It was a great morning for flying.  The sky was clear below 12000ft, with winds variable at 4kts. We departed Minneapolis Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM) runway 28R, then left turn to the southwest.  Once we got over to the practice area, we started with the maneuvers. Turns, Steep Turns, Slow Flight, Stalls, Spin Awareness. Then we headed over to Glencoe Municipal (KGYL) to practice a variety of takeoffs and landings. 5 Landings at Glencoe. Next we headed to Buffalo (KCFE) and went under the hood on the way there. While under the hood, I flew the RNAV 36 approach into Buffalo, with a circle to runway 18. After a landing at Buffalo, we departed and headed back to flying cloud.

We got a lot done in 2 hours of flight.  7 takeoffs/landings, a wide variety of maneuvers, 2.0 hours flight time including .7 hours of simulated instrument time.

Total log time is up to 79.0 hours now.   I plan to fly again next Saturday. I will likely get some more cross-country time in.  Winter is upon us soon, so I need to get some hours in before it gets too nasty.

Today’s trip was a long one. I was originally hoping to fly to Rockford, IL (KRFD), but after waiting out the fog at Minneapolis Flying Cloud (KFCM), and ready to go, there were still low ceilings at Rockford, so I decided to head the other direction where it was clear to partly cloudy.

So, I loaded up, and headed for Norfolk, NE (KOFK). As I didn’t leave Flying Cloud until 10:50am, I figured this would make a good lunch trip. Norfolk Regional Airport is known for it’s on-field, aviation themed restaurant, “Barnstormers”.

The flight from Minneapolis to Norfolk was about 2.8 hours, and was starting to flirt with the bladder limit (How far can you go without a pottie break!!!). I flew this leg at 8500ft. Once I arrived at Norfolk, I parked at the FBO ramp. While the line worker was servicing/fueling the plane, I took advantage of the courtesy car to head a few blocks down to the old terminal building where the Barnstormers restaurant is located.

It’s a pretty nice little restaurant & bar. I had the “Classic Cheeseburger” with bacon, and fries, along with a couple of cokes. It was a very tasty, and fairly large burger.  Now stuffed, I paid my tab, and headed back to the FBO to start checking weather and planning the flight back to Minneapolis.

There was a slow moving line of storms moving southeast through South Dakota, but I had plenty of time to get back before they would affect my route.  The flight back was a tick shorter at 2.7 hours, as I had a slight tailwind. I flew at 9500ft on this leg. Smooth and quiet up there. I think I had maybe 1 traffic advisory the entire flight.

So, total flight time was 5.5 hours, and I figure with the burger included, was probably around a $400 trip!  Another great thing about this trip……..I get to add another state to my “States I’ve Landed In Map”!

Upon arrival at Olivia Regional Airport, I noticed that there was some storm damage, and downed trees from the severe storms that blew through a couple of days ago (July 1st, 2011). Here are some photos I took at Olivia Regional Airport, and another of Lake Waconia on the flight back to Flying Cloud.

Once airborne, I contacted Flight Service to activate my flight plan. The flight briefer advised that there was a new advisory regarding severe thunderstorm development. We were at least an hour ahead of the storms, so no problem. When we arrived back at Flying Cloud Airport and got to the hangar. I looked back to the west, and the sky was getting dark in the distance. I pulled out the iPad and checked the weather radar, and what did I see???   The airport we just came from, Redwood Falls, was under a Tornado Warning.  Fun stuff! I guess we got out of there just in time. Oh, and the temperature when we left the hangar to head home……103F. Ouch!

Here are some photo’s from today’s adventure!

1.8 hours in the logbook today.  Hope to get up for some cross-country flights again soon.

The next stop of the day was KABR (Aberdeen Regional Airport), in Aberdeen, South Dakota.  This was a shorter leg, with 1.1 hours of flight time. The winds a ABR were blowing at 16kts gusting to 21kts. And they were swirling around.  Made for an interesting landing. Once we were down, I called up Quest Aviation on the radio to let them know I was taxiing to their ramp for fuel. They were ready for me, and the line worker marshaled me in to a parking spot.

After a bit of rest in the lounge, watching a bit of the NASCAR race on the big screen, it was time to fire up the iPad2 once again, check the weather, and file the next flight plan back to Minneapolis. All fueled up, flight plan filed, pre-flight check, and we are on our way.

