Look Mom! Look at them animals!
OOOO! I want to touch him!
And him too!!
I love the Farm!!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Look what I found in the road!!!
Scott went to the bank earlier this week. As he was pulling out he saw the strangest thing. There was a small turtle running into the road. Scott put the car in neutral and set the e-brake and dashed out in the road to save the little guy. Luckly neither Scott nor the turtle got hurt. Scott sent messages to Nicole and Mandy to see what he should do with it. He was pretty sure it was not native to the area.
Mandy ended up wanting him. Latter that day, Mandy took him to the pet store and found out that he is a painted turtle. He lives in the water and on the land. He eats fish. Mandy named him Atibon Legba.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Final Multi Engine Blog
Well, tomorrow is the last day of Multi Engine ground school. I took my end of course oral test today and did well. I take my final for the ground school tomorrow, and then if weather is good take my end of course flight Wednesday.
I have loved the Multi Engine Rating. This is the first time that I have ever read an entire text book. Although Kennedy is partially to credit for me actually finishing the text book. Over the course of my class, I have learned alot. I am assigned to blog about 2 things that I have learned. I'm sitting here trying to think of the two things that had the most impact on me.
One thing that we have talked about in this class that I have learned alot from is situational learning. As you learn to fly aircraft, you find out that there are alot of grey areas, and you as a pilot have a lot of responsiblity. A light twin airplane brings even more grey areas. Do I take off when I have less runway available then my accelerate and stop distance? How about an IFR flight with a MEA above my single engie absolute cieling? Learning the procedures and how to fly the aircraft is only part of the big picture. Taking time to think about each situation and evaluating it is a real skill that must be developed as a pilot.
Another thing that I have learned to think about in the class is engine failure emergencies. I came into this class with the ignorant opnion that multi engine aircraft were safer, because they had two engines. A real eye opener to me was that having two engines just doubles the chance of an engine failure and doubles the chance of an emergancy. With this in mind, you need to almost be twice as ready for an emergancy in a twin engine aircraft. It is always on my mind when I fly. What will I do if I lose an engine in this stage of flight?
My favorite part of the class was the sim session that we did in the Frasca. It was fun. It was also really great to help salidify the engine out procedures. I was great to fail the engine right after lift of and see what would happen without having to put myself and others at risk by actually doing that in the real airplane. Loved it.
The trip to actually look at the Seminole was great as well. I was glad that Frank had removed the floor panels and that we could take a look at so much stuff that you usually can't see. I was great for helping me retain the information as well as gain new insights on things like the flaps and hydraulic system.
I have enjoyed the blogging portion of our class as well. I have to apologize to Nicoles friends who keep checking our blog hopeing to see cute pictures of the kids and instead finding all this aviation stuff. It's helpful to sit and write down you thoughts and really contemplate a subject.
I have loved the Multi Engine Rating. This is the first time that I have ever read an entire text book. Although Kennedy is partially to credit for me actually finishing the text book. Over the course of my class, I have learned alot. I am assigned to blog about 2 things that I have learned. I'm sitting here trying to think of the two things that had the most impact on me.
One thing that we have talked about in this class that I have learned alot from is situational learning. As you learn to fly aircraft, you find out that there are alot of grey areas, and you as a pilot have a lot of responsiblity. A light twin airplane brings even more grey areas. Do I take off when I have less runway available then my accelerate and stop distance? How about an IFR flight with a MEA above my single engie absolute cieling? Learning the procedures and how to fly the aircraft is only part of the big picture. Taking time to think about each situation and evaluating it is a real skill that must be developed as a pilot.
Another thing that I have learned to think about in the class is engine failure emergencies. I came into this class with the ignorant opnion that multi engine aircraft were safer, because they had two engines. A real eye opener to me was that having two engines just doubles the chance of an engine failure and doubles the chance of an emergancy. With this in mind, you need to almost be twice as ready for an emergancy in a twin engine aircraft. It is always on my mind when I fly. What will I do if I lose an engine in this stage of flight?
My favorite part of the class was the sim session that we did in the Frasca. It was fun. It was also really great to help salidify the engine out procedures. I was great to fail the engine right after lift of and see what would happen without having to put myself and others at risk by actually doing that in the real airplane. Loved it.
