I passed my multi add on today! Many thanks to Tom at Traverse Air. If you need your multi done quickly, efficiently, and safely go with Tom. He's a great instructor. I'll start from the beginning
Day 1/2: I hopped on a commercial flight to Grand