The flight back to Minneapolis was a bit bumpy. We were at 7500ft, with a little light turbulence, as the winds were still quite gusty. 2.7 hours later, we arrived at Minneapolis Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM) where the winds where howling at 20kts gusting to 25kts. Another wild and fun landing in heavy swirling crosswind.

What a long day!  6.0 hours of flight time, and sore from sitting so long. But it was quite an adventure. And as I mentioned earlier, 2 more states added to the “States I’ve Landed In” map.

I did manage to get up for a while today to get some landings in, as well as some local flight around the north metro. I started with a northwest departure from Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM). I headed out over Lake Minnetonka, then north towards Maple Grove. I wanted to get lined up for a straight-in approach to Crystal Airport from the Northwest. This way I could try to see my new office in Brooklyn Park, which is about 2 miles from Crystal Airport (KMIC) just right of the runway 14R approach path. I did manage to snap a photo that turned out decent considering I just reached over with the camera and pushed the button. I didn’t even know if I had a good photo until after the flight.

Aerial view of the new office in Brooklyn Park

So, 1 landing at Crystal, then departed again to the northwest. Once I was out of the Crystal Class D airspace to the northwest, I headed over towards my house in Champlin which is just north of the Gopher VOR (GEP). Circled the house a few times, then headed west, and eventually southwest towards Glencoe. Did 1 landing at Glencoe (KGYL), then headed back to Flying Cloud.

Cleared for straight in approach for runway 10L at Flying Cloud.

Approach to Flying Cloud runway 10L 4-21-2011

The sky was overcast, and it was but hazy at times, temperature around 48F, but it was great to get up in the air. I’m hoping spring decides to show up soon. Also, with fuel prices what they are, flying is getting very expensive.

Drill Baby Drill!!!  ;)

Hoping for some cross-country trips soon!

With the landing at Osceola, I have now added Wisconsin to my “States I’ve Landed In” map!!  Hope to add a few more this spring. Also added another 3.5 hours of Cross-Country Pilot-In-Command time, as I get a little bit closer to the 50 hours XC PIC time I need so I can work on getting an Instrument Rating.

Here are a couple of photo’s I took of a frozen Lake Mille Lacs in northern Minnesota. I’m happy that I had heat in the plane, it was a bit nippy out there. 8 to 10+ inches of snow expected tomorrow! Oh well..

A view of a frozen Lake Mille Lacs in northern Minnesota, from 5500ft.

Another view of a frozen Lake Mille Lacs in northern Minnesota, from 5500ft.

Route of Flight - 2/19/2011 - FCM-BRD-OEO-FCM

Today, the weather was a little gloomy early on, with occasional light sprinkles, cloudy, with some icing conditions above 3000ft. I decided not to try a cross-country flight, and just stayed in the pattern for some landing practice. While on my 3rd round in the pattern, I noticed the skies were clearing up nicely, so I decided that the next take-off would be a departure to the north/northwest. After take-off I was vectored south, then west for traffic, then cleared to the northwest. I went out over Lake Minnetonka then north towards Maple Grove. I stayed just west of I-494 to avoid the Crystal Class-D airspace. I circled a friend’s house a couple times before heading southwest towards Lake Waconia. There I flew over the lake, then turned east back to Flying Cloud Airport.

So overall, not too adventurous, but I got 4 landings in, and did a little sight seeing. It was nice just to get up in the air again.

I’m back on the schedule for next Saturday as well, and the weather forecast is good, so hopefully it works out.

Another 1.5 hours in the logbook, and Total Time is up to 52.0 hours.

Only took a few photos on this flight. I was hoping to take some video, but I forgot to pull out the video camera!

Next flight will hopefully be in 2 weeks if the weather permits.

Here are some pics from this flight:

11/27/2010 Winter in Minnesota during a flight to Mason City IA

11/27/2010 Aerial view of the airport in Albert Lea MN

11/27/2010 Aerial view of one of the many wind farms in southern Minnesota

Next I headed northwest toward the city of Elk River, following the Mississippi River. At Elk River, turned westbound, flying south of Monticello, with the nuclear power plant visible in the distance to the north. Then turned southwest towards Maple Lake, MN. Went in for a landing at Maple Lake Municipal Airport (KMGG), then departed again heading southbound towards Winsted, MN. Flew over Winsted, then to Glencoe.

