Well, a couple of things have happened since my last post. On 2/16/2012 (Thursday) I went into the flight school to take a pre-test for the Written, and passed it. While talking to the dispatcher about it, and my high test anxiety, I decided to go ahead and take the test that day. At 12:05PM, the test begun. Now mind you, that I have one of the worst test anxieties out there. I've actually lost sleep over this test, I'm more of a projects person, hands on. Give me a project, or something that I can use my hands, and I'll pass it with flying colors. Well, as I mentioned, I did take the test, and PASSED! I didn't get the high score that I wanted, but the main thing is that I passed. I didn't pass on the low end of the scale, so that made it a tad bit better. I just wonder how the examiner will take it during the Oral part of the test. The main thing is, I PASSED! We'll cross the Oral part of the test when we get there, taking a small break this weekend from studying, but will continue to study, now for the oral, starting on Monday.
Thursday was a bad day to fly anyways, it was raining, and pretty heavy at times. So, it was a good day to take the test. On Friday, it was a different story...
Friday, was beautiful. Sunny and warm. It was the perfect definition of flying weather. Winds were out of the north at around 5 or so. And I had scheduled to go up at around 10AM to do a cross-country. Well, an unexpected appointment came up at 11:15AM, so I couldn't do my cross-country at 10AM, so I moved it to 12:30PM. As the Pilot-In-Charge, that was a great decision, the location I was going to, was socked in with fog. They were reporting Fog, with overcast clouds at 100 feet, and ground visibility at ¼ Statute miles. But as the morning went on, the fog started to burn off, and by the time I was getting ready for my flight, they were reporting winds at 230 @ 5, and clear skies! Off to the Mountains of North Carolina, Off to Western Carolina Regional (KRHP)!
Took good ol' 653KB up to about 5,500 feet. Flew over Allatonna Lake, which was very blue. Flew just east of Canton, and right over Nelson, GA, heading for the mountains. As I started to get close and over the mountains, the turbulence started to pick up. I would say it was Light Chop with moments of moderate turbulence. This mainly happened over “Alert Area A-685,” which is a 25 mile military zone. The highest mountain in that area is 3,767 feet, so I still had plenty of room. Passed three miles west of Blairsville, and off my nose at 12 o'clock was KRHP. KRHP is in a valley between 3 mountains ranging in 5,000 feet range. The airport is located at 1,697 feet. So as you are going through the valley, there are 5,000 feet mountain ranges around you. The real butt clincher is when you are turning from base to final onto runway 26, all you see through your windscreen is mountain. You are very close to a mountain. Landed safely at KRHP, and decided to take a break... my bladder was full. So, while I was out, took a couple snapshots, which are below.
Headed back into KB, and taxied to the runway. Unfortunately, a majority of their taxiways are closed, so I had to announce, and made sure any incoming aircraft knew, that I was going to take to the runway, and taxi to the end of it, do a 180, and take off from there. I wasn't planning on doing a short-field take off, especially with those mountains around, I wasn't going to take a chance.
Took off from KRHP with no issue, and was heading for an altitude of 6,500 feet. While cursing at 6,000 still climbing, I had my left hand on the yoke, my paperwork and maps on my lap, and my right hand on the throttle, about to power down... when all of the sudden, I felt something on my left arm. Knowing that I'm at around 6,000 feet, and knew there shouldn't be anything on my arm, I looked down, and there was a big wasp on my arm. Not knowing if I'm allergic to bee/wasp stings, I decided to do what any pilot would do... fly the plane. In the mean time, I leveled off, took the map, and swatted him like a baseball! Luckily he didn't sting me, because if he did, I would of more than likely had to land at Blairsville (KDZJ) or fly an additional 25 miles before I got to Pickens (KJZR) for safety. I can just hear me talking to Atlanta Center, with all the professional airline pilots on the same frequency, and telling them my intentions due to a wasp sting... embarrassing! Main thing is, it didn't sting me.
Landed safely back at KRYY, and that ended my flying adventure for Friday!
On Tuesday, I'm planning to go up, and do some practice with Steep Turns and more landing practices. Steep turns make me nauseous, so I need to get my body use to it. You try and do a 360, at around 2500 feet while at a 45 degree bank and see what happens to you. On Thursday, I'm planning on doing my “Long Cross-country,” which will take me from KRYY to KRHP (Western Regional) to KJZR (Pickens) back to KRYY.
Enjoy the photos below... See ya in the skies!
Looking towards the South/Southesast.
No comments:
Post a Comment