Mentor Pilots - Flying with someone more experienced.

I was talking with a pilot the other day that had flown up from HPN to see our FMX and discuss what we do around here. John owns a late model Cirrus SR22 with the Perspective system and he wanted to see how closely the G1000 simulators we run would match up with his Cirrus. As we were discussing this, another pilot with him was listening intently. When his friend received a cell call he excused himself to take it outside.

Once the other pilot left, John explained to me that the man outside was his flight instructor. His thinking is that while he owns and fly’s a high performance technically advanced aircraft, he only uses the airplane 85 hours a year. And although he is an instrument rated commercial pilot his belief is it is worth the expense of hiring a professional pilot/instructor to fly with him.

“When you figure the cost of the airplane, fuel, storage and maintenance, the expense of having a professional pilot/instructor along is inconsequential. Plus it gives my wife peace of mind whenever we use the Cirrus on business trips.” John explained , "85 hours a year is less than 8 hours a month, I'd rather have someone with me who flys everyday, teaching me things, keeping me honest and safe"

After he left I thought about how much sense that made. I then realized it was the same reason I have trained consistently and acquired additional ratings since first earning my Private license in 1987.  

By hiring another pilot/instructor to fly with I’ve managed the risks inherent in my passion and indemnified my family from elements training can control. Performing at a high level in aviation requires a higher degree of preparation than the other activities we participate in.

Consider this, the first part of learning how to demonstrate convincing magic tricks is learn to think like a magician. Likewise the first part of learning how to fly like a professional is to develop a professional’s mindset.  This is true with any skill we wish to master.

Michael Jordan, arguably the one of the greatest basketball players in the sport, was once asked by a sportswriter how he became such a great basketball player. He answered “by playing with people who played better than I did”. What MJ had realized was his competitive nature and natural talent would only take him so far. By working with coaches and trainers while studying and playing with people “who do it better” elevates your skill level.

Danbury Based Pilots and their Traffic Patterns

Since we opened Motion Simulations in June I've had the opportunity to fly with people who have flown or driven in from a distance, but the majority of the pilots are based /fly out of Danbury. You can spot it in a minute when landing at airports without obstructions. They all tend to do the same thing stay high until short final and then drop in, whereas someone else tends to fly a normal approach. Just an observation

You can always tell a DXR Pilot by how they fly in the traffic pattern. The first time I realized this was in 2003 when I went down to Beaufort SC to train at Doug Carmody's Executive Flight Training. My objective was to get my commercial and CFI ratings and do the training and check rides in a work week. 

We flew several times a day and both Doug and the examiner commented about how I was still at 900 feet on 3/4 mile final and how difficult it was making my accuracy landings. I had to explain to them about the terrain surrounding my home airport and how the "normal flatter" approach doesn't work out as well when you have hills surrounding three sides of the field.  They explained to me about excuses that I was making them.

The TSA's potential to revive General Aviation

was concerned when I started hearing the entire hullabaloo surrounding the new enhanced security screening measures being implemented throughout the US this Thanksgiving. I had witnessed these machines in action out in Phoenix three years ago when they were initially testing the technology.

If you’ve followed the news about this program you already understand the TSA’s believes that this technology will help them differentiate which among us is travelling on vacation/business or is a terrorist with nefarious intent.   

But let’s say you haven’t heard any of this? Seems that the backscatter radiation scanner gives the TSA the XRAY SPECS we used to see advertised in the backs of comic books growing up. Essentially it allows security personnel to see right through our clothes.  Undoubtedly the public’s reaction suggests that most folks have seen the images produced by this equipment. Supplied by the TSA the released pictures depict people who have concealed weaponry under their clothing. They’re detailed too; with nothing left to the imagination-all the splendor of the naked human form displayed to an anonymous security officer behind a screen somewhere.

Fortunately, we’ve been informed that people’s faces and ‘the details’ are blurred making them undistinguishable so it’s highly unlikely your airport nudes will sold on the internet along with Paris Hilton or Pamela Anderson’s movies.  

About the outcry, well it turns out most folks are rightly horrified about choosing between a virtual strip search or a rubdown of their intimates by security personnel and paying for the privilege. Air Travel now has all the panache of checking into jail through central booking. Stranger still is that the industry and the government never anticipated their customers/citizens lack of enthusiasm about the proposition. I mean everyone wants to feel safe when they travel, right?  

Well may I suggest how to avoid the whole mess; get you where you need to go, all the while keeping your dignity intact?  How about General Aviation?  I’ve been in many airports around the country and have yet to see a Signature Flight, Landmark Aviation or Jet Center that consistently had a metal detector in use nonetheless the new “advanced, make you naked, in front of former Argenbright temp’s”  scanning equipment.  Plus you’ll never been touched anywhere by anyone in a FBO except your wallet.

If you’re reading this you likely have a pilot’s license or are on the journey to acquire one.  That being the case, fly yourself if you can. Leave some leeway in your vacation plans to make the use of a light airplane a reasonable expectation. Set aside a few days on the front and back of the trip to allow for flyable weather. If you absolutely have to be there call one of the charter operations at your local airport. If you’ve got a few people going chances are the cost will be close to what several airline tickets,  and lost time saved is considered. Parking is usually free, you can bring as many bags as you can carry and the people in the FBO’s usually are pleasant and generally happy to have your business.   

The fashion industry rightly understands that past our 20’s a large majority of us look less than ideal without clothes on. If you’ve ever ventured on to a nude beach you quickly realize that it’s always a better idea on paper.   

If that none of this works for you then try flying out of smaller airports. I don’t know for sure but I doubt that White Plains has this equipment yet and once you’re in the system it’s unlikely you’ll have to clear security again.  

Safe travels and Happy Holidays

Sean 

NYC VFR Corridor

Taking visiting friends and relatives "On the tour" down the Hudson River

One of the more pleasant benefits of being a pilot in the metro NY area is taking out of town visitors on the VFR corridor 'tour' of NY City. I had the opportunity to do this last week when our friends Ed and Stacey from Ottawa came south on a shopping spree at Woodbury Commons. Judy and I have known them for about five years now having met while camping in the north 40 at Oshkosh. They're both in the Military in their day jobs and they pilot a 1965 C Model Mooney in their off time. Seems they drive to the Outlet Mall a couple times a year and realized it's less than an hour away from us. I got an email from Ed saying they had planned to make the trip this past weekend so I suggestedThat we do some flying while they were in town.

