kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
So it finally happened: I got to fly with a high hour, jet-rated, professional, FEMALE pilot - !!!
We had planned this meeting a long time ago, when I read a post that she was often in "my neck of the woods".
I crossed my fingers for good weather, since just this week - on Tuesday - I took the day off to fly with another out of town POA-er..... but after driving to the airport we needed to cancel due to that darned marine layer closing down the airport for us VFR pilots.
I decided that we would meet at the airport and go from there. Another pilot had told me if the weather was good that I should go North up the coast to visit an airport called "Little River."
So we met, and had lunch, at the on-airport restaurant today - the "Two Niner Diner" named after runway two niner.
I got out my sectional and measured the distance to "Little River" airport with my plotter - just over 80 nm - and right up the coast. My dream flight since every time I've been in that plane as a private pilot the weather has been foggy and the coast has been invisible . . .
Mari can pitch in here since I'm not sure if it was her dream flight too, but my guess is that taking off from and landing at an untowered airport, without ATC (except for flight folllowing) . . . and not even going about it in a straight line, but rather "sight seeing" and flying the entire California coast . . . . well my guess is that's pretty far from her "norm" and perhaps somewhat forgotten and enjoyable.
I called the weather briefer when we got in the plane and he agreed that today was the perfect day - clouds far off shore and no wind or visibility issues.
The coolest part about this trip was that I just headed towards the ocean at "even plus 500" - 4500. Sure, Mari kept the sectional out but I looked at a clock and that was it - I told her we'd be there in roughly one hour and that came true - almost exactly.
The beaches were gorgeous and we saw a Buddhist temple (Mari is sending me photos). I learned a thing or two from her about using VORs and even an iPhone's basic GPS / Google Maps to compare where we thought we were on the sectional to where we actually were on the sectional.
Nothing bad happened - at all - no turbulence, no traffic announced from ATC flight following - no winds (barely) - no mechanical problems, no delays. I could fly the plane with my pinky or even hands off. It was, to date, the most perfect VFR daytime flight I've ever had.
Mari saw a light house and said "is that a light house over there"? I said "I don't know, do you want to find out?" and she said "OK." I thought to myself "this is what it is all about" as I flew over to investigate the sight more closely. I circled around and checked it out and continued up the coast.
The airport could not have been more obvious. In the middle of a forest, just off the coast, near Mendocino and Fort Bragg, there it was: a perfect, 5000 foot runway, almost empty airport.
We landed (I guess my landing was OK since Mari didn't say otherwise) and we saw a soda machine. Once there, she took my picture and I got a piece of paper from the airport manager (the back of an old aviation receipt) and a pen and wrote "Go Fly America" and took a photo with Mari's camera.
Some men came up to a picnic table and heard me say "can't claim this airport but can log a visit" and he asked immediately - "are you a pilot?" It turns out he was a 2-week-new private pilot and we talked to him for a while. I bragged that Mari was a real pilot since she is too humble to even mention this to others. They got excited and started asking her how many hours she had. I told them about POA and invited them to join the site, explaining if it weren't for POA I would have never met Mari.
Another pilot, from Holland, came by and joined in the conversation. I asked him about American vs. Holland flying / medicals / licenses and before you know it Mari mentioned what time it was. We were supposed to have the plane back by 5pm! Oh no!
I called the flight school back in Petaluma, about an hour away now, and they told me not to worry. Nobody had the plane after us and they gladly extended our reservation another hour.
We got in the plane and headed back. I learned more from Mari (as I knew I would) and then it was time to land. Strange thing, though, the flap motor would not engage. We looked and the circuit breakers were fine, so it was not that . . . I was going to have to land without flaps. Not an emergency, certainly, but something I haven't done in a long time.
She was great and we talked about what to do - adding 10 knots, having a more flat approach angle, etc..... and just as she was telling me "don't forget to flare" we were already on the ground. I looked at her and said "I didn't even feel that" and I *think* she said (I think) "that was a good landing".
A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
It does NOT get better than this day. Thanks Mari for everything and I look forward to the photos. I am honored that a jet pilot would share a tiny single engine piston with a low level pilot like me. I didn't ask for any feedback but unless I was dreaming she said as she drove away "you're a good pilot".
