Kate's Aviation Journal

A lonely little Cessna 152 made its first flight in quite a while today. Jim and I visited it a couple times in the past year to look it over and make some minor fixes. The owner wants to part with it, but first it needs an annual inspection. I flew it from Oconto to Brennand Airport on a ferry permit because it had been over a year since it had its annual.

I hadn't flown a 152 in years, but knew I'd be OK with several hours in type and a ton of hours in its cousin the Cessna 150. I remembered the airspeeds to use and had no trouble flying the plane. It felt very odd at first because it was so light on the controls, just as I knew it would be. It brought back good memories of all my time in Cessna two-seaters!

I had some operator-error problems with the radios and almost had to climb over Green Bay's airspace. I couldn't go around it to the west because there was bad weather that way, and didn't want to go east over the bay in an airplane I didn't trust. Just in time, I realized I had my handheld radio with me and that saved the day. I was able to go right through the airspace.

As I was making a trip in a particular airplane I'd never flown, Jim was making his first solo-cross country. So we worried about each other! I watched him wisely dodge a downpour ahead, and I blazed through it, knowing it would be alright for me. We navigated our way toward Brennand.

After leaving Green Bay's airspace I accidentally pushed a button on my handheld that put it in emergency mode. That meant I was unable to switch to Brennand's frequency. I was too busy watching for traffic and flying the plane to fiddle with getting out of that mode. I landed behind Jim, unannounced. He was starting to wonder what on earth happened to me. We were both glad we had a successful trip. I must say I made a very nice landing, but I will credit it to the airplane being very easy to fly, just like I remember!

There happens to be a Cessna 152 in pieces in the hangar. Our next project?

This morning I had the privilege of flying into Oshkosh in the back seat of the Sky Arrow with Sean. We took off around 8 a.m. under a low ceiling in winds that were already gusting to 20 knots. Matt and Jessica flew alongside us in the Peregrine.

In order to prevent mass chaos, during EAA week pilots have to follow certain procedures that are different from usual. Oshkosh becomes the busiest airport in the world during this week. The multi-page Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) keeps things running pretty smoothly. Even though Brennand Airport is just 10 miles north of Oshkosh, we would have to fly out of our way to get in. What normally takes me about five minutes lasted about half an hour today.

The majority of aircraft fly to Ripon, get in a single-file line, and fly up the railroad tracks to Fisk. Controllers on the ground at Fisk identify aircraft over the radio and give them instructions on which runway to fly to. Depending on which runway pilots are assigned, they then monitor a certain tower frequency. As they get close to the airport, the tower clears them to land. Often pilots are cleared to land on a particular colored dot on the runway. This way more than one plane can be on the runway at the same time. The NOTAM talks about what to do in contingencies such as traffic saturation. The whole thing works out pretty well except when people don't read or follow the rules. Each year there are a handful of pilots who don't. But overall it's amazing how well the procedures work and how well pilots and controllers cooperate.

This was only the second or third time I have experienced the Oshkosh arrival. The last time was in a Cessna 182 in almost dead-quiet conditions, not the weekend before the show. It could have been a lot more hectic this morning, but I think the weather kept a lot of people grounded. When we approached Ripon we only saw one other airplane, a Stearman biplane. Matt and Jessica in the Peregrine followed it and we followed them. We all flew at 90 knots as outlined in the procedure.

Between Ripon and Fisk, the biplane slowed down so much that the Peregrine had to drop out of line and start over. Sean and I putted along at something like 75 knots. We weren't quite sure why the Stearman was suddenly going so slow. If our airplane wouldn't have been so capable of slow flight we would have had to start over as well.

When the Stearman flew over Fisk, its pilot was late to acknowledge the controllers. "Stearman, rock your wings." When he finally did so, the controllers assigned him to runway 36 Left. He turned east as outlined in the procedure. Sean and I weren't far behind. The controllers said "Sky Arrow, rock your wings." Before they even finished the sentence Sean was tipping the plane. We were thrilled that we were recognized as a Sky Arrow... Big progress since the days where no one on earth seemed to know what kind of airplane it was! We were also assigned 36 Left and followed the Stearman.

The Stearman seemed to slow down even further and I remember us flying at what must have been 65 to 70 knots. We were practically going to run the Stearman over and started hoping we would get assigned a different runway. The tower told the Stearman to land on 36 Left and he did not acknowledge. He continued flying east until he was actually past the final approach for the runway. Sean flew us along at about as slow as we could go. We wondered how the pilot couldn't seem to find the massive airport. Finally the Stearman flew back towards the runway and there was just enough space between us that we could both land. It landed far down the runway and we landed at the beginning. Sean and I were both a little baffled. It wasn't till later that I learned Stearmans really can't fly as fast as I assumed. But the pilot still seemed out-of-it. Oh well, we were down! And Sean had made a great landing in at least 20 knots of wind that was angled to the runway. The controllers reminded us to exit the runway ASAP because we had a low-wing behind us -- the Peregrine. Apparently they were able to get back in line behind us without having to follow anyone else.


When we taxied to the west ramp (oops, AeroShell Square) and shut down, I was surprised to be greeted by someone I knew, "Doc." I didn't know he was a volunteer here and was happy for the welcome. Volunteers hooked a tug up to the Sky Arrow. Unfortunately the Peregrine wouldn't work with a tug so Matt pulled it by hand.

This year the Light Sport aircraft were in a totally different spot due to EAA redesigning the site. We found out too late that we shouldn't have turned into the west ramp. We had a long, arduous journey to the Hansen's display. At one point we had to go through a gate that the Peregrine would not fit through without rotating it 90 degrees. Lesson learned! I guess the bonus was that I got a sneak peak at what seemed like half the show grounds!

