OP
- Thread Starter
- #41
The Pawnee tow plane rebuild was nearly finished, so they had a party for Gino, the lead on the rebuild, though many people contributed to the effort.
When I first saw it ten weeks ago.
Gino cursing and working and cursing and working, on the wing re-covering, at this moment.
And now, the almost finished results.
So he gets a Gino Appreciation Party
Piper Pawnee 235
Now it is finished, and flying.
---
I'm up to20 25 flights now, 12 15.5 hours, flying with an Instructor in the gliders. First flight January 27, most recent April 18. That's 81 days. I'm sure a "commercial" operation would have had me up more often, but would have been much more expensive than at the "club".
Longest flight about 2 hours and 40 minutes, could have stayed up, but elected to end it. Shortest, several, about 10 minutes - takeoff, tow to 1200 feet, release, fly the approach pattern and make the necessary radio calls, and land, and repeat. Those are the hard parts.
I've been told I'll have to have as many flights as my age in years before you solo. So, another48 43 and I might be ready. (it's sort of a joke, and sort of not, I suppose).
The kids seem to "get it" faster than us older, wiser folks. No hurry, I don't mind flying tandem.
Glider Pilot Ratings
"Generally, 30 to 40 flights with a CFIG (instructor) are required to solo. This is roughly equivalent to 10-12 hours of flight time and is dependent upon the progress of the student."
That sounds reasonable. I've got the hours but not the flights (a "flight" includes takeoff and landing). So, maybe 180 days total to solo at this rate. I'm in no hurry. Or less, or more, depending on Instructor schedule, weather conditions, towplane maintenance, my own competence and confidence, etc, etc.
Instructor schedule shouldn't be a problem, he's #1 in the Southeast and #3 in the Nation for some ranking of number of students (of various types) instructed recently. He's always ready to fly.
---
Takeoff is still the worst part... There's a lot going on in the 20 seconds or so it takes for the towplane to become airborne. I still have brain overload.
We stage the glider on the grass next to the runway.
The first five seconds:
No/low airspeed, so the controls are mushy. Strong but stretchy pull from the towplane as he starts off from the edge of the runway then aligns with the centerline.
Get pulled with a bump, often into the air, slightly, from the grass onto the runway, initiate some right turn to get behind the towplane now at the center of the runway. Heard my tire screech once during this part. Depending on the weather (calm, headwind, tailwind, crosswind), that turn is easy or scary, I still get both. Too much cross/tail wind is a good reason not to fly. You have to consider the average and gust speeds. Calm to too windy can occur in a few seconds. Heard some tire screech as my instructor corrected my path once (with a stiff crosswind). Ooops.
The next five or ten seconds:
You have to contend with getting (and keeping) the wings level, remaining balanced on one wheel, affected by crosswind, turn forces, rudder movement, propwash turbulence from the towplane, still fairly low speed, but the pull from the towplane feels strong, faster faster with your butt 12 inches off the pavement, then the glider hops off the runway about 48mph, can't let it go up much, can't let it hit the runway again, stay behind the tow plane, keep the wings level, keep it straight down the runway, even if in a strong crab (like sliding sideways) due to crosswind, phew....
The next few minutes:
Finally the tow plane lifts off and you at least don't have to immediately contend with the ground any more (at least at the moment). Get on up with the towplane, stay behind, don't stay low, don't zoom too high, keep the wings level, contend with low level turbulence bumping you and the towplane around from whatever wind there is rolling across the airport...
Pay attention to and call out altitude, under 200 feet emergency - rope break or tow plane fail - you'll release the rope and land straight (or slight turn as necessary to avoid obstacles) ahead, avoiding the tow plane if it is his problem that caused the launch fail, get on the airbrakes to lose your height quickly, don't speed up going down, and hope it works out, over two hundred feet get the nose down to maintain speed, don't want to stall when low, make a turn into the wind and complete a 180 to land where you just took off, or other safe space), again avoiding the towplane if it was his problem that initiated the failed launch.
Fortunately we have a long runway and a good amount of open space on either side and past the end of the runway.
