Kate's Aviation Journal

Southwest Wisconsin Sunday

2010-01-31T20:00:00.000-06:00

With flight planning help from Mickey the cat, Jim and I and our friend Tony took a trip to Reedsburg and Richland Center today to look at some Ercoupes. In Reedsburg, we needed to wait for a key to a hangar, so we went to lunch across the street and then flew over to Richland Center for a while. We stopped at Reedsburg again on the way back. It was pretty cold outside but toasty warm in the plane. It was nice to fly around for fun.

The highway 12 construction project between Baraboo and Wisconsin Dells

Hilly landscape between Reedsburg and Richland Center

Landing at Richland Airport

Taking off from Richland Airport

Ice Exposed

2010-01-30T20:00:00.000-06:00

Recently, frozen Lake Winnebago was covered in white, but recent rain and wind ended that for now.

Flying by Moonlight

2010-01-29T22:00:00.004-06:00

Today was another one of those picture-perfect winter flying days. It was beautiful for a long trip to northwestern Iowa in the morning. On the way back in the evening, I got to see one of my favorite things in all of flying: a snowy landscape brightly lit by a full moon. I managed to get a picture of the moon rising behind some high clouds as the sun was setting behind us.

Winter Scenery

2010-01-09T20:15:00.001-06:00

Winter weather changes so often that it's great to get calm, clear days like this. It was a good chance for a student to start learning takeoffs and landings this afternoon.

Cold, Clear Iowa

2010-01-05T22:00:00.002-06:00

It was cold, cold, cold on my first trip in the 182. Des Moines welcomed us yesterday with below-zero wind chills. Hey, I'll take the cold if it means there won't be a cloud in the sky. There is supposed to be a snowstorm coming but we had great timing for this trip -- nothing but clear skies. The temperature didn't even get above zero before we left for the return flight this afternoon. Gotta love getting towed out of a heated hangar while sitting in the airplane!

After my checkout in December, I read Max Trescott's G1000 Glass Cockpit Handbook to better understand all the little details of the 182's avionics. I must say that is a good book and I would recommend it to anyone learning the G1000. It is like the regular G1000 manual but written in a different style. In order to review instrument approaches and put some of the book's tips and tricks into practice, I took a local flight with a safety pilot before this trip to Iowa.

Cessna 182 & G1000 Checkout

2009-12-20T22:00:00.001-06:00

Over the weekend I learned to fly a 2005 Cessna T182T with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite. Insurance required at least a three-hour checkout with an instructor, which I accomplished over two flights. The first was in the daytime but low clouds limited our altitude, so I did lots of takeoffs and landings of all different kinds, and lost count after 15 (yowzers!). The second flight was at night and included several types of instrument approaches and practice with the autopilot.

I'll be flying this airplane for a local company and am very excited to have a new job to supplement flight instructing. I always like doing something new and different when it comes to flying. The plane arrived here a few days ago accompanied by a ferry pilot who is a specialist in glass cockpit aircraft training. It's been a while since I've received major instruction in anything, so I was a student all over again! I'm glad to finally be on the glass panel bandwagon. The G1000 system is amazing and the Turbo 182 is a great airplane. I found it to be an easy transition and am looking forward to flying the plane more.

Checking Out the First Snow

2009-12-07T19:25:00.003-06:00

This week's forecast is full of doom and gloom, with a major snowstorm predicted. As of yesterday, this area still had not seen any snow. I had four flight lessons to teach over the weekend. We all took advantage of the nice flying weather knowing we might not get to fly again for at least a week. Last night (Sunday into Monday), we got our first snow, about an inch or two. Then there was calm before the big storm. When I saw clear sky this afternoon, I took the Ercoupe up for a quick flight to check out the snow.

It wasn't until very recently that the lakes started freezing over around here. One day I saw them wide open, and suddenly they were frozen a few days later.

The town of Winneconne is blanketed with snow, but it looks like it will be awhile before the ice is safe.

Taxiing back after the flight, I could see my tracks from landing and also where my takeoff tracks ended. This was my first time flying the Ercoupe off of snow. I was happy with how well it steered. It was also the first time I have seen an oil temperature barely register after a 20-minute flight. Brr! It is supposed to get very cold by the end of this week, but first, we're supposed to get over a foot of snow. That's why I was glad I could get out today.

Short Days

2009-12-01T19:13:00.000-06:00

Sunset is about a quarter after four these days, so I'll be seeing more of this.