I wanted Ed to experience the Redbird simulator as well as take them on the NYC corridor flight so I asked them to meet me in the office where we could decide on whether we'd Sim first then fly

They showed up at Motion Sim at 1pm and we briefed the flight. We'd depart DXR to the west and contact New York Approach when we cleared the Danbury Class Delta. Once in contact with New York we would ask for 'the tour' down the Hudson at 2000. I've been doing the corridor this way since 2005 long before the special procedures took effect. I've always felt it was better to 'enter the bravo' and be in radar contact rather than transmitting my intentions on a common traffic advisory frequency. It's a pretty busy place and if the arrivals into LGA are using the River Visual 13 spotting traffic can be as much fun as looking at the skyline. That approach has traffic opposite direction at 2500 as you transition down the river at 2000.

We took off Runway 8 on the half hour into a phalanx of arriving and departing traffic. As I turned crosswind we observed a previously unannounced v35 Bonanza entering the low downwind so I delayed my turn westbound and kept the climb aggressive to 2500. Ed commented to me how 'back home' Mr. Bonanza would be getting the 'call the tower' radio exchange and I agreed.

We called New York on 120.8 told him our intentions and got a squawk code.

Once in Radar contact we were cleared into the bravo at 2000 and told to fly direct to the western side of the Tappan Z Bridge. Clearing the bridge they stepped us down to 1500 until we hit the GW Bridge where they climbed us back to 2000 and were handed off to LaGuardia tower. LGA tower handed us to Newark Tower who had us descend pilot's discretion to 'circle the lady' at 1500.

Newark asked us our intentions after we were done and I replied  heading back to Danbury. I asked him for " East River,  Roosevelt Island,  Tower Cab,  South Stanchion Throg's Neck,  Direct". This is a cool route and I always ask for it because you get to see the entire island. He told me to make the request with the next controller and handed me back to LGA tower.

I knew we weren't going to get the east river because we were already northbound on the Hudson so I asked for 'Central Park, Tower Cab, South Stanchion Throgs Neck and out'  I don't know whether it was because of the weekend or what but the controller told me that they haven't been routing fixed wings 'over the top' anymore. I said since when he and said a year, Now I know I've done this several times in the past year so I'm figuring that because it was a weekend and a pristine VFR day they likely were telling me that.

Ed and Stacy didn't mind getting half the show so we headed up the Hudson until the Tappan Z and then climbed into the bravo to 3500 and were cleared direct to Danbury. We landed with 1.3 hours total time and our friends got a great circle line tour of New York City. Stacey was the photographer and she emailed me the full size pictures and I've posted them here on my blog.

If you haven't taken the tour in a while I suggest you go out and do it again soon. It is one of the freedom's we take for granted in this country and it isn't that far out of my imagination that we could lose that privilege in a New York minute. I got to land at Meigs field the year before Mayor Daley bulldozed it and I have wonderful pictures and great memories of flying Mooney 58V into Washington National and having lunch on the Mall and Dinner back in Danbury.

If you're uncomfortable flying in busy  airspace give us a call. We'd be happy to take you down there and bring you up to speed.

ATP Rating and Remembering Old Things

I started training for the ATP license at Action Multi Ratings in Groton last week. Action has been around for a long time and a lot of folks have gone through their program to get their Multi Rating, MEI or ATP.  My classes started on Monday 10/25 at eight in the morning. I drove to Groton rather than flying the Mooney as I was concerned that frost might keep me on the ground in Danbury until after my start time which my instructor at Action was emphatic that I keep else I forfeit my slot and the deposit money that I had sent in a couple weeks earlier.

Action runs a tight program with two 1970’s vintage Piper Seneca 200’s. I received a package from them in overnight mail a week prior to attending. The Package contained a Seneca POH and about thirty pages of dual sided material that included policies, driving and flying directions, hotels and the course requirements. A long paragraph outlined the commitment required to participate in the class which included reviewing all of the material, being instrument proficient, and memorizing the procedures to execute the flight maneuvers.  The course requirements included a four page written test to be completed prior to arrival.

The instructor called me at home on Sunday afternoon and asked me to push my start time back to 9:30 which I was more than glad to do as it gave me an extra hour and a half to sleep and drive there.

I arrived at 9:30 and we spent the next few hours checking in photocopying my credentials and going over my written test and discussing what we would be attempting to accomplish over the next 3 days.

My CFII had a student who had a check ride scheduled for shortly after my arrival and he had to take the candidate up for a review flight prior to the test. He had me review some of the ground material while he was out flying and once he was done we went out to meet the airplane I was going to be spending 12 hours in.

N41382 is a 1974 Piper Seneca that has been training Multi Engine pilots for what looked like a very long time. The paint and interior were Spartan and the avionics included two KX170B Nav/Comms a non-functional ADF and a KMA20 autopilot. My first flight was an hour and a half and from the second I sat down in the left seat it was all preparation for the check ride. Ryan was emphatic that the examiner would be looking to see things done in a particular manner and accepted nothing other than certain procedures. From startup to shutdown the checklist was to be used and the sequence followed. Normally I use CGLUMPS rather than the traditional GUMP check and do that for every phase of flight. This was strongly discouraged. At Action the process is king and their success rate is based upon it.  The flight starts with a normal takeoff and appropriate noise abatement. At 400’ the power reduced to 24”/2400 until 1000 when it is set at 20”/2400 and climb to assigned altitude (3000) is at 120.

Once out of the airport traffic area we transitioned into steep turns to the left and to the right immediately after two ninety degree clearing turns. I love steep turns and feel that they, followed by slow flight are the best indicators of how a particular airplane if going to handle. The Seneca tracked through the turns as if it was on rails and after the first day I never got the second 360 in as the engine had a nasty habit of quitting about 270 degrees through the turn. The fuel would be turned off on one engine so working through the engine failure checklist always resulted in a restart.

From steep turns we then setup for slow flight, into landing and departure stalls, then the VMC demonstration. Vectors for the ILS 5 followed and turning onto the localizer results in an engine failure two miles from the final approach fix. The approach is flown single engine and at 250’ Ryan calls the lights allowing us to descend to 108 feet. After reaching that he says nothing so we execute the published missed approach and head out to Babet intersection. At 500’ I’m told I can have my engine back and once established in the hold (Teardrop) he tells me that the oil pressure on my right engine is low and the cylinder head temperature is climbing rapidly. A precautionary engine shutdown is initiated and its always an eerie feeling to see a prop blade standing still outside the window when the airplane is flying along . A couple turns in the hold and we start the engine again and on the outbound leg I’m told that once established inbound I’m cleared for the VOR 23 approach. Execute that and we land and taxi into the ramp.

