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2 out of 3 – or almost only counts in horse shoes, hand granades and thermo nuclear warfare

2 out of 3 – or almost only counts in horse shoes, hand granades and thermo nuclear warfare

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Visibility: good
Temperature: 16°C
QNH: 1008hPa
Location: local aviation administration
Equipment: Computer in the testing center

I am at the local aviation administration for the second part of my theory exam today. I know the drill already. Sign in, find a computer in the examination room and go.

When I sign in, I tell the examiner that I will have to come back for a third appointment after this. I had a busy time at work. He informs me that I can only take two appointments and that there is no third unless I fail one of the parts.

Stupid of me not to confirm the test centers policies. On the other hand I could not have made more time available for studying anyway. So I will see how far today gets me. I am going to try tree subjects without preparation today – “Meteorology”, “Aerodynamics” and “Flight Rules and Air Law”.

After about three hours I’m done. The test goes well. I have studied a lot for “Navigation” and one part of the exam is the very example trip that I practiced last night. I answer the questions half from memory and get 100%. Not bad for the subject I was most insecure about. But it also means I spent too much time preparing for it.

“Flight Rules and Air Law” is one subject I did not prepare. I know many answers and some are simply guessing. I have a bad feeling in “Meteorology” and am fairly confident in “Aerodynamics”.

After I have finished the test, I go out and tell the examiner to not hold anything back from me. I failed “Flight Rules and Air Law” by one point. I would have needed 75% and I only got 73%.

The friendly examiner says how sorry he was. I smile at him and tell him that the overall result was better than I had expected.

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on April 30, 2012 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/2-out-of-3/)

1 out of 2 (or 3)

1 out of 2 (or 3)

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Visibility: good
Temperature: 12°C
QNH: 1018hPa
Location: local aviation administration
Equipment: Computer in the testing center

I am at the testing center of the “Joined Aviation Administration” of two states. It is located in an old office building with a friendly atmosphere at the international airport.

I am taking the first part of the theory exam today. Seven subjects are being tested. The exam can be taken in up to three individual appointments in any combination of subjects. A very friendly way to test the hundreds of questions from the text book.

The exam itself is a computerized multiple choice test. My original plan was to break it up into two appointments. However, reality caught up with me and I only managed to prepare two of the subjects as thoroughly as I wanted. I would have loved to do four today.

At the testing center I am still on the fence if I should try the other two subjects anyway. But in the end I decide it would be better to be back for a third appointment voluntarily than involuntarily after failing “Aircraft Performance” or “Flight Rules and Air Law”.

I pass “Special Procedures” and “Human Limitations” with 92 percent and 96 percent respectively. Somehow fitting :-)

Now it is back to ground school for the next round!

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on March 31, 2012 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/1-out-of-2-or-3/)

Studying

Studying

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I am studying for the theory exam of the private pilots license right now. That’s why there will be no exciting reports about exotic trips and flying adventures for a bit.

For now just navigation, meteorology, aerodynamics and law. Wish me luck!

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on March 18, 2012 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/studying/)

Flight Radiotelephone Operator’s Certificate

Flight Radiotelephone Operator’s Certificate

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Visibility: special VFR
Temperature: 9°C
Location: deep in the woods behind the airport

I am at the Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway today (this is the actual title, I looked it up!). The building is in the woods on the far side behind the cities’ airport. There is a lake here, a few military installations and the “FNAEGTPR”.

Today I am being tested for my radio license. We are a group of seven in the waiting room. One person is from my flight school as well. We catch up while we are waiting.

The test starts with theory. 100 multiple choice questions in 60 minutes. I get 95 points, everybody in the group is above 90.

For the practical test, we have an air traffic controller here. Everybody gets a map of a different airport. We can choose our own call sign and our destination. I am getting the international version of the radio certificate. So I do the departure in English. Everybody else sticks with German.

I have been training for today both at my flight school and online. I feel well prepared but I have also heard a lot of stories about traps build into the test by the controllers.

Either this is all exaggerated or I have a darling of a controller. He speaks slowly and clearly, the departure routes are demanding but not cruel. He asks questions to see if we are up to speed but no traps.

For the approach we get new airports. We have a minute to find approach routes and frequencies and then we go on. All goes well, we are all routed into the approach pattern of our respective airports when my neighbor loses his orientation.

His virtual Cessna is approaching Runway 25, so the runway heading is 250 degrees. He is on the base leg, one 90 degree left turn away from the runway. So his heading right now is 340 degrees.

The controller asks for his current heading and he says 160 which would be the opposite heading. He is turned around in his head and because of the stress of the exam, he does not manage to snap out of it.

