One of the attractions of flying from a club is the social aspect. Rockcliffe Flying Club is co-located with the Canadian Aviation Museum, and on every July 1 all the national museums are free entry. So a crowd of several thousand show up at the museum, and quite a few planes fly in for breakfast and a tour.
So Nancy (wife) and I spent most of the day at the Club. Nancy served breakfast from 9-11, we both did the clean-up from 11-1230. The airport was closed for a radio-controlled flight demonstration, and then the Snowbirds (Canadian Air Force demonstration team) did their airshow over Parliament Hill, then they did a turn or three over the field. Afterwards, the Snowbird pilots (and astronaut Chris Hadfield) came into the museum for autographs.
Nancy and I walked through the museum, then Nancy had a sightseeing tour - her first flight in a small aircraft.
Nancy went home for the afternoon, while I stayed at the field and marshaled the four aircraft that were giving sightseeing tours (three C172's belonging to the club, plus a Waco biplane). Overall, a great day for socializing and meeting people, looking at airplanes. And flying.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
RFC Flight 1
2009-06-30
I was scheduled to take my first two flights with the CFI, as an assessment of where to put me into the "curriculum". Tomorrow is Canada Day, with a fly-in, breakfast, the SnowBirds fly-by, airplane rides and much more, so there were many too many last-minute details. A different instructor, SH, substituted.
We started with a briefing, especially managing the landing circuit (when to reduce throttle, drop flaps, etc). I was well-prepared with the V-speeds for RFC's aircraft, had reviewed the checklists and emergency procedures from the RFC website, and I have manuals from two other (different year, different model) C172s so I had a general awareness of the aircraft characteristics.
The pre-flight took the better part of a half hour, as I poked, prodded, looked into all the nooks and crevices, understood the inter-relationships of the different systems, and so forth.
The checklist has a section where different combinations of carb heat and throttle are used, to ensure the engine is not going to stall on a certain combination. I skipped a step, which was caught.
Taxi with a steerable nosewheel is again different. Being used to a castoring nosewheel I was not at all hesitant about punching the rudder to gain directional control, which is much more effective with a semi-steerable nosewheel. Once again, we meandered down the apron and taxiway like a drunken sailor as I over-controlled my way down the taxiway. Shades of the summer of 2006.
Takeoff was on 09, so we did the run-up at the start of taxiway C. Positioning was OK, checklists were slower to process due to unfamiliarity.
On the takeoff roll I found the elevators to be very heavy - we stayed on the nosewheel too long and rotated 15nmph late. Takeoff was fine, as was the climb out. We proceeded to the practice area east of the Gatineau River.
The air lesson was on the fundamental manoeuvres, including straight & level flight, turns to a heading, climbs, descents, climbing turns, descending turns. We spent quite a bit of time in 45-degree steep turns, I initially had difficulty maintaining altitude but eventually got working. The turns sometimes approached 60 degrees of bank, so I need to work on the smoothness. I spent quite a bit of time trying to keep my eyes outside, getting re-acquainted with the over-the-dashboard view from a different aircraft.
In preparation for the landing we spent some time getting used to slow flight - getting the flaps out, and handling the aircraft in a mushy and nose-up attitude.
Flew the approach into Rockcliffe, landing was with 20 degrees of flaps. Not pretty, but not too bad. No yaw, the flare was not a last-second panic but it wasn't a smooth flowing transition.
Filled the tanks, and pushed the aircraft to the parking spot.
Need to work on:
Did well:
Time: 1.2 Dual
Landings: 1
First flight in C172.
If all the instructors at RFC are cut from the same cloth as SH, I am going to have a very enjoyable time here. I have a very positive reaction to his laid-back, mellow, observant-as-a-hawk, teaching style.
I was scheduled to take my first two flights with the CFI, as an assessment of where to put me into the "curriculum". Tomorrow is Canada Day, with a fly-in, breakfast, the SnowBirds fly-by, airplane rides and much more, so there were many too many last-minute details. A different instructor, SH, substituted.