Farm Scenes

2009-11-10T21:39:00.000-06:00

It was a perfect day for flying. Jim and I needed an excuse to go somewhere. We dug good old 15X out from the back of the hangar and flew to Clintonville to visit the avionics shop, where we ran into two pilots we knew. It was such an awesome, calm day!

I saw a farm that had both a simple corn maze and a hay bale maze. I saw another farm with a field full of round bales reminiscent of the "needle in a haystack" challenge that was on the latest episode of The Amazing Race, where contestants had to unroll hay bales to look for one of only seven race flags hidden among 186 bales. Perhaps next season they should add a corn maze to the competition.

It Looks Like November

2009-11-05T17:30:00.001-06:00

The leaves are almost gone and the landscape is mostly brown. October was unusually cold and wet with a lot of bad flying weather. The corn harvest is behind schedule, and lately I've been seeing a lot of farm equipment out in the fields. Now we're having warmer than average weather with some hazy skies. I'll take it! After a lesson today, I rode in the Archer with Ted, Dale, and Zach, an aviation mechanic who is new to the area. We flew to Manitowoc for lunch and wished Ted a happy birthday.

Brennand Airport is hiding in the picture below. It definitely looks like November.

Brennand Airport Featured in Blog

2009-10-15T18:32:00.003-05:00

Thanks to someone pointing it out, I found a nice article about Brennand Airport on the JetWhine blog. I didn't realize the person taking photos that day was there gathering info for a story.

The story shows pictures from September 26th, when I fueled the 172 and sent my student off on his first solo cross-country flight.

Fall Sightseeing via Ercoupe

2009-10-13T20:22:00.000-05:00

I took Todd's Ercoupe for a solo joyride at the end of the day today, flying from Brennand Airport to Waupaca, to Clintonville, and back. It was a low-and-slow tour of what little bit of fall color is out there. This year, like last, our colors are a bit muted. (And when I upload photos to my blog, they get muted even more.) Still, I like to sightsee this time of year.

Usually I only goof around in the Ercoupe for 15 minutes at a time and stay near the airport. The weather this afternoon convince me to take a much longer ride. It was bumpy earlier today, but then high clouds moved in from the west. The air became very smooth and calm. I flew for a little over an hour, including my takeoffs and landings. It was warm and cozy in the plane.

I wished the flight didn't have to end, because our weather was supposed to take a turn for the worse the next few days. I could see the system moving in from the west.

I saw a hot air balloon when I was west of Appleton. It was west of Outagamie County Airport by several miles, and higher than me. I stayed well clear and tried to take a picture of it, but by now the daylight was fading, and the picture came out blurry. The light tonight did not get along with my camera.

Whoever was in the balloon could hear and see me, I'm sure, and we were probably thinking the same thing: it was nice to be up in the air watching a peaceful-looking sunset.

Congrats Dave

2009-10-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Dave for passing his instrument rating checkride today! The next time he flies the Arrow halfway across the country, he won't have to let those pesky clouds get in his way. Well, at least not until winter!

Dave trained for his private pilot certificate with me and was my first instrument student. I'm sure he will continue to have many adventures in aviation.

Hints of Color

2009-10-01T21:22:00.002-05:00

Ted, Dale, and I made a lunch run to Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee. We ate at the restaurant in the airline terminal. The fall colors are just starting to show.

Iola:

A little color on the treetops:

A storm system approaches from the southwest:

Looking north toward CWA and Rib Mountain:

Some color on approach, and Rib Mountain off the wingtip:

Quick IFR Practice

2009-09-23T20:00:00.000-05:00

I practiced some instrument approaches today to extend my instrument currency. Thanks to the availability of my rental checkout customer after a lesson, I had a safety pilot handy for my flight.

I wore the Foggles since we weren't always in the clouds. Shawn was my traffic scout and cameraman. Sometimes we were above the clouds, getting views like this:

We spent some time in the cloud layer. Shawn was intrigued by the lack of view:

I flew ILS 6 at Green Bay and ILS 3 at Appleton, where I landed, and then we flew back to Brennand Airport.

A Saturday Long Cross-Country

2009-09-12T20:00:00.003-05:00

The weather was supposed to be crummy this weekend, perfect for instrument flight training. Dave and I scheduled an all-day cross-country lesson, and wouldn't luck have it, the sky was blue and the only instrument conditions we found were when we popped in and out of cumulus clouds. Oh well, Dave would have to resort to wearing Foggles all day!

