM's good.
With that, inclinometer'sworking, and then, um, a clock,
right now we do the run-upand get ready for takeoff.

(04:47):
Flight control.
Free and correct Falcon ground.
Oxford 2060 9 78 at spot to fiveChandley departure with tank up.
Oxford 69 78.
Fucking ground behind the rightDelta Magneto first, but oh yeah.

(05:15):
Find the traffic for right Delta 69 78.
Same drop back up.
Amps gotta be over here, right?
Amps and op.
So we check the vaults.
So above reading zero, so 15.
Good.
Yep.
15.1.
Uh, vacuum, there's no vacuum.
No vacuum.
Um, oil and fuel gauges,green, green, green.

(05:36):
Pressure is rising.
And throttle to idle.
And it didn't die on us.
Cool.
Good.
Back to a thousand.
Alright, GPS.
Want me to put like Chandlerin there or something?
Yeah, you can throw KCHD.

(06:01):
Oh, that glared.
Yeah, KCHD, perfect.
I can't see it at all.
No, you're good.
I'll just hit enter.
And it's activated.
It has some sort of cover on it.
It's making it glare.
Uh, it's just there.
Is that better?
Yeah.
That's my reflection.
Or my shadow.
Uh, transponder.
Should be 1200.
1200.

(06:22):
VFR.
Okay.
Oh, that's what I wassquawking last night.
Uh, before takeoff, brief.
Alright, so we're goingto be taking off from 04R.
Uh, we're going to bedoing a normal takeoff.
We have, um, initial altitudeof 3, 300, basically.
7.
3 7 on the way out.
3 7.

(06:43):
3, 700.
Field elevation is 1394, with thedensity altitude that we have here.
Uh, we should definitely be off the groundby the time we get to taxiway Bravo.
Yeah, we uh, we have a little bitof extra passenger in the back, so
it might, might be a little further.
Uh, I was going up a gross.
Oh, okay.
Perfect.
Alright, and um, so if anything happensbefore we reach Bravo, we're gonna

(07:08):
Bump on the brakes, going to stop,um, if we are below 2, 394 feet and
something happens, we're going to goforward, shallow turns, Uh, we are
going to keep a sterile cockpit tillthen, no checklists, memory items only.
And, um, let's see, we are, okay, we'regoing to be on a right pattern, right?

(07:31):
So we'll go out to the south that way.
Alright, best glide is 79.
And, um, I'll be under thegoggles shortly after takeoff.
Yes, you will be.
I'll just kind of vector you around.
Alright, any questions?
I do not have any questions.
Anything to add?
Alright.
All right.
So we're done with the run-up andwe headed over to tower frequency

(07:53):
and we're waiting our turnand something strange happens.
The number one airplane or the onethat's at the front of the line.
Gets asked by the controllerif they were number one.
And I.
Guess they were assumed from that,that they were cleared or something.
I mean, They must have not listened orheard what he said, but that was not it.
Or even close.

(08:14):
So listen to this exchange.
I'll let this go untilafter our own takeoff.
I just had to trim it out, he did.
Tower, you're numberone at 4 right, correct?
4 right, cleared for takeoff, 329.
That's not what I asked,just put your name on it.
You're number one, verifyyou're number one at 4 right.
Affirm, 329.

(08:35):
He wasn't even listening.
Okay, we'll show it, 329.
I assume he cleared me.
Four.
Delta contact delta
citation.
A Charlie Bravo across runway.
Four.
Left at uh, Charlie Traffic turningArcher about a mile and a half.
Final taxi parked via echo This frequency.

(08:57):
Good day crossing four.
Left at Charlie taxiingto the ramp on Echo.
Stay with U.
Other bow Cessna three.
Two Niner Right turn approved.
Runway four.
Right cry off.
Right turn approved.
Four.
Right.
Clear takeoff.
Three, two Niner.
Falcon Tower Cherokee 2 3 6 1.
Romeo AJ.
Arrival, uh, requesting full stopparking on the north with information.

(09:20):
Tan Cherokee.
2 3 6 1.
Romeo Falcon Tower.
Roger.
Fly to midfield down.
Uh, right.
Traffic runway four.
Right.
Midfield down.
Wind.
Four.
Right, right.
Traffic.
2, 3, 6, 1.
Romeo, what's that?
96.
10.
I thought he was gonna ask us.
Number two.
I think he knows by now who we are though.

(09:40):
Yeah, . We're broadcasting it.
I'm gonna do the before takeoff, sofield jump on landing light on nine 16.
Lap up Chandler traffic is going.
The gateway runway fourright or takeoff is complete.
Takeoff off the 9 23 4 Go to 1 2 4 0.67

(10:00):
19 runway.
Four left Cleared.
A touch and go.
And a left go Traffic crew.
Four left, cleared touchand go, Oxford 7119.
Oxford 609, number two, rollingfour left, cleared touch and
go, left coast traffic approved.
Number two, uh, four left,cleared touch and go, left coast
traffic, Oxford 6239, thanks.
Citation, HR Bravo, change to monitor 121.
3, please.
Control, monitor 121.

(10:21):
3, HR Bravo.
Roger, tower,
Oxford 2384, at four left, uh, holdingfor about four left, ready for departure.
Oxford 2384, if I understand right.
Red Rock 53, uh, turn, uh, turn right atCharlie without delayed traffic inside a
mile final, hold short of runway 4 right.

(10:42):
Right on Charlie, right on 53.
Falcon Tower, Red Rock 91 is holdingshort of 4 right, ready to go.
Cleared for takeoff on 4 right,southbound approved, Red Rock 91.

(11:03):
Cool beans,
takeoff a little, a little later today, a
All right.
SA
Tower Sky Engine Instruments are green.

(11:24):
Green Delta one.
Ready.
Air speed is alive.
There's 60.
We're gonna go a little higher there.
Tower out right
straight out.
Alright, take
little bit heavier today.
9, 6, 10 adminis instructions.

(11:45):
Continue straight.
Very nice.
Straight out.
You'll call out ten ninety six ten.
Checking 6R, traffic 1 o'clock, 2 miles,southbound of Gateway, Cessna 2900.
Traffic in sight, 28336R.
28336R, traffic 3 miles southeast,northwestbound, Archer after
case 2400, heads in sight.

(12:07):
Uh, looking for traffic pictures.
Uh, they're EC99VH, short4 right, northbound.
Alright, I'll do controls,you can throw your hood on.
Eh.
You're controls.
I got it.
Red Rock 91, continue straight out inthese, do you have the uh, Seminoles

(12:29):
heading to your left higher insidethere in the right turn there?
Do you see him?
Uh, we don't have that trafficwe're looking for, but we'll
continue straight out, Red Rock 91.
Do you have controls?
I got the controls.
Hold on.
Isn't that traffic right in front of us?
Uh, just,
yeah.
Oh, I think that's him right there.