At Glencoe, turned east, then northeast, around the north side of Lake Waconia, then back towards Lake Minnetonka. Once over Lake Minnetonka again, I turned southeast and head back towards Flying Cloud Airport. I was cleared for straight-in approach to runway 10L.

I had a passenger with me who was operating my video camera. Here are some videos:

Departing Flying Cloud (KFCM) – Runway 10L

Landing at Maple Lake Muni (KMGG) – Runway 10

Departing Maple Lake Muni (KMGG) – Runway 10

Back to Flying Cloud (KFCM) – Straight-In Approach/Landing Runway 10L

Result:  PASSED!!!

I am now a licensed Private Pilot!

And now the next chapter in this adventure begins! I will be enjoying flying on my own, or with friends. I’ll be building up cross-country PIC time over the next 6 months or so.  Next summer, maybe around June or so, I’ll look into starting training for an Instrument Rating.

It’s been a long, crazy summer of training, so for now, I am just going to enjoy my wings for a while!

Now that I have passed the training and check ride, this blog will follow my adventures as a licensed private pilot.

Cheers!

All of the paperwork is ready to go for the check ride on Thursday!!!

1.1 hours today.

Total Time: 44.7 hrs /  Solo Time:  10.5 hrs

Took off from Flying Cloud Airport headed towards Willmar, then diverted to Winsted. Started with a simulated engine out landing starting down from 3700ft with throttle at idle. Circled down to the runway for a perfect soft field landing.  Then we took off again, staying in the pattern for a normal landing.

Next we departed Winsted to the south to Glencoe. On the way to Glencoe, we practice low level ground reference maneuvers (S-Turns, Turns Around a Point, etc). Then at Glencoe, entered the left downwind for runway 31, and made 1 landing.

Headed back to Flying Cloud. When we got back to the hangar, we did about 1 hour of ground training/review. (Airspace, Regulations, etc…)

Tomorrow I’ll be going up for some solo practice, then I will meet with the instructor to go over maintenance logs for the plane, and finalize the application in preparation for the Check Ride.

The weather forecast for Thursday, November 4th (Check Ride Day), is Sunny and 48F.  It should be a nice day for a check ride!

Started from Flying Cloud (KFCM) on a cross country plan to Willmar (KBDH), with a diversion to Winsted (10D).  1 Landing at Winsted, then went north towards Buffalo (KCFE), 1 landing at Buffalo, then flew northwest for an overhead view of Maple Lake airport (KMGG), before turning back towards Flying Cloud.

On the way back to Flying Cloud, we working on some manuevers. Went under the hood for some simulated instrument time, turns, navigation, slow flight, etc.

There is only 1 lesson left in the syllabus, and that is Lesson 26 – End of Course Check!!!

A week and a half now before my scheduled check ride!

Todays flight time was 1.4 hours (including .3 hours simulated instrument).

I now have all of the hour requirements completed.

Here are some pics from this flight:

10/23/2010 - Short Final for runway 9 at Winsted (10D)

10/23/2010 - Lined up for takeoff on runway 9 at Winsted Municipal Airport (10D)

10/23/2010 - Approach to Buffalo Municipal Airport (KCFE) Runway 35

10/23/2010 - Flyover view of Maple Lake Municipal Airport (KMGG)

Flight time tonight 1.5 hours (Solo).

I am scheduled both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, however there is a Presidential TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) on Saturday afternoon due to President Obama visiting MSP. This will interfere with my flight training schedule.

Some pics from this flight:

10/21/2010 - Lake Minnetonka

10/21/2010 - Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM)

I practiced 5 landings (soft field) at Winsted, including 1 simulated engine-out emergency landing, beginning at 3800ft, and circling down to the runway. After Winsted, we headed back toward Flying Cloud, and tried some maneuvers on the way pack. We covered Approach Stalls, Banked Approach Stalls, and Steep Turns.

When we got back to Flying Cloud, we were in the right downwind for runway 28R, almost abeam the numbers when the instructor pulled the throttle to idle, and said “You just lost your engine”. So, I performed an emergency engine out landing (simulated of course). Another perfect landing!!

