Through The Mist Darkly

How long has it been since you studied for a test?  For me, the time is measured in decades!  So here I find myself on vacation on a wet rainy day studying for my PSTAR exam tonight.

I’ve gone through all 200 possible questions and looked up each answer in the  Aeronautical Information Manual (which is for some reason known as the AIP) and the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARS), even if I was sure I knew the answers.  We’re allowed to write the exam tonight even though we haven’t completely covered some of the areas.  Even with all the information at hand I managed to get a few wrong.  Wording gets tricky at time.

A passing grade is 90% or over but the exam can be taken again if you’re a complete idiot and somehow manage to fail it the first time  – or second, or third or……… 

How was St. Jacob’s?  Meh.  Weather on Tuesday wasn’t great with rain off and on all day.  The outlet mall didn’t have much to offer and even Jan couldn’t manage to spend a lot at her favourite stores.  Dinner in the evening at Benjamin’s was OK but their menu isn’t as adventurous as it used to be.  Wednesday morning we hit all the little shops in the village but even that was a little disappointing.  I managed to dig up a few old airline ads at an “antique” shop which I’ll start scanning and putting online after I get through tonight.

Speaking of tests, I passed my aviation medical on Tuesday morning!!  The examiner, Dr. Thicke (who just happens to be the father of Alan Thicke) was a real hoot and this marks the first time I’ve ever had a fun visit to a doctor.  I’m in pretty good shape for an old guy and nothing he saw precludes me from flying.

UPDATE:  I passed the PSTAR!!

Busy week in the Private Pilot License training.

Flight Instruction

Spent an hour in the air on Thursday morning.  The day dawned rainy and overcast but it cleared up just a few minutes before we took off.  Steve let me handle the entire taxi and takeoff which gave me a chance to really feel how the steering and rudder control works.  In flight, I concentrated on the rudder and started to get good control.  Just like driving a car, the secret is small corrections all the time.  Once established in the training area, we worked on climbs and descents.  Every airplane has optimum speeds, power setting and attitudes for different scenarios.  I have to know everyone of them for the exams and the goal of this flight was for Steve to demonstrate, me to practice and try to get a feeling for each one.  For those keeping count, that gets me up to 3.7 hours out of the minimum 45 required.

Ground School

Thursday evening was Class 3 in Ground School.  Information about types of airspace, radio procedures and flying in different weather and altitude conditions.  Lots more things to memorize.

Serious Fun

Installed Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X yesterday.  Along with 747’s, floatplanes and fighters, they also have the Cessna 172 like I fly at the club.  Amazingly realistic!  The instruments are identical and the characteristics appear to be authentic.  Only problem is, controlling the airplane using the keyboard is nothing like the real thing.  A solution is at hand by purchasing and installing a controller that looks and acts like the control column in the Cessna.  I’ll try and pick one up this week.  It’s so easy to get engrossed with this program.  I’ve already “flown” a number of circuits from Brampton Airport and I even accomplished a take-off from Downsview ending with a landing at Pearson International.  Ok, that’s not really realistic because the chances of me landing at YYZ in anything but an emergency situation are really, really slim.  Landing is where you really run into the limitations of keyboard control but I hope the new controller will take care of that.

Busy, busy, busy.

One session down, 14 to go.  Started ground school this evening with the topic “Theory of Flight”.  Not a whole lot that I didn’t already know and the instructor is one of those who reads PowerPoint slides to you.  Thankfully I’ve got lots of manuals so I can study at my own pace and in much more depth than he was covering.  Perhaps the instruction will get more intense as we progress through the other topics.

I thought I would be the oldest student in class but there were a few others with greying hair sprinkled in amongst the kids who all looked to young to drive, let alone fly.

Tomorrow, if the weather gods allow, I’ll try to get my second in-air instruction with another one on Saturday.  Hopefully I’ll be able to keep my head on straight this time and actually learn something.  I was so giddy (and scared) during my first flight that I don’t really remember a whole lot about what was actually happening.  No doubt the instructor is actually going to start teaching me now that they’ve got me hooked.

So I’m off.  A signature in my Pilot’s Training Record and three hours of ground school under my belt.

Yesterday was supposed to be my second flight in training for my pilot’s license.  The instructor called me at 6am to say the weather conditions were too crummy so we had to cancel.

I’d been waiting all week for this and I’m incredibly disappointed that we couldn’t get up.  Of course, the weather changed and the rest of the day was perfect.

Crap!

2300 feet above Georgetown Ontario in control(?) of a Cessna 172R, registration C-GGTJ.