The controller asks him again and then a third time. Then he asks him to perform a go-around maneuver and fly the approach again. The poor pilot checks his map, repeats the calculation of headings on his scrap paper and sticks with 160 degrees. He will have to be back in two weeks time and try again.

After landing we get our licenses and the others go home. I have to stick around a bit longer for the language proficiency test. It is part of the international license in order to make sure that I can say more than just the standard phrases in English. I listen to different tapes and answer questions. Then the controller interviews me – more of a chat, really.

On my way back to civilization through the woods I hear the deep rumble of a starting airliner behind the trees. I am one step closer to the private pilots license.

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on March 2, 2012 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/radio-license/)

LiveATC

LiveATC

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Visibility: undetermined
Temperature: 19°C
QNH: 1013hPa
Location: subway
Equipment: the mighty iPhone

I am listening to American 142 heavy being cleared for take-off from runway 31 right by New York departure control. A Boeing 777-200 from JFK to London Heathrow. I understand about every other word of the fast exchange of information, carried out by trained professionals with a lot of routine on a less than clear connection.

The voices in my head are thousands of miles and half a dozen time zones away and are brought to me by LiveATC.net on the mighty iPhone. LiveATC is a free service that lets you listen in on ATC, the Air Traffic Control.

Luftsportgerät

I am working on my radio license at the moment. Every pilot has to have one of several levels of radio licenses in order to be able to participate in the elaborate system of communication in the air. With my sports pilots license I only had a small section of the theory test to cover radio communication. With this limited radio license I can not fly into the controlled airspace of larger airports.

Now I have to get the next license because flying in controlled airspace is part of the requirements for the private pilots license I am working on.

The trick of the efficient radio communication is standardization. There is only a limited number of things I can communicate to ATC. For this I have to use standardized phrases in a standardized order. If everybody knows what can be said, it is much easier to understand what is being said. This makes possible the rapid exchange of information despite interferences on the radio.

For a low time student, this means practice, practice, practice…

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on February 20, 2012 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/liveatc/)

Meet Charlie Oscar

Meet Charlie Oscar

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Visibility: about 10 kilometres
Temperature: -7°C
QNH: 1042 hPa
Location: EDAY
Equipment: New Rider MD3, 100hp engine (D-MPCO)

Late last season, my old flight school got a new aircraft. It is another Rider MD3, like the ones I trained on. But this one is brand new, has a lot of bells and whistles and a stronger engine.

I took D-MPCO (“Charlie Oscar”) for a spin today and was very impressed. All the aircraft of the flight school are well kept but you can tell right away that Charly Oscar does not have as many hours under her belt. She is new and shiny.

Fresh snow fell last night and the airport is white. A little cloud of snow dust blows around me as I start the engine. I have not been in an ultra light since I started my training for the private pilots license on the Cessna. But Charlie Oscar handles well and I feel comfortable taxiing out to the runway.

The air is very dense today, the aircraft is light with only one person and half full tanks but I am still surprised how quickly she takes off. It feels less like a take-off run and more like a big leap into the sky. I have reached pattern altitude before the first turn into the crosswind leg and I have to reduce power well before that. Wow, this is fun!

I do a bit of pattern work to get to know Charlie Oscar. The runway is snow covered and although it is not very much, it is very slippery. After the first landing I drift to the left and the aircraft starts turning before I can catch her. The fresh snow breaks the wheels a lot but not necessarily at the same rate. On the second approach I set full flaps to come in as slowly as possible. I am prepared this time and manage to hold her steady.

After that I go north for a quick trip around the block. Visibility drops out there and I turn back. The sky to the south is blue and the sun warms my face. I smile, this is pretty sweet!

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on February 10, 2012 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/meet_charlie_oscar/)

New Airport

New Airport

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My idea of fun is going to the airport. I am going to test our new international airport today. It is due to open this summer. Before that, there are dozens of test runs with hundreds or thousands of volunteers. Today is my turn!

The shuttle bus picks us up at the train station and takes us to the construction site. All of the buildings are there already and I get a pretty good idea of the whole set up. It is a modern, very large airport complex. Nothing like the two old and improvised airports it is going to replace. This one is build for easy access and large crowds, but it is also build as the international gate to the capital city. And it is build with a lot of self esteem.

The test run starts in a drafty tent with long rows of pick nick tables. We are a group of about 200 testers today. We register, get our safety gear and wait for the briefing to start.

The day is organized by the “Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer”-Team. “ORAT” is hired from the Munich airport. They did a remarkable job when the new airport in Munich opened, a few years back. The dividend of the good planning back then are consulting jobs now.

We get “tickets” for two trips. One in the morning, the other one after lunch. Each tester plays two passengers on each of the flights. On the first round I am two friends who are flying to Budapest on Lufthansa.

