November 5, 2003 -Well it has been awhile since my last update, but mainly because of weather and not so much of my own scheduling. We are getting plenty of clouds, but the temp has been below freezing, so that does not make a good combination. I had a flight scheduled for last Friday, but the apt. was very near the mins and like I said, below freezing. I called Drew and sure enough, we were canceled for the day.

Richard, a fellow pilot had asked me to ride safety pilot for him on Sunday and I took him up on the offer. I really must like this flying thing because I missed the early football games for a chance to go flying. As you will see later, the day would prove to be very helpful. The approaches we flew were, LOC-10R at KFCM, ILS-30 at KLVN, VOR-36 at KFCM, holding at PRIOR intersection, and the VOR-A approach at KMIC.

After we canceled my flights for 10/31 and 11/03 I told Drew that if weather canceled his VFR flights for 11/05 give me a call if we could go. As luck would have it, the wx was not good enough for VFR. Drew was supposed to give some flights to high school tour group. Drew gave me a call and we agreed to meet at the airport and go flying.

I am currently working on shooting the different kinds of approaches and that is what was planned for the day. Just a quick preflight brief and we were set to go. The scheduled approaches for today were�.ILS-30 at KLVN and VOR-36 correction at KFCM. It was so cold out today that the first thing we did when getting in the plane was to start the engine immediately. The heat was needed. I went through my usual preflight checks and called up ground control. This was the second time that I have had an actual IFR Squawk code from ATC. Drew had been playing ATC, but now that the wx is getting worse it is better to have ATC tracking our moves. It also helps in developing the communication skills that will be needed.

I received my clearance and managed to get the read back correct. We departed from 28R and headed south for KLVN. Once clear of the airport I contacted approach and they started giving me vectors for the approach into Airlake. They were setting us up for a downwind entry into the field. I managed to get setup for the approach much easier this time around. I went through my pre-approach checklist and was all set. It is much easier when you get the self-brief done beforehand. It allows you to concentrate on the business of flying the approach and landing..

We were vectored for the final approach course and I was cleared for the ILS-30 into Airlake. I switched over to the CTAF and made my calls. There was some traffic, but being IFR it made things a little easier because we on final well outside of the normal traffic pattern. I was slightly above the glideslope, but when Drew said �GET DOWN� I took the hint and chopped the power. I got down quick and even managed to add power when needed to avoid going below the GS. The localizer portion was off slightly more than the GS, but I managed to keep it within 2-3 dot deflection, which for me is a vast improvement over recent flights. At no time did it go full scale deflection. I flipped up the hood at the proper time and would have had no problem making the runway for a safe landing. This system really works when you use it correctly.

I called up approach and told them we were missed and wanted to head back for the VOR-36 correction into KFCM. We were cleared accordingly when Drew called them back and asked for a couple of turns around the pattern at PRIOR. Why does this seem familiar? Hmmmm? Anyway, we were again cleared for our new request. It was fairly an easy task to get setup for because ATC vectored us for a direct-entry into the hold. I had the FCM VOR dialed for the inbound course of 353. Once I hit 5.7 DME, it was time to start my turn. We made a couple of laps and I called up ATC while inbound on the final lap. They were not getting back to us and before you know it, we were 5.7 DME and had to go around for another (3rd) Lap. Not too bad, because I could use the practice. I kept forgetting about the wind and was getting blown wide on the outbound leg. I made the corrections and even managed to make the time work closer than ever before. I was really close to the 1 min. inbound leg. Not too bad. I called up ATC again when inbound and they got back to us right away, but they had traffic inbound on the ILS-10R so we had to make another trip around the hold, 4 in all. The practice was good, but I was getting dizzy. We were finally cleared for the VOR-36 approach and off we went.

This approach was even better than the one at Airlake. Granted it was off of the VOR and not the ILS, but I managed to keep the deflection to 2 this time. Not great, but getting better. This approach has a step-down fix so after passing PRIOR we able to drop down to the NEADY intersection. I flipped up the goggles and again, like magic, field was right where it was supposed to be. I descended rather smoothly and got down then called up the tower to inform them we are starting our circle. We were cleared to land and just as we were approaching the base leg (circle),there was another aircraft landing on 28R. We close to the field and had to really crank the turn to final to stay near the filed and avoid the other inbound traffic. Does this sound familiar Richard? Nothing like a steep turn to end the flight.

We landed and debriefed as we were taxing back to T-Bird. Drew commented that these were by far the best approaches I have flown to date. Those little words of encouragement were good to hear. I am managing the workload better and learning how to fly the approaches. I would rate this flight an 8 of 10. Definitely room for improvement, but things are getting better.

Things To Remember:
1. Hold your Altitude.
2. Get your proper power/trim settings. This will help with Number 1.
3. Stay Ahead of the airplane.
4. Don�t go below your MDA/DH early.
5. Slow down prior to shooting the approach. This will help in stabilizing the plane.
6. When self-briefing the approach, make sure you go through the checklist in order going over each task.
7. Keep plugging away, it will get better.