Towplane starts a turn to the left, so left rudder and aileron to initiate a following turn, not too much, you'll slip inside and down and slack the tow rope, not too wide or you can overtake the towplane to the outside (whip), adjust the turn radius, keep just a little to the outside, start dealing with thermal turbulence... the towplane will suddenly rise 50 feet, you need to follow, and stay behind, and keep the wings level and not go too high... Then the tow plane will drop 50 feet, you can't lose sight of it, so lower the nose a little, but you don't want to dive toward it (slack rope or at worst collision), let him bring it back up...
Then, on the way up, thermals bump you up and down, turbulence rocks your wings, have to contend with that. Keep the wings level and stay behind the towplane and not to high nor wide. He'll make more turns, so follow through on those.
Pay attention to altitude and try to keep in mind where the airport is now, keep following up to the release altitude, ensure a little tension on the rope, pull the release, verify the release worked as you see the tow rope shoot away , announce release to the tow pilot and make a hard 90 degree right turn (he will go left), and then.... ahhhh.... things settle down and you can let your brain recover from all that multitasking.
A couple of minutes of turbulent tow and release in Norway
Here, in flat Florida, you now have about 10 or 15 minutes to find some rising air to take you up, otherwise, you'd better be getting into position for your landing approach.
Unless it's a "pattern tow" to 1200 feet, no time to relax, and you have to go right into the landing pattern's altitude and airspeed requirements, and turns - pattern entry at 45 degrees to the downwind leg, then a left 45 to parallel the runway, then a 90 to the right, and another 90 to the right and try to align with the runway, then maintain airspeed with the stick and control the rate of descent with the airbrakes, the descent to aim point on the runway. It's not hard, but, rather busy. Brain overload again. Instructor shouting advice and you can't understand what he wants, so he corrects the flight path, and you don't know for sure who really did what.
Once you get up high on a good day, it's not hard to find lift to take you up to the cloud base repeatedly, hit the mist, come down a little, look for another cloud, over in the general direction you want to go, to glide to and take advantage of its lift.
--
Got my ride in the Cessna from my Instructor's power club that didn't happen last week.
A 1958 Cessna 172. It's only five years newer than me.
My previous single engine experiences:
Introductory flight as a potential Civil Air Patrol member, in 1968 or so.
One flight in a Mooney, 1974, around Birmingham Alabama.
An overloaded Piper (three guys with scuba gear plus the pilot, from Andros Island to Nassau. The thing barely got off the ground, the runway ended at the beach, I'm not sure if we rose off the runway or just ran off the end of it. We rose ever so slowly above the waves, 1976.
It's a little unnerving to be so dependent on a single engine.
To me, a power plane is good if you have someplace to go (I don't).
The gliders are fun if you don't. I like to think of it like sailing vs power boat.
---
Can a takeoff go south?
This one started south but then swerved east. From the Senior Nationals at the Seminole Lake Gliderport a few weeks ago. Picture is from the day after, I wasn't there, but my instructor was a volunteer to assist with the launches and was right there when it happened. He said the memory of that would remain with him for the rest of his life. I think so.
Pilot:
Seems to be a Trustee of the Soaring Safety Foundation (ironically), who writes safety articles.
The glider is rather crushed right up to about where the pilot's hips were. So he sustained multiple injuries, and was airlifted out.
Some gliders (this one) have their tow hook located near the center of gravity, to allow for a steep launch via a winch (think how a kite flies up), and is less directionally stable under tow from a plane than a glider with a front tow hook (what my truck-like trainer has).
Somehow he got sideways at the start of the tow, released from the tow plane, but hit a truck that may have been imprudently parked near the runway at Seminole Lake.
That commercial gliderport is much more more constricted than what we have at Zephyrhills.
About 250 feet side to side clear space in the main area, then trees or buildings. Gliders (60 or so) were parked in two rows in the North wide area, he was in the row to the right near the service road on that side, tow to the South, swerve to his left, and crash. The rest of that day was cancelled.
Seminole Lake Gliderport
Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, a WW2 Army Air Force Training base.
700 feet wide clear space at the narrowest, with a lot of room at each end of the runway.