The first day was over and that was the introductory flight. The Instructor told me we were done for the day and we looked at the weather for Tuesday. The weather looked marginal and he suggested that I should drive back to Danbury and spend the night at home rather than spend the money on a hotel. As it was 3:30 in the afternoon I agreed and made it home for 5:30, had supper with Judy and slept in my own bed. I put myself back on the schedule for Tuesday and then after looking at Wednesday’s weather decided to do the same for then. I spoke with my instructor around two on Wednesday and expressed my frustration about the weather. I was a little put out as I had cancelled quite a few people for the week to get the rating and now I was looking at losing additional days into the weekend. I thought about my reaction and realized that since May I was accustomed to being able to train any time and weather.     

The weather cleared out Thursday around 1pm and we were in the air again. As the front had passed High pressure was building into the area and with our proximity to the low the wind was howling.  We flew three circuits of roughly 1.7 each with a ten minute rest between them and finished as it was getting dark. I spent the night in the Hampton Inn and nearly fell asleep in the restaurant I had dinner at. Next morning we were at the airport at 8am and we flew two more flights and finished right as the examiner finished up with the prior applicant.

My instructor ran to Burger King to pick up lunch for us and the Oral exam started while we waited for our food to come back. We broke momentarily while we ate and finished up and I went out to preflight the plane. The wind was out of the North at 19 gusting to 27 and after doing the flight maneuvers we discontinued the exam because it was getting too rough to perform the instrument approaches. We continued this past Tuesday when the wind was forecast to have lessened, the proverbial calm before the storm day.

I flew the Mooney out Tuesday and did a dry run of the ILS 5 on my way in. I rode with my instructor again and we finished up just as the examiners car pulled into the lot. The rest of the ride lasted 1.0 and we finished up the things we hadn’t completed and landed runway 33 just as the winds started gusting up to 20 again. The examiner shook my hand and congratulated me. He also gave me some insight into areas he would like to see me improve on. Paperwork done and certificate surrendered and I’m carrying a temporary that reads Airline Transport Pilot Airplane Multiengine Land; Commercial Privileges Airplane Single Engine Land; [Limitations] English Proficient.

 

Thanksgiving 2003 - Icing up a Skylane

My first experience with icing came on 11/25/2003 which was two days before Thanksgiving. I was consulting at an ‘e-publishing’ company on the west side of Danbury when my friend  called me around 2pm. “Are you instrument current?” he asked.  I told him I was and wondered aloud about why he wanted to know. “I need to go pick up my son at School in Rochester and I’m not current, can you come along, sit left seat- that way we’ll both be able to log the time?”

I said I’d call him back and then called Judy and asked her if she had any plans for me that evening. Judy said she was baking pies and making cranberry sauce and likely I would be in the way so by all means go. I called him back and said I’d meet him at the airport around 3:30 and we could blast off then.

Arriving at the airport I walked into my pal when he was leaving the briefing room. What’s the weather I asked? “We should be good if we get out of here right away and quick turn  once we’re up there,  we’re filed IFR Carmel, Sparta, Lake Henry, Binghamton then Rochester,  the preferred route” was his reply.   I then asked why we needed to leave right away. Sure enough there was a Nor-Easter coming up the coast and it was forecasted to overspread our area by 8 or 9 o’clock that night. The forecast was grim with freezing rain followed by a significant snowfall if the conditions stayed the same.  The nor’easter was also going to meet up with a system approaching the area from the west in one of those perfect storm type scenarios.

I suggested scrapping the IFR preferred route and heading up the Hudson VFR until Albany and then taking V2 across to Rochester. I was very familiar with that route as Judy’s from Buffalo and we have family there. It’s a great route with big airports every 45 minutes, each with multiple approaches and MOCA’s down at 1900’ from Syracuse to Rochester. The preferred routing would have us heading due west into the weather as well as the Catskill and Pocono Mountains. This is rough sparsely populated terrain favored by soaring enthusiasts for the updrafts it creates. We bantered this about for a few minutes and finally I said “ Just look at us. You’ve got sneakers and a windbreaker on. I’m wearing a sport coat and loafers, I know it’s only a 20 minute ride over the mountains but how long of a walk would it be to get out of there?”

That cinched it and we were on our way to Albany to join Victor 2.

The flight was uneventful at 3000 until we were about 25 miles northwest of Albany when we were having a hard time staying VFR at 3000. We were bumping the bottoms and the sun was setting so I called Griffis Approach and asked them for an IFR from our present position to Rochester via Victor 2 at 4000.  We were already getting flight following so the controller comes back and says you’re cleared to ROC present position via V2 climb and maintain 4000.

We added the power and started up. Once we entered the clouds it got really dark. I turned up the instrument lights and started steeling myself for flying the balance of the trip IFR.  A little voice came on inside my head saying geez Sean you really weren’t prepared to do a couple of hours of night actual, maybe this trip wasn’t the best idea. About then my pal pulls out his enroute charts and a flashlight to take a look at what constituted Victor 2. As he was unfolding and trying to make the chart a manageable size his flashlight panned up onto the windshield. I made some comment about the distraction he was making crinkling paper and shining his light around in the dark when I looked up and saw that the windshield was covered in ice. I said “Dude, we’re picking up some ice”, then called Griffis and asked  them for lower. “Higher would be the better play” Steve quipped. I said “geez I’d agree if we knew where the tops are,  we were just VFR at 3000 and was clear below, we’re picking up ice at 4000 lets go down”. 

He couldn’t argue that and the controller cleared us down to 3000 so the discussion was essentially over. We got handed off to Syracuse approach. I called them and said we’re at 3000 but still in the clouds picking up ice and asked if to descend lower? They cleared us down to 2500 but couldn’t guarantee radar coverage at that altitude due to the terrain. We were still in it but could see the ground every so often. We were still picking up some ice and let the Rochester controller know it when we got that hand off. They cleared us down to 1900 and finally we were in the clear and told to expect the ILS runway 4. We were getting vectors to join and were number 3 for the approach and were grateful for it, to give the defroster a chance to clear a spot on the windshield to look through. It was his Skylane and I wasn’t familiar with how it would handle with a load of Ice so when he suggested that he fly the approach I was more than happy to watch.