The trip to actually look at the Seminole was great as well. I was glad that Frank had removed the floor panels and that we could take a look at so much stuff that you usually can't see. I was great for helping me retain the information as well as gain new insights on things like the flaps and hydraulic system.
I have enjoyed the blogging portion of our class as well. I have to apologize to Nicoles friends who keep checking our blog hopeing to see cute pictures of the kids and instead finding all this aviation stuff. It's helpful to sit and write down you thoughts and really contemplate a subject.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Cute Baby + Mutant Cat = True Love
I (scott) was laying down the other day with Malaki. Toby decieded that we looked comfortable and jumped up on the couch to join us. He layed right next to Malaki and snuggled in close. Malaki was thrilled. He was giggling and laughing. Malaki even put his arm around Toby. They layed there for about 5 minutes. Both Toby and Malaki enjoyed it very much. Malaki loves the cats so much that we think his first word is going to be Kitty.
.
.
Malaki's Potty!
I have to admit, a couple months ago when Nicole was looking for little potties online to buy for Malaki, I thought she had gone off the deep end. At the time he could barely hold his head up, let alone use a potty! Well, I was greatly mistaken. 
Malaki has been usuing his potty for about a month now. Everyday he uses it. He loves to use it in the morning. Nicole will set him on it and say, "go potty", and he goes! I was amazed. Nicole tells him, "good boy!", after he goes and Malaki gets so excited. He is very proud of himself. He doesn't use only the potty, he still goes in his diaper, and he is NOT potty trained, but it does save us a lot of diapers and keeps his little bum from getting rashes. And besides, we think it is cute.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Multi Engine Observation Flight
Flight training can coast a ton. Especially learning how to fly a multi engine aircraft. Flight observations however are free!! That's why I love 'em. For multi engine ground school, our teacher has required us to go on another students training flight and blog about our experience.
Kyle was kind enough to let me tag along on his flight to Ogden today with his instructor, Brad. During the pre-flight, Brad showed me the "poor mans hydraulics" on the rudder and Adam taught me about the purpose of the mass balance horn attached to the ailerons.
To begin the flight we took off from Salt Lake. On takeoff roll, Brad killed one of the engines and the plane violently yawed to the left. Kyle was quick with his reflexes and immediately closed the throttles and maintained directional control of the plane. Kyle seemed as if he practiced this several times because it was as if he didn't have to think about it at all, it was just reflex.
After we climbed out, Brad put Kyle under the hood for instrument flight. Kyle had wanted to tune in his nav equipment and set up his GPS while on the ground, and Brad had told him that although that is a good idea, and should do that if he was really flying IFR, he wanted Kyles workload to be increased for the purpose of the training flight.
Kyle began to tune in VOR's and set up the GPS, get ATIS information, and brief the approach, all while talking on the radios and maintaining altitude and heading. It seemed like we were getting vectors for the ILS in no time because the Seminole is so fast. So fast infact that Kyle really had to work hard to stay ahead of the airplane. While we were approaching wolfe intersection at 150 kts, Brad suggested to Kyle that he slow the airplane down. This would allow more time to be ready for the approach, get before landing checklists done and be at a manageable airspeed for the final. I found this tip to be extremely valuable. I am going to try to remember to slow the aircraft down to insure that I can stay ahead of the airplane. During my instrument training , I was so used to throttle full forward for everything except for after the final approach fix. Even with full throttle in the Alarus, we were lucky to get airspeeds of 90 kts. In the Seminole, if you are not managing airspeed, things come at you twice as fast.
Runway 3 in Ogden was closed, so we circled for a touch and go. It was interesting to see a circle to land and give you an idea of what the challenge would be like if it was IMC weather. Because we were circling to land, Kyle used only one notch of flaps and used some throttle to maintain altitude as we circled.
After the first touch and go, Kyle entered the traffic pattern again to do a short field landing. The short field landing in the Seminole seems to be a bid easier than short field landings in the Arrow. Because of induced lift, when you reduce the throttles, the Seminole can really come down. Also, I assume because of the weight, the Seminole floats very little. Kyle was impressive as he touched down about 10 feet past his point.
After the landings, we headed straight for the VOR. Once again, Brad pointed out how fast the Seminole can fly, and you may need to slow it down so that you will have time to enter a hold properly, or prepare for an approach. Kyle played with power setting and found that 20" map and 2500 RPM gave him a manageable airspeed for setting up for the hold and approach.