(12:50):
That's Seminole.
Red Rock 53, holdingshort 4 right at Charlie.
There's another guy off to our left.
There he is.
There's one diamond star ofthe seven holes up there.
Yeah, I see that guy.
Alright, you can take the controls.
I've got the controls.
Alright, and continue flying straight out.

(13:13):
Follow a diamond and leftcrosswind and downwind.
Cross, uh, uh, crossover runway for lefttraffic, four left, and follow a diamond.
Red Rock 91, right turn approved.
Right turn approved, Red Rock 91.
This is a 217, a traffic archer headingto your right, should be making a turn.

(13:33):
Want me to turn to 180?
Yeah, turn to a 180 for now.
Southbound, follow down,right turn approved.
After 3, 700.
Harvey, 2 3 5 Papa Sierra,Falcon Tower, flash you down
runway 4R, clear for takeoff.
RV 5 copies, we got aflight crew down here.

(13:59):
And you'll keep us inbetween all this airspace?
Christian 119, rolling forwardleft, clear touch and go.
Cleared for touch and go.

(14:23):
Let's go to, go to 185.
We have the traffic in sight, 611 Romeo.
Cherokee 61 Romeo, number 2, followthe diamond, they're touch and go,
rolling forward left, clear to land.
Number two, clear to land.
Follow and dive at 2, 000 Romeo.
Falcon Tower, Oxford 3373, holding short,um, for runway forward left, ready.

(14:46):
Oxford 3373, follow, coming departingto make left traffic, runway
four left, cleared for takeoff.
Okay, you come rightheading two zero zero.
Two zero zero.
Cleared for takeoff, Oxford 3373.
Red rocket, 53, again, thanks foryour patience, press runway four right
at Charlie contact, ground good day.
There you go.
Cross four right at Charliecontact, ground good day.
if I didn't say it already, we'd beheading to the south practice area

(15:09):
again, to do these instrument patterns.
So we'd head that way andget started on the patterns.
Let's just head out a little bitmore, uh, out here to get away
from everyone, and then you canstart your instrument pattern.
Thanks.
And before we do that, we only have aminute left before we hit the timer,
so I'll throw your fuel pump on.
Okay.

(15:29):
You can switch tanks.
Switching to the left.
And throw the fuel pump off, alwayscheck the fuel pressure, still good.
Still good.
And we'll do ours heading south.
So, let's turn left heading 180.
Left heading 180.
And when you're established 000, youcan start your instrument pattern.

(15:53):
Okay.
And let's do it at 100 miles an hour.
Okay.
Southeast practice area, Skyhawk63371, over the Wichita, headed
towards the GAP 3, 500, last call.
Southeast.
South
practice area, Rock 91 is at West cropcircle, 4, 000 simulated instrument turns.

(16:20):
Alright, good deal.
And, so our first one,First leg is one minute.
One minute.
500 20 seconds to go

(16:42):
30 seconds Southeast Bacisteria 2646,3 miles east of central Arizona College
at 4000, Lazy 8, Southeast Bacisteria.

(17:06):
Alright.
Southeast Bacisteria 2741 is enteringthe gap, last call southeast.
And go.
All right, I'm gonna have youhold this heading just for now.
Okay.
'cause of traffic.

(17:28):
Stay right here.
Yep.
And when you're, don't mindthe timing on this leg.
I'm gonna let this guy pass usand then we're gonna continue on.
Got it.
And you'll restart from there.
Southeast practice three nine 4,502 milesto the northeast of the witches hat.
Headed southeast bound.

(17:48):
Headed southbound to, uh, Southeast
. I'm looking for him.
Lucas, you see anyoneoff our right hand wing?
Same altitude as us?
Oh, I see him.
Alright, see that white dot over there?
Yep, there it is.
Alright, now you're good to continue.

(18:09):
Alright, we'll continue toturn to one, three, one, five.
Three, one, five.
Sorry about that.
Alright, at standard rate.
Altitude.
Altitude.
More than standard right southeastside area, Oxford 10 10 is 6,500

(18:30):
feet over Secon beak headedwestbound towards oxygen southeast.
A lot more sensitive thana Manu, than a analog gauge
Southwest practice area on 8 0 6.
Just north, uh, FirebirdLake, 4,500 we're.

(19:00):
Alrighty.
Oh, I got to start my timer.
30 seconds.
And we're going to go to south.
Yeah?
Or north I think.
Looks like it.

(19:20):
Yeah, because we started south.
So you're going to head to north.
Doing good Bill.
Staying ahead of the airplane.
Always on your timer.
Watching your headings.
Watching your airspeed.
Doing your scan.
I can tell you're not fixating or usingomission on one of your instruments.
So, that's good.

(19:40):
As you say that, I start to go right.
Don't get complacent.
No, I'm just kidding.
Yeah.
You suck!
One thing I would like to see, though,I haven't really checked, seen you
check the engine instruments too much.
So, once in a while,take a glance at those.
you start your timer?
I did, oh my gosh, I thought I did.
I hit it, but I must have reset it.
Alright, you have about 30seconds left in this leg.

(20:02):
Alright,
got to check my equipment too I guess.
Oh yeah.
And we're going to be turning right,
45.
2
miles to the west of Coolidge Town, 4,500 tracking towards Coolidge Airport.

(20:33):
Over, second on peak, 4, 500.
Headed southbound, practicingbasic attitude for flying.
Southeast approach, sir.
Actually going.
Alright, 45 seconds.
Southeast Praxair Oxford 2781 isabout 7 miles northeast of Florence.
Maneuvering at 5, 000 southeast.

(20:54):
We'll be doing a leftturn to south right now.
Southeast Praxair Oxford 4263 isabout 3 miles north of Florence.
Southeast Praxair Oxford 4263 isabout 3 miles north of Florence.
should end at two minutes on my timer.
South area 6 59 is in the so

(21:18):
Okay.
Here's where my instructor finally remindsme that these patterns were supposed
to have speed changes included in themto start making them more complex.
Oops.
Okay.
So we started adding the speed changes,and you'll hear that conversation here.
Let's start doing the change toapproach speed and all that good stuff.
Oh, yeah, I wasn't even reading that.

(21:40):
Normal cruise, what do we call that?
100.
And then, after that turn,after this next 180 degree turn,
you're going to change to 90.
Got it.
Then 100 again.
But hold the altitude, right?
Yep.
Okay.
All right.
We have 20 seconds
and we are gonna be going 180 degrees.

(22:05):
to north
now.
We want to slow it up.
After the turn.
After the turn.
Okay.
Okay.
I got a little fast on that.
Yeah.

(22:27):
Slow it down to 90.
We're going
to go on this for two minutes.
Probably going to be around 1, 900, right?
Yeah.
That should give you a goodcontrol performance for 90,
about a minute.
45.