We landed uneventfully and taxied into Piedmont Hawthorne. We drew a crowd on the cold ramp as we pulled in. As we hopped out of the airplane we saw all the leading edges were covered in ice. Walking around the airplane we were snapping the formations off the airplane and dropping it to the ground. When we were done it looked like someone had emptied coolers around the airplane as there was a perfect outline of a Cessna n the ramp.

Once inside I noted the absence of his son. We looked around the lobby and a cell phone call confirmed that he was running late and should be there anytime. I hit the men’s room taking the time to power up my cell phone to check in with Judy tell her I had arrived and could she look out the window and let me know about the greater Danbury weather outside? I told here about the icing encounter and she asked me to call her and let her know what our travel plans were.

I walked into the planning room in time to hear my friend in a heated exchange with the FSS briefer. The portion I was hearing was ‘The other briefer told me that the system wasn’t due to arrive in the NY area until after 9 and one  to the west wasn’t supposed to be here until till midnight”. That’s didn’t sound good and was uncomfortable to listen to so I slipped out to the lobby to make sure I could grab his kid when he walked in and called Flight Service for myself. The briefer told me that the nor’easter was moving faster than expected was in southern New Jersey. The system to the west was already over central PA and was moving eastward. There may be a window of opportunity but we would need to leave now and flight plan accordingly.

My buddy’s son was in the parking lot and I went in and asked my friend what he wanted to do? He was in a tizzy and was acting as if the flight briefers were salespeople who hadn’t delivered. The “sky was falling, what’s the use, we got to get out of here now, I can do it , look at all the ice we carried in here, I’ll file for 9 or 11 and we’ll be on top” was his rain of consciousness. It was real concerning to me as I had just had been reading some article about hazardous attitudes and antidotes along with some material about Personal Minimums checklists. While reading that I noticed the prevalence of the External Pressures “E” in each acronym. 

Rod Machado had also written an article about how we always ask “what do we have to lose” but ask it in the wrong sequence. Rod said we needed to first ask “What do we have to gain”, then with that answer in hand gives a different perspective the ”what do we have to lose” question.  There I was, watching a guy I had flown with several dozen times, going to pieces, and exhibiting every hazardous attitude in the book and not even conscience of the fact he was doing so. His son was late, we had to leave right away or get stuck there and all of this was absolutely unacceptable.

We loaded up the plane and discussed our options. He was inclined to file direct to save time but I knew that wasn’t going to work so we compromised by filing what we had just flown but at 9000 hoping the tops were going to be around 7000.

After we boarded the Skylane he was extremely animated. He was saying that Flight Service give him conflicting information compared to his briefing a few hours ago and had amended the Bridgeport forecast but not White Plains. His son was in the back seat so I put the intercom in crew mode and said “hey, we don’t have to do this, we can just rent a car, drive home, wait out the storm and fly up here Friday in my Mooney and pick up your plane”. He was flushed and agitated. I suggested that we call Danbury Tower on our cell and ask them what the weather is and we did. The tower controller told us Danbury was 9000 over and 10. White Plains was 7000 but Teterboro was 4500 broken with visibilities reduced in light freezing rain.

It was colder in Rochester so we took off into light snow. We climbed through the snow and broke out around 7000. At 9000 and were in the clear and picking up some good speed. We were on top of an undercast in smooth air with the cities and towns visible by the light they cast on the clouds below us. l Albany when we noticed the clouds were now around our level and a call to ask about the weather in White Plains and south west had the ceiling lower and the precip starting. Danbury was calling 5000 so we asked for 3000 and got it. We flew the GPS 8 approach in clear weather and landed uneventfully.

I think back on all of the emotions I felt while on that trip. The Rod Machado article sticks out because while I was waiting in the FBO in Rochester I finally asked the “what do I have to gain” question. I came back with a few hours of free flying time in a high performance single. Then I asked the “what do I have to lose?”, the only answer was my life. I actually played thru the scenario that would have gone down at our thanksgiving table two days later.  How my inattention  would have ruined what I feel is the best holiday on our calendar.

The External pressure element is the deadly one. My friend needed to prove to his Wife and Son that they had an airplane and that he, being an instructor, should be able to shuttle his son back and forth to college on demand.  His wife needed some sort of rational reason of why so much of their treasure was being diverted to a 30 year old amalgamation of aluminum and other metals siting out on a rented piece of ramp at the airport.

All of that aside I learned quite a few lessons. Always get your own briefing. Regardless of who’s flying it’s your soul on board protect it and make your own decision.

Your personal minimum checklist is personal. Adding another pilot doesn’t lower your minimums nor does your experience raise theirs.

Once back on the ground at home my buddy had this I told you so/you’re too conservative attitude about him so rather than stop and have a drink we both hopped in our cars and drove home. I walked through the door and the house smelled of pies. Judy had a fire going and a huge pile of wood drying inside.

We woke up the next morning to a foot of snow on the ground. Family was due to arrive later that day

Motion Simulations gets some good press from the CT Wind of the Civil Air Patrol

Our friends in the USAF Auxillary have taken note of our efforts and have published the following writeup in their monthly newsletter.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

File what you want, Fly what you get.

That expression was taught to me by my first instrument flight instructor Dan on 10/13/88. What he was telling me was regardless of the IFR flight plan I filed with FSS, the folks at the ARTCC would modify it to fit their requirements. A decade after that conversation GPS gave most pilots the ability to fly direct to their destination yet in many areas of the national airspace system Dan’s expression is still true 22 years later.

For us here in the Metro NY area and possibly the entire northeast, rarely will we ever receive GPS direct to routings. Rather ATC has carefully crafted departure and arrival routes to safely funnel traffic in and out of the area.

Departing from DXR will always be direct CMK at 3000 regardless of which way you may be going. If you are going west bound you’ll likely get CMK v39 SAX v116 TALLI. About the time you get to TALLI if you are travelling a good distance you’ll likely be cleared to your destination. Headed northeast it will be CMK v3 HFD @ 7000, Southwest CMK JFK v16 Dixie @ 6000. Knowing this helps ahead of time is crucial because regardless of where you go, these routing restrictions will be enforced and if the conditions that exist on them are beyond the capability of you or your airplane, best plan accordingly. 

