clumpinglitter (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} clumpinglitter) wrote,@ 2006-09-17 20:32:00 |
|
weirdest disco flight ever
J, the desk person, interrupts my sim session for a minute to say that a student has arrived looking for a discovery flight. If they can wait twenty minutes, then I can do it. J says that won't be a a problem. I get done with the fun partial panel and go out to the office. I'm tired, but a half-hour discovery flight won't be too hard.
It's been super windy and gusty all day. Two guys want to take the disco flight, and I learn right away that they're not really interested in being pilots. They want to go survey damage in the northern metro area from a tornado last night, because they work for a roofing company. The cops aren't letting anyone in where the tornado hit, so these guys want to go find the damage so they can sell roofing services. WTF? Oh, well. I think about it -- it's a sightseeing flight, and I'm also going to conduct it as an instructional flight, so what they're looking at out the window isn't going to be my concern. This should be interesting.
Tornado Guy 1 has taken flight lessons in the past, but he's never had enough free time to complete the private certificate. He'd like to get his pilot's license so he can fly himself to the different business locations. Neither of these guys are small, so I do a weight and balance. If I were to take my approach plates, we'd be overweight, but the balance is right in the middle. I also call flight service to make sure they're not restricting air traffic around the tornado damage. Good enough -- we go out and preflight. TG1 does the work, so it's slow. He's thorough, and he pays a lot of attention to detail. I appreciate this.
It's been super windy all day, but it's just starting to die down now. To expedite and make sure we can make it to the tornado damage and back, I'll work the radios. TG1 taxis, and it's obvious he's done it before. He's meticulous with the checklist through the runup, and he does a nice smooth takeoff, except for the part where I have to remind him to drop his heels onto the floor. Close to perfect pitch attitude all the way up to 3,000 feet, and nice and smooth on the controls.
We're halfway to the site, and I tell TG1 that we can fly outbound for maybe fifteen minutes before we have to head back and land. This estimate is based on the strong southwest winds aloft. TG1 asks if I have to get back for something and what will happen if we're late. I say it's fine to fly longer than the standard discovery flight, but then he'll have to pay an hourly rate for the airplane and instructor instead. TG1 is fine with this. He likes to fly. I believe he seriously intended to fly only one hour until he actually got into the airplane.
Most nonpilots have a hard time getting their bearings in the air, but these guys know exactly where they are at all times. It's obvious they've both spent significant time in little airplanes looking at the ground. TG1 makes a circle around the area where the tornado touched down. They point out some destroyed buildings, and one building has semi trailers on top of it. Holy crap!
TG2: "Good -- nobody towed our van."
Me: "They let you in to park your van in there?"
TG2: "No, we parked it just outside. For advertising."
I give flight service a call now just to make sure that no flight restrictions have popped up. The briefer says nothing's been issued, but we shouldn't circle too long, because it makes the The Authorities antsy. I say ok and that we'll make one more circle and depart. TG1 goes around the area one more time. He points out all the blue tarps on the damaged houses, how one house looks all smashed in, and how one new construction house has completely disappeared. It looks like someone spilled a box of big toothpicks on the ground. During all this sightseeing, TG1 is doing a great job of holding altitude and airspeed. He would have an easy time with ground reference maneuvers.
TG2: "Hey, someone is copying the number off our van!"
Me: "The cops?"
TG2: "No, it's probably someone with a damaged roof!"
They're both quite excited. It would have taken TG1 and TG2 several hours to get into the closed-off area and survey the damage if they had done it by car. But after twenty minutes of flying around, they have all the information they need. TG1 isn't done flying yet, however. So it's becoming more clear that although the flight has saved these guys time, its main purpose is really so TG1 can get his ya yas out. So we head off north. TG1 wants to get on top of the thin broken layer that's supposed to be at 5,000 feet or so. In fact, he's quite set on it. We climb and climb. The holes are opening and closing, and the airplane's climb rate is slower and slower as we gain altitude. There's some controversy when I point out that TG1 won't make a particular hole and he doesn't believe me. This happens a couple of times, but we finally find a hole he can get through, and I have a new credibility. It's nice and sunny and clear on top, and TG1 is having a ball. We're above 9,000 feet, so I spend some time discussing the considerations of flying a little airplane way high like this.
After a while above the cloud layer, TG1 and TG2 decide they should be getting back. We descend back down through a clear area. These guys are familiar with the area, so we use some ad hoc pilotage along with the 89B to get back to ANE. TG1 has a logbook somewhere, but he didn't bring it today. I give him my card and tell him to call me -- he paid for almost two hours of flight and dual today, and he should definitely log it as such. He'll be away on business until October, but he'll get ahold of me after that. I make a note to call him in October if I don't hear from him.
J, the desk person, interrupts my sim session for a minute to say that a student has arrived looking for a discovery flight. If they can wait twenty minutes, then I can do it. J says that won't be a a problem. I get done with the fun partial panel and go out to the office. I'm tired, but a half-hour discovery flight won't be too hard.
It's been super windy and gusty all day. Two guys want to take the disco flight, and I learn right away that they're not really interested in being pilots. They want to go survey damage in the northern metro area from a tornado last night, because they work for a roofing company. The cops aren't letting anyone in where the tornado hit, so these guys want to go find the damage so they can sell roofing services. WTF? Oh, well. I think about it -- it's a sightseeing flight, and I'm also going to conduct it as an instructional flight, so what they're looking at out the window isn't going to be my concern. This should be interesting.
Tornado Guy 1 has taken flight lessons in the past, but he's never had enough free time to complete the private certificate. He'd like to get his pilot's license so he can fly himself to the different business locations. Neither of these guys are small, so I do a weight and balance. If I were to take my approach plates, we'd be overweight, but the balance is right in the middle. I also call flight service to make sure they're not restricting air traffic around the tornado damage. Good enough -- we go out and preflight. TG1 does the work, so it's slow. He's thorough, and he pays a lot of attention to detail. I appreciate this.
It's been super windy all day, but it's just starting to die down now. To expedite and make sure we can make it to the tornado damage and back, I'll work the radios. TG1 taxis, and it's obvious he's done it before. He's meticulous with the checklist through the runup, and he does a nice smooth takeoff, except for the part where I have to remind him to drop his heels onto the floor. Close to perfect pitch attitude all the way up to 3,000 feet, and nice and smooth on the controls.
We're halfway to the site, and I tell TG1 that we can fly outbound for maybe fifteen minutes before we have to head back and land. This estimate is based on the strong southwest winds aloft. TG1 asks if I have to get back for something and what will happen if we're late. I say it's fine to fly longer than the standard discovery flight, but then he'll have to pay an hourly rate for the airplane and instructor instead. TG1 is fine with this. He likes to fly. I believe he seriously intended to fly only one hour until he actually got into the airplane.
Most nonpilots have a hard time getting their bearings in the air, but these guys know exactly where they are at all times. It's obvious they've both spent significant time in little airplanes looking at the ground. TG1 makes a circle around the area where the tornado touched down. They point out some destroyed buildings, and one building has semi trailers on top of it. Holy crap!
TG2: "Good -- nobody towed our van."
Me: "They let you in to park your van in there?"
TG2: "No, we parked it just outside. For advertising."
I give flight service a call now just to make sure that no flight restrictions have popped up. The briefer says nothing's been issued, but we shouldn't circle too long, because it makes the The Authorities antsy. I say ok and that we'll make one more circle and depart. TG1 goes around the area one more time. He points out all the blue tarps on the damaged houses, how one house looks all smashed in, and how one new construction house has completely disappeared. It looks like someone spilled a box of big toothpicks on the ground. During all this sightseeing, TG1 is doing a great job of holding altitude and airspeed. He would have an easy time with ground reference maneuvers.
TG2: "Hey, someone is copying the number off our van!"
Me: "The cops?"
TG2: "No, it's probably someone with a damaged roof!"
They're both quite excited. It would have taken TG1 and TG2 several hours to get into the closed-off area and survey the damage if they had done it by car. But after twenty minutes of flying around, they have all the information they need. TG1 isn't done flying yet, however. So it's becoming more clear that although the flight has saved these guys time, its main purpose is really so TG1 can get his ya yas out. So we head off north. TG1 wants to get on top of the thin broken layer that's supposed to be at 5,000 feet or so. In fact, he's quite set on it. We climb and climb. The holes are opening and closing, and the airplane's climb rate is slower and slower as we gain altitude. There's some controversy when I point out that TG1 won't make a particular hole and he doesn't believe me. This happens a couple of times, but we finally find a hole he can get through, and I have a new credibility. It's nice and sunny and clear on top, and TG1 is having a ball. We're above 9,000 feet, so I spend some time discussing the considerations of flying a little airplane way high like this.
After a while above the cloud layer, TG1 and TG2 decide they should be getting back. We descend back down through a clear area. These guys are familiar with the area, so we use some ad hoc pilotage along with the 89B to get back to ANE. TG1 has a logbook somewhere, but he didn't bring it today. I give him my card and tell him to call me -- he paid for almost two hours of flight and dual today, and he should definitely log it as such. He'll be away on business until October, but he'll get ahold of me after that. I make a note to call him in October if I don't hear from him.
