The testing site was at Zeller Aircraft Corp at John C. Tune Airport. It was a computer based test and I sat in a glass enclosed room.
The only item left is for me to take the check ride.
Test Fee: $150.00
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Passed!
Today I took and passed the FAA Airman Knowledge Exam! 60 questions long and I had two and a half hours to complete. I finished in one hour and thirty-two minutes. Passing score is 70% and I received a 77%. I pass it with a comfortable margin.
The testing site was at Zeller Aircraft Corp at John C. Tune Airport. It was a computer based test and I sat in a glass enclosed room.
The only item left is for me to take the check ride.
Test Fee: $150.00
The testing site was at Zeller Aircraft Corp at John C. Tune Airport. It was a computer based test and I sat in a glass enclosed room.
The only item left is for me to take the check ride.
Test Fee: $150.00
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Completion!
This last flight was a huge milestone for me. I have now met every FAA requirement for the private pilot! I was shooting for completion in 55 hours (average is 70 hours) and it looks like I came pretty close. The only thing left is for me to pass the exams.
The oral and practical exams usually take place on the same day and are referred to as the “check ride”. I hope to schedule that shortly.
There are three different exams I’ll need to pass:
- Knowledge exam – Just as it implies, it is a computer based exam which tests basic knowledge of aeronautics and FFA requirements. It is 60 questions long, and is randomly taken from a list of about 650 published questions.
- Oral exam – This is a conversation the pilot will have with an FAA examiner where they prove they can apply the knowledge. There are no set questions for this exam, the examiner will just ask the pilot to explain how they would handle some possible situations.
- Practical exam – This is where the pilot will fly with the examiner and required to demonstrate skills of operating an aircraft. It will start off with flying a cross country flight (yet the examiner will usually divert the flight before completion) and then the examiner will require the pilot to demonstrate a list of maneuvers (all of which I have discussed on this blog).
The oral and practical exams usually take place on the same day and are referred to as the “check ride”. I hope to schedule that shortly.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Final Solo Flight
Today I had to finish up the remainder of my outstanding solo time needed for my license. I flew with CFI, Mark Clark. In addition, I wanted to get more experience navigating using a VHF omnidirectional radio (VOR). I have only worked with it once, and it was months ago. VOR is the traditional form of navigating with complete accuracy. Well, at least prior to GPS. Yet, even with GPS equipped aircrafts, the VOR can be very helpful.
I pre-flight checked the Cessna 172 (N5146R) and took off of runway 20C. At 2,000 MSL, I headed for the 045 radial headed towards Sumner County Regional Airport. North of Nashville, we worked with the VOR and then landed at Sumner County Regional Airport. I did a couple of landings with Mark and then I let him out and I flew the traffic pattern for about 1.5 hours. I preformed about 20 landings and take offs.
This aircraft (N5146R) is much older (built in 1974) than other airplanes I have flown in the past. It still has all of the same features, but one item it does not have is fuel injection, which means that carburetor icing is very likely. Carburetor heat is the answer. Since landing is the most critical, it is standard to apply carburetor heat once power is pulled back for landing. This added one extra step in the landing procedure to remember, but after a few landings, it became part of the habit.
Oh, and no blog post of a solo flight would be complete without some pictures.
Total Flight time: 2.80 hours
Pilot in Command time: 1.5 hours
Cost: Plane rental - $322.00, Instructor Fee - $112.00
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| Location of the VOR at Nashville Int. Airport |
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| This is a sample of what the VOR may look like up close |
I have no idea who this instructor is, but he does a good job explaining the VOR.
I pre-flight checked the Cessna 172 (N5146R) and took off of runway 20C. At 2,000 MSL, I headed for the 045 radial headed towards Sumner County Regional Airport. North of Nashville, we worked with the VOR and then landed at Sumner County Regional Airport. I did a couple of landings with Mark and then I let him out and I flew the traffic pattern for about 1.5 hours. I preformed about 20 landings and take offs.
This aircraft (N5146R) is much older (built in 1974) than other airplanes I have flown in the past. It still has all of the same features, but one item it does not have is fuel injection, which means that carburetor icing is very likely. Carburetor heat is the answer. Since landing is the most critical, it is standard to apply carburetor heat once power is pulled back for landing. This added one extra step in the landing procedure to remember, but after a few landings, it became part of the habit.