We started with a briefing, especially managing the landing circuit (when to reduce throttle, drop flaps, etc). I was well-prepared with the V-speeds for RFC's aircraft, had reviewed the checklists and emergency procedures from the RFC website, and I have manuals from two other (different year, different model) C172s so I had a general awareness of the aircraft characteristics.
The pre-flight took the better part of a half hour, as I poked, prodded, looked into all the nooks and crevices, understood the inter-relationships of the different systems, and so forth.
The checklist has a section where different combinations of carb heat and throttle are used, to ensure the engine is not going to stall on a certain combination. I skipped a step, which was caught.
Taxi with a steerable nosewheel is again different. Being used to a castoring nosewheel I was not at all hesitant about punching the rudder to gain directional control, which is much more effective with a semi-steerable nosewheel. Once again, we meandered down the apron and taxiway like a drunken sailor as I over-controlled my way down the taxiway. Shades of the summer of 2006.
Takeoff was on 09, so we did the run-up at the start of taxiway C. Positioning was OK, checklists were slower to process due to unfamiliarity.
On the takeoff roll I found the elevators to be very heavy - we stayed on the nosewheel too long and rotated 15nmph late. Takeoff was fine, as was the climb out. We proceeded to the practice area east of the Gatineau River.
The air lesson was on the fundamental manoeuvres, including straight & level flight, turns to a heading, climbs, descents, climbing turns, descending turns. We spent quite a bit of time in 45-degree steep turns, I initially had difficulty maintaining altitude but eventually got working. The turns sometimes approached 60 degrees of bank, so I need to work on the smoothness. I spent quite a bit of time trying to keep my eyes outside, getting re-acquainted with the over-the-dashboard view from a different aircraft.
In preparation for the landing we spent some time getting used to slow flight - getting the flaps out, and handling the aircraft in a mushy and nose-up attitude.
Flew the approach into Rockcliffe, landing was with 20 degrees of flaps. Not pretty, but not too bad. No yaw, the flare was not a last-second panic but it wasn't a smooth flowing transition.
Filled the tanks, and pushed the aircraft to the parking spot.
Need to work on:
- Flow with the checklists
- Keeping my head ahead of the aircraft - I felt like I was struggling to keep up for most of the flight
- Carb heat - the Eclipse was fuel injected and so carb heat is a new control I need to manage
Did well:
- I can fly an airplane. After the layoff and with my low time I am quite rusty, and sometimes I need to think through things to figure out what I am doing... but I fundamentally have a clue.
Time: 1.2 Dual
Landings: 1
First flight in C172.
If all the instructors at RFC are cut from the same cloth as SH, I am going to have a very enjoyable time here. I have a very positive reaction to his laid-back, mellow, observant-as-a-hawk, teaching style.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Membership
I pinged Tony, another blogging pilot from the Ottawa area, and he was very generous with his time as he discussed the flying community in Ottawa, and Rockcliffe Flying Club in particular. He's an instructor at RFC and so not totally impartial, but he's happy there. And after the discussion, for balanced and good reasons. Again, the social atmosphere kept coming through in the conversation.
I made an appointment with the CFI at Rockcliffe. After a discussion about the Club values, operating model, instructor pool, fleet, and more, I made the decision and joined.
My only concern is the limited size of the fleet, as they lost two aircraft to a tornado that went through earlier this year.
My PTR is in the rack.
As a bonus, I saw a yellow Husky parked on the apron, so I searched out Tony Hunt, a sometimes-follower of this blog, and a part-time instructor at RFC. We've emailed, blogged, and chatted on the phone, and this was the first face-to-face meeting. He loves to fly, so he offered (and I eagerly accepted) a spin in his Husky. We put 0.8 on the Hobbs up to the practice area and back, as he showed off his pride&joy.
I made an appointment with the CFI at Rockcliffe. After a discussion about the Club values, operating model, instructor pool, fleet, and more, I made the decision and joined.
My only concern is the limited size of the fleet, as they lost two aircraft to a tornado that went through earlier this year.
My PTR is in the rack.
