Another Checkout Flight

I won't use the word "finally"...Five months off is too long -- 'nuff said.

Today, I received a checkout in a 172 from the instructors down the road. I don't know what's up with the planes at the big field, but I haven't seen them tied down lately, and the prices are cheaper at the local Part 141 school. I think that pretty much settles that decision.

The checkout was not too different than the ones in the Piper and 172 before. We did some preliminary briefing and watched the wind. Though it was supposed to be calmer than yesterday's 44-knot gusts, I was expecting up to about 10. It turned out to be in the 18-22 range, which was a bit concerning, but with it being a direct crosswind, we would have had to use the grass runway if it had stayed that strong. The other alternative, of course, is to postpone until later.

Today's plane was substantially the same as the others that I have flown, but with a different instructor, you always learn new tricks, habits, and each plane's idiosyncrasies. We flew a 1978 Cessna 172, with no Garmin GPS (the first time I've flown without that piece of hardware). The instrument panel was laid out a bit differently, so again, I take a few extra seconds to make sure I know where everything is.

As we taxied out, the instructor had me put in full aileron toward the wind. He said you can't go half-way in this airplane with the direct crosswind. It's all or nothing. Though I was nervous overall just for the length of time since I last flew, I was fairly confident in my crosswind skills. And the takeoff showed it. I kept it pretty well straight, just to the upwind side of the runway, and as we lifted off, we maintained about a 15-degree crab angle.

It takes some getting used to a new plane, and this one was no exception. The controls felt heavier, the sight picture is a bit different, and the throttle likes to creep in on you. If you don't keep a hand on it, you'll gradually start to speed up or climb. I asked about what to do in a level cruise (when you wouldn't normally have a hand on it as you do when doing low level maneuvers). The instructor said the friction lock would hold it, but you have to make sure to release it when you're ready to descend.

The flight consisted of a series of slow flight, power-off and power-on stalls, turns to headings, and steep turns. Although I had a bit of a climb as I entered the first steep turn, I am guessing that today's were close to the best I've ever flown. It's probably due to it being a bit more stable airframe, but whatever it was, the instructor was impressed (as was I).


One difference between instructors was apparent in the flap settings. Last time, we only put in 30-degrees, and I was instructed that 40-degrees just made you go too slow. That, combined with a tendency for the flaps to block the horizontal stabilizer in a slip, had made me mentally rule that setting out for most operations. Today, as we practiced the power-off stalls, we used the full 40, though I didn't really notice a big difference. I asked what the deal was, and the instructor said that you would need 40 for a "performance landing" where the runway surface, length, or obstacles dictated the slowest possible descent. Good to know. In addition, proper power-off stall procedure (if you were doing a formal checkride) is to have everything possible hanging out in the wind.

Today's landing, with the gusty crosswinds, dictated a higher approach speed, and we only used 10 degrees of flaps. The instructor was ready to take over the landing if it got to be too much, but I managed to get it down "planted firmly", as again, my sight picture put me a bit high. Still worked out to be a good landing though. So, while I'm still not current to take passengers (we decided not to tempt the winds with touch-and-go's, and as I write this, they are still a direct 13-19 knot crosswind) I'm at least checked out to go flying on my own.

Inspected by...

Another cadet meeting tonight. Earlier this week, I went in to get fingerprinted (first time ever with that experience). So, tonight, I brought in all my paperwork to get into the system.

I ended up staying only a short while tonight. The cadets were going over the online software for tracking various emergency services achievements. In order to be qualified for various tasks (such as leading a ground search team, being a scanner in the aircraft, etc.) you need to have a bunch of skills established. I don't know how they did it in the old days, but with the online tracking, it's pretty straightforward.

It was handy to see a bit of it in action, since I will need to be able to use it in the near future. For now, though, I'm still a non-member.

CAP Bureaucracy

I attended my first CAP senior meeting today. A grand total of five of us showed up, including myself - not yet a member. Actually, it was six for a while, but this is out of a total of 24 senior members in the squadron, so it seems like a pretty low number anyway. And I am the youngest one in the room - by a long shot.

Being a non-member, much of the material we covered went over my head. We discussed the CAP online tools for scheduling flight time and recording "missions". I understand the computer aspect of it, but still will need to become familiar with terms like "flight release officer" and other Air Force-related jargon. As an aside, I am fairly comfortable in a military setting. I worked as a civilian for the navy for two summers, and had I not gotten married right after college probably would have joined up. Still, when you start getting into the system, there's a lot of learning curve (and a lot of paperwork - even in the digital age).