Growing up flying around the Northeast it’s hard to believe that in most of the country filing and receiving direct routings in a slant/g aircraft is the norm. I’ve had numerous lengthy discussions with pilots from outside the area and they always are perplexed at why the flight plans I file are almost always on airway.

I give them my standard litany that the airways provide obstacle clearance, acceptable navigational signal coverage, and generally have airports along them. Additionally, flying the airways usually keeps one free from encroaching on Military and other Special Use Airspace. Not to mention that the routes are usually the most hospitable from a terrain perspective should one have the unfortunate experience of having to walk out of one.

Knowing your arrival route.

If you file and fly IFR regularly you’ll become familiar with the arrival routes into your home airport. Knowing these you can then expect the routing ATC will give you prior to when you show up on their screens.  Flying Victor 1 at 9000 back from the southwest? You won’t get much past Cape Charles before ATC is stepping you down from altitude. Dover or Atlantic City approach will call with “we have an amendment to your routing advise when ready to copy”.

Going to Danbury it will be CYN Dixie, V276 RBV, V249 SAX, BREZY Direct @ 4000 till Solberg VOR then down to 3000. You’ll get a nice tour of western New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. Arriving from the Northwest it’s the Nobbi Five arrival. Due west expect to join the Nobbi 5 at IGN. Coming in from the Northeast? You’ll get HFD V1 MAD V475 BDR, BDR 288 radial to RYMES.

Another method of determining the routing you’ll get is by using web flight planning resources like fltplan.com or flightaware.com both of these sites will provide the last few ATC clearances received by pilots who last flew from your departure/destination.  

“Being forewarned is being forearmed” and “every little bit helps” the cliché’s would have you believe. As instrument rated pilots flying light singles and twins, single pilot and down low in the weather we need to obtain and use every piece of information to make sure our trips remain uneventful. It’s not just a suggestion rather it’s the law.

§91.103 Preflight Action states “Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. This information must include --

(a) For a flight under IFR or a flight not in the vicinity of an airport, weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternatives available if the planned flight cannot be completed, and any known traffic delays of which the pilot in command has been advised by ATC;

(b) For any flight, runway lengths at airports of intended use, and the following takeoff and landing distance information:

Flight Reviews and Recent Flight Experience 14CFR 61.56 and 61.57

Flight Review and Recent Experience 61.56 and 61.57

As pilots, we're well briefed on 14 CFR 61.56 Flight Reviews and 61.57 Recent Flight Experience Pilot in Command. The content of these regulations is drilled into every pilot regardless of their certificate level. Part 61.56 mandates that we must subject ourselves to a flight review every 24 calendar months. To eliminate any miscommunication as to what is required in the review, the FAA has stipulates reviews must consist of minimum of one hour of ground instruction along with an hour of flight training.

This puts pilots in front of an instructor at least once every 24 calendar months. Now that’s a good start, and if you fly frequently-say 100 or more hours a year- it’s a completely appropriate number.

Part 61.57 is different. It details our recent experience obligations to serve as Pilot in Command. When operating VFR,  sections A & B specify that we only need concern ourselves with three take offs and landings within 90 days and the type landings they should be, day or night; three take off and landings every ninety days equal one per month.

Naturally, instrument pilots must delve deeper. To stay IFR legal we have section C and its requirement to perform six (6) approaches intercepting and tracking courses and flying holds within the preceding 6 calendar months. If we allow our “six in six” to elapse, section D is very clear in specifying that remediation comes via an instrument proficiency check (IPC) with an examiner, or an authorized instructor. These rules specify the absolute minimum quantity of experience that we need to be legal: twelve approaches a year, or one per month.

It’s interesting that the FAA wants us to conduct one flight operation per month, whether we’re flying VFR or IFR. That doesn’t sound too difficult, does it?

So why is it that many pilots find themselves bumping into the edges of their currency requirements? May I suggest "life gets in the way"?

I’m fond of saying “time, funds and weather, pick any two”. You can have the time and the weather but lack the funds; you can have the time and the funds but lack the weather, or the funds and the weather and be short of time.  Lord knows, there are numerous other values that we can plug into that matrix as reasons we don’t fly often enough.

This strikes me as odd when one considers the level of effort expended to obtain these certificates and ratings in the first place. Personally, I’ve found that injecting some training into my flying adds purpose to the experience. I can then justify expending limited time and funds by creating personal goals which put a "credit" on the achievement side of “my ledger”.  Rather than just going out for an hour airplane ride, I spend the same hour practicing pylon turns and then head to another airport for some take-off and landing practice.  

Filing and flying IFR on every $100 hamburger trip is a good way to stay connected with the system. You’ll have to fly accurately and precisely, while learning the routes in and out of your airport in good weather so you’ll know what to expect when it folds while you’re trying to get home. That’s good to know, because whether you’re planning, or already flying the trip, you’ll be able to visualize where ATC will be sending you (regardless of what you filed), and make an appropriate decision as to whether you’re going to want to fly that.

At the end of the day, by getting these ratings, we’ve committed to adhere to certain legal standards. Whether we want to just meet the minimum standard or to strive to rise to some level above it is a personal choice each pilot makes.

Make the right choice.

Back to School

Flying as 'Higher Education'

Everywhere you turn people are winding down their summer activities and preparing for the new academic year. From packing the car to buying Junior new clothes, our involvement, planning, and preparation are necessary to ensure our loved ones are ready to meet the approaching challenges. 

 

Naturally, we want the best for your families. Helping them puts our minds at ease, knowing we've done everything we can to provide them an environment in which to succeed.

Anxiety is the price for  being unprepared. You know that feeling, and you never want anyone belonging to you experiencing it.

But what about you? When was the last time you challenged yourself from an aviation perspective? For most pilots it's been far too long. This year may I suggest that you seize that same opportunity and start the new school  year by committing yourself to scheduling some necessary flight training.

In a few short weeks our weather briefings will begin to contain Airmet Zulu's. As the freezing level descends into our cruising altitudes', traveling in light airplanes is going to additional planning or become more difficult.

If you're a VFR pilot, setting the goal of achieving your instrument rating before the next beach season would be a great way to add purpose to your flying. Additionally, next summer you'll be able to make the "go decision," rather than wait out a low ceiling burning off at your departure point, even when you know the destination is clear. 