As a bonus, I saw a yellow Husky parked on the apron, so I searched out Tony Hunt, a sometimes-follower of this blog, and a part-time instructor at RFC. We've emailed, blogged, and chatted on the phone, and this was the first face-to-face meeting. He loves to fly, so he offered (and I eagerly accepted) a spin in his Husky. We put 0.8 on the Hobbs up to the practice area and back, as he showed off his pride&joy.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Picking up the PTR
The Pilot Training Record is the document that has to be maintained as a student pilot - it records every flight, what you did on every flight, where you went, what you flew -- everything.
It belongs to the student, not the flying club or school. Alas, when you apply for your "real" license then it is sent in to Transport Canada, never to be seen again.
This morning, after dropping off my wife at the airport for her week-long vacation, I stopped in at the flying school and picked up my PTR. I'm changing schools. I had a brief chat with the Assistant CFI over the service counter, discussing the reasons. But ultimately, it comes down to the fact that I am going to commit a lot of time and money to finishing my PPL, and I am going to be happy doing it. And I didn't think I was going to be happy here.
My reasons:
So I picked up the PTR, and I'm switching. I'll write a thank-you email to the CFI, describing my reasons for changing.
Time to phone Rockcliffe.
It belongs to the student, not the flying club or school. Alas, when you apply for your "real" license then it is sent in to Transport Canada, never to be seen again.
This morning, after dropping off my wife at the airport for her week-long vacation, I stopped in at the flying school and picked up my PTR. I'm changing schools. I had a brief chat with the Assistant CFI over the service counter, discussing the reasons. But ultimately, it comes down to the fact that I am going to commit a lot of time and money to finishing my PPL, and I am going to be happy doing it. And I didn't think I was going to be happy here.
My reasons:
- They do not have an online booking system. I expect a web-based booking system, which is much faster when it comes to being opportunistic about making last-minute bookings. And I have had inconsistent results with them answering the phone, and even worse results in returning messages, so the absence of an online system is even more problematic.
- They fly the Katana - which is a great little aircraft, easy to handle, but the useful load is minimal. With two adults (one of which is me!) and a full tank of gas, we're over-weight.
- It will be more expensive - a good slice of the flying time is spent getting from the airfield to the practice area. It's a 20-minute flight (at least), not a 5-minute hop. And the Katana flies slowly because of the low power output of the engine.
- The atmosphere - they are a business, operating on the GA apron at a major airport. The atmosphere is a bit sterile. I'm after a rather an additional factor, a casual, social, relaxed dimension to the environment, which a club-style organization can provide. In addition, I need to get my wife engaged in flying (starting with the social dimension), which I can get at Rockcliffe.
- I was really pleased with my first lesson (with the ACFI) - we got along well, he's quit a cheerful guy, and in addition to being a good pilot he is also a good instructor. My second lesson - not so jolly.
So I picked up the PTR, and I'm switching. I'll write a thank-you email to the CFI, describing my reasons for changing.
Time to phone Rockcliffe.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquistion
Date: Saturday May 30
Time: 1.5 Dual
Landings: 1
I showed up at the flight school 20 minutes before my lesson, my instructor was not there. I picked up the bag for the aircraft and went out and did the preflight. After one visit, I learned that checking the oil on the Rotax engine is a pain - it has a dry sump so you need to hand-prop the engine to pump out the oil which has seeped into the sump and then check the oil level. It was, of course, low so I asked a ramper to fill the oil (nobody but staff is supposed to add oil), and went inside and waited for my instructor.
At 2 minutes to lesson the instructor breezes in, introduces himself, and we go sit down and he proceeds to give me an inquisition for an hour, checking me on all the Gate 4 items. Ummmmm, OK. I wasn't expecting this, and because I download and read manuals I could handle more questions than I expected. But how much oil does the engine hold? Coolant? Hell, I dunno -- but I should (the answer is between 3.2 and 3.4 US quarts). I knew all of the v-speeds cold. I discovered I was rusty on other things I should know, such as aircraft documents.
Because the Katana is low-powered and very different from the Eclipse, or because this instructor insists on molding everyone to his way of doing things, he got quite pedantic about the exact right way to do everything. I believe it was well-intentioned (to get me up to a level-4 crispness), but no context was provided by either this instructor or by the previous one. Hence the title for this posting.