(22:48):
2 7 29.
Are you heading to the gap right there?
We're doing some unusual latitudes.
Two.
Alright.
7, 8, 0.
We're heading to the Gap.
We got your insight.
Two.
Thank you.
Uh,
it's a 4,000.
Yep.

(23:09):
Southwest Bracket Area, Expert4263 over the north test track.
Yeah, I'm good sir, I'll be there.
Sorry.
Oh, you're good, never mind.
I know you know what you're doing.
There you go.
Alright, I'm out.
30 seconds.

(23:29):
Satisfac 8 1 0.
AlphaGo.
Which hat?
Oops.
Wrong way.
It's a little harder whenyou're trying to maintain speed

(23:49):
chasing it a little bit.
Alright, two minutes.
Where are we going?
Are we on this leg?
So right turn.
So it will be a right hand turn.
Right turn to south.
And when you reach, when you reachsouth, you're going to go back

(24:12):
to normal cruise setting of 100.
So just maintain 90 for now.
don't know quite yet.
Southwest practice area 3752 is12 miles to the north of Coolidge
town headed towards Coolidge.
Southeast practice area at 5500.
Southwest

(24:36):
practice area 6.
453 over Maricopa mountainclimbing 5000 for 5500 Southwest.
All right.
Um, I'm gonna take the controls from here.
You got the controls?
Yep.
I'm gonna take the controls.
Oxford, 1593.
You up.
All right.
Good job.
There's some trafficthat I wanted to avoid.
Sure.

(24:58):
head home again.
So we'll take you back over Chandler'sairspace on our way back in.
Alright, with that good job Bill.
All take me back home.
All right.
I've got the controls.
So you've got the controls.
Let's get the weather.
Four.
Seeing hit com, one approach,use four left and right use.

(25:19):
Engine lock has five genomes in effect.
Trip Falcon Airport, forfurther information, contact
flight service frequencies.
All arrivals contact tower 124.
6.
Advisors contact, you have Tango.
Back to information, Tango.
Time 145.
40.
Wind 040 at 8.
Temperature 8.
Dewpoint minus 6.

(25:39):
3 0 2 6.
Alright, let's make a lefthand turn to go to Chandler.
Trip Falcon Airport, forfurther information, contact
flight service frequencies.
Did you already do it?
Yeah.
I couldn't see it cause it was I know.

(26:01):
You want me to go down to 3, 300?
So at
20 miles out we got the first call.
Or at 20 miles out we got the weather.
At 10 miles out we'regonna get the first call.
Yes sir.
And then after that we'll do our, we'llcontinue on the before landing checklist.
So over at Chandler you canmake your first call when
we're 10 miles out from Falcon.
Yep.

(26:22):
Houston, Maricopa Mountain.
Maneuvering.
I'm gonna, yeah, yeah.
Let's slow ourselves down to 90Southwest practice area ourselves.
A little bit of traffic separation.
Three over Maricopa Mountaineastbound, back to Chandler Factory.
2 23 4,000 feet.
Volcano, southbound stall Southeast.

(26:45):
All right.
It looks like they're going intoChandler, so that's no factor.
So you can speed back up to a hundred
and
you can throw in KF
63.
Okay, gimme one second here.
I'm at my altitude.
Look.
Alright,

(27:10):
Southeast 52 with the town ofCoolidge at 5,500 southbound
Southeast Practice area Southeast.
Obviously, don't follow that linebecause it'll take us to the Bravo.
Yes, sir.
I'll stick going over Chandler.
Yeah, let's go.
One zoom in.
There we go.

(27:30):
Perfect.
Good job sir, good ADM.
So Lucas, what he's doinghas been basic attitude.
This is the beginning ofinstrument course, so this
is what you're going to do.
You have to fly a lot of patterns,and he hasn't looked outside

(27:52):
once since we've taken off.
How many, uh, like, How many lessonsis in flight, or in instruments?
This is my fourth, oh, oh.
There's like 23.
23, gotcha.
But this is lesson four.
Where do you do a lot of instrumenttraining, like down at the Stanfield?

(28:16):
Yeah, Stanfield VOR into CasaGrande is a lot of approaches.
Gotcha.
But for this, this is thefirst level, just kind of get
used to instruments, and then.
The next step is approaches and all that.
Yeah, I haven't even started that yet.
All right, sir, you canswitch over to 1 2, 4 0.6.
It's always good to listen in.
There you go.
Actually, tower runway four right now.

(28:37):
Four left runway four.
Right.
Clear in clear.
The left four Right two.
Nine x-Ray turning please.
That direct button's sticky.
There you go.
Bryan Delta eight Park 98 32.

(28:59):
King Air five Romeo Bravo.
Traffic Mirage on a right base.
Fly straight out Christian.
Nine eastbound.
Four East Tango, right?
Yep.
Five Parkview DeltaPark Bay, Delta X 98 32.
Have a good one.
You're
gonna say 10 miles to the south.
Inbound.
Full stop with Tango.

(29:20):
Tango.
Yep.
Remember to look overhere once in a while.
Alright, and then you canswitch your tanks now.
Fuel pump.
Switching back to right.
Fuel pressure.

(29:40):
Turn off the fuel pump.
Good.
Still have fuel pressure.
Alright, we're basically over the top.
Yeah, they don't, so their radaronly goes out 10 miles, or 11
miles, so if we call them now,they're just going to say call back.
Yeah.
No, I'll wait until we're 10.

(30:04):
But I think we're safe tofollow the gentle line now.
frequency's not very busy right now.
Surprising.
Yeah.
Cross generic.
Actually turn, I shouldn't have said that.
Yeah, left at the end.
Two nine x-ray.
Sometimes it's too early.
Quiet.
And then I checked for radios.

(30:24):
1988.
you heard me.
Just say it was not very busyon the frequency right now.
Let that be a lesson for you.
If you're ever about to make a radio call.
Don't say that.
At least not out loud, don'tever say that you're amazed at

(30:47):
how little traffic there is.
So now, as you can imagine, When it wastime to make my call, it was of course.
Super busy on the frequency.
So I had to try a coupleof times actually.
To squeeze in a call to getback to Falcon through the gap.
I talked about the gapin a previous episode.

(31:08):
Um, but it's just, you know, betweenairspaces getting back into Falcon.
So I made my first call quickly.
Uh, but as I let go of the push totalk button, it was clear that the
controller had been talking overme and blocking my transmission.
Which you can hear me immediatelyrecognize and react to.
So I knew I would have to squeezein another call and get two way
radio communication going before Icould get back into the airspace.

(31:30):
Here you go.
Alrighty, sir.
Start to make your radio call.
Oxford 1122, follow Cessna 2miles ahead, base to final.
Following Cessna on baseto final, uh, Oxford 1122.
Ross 2 9 Xray, hold short runway 4 left.
Hold short 4 left, 2 9 Xray.
Falcon Tower, Red Rock 91 is 10 milessouth, inbound, full stop with Tango.

