flyingcheesehead
Taxi to Parking
Being currently unemployed, I haven't done any flying since I got home from my trip. But, I had a mission on Monday: A friend of my Dad's has a German-themed band, and they had a gig up in Menomonie. My Dad had already agreed to play Euphonium, and they needed a trombone player...
So, I borrowed Pete's trombone (thanks Pete!) and I had a great excuse to fly!
So, Monday morning arrived, we went to the airport, and...
KMSN 221451Z 13006KT 1 1/2SM BR OVC005 18/17 A3034 RMK AO2
Ah, I love the smell of actual in the morning.
I filed DLL V345 EAU to avoid the restricted areas, and was cleared as filed, 5000 feet, 6000 after 10. We taxied to runway 21 and I set up not only my departure and enroute nav, but also the ILS to 18 in case something happened shortly after takeoff.
This was only my second time flying my dad, and he's never experienced IMC in a small plane before. I could tell he was a little nervous, but he always is, even on airline flights. He was cured at about 3,000 feet when we popped up into a sunny blue sky.
On climbout, our initial altitude was amended to 4,000 feet after we'd turned to the west, and eventually we were cleared direct DLL, climb and maintain 6,000, and resume own nav. The layer started getting some cracks up around DLL. We were handed off to Volk Approach, and by the time we got up near KVOK it was pretty well clear. My dad pulled out a road map he'd brought along so he could follow along. (I've offered him sectionals, but he prefers the road map and its more-familiar symbols.)
It was beautiful and smooth, and we had a tailwind too! I was getting around 155 knots groundspeed, and with the weather clearing up as expected, after we passed the restricted areas I requested and received a clearance direct to KLUM.
The tailwind faded out somewhat as we moved northwest, and by the time we'd been handed off to Minneapolis Center groundspeed was down to 139 knots. With about 5,000 feet to descend and an expected descent groundspeed of 150 knots (2.5 miles/min), I figured the descent should begin 10 minutes and 25 miles out. MORA in that area is around 4,000 feet, and when I requested a lower altitude at 25 miles, that's where I was cleared to. As I got closer and down to about 4,500 feet, I was cleared down to 3,000 and told to report the field in sight.
Here's where I wish I'd run across that thread about contact approaches. Visibility was 7 miles, but I'd be at 3,000 feet at 10 miles. I didn't want to descend any more than 500 fpm for passenger comfort, but I also didn't particularly want to slow down as we were running a tad late. This situation would have been PERFECT for a Contact approach, had I thought to request it! However, there were just some scattered clouds and I figured I could maintain legal VFR separation from them, so I simply canceled IFR. When I called in 5 miles out there was a Cessna on downwind for 18, and I ended up landing right behind him.
The gig was fun. The band was smaller than I expected and the audience way bigger (they packed the house at the Mabel Tainter Theater, much to my surprise), so I had to try extra-hard to not suck. Until Sunday, I hadn't picked up a trombone in several years.
After we ate dinner, it was time for the trip home. VFR the whole way! Winds had shifted to being light out of the southeast, visibility had improved, and we launched into a sky full of stars off runway 9. A few hundred feet up, I turned southeastward and called Minneapolis Center for flight following.
At some point, just before I was going to ask about the restricted areas, Center told me that they were in fact hot. R-6901 has a firing range and it's easily visible during the day as a rectangle of trees that get the crap bombed out of them on a regular basis.
Well, I altered my course about 10 degrees east to keep us out of R-6901 and kind of forgot about it until later, when I thought I saw lightning. WTF? It's clear and a million out here! Then, I realized that I wasn't far from the R-area. It was at our 1 o'clock or so. As I looked in that direction, another large flash of light came from the ground, clearly in the R-area. Wow - They're bombing tonight! What a sight. Moments later, I saw what I would have sworn was a rotating beacon moving left to right at a ridiculous speed right near us, but I only saw it for a split second. I saw it again a few seconds later, and another bomb exploded as well. Then, I realized that what I was seeing was not flashing, it was simply moving and there were a bunch of them, giving the illusion of something flashing and moving really fast. That's when I realized what it was: Tracer bullets! So they were bombing and shooting their guns. I never did see the actual aircraft, so they may have been doing some sort of lights-out games. It was sure neat to see bombs exploding and tracers drawing lines low in the sky, though!
ATC was much quieter than they had been in the morning, only about 2-3 aircraft on the frequency I was on. After the military show was out of sight, I heard the Center controller saying some interesting things to another aircraft - A Learjet, N136DH. He said something about an entry point on their flight plan, and they started reading lat/longs off. At one point, the controller said "So, that's about at 5 miles on the 282 radial from the Madison VOR, right?" At that, my ears perked up - That's pretty much over my house! Shortly thereafter the Lear was handed off to another frequency, and I followed him to a couple more frequencies on my #2 com. They also asked for a 360 to calibrate their radar at one point.
Looking it up now, that Lear is owned by "Intermap Technologies" of Englewood, CO and seems to have been doing a lot of work out of Madison recently. They're flying odd back-and-forth type patterns and doing long-duration flights. I guess they must be radar-mapping something! Here's the flight I heard them on: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N136DH/history/20080923/0210Z/KMSN/KMSN
After a bit, though, I got bored listening to two Center frequencies, and we were starting to get a bit closer to MSN anyway. I listened to the ATIS and about 5 minutes later got handed off to Madison Approach. I pretty much followed the interstate in and turned onto a long final for runway 18, watching its centerline lighting seem to twinkle along with the stars above. A smooth landing and quiet taxi back to the ramp, and the flight was over. To make it even better, the line crew was already there, ready to top the plane off and put her away. Mission accomplished - Another few hours in the book, all cross country, a bit over half night, and a smidge of actual - And a great opportunity to spend time with my dad and use the airplane to get somewhere. 2.7 hours in the air in a day to accomplish what would have taken 7 on the ground.
Still lovin' this flying stuff.
So, I borrowed Pete's trombone (thanks Pete!) and I had a great excuse to fly!
So, Monday morning arrived, we went to the airport, and...
KMSN 221451Z 13006KT 1 1/2SM BR OVC005 18/17 A3034 RMK AO2
Ah, I love the smell of actual in the morning.
I filed DLL V345 EAU to avoid the restricted areas, and was cleared as filed, 5000 feet, 6000 after 10. We taxied to runway 21 and I set up not only my departure and enroute nav, but also the ILS to 18 in case something happened shortly after takeoff.
This was only my second time flying my dad, and he's never experienced IMC in a small plane before. I could tell he was a little nervous, but he always is, even on airline flights. He was cured at about 3,000 feet when we popped up into a sunny blue sky.
On climbout, our initial altitude was amended to 4,000 feet after we'd turned to the west, and eventually we were cleared direct DLL, climb and maintain 6,000, and resume own nav. The layer started getting some cracks up around DLL. We were handed off to Volk Approach, and by the time we got up near KVOK it was pretty well clear. My dad pulled out a road map he'd brought along so he could follow along. (I've offered him sectionals, but he prefers the road map and its more-familiar symbols.)
It was beautiful and smooth, and we had a tailwind too! I was getting around 155 knots groundspeed, and with the weather clearing up as expected, after we passed the restricted areas I requested and received a clearance direct to KLUM.
The tailwind faded out somewhat as we moved northwest, and by the time we'd been handed off to Minneapolis Center groundspeed was down to 139 knots. With about 5,000 feet to descend and an expected descent groundspeed of 150 knots (2.5 miles/min), I figured the descent should begin 10 minutes and 25 miles out. MORA in that area is around 4,000 feet, and when I requested a lower altitude at 25 miles, that's where I was cleared to. As I got closer and down to about 4,500 feet, I was cleared down to 3,000 and told to report the field in sight.
Here's where I wish I'd run across that thread about contact approaches. Visibility was 7 miles, but I'd be at 3,000 feet at 10 miles. I didn't want to descend any more than 500 fpm for passenger comfort, but I also didn't particularly want to slow down as we were running a tad late. This situation would have been PERFECT for a Contact approach, had I thought to request it! However, there were just some scattered clouds and I figured I could maintain legal VFR separation from them, so I simply canceled IFR. When I called in 5 miles out there was a Cessna on downwind for 18, and I ended up landing right behind him.
The gig was fun. The band was smaller than I expected and the audience way bigger (they packed the house at the Mabel Tainter Theater, much to my surprise), so I had to try extra-hard to not suck. Until Sunday, I hadn't picked up a trombone in several years.
After we ate dinner, it was time for the trip home. VFR the whole way! Winds had shifted to being light out of the southeast, visibility had improved, and we launched into a sky full of stars off runway 9. A few hundred feet up, I turned southeastward and called Minneapolis Center for flight following.
At some point, just before I was going to ask about the restricted areas, Center told me that they were in fact hot. R-6901 has a firing range and it's easily visible during the day as a rectangle of trees that get the crap bombed out of them on a regular basis.
Well, I altered my course about 10 degrees east to keep us out of R-6901 and kind of forgot about it until later, when I thought I saw lightning. WTF? It's clear and a million out here! Then, I realized that I wasn't far from the R-area. It was at our 1 o'clock or so. As I looked in that direction, another large flash of light came from the ground, clearly in the R-area. Wow - They're bombing tonight! What a sight. Moments later, I saw what I would have sworn was a rotating beacon moving left to right at a ridiculous speed right near us, but I only saw it for a split second. I saw it again a few seconds later, and another bomb exploded as well. Then, I realized that what I was seeing was not flashing, it was simply moving and there were a bunch of them, giving the illusion of something flashing and moving really fast. That's when I realized what it was: Tracer bullets! So they were bombing and shooting their guns. I never did see the actual aircraft, so they may have been doing some sort of lights-out games. It was sure neat to see bombs exploding and tracers drawing lines low in the sky, though!
ATC was much quieter than they had been in the morning, only about 2-3 aircraft on the frequency I was on. After the military show was out of sight, I heard the Center controller saying some interesting things to another aircraft - A Learjet, N136DH. He said something about an entry point on their flight plan, and they started reading lat/longs off. At one point, the controller said "So, that's about at 5 miles on the 282 radial from the Madison VOR, right?" At that, my ears perked up - That's pretty much over my house! Shortly thereafter the Lear was handed off to another frequency, and I followed him to a couple more frequencies on my #2 com. They also asked for a 360 to calibrate their radar at one point.
Looking it up now, that Lear is owned by "Intermap Technologies" of Englewood, CO and seems to have been doing a lot of work out of Madison recently. They're flying odd back-and-forth type patterns and doing long-duration flights. I guess they must be radar-mapping something! Here's the flight I heard them on: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N136DH/history/20080923/0210Z/KMSN/KMSN
After a bit, though, I got bored listening to two Center frequencies, and we were starting to get a bit closer to MSN anyway. I listened to the ATIS and about 5 minutes later got handed off to Madison Approach. I pretty much followed the interstate in and turned onto a long final for runway 18, watching its centerline lighting seem to twinkle along with the stars above. A smooth landing and quiet taxi back to the ramp, and the flight was over. To make it even better, the line crew was already there, ready to top the plane off and put her away. Mission accomplished - Another few hours in the book, all cross country, a bit over half night, and a smidge of actual - And a great opportunity to spend time with my dad and use the airplane to get somewhere. 2.7 hours in the air in a day to accomplish what would have taken 7 on the ground.
Still lovin' this flying stuff.