Not much to say about the meeting itself, but I think I need to just join up to really get into it. It is, after all, a volunteer organization. If I can help out, that's great. If it turns out that it's not a good fit, then we move on. My professional background as a project manager screams out (using my inside voice) at the inefficiency that any bureaucracy fosters. And to listen to some of the older guys, you'd think they were being forced into indentured servitude. It may be a cousin of the Air Force, but it's still supposed to be about public service, education, and - yes - even a bit of fun. But some of these guys could really suck the air out of the room...

The meeting did, however, give me a stepping stone to the next level. I will go visit with the squadron commander tomorrow to pick up the official paperwork and fingerprint card. Then, next week, I'll get it all filled out and submitted. On the other hand, I also found out that I need to shift my point of reference when stating the number of hours of my flight time. While in training, and still to this day, I count my total time (including instruction). Now, though, the emphasis is on PIC time, which obviously is substantially lower (by about 40 hours). Whereas I originally thought that I had enough hours to begin some of the pilot training, this is not the case. So, more flying is in order...

We also discussed some of the introductory FEMA courses that will be required, uniforms, and some basics about Specialty Tracks. These are the "professional development" paths that you can follow as part of promotion. Wait, FEMA? Yes, since CAP is used in search and rescue as well as in disaster situations, members need to be familiar with things like incident command structure and inter-agency communication. Cool.

On my way...

Another CAP Visit

I attended another CAP cadet meeting tonight, again with the intent of further developing an idea of how the group works and what they really do.

By now, I've done quite a bit of online research, but it's a shallow well compared with the vast amounts of information on other topics. The official CAP website is a bit daunting for a novice, and there is so much jargon that it would seem to discourage any but the most persistent. I get the feeling that it is partly due to the inherent bureaucracy and quasi-military attitude. In reality, however, this is a public volunteer organization. I would think they would want to be as open as possible to outsiders to promote the group.

At this meeting, I formally asked about the idea of writing articles about my experiences for aviation publications. The squadron commander supported the idea, and gave me the name of the wing PR officer to discuss it further. This may actually gain some traction.

I'm starting to put pieces together regarding promotions and "professional development", the official term for the technical expertise side of the operation. For instance, there are wing and squadron "officers" for such things as public affairs, logistics, and aerospace education. Serving in one or more of these roles contributes to promotion, though I haven't quite figured out what the benefit is of being promoted...

The main item of business tonight (aside from cadet physical training) was organizing an upcoming weekend outing. Since I am not yet a member, I can't really do much and am not able to work directly with the cadets on anything of substance. One of the steps of membership is to be fingerprinted and have a background check done. I think this is a pretty common step these days for any kind of youth leadership role (scouts, coaches, etc.)

I'm now looking forward to the upcoming senior member meeting, where I will hopefully meet a few more folks who are actually pilots and can tell me a bit more about that part of the program (I hear it is pretty important...)

A First Visit

After some phone calls to find out about meeting times and other administrative items, I attended my first CAP meeting tonight.

The local squadron is a "composite", meaning it is made up of cadets (under 21) and senior (I prefer to think of myself as the type in college, rather than the "citizen" variation...) members. This means there are two meeting schedules: one for the cadets - weekly for 2 1/2 hours each, and one for the senior members (SM's) - monthly.

The first meeting was pretty dry. The cadets learn a whole mess of stuff, but the intent of the organization is not just aviation. I identify a whole lot more with kids half my age than with SM's nearly twice that, and tonight's lecture on drug abuse didn't seem all that different than what I heard in school many years ago. That's unfortunate, since I realize that kids learn and process information much differently than 20 (or even five) years ago. But the lessons don't really reflect that. But I'm not going to rock the boat without even being a member first.

Tonight was just intended to get a feel for the group and meet everyone for the first time. I found out that it really is a quasi-military group. Sharp uniforms, drill for the cadets, saluting, the whole bit. I really had no idea.

I had to arrive a bit late, and ended up leaving early. It turns out that most of the SM's don't attend the cadet meetings for various reasons. The ones that do are those that are tasked with giving the many lessons. I will try to get to the first senior member meeting next month to get a better idea of just who I will be dealing with.