The Student Pilot Cast

I don’t usually post current events (besides Airventure) on my website since it is more a historical record of my flight training, but today I’m changing that.  While I prepare my video episode from my demo flight in a Remos Light Sport aircraft from Oshkosh, I thought I would post a quick summary of a flight I took last weekend.

Last Saturday I took a quick flight with a friend of mine who’s thinking about becoming a pilot.  Some members of The Phoenix Pilot Group were headed up there that morning to have breakfast, and see some of the airplanes on display by Cessna, Cirrus, Piper, Beech, Diamond, and Mooney at the Prescott stop of the Arizona Aircraft Expo.  My friend wanted to take a flight, and since this was going on, we thought we’d head up there to check it out.

The weather was sketchy here in the usually nice Phoenix area.  For a few days we had a weather system passing through that brought a lot of moisture and unstable air.  That meant humid mornings with lots of clouds and possible scattered thunderstorms in the afternoons.  I had been following the weather, and when I woke up that morning I took a look outside, and sure enough, there was what looked like a couple of layers of clouds, some as low as 1500 feet from the ground.  My weather briefing confirmed that, but it looked broken enough to get out, and the weather in Prescott was supposed to be better, so off to the airport we went.  My youngest son, Trey, accompanied me as well.

After the pre-flight, we were off.  My usual course of action to head north is to immediately open my flight plan on departure from Stellar Airpark in Chandler, AZ, and then quickly get over to Phoenix approach to request a northbound transition through the class Bravo airspace directly over Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.  I did this, and quickly got a left 360 for spacing before being cleared into the airspace.  The approach controller cleared me to transition over Sky Harbor (KPHX) at 5000 feet MSL.  As I was climbing and approaching the transition, it became obvious that I wouldn’t be able to maintain Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and climb to 5000 feet.  I contacted the controller and let him know that I was unable to comply with the request and maintain VFR.  I told him that I could maintain 4000, and maybe go higher later, and he accepted that, and cleared me on the transition at 4000 feet.  Later, I actually had to drop down to 3,500 ft to remain clear of clouds, and the controller was kind enough to coordinate my transition of Deer Valley’s (KDVT) class D airspace. 

It turned out there were several layers of clouds that day, scattered at about 4000 feet, broken at about 6000 feet, and overcast at 8000 or so.  Visibility was also terrible under those layers, which is very unusual for Phoenix.  While flying the transition I probably only had about 8-10 miles of visibility.  In contrast to what I normally fly in, which is 10 times that, this seemed rather limiting.  My passenger actually asked me if I was concerned as we dodged clouds over Phoenix in poor visibility, and I thought for a second, and realized that I wasn’t really. We had many outs, and were on radar and in contact with Phoenix approach.  Even if we couldn’t get out of the valley due to low clouds, or a thunderstorm in our way, we could have landed at half a dozen airports that were either in sight or would be in a few minutes if we flew toward them, including even PHX right below us.  Also, I was still pretty confident that we would be able to climb out of the valley toward the better weather north of us.

It turned out I was right.  After crossing over Deer Valley we were able to continue climbing and the low clouds did disperse the farther north we went, and we were able to fly between an overcast layer above us and a scattered and dispersing layer below us.  While flying at our assigned altitude (I think it was 6,500 feet) heading north, we had a Southwest Airlines 737 fly directly over us as they headed into Phoenix (approach had warned the other pilot and me, and we had each other in sight, and the controller had us separated vertically).  After traffic was behind us and no factor, the controller gave us a higher altitude after cautioning of wake turbulence from the three-seven.  At this point we were good to go and continued on toward Prescott.  The ride was cool and smooth for a summer flight in Arizona and we were cruising at about 8500 feet.

As we approached Prescott, we heard on the center frequency that we were being followed on that another airplane was cancelling their VFR approach into Prescott because of weather.  We were about 15 minutes out, so that worried me a little…but from my vantage-point, it looked like I could easily duck under a layer that was hanging around the area, and get into Prescott.  We continued on, and cancelled flight following as we turned westbound at Prescott Valley so we could get ATIS and start talking to PRC tower.  Sure enough, visibility under the 8000 foot layer that we ducked under was pretty good, and rain showers washed the plane a bit as we approached the airport.  The wind was kicking up pretty good, over 20 kts, but almost directly aligned with a smaller cross runway (runway 12) that they have at Prescott, and that’s where I was headed, so the wind would not be a big factor.  There was a bit of gusting, but I would just come in with a little extra speed to compensate.  Even this smaller runway 12 was still 4400 feet long, so I wasn’t worried about that. 

Besides asking for the tower to call my base for traffic I knew was on final, but couldn’t see, the approach and landing was pretty uneventful.  With the wind coming at me, normally it would have seemed like a slow approach, but KPRC is over 5000 feet in elevation, and with the heat of the summer, density altitude is routinely over 8000 feet, the approach seemed pretty normal (the thin air compensated for the headwind, making it seem sort of normal).  The same thing happened a couple of hours later on our departure; the headwind combined with the high density altitude cancelled each other out, and it felt like a normal takeoff in the valley.  Interesting.