 

For Instrument rated pilots,  how about spending some time flying approaches, or taking some unusual attitude recovery training. You might also get some practice dealing with the demands of ATC while navigating our confusing local airpspace. All of this will increase your confidence. 

With the stakes being what we should all give refreshing our piloting skills the same attention that we do making sure Junior's cafeteria cash card is filled. 

Oshkosh 2010- A Real Airventure- Tstorms, Flat Tires, Indian Casinos, Water, Mud, Mosquitos

We departed Danbury Wednesday July 21st heading for Oshkosh for our year 10 at the big show. The weather was forcast to be good with nothing in our way.

Starting off VFR at 3000 in 5 Miles visibility in mist and haze our route brought us up to Albany where we joined Victor 2. As we came through Utica we panned the XM NexRad westward only to see Buffalo getting engulfed by yellow and red returns. We monitored this as we flew and when Rochester started to fold we decided that we would land in Syracuse and call LMFSS to ask them what had changed from the briefing we had received only a few hours ago.

 

I ducked nto Syracuse and our call confirmed what we were seeing, air mass thunderstorms were blocking our way. The area forcast and the TAF's along the route made no mention of thunderstorms but here they were so we decided to hang out in SYR a few hours to see what was up. Well we waited from 10 in the morning until 5:30 and the stuff still hadnt dissapated so we called it a day after 1:30 of flying checked into the Candlewood Suites and walked to supper at Zeb's a local burger and wings joint we frequented the last time we visited SYR.

 

The forecast for the morning was for low IFR 400 overcast and 2 miles in Mist so we planned a late morning departure and ate and drank heartilly at Zeb's.

 

I woke up at 6AM to clear and unrestricted so I called LM FSS and asked them what was up. Once again I got a roses and sunshine briefing all the way thru to OSH. We departed at 8:30 into blinding sunshine filed for Saginaw MI. The plan at that point was to fuel up in MBS and then climb to 12000 to cross the lake at little sable point to FAH VOR. The winds aloft were light and variable so we made good time along V2 then V84 through Canada at 4000 feet.  We landed MBS and enjoyed their complementary hot dogs soda's and a .25 a gallon oshkosh discount.

 

Jim from Denton TX called me on my cell asking about my progress. Jim always beats us into OSH so I was expecting him to ask me where the hell we were. He opened with have you looked at the OSH radar? I said I was looking at it now and saw the entire state of Wisconsin under a mosaic of red and yellow returns. Jim was calling for Mobly Mi. and we strategized on the possibility to diverting west to approach OSH. We departed MBS heading for Traverse City-TVC. Halfway there we saw the storm was crossing the lake and the darker green was encroaching on the western shore and TVC. It had not reached as far north so we decided to head up to Pellston MI the cross the lake up by Macinac Island. Once again not trusting what I was seeing in the cockpit I decided to confer with a LMFSS briefer.   We landed at Pellston and then on taxiing in our right main tire went flat as we entered the ramp.

 

Pellston looks to be a great place but they don't have any mechanic's who work there. The FBO people called a mechanic from an airport an hours drive away, they confirmed they had a tire and tube and set about to drive down to replace the tire.

 

We left Pellston and headed north to Mackinac and crossed the lake at the very top. We followed the lake shore westward staying low at 2000 feet. We got to Schoolcraft County in Manistique MI and set down there. Seeing nothing promising we tried to blast off from Manistique but when we called Green Bay radio they informed me to stand by as I was number four. The clouds were rolling in, it was getting dark, so we called it a day and got a room at the Holiday Motel for $39 a night. Dinner and breakfast were had at the Indian Casino while we waited for the fog to burn.

 

We blasted off from there IFR and flew to OSHkosh at 6000 on top. We got the GPS 27 approach and broke out at minimums and almost clocked a baron on right base VFR

 

We landed on the green dot and saw Pete and Beth in their camp in row 506 of the north 40 (which was empty). They drove over to Orion and picked us and our gear up. We set up camp and relaxed a bit. Little did we know the adventure was just starting.

 

As the sun was setting and we were eating a delicious meal of Porterhouse, Cowboy Beans, and green Salad the Mosquitos decided to fill up on us. They had been slumbering in the mud and standing water and now the sun was going down they decided that the feast was on. We all lathered up with repellent but to no avail the damage was done.

 

In the morning I looked at my feet which looked like they were hit by buckshot from all the bites.

 

Instructing in the Redbird FMX

We clocked the 120th hour in our new Redbird FMX. Not too bad seeing we got it on May 13th and started using it on May 16th.

 

I've been right seat for 4/5th's of it and have flown it myself for the balance.

 

All I can say is it is fun, you can really concentrate on teaching without the fear of encroaching on some airspace or running into traffic.

 

I've been instructing pretty much constantly since June 1st. I'm tired but I cant say its been anything other than a blast.

 

Baron 58 Arrives (Virtually)

We received the Baron 58 Configuration from Redbird yesterday. Todd Willinger presided over the installation I installed the panel and throttle quadrant into the sim and connected it to te internet. Todd did his magic and we went thru caibrating the throttles mixture and prop controls. After that it was time to fly.

 

I'm not multi engine rated so I asked Ihab if he would come over to fly it. He was in Stamford so he couldnt make it for the test. I walked next door looking for Johhny P. from Highcroft racing who owns a Cessna 310 that he keeps in the hangar connected to our building. Those guys are on the road so that was a dead end. So...I did the testing. 

 

Ihab goes to me 'it flys like a single engine airplane just fly it' so there I went. I took off from DXR and went around the pattern and noticed that the throttles were split for anything other than full and idle so I called Todd again and he ran me thru the calibration exercise  while I was on the phone with him.

 

Then I spent the afternoon flying it in exotic places. I went to Freeport Bahama, Leadville Co, Los Angeles, Oshkosh WI Key West. Rich the mechanic came over and at first said the engine failures were not realistic, until he secured the failed engine. I did all sorts of single engine operations.

 

Yuval stopped in to see me about a sudent we're going to be sharing and I let him have a crack at flying it. He gave it his approval!

 

The fuel system management is not there, the start procedure fires both engines at the same time. There is no prop synch switch so those are the only complaints so far.

 

Its a blast to fly.