Once past the treeline, its wide open to the left, the rectangular white stuff is a gentle earthen berm and fill - not really something to "hit".
Another runway is more often used by general traffic.
]
Not to say you couldn't hit something, it's been done. Sunday. Barely.
Red dots outline an area kept clear of obstructions for takeoff going north (close the the runway) and landing rollouts going south (to get off the runway so other traffic can use it).
Somebody didn't follow instructions on the landing, and rolled off the runway across 150 feet of grass straight at the tow plane and golf carts and folks standing around in the prescribed area for not being an obstruction, around the little red X, where we have the canopy and chairs and stuff just beyond.
I had to scurry out of the way myself. He lightly clipped the wingtip of the properly parked towplane with his wingtip. Just a little ding, but a few more feet difference would have created big trouble.
---
Flew yesterday, with the newly refurbished Pawnee towing instead of the Cessna.
It seems a little more capable of going up, as I was having some trouble keeping "up" with him, felt more like being dragged up than just being pulled along.
---
Instructor is hinting at "solo".
I'm not ready, need more takeoffs and landings to feel better qualified. Maybe you're never "ready", you just do it.
I asked another student, about my age, but farther along, he said he had 80 flights before soling, and 120 now, soon to take the examination to get his license. He said there were some delays, but he also may not be that sharp at flying. I just said "Wow."
Will finish filling out the FAA paperwork I started on January 21 now that I know a little more about what to fill out and have some "time" to fill in those blanks.
You need some sort of preliminary "license" with instructor signatures to become a Student Private Pilot and fly around solo like Major Tom but still under some supervision from Ground Control. You don't need anything to start flying with an instructor.
I put "200lbs" in the weight box then, maybe fudging a little. Digital scale says 179.8 today, so flying, along with the volunteer activity twice a week becomes a decent weight loss program.
It was apparent (as if it wasn't already) that I was a little bloated, when, upon first flight, could barely get the seat belts around me. Now they fit. I'll make 160-165 my goal, back to where it was 45 years ago.
---
So, that's what's happening after three months of once or twice a week, going to the airfield, taking a flight if the weather is good and my (or another, rarely) instructor is ready, and spending the day on various activities needed to keep things moving along.
The tow plane logged 20 launches Wednesday, in the five hours from noon to 5pm.
When I first saw it ten weeks ago.
Gino cursing and working and cursing and working, on the wing re-covering, at this moment.
And now, the almost finished results.
So he gets a Gino Appreciation Party
Piper Pawnee 235
Now it is finished, and flying.
---
I'm up to
Longest flight about 2 hours and 40 minutes, could have stayed up, but elected to end it. Shortest, several, about 10 minutes - takeoff, tow to 1200 feet, release, fly the approach pattern and make the necessary radio calls, and land, and repeat. Those are the hard parts.
I've been told I'll have to have as many flights as my age in years before you solo. So, another
The kids seem to "get it" faster than us older, wiser folks. No hurry, I don't mind flying tandem.
Glider Pilot Ratings
"Generally, 30 to 40 flights with a CFIG (instructor) are required to solo. This is roughly equivalent to 10-12 hours of flight time and is dependent upon the progress of the student."
That sounds reasonable. I've got the hours but not the flights (a "flight" includes takeoff and landing). So, maybe 180 days total to solo at this rate. I'm in no hurry. Or less, or more, depending on Instructor schedule, weather conditions, towplane maintenance, my own competence and confidence, etc, etc.
Instructor schedule shouldn't be a problem, he's #1 in the Southeast and #3 in the Nation for some ranking of number of students (of various types) instructed recently. He's always ready to fly.
---
Takeoff is still the worst part... There's a lot going on in the 20 seconds or so it takes for the towplane to become airborne. I still have brain overload.
We stage the glider on the grass next to the runway.
The first five seconds:
No/low airspeed, so the controls are mushy. Strong but stretchy pull from the towplane as he starts off from the edge of the runway then aligns with the centerline.