(31:53):
119.
7, have a good day.
Dang it!
119.
7, 2 9 Xray.
For the 39 and 66 stock towertraffic mile crash four I.
When that happens,Delta, I did it fast too.
I know.
Four.
Right?
Delta four, right?

(32:14):
Delta six.
Six.
Delta six.
And contact correct.
Falcon Tower Red Rock.
91 is nine miles South inbound.
Full stop.
Tanko nine one.
Falcon Tower four.
Right.
Straight in for 4 right, Red Rock 91.
Roger, land 22, number 2,runway 4 right, clear to land.

(32:35):
See, I never should have said thatthe frequency was not very busy.
Yeah, now it is.
Did he say 4 left or 4 right?
4 right.
4 right.
I thought I heard him say 4 left.
I'll confirm.
We can do that when we're closer.
Okay.
Alright, so when we crossChantler's airspace, then we'll

(32:56):
start our descent at 2, 400.
Because by the time we hit thedelta, they want us at 2, 400.
Okay.
So here's my favoritepart of the recording.
Mostly because I like sarcasm.
But if you're not super familiarwith the airspace, she might
not even get the sarcasm course.

(33:17):
You might not get it anyway, becausemy jokes aren't usually very good, but
at least you'll have a fighting chance.
So the class Delta airspace forChandler has a top of 3000 feet.
So you have to be above thatto stay out of their airspace.
But in this case, on the chart whereit depicts that top as the number
30 in the square segmented box,that's on the chart, you know, to.

(33:40):
To indicate 3000 feet.
It's proceeded by a minus sign.
Which means that the topof the airspace goes.
Up to, but does not include 3000 feet.
This always seemed kind of silly becausethe bottom overhead Phoenix class Bravo
in that area starts at 4,000 feet.

(34:00):
So you basically have athousand feet between the two
to shoot the gap back to Falcon.
But, you know, you alsohave that extra foot.
Because 3000 feet is not included in.
Chandler's airspace.
I know it's not technicallya foot probably because just
3000 feet isn't included.

(34:20):
So really anything below exactly.
3000 feet to the ground would be included.
Anyway, the whole thing is kind of silly.
So I did what I do andI made a joke of it.
Sometimes people don't getme, but that's all right.
My instructor warned me to watchmy altitude and not get too low.
So I didn't wander down intoChandler's airspace accidentally.

(34:43):
I don't remember how close we were.
Uh, but it was probably at least acouple hundred feet above their airspace.
And I wasn't worried, especiallybecause we still had 3000
feet MSL that we could use.
So right after that, we cleared theperimeter of the airspace and started
the descent to Falcons pattern altitude.

(35:04):
I'll let this go all theway back down to the ground.
Alright, Watch your, watch your altitude.
You're getting kind of close to Chantler.
We have that extra foot though,only two nine nine nine.
True.
True.
I'm playing.
We have the extra foot.

(35:26):
Alrighty sir.
I can't tell from here, am I clear?
Yeah, you're clear now.
And if you're alwaysin doubt, just zoom in.
Yep, alright.
And then you can do the rest ofyour before landing checklist.
Number two Oxford, holdingshort of runway four right.
What is your call sign?
Alright, before landing, fuel pump on.

(35:48):
Number three Oxford, is now holding short.
Fuel tank, we just did it.
Mixture rich.
Carb heat is in.
Landing light is on.
Pre landing checklist is complete.
Beautiful.
2, 900 feet.
Let's get down.

(36:10):
Fast.
Watch out for that Bravo.
I want to come right 5 degrees, 020.
There, perfect.
Alright, now

(36:48):
Fox, Qatar, Oaxaca 2477, holding shortrunway 4R, ready for takeoff, Oaxaca.
Oaxaca 1988, AJ approved,runway 4R, cleared for takeoff.
4R, cleared for takeoff, Oaxaca 1988.
Oaxaca 2477, Oaxaca, Qatar, roger.
Uh, this is in the future when you pullout of the run up area on the ground side,
otherwise you need to be on my frequency,I was trying to get a hold of you.

(37:13):
Okay.
Yes sir.
Alright, turn left Heading 3 6 0 3 6 3 6.
Left three six
in terminate with uniform.

(37:34):
Red Rock, 91.
Number two, follow Sesa midfield Downwardnumber two, we'll follow Red Rock 91.
All right, you can take your goggles off.
Welcome back.
Calling.
There should be someone on midfielddownward so we can slow ourselves down.
Let's get us in the slowflight inbound close.
That's 1 3 9 5 Tower makeion, right, right four, right.

(37:54):
Two.
1 3, 2 9.
I need your help here.
I'm looking down.
On a right downwind?
Yeah, it should be circling.
I'm just going to turn kind ofa long base, is that alright?
Yeah, that's fine.
That'll give you a betterview over there anyway.
Just

(38:22):
put us in a slow flight at flaps.
There he is.
Got him.
Yep.
Where?
He's about crossing, uh, whatevervalve is to Oh, there he is.
There he is.
Yeah, it's probably 200 feet.
Whatever you do, do notcross into 4L approach path.
I won't.
So we can add in thatsecond notch of collapse.
Alright.
Alright, we've got the traffic.

(38:42):
Red Rock 91.
Clear to land.
4R, clear to land.
Clear to land, Red Rock 91.
Perfect.
Good deal.
Okay, I've lost him.
Okay, no, you're good.
Keep turning.

(39:02):
Watch out, there's another guy overthere, so just stay in your approach path.
I will not go across.
Okay.
3 0 2 8 and uh, we'reshowing 2,400 right now.
Seven.
Seven, nine or seven.
See you landing seven helicopters.
Total clock is foot.
South, south, westbound.

(39:23):
And you can start your no factor.
Seven, nine, or seven.
Thank you.
Go full flaps.
I am.
Pull just Roger.
Follow.
You can slip if you need to.
I, oh, he's over the traffic as well.
Seven.
Seven.
Oxford.
24.
Seven.
Seven.
Right.
Traffic to slip.
Yeah, I know how to slip.
I'm just not sure I need it.

(39:43):
Alright, well, you do you.
You do, ok.
You do you.
I'll slip a little bit here.
Oh, other way.
Go the other way, because there's traffic.
7 9 7, traffic on final in sight.
There you go.
7 9 7, number 2, rolling4 right, clear to land.
Number 2, 4 right, clearto land, Cessna 7 9 7.
3 1 7 5, do you have companyarcher crossing in sight?

(40:05):
We have the archer in sight, 3 1 7 5.
3 1 7 5, I saw that traffic, AGS approved.
3 1 7 5, I saw that traffic, AGS approved.
AJ approved, Doc, for 3175, appreciate it.
Oh butter.