Our first leg late this morning was from Appleton, WI to Springfield, IL. There were no clouds to be found for a while, but there was a very sharply defined haze layer that we flew above at 8,000 feet. We've actually been stuck with some dirty air around here after days of barely any wind.

Our route took us right over Madison, where I could tell a Badger game was either happening or going to happen soon.

We found some clouds in Illinois, so we were able to log at least a little bit of actual instrument time. We were above most of the clouds and I had a nice view out the window.

I think I have traveled too much. I told Dave about how I've been to Springfield "once" as we tried to figure out which of the three FBOs to taxi to. On that one trip I taxied to an owner's hangar, not an FBO. Today as we pulled up to the Landmark FBO, I thought wait a minute, I have seen this building before. Duh, I have been here twice, the second time was at night on a charter trip. I'm starting to forget where I've even been. Maybe I should read my blog.

The next leg of the flight took us to my old stomping grounds of Dubuque, Iowa. We were above a scattered cloud layer again and caught several tops, choosing to bounce around through them to get some more actual instrument time.

On the final leg home, we flew under the clouds. The hilly farmland landscape of southwest Wisconsin is pretty this time of year.

Our weather has been gorgeous aside from daily haze and fog overnight. It's been rain-free for at least two weeks. Dave and I are itching to find some drizzle, low clouds, and a free schedule all at once so we can do a trip in some yucky weather again. For now, Dave logged 5.9 hours today of good experience navigating, talking to air traffic control, flying different types of instrument approaches, and getting "brain mush" after so many hours staring at a panel. I'm getting closer to sending my first instrument student to a checkride.

Door County Arrow Flight

2009-09-11T15:03:00.000-05:00

This morning I traveled around Door County in our school's Green Bay-based Piper Arrow. I flew with an FAA Air Safety Investigator who works in Washington, D.C. and is here on vacation. As a private pilot working towards his commercial certificate, he wanted to log some complex aircraft time and cross-country time. He and his relative and I flew to Ephraim-Fish Creek Airport, where I haven't been since about 1999. It was a nice break in the routine for me. I got to hear some interesting stories.

On the way back, we spotted a detailed corn maze and flew past Lambeau Field on approach to Green Bay. I only wished the haze would have gone away so we could have seen the sights in Door County better.

Hazy Day Chicago Trip

2009-09-10T21:18:00.001-05:00

Jim and I flew to Chicago Executive Airport today for a maintenance mission. I filed IFR because it was very hazy and knew we'd probably run into clouds to the south.

It turned out to be a good plan. We could hardly see the horizon at times. Since there wasn't much to see, I had Jim work on his instrument flying skills wearing a view-limiting device. Meanwhile I watched as we plowed through a few clouds.

Air traffic control had to get us out of the way of two higher-speed aircraft approaching the airport, so for a few minutes we were diverted to the west off our course. When it was our turn, we flew the ILS 16 approach and the controller thanked us for our patience. We couldn't see the airport until we were practically on top of it. After landing and parking, we found out there was a Porsche display today and the airport was extra busy. Coming here always feels hectic, but in my three visits I've found the controllers to be very nice and the Signature FBO staff helpful.

After we fixed the airplane we came to fix, we made the very short hop over to the Schaumburg airport and had lunch at Pilot Pete's. The wind was from the east today, so for the first time in my three visits to this place, I took off to the east. Schaumburg is very close to O'Hare. I have never noticed until now just how close. When we took off, it was as if we were on final for the runways at O'Hare! I took a picture but it doesn't do it justice.

Visibility improved drastically in the afternoon and the clouds lifted, so we flew VFR on the way back home. It was terribly bumpy over the Chicago suburbs on our way out, where we had to stay low to avoid the Class B airspace. Once we could climb higher, it smoothed out quite a bit and we had a nicer ride.

One of Fond du Lac's runways was listed as closed today, and as we flew over, I noticed why. It looked like some seal coating or resurfacing in progress. The picture shows how an "X" on or near the beginning of a runway tells pilots it's closed.

As we passed Oshkosh, we saw a big group of sailboats on Lake Winnebago. It was pretty scenery to end a nice trip.

A Shiny Visitor

2009-09-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

We had a rare airplane visit Brennand Airport today: a Lockheed 12. Its pilots stopped by to visit friends, and I joined everyone for lunch. What a beautiful airplane! I watched the landing but unfortunately couldn't stick around to watch the takeoff.