Get pulled with a bump, often into the air, slightly, from the grass onto the runway, initiate some right turn to get behind the towplane now at the center of the runway. Heard my tire screech once during this part. Depending on the weather (calm, headwind, tailwind, crosswind), that turn is easy or scary, I still get both. Too much cross/tail wind is a good reason not to fly. You have to consider the average and gust speeds. Calm to too windy can occur in a few seconds. Heard some tire screech as my instructor corrected my path once (with a stiff crosswind). Ooops.
The next five or ten seconds:
You have to contend with getting (and keeping) the wings level, remaining balanced on one wheel, affected by crosswind, turn forces, rudder movement, propwash turbulence from the towplane, still fairly low speed, but the pull from the towplane feels strong, faster faster with your butt 12 inches off the pavement, then the glider hops off the runway about 48mph, can't let it go up much, can't let it hit the runway again, stay behind the tow plane, keep the wings level, keep it straight down the runway, even if in a strong crab (like sliding sideways) due to crosswind, phew....
The next few minutes:
Finally the tow plane lifts off and you at least don't have to immediately contend with the ground any more (at least at the moment). Get on up with the towplane, stay behind, don't stay low, don't zoom too high, keep the wings level, contend with low level turbulence bumping you and the towplane around from whatever wind there is rolling across the airport...
Pay attention to and call out altitude, under 200 feet emergency - rope break or tow plane fail - you'll release the rope and land straight (or slight turn as necessary to avoid obstacles) ahead, avoiding the tow plane if it is his problem that caused the launch fail, get on the airbrakes to lose your height quickly, don't speed up going down, and hope it works out, over two hundred feet get the nose down to maintain speed, don't want to stall when low, make a turn into the wind and complete a 180 to land where you just took off, or other safe space), again avoiding the towplane if it was his problem that initiated the failed launch.
Fortunately we have a long runway and a good amount of open space on either side and past the end of the runway.
Towplane starts a turn to the left, so left rudder and aileron to initiate a following turn, not too much, you'll slip inside and down and slack the tow rope, not too wide or you can overtake the towplane to the outside (whip), adjust the turn radius, keep just a little to the outside, start dealing with thermal turbulence... the towplane will suddenly rise 50 feet, you need to follow, and stay behind, and keep the wings level and not go too high... Then the tow plane will drop 50 feet, you can't lose sight of it, so lower the nose a little, but you don't want to dive toward it (slack rope or at worst collision), let him bring it back up...
Then, on the way up, thermals bump you up and down, turbulence rocks your wings, have to contend with that. Keep the wings level and stay behind the towplane and not to high nor wide. He'll make more turns, so follow through on those.
Pay attention to altitude and try to keep in mind where the airport is now, keep following up to the release altitude, ensure a little tension on the rope, pull the release, verify the release worked as you see the tow rope shoot away , announce release to the tow pilot and make a hard 90 degree right turn (he will go left), and then.... ahhhh.... things settle down and you can let your brain recover from all that multitasking.
A couple of minutes of turbulent tow and release in Norway
Here, in flat Florida, you now have about 10 or 15 minutes to find some rising air to take you up, otherwise, you'd better be getting into position for your landing approach.
Unless it's a "pattern tow" to 1200 feet, no time to relax, and you have to go right into the landing pattern's altitude and airspeed requirements, and turns - pattern entry at 45 degrees to the downwind leg, then a left 45 to parallel the runway, then a 90 to the right, and another 90 to the right and try to align with the runway, then maintain airspeed with the stick and control the rate of descent with the airbrakes, the descent to aim point on the runway. It's not hard, but, rather busy. Brain overload again. Instructor shouting advice and you can't understand what he wants, so he corrects the flight path, and you don't know for sure who really did what.
Once you get up high on a good day, it's not hard to find lift to take you up to the cloud base repeatedly, hit the mist, come down a little, look for another cloud, over in the general direction you want to go, to glide to and take advantage of its lift.
--
Got my ride in the Cessna from my Instructor's power club that didn't happen last week.
A 1958 Cessna 172. It's only five years newer than me.
My previous single engine experiences:
Introductory flight as a potential Civil Air Patrol member, in 1968 or so.
One flight in a Mooney, 1974, around Birmingham Alabama.