We went outside, did a pre-flight, pointed at all the parts and asked dozens of questions. There are five holes on the front of the Katana, which let in air for the oil cooler, coolant cooler (for the cylinder heads), cooling air for the cylinders, air to the carbs, and a little one-inch hole which lets in cooling air for the generator. Plus two more on each side, for the air vents for the human cargo.
We loaded up, worked the checklist, worked the radios, and went flying.
The Katana flies like a pregnant goose. We were getting maybe 300-400fpm, and we were climbing to 3,000'. ATC was patient.
My altitude holding sucked. The feedback from the elevator to the stick was minimal, so you need to watch the attitude and the altimeter like a hawk to maintain constant altitude, and setting the trim was guesswork.
My confidence sucked. The inquisition took it out of me.
The only specific exercise we flew was steep turns, 45 degrees of bank while maintaining altitude. In this aircraft you need to do it right, because if you lose 200 feet of altitude it took forever to get it back, and an eternity to get it back if banked at 45 degrees.
The practice area was stupid busy - there must have been 5-6 aircraft in there, and most of us were doing upper-air work. More distractions.
Finally we started flying home, doing a descending 360 degree turn down to 2,000 ft and flying under the area where another aircraft was practicing. Flying west over the river we coordinated with another aircraft who was headed north, and another aircraft from the same school came barrelling through with no radio calls.
We reconnected with Ottawa Terminal then Tower, flew a right base, and landed. My landing sucked - no bounces etc, but I didn't maintain airspeed through final approach. And I succombed to the desire to put in right yaw.
There was no post-flight debriefing. My instructor said I did well (huh?), and then set about chewing a new one for the pilot that came barrelling through unannounced.
While all of the actions of this school are well-intentioned - and I can see how they would be effective - the packging leaves something to be desired.
The other factor is that the Katana just doesn't have much MTOW (1609 pounds), and it is easily at maximum weight, or over, with two adult males aboard.
I left. I'm not sure I'll go back.
In all, the lesson was worthwhile. I learned that I need to pick up my game. I am admittedly rusty in my flying technique, and switching aircraft has been a learning experience. I have been doing lots of reading in the past 4 months. But if I want to be a pilot, I need a lot more crispness.
Time: 1.5 Dual
Landings: 1
I showed up at the flight school 20 minutes before my lesson, my instructor was not there. I picked up the bag for the aircraft and went out and did the preflight. After one visit, I learned that checking the oil on the Rotax engine is a pain - it has a dry sump so you need to hand-prop the engine to pump out the oil which has seeped into the sump and then check the oil level. It was, of course, low so I asked a ramper to fill the oil (nobody but staff is supposed to add oil), and went inside and waited for my instructor.
At 2 minutes to lesson the instructor breezes in, introduces himself, and we go sit down and he proceeds to give me an inquisition for an hour, checking me on all the Gate 4 items. Ummmmm, OK. I wasn't expecting this, and because I download and read manuals I could handle more questions than I expected. But how much oil does the engine hold? Coolant? Hell, I dunno -- but I should (the answer is between 3.2 and 3.4 US quarts). I knew all of the v-speeds cold. I discovered I was rusty on other things I should know, such as aircraft documents.
Because the Katana is low-powered and very different from the Eclipse, or because this instructor insists on molding everyone to his way of doing things, he got quite pedantic about the exact right way to do everything. I believe it was well-intentioned (to get me up to a level-4 crispness), but no context was provided by either this instructor or by the previous one. Hence the title for this posting.
We went outside, did a pre-flight, pointed at all the parts and asked dozens of questions. There are five holes on the front of the Katana, which let in air for the oil cooler, coolant cooler (for the cylinder heads), cooling air for the cylinders, air to the carbs, and a little one-inch hole which lets in cooling air for the generator. Plus two more on each side, for the air vents for the human cargo.
We loaded up, worked the checklist, worked the radios, and went flying.
The Katana flies like a pregnant goose. We were getting maybe 300-400fpm, and we were climbing to 3,000'. ATC was patient.