Kyle flew the VOR RWY 7 approach with the north arc. Flying the arc helped remind me about how to set up an arc. Turn, time, twist, talk, and throttle. Good stuff. We flew the approach and went missed to hold at the VOR and then headed home.
The lessons that I went away with today is that the Seminole is MUCH faster than what I flown IFR in the past. You need to stay ahead of the aircraft. I want to have the before landing checklist done before my final approach fix. Slowing the airplane down is a good idea to help you have time to set up for the approach as well as help to not shock cool the engines. It was a great flight and I'm glad that Kyle and Brad let me tag along.
Kyle was kind enough to let me tag along on his flight to Ogden today with his instructor, Brad. During the pre-flight, Brad showed me the "poor mans hydraulics" on the rudder and Adam taught me about the purpose of the mass balance horn attached to the ailerons.
To begin the flight we took off from Salt Lake. On takeoff roll, Brad killed one of the engines and the plane violently yawed to the left. Kyle was quick with his reflexes and immediately closed the throttles and maintained directional control of the plane. Kyle seemed as if he practiced this several times because it was as if he didn't have to think about it at all, it was just reflex.
After we climbed out, Brad put Kyle under the hood for instrument flight. Kyle had wanted to tune in his nav equipment and set up his GPS while on the ground, and Brad had told him that although that is a good idea, and should do that if he was really flying IFR, he wanted Kyles workload to be increased for the purpose of the training flight.
Kyle began to tune in VOR's and set up the GPS, get ATIS information, and brief the approach, all while talking on the radios and maintaining altitude and heading. It seemed like we were getting vectors for the ILS in no time because the Seminole is so fast. So fast infact that Kyle really had to work hard to stay ahead of the airplane. While we were approaching wolfe intersection at 150 kts, Brad suggested to Kyle that he slow the airplane down. This would allow more time to be ready for the approach, get before landing checklists done and be at a manageable airspeed for the final. I found this tip to be extremely valuable. I am going to try to remember to slow the aircraft down to insure that I can stay ahead of the airplane. During my instrument training , I was so used to throttle full forward for everything except for after the final approach fix. Even with full throttle in the Alarus, we were lucky to get airspeeds of 90 kts. In the Seminole, if you are not managing airspeed, things come at you twice as fast.
Runway 3 in Ogden was closed, so we circled for a touch and go. It was interesting to see a circle to land and give you an idea of what the challenge would be like if it was IMC weather. Because we were circling to land, Kyle used only one notch of flaps and used some throttle to maintain altitude as we circled.
After the first touch and go, Kyle entered the traffic pattern again to do a short field landing. The short field landing in the Seminole seems to be a bid easier than short field landings in the Arrow. Because of induced lift, when you reduce the throttles, the Seminole can really come down. Also, I assume because of the weight, the Seminole floats very little. Kyle was impressive as he touched down about 10 feet past his point.
After the landings, we headed straight for the VOR. Once again, Brad pointed out how fast the Seminole can fly, and you may need to slow it down so that you will have time to enter a hold properly, or prepare for an approach. Kyle played with power setting and found that 20" map and 2500 RPM gave him a manageable airspeed for setting up for the hold and approach.
Kyle flew the VOR RWY 7 approach with the north arc. Flying the arc helped remind me about how to set up an arc. Turn, time, twist, talk, and throttle. Good stuff. We flew the approach and went missed to hold at the VOR and then headed home.
The lessons that I went away with today is that the Seminole is MUCH faster than what I flown IFR in the past. You need to stay ahead of the aircraft. I want to have the before landing checklist done before my final approach fix. Slowing the airplane down is a good idea to help you have time to set up for the approach as well as help to not shock cool the engines. It was a great flight and I'm glad that Kyle and Brad let me tag along.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Multi Blog #3: Aspen at night
For the third blog post for multi engine ground school we were given an article about at accident at Aspen Colorado. You can read the article here: Aspen Arrival.
Assignment: Read the accident report on Landmark Accidents: Aspen Arrival. Blog about what you thought of the accident. What ere the contributing factors? Where was the error chain? What should they have done differently? How would you deal with a passenger if your job was on the line?