4th of July, Mooney Tank, Annual Inspection, Merit Badges, Mailings

I havent been keeping this blog up to date as I've been real busy trying to launch Motion Simulations. We spent July 4th test flying the Mooney after this years annual. I made an arrangement with our mechanic (and he with his employer) to exchange flight instruction to the completion of the private pilot license for N7458V's annual. The Mooney's annual usually runs between $4000 and $6000 with labor coming in the past three years at 44 hours.

The problem this year was the right fuel tank was leaking more than it typically has in the past so prior to the annual I asked Steve about the possibility of doing a strip and reseal.

I specifically requested that we use a product called PolyGone 300 to remove the old polycarbonate sealant that has een amassing inside 58V for her 35 years. When I had asked I was debating selling 58V and purchasing a 94 M20J. I also was planning the sim business and knew I would be at the airport so I requested that I do the stripping portion of the work to save on labor.

We the time I had allotted to do this went by and soon the annual was knocking on the door. Steve decided that the right tank needed to be sealed for the airplane to be airworthy so we started the process. Well the plane was fine aside from needing a tire and having the exhaust stack rebuilt and a bracet to hold it welded. But the TANK!....

It took two weeks of nights and weekends to strip one bay of the right tank.Finally Steve said he's have to bring it into the shop to seal it if I didnt want him to finish after his vacation he was leaving on for a week.

Anyway Judy an I awoke on the 4th and decided to fly up to Westfield/Barnes to top off 58V with some $3.90 a gallon 100LL. The tank has been done for over a week and has been leak free so when the line guy aksed me how much I said 'top it'

I went to fly with someone this morning and the tank was holding the fuel without any of the tell tale staining I've grown accustomed to in the 10 years I've flown and cared for her.

Hope springs eternal.

On another note as we were driving to the airport for our fuel run we stopped at the Pancake Breakfast the local boy scouts were putting on at the new fairfield senior center. It was $12 for the two of us and the pancakes and sausages came with orange juice coffee or tea. As we were eating the scoutmaster comes up to me and Judy and says ' you're the couple who walks on pine hill road every day. We say 'that's us and he tells us he lives up the street a few houses, that he's one of the people who waves to us in the mornings while we're walking. I asked him about the aviation merit badge offering and whether there were any scouts who were woring towards it. Long and short we offered the use of the Motion Simulaitons facility and simulator to teach the ground school and provide the experience required for the badge.  I gave him my card and asked him to have someone reach out to Judy or myself so we can get the next generation of pilots started.

Our second mailing showed up at my my house the other day and with the revisions that Eric put in we had a very legible card with Guido's hi res imagery. It went out to 3200 pilots with medicals in the area and I'm hoping we capture the 1% return people say you get from direct mail. That would be 32 new customers and if we can get that business we'll be closer to hiring another instructor, someone full time. That would be sweet. I'm tired of working 6 days a week.

90 degree's on the deck at the house at 8:54pm EDT Sun is setting behind the tree's and I'm debating going in the pool again or sitting inside in the air conditioning.

Cheers  

Fireworks at Reliant

We were watching annual Danbury mall fireworks lst night from out tie down at Reliant Air. I have to say that the show is geting lamer and lamer each and every year. We almost had some fireworks of our own when my neighbor taxiied in and did the 270 degree power turn and prop washed all of our gear/food/drink across the ramp. So irritating. The he comesover and apologizes sating he had retina burn and couldnt see us. What an inconsiderate POS. I guess he expected me to say 'its cool man', but I didnt. Next year I'm watching them from another spot.  

Motion Simulations LLC

Was formed in CT this past week. We visitied Mitchel the CPA on Friday and got the paperwork. It was not a moment too soon as we also got our SBA financing commitment letter and need an EIN for the lease on the property on Miry Brook Road in Danbury. The website is up sans graphics, skins or logo's at http://www.fullmotionflight.com.

 

We looked at office furniture and fixtures and will be moving in on 5/1/2010

 

Sim arrives on 5/11

 

Yahoo

Sun and Fun 2010

I hadn’t made it to the sun and fun since 2006. I had a couple of years where I was supposed to fly down with a student and  either their equipment or the weather didn't cooperate so I said to Judy at Oshkosh that we would have to make the trip to Sun and Fun. We made plans to meet friends from Beaufort NC at the show and our planned departure was set for April 9th.

 Sure enough the eighth rolls around -the weather is pristine and while I wanted to leave after work on Thursday Judy told me that her boss had requested that she work on Friday the 9^th.  We looked at the weather on the 9^th and decided that with the front passing and high pressure building in behind it that we would have a horrible ride in clouds as the low pulled away so we scrubbed and planned a Saturday departure. I  woke up at 5:30 on Saturday and checked the weather.  There was an overcast layer over NYC that was at 5000 and the freezing level coincidentally was at 5 as well. Even though there wasn’t an airmet Z in place with the freezing level at 5 and visible moisture at the same altitude we would encounter icing. I checked for PIPREP’s and sure enough a few passenger jets were encountering moderate rime climbing out of JFK and LGA. The tops were reported at 7200 feet.  I knew that if we were to file southwest bound out of Danbury the route of flight would be CMK JFK V16 Dixie at 6000. Armed with that PIREP I knew that we’d be flying through the middle of the overcast. I decided to take off VFR and head towards Sparta NJ (SAX) and once half way there attempt to get a Bravo clearance to Solberg NJ (SBJ). We took off at 8:02 and as soon as we broke ground we were experiencing turbulence of the both hands on the yoke severity. We climbed to 3000 where it smoothed a little and flew west bound towards SAX. I called NY Approach and informed him of my plan and asked for a bravo clearance direct to SBJ at 3000. He told me that wasn’t going to work  and  offered 2000 down the Hudson as an alternative routing.  We headed straight for the tappan zee bridge and were cleared into the bravo and down the river. We were instructed to contact LGA tower and on checking in e cleared us down to 1500 for the trip across the GW Bridge. We were taking quite a beating in the turbulence and I realized that my arms were sore from maintaining altitude in all the bumps. The mooney was pulled back to 19” and 2300 RPM to lessen the severity of the jolts but it was either updrafts or downdrafts with continual pitch and power changes

We cleared the corridor south of the Verrazano bridge and being early the NY approach controller I spoke with arranged for flight following to Kinston NC. We stayed at 3000 from Robbinsville thru Cedar Lake and then on into Symrna crossing the Delaware bay at Dover. We joined V1 at Salisbury MD and Judy requested that I climb as the turbulence was making her queasy, We climbed VFR to 6500 and were on top of the scattered layer and rewarded with a 35Kt tailwind. This pushed our groundspeed up to 190 and the ride smoothed out completely. We landed at Kinston NC (ISO) and picked up 30 gallons of fuel, a quart of 15-50 Aeroshell ate our sandwiches and filed to LAL a mere 3.5 hours away.  We encountered nothing but clear skies light winds and a smooth ride all the way into Lakeland where I asked for the GPS 9 approach. I figured why fly ifr in vfr weather without getting an approach in.  