My altitude holding sucked. The feedback from the elevator to the stick was minimal, so you need to watch the attitude and the altimeter like a hawk to maintain constant altitude, and setting the trim was guesswork.
My confidence sucked. The inquisition took it out of me.
The only specific exercise we flew was steep turns, 45 degrees of bank while maintaining altitude. In this aircraft you need to do it right, because if you lose 200 feet of altitude it took forever to get it back, and an eternity to get it back if banked at 45 degrees.
The practice area was stupid busy - there must have been 5-6 aircraft in there, and most of us were doing upper-air work. More distractions.
Finally we started flying home, doing a descending 360 degree turn down to 2,000 ft and flying under the area where another aircraft was practicing. Flying west over the river we coordinated with another aircraft who was headed north, and another aircraft from the same school came barrelling through with no radio calls.
We reconnected with Ottawa Terminal then Tower, flew a right base, and landed. My landing sucked - no bounces etc, but I didn't maintain airspeed through final approach. And I succombed to the desire to put in right yaw.
There was no post-flight debriefing. My instructor said I did well (huh?), and then set about chewing a new one for the pilot that came barrelling through unannounced.
While all of the actions of this school are well-intentioned - and I can see how they would be effective - the packging leaves something to be desired.
The other factor is that the Katana just doesn't have much MTOW (1609 pounds), and it is easily at maximum weight, or over, with two adult males aboard.
I left. I'm not sure I'll go back.
In all, the lesson was worthwhile. I learned that I need to pick up my game. I am admittedly rusty in my flying technique, and switching aircraft has been a learning experience. I have been doing lots of reading in the past 4 months. But if I want to be a pilot, I need a lot more crispness.
Appointment at RFC
I went flying again last Saturday... I'm not sure if I liked it or not (different instructor, different technique). I definitely learned that I am rusty on my finer techniques and that I will have to pick up my game.
However, I am also not the little lithe guy I was in my early teenage years, and so weight is a concern when flying the Katana especially with another (male) instructor and a full tank of gas.
So, I have an appointment with the CFI over at Rockland Flying Club at 3:30 this afternoon. Aside from flying different aircraft (172's and 152's), they are a club rather than a business, and so there apparently is a different culture around the place.
I don't know if I am going to switch, or not -- but my mind is open.
However, I am also not the little lithe guy I was in my early teenage years, and so weight is a concern when flying the Katana especially with another (male) instructor and a full tank of gas.
So, I have an appointment with the CFI over at Rockland Flying Club at 3:30 this afternoon. Aside from flying different aircraft (172's and 152's), they are a club rather than a business, and so there apparently is a different culture around the place.
I don't know if I am going to switch, or not -- but my mind is open.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Back in the Saddle
Date: Wednesday May 13
Dual: 1.1
Landings: 3
After not flying since January, on Tuesday I had enough of the absence. Time to get back at it.
So I phoned one of the local flying schools and booked a flight. I chose Ottawa Aviation Services, primarily because they fly the Katana, and I am so close to PPL that I did not want a drastic change of aircraft from the Eclipse. One of my instructors went to OAS, and others have had good words to say. I'll get my Cessna type-certification later.
This was a flight with several firsts:
Original plan for the flight was to depart Ottawa, fly to the practice area, do some upper air work, return. Along the way we decided to divert to CYRP to do some T&G, as I was still thinking about whether I want to fly this aircraft.
Flying went fine. W&B was done (we were at the max weight). Pre-flight was straight-forward. Checking the oil in a Rotax engine is a PITA, since you need to hand-rotate the prop to pump out the dry sump, to get an accurate reading on the dipstick. There is also coolant to check.
Phoned FSS to get a transponder code (they answered on the second ring), new checklist so I needed to be very methodical and not allow the checklist get corrupted by my memory, engine start was clean, taxi was easy. I had to think carefully about each radio call before making it, and stumbled the phonetic alphabet. I certainly didn't pick up the information from the controllers quickly. I also need to get a notebook and create some quick-reference sheets - the whole dynamic of receiving instructions from ATC is new, I will forget them. It was tough enough to be listening to every message to key on our call sign.