(40:25):
Butter
and i'll those laps southboundhelicopter case thousand 900.
We'll go right on Delta six.
We're looking for that helicopter.
Little bit more break six contact ground.
Good.
Right on Delta six, contact one.

(40:48):
Come, right, come right.
There you go.
And that nose wheel is tower'sgot 2 0 8 8 4 short four on Bravo.
Did he say contact Graham?
Yep.
Right four.
Right.
Taxi Delta.
Advised right complete Oxford 51 47.
All right, I'm clear.
Say you pump us off.

(41:08):
Landing light is off.
All right.
You're on Delta six.
Falcon Ground.
Red Rock.
91 is off of four right at Deltasix one to taxi ramp, we rock
nine one Falcon Ground Taxi, trueto the ramp via delta, right?
Delta seven via Delta, right Delta seven.
We'll taxi you to the ramp.
Red Rock 91.
Nice.

(41:33):
Smooth criminal.
Very nice, Bill.
I've got some music in my head.
Oh yeah.
No, you should have some FrankSinatra smoking a cigar scene
in your head after that landing.
Give yourself a pat on the back.
That was nice.
Yeah.
I greased my, that waslanding last night too.

(41:54):
Nice.
Oh, you flew with Ryan.
Yeah, that's right.
We were coming out as you were coming in.
That's right.
And we can finish the after landingchecklist and then we'll do the
parking and secure checklist.
Nice.
I did my memory items.
Good.
Um, but I haven't done the checklist yet.
Alright, after landing it's zero.
Fuel pump is off.
Landing light is off.
Carb heat is off.
Alright, parking, parkingbrake, we don't need it.

(42:16):
Um, mixture cut off.
Magnetos, after it's done, is off.
Avionics.
okay.
So that's it for the flight lessontoday, but we've got the beyond the check
ride segment right now for this one.
We're going to talk aboutsecuring the airplane.
A lot of pilots who have done mostlytraining might not have a lot of

(42:40):
experience going to other airportsand leaving a plane overnight, or
even buttoning what up nicely at home.
If they're flying a new airplane outsideof the school, for example, So we
wanted to talk about some of the things.
That we've learned over the years.
Hope you enjoy.

(43:03):
All right, Kent, welcome backto the student pilot cast for
another beyond the check ride.
What have you got for us today?
Well, let's talk about securing yourairplane when you're all done flying.
Oh, that's a good one.
Yeah.
And it's, it's easy to miss some stuff.
It's easy to just, you know, walk away.

(43:23):
And, you know, if you're a student,you're probably used to kind of running
into the FBO with your instructor andtalking about how the flying portion went.
And you might not be thinking about, well,what do I need to do to make sure that the
airplane stays safe while it's unattended?
It's kind of like havinga little kid, right?
Yeah.
And there might be an MOfor your flight school.

(43:43):
That you're at, but then when you gooff, start flying on your own, maybe
you're in a club, maybe you're rentingan airplane from somewhere else,
something like that, you go on a trip.
And you're tying down theairplane overnight somewhere
you've never been before.
It's going to be different thanhow you trained, most likely.
So there's some things to think about.

(44:04):
And I think that's whatwe're going to cover today.
Right?
For sure.
And there's really.
We kind of came up withfour scenarios here.
I'm flying in the north most ofthe time, based in Wisconsin, so
we're usually in hangars up here.
It's a royal pain to get snow andice off your airplane to go flying.

(44:27):
So, uh, most people up here,they don't buy an airplane
unless they can get a hangar.
Um, so I've got my Mooney in a hangarand it's been in a hangar since
the day I got it like 12 years ago.
Previous to that, and actuallyeven more recently, I was still
in the flying club for 14 years.
Up until 2018, and all of our airplaneswere in a hangar as well, but that

(44:50):
was a little bit different situation.
That hangar was one that waspretty FBO and there were maybe
a dozen airplanes in there.
So that's a little bitdifferent of a situation.
And of course when I'm flying otherplaces, I'm usually getting a tie
down and less, you know, gettinga hanger for a single night often
costs a good percentage of what ahanger for an entire month would be.

(45:14):
So yeah, I usually put the planeoutside and you know, we have a
really nice Bruce's cover for it.
So usually lives outside on the road,so it's going to be tied down and.
You know, I think you're gettinginto the world of instructing and you
probably are keeping rental planesoutside down there as much as you
probably wish they were in an airconditioned hangar most of the time.
Yes.

(45:34):
Yes.
But even most of our hangars aren'tair conditioned, but yeah, that's true.
And out here in the Southwest,we generally have good weather.
We are going to talkabout some bad weather.
We do get pretty violent storms sometimesin the summer and the fall, but.
We generally have good weather,uh, it can be hot, and so you, at

(45:55):
a lot of our airports, we see alot of airplanes tied down, even
when they're at their home airport.
Sometimes it's undercover, most peoplewould want it covered, tied down, uh,
but there are a lot of planes that,uh, They live a portion of their life
tied down, you know, just outside, justoutside in the weather around here.
So we don't get the snow and we don'tget, you know, we just don't have a lot

(46:17):
of bad weather other than those storms.
So it is more common down hereto see airplanes sitting outside.
Makes us all a little sad, ofcourse, but yep, that does happen.
Yeah.
Well, a few things that we can kindof talk about just related to the
airplane to start with fuel selectors.

(46:38):
This is probably a reallyfrequently forgotten one on Cessnas.
Um, you know, if you leave the fuelselector on both on most Sestas, your
fuel can drain from one wing to the other.
Even if the ramp looks level, Ican almost guarantee you it's not.
It really doesn't take much to startmoving fuel from one wing to the other.

(47:01):
I know that I have forgotten toput the fuel selector in the proper
position after shutting down.
You come back to the airplane laterand some of your very expensive fuel
is just dripping out the little tubeunder the wing because the opposite
wing is draining into that wing.
And so, that's probably not what youreally want to be doing with your fuel.

(47:22):
You want to be burning that fuel,flying around, having fun, right?
So, make sure that fuelselector is in the right place.
And you know, your, your airplanemay have a securing checklist just
in the normal procedures somewhere,
you know, airplane manuals kind of are allover the board as far as what's in them.
You know, a lot of the olderairplanes don't have that sort of

(47:45):
thing, but something like a brandnew one 72, I would imagine probably
does have a securing checklist.
Yeah.
And sometimes in a high wing likea Cessna, that might be putting
it on either left or right, orit might be shutting it off.
And I know in a lot of flight schools,that might not even be part of the
checklist because those planes areflying six, seven times a day, right?