After landing and parking near Legend Aviation where the event was taking place.  We were a bit late to meet up with Phoenix Pilot Group members, but we ate a nice lunch at the restaurant there, and then got to browse around some nice, new airplanes from Cessna, Mooney, Beech, Piper Diamond, and Cirrus.  Man, those are all nice airplanes.  Then, it was time to go.

The weather had actually improved a bit in the valley, but was still pretty low in Prescott.  It was easy to get out, though, and on the way back my passenger snapped a few photos, which I’m including here.  When we arrived back at Stellar, the air was hot (and humid by Arizona standards), but we had enjoyed the nice cool air in Prescott for a few hours, had a nice meal, and had seen some beautiful airplanes.  A good morning of flying for sure.

Prescott Valley, a town close to Prescott	Approaching KPHX from the north
A close-up of the KPHX Tower	Sky Harbor (KPHX) looking down the runways
My navigator on the way back

Hello everyone.  I’ve spent my first night in Oshkosh for Airventure 2009.  I arrived yesterday afternoon in Milwaukee, got my rental car, and after grabbing some grub for lunch and some supplies for camping, I drove on up to Oshkosh, and set up my camping area at the MyTransponder basecamp.

Then I found out some good news from Rod at MyTransponder.  I was scheduled to do a media flight in a brand new G1000 Cessna 206 Thursday morning. Stoked. Unfortunately, we woke up this morning to pretty heavy rain, and the media demos were postponed.  Not sure if I’ll still get to fly it, but hoping for a reschedule soon.

The best part, though, is the I got to finally meet up with so many people that I haven’t seen in a while and meet some other friends that I’ve never met face to face.  Steve Tupper, Jason Miller, David Allen, and a couple others did a little jam session, so we got to listen to some music, catch up, and basically have a good time.

Tonight is the MyTransponder party in our campground, and I’m really looking forward to that.  If anyone is here at Oshkosh, follow MyTransponder and/or me on Twitter for more information.  http://twitter.com/MyTransponder and http://twitter.com/billwil. I’ll see you all there!

Okay, I’ll try to keep you posted as we go, here.  In the meantime, enjoy a shot taken by Mike Miley of MyTransponder of work being done on the Ford Tri Motor.

Mike’s Oshkosh Photostream

Okay, everyone.  Oshkosh is once again upon us.  In case you don’t know already, yes, I’m going.  I had an out of town work conflict come up, so I need to be in the New York area for meetings on Tuesday, but I’m flying straight there on Wednesday morning.  Sadly, I’m flying as a passenger in a regional jet, so no front window view to Wittman Airport, but upon landing in Milwaukee, it’s a quick rental car drive to the real field of dreams.

It’s actually difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t been how incredible this gathering is, so I won’t try.  If you’ve been, then you know what I mean and we’ll leave it at that.  This is only my second year, and thanks in part to great new friends I made last year, I can’t imagine this year being any better…but I’m sure it will be, as I expand that list of aviation friends once again.  Last year, Kent (of The Pilot Cast), graciously picked me up at MKE in his Skylane and allowed me to experience the “fly-in” arrival as it was meant to be my first time.  Since I was a kid I had dreamed of that arrival, and I finally did it.  Twice, actually, as we picked someone else up later in the week.  Camping under the wing of a trusty Cessna 182…isn’t that what it’s all about?  Thanks, Kent.

This year, while arriving a bit later, I’ll be staying until the bitter-sweet end, all the way through Sunday.  Again, I’m camping, but this time I’ll be camping in the “drive-in” camping area of Camp Scholler.  A whole new experience to be had, I’m sure.  I’ll be near the base camp of many of the other new media folks who are gathering around MyTransponder’s RV.  I can’t wait to be there, and especially to be giving updates to all of you.

Now…to the real hope I have for this post.  Let me know if you’re going to OSH09 this year.  If so, and our schedules line up, I would love to meet you, the listeners and followers of Student Pilot Cast.  Use the contact link to let me know…or send me an email directly (listen to any episode for the address).  I firmly believe that the best part of this gathering are the personal relationships made or re-kindled, so let’s meet face to face if you’ll be there…have a beverage, and talk about learning to fly.  Follow me on twitter if you haven’t already, and send me a message there if you want to meet up real-time…that works, too.

If you’re not going to be there, stay tuned on twitter as well, as I will be updating what is going on as much as I can.  I’ll be attempting to release small episodes while there as well, but last year I was hampered by very limited connectivity.  Hopefully this year is better.  The only luck I ever had was the press link, but I had to be at a specific place on the grounds, and even then it was iffy.

In any case…that time of year is here again, and I feel very blessed to be a part of this great aviation community in general, as well as be amongst the great folks who represent new media in aviation.  I’m also very grateful to once again be making the annual migration to aviation Mecca.  I hope you all can join me there; if not in person, in spirit.  I’ll try to keep you posted.