We briefed our departure. Rotate is 51kt in the Katana (Eclipse was 44). After take-off we turn right 30 degrees and increase pitch to drop the engine RPMs, because some folks who live at the end of the runway don't like the noise.
Over Bell's Corners we banked and headed north towards Constance Lake, then turned west and flew the approach into CYRP. The first time I landed the Katana I wanted it to be at a quiet airport. Good stabilized approach, decent rotation but I got the nose a little bit high (I wonder if it is because the engine is lighter, or because it is a lighter aircraft and so the control surfaces are more effective. Or if I am just rusty). Anyway, we ballooned, so I added a touch of power and got it on the ground. Not pretty, but not ugly.
Hit the throttle, retracted the flaps, got airborne and took a lap.
On the second approach I was high, so I carefully put in a forward slip (it has been 4 months, and we were low and slow - not a good place to stall), kept the speed at 60kt, straightened out at about 200 feet. Landing was OK except that I had to be reminded to remove the yaw - which I kicked out as we settled.
Throttle forward, flaps to take-off, get airborne, swing south, get ATIS, switch to Ottawa Terminal and say hello.
Orienting myself to CYOW from the air was different. I had only seen that airport from the ground as a passenger.
Final landing was not smooth, but I had the yaw corrected and I was doing fundamentally the right things.
Afterwards, we reviewed the OAS syllabus, determined where I would restart, and did the paperwork.
Now I need to book some vacation time, and get this thing finished.
Dual: 1.1
Landings: 3
After not flying since January, on Tuesday I had enough of the absence. Time to get back at it.
So I phoned one of the local flying schools and booked a flight. I chose Ottawa Aviation Services, primarily because they fly the Katana, and I am so close to PPL that I did not want a drastic change of aircraft from the Eclipse. One of my instructors went to OAS, and others have had good words to say. I'll get my Cessna type-certification later.
This was a flight with several firsts:
- First time flying an aircraft other than an Eclipse,
- First time flying in a control zone (CZ),
- First time flying to/from CYOW,
- First time flying without a GPS,
- First time flying with OSA,
- First time flying with a carburetor instead of fuel injection,
- First time flying an aircraft with a constant-speed propeller,
- First time flying in 4 months.
Original plan for the flight was to depart Ottawa, fly to the practice area, do some upper air work, return. Along the way we decided to divert to CYRP to do some T&G, as I was still thinking about whether I want to fly this aircraft.
Flying went fine. W&B was done (we were at the max weight). Pre-flight was straight-forward. Checking the oil in a Rotax engine is a PITA, since you need to hand-rotate the prop to pump out the dry sump, to get an accurate reading on the dipstick. There is also coolant to check.
Phoned FSS to get a transponder code (they answered on the second ring), new checklist so I needed to be very methodical and not allow the checklist get corrupted by my memory, engine start was clean, taxi was easy. I had to think carefully about each radio call before making it, and stumbled the phonetic alphabet. I certainly didn't pick up the information from the controllers quickly. I also need to get a notebook and create some quick-reference sheets - the whole dynamic of receiving instructions from ATC is new, I will forget them. It was tough enough to be listening to every message to key on our call sign.
We briefed our departure. Rotate is 51kt in the Katana (Eclipse was 44). After take-off we turn right 30 degrees and increase pitch to drop the engine RPMs, because some folks who live at the end of the runway don't like the noise.
Over Bell's Corners we banked and headed north towards Constance Lake, then turned west and flew the approach into CYRP. The first time I landed the Katana I wanted it to be at a quiet airport. Good stabilized approach, decent rotation but I got the nose a little bit high (I wonder if it is because the engine is lighter, or because it is a lighter aircraft and so the control surfaces are more effective. Or if I am just rusty). Anyway, we ballooned, so I added a touch of power and got it on the ground. Not pretty, but not ugly.
Hit the throttle, retracted the flaps, got airborne and took a lap.