(48:09):
And so it may not evenbe part of the checklist.
So you may get done withyour primary training or even
in more advanced training.
Um, and.
You've never really gotten in the habitof shutting off the fuel selector or
in a Cessna, changing it to one or theother, because you know, somebody else is
going to be taking it in a few minutes.
But when you're out in the world beyondthe check ride, that's something you

(48:32):
definitely want to be thinking about.
If the airplane's going to be sittingfor a while, it really should be.
Secured properly.
Yeah.
And you know, this really does makethe most difference on the last flight
of the day when the plane's goingto be sitting at least overnight.
So it's one thing if you're in a rentalthat is going to be flown again right away
or at least flown again the next morning.

(48:54):
Um, it's an entirely different storywhen you've got your own airplane or.
Maybe you're in a clubor something like that.
And that plane might not get flownfor a while after you fly it.
So, um, another thing that I'vealways done, maybe you do too.
I always leave my rotating beaconswitch on no matter what, that way

(49:17):
I know that if I walk away from theairplane and I see a flashing light,
Hey, I forgot something important,better run, turn that master switch off.
So I'm able to battery switches
on.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So having something that it'sokay to leave on is a good thing.
That's a good standard operating procedurethat a lot of times you don't think about.

(49:40):
And we are going to do one of theseprobably on standard operating procedures,
but as it comes to securing the airplane,kind of buttoning it up for the night
or for a few days, that is a good one.
If you do it that same way, every time,you know, when you're walking away,
that beacons on, you forgot something.
You forgot something that's going tokeep you from flying the next day.

(50:02):
Right.
And then good one.
I think probably most of us don'tuse parking brakes a whole heck
of a lot in small airplanes.
There are occasions where you may needto, I know I have parked on some ramps
where you're not going to be able toget out of a non moving airplane if

(50:23):
you don't put that parking brake on.
If you do return the parking brake on, alot of FBOs will have signs available that
will say things like, Parking brake on, donot tow, or, you know, they usually have
one red side that says do not tow and theother one says brakes off okay to tow.
So you might be able to just graba freebie, uh, at some point to

(50:47):
put in your plane if you needto put the parking brake on.
Now we want to start talking about Makingsure that airplane's not going anywhere
before the next person comes along.
Not really that big of a deal whenyou're in a hangar, but you know when
I'm flying the Mooney around the countryI'm not gonna be in a hangar most of the
time unless the weather's really bad.

(51:09):
So I need to tie it down.
I know there's a lot of people who justdon't have a hangar and so they're gonna
be tying their plane down all the time.
And so this stuff gets to be reallyimportant and And we both have stories
for you about why they're important.
So, why
don't you go ahead.

(51:29):
Yeah, tying down a couple ofthings that I wanted to mention.
One, a lot of the airplanesI fly are tied down.
I am in a club where wehave a shared hangar.
The FBO manages it.
Kent's got a great storyaround that situation.
Uh, but from a tie down perspective,one thing I've seen done a couple
of times, it hasn't resulted thatI know of in any damage to the

(51:54):
airplane, but it certainly could.
When you are tying down an airplane,make sure that the tie down for
the wings is not behind the wings.
You want the tie downs on the wingsgoing forward because the tie down on
the tail is going to be going backwards.
And that sort of opposition iswhat's going to hold it in place.

(52:16):
If all of the tie downs are behindthe wings, They're not going
to, they're going to be loose.
They're not going to do their job.
The whole thing can move backwards.
And now all of a sudden they're allloose and they can even come unhooked.
Some airplanes, especially lightsports and some types of airplanes,
maybe don't have hooks on them thatare big enough for those big steel

(52:37):
ends on webbing to go through.
And so this is where this story comes in.
My wife's uncle is also a pilot andhe has a light sport airplane that
he ties down at the airplane thatat the airport that I fly out of.
And unfortunately, last September,Falcon field had a crazy

(52:58):
freak microburst come through.
And a year before that, the same thinghappened at Chandler airport, which
is where I did my primary training.
It's just.
10 nautical miles south or so.
When that happened two years ago, thatmight actually have technically been
a tornado, which doesn't happen downhere very often, but it was really bad.
And a lot of airplanes werelost in both of those storms.

(53:19):
Sometimes it wasn't thefault of the tie down.
In some cases, it was actuallypulling the, the anchors out of
the concrete or out of the asphalt,which is buried in concrete.
And there's not much you cando as a pilot about that.
If the tie downs themselves are notanchored well enough, um, not much
you can do, but in my uncle's case,he was under a covered tie down

(53:45):
and that cover saved his airplane.
We're pretty sure, but becausehis airplane, his light sport
airplane had very small.
areas for the tie down.
He couldn't get the end hooks of hiswebbing down the webbing held just fine.
So he had to use carabiners to hookthrough the hook in the airplane.

(54:10):
But unfortunately he didn't use carabinersthat were really actually rated for.
heavy duty use.
And so those carabinersfailed under pressure.
They literally just broke apart andhis airplane was turned loose and
it wedged sideways tail down underthe big heavy duty awnings that were

(54:31):
over the metal awnings that were overthe top of these covered tie downs.
And If it weren't for that,his airplane would have been a
total loss and it almost was.
Anyway, his airplane is composite andit damaged both wings and the tail,
but luckily nothing struck the prop,the engine, the, um, the, there was

(54:52):
no damage to the spinner fuselage.
Everything was fine.
There was just damage onthe tail and the two wings.
And so he was able to convincethe insurance company to fix
it instead of totaling it.
So they ordered new wings from thefactory and, uh, a new elevator and he's
getting those replaced, but it has takenthat whole year for that to happen.

(55:14):
And so those replacements are goingto be happening this week, actually.
None, I guess it's 11months after it happened.
So it's important to tiethese things down properly.
And if you're going to have to usesomething along that chain of tie
down, that is not part of the tiedown, um, make sure it's heavy duty.

(55:36):
So cautionary tale for everybodyout there, these storms can happen.
And when they happen, you want to makesure your airplane is properly tied down.
A lot of airplanes made it throughthat storm just fine out in the
storm, but, um, a few were lost.
And a few like this one where we'reheavily damaged that has been,
you know, taking a year to repair.

(55:58):
So something to be thinking about.
I've been hearing a lot ofpeople saying chains really
aren't a good idea at all either.
Um, I don't know if that's apopular thing down in your area.
I've honestly only seen chainsat an airport once, I believe.
Yeah, it's pretty
common.

(56:18):
It's pretty common down here.
But like I said, I think the mostcommon these days is nylon webbing.
That has become one of the most common.
They're lightweight.
Um, they don't damage the airplaneif they, well the ends, the steel
ends might, the hooks on the end,but, but the webbing itself of
course is soft and they're extremelystrong if you get the right kind.

(56:42):
Yeah, and they do have alittle give toe, so, yeah.
Okay.
Well, time for my cautionarytale about an airplane.
And, uh, this is actually an airplanethat Bill and I have flown in together.
One of our old club planes.
271 Golf.
My first
flight into Oshkosh was in this airplane.