The Days are Getting Shorter

2009-08-27T21:47:00.000-05:00

The sky turned pretty after I took a quick flight in the Ercoupe. What a nice evening!

Vanya Passes his Checkride

2009-08-23T20:41:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to my student Vanya who passed his private pilot checkride today!

He began training in December 2008. Next week he'll enter Fox Valley Technical College's aviation program with a goal of earning his advanced flight ratings and an associate's degree in aviation. I wish him good luck and happy flying!

Hozhoni Hangar Party

2009-08-22T17:53:00.000-05:00

Our EAA chapter hosted a hangar party today for children with cancer and their families. Families from the Hozhoni Weekend camp visited us at Brennand Airport and enjoyed a cookout and airplane rides. Weather was great, and we had an excellent turnout of pilots, planes, and helicopters for the Young Eagles flights. I did so many flights over a couple hours that I lost count. It was fun for everyone. I didn't get any pictures but I know our chapter members did, and hopefully we'll have some pictures and stories in the next newsletter.

First Flight Not Far Off?

2009-08-15T20:24:00.000-05:00

A lot of people are wondering about the status of our Ercoupe project. Well, today I had it out and about on the airport and did some full-power runs. Still left to do: install seat and interior side panel, hook up lights, get a new starter cable, and other interior work. I can't estimate a completion date, but I can say there isn't much left to do. It is pretty fun to taxi around in, at least.

Meanwhile, any time I get the itch to go Ercoupe flying, I borrow my former student's plane. I've taken it out for a few quick flights and have given several people rides. Todd keeps it pretty busy and he probably has more Ercoupe time than me now!

Phoenix, Briefly

2009-08-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

One minute I was sitting at home bored and the next I was witnessing the sun rise in Phoenix, Arizona. I never know where I'll have to move an airplane to next. Last night I flew the Cessna 340 from Oshkosh all the way to Phoenix with stops in Grand Island, Nebraska and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Suffice to say it was a late night. We arrived in the wee hours of the morning at Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).

Weather was pretty good the whole way. We were VFR except for a few minutes. We flew past severe storms in Iowa that looked very ominous. Further west we dodged a couple of tiny cells like this one:

After dark we saw distant storms in Colorado and were treated to a nice light show. I happily found out my copilot is as much of a weather guru as I am, so we dimmed the cockpit lights for a while to watch the lightning on the horizon.

On our way to Albuquerque the ground was eerily dark, with almost no civilization out there. The city hid behind a mountain. We had to climb up to 13,000 feet to get over the mountains and then drop down quickly at the last minute in order to make it into Double Eagle II Airport. I could not believe how warm and dry it was when we stepped out of the plane, especially considering it was nighttime. I had never experienced anything like that. The airport's elevation is almost 6,000 feet, and with that heat we used a lot of runway to get off the ground.

We flew over another unpopulated chunk of the country into Phoenix, where it was even hotter and just as dry, even in the middle of the night. I have been to Phoenix before but in the winter. It blew my mind. 93 degrees. What was almost as bizarre was trying to figure out what time it was. We forgot that most of Arizona does not observe daylight savings time.

Whatever time it was, it was definitely time to hit the hay. I thought I would have the urge to sleep in this morning, but strangely I was up and awake a couple of hours before I needed to be. I witnessed a beautiful sunrise from my hotel window.

For this trip I would get to take the easy road home by flying on the airlines. After breakfast I took the shuttle van to the airport. Twice I stepped outside and felt the oven-like dry mid-90s. It was such a big change of scenery to see gravelly dirt ground, palm trees, and cacti. It was nice to see things in the daylight.

About 24 hours after my trip started, I was back at home complaining about the humidity and feeling like the trip was such a blur it never happened. I hope someday I can visit longer and say hello to my flight instructor friend out there.

IFR to Rhinelander

2009-08-03T23:05:00.001-05:00

It's that muggy time of year where it's nice to have an instrument rating flying through the haze. For Dave's instrument training lesson tonight we flew the Arrow from Appleton to Rhinelander and back. It was VFR but so hazy I was glad to be on an IFR flight plan. We crossed a weak cold front and briefly went into some clouds. On the other side, it was much cooler on the ground in Rhinelander and noticeably drier. Back at the hangar in Appleton we stepped out into the mugginess again. It's forecast to get cooler and drier later in the week, and we believed it after experiencing it just an hour earlier!