On the second approach I was high, so I carefully put in a forward slip (it has been 4 months, and we were low and slow - not a good place to stall), kept the speed at 60kt, straightened out at about 200 feet. Landing was OK except that I had to be reminded to remove the yaw - which I kicked out as we settled.
Throttle forward, flaps to take-off, get airborne, swing south, get ATIS, switch to Ottawa Terminal and say hello.
Orienting myself to CYOW from the air was different. I had only seen that airport from the ground as a passenger.
Final landing was not smooth, but I had the yaw corrected and I was doing fundamentally the right things.
Afterwards, we reviewed the OAS syllabus, determined where I would restart, and did the paperwork.
Now I need to book some vacation time, and get this thing finished.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Bad Connections
Last week I spent a few days in Minneapolis, flying Ottawa-Philadelphia-Minneapolis there, and scheduled for the same routing to come home.
Wednesday I left the house late, since the pilot light on the furnace had gone out (scurry around and relight it), and then traffic sucked to the airport, and I missed the cutoff. Full marks to the agent at check-in for switching me to alternate flights and choosing to waive the change fee and difference in the ticket prices. With the resulting bad connections and wait for the first flight, it was 16 hours from leaving home to arriving at my hotel.
Friday, coming home, Philadelphia was in flow-control mode due to weather, resulting in a guaranteed missed connection in PHL US Air initiated re-booking of all the connecting passengers on alternate flights and airlines. The gate agent mistakenly put me on MSP-ORD-YUL (Montreal), and by the time I got back to the agent and got rescheduled on MSP-YYZ-YOW my baggage had efficiently been put on the now-departed United flight to Chicago.
From the time I arrived at the airport, to the time I got home, was 11 hours. My baggage is in one of MSP, ORD, PHL, YUL or YYZ but not YOW. My money is on ORD.
Complaints about US Air? No, I like flying them except that their schedule to Ottawa is not frequent enough. The cabin crew are great, the planes are new, the gate agents are helpful (though a bit-fat-fingered when rescheduling me). It would be great if their lounge had free drinks and food like Air Canada does.
But sheesh, let me get out the maps. For the price of the plane ticket (I booked this business trip on short notice) and for the length of time it took to get there, it would have been cheaper and faster in a Cessna.
I am re-motivated.
Wednesday I left the house late, since the pilot light on the furnace had gone out (scurry around and relight it), and then traffic sucked to the airport, and I missed the cutoff. Full marks to the agent at check-in for switching me to alternate flights and choosing to waive the change fee and difference in the ticket prices. With the resulting bad connections and wait for the first flight, it was 16 hours from leaving home to arriving at my hotel.
Friday, coming home, Philadelphia was in flow-control mode due to weather, resulting in a guaranteed missed connection in PHL US Air initiated re-booking of all the connecting passengers on alternate flights and airlines. The gate agent mistakenly put me on MSP-ORD-YUL (Montreal), and by the time I got back to the agent and got rescheduled on MSP-YYZ-YOW my baggage had efficiently been put on the now-departed United flight to Chicago.
From the time I arrived at the airport, to the time I got home, was 11 hours. My baggage is in one of MSP, ORD, PHL, YUL or YYZ but not YOW. My money is on ORD.
Complaints about US Air? No, I like flying them except that their schedule to Ottawa is not frequent enough. The cabin crew are great, the planes are new, the gate agents are helpful (though a bit-fat-fingered when rescheduling me). It would be great if their lounge had free drinks and food like Air Canada does.
But sheesh, let me get out the maps. For the price of the plane ticket (I booked this business trip on short notice) and for the length of time it took to get there, it would have been cheaper and faster in a Cessna.
I am re-motivated.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Philadelphia
Posted from the US Air Club Lounge, Philadelphia
"I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday." W.C. Fields
So I am stuck in the Philadelphia airport with a six-hour layover between flights.
It started when I got up this morning and the house seemed quite cold, so I checked the thermostat and it was displaying 12C. Not right. Checked the pilot light on the furnace, managed to get it re-lit, and then high-tailed it to the airport for this business trip.