I was having a quick chat with David Allen, co-host of the Pilot’s Flight Pod Log, about podcasting, and the difficulty of getting them out on a regular basis.  I said something to the effect of, “I need some podcast fiber to stay regular.”  We laughed, and then it was downhill from there, with David rattling off a few funny quips, which spurred an idea.  The result is a new product (that exists only in my mind).  Introducing Podamucil, daily therapy for staying regular with podcasts.  The secret formula used by Jack and the gang at UCAP is now available for everyone!  I’ll start a daily regimen right away.

Wow.  Brian Terwilliger, the director and producer of the great aviation documentary film One Six Right, has done it again.  This time in a very high quality web vignette about his history and his media ride with the Navy jet demonstration team, the Blue Angels.  I can’t say any more that you won’t get from seeing, so just watch “Flying Full Circle”.

Feel free to watch it here if you’re pressed for time, but if not, do yourself a favor and watch (or download) a higher quality version at Brian’s site.

Hello everyone.  I'm still here, and actually in the middle of producing a new episode...but it's taking longer than expected (it's a good one...lot's of firsts in my training).  I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a new episode on the horizon and I haven't forgotten about you.  I'm working on some other stuff as well.

Also, I just had to tell someone.  I took my first cross country as a licensed pilot this past weekend, as well as my first pax (my wife), and we headed up from the dreadful heat of the Phoenix Valley to the nice cool pines of Show Low (with a stop in Payson).  It was great, and I'll tell you all about it in an episode down the road...but I've gotta say...flying is cool.

 Stay tuned...I'll be releasing in the next day or two (I know...promises, promises).  Stay safe.

Hello, everyone.  Sorry for the long delay.  I have not stopped flying...but I appreciate those of you who have asked or inquired.  In fact, if anything, I have intensified my training.  I'll try to do a quick audio update as well so those of you who don't get on the website will get an update as well...but this will have to do for now.

So...the other news is that I'm at Oshkosh.  I flew in with Kent from the PilotCast, which was very interesting.  This is my first trip to the mecca of general aviation, and I'm hoping to bring some good information to all of you who haven't made it this year.  I've got some really good updates coming for my training, too, but I'm putting those on hold for Air Venture, and will resume those next week.

You can follow me at Oshkosh on twitter (www.twitter.com/billwil) where I am attempting to update what I'm seeing and doing.  I've been seeing some great stuff, and I'll get you all some more information soon.  Stay tuned for more updates.

This is a blog post entry only.  No Episode on this post.

I just wanted to give a quick update on something kind of cool.  A month or so ago, someone from Flight Training magazine contacted me to ask questions about the Student Pilot Cast, my motivations, etc.  Low and behold, it showed up in the magazine in July!  Page 14 if you want to check it out.

I also want to publicly set the record straight with a couple of errors and omissions in the article.  First, while I was explaining some of my motivations, I mentioned some of the other aviation podcasts that I had been listening to that provided inspiration (as well as knowledge and entertainment) to me.  Happily, they made it into the magazine.  Sadly, they omitted two of the ones I mentioned, and they misspelled Will Hawkins’ name.  So, I wanted to “set the record straight” right here, and list the podcasts that I had mentioned in my original statement, along with links to them in case some of you are not listening to them as well.

• The Finer Points – Jason Miller does an absolutely fantastic job of teaching small lessons about flying (he is a CFI, and from what I hear, one I would like to fly with someday).
• Uncontrolled Airspace – Jack, Dave, and Jeb (and guests) do a great job producing a weekly “hangar flying show” where they discuss everything from news to 60 year old “off field landing”.  Good stuff.
• The Pilot Cast – The original “hangar flying show” with Pilot Mike, Pilot Kent, and Pilot Dan.  This was the first podcast I found and started listening to about aviation.  These guys are entertaining.
• The Pilot Flight Pod Log and the Student Pilot Flight Pod Log by Will Hawkins – Very good down to earth stuff.  Will’s student blog, which is done because he is Pilot Will now, I found just before starting mine…and was verification to me that people would want content like this (because I loved listening to his).  Will really hangs it all out there.  His new cast (listed first) is a hangar flying show where every show he has a new guest to talk about flying adventures.
• Airspeed – by Stephen Force (A.K.A. Steve Tupper) does a very cool, radio-like podcast about everything aviation, from flying in an open cockpit to getting a DC-3 type rating to the Blue Angels, and all the way to the “steely-eyed missile men” of the astronaut program.  Always interesting and heartfelt.

In the Flight Training magazine blurb, Airspeed and The Pilot Cast were left out, and they referenced Will Hawkins as Willis, so I just wanted to publicly, in the forum that I have editorial control over, set the record straight.  If you’re not listening to these other casts, by all means, start.  There are some new great ones out there now, too, including The Student Pilot Journal, and VA Student Pilot.  Please leave comments on this post if any of you know of other good ones that you want to share with everyone.

Thanks again for listening.  I’ll try to get another episode out in the next day or two.