(57:02):
Yes.
Uh, that's right.
I think it was what, maybe 2008 andI had been in Oshkosh already and set
up my campsite and then I, I flew downto Milwaukee and picked you up and we
flew the Fisk arrival into Oshkosh.
Later that same year, wepicked up Troy Wisman.
And did it again.

(57:25):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I know I did at leastthree arrivals that year.
That's right.
But yeah, this one was particularlysad for me because I have about 500
hours in that airplane and had somereally great adventures in her and, um,
the plane was totaled after this, butbasically we had a guy who had flown

(57:47):
out somewhere in New York State, cameback, and there it is on the screen.
Yeah, he came back and he called upthe FBO and this was a shared hangar
situation that was all managed by the FBO.
So the pilot called up theFBO and said, Hey, I'm back.
I'm, you know, ready for theplane to be fueled and put away.

(58:08):
And they came down andthey fueled the plane.
completely topped it off and thendidn't put it away for some reason.
Forgot about it.
It's not their main ramp.
So I guess easy thing to do, I suppose.
But for whatever reason they left it thereand they never came back to put it away.
And overnight there was a stormthat came through that had straight

(58:29):
line winds of 60 knots or so.
And they were kind of from, Back into theside, and so the tail lifted up and went
over on, you know, basically one main cameoff the ground and then went over on the
prop and the spinner and flopped on itsback, and a high wing airplane that does
that is not going to be having a good day.

(58:51):
So the struts were bent, the wing wasflattened out so it had no dihedral,
quite a bit of damage to the skinson the top of the wing, the vertical
tail was crushed, in fact the wholeaft section there was kind of buckled.
So yeah, that plane wastotaled unfortunately.
And uh, yeah, at this point.

(59:13):
Now the club forces everybody totie down the plane unless they are
standing there and watching the FBOput it away while they're still there.
Just so we don't haveanother incident like that.
So something to be aware of if you'rerelying on someone else to put your
plane away or tie it down or whateveris, you know, sometimes things

(59:37):
get busy and things don't happen.
So make sure you stay aware of that.
Responsible for your own airplane.
I've thought about this quite a bitbecause in the club I'm in right
now, we're in the same situation.
We have a bigger hanger and it'sgot multiple airplanes in it, all
of ours, plus a couple of others.
And when we return it, theFBO handles putting it away.

(01:00:02):
What we're required to do ischalk it and, um, call for them
to fill it and put it away, butwe're not required to stay there.
And I've thought about this often, ifI know there's a storm approaching.
Or it's windy when I land, I'm notgoing to walk away from that airplane.
I'm going to call, go find somebody fromthe FBO, or I'm going to call them and

(01:00:26):
I'm going to say, Hey, I'm waiting here.
I'm going to put thisairplane away with you.
So, yeah, it's, it, it'ssomething to think about.
And if you're traveling.
And you're going somewhere and you'rerelying on an FBO to put it away.
Yeah.
If it's a beautiful night, no storms inthe area, maybe you just leave it to them.

(01:00:48):
But if there's any chance, if it'swindy, if, if you're worried at all
about it, do it with them, you know?
Sure.
Yeah.
That's a sad, well, that's a sad picture.
Seeing that thing turnedupside down like that.
It is.

(01:01:08):
Well, let's talk about a few other things.
Once your airplane is actually tieddown, what else do you do with your
airplanes once they're tied down, Bill?
Well, um, one of the first things,whether it's tied down or chock ready
to go in the hangar, I always wipeit down, get all the bugs and grime
off, especially the leading edges.

(01:01:30):
Not only is it courteous, but that stuffwill, it'll eat away at your paint.
So even if you know, you're going tobe the next one to fly, it's still a
good idea to get those leading edges,especially clean, because there's
going to be bugs all over them.
One thing people don't think aboutthat's a leading edge on the Cessnas.
I was thinking about this causeI just did this the other day.

(01:01:52):
I flew one of the one 72s inour club, and I always make a
habit of Opening up the windows.
Cause on those Cessnas, those, youknow, the side windows open up and
everybody taxis with those open, right?
I mean, when it's, when it'shot, like around here, those are
always open while you're taxing.
And between the taxingitself and the, the.

(01:02:14):
Stream from the propeller.
You're throwing bugs intothe sides of those windows.
And most people don't realize that,but there's going to be bugs over
all over the leading edge of those,uh, window sills when they're open.
And if you close the airplane, whenyou button it up and you go to wipe
it down, you're not going to see them.
So open up those windows, wipe those down.
So there, you don't have bugs sittingon those windows for months at a time

(01:02:37):
because you never noticed they were there.
So something to be thinking about.
So wiping it down is one of them.
Definitely.
And, you know, the bugs come off a wholelot easier if you get them off right away.
Yes, they do.
Before they harden up and, yeah.
Yep.
Um, well, even in a hangar, theremight be some things that you

(01:02:58):
still want to do for securing.
Uh, we were talking about puttingchocks on the airplane in the hangar.
And, uh, you know, that's a good idea.
We'd just leave ours on thetug, but, uh, that has a, an
automatic that keeps it secured.
So yeah, it is basically likea really, really big, heavy,
expensive pair of chalks.

(01:03:22):
We also have.
Battery minders.
And if you're an airplane owner, Idefinitely recommend having these.
Most of the time a battery is goingto last you maybe three years.
Um, my airplane has two batteries on it.
They're switched so they're, you know,separate, but one of them's 10 years old.

(01:03:44):
One of them's 15 years oldand both of them are so good.
And that's thanks to the battery minders.
They actually are able to break up sulfurdeposits inside the battery and get those
solids back into solution and keep thatbattery lasting for a good long time.
So, you know, not something you might careabout for a car battery that you can go to

(01:04:07):
the local parts store and replace yourselffor 40 bucks or something like that.
But I know that even 10 yearsago, the last time I replaced
an airplane battery, it was 500.
And so being able to run that battery,You know, three, four, five times
longer than I otherwise would havebeen able to, man, those pretty
incredible paid for themselves long ago.

(01:04:28):
Um, but you do need to plug them in,make sure you got three green lights on
there and then plug them into the wallas well, because I know that once I
accidentally was in a hurry, plugged himinto the airplane, saw my green lights.
Got distracted and left, and, well,they do suck the airplane battery dry if

(01:04:51):
you don't plug them into the wall, so.
Has the opposite effect.
Right.
Right.
Not exactly what you want to happen.
But, um, anyway, so if you havesomething like that, you know,
go ahead and plug those in.
Um, for those of us in the great whiteNorth here, we have engine heaters that we

(01:05:11):
plug in whenever it starts getting cold.
Um, I pretty much plug them in anytime.
It's going to be below 50degrees except for overnight.
There is of course a whole debate in theaviation community about whether it's a
good idea to leave your heaters pluggedin all the time, but um Even though I

(01:05:32):
have one that heats both the oil sumpand all the cylinders it can take, you
know Four to eight hours depending onthe outside temperature to to heat up
that giant block of metal under thecowl So yeah, we generally leave them
in all winter plugged in all the time
Now we do use engine heaters, uh,down here, but it's called the sun.