Traffic was not pretty because I was a bit later than I wanted to be. And the net-net was that I got to the US Air counter 50 minutes before my flight, well after their requested 90 minutes. The agent phoned the gate, the gate said the flight was closed, and so we went to work to get me on a later flight.
No sense being abrasive (like I'm going to talk someone out of this?), so I just took my lumps and admitted fault. She put me on a later flight, and did not charge the difference in ticket prices or the at-airport change fee.
After the re-ticketing, and after clearing security (security for US destinations is as much of a theatre in Ottawa as it is in the USA), and after clearing US Customs & Immigration, I made it down to the boarding area - and they were doing the first boarding on the flight. Oh well.
And my stay in Philadelphia is six hours. It was a rotten connection between flights before, now it is a really rotten connection.
Oh well, they have a bar and a desk, so I am good. Though Air Canada lounges have free (albeit limited) food and a free bar.
Though I was musing that - for the price of this ticket and the time it will take me each way (the return flight has a better connection) - I could have rented a Cessna and got there in less time and money, weather permitting.
Except that I don't have my PPL yet.
And except that the weather on Friday is going to truly suck.
"I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday." W.C. Fields
So I am stuck in the Philadelphia airport with a six-hour layover between flights.
It started when I got up this morning and the house seemed quite cold, so I checked the thermostat and it was displaying 12C. Not right. Checked the pilot light on the furnace, managed to get it re-lit, and then high-tailed it to the airport for this business trip.
Traffic was not pretty because I was a bit later than I wanted to be. And the net-net was that I got to the US Air counter 50 minutes before my flight, well after their requested 90 minutes. The agent phoned the gate, the gate said the flight was closed, and so we went to work to get me on a later flight.
No sense being abrasive (like I'm going to talk someone out of this?), so I just took my lumps and admitted fault. She put me on a later flight, and did not charge the difference in ticket prices or the at-airport change fee.
After the re-ticketing, and after clearing security (security for US destinations is as much of a theatre in Ottawa as it is in the USA), and after clearing US Customs & Immigration, I made it down to the boarding area - and they were doing the first boarding on the flight. Oh well.
And my stay in Philadelphia is six hours. It was a rotten connection between flights before, now it is a really rotten connection.
Oh well, they have a bar and a desk, so I am good. Though Air Canada lounges have free (albeit limited) food and a free bar.
Though I was musing that - for the price of this ticket and the time it will take me each way (the return flight has a better connection) - I could have rented a Cessna and got there in less time and money, weather permitting.
Except that I don't have my PPL yet.
And except that the weather on Friday is going to truly suck.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Getting the itch
I haven't flown since the diversions practice in early January. A combination of the school choosing to close, the poor weather on the weekends, early sunset on weekdays, and a huge business travel schedule (I've been on the road each week for the last 4 weeks, and will be traveling again this coming week) has precluded more lessons.
I've been filling up the time by studying for my PPL Transport Canada examination, so I have not been idle - but I have not been flying.
Tomorrow (February 23rd) is the 100th anniversary of heavier-than-air flight in Canada. My goal was to have my PPL by tomorrow, a goal for which I was on-track and likely would have achieved - except for the weather and the flight school.
Oh well - any time you over-rush things in aviation you increase the chances for a Bad Result. I still have my goal, only the timing has been deferred.
On the upside, there are rumours that one of the other schools in the Ottawa area is going to open a satellite operation at CYRP. That will make things logistically easier, but I am still going back to first principles in deciding the next steps.
In the meantime, I study and dream.
I've been filling up the time by studying for my PPL Transport Canada examination, so I have not been idle - but I have not been flying.
Tomorrow (February 23rd) is the 100th anniversary of heavier-than-air flight in Canada. My goal was to have my PPL by tomorrow, a goal for which I was on-track and likely would have achieved - except for the weather and the flight school.
Oh well - any time you over-rush things in aviation you increase the chances for a Bad Result. I still have my goal, only the timing has been deferred.
On the upside, there are rumours that one of the other schools in the Ottawa area is going to open a satellite operation at CYRP. That will make things logistically easier, but I am still going back to first principles in deciding the next steps.
In the meantime, I study and dream.
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