When it was all said and done the airplanes were ready for display. I had an exciting time flying in with Sean and was glad to ride in one of my favorite airplanes again.

On this windy morning we welcomed some airplanes and helicopters to Brennand Airport for our annual fly-in. The grill was going steady and we had a reasonable crowd of fly-in and drive-in visitors. The fly-in is an annual fundraiser for EAA Ultralight Chapter 41. As usual, we had a raffle, sold food, and offered Young Eagles flights.

Today is also the Saturday prior to EAA Airventure in Oshkosh. Hoards of aircraft arrive over this weekend every year. I went to watch airplanes land on 9/27 at Oshkosh this afternoon. "Popcorn" thunderstorms were all over the radar but that didn't stop people from flying in. Within five minutes after I sat down, I ran for cover from a downpour. So much for watching planes, at least for a while!


After the shower blew through I watched planes from the rain-proof safety of an overhang next to a hangar. I listened to the controllers with my handheld radio.

When another downpour came through later, the control tower warned incoming airplanes that the wind was gusting to 40 knots (46 mph). This didn't deter a couple planes including a Cessna 185 taildragger. When the tower asked if the Cessna wanted to continue, the pilot said yes. The airplane landed in the midst of horizontal rain that was coming down so hard I couldn't see halfway across the airport. It was black outside. We onlookers were just waiting for an accident to happen before our eyes, but the pilot somehow stayed in control of the airplane. I was glad the person survived that hairy weather, but I had to wonder, was it really worth it?

Late in the afternoon I got a call from Matt from Hansen Air Group wondering if he could park two airplanes at Brennand overnight. They wouldn't make it to Oshkosh before the field closed at 8 p.m. He and his dad, along with Sean O'Donnell and Jessica Scharle, were making the trek from Atlanta to Oshkosh (one I'm familiar with) in the Sky Arrow and Peregrine. Matt and Jessica are the pilots who set a transcontinental flight record in June. Sean trained with me in 2007 for his sport pilot certificate, and just now earned his private pilot certificate (congrats!). This is the second year in a row he's flown a Sky Arrow from Atlanta to Oshkosh for the airshow.

The pair of airplanes landed safely at Brennand with barely any light left, and I welcomed everyone to terra firma. I helped them get to their hotel in Oshkosh and we all went out to dinner. Sean talked me into meeting him at Brennand bright and early the next morning so we could fly into the show together.

Somehow I had never landed in Eagle River, WI -- a popular northwoods tourist destination -- until today. I rode along on a trip to look at an airplane for sale. While there we got to ride on some interesting homebuilt three-wheeled motorcycles and have some good food at a nearby diner.

Click the play button to view the slideshow or click here for the album.

Tonight I rode with my instrument student in the Arrow on another cross-country flight. He had to wear the Foggles for this one because the weather was perfectly fine. We flew to La Crosse and back.

Tonight I went on a cross-country with my student, first to Madison then to Mauston-New Lisbon Airport. I have Madison pretty well memorized, but I'd never been to Mauston before. It's near a conglomeration of military airports, restricted airspace, and military operations areas (MOAs). I've landed all over the state with the exception of this area, where the map is printed so full of stuff you can hardly read it. I finally ventured in there! It was a great evening for a trip. We enjoyed the hilly scenery between Madison and Mauston, including a view of Wisconsin Dells.

You know it's a busy day at Iola when you see three Ercoupes.

It's Friday July 3rd and it seems everyone has the day off for the holiday weekend. After a lesson of takeoffs and landings, my student Mike and I flew the 172 to Iola for the Friday lunch.

We saw a traffic jam along highway 45 north of highway 10, and then I noticed there had been an accident at the 96/45 intersection. Some kind of large vehicle was in the intersection with a contingent of emergency vehicles around it. This was a nice time to be driving instead of flying.

Iola was almost a traffic jam itself. There were nonstop position reports coming over the radio. There was a huge crowd. By 12:30 just about every possible parking spot was gone to the point people started parking 2 rows deep. I heard rumors the airplane count was over 60. The chow line went out the door and then some, and I'm not sure if there was even enough baked ham and scalloped potatoes to last! When we got done eating, there was still a huge line.


I couldn't figure out why it seemed no one was leaving at the normal time. We were one of the first planes out. As we did our runup, the mystery was solved: a business jet treated us to a planned flyby! We must have missed the announcement at lunch. That explained why a crowd was standing around. Check out the video and John Dorsey's Blog entry about Iola.

Today's lunch was sort of a spur-of-the-moment decision. Mike hadn't been there yet, and I knew it would be busy, so I figured it would be a good experience.

Labels: Iola

I fly in the evenings a lot, which is nice because of smoother air, but often my students and I have to put up with the sun in our eyes.

Tonight a broken layer of clouds made my lesson with Kelly much less blinding. As a bonus we saw some cool rays of sun:



After our lesson, we saw a nifty-painted Yak 52TW taxi past:



It was the same Yak I flew in 2003!

An instrument proficiency check sure goes fast in a Bellanca Viking.

I rode along as the instructor & safety pilot for the Viking's owner, who needed an IPC to reestablish currency. While I didn't try my hand at the controls, I thought it was a cool airplane. I couldn't get over the loud, beefy engine sound and how fast the plane wanted to go. Three hundred ponies will do that for you! This was my first flight in one of these.

The Viking has a tube and fabric fuselage with wood wings. Not just wood spars or ribs. The whole wing including the skin.