1.5 hours total flight time tonight, which brings the total to 38.9 now.  I still need 1.0 hours of solo, and 0.1 hours of simulated instrument before I have the hour requirements covered, but I have a bunch of flights scheduled over the next 2 weeks before my check ride on the 4th.

Getting close!!!!!! It’s getting exciting!

Then headed back to Flying Cloud, where the wind was from 310 at 14kts (gusting to 20kts).  Landed on runway 28R. I was worried that it would be a sloppy landing due to the gusty crosswind, but it actually ended up being a pretty good landing.

More solo practice on Thursday (Oct 14th) weather permitting. I plan to practice Stalls, Slow Flight, Climb/Descent, Climb/Descent with turns, etc.

That means I have a few weeks to really hit the training and study hard. It looks like the next few weeks are going to be both busy, and expensive!

I planned a cross-country flight from KFCM to KHCD, with weight and balance. Then as we flew, we did an in-flight diversion to KGYL.  Also checked slow flight maneuvers both visual and under the hood, as well as steep turns. We practiced simulated instrument failures (vacuum system failure with loss of attitude indicator and directional gyro), as well as loss of GPS and VOR navigation. At that point, you are flying by the map (pilotage).

Did well on all of it.

I have some solo flights scheduled this coming week. Will practice maneuvers in preperation for the check-ride.

1.4 hours today (.3 simulated instrument).   Total time now at 36.1

Now I can focus on preparing for the checkride. I still need 2.3 solo hours,  .4 hours of hood time (simulated instrument), and 5.3 total time. I hope to be ready for, and take the check-ride before the end of October!

On the home stretch now!

The flight started at KFCM (Minneapolis Flying Cloud), then flew to D39 (Sauk Centre Municipal), then to KSTC (St. Cloud Regional), and back to KFCM. The flight totalled 170 nm, and a total flight time of 3.0 hours.

Everything went great. It was a lot of fun.

Total time is now at 34.7 hours (7.7 Total Solo, 5.1 Solo XC).

I am on the home stretch.  All that is left now is the written test, which I really need to get busy on, and a few more dual training flights, solo practice, and check ride prep.

This morning, I went up with my instructor for a dual cross country flight from KFCM (Minneapolis Flying Cloud) to KBDH (Willmar Municipal)., then back to KFCM.

The session was delayed about an hour and a half due to low overcast. Once the clouds cleared up a bit, we were able to depart. It was quite windy, but once we got up to our cruise altitude of 6500 ft, the air was smooth. We had planned 4500 ft, but we would have been dodging clouds the entire way, so we popped up above them.

On the return trip, the clouds had started to rise, so instead of going way up, we stayed below them at 3500 ft.

I also got in a couple of extra crosswind touch-n-go’s at KBDH before we headed back.

Overall, a great flight. It was nice to finally get back up in the air again. Another 2.5 hours in the log book.  31.7 total now.  Tomorrow will be a Solo Long Cross Country if the weather cooperates. It will be KFCM to D39 (Sauk Centre) to KSTC (St. Cloud) and back to KFCM.

After landing at KRST. We then proceeded to do some pattern practice there, with 5 trips around the pattern for landings. Then it was back to KFCM, with flight following again.

Flight time tonight was 3.0 hours (2.0 hours Cross-Country time, 10 Night Landings).

Total time is now at 29.2 hours, and I am reaching the end of Stage 2. Just have the stage check flight, and then it’s on to Stage 3 (the final stage). Coming up on the home stretch!

Here are some photos taken during tonights flight. Some are a little streaky as the camera was bouncing around!

Tonights flight was from Minneapolis Flying Cloud airport (KFCM) to Redwood Falls Municipal Airport (KRWF). Direct distance each direction was 71nm (142nm Total for the round trip). The air was pretty smooth both ways. I flew at 4500ft on the flight to RWF, and 5500ft on the flight back to FCM.

Flight time tonight was 2.1 hrs, with 2 landings.

Total time is now at 26.2 hrs (2.6 instrument, 4.7 Solo/PIC, 80 landings)

Next up on the schedule will be this coming Friday and Saturday nights! Yes…it will be my first night flight. Friday we will practice night flight in the local pattern at FCM. I will need to do at least 8 landings. Then on Saturday night, we will plan to do the night cross-country flight to KRST (Rochester International Airport).  That should be fun!