Answer:
Honestly, I was expecting more from this article. Especially from the setup. You had demanding passengers and late departure into bad weather, and the accident boiled down to descending below minimums at night in mountainous terrain. Seriously. If I was in the aircraft, I would not have been comfortable descending below minimums at an airport like that. I understand that there were a lot of contributing factors, however, I think the real important thing on this error chain was simply going below minimums. If they would have flown the approach as published, then everything would have been fine. Shoot the approach, go missed, and head to the other airport. You can always refuel and try Aspen after the snow has passed.
Considering the error chain, the first mistake was the timing. Late passengers showing up, as well as no grace period for bad weather really put the pilots in a pressured situation. I would hope that when charters such as these are scheduled, that the customer is informed that this is flight is not a guaranteed thing. Weather and maintenance can de-rail plans. I would hope that we would have learned this lesson from back in the airmail days.
Allowing the passenger in the cockpit at such a crucial point in the flight was also part of the error chain. Hearing this was like nails on a chalk board! If I was going to shoot one the most difficult approaches in the country in the snow, I would prefer a sterile cockpit!
What would I do differently? Honestly, I probably would have taken off late. I would have taken grief from the passengers, and I would have probably shot the approach. However, I am fairly confident in saying, I would not have gone below minimums and I would have gone missed at the missed approach point when I was not certain to have the runway in site. The article is a bit confusing on what had happened. I am not sure why the first officer said the runway was in sight, when he obviously didn't see it. As the Captain, I would want to see the runway before I continued down. After going missed, I would head to the other airport. I could refuel and possible deliver my passengers later that night if weather clears.
I would attempt to deal with the passengers in as professional way as possible. I would try and educate them on the risks that there "boss" was proposing. I would tell them what the regulations state, and inform them that I will put safety and there lives first, and then dinner parties second. If they didn't want to hear it, I would not argue, however, I would not give in and fly dangerously. I never want to have a job that encourages me to break regulations and take risks. If my boss was saying, "you WILL fly to Aspen," I would be looking for another job.
Assignment: Read the accident report on Landmark Accidents: Aspen Arrival. Blog about what you thought of the accident. What ere the contributing factors? Where was the error chain? What should they have done differently? How would you deal with a passenger if your job was on the line?
Answer:
Honestly, I was expecting more from this article. Especially from the setup. You had demanding passengers and late departure into bad weather, and the accident boiled down to descending below minimums at night in mountainous terrain. Seriously. If I was in the aircraft, I would not have been comfortable descending below minimums at an airport like that. I understand that there were a lot of contributing factors, however, I think the real important thing on this error chain was simply going below minimums. If they would have flown the approach as published, then everything would have been fine. Shoot the approach, go missed, and head to the other airport. You can always refuel and try Aspen after the snow has passed.
Considering the error chain, the first mistake was the timing. Late passengers showing up, as well as no grace period for bad weather really put the pilots in a pressured situation. I would hope that when charters such as these are scheduled, that the customer is informed that this is flight is not a guaranteed thing. Weather and maintenance can de-rail plans. I would hope that we would have learned this lesson from back in the airmail days.
Allowing the passenger in the cockpit at such a crucial point in the flight was also part of the error chain. Hearing this was like nails on a chalk board! If I was going to shoot one the most difficult approaches in the country in the snow, I would prefer a sterile cockpit!What would I do differently? Honestly, I probably would have taken off late. I would have taken grief from the passengers, and I would have probably shot the approach. However, I am fairly confident in saying, I would not have gone below minimums and I would have gone missed at the missed approach point when I was not certain to have the runway in site. The article is a bit confusing on what had happened. I am not sure why the first officer said the runway was in sight, when he obviously didn't see it. As the Captain, I would want to see the runway before I continued down. After going missed, I would head to the other airport. I could refuel and possible deliver my passengers later that night if weather clears.
I would attempt to deal with the passengers in as professional way as possible. I would try and educate them on the risks that there "boss" was proposing. I would tell them what the regulations state, and inform them that I will put safety and there lives first, and then dinner parties second. If they didn't want to hear it, I would not argue, however, I would not give in and fly dangerously. I never want to have a job that encourages me to break regulations and take risks. If my boss was saying, "you WILL fly to Aspen," I would be looking for another job.
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