The weather cleared enough for me to get my introductory flight at the Brampton Flying Club.  My instructor, Steve Havlin, is a very brave man.  I thought I might get a chance to handle the aircraft in level flight but Steve had other ideas.  I taxied, I took off, I climbed, I turned and I cruised.  It was the best 1/2 hour of my life and the most terrifying as well!

The taxi was the hardest part of the whole experience.  Steering is accomplished by use of the rudder pedals and the brakes.  You have to forget about everything you’ve learned while driving a car.  I’m wildly turning the wheel which does nothing until you’re in the air.  Instead you have to finesse the plane by using the pedals correctly.  Of course, we looked like drunken sailors staggering back towards their ship but I finally started to get the hang of it.  Take off was fairly straight forward – line it up, give it some power, watch the speed and at 65 knots pull back smoothly on the controls.  I was flying!

There are so many things to concentrate on when flying.  Altitude, angle, speed and don’t forget to keep an eye out for other aircraft.  Turning and banking took a little work but it really wasn’t difficult.  Keeping a steady altitude and level flight was difficult because the air was filled with thermals.  I know it will come to me with practice but I felt like I was fighting the winds all the time.  When Steve took over, it was like we were flying through calm air.  Lots to learn.

I’m hooked!!  Before I left the flying club, I’d signed up for ground school and picked up my kit.

And here’s the aircraft that put up with me.

Had a great evening last night at the Canadian Aviation Museum.  We were treated to an empty museum and we even got a tour of the storage hanger.

I didn’t shoot all 250 pictures – only 233.  I’ve got lots of processing to do when I get back home but here’s a little teaser.

RL-206 was the last Avro CF-105 “Arrow” and was still under construction when the project was scrapped and all aircraft ordered destroyed.  Some enterprising Avro employees hid the nose section from the wrecking bar and it now sits as a sad tribute to this dark time for the Canadian aviation industry.

The weather this morning is crappy.  Guess I’ll attend the sessions instead of going downtown.

As I took a break before contemplating the commute home tonight, I came across this article in the Globe and Mail.

Air Canada pays $68,948 in fuel costs to get one of their efficient Boeing 777′s from Toronto to London’s Heathrow Airport. Even if the aircraft was completely full (349 seats), it would still cost $197.56 per person.

Even with fuel surcharges, the rising cost of oil is squeezing any profit out of the airline industry.  Players like AC can probably weather this storm but you’ve got to wonder how the low cost, no frills charter companies are going to survive. Hell, even some of the debt and cost laden big US carriers likely won’t survive this for very long.

Air travel started off as an adventure, worked it’s way up to a rich man’s mode of travel and finally became an option for the masses to see the world.  How long before we slide backwards and only the rich or business people in a hurry will be able to afford it?

So Easter arrives earlier than it has in 100 years.  Great – early holiday!!

I’m so freaking tired I can really use the break.  Too bad I have to work on a system upgrade tomorrow night but at least I can do that from home.  Wish the weather was a little warmer but you can’t have everything you want in life.

Here’s the Jan update.  The weight of the cast is driving her nuts but the pain isn’t too severe (thankfully).  I get her out of the house every day or two to see friends and we went into the office yesterday so she could see all her co-workers.  Still a week to go until she gets this cast off and new x-rays taken.  Hopefully, they’ll be able to put a smaller one on and give her an idea of how long she’ll have to wear it.

Oh, if the image offends you – sorry but you’ll get over it. just wait until Sunday and everything will be good again.

With the weather good and presents to deliver, Jan and I drove up to Wasaga Beach today to see Maxine and David.  Had a very nice lunch and some time to take photos.

We weren’t the only ones looking for something to eat.  One of Max’s deer decided to drop by.  A group of about 8 frequent the backyard in search of corn but this is the first I’ve been able to capture on camera.  Incredibly skittish, they never relax.  This one stayed for about five minutes and then bounded away through the snow with white tail flashing.

Max always does a beautiful job on her Christmas trees (there’s always at least two).  Found this wise little guy hiding near the back.

Another yearly event is the construction of the village which usually takes place during the pre-Christmas party that we could not attend because of last weekend’s snowstorm.  Everything seems to be in place.

While I was working on the village, Jan got a chance to get to know Fancy, the latest addition to the Wasaga crew.   It didn’t take the cat long to realize that she was laying near a cat lover.

(Click any picture to go to the Flickr page to view them larger).

From a 1978 performance in Germany, Weather Report’s classic “Birdland”.  Weather Report was one of the earliest and best jazz fusion bands and this video shows them at their most talented. 

Josef Zawinul on keyboards, Wayne Shorter on horn and  Jaco Pastorius on bass.

Classic!