We arrived in LAL at 4:30 and our friends had saved us the #1 spot (Row 1 position 1) as close as you could get. Our mission complete,  8.5 hours elapsed and just under 7 hours of flying. We were in Florida at the sun and fun. Maybe it took an hour or two more than an airline trip and was definitely more expensive than Jet Blue or Airtran . But I’d venture that when you factor in the drive to the airport, car parking, getting there a hour early, TSA screening lines,  the flight itself, deplaning, luggage retrieval, car rental and then driving to the show from Orlando or Tampa I bet you we broke pretty close to even.

We used a little under 75 gallons of 100LL so the trip cost us $350 in Fuel and that was for two people and an incredible amount of baggage. So it was $175 a man one way. All in all it was a good trip. I’ll write more about the show and our experiences there next so stand by.

Getting out of Dodge (or Danbury)

Wow... We're heading down to the Sun and Fun to see old friends and to promote the new business (Motion Simulations www.fulmotionflight.com). The Sun and Fun has always been  a good time for me and Judy as we attended the first time in 1990 and have been back at least every other year since.

 

The weather here has been absurd, Five days of +70 degree days with clear skies could not have been better but the realist in me says when you get weather like that in early april we're going to have to pay in otherways sooner rather than later.

 

We were supposed to leave for the SNF today but Judy got burried at work and I had some things that I thought were taken care of in early march come back to bite me because I'm triying to start the new company and trying not to be the same old asshole.

Why we can't fly today

I was emailing a primary student of mine who has about 35 hours total time that he logged 15 years ago. 

We were scheduled to fly at 1pm today. Looking out the window it appears to be a wodnderful day to fly 

but theres more to it.  


 
 
The way those forecasts read is the are valid from the time shown until the next time shown. 
So they are calling for the winds to be gusty until 6. But what’s magical about 6? The sun goes down. 
 
All weather is the result of a heat exchange. Right now it’s calm but as the sun starts heating 
things up on the ground the air starts to move around. Things on the surface heat at 
different intervals which creates columns of rising and falling air.
There is a reason we have such clear skies today and it’s called instability. 
A characteristic of unstable air is clear skies and good visibility. 
 
Here are the current winds aloft.
 
FT  3000    6000    9000   12000   18000   24000  30000  34000  39000
JFK 3431 3224+01 3129-03 3133-09 3137-22 3144-33 304349 294258 304563
          New York NY [JFK]
BDL 3334 3230+01 3132-04 3037-10 3144-22 3147-34 305348 294256 303963
          Windsor Locks CT [BDL]
 
At 3000’ it’s 340 at 31 at JFK and at Bradley its 330 at 34. 
So if you take a look at the surface winds
 
KJFK 071251Z 31008G15KT 10SM FEW250 06/M09 A3010 RMK AO2 SLP192 T00561089 $
KBDL 071251Z 31009KT 10SM FEW150 03/M06 A3003 RMK AO2 SLP169 T00331056
KDXR 071253Z 00000KT 10SM CLR M01/M06 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP187 T10111056
 
You see that there is a marked difference between the winds on the surface and aloft at 3000.  
At JFK the wind is 310@8 with gusts to 15. So if you were to climb off JFK the wind is going to 
change direction 30 degrees and the  intensity  will increase from 8 to 31 kts. 
 
Where that happens it is known as wind shear and that produces turbulence.
 
Bradley is the same. The wind on the ground is 310 @ 9 and the winds aloft 330 @ 34. 40 degrees 
and 20kts from the surface to 3000. 
 
Boston AIRMET, prepared on the 7th at 3:45am EST (0845Z).
  AIRMET Tango update 1 for turbulence valid until the 7th at 10:00am EST
    (1500Z).
    No significant turbulence expect outside of convective activity. 
    Outlook valid 1500 - 2100Z ... turbulence New Hampshire Vermont
      Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New York low New Jersey
      Pennsylvania and coastal waters bounded by 40 miles south-southwest of
      Ottawa CA [YOW] - 20 miles west-northwest of Boston MA [BOS] - 20 miles
      east of Coyle [CYN VOR] - Buffalo NY [BUF] - 40 miles south-southwest
      of Ottawa CA [YOW] moderate turbulence below 6,000 feet. Conditions
      developing 10am EST (15Z) to 1pm EST (18Z). Conditions continuing thru
      4pm EST (21Z). 
 
It spawns an Airmet which is a meteorological event for light aircraft similar to ‘small craft advisory’ for boats. 
Now if you never fly when there is an airmet you’ll never fly. But there is one today. 
However if we were travelling somewhere I’d say climb above 6000 where it will be smooth. 
 
How do we know that? Look at the 6000’ winds which calm down/lose intensity at 6000.
 
A lot to read in a forecast. 
 

Bridgeport CT (Igor I Sikorsky Memorial) [KBDR] terminal forecastissued on the 7th at 6:45am EST (1145Z), valid from the 7th at 7am EST (12Z) through the 8th at 7am EST (12Z)


7am EST (12Z)

wind 300° at 7 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, sky clear


9:00am EST (1400Z)

wind 310° at 11 knots gusting to 18 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, sky clear


6:00pm EST (2300Z)

wind 290° at 6 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, 25,000 feet few. 

White Plains NY (Westchester County) [KHPN] terminal forecast
issued on the 7th at 6:39am EST (1139Z), valid from the 7th at 7am EST (12Z) through the 8th at 7am EST (12Z)


7am EST (12Z)

wind 310° at 6 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, sky clear


9:00am EST (1400Z)

wind 310° at 12 knots gusting to 20 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, sky clear


6:00pm EST (2300Z)

wind 300° at 10 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, 25,000 feet few


10:00pm EST (0300Z)

wind 310° at 5 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, 25,000 feet few AMD NOT SKED.