(01:05:55):
So we don't worry too muchabout turning it off and on.
Um, but I, and I really, I honestlyknow nothing about engine heaters
because I've never used one personally.
We, we don't use them down here really,but I have heard things about them.
And I hear that they have some nowthat, um, you know, if you have
wifi at your hangar, you can connectto them and turn them on remotely.

(01:06:19):
You know, the day before orhours before your flight.
So you don't have to beat the hangar to do it.
So that's pretty cool.
Yeah.
And that's actually not afunction of the engine heater.
Those are these little outlet boxes thatyou can buy and plug the heater into.
Um, and yeah, then they're normally offand you can remotely switch them on.

(01:06:39):
Um, I told you I knewnothing about engine heaters.
Well, there are some engine heatersthat they only heat the sump and on
those you should not plug them in allthe time because what happens is You
keep your oil nice and warm and all thewater vapor You know stays out of the

(01:07:01):
oil or comes out of the oil even andthen it gets into the cold Top end of
the engine and condenses and, you know,that causes things to rust and, you know,
you really don't want that to happen.
So definitely, if you haveone of those, don't leave that
one plugged in all the time.
But, uh, we have one from rife.

(01:07:22):
And it has bands around all the cylindersthat are heated, so, um, you know, there
is some heat distributed around theengine, and even though we're in the
hangar, we do also leave cowl plugs inand a blanket over the top of the cowl,
and so that helps to keep a lot of thatheat inside the cowling and just keep,
uh, you know, a real consistent level ofheat throughout the engine so that, uh,

(01:07:45):
None of the engine is below the dew point.
That's the thing that's really important.
Uh, so maybe we'll settle somedebates there, but probably not.
I'm sure there's still some people whowill disagree with me, but, um, you know,
up here when it gets cold, we need tomake sure that our oil is able to flow.
And it's not this sludge that it can turninto when it's cold, because you want that

(01:08:09):
oil to be protecting your, your engineright away, as soon as you're starting up.
And if it's really cold, theoil does not flow so well.
And 90 percent of your enginewear happens during your startup.
Um, so you definitely want to make surethat you're not making that any worse.
That's good.
Let's see what else.

(01:08:30):
That's definitely an area that.
I don't know much about, but thereis one more thing I wanted to add.
And when we talk about SOPs, standardoperating procedures, at some point,
we'll probably talk about this, but Ithink it's a great idea to make one of
your standard operating procedures, youknow, before you do your pre flight or,
um, even right after you're completed thepre flight to walk around your airplane,

(01:08:55):
kind of look at it all the way around.
But I think it's a good idea to do that.
When you're walking away from theairplane as well, at the end of a
flight, you buttoned her up and justbefore you walk out of the hanger or
you walk away from the tie down, justwalk around the airplane one more time.
Take a look at it.
Make sure that you haven't lefta baggage door open, or there's a

(01:09:19):
seatbelt hanging out of the door orany number of things you left here.
You know, your windshield wiper, wipesolution sitting on the horizontal
stabilizer or whatever it may be.
You just take one last look at itand just make sure it is actually
buttoned down the way you think it is.

(01:09:39):
That's probably another goodstandard operating procedure.
Absolutely.
And I, I like what you said aboutlooking back when you're walking
away from the airplane as well,because there are certain things.
That you're just not goingto see when you're standing
right next to the airplane.
But then you get 50 or 100 feetaway and you look at it again and
then you go, Oh, wait a minute.

(01:09:59):
That doesn't look right.
So yeah, that's, that's excellent advice.
Now, one thing I'm curious about,do you ever open up your oil
dipstick after you're done flying?
I do not.
I have never done that.
So that's a thing that we do also,uh, with the Mooney, um, you know,

(01:10:22):
something like a rental that's goingto fly again right away, maybe no big
deal, but really what, what I'm lookingto do is to let some of that extra
water vapor out of the engine entirely.
So we actually leave.
The oil dipstick open on our engine, um,and you know, in the winter I'll throw the
blanket over that, but, um, yeah, we leavethat open and just let the engine vent.

(01:10:46):
There are some products available thatwill actually dry your engine out.
Um, One that I think is reallygood is, it's called the DryBot,
comes from the same people thatmake the DynaVibe prop balancer.
Uh, but there's some other onesout there, and they have various
methods of drying air out and thenpumping it through your engine.

(01:11:09):
That's something I've thought abouta lot, but I haven't actually pulled
the trigger on yet myself, but yeah,there's at least one school of thought
that thinks that that's a good ideato, to let some of the water vapor
out of the engine after a flight.
So that's a thing that we do too.
And I, I just learned that froma random experienced pilot at an
airport somewhere along the way.

(01:11:31):
It's not something that Ithink is very common at all.
Not only had I not ever done that,I hadn't even ever heard of that.
Well, that was a good one.
We thought that was going to be quick, butwe actually had a couple of stories and
it just, you know, there's quite a bit totalk about their button up the airplane.
So appreciate that.
That was a great topic, Kent.

(01:11:51):
Thank you.
Well, thank you.
It's always a nice to sithere and yak about airplanes.
We can definitely make ashort story long sometimes.
We're good at that.
All right.
Well,
we'll catch you next time then.
All right.
We'll see ya.
right.

(01:12:11):
Again, we hope you enjoyed that segmentand maybe learn something from it.
If you didn't learn anything from it,it means you've got some experience.
So you should let us know about someof that experience send in a story
about when you learned somethingimportant beyond the checkride.
So we can feature thatin a future segment.

(01:12:33):
I was still happy to be progressing and itwasn't even stressful yet because I hadn't
gotten into the meat of instrument flying.
And the check ride, which wasn'tscheduled yet seems so far away.
I had no stress about it.
I hadn't even taken the written test yet.
And wouldn't have passedit at that point yet.
Anyway.

(01:12:53):
I mean, I hadn't even decided onlya week or two before that I was
going to start training again.
So we was all happening pretty fast.
I knew if I didn't stop andlook around a little bit.
I might miss the whole training.
All right.
Points for knowing theparaphrased reference there.
The movie.
But it was true.

(01:13:13):
It was all coming at me pretty fast.
But still manageable at this point.
I was excited to start learningmore about the NAS, the approaches.
Various techniques.
The, the rules, this holdthing I'd always heard about.
I mean, my attitude at thetime was let it all come.
I was ready.

(01:13:35):
Well, at least, I thought I was.