An overloaded Piper (three guys with scuba gear plus the pilot, from Andros Island to Nassau. The thing barely got off the ground, the runway ended at the beach, I'm not sure if we rose off the runway or just ran off the end of it. We rose ever so slowly above the waves, 1976.
It's a little unnerving to be so dependent on a single engine.
To me, a power plane is good if you have someplace to go (I don't).
The gliders are fun if you don't. I like to think of it like sailing vs power boat.
---
Can a takeoff go south?
This one started south but then swerved east. From the Senior Nationals at the Seminole Lake Gliderport a few weeks ago. Picture is from the day after, I wasn't there, but my instructor was a volunteer to assist with the launches and was right there when it happened. He said the memory of that would remain with him for the rest of his life. I think so.
Pilot:
Seems to be a Trustee of the Soaring Safety Foundation (ironically), who writes safety articles.
The glider is rather crushed right up to about where the pilot's hips were. So he sustained multiple injuries, and was airlifted out.
Some gliders (this one) have their tow hook located near the center of gravity, to allow for a steep launch via a winch (think how a kite flies up), and is less directionally stable under tow from a plane than a glider with a front tow hook (what my truck-like trainer has).
Somehow he got sideways at the start of the tow, released from the tow plane, but hit a truck that may have been imprudently parked near the runway at Seminole Lake.
That commercial gliderport is much more more constricted than what we have at Zephyrhills.
About 250 feet side to side clear space in the main area, then trees or buildings. Gliders (60 or so) were parked in two rows in the North wide area, he was in the row to the right near the service road on that side, tow to the South, swerve to his left, and crash. The rest of that day was cancelled.
Seminole Lake Gliderport
Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, a WW2 Army Air Force Training base.
700 feet wide clear space at the narrowest, with a lot of room at each end of the runway.
Once past the treeline, its wide open to the left, the rectangular white stuff is a gentle earthen berm and fill - not really something to "hit".
Another runway is more often used by general traffic.
Not to say you couldn't hit something, it's been done. Sunday. Barely.
Red dots outline an area kept clear of obstructions for takeoff going north (close the the runway) and landing rollouts going south (to get off the runway so other traffic can use it).
Somebody didn't follow instructions on the landing, and rolled off the runway across 150 feet of grass straight at the tow plane and golf carts and folks standing around in the prescribed area for not being an obstruction, around the little red X, where we have the canopy and chairs and stuff just beyond.
I had to scurry out of the way myself. He lightly clipped the wingtip of the properly parked towplane with his wingtip. Just a little ding, but a few more feet difference would have created big trouble.
---
Flew yesterday, with the newly refurbished Pawnee towing instead of the Cessna.
It seems a little more capable of going up, as I was having some trouble keeping "up" with him, felt more like being dragged up than just being pulled along.
---
Instructor is hinting at "solo".
I'm not ready, need more takeoffs and landings to feel better qualified. Maybe you're never "ready", you just do it.
I asked another student, about my age, but farther along, he said he had 80 flights before soling, and 120 now, soon to take the examination to get his license. He said there were some delays, but he also may not be that sharp at flying. I just said "Wow."
Will finish filling out the FAA paperwork I started on January 21 now that I know a little more about what to fill out and have some "time" to fill in those blanks.
You need some sort of preliminary "license" with instructor signatures to become a Student Private Pilot and fly around solo like Major Tom but still under some supervision from Ground Control. You don't need anything to start flying with an instructor.
I put "200lbs" in the weight box then, maybe fudging a little. Digital scale says 179.8 today, so flying, along with the volunteer activity twice a week becomes a decent weight loss program.
It was apparent (as if it wasn't already) that I was a little bloated, when, upon first flight, could barely get the seat belts around me. Now they fit. I'll make 160-165 my goal, back to where it was 45 years ago.
---
So, that's what's happening after three months of once or twice a week, going to the airfield, taking a flight if the weather is good and my (or another, rarely) instructor is ready, and spending the day on various activities needed to keep things moving along.
The tow plane logged 20 launches Wednesday, in the five hours from noon to 5pm.
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