We are walked over to the terminal building, go through a wooden temporary door and walk up a flight of stairs that still need their finish. The grandness of the entrance hall appears in front of us as we ascend the stairs.

“Will they be ready?”

The main floor of the terminal is about twice as big as a football field and maybe six stories high. There are four majestically high but also surprisingly delicate steel pillars in the middle of the room. Three sides are glass from floor to ceiling. On the fourth side is a high wall with a balcony about half way up. The check-in counters are grouped together in little pavilions on the main floor. Ther walls are dark wood that harmonizes nicely with the cream colored marble floor and brushed steel used for railings and handles.

The first impression a feeling of grandness. This has nothing in common with the two active airports of the city. Maybe its closest relative is the now decommissioned terminal of the former inner city airport which was build in a time in Germany, when nothing could be big enough. The building is impressive, no doubt. It is build by a country that is strong and knows it. It is flooded with light, open, transparent and the smaller structures of the check-in gazeboseffectively counter act the feeling of individual smallness. The architect was trying to impress but not to intimidate. I have mixed feelings about the terminal and they will stay with me for the rest of the day.

One of the other testers looks around and is surprised. “This is never going to be ready in time!” he exclaims. Trust me, I know. They will be ready.

What happens to lost luggage

Before we find our respective check-in counters, we pick up test luggage. The bags are close to the entrance. Piled up higher than a man are rows and rows of bags, suit cases and trolleys. Some of them damaged, many marked with spray paint, all of them seasoned travelers. Maybe ten thousand maybe more. A friendly worker picks out two per person. They are heavy, I get a cart.

The Lufthansa check-in desk is easy to find. Only two of the pavilions are active for the test today. I am greeted by a friendly Lufthansa employee who has one supervisor and one member of the ORAT-Team as observers standing behind her. I request a window seat on the right side of the aircraft so that I would have a view of Budapest on final approach. The Lufthansa lady only hesitates for a fraction of a second before she smiles at me and says “no problem, sir!”.

Security is uneventful. The area behind the check-point is going to be a shopping area. It is probably going to be nice but right now it is a construction site in full swing. Workers are everywhere and it is loud and dusty.

At the gate we gather. We have time to talk to each other before the flight “boards”. I make friends with a student of aeronautical engineering and a travel agent.

After our “flight” we have lunch in the tent together. We are all of the same opinion: The new airport is impressive and we will all be back. For a next round of tests and for an actual trip.

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on February 10, 2012 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/new-airport/)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

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Seasons greetings with a bit of (harsh) pilots humor.

 

 

To be continued…in 2012!

 

(originally posted on December 25, 2011 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/merry-christmas/)

Work-Fly-Balance

Work-Fly-Balance

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y tilbo

Visibility: almost unlimited
Temperature: 12°C
QNH: 1034hPa (very high pressure)
Location: EDAY
Equipment: MD3 Rider (D-MALJ)

I am very busy at work right now. I am a new father and I am getting a private pilots license (PPL). My good friend asks me how I do it. I say that flying is the reason I can do it!

I am very flexible at work which means that I am working all the time. Work and private life overlap a lot. I have a work computer and a work phone at home and I answer emails at night. This is my own choice and I am not stressed about the situation as work is my own company and I love what I do.

However, a hobby is good for me. I used to fill idle time with work as I can always find something to do. Now I have an airplane magazine in my pocket and the PPL theory training program on my computer. When I go to the airport, I switch off the mighty iPhone. I can not check email and I can not be reached.

The aircraft demands my full attention and I enjoy focusing on something not work related. It relaxes me and I am energized and in a good mood for the rest of the day.

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on October 14, 2011 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/work-fly-balance/)

Make better landings

Make better landings

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Light airplanes either have two wheels just a bit behind the center of gravity and one in front, or they have two wheels way in front of the center of gravity and a much smaller one at the tail. This sounds like a minor difference but it does make for dramatically different handling.

In the tricycle configuration, the airplane just rolls on the ground much like a car. On take-off it will accelerate until it has reached a critical speed at which it can be lifted off the ground.

The tail wheel aircraft will start flying from the tail to the front during the take-off run. The steering on the ground is done with the tail wheel. So it handles much like a car in reverse. It takes some practice!

The landing is either straight on the two main wheels until the tail settles down or on all three wheels at the same time. Each way has its own complications, but I learn the three point landings first.

Make better landings

Alan Bramsons book “Make better landings” was recommended to me as a good resource. Unfortunately it has been out of print for a long time but I could find it online. The chapter about tail wheel landings was a very good preparation for the first lesson on the actual thing.

To be continued…

 

(originally posted on August 26, 2011 by tilbo at aloft.blog.com/make-better-landings/)