Oh, and no blog post of a solo flight would be complete without some pictures.
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| Getting ready to line up on runway 35 |
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| Overlooking the airport |
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| On "Final" to land on Runway 35 |
I get asked all of the time, “Can you really read all of those dials in the cockpit and know what they mean?” The answer is of course, yes, but I thought it may be helpful if I decoded it some on the blog. I took this picture on this flight and here is what I can say about the aircraft at the moment I snapped it. This aircraft is currently in straight flight at 1,450 feet above mean sea level (MSL), yet descending slowly. The aircraft is traveling south / southwest at about 100knots per hour. This aircraft is preparing to land.
I can tell the speed by the dial in the upper left corner. The altitude by the dial in the upper right corner. The direction by the heading indicator in the middle left. I can tell it is descending by the vertical speed indicator (VSI) in the middle right. Finally the Carburetor heat is out (green arrow) to start the landing procedure.
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| Another great day in the air! |
This flight means that I now have 10.5 hours of solo flight time, which meets the requirement for my license.
Total Flight time: 2.80 hours
Pilot in Command time: 1.5 hours
Cost: Plane rental - $322.00, Instructor Fee - $112.00
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Pratice for the Test
The last week or so it has been raining, so I was pleased to see that today was clear. Since I’m nearing the end of my training we spent some time focusing on preparing for the FAA check ride. The check ride is the practical exam for the FAA to review the skills of a new pilot. Basically it is like the aviation version of going to the DMV. All pilots have to complete it, and some pilots have to complete several (depending on their license).
After discussing what would be tested, we pre-flight checked the Cessna 172 (N434EP) and took off of runway 20C. During the first attempt to take off, the engine was making a funny noise, so we aborted the take off. When we taxied off the runway, we noticed that I had the engine running on only one magneto. The aircraft would have taken off, but would not be running efficiently. When I completed the run-up check, I must have not switched it back to both. Not very dangerous, but a good lesson in attention to detail.
Next, we took off towards the north and practiced stalls (2nd stall link), ground maneuvers, slow flight, and simulated engine failures. Finally, we flew to Sumner County Regional Airport and practiced short field landings.
It was great to practice, and I was glad to see that I could still complete these maneuvers. With some of these, it was my first time executing them in the C172.
After discussing what would be tested, we pre-flight checked the Cessna 172 (N434EP) and took off of runway 20C. During the first attempt to take off, the engine was making a funny noise, so we aborted the take off. When we taxied off the runway, we noticed that I had the engine running on only one magneto. The aircraft would have taken off, but would not be running efficiently. When I completed the run-up check, I must have not switched it back to both. Not very dangerous, but a good lesson in attention to detail.
Next, we took off towards the north and practiced stalls (2nd stall link), ground maneuvers, slow flight, and simulated engine failures. Finally, we flew to Sumner County Regional Airport and practiced short field landings.
It was great to practice, and I was glad to see that I could still complete these maneuvers. With some of these, it was my first time executing them in the C172.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tracking My Flight
This past week Gene Zalewski showed me that my flight from Lebanon Municipal Airport (M54) to Humphreys County Airport (0M5) on November 26, 2011 was tracked on line at flightaware.com, a company which offers free flight tracking services for both private and commercial air traffic in the United States.
As Gene pointed out “The maps, graphs and charts show your speed, direction, altitude, and reporting facility, etc,. minute by minute” I assumed this information was obtained from my ATC records after I requested flight following.
While my course wasn’t as smooth as I depicted on my chart, it was still spot on. I guess this proves that I tell the truth on this blog.
Thanks Gene!
Click on "track log & graph" for more details.
As Gene pointed out “The maps, graphs and charts show your speed, direction, altitude, and reporting facility, etc,. minute by minute” I assumed this information was obtained from my ATC records after I requested flight following.
While my course wasn’t as smooth as I depicted on my chart, it was still spot on. I guess this proves that I tell the truth on this blog.
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| Actual Flight Path |
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My depiction of the flight |
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