Tuesday, July 14, 2009

FJC V149 LHY V408 V483 FILPS

The CFII suggested that we go out of the local area so that I could get a better appreciation of the departure, en route, and terminal phases of the flight. I suspect he thought I would head south, or maybe east to the beach, but I have a bit of history with Poughkeepsie and decided to venture up to Dutchess County.

I used Fltplan.com to pick the route and it provided a very simple PTW-FJC-HUO into KPOU. The CFII filed as I went out to preflight. No problems, engine start was normal, but during the taxi out I cut the corner a bit sharp trying to avoid another parked plane and got stuck on the grass. Another embarrassing start. I did get the opportunity to perform a warm start.

The rest of the ground procedures were normal, I spent the time in the run up area to program the GNS430. I also learned that getting Clearance Delivery doesn't work using the A/C radios, so the SOP is to use the cell phone. OK, so here I am with headset, bifocals and cellphone trying to take copy my clearance...you can bet it is not 'as filed'. I took down all the fixes and completed the read back. Later, the CFII suggested that I could challenge unreasonable routing's by asking if changing desired altitude might improve the route. I managed to fumble through it and the CFII helped out by re-programming the GNS430. Klutz comes to mind, but somehow we got airborne.

As you can see from the track, TRACON took us north before going east. Eventually we were cleared direct and requested the LOC 06 circle to 24 approach. All other procedures and communications went well, but my set up for the right downwind was WAY too close and actually turned into a modified left base to final. Landing was OK and we went over to Richmor Aviation to stretch our legs. (So if I ever do get the opportunity to fly up on business, I must find a way to expense the landing fee.)

The trip home was a little more direct, with most of the trip used just to enjoy flying. The weather was great and I got to see an old friend, the monument at High Point NJ. I was taken there as a boy on day trips, and passed it a few times as a pilot, including my first xcountry flight. Approach asked me if I had the weather at wings, and while I had been listening, we were still too far out for a clear transmission. Old school, there is a much more sophisticated way to get the weather IF you remember it is available. The flight ended with a LOC 24 back at LOM. Nice landing.

Progress is being made. Satisfactory when I'm on my plan, but not so much when forced to improvise. Think ahead of the autopilot when getting vectors, know what it means to the GNS430 to proceed on course or go direct to the next way point. Most of all, rely on the GPS for the primary Navigation source. While the VOR CDI is an old friend, GPS is driving this system.

Sr20
Time = 3.0

1 comment:

  1. Dave,

    Sounds like a fun flight! I got my first ride in an SR20 on Sunday, what a blast. 2.9 hours of fun flying and some learning. The glass cockpit can be intimidating at first but I was picking up on a few thinghs as we went along. I also downloaded an online version of the Avidyne to practice on before the trip.

    I know of the monument you speak of. I have never been there but researched it after I flew over it on the way home from Orange County. The area is High Point Park. The High Point monument is located in Montague Township at the highest point in the state of New Jersey. From the parking lot, 1,803 feet above sea level, or the observation deck 220 feet up you can see for miles around. On a clear day you can see New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

    Here is the link to some good shots from the air and my write up.
    http://gmflightlog.blogspot.com/2008/02/kmgj-orange-county-ny.html

    Gary

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