If I could frame that statement, I would. It means a lot to me. More than you know.
We had planned this meeting a long time ago, when I read a post that she was often in "my neck of the woods".
I crossed my fingers for good weather, since just this week - on Tuesday - I took the day off to fly with another out of town POA-er..... but after driving to the airport we needed to cancel due to that darned marine layer closing down the airport for us VFR pilots.
I decided that we would meet at the airport and go from there. Another pilot had told me if the weather was good that I should go North up the coast to visit an airport called "Little River."
So we met, and had lunch, at the on-airport restaurant today - the "Two Niner Diner" named after runway two niner.
I got out my sectional and measured the distance to "Little River" airport with my plotter - just over 80 nm - and right up the coast. My dream flight since every time I've been in that plane as a private pilot the weather has been foggy and the coast has been invisible . . .
Mari can pitch in here since I'm not sure if it was her dream flight too, but my guess is that taking off from and landing at an untowered airport, without ATC (except for flight folllowing) . . . and not even going about it in a straight line, but rather "sight seeing" and flying the entire California coast . . . . well my guess is that's pretty far from her "norm" and perhaps somewhat forgotten and enjoyable.
I called the weather briefer when we got in the plane and he agreed that today was the perfect day - clouds far off shore and no wind or visibility issues.
The coolest part about this trip was that I just headed towards the ocean at "even plus 500" - 4500. Sure, Mari kept the sectional out but I looked at a clock and that was it - I told her we'd be there in roughly one hour and that came true - almost exactly.
The beaches were gorgeous and we saw a Buddhist temple (Mari is sending me photos). I learned a thing or two from her about using VORs and even an iPhone's basic GPS / Google Maps to compare where we thought we were on the sectional to where we actually were on the sectional.
Nothing bad happened - at all - no turbulence, no traffic announced from ATC flight following - no winds (barely) - no mechanical problems, no delays. I could fly the plane with my pinky or even hands off. It was, to date, the most perfect VFR daytime flight I've ever had.
Mari saw a light house and said "is that a light house over there"? I said "I don't know, do you want to find out?" and she said "OK." I thought to myself "this is what it is all about" as I flew over to investigate the sight more closely. I circled around and checked it out and continued up the coast.
The airport could not have been more obvious. In the middle of a forest, just off the coast, near Mendocino and Fort Bragg, there it was: a perfect, 5000 foot runway, almost empty airport.
We landed (I guess my landing was OK since Mari didn't say otherwise) and we saw a soda machine. Once there, she took my picture and I got a piece of paper from the airport manager (the back of an old aviation receipt) and a pen and wrote "Go Fly America" and took a photo with Mari's camera.
Some men came up to a picnic table and heard me say "can't claim this airport but can log a visit" and he asked immediately - "are you a pilot?" It turns out he was a 2-week-new private pilot and we talked to him for a while. I bragged that Mari was a real pilot since she is too humble to even mention this to others. They got excited and started asking her how many hours she had. I told them about POA and invited them to join the site, explaining if it weren't for POA I would have never met Mari.
Another pilot, from Holland, came by and joined in the conversation. I asked him about American vs. Holland flying / medicals / licenses and before you know it Mari mentioned what time it was. We were supposed to have the plane back by 5pm! Oh no!
I called the flight school back in Petaluma, about an hour away now, and they told me not to worry. Nobody had the plane after us and they gladly extended our reservation another hour.
We got in the plane and headed back. I learned more from Mari (as I knew I would) and then it was time to land. Strange thing, though, the flap motor would not engage. We looked and the circuit breakers were fine, so it was not that . . . I was going to have to land without flaps. Not an emergency, certainly, but something I haven't done in a long time.
She was great and we talked about what to do - adding 10 knots, having a more flat approach angle, etc..... and just as she was telling me "don't forget to flare" we were already on the ground. I looked at her and said "I didn't even feel that" and I *think* she said (I think) "that was a good landing".
A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
It does NOT get better than this day. Thanks Mari for everything and I look forward to the photos. I am honored that a jet pilot would share a tiny single engine piston with a low level pilot like me. I didn't ask for any feedback but unless I was dreaming she said as she drove away "you're a good pilot".
If I could frame that statement, I would. It means a lot to me. More than you know.
