spiderweb
Final Approach
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2005
- Messages
- 9,488
- Display Name
Display name:
Ben
I learned a lot of things, and had a few things reinforced on this trip. Thought I would share. Forgive me if some of this is obvious; I hope it is helpful to some, though!
1) Learned: NexRad and Stormscope are great for keeping you out of storms, but they don't necessarily keep you out of turbulence and roller-coaster up and downdrafts.
2) Learned: Although your Class B airport never assigns you a SID or STAR, doesn't mean that another Class D airport might do it! (Confession: departing FRG under IFR, but in good VMC, I had all the plates out, but none of the SIDs. I politely asked the controller--who inserted the SID into an otherwise untouched route--to give it to me verbally. Luckily it simply amounted to flying runway heading until receiving vectors. Lesson learned.)
3) Reinforced: Give yourself breathing room, even under IFR. I planned to return Sunday night, but had the aircraft reserved until Monday evening, just in case. That allowed me to fly today (a nice day), instead of last night, during which I would have been flying along a frontal system. A literal "dark and stormy night," and my wife might have written her own "Never Again" story!
4) Reinforced: The G1000-equipped aircraft is highly desirable over a steam-gauge version. Believe me (and you can look this up in my past threads!), I was reluctant to do the transition. But I did it last summer, and I don't regret it. Four reasons: terrain, giant "AI," weather, and traffic. Used wisely, the G1000 lets you take trips you might not have taken without those tools--unless, of course, you have a lot in your traditional panel. (You won't have all that in a C172.)
5) Learned: New York controllers are great. I'd heard stories, but they were incredibly professional and what's more, polite! Maybe it is because I "grew up" in Class B airspace--I don't know--but I found the NYC controllers great!
A big thank-you to those of you who gave your advice for this trip! The biggest marker of success for me was how impressed my wife was with the utility and comfort of "private" flying!
PS, how do I attach a video to a post? My wife secretly filmed my landing at FRG, and it was actually OK!
1) Learned: NexRad and Stormscope are great for keeping you out of storms, but they don't necessarily keep you out of turbulence and roller-coaster up and downdrafts.
2) Learned: Although your Class B airport never assigns you a SID or STAR, doesn't mean that another Class D airport might do it! (Confession: departing FRG under IFR, but in good VMC, I had all the plates out, but none of the SIDs. I politely asked the controller--who inserted the SID into an otherwise untouched route--to give it to me verbally. Luckily it simply amounted to flying runway heading until receiving vectors. Lesson learned.)
3) Reinforced: Give yourself breathing room, even under IFR. I planned to return Sunday night, but had the aircraft reserved until Monday evening, just in case. That allowed me to fly today (a nice day), instead of last night, during which I would have been flying along a frontal system. A literal "dark and stormy night," and my wife might have written her own "Never Again" story!
4) Reinforced: The G1000-equipped aircraft is highly desirable over a steam-gauge version. Believe me (and you can look this up in my past threads!), I was reluctant to do the transition. But I did it last summer, and I don't regret it. Four reasons: terrain, giant "AI," weather, and traffic. Used wisely, the G1000 lets you take trips you might not have taken without those tools--unless, of course, you have a lot in your traditional panel. (You won't have all that in a C172.)
5) Learned: New York controllers are great. I'd heard stories, but they were incredibly professional and what's more, polite! Maybe it is because I "grew up" in Class B airspace--I don't know--but I found the NYC controllers great!
A big thank-you to those of you who gave your advice for this trip! The biggest marker of success for me was how impressed my wife was with the utility and comfort of "private" flying!
PS, how do I attach a video to a post? My wife secretly filmed my landing at FRG, and it was actually OK!
Last edited:
