Blog #5- Observation flight

Date of flight: October 14^th

Tail #: N978WC (Seminole)

Instructor: John Nadolski

            It was very helpful to be able to do a ride along observation flight in the Seminole.  Dave Atkinson was the PIC, and they were on their seventh lesson, which is helpful since they practiced mostly all maneuvers and approaches that need to be done for the multi-engine rating.  The main thing I noticed when flying the Seminole is that you really need to be ahead of the plane, since it goes a bit faster than what we are used to.  On approach, gear is put down at the FAF and flaps are added in when descending down to MDA. 

            Another very important thing I learned is that you MUST have the checklist items memorized.  When the instructor cut out an engine, Dave was able to go through the flow immediately and decide whether to fix or feather the prop.  He would make the decision right away and take appropriate action.  When the instructor cut an engine when we were at 10,000 feet, Dave decided to try and fix it, since we had a lot of altitude to lose.  However, when the engine was cut after takeoff, he made the decision to feather (since you don’t have time to fix it, just time to turn around and try to land at the airport).

            The power-on stall was different in that he had to pitch up a lot higher than we are used to (since airspeed is higher).  The steep turns are more difficult because you have altitude changes and airspeed changes much quicker than the Arrow or Archer.  The VMC Demo went as I expected, but it was nice to see what we learned in multi ground actually being done in the plane.  The last thing I noticed that made a big difference was not being able to use the turn coordinator when an engine fails.  You have to watch the yaw string and bank slightly into the good engine to stay coordinated. 

            I think that the observation flight is a really good learning experience and a good preparation because I now know what to expect when I begin my rating.

Blog Post #6

One of the main things I learned from Multi Ground School were the parts of the Seminole; how they are different from what we have been used to and how they change the aerodynamics and functioning of the plane.  I also learned about how to deal with an engine failure; how to fly the plane if this happens in different configurations and different areas of flight (takeoff, cruise, approach, etc.)  Although we had some difficulties with the simulator, it really helped to apply what we learned and saw on paper to what it feels like to actually lose an engine. 

I honestly don't think there is anything I would change about this class.  I really liked that we were able to go and look at the Seminole when it was in the hangar, and how we learned the systems by the trainer on the projector.  These things help us learn so much better than just reading out of the text book.  I also really liked our review for the end of course exam-it was a fun way to go over everything we learned.

As far as the blogging assignements go, I think that they really do help. It is nice to be able to write thoughts and things we learned in a non-formal way.  It helps contribute to learning in that it forced me to really understand what I read (electrical system handout, Aspen accident, etc) and evaluate what I learned. 

Aspen Accident

There were many factors that contributed to this accident; all of them were human error.  The first mistake made was that the Pilot and Co Pilot decided to fly to Aspen when they were already running late, and knew the weather was not great.  This started the error chain, because the crew had a rushed attitude and were already irritated by the passanger wanting them to get there on time.  Another error was that neither them nor the Tower knew about the published NOTAMS that there should not be any circle to land or straight in approaches at night, so the controller never should have cleared them to land.  The airplane was also configured wrong, which contributed to the fast descent rate (way faster than the published descent rate of 400 f.p.m.).  The crew were experiencing a bit of vertigo, because they thought they saw the runway lights on the wrong side than where they really were, and reported runway in sight.  They should have looked at and trusted what their instruments said, which is one of the number one rules to follow when flying in IFR conditions.  If this were me, I would have never taken off in the first place, or diverted to the other airport after hearing that numerous planes were going around and that I was past the night landing cut-off time for noise abatement. 

Single Pilot IFR

The Single Pilot IFR article was very informative as to how to safely fly in IFR conditions.  The main things that I got from this article are that it is imperative that you feel very comfortable in IFR conditions before flying them solo, and to always stay ahead of everything you are doing during flight.  This means to be organized; have charts tabbed at exactly where you need to go when referencing them, knowing all weather phenomenon you will be encountering, having all available information on airspace and airports beforehand, and much more.  It is best to always stay two minutes ahead of what you are doing.  For example, know when you will be reaching your next fix (distance, time, etc.), weather at that fix (through frequencies), and what you will be encountering afterwards.  The biggest problem for IFR pilots is running into a problem or emergency during flight and getting too overloaded with tasks.  The average person can handle approx. three tasks at once, so if you are getting weather, figuring out where you are at, talking to ATC, and briefing an approach and you have an instrument failure, you are immediately overloaded with tasks.  This is why it is important to stay ahead.

I do not think I would be comfortable flying single pilot IFR as of now.  I have .2 hours of flight time in actual IFR conditions, and have not been practicing IFR flying for the past few months (other than some approaches and holds).  I would like to get more experience in actual conditions with another pilot with me, so that I can increase my knowledge and comfort level.

Blog #2

I really enjoyed having the safety brief to read to learn more about in-flight electrical fires.  Sometimes reading checklists or reading out of the PIM gets boring, and may not be fully understood why we do what we do in case of emergencies.  This brief helped outline different kinds of electrical fires and how to look out for them.

A short circuit means that electricity is flowing alont a different path than the one intended.  Electric current is constantly trying to find the easiest way back to its source.  The current will take any opportunity it has, which can mean arcing between an exposed or damaged wire and a different circuit, or directly to a ground source like the aircraft structure.  This can cause extreme damage.

Our procedure in the Seminole outlines what should be turned off and when, and which circuit breakers to pull in a certain order.  It goes on to shot a checklist of what to do if electrical power is needed for continuation of the flight (attempting to reenergize the system).  The safety brief is more general.  It says to advise ATC first, turn off electrical switches, pull circuit breakers of affected components that aren't essential to flight, DO NOT reset non essential circuit breakers, and use fire extinguisher as needed.  The brief is more of a "test everything to see what the culprit is" as opposed to our checklist, which is specific and to the point.

In the future, if I have an electrical fire, I will first fly the plane, advise ATC, and go through our checklist.  During this time, I will try and determine what the source is, but if it is not obvious, I will stick with the checklist and land as soon as possible.  I will use the fire extinguisher if I have to.

Blog Post #1

I would like to be able to learn information in this class about multi-engine aircraft, their systems, operations, and differences that I will encounter when transitioning from single-engine.  I would really like to go in depth and understand how the systems work in this aircraft, because I feel like (in my previous ground school classes) we did not cover systems enough and I had to do alot of self-teaching.  I also expect to be able to learn through simulator and flight experience how to control a multi-engine aircraft; especially through emergency procedures (one engine out, etc.). 

My expectations for blogging are that we are given a clear definition of what the instructor wants us to write (which is on Angel) and that we are able to learn things from eachother's blogs.  I also hope that everyone puts forth equal effort in their blog posts.  I have zero experience blogging, so I expect to learn good "blogger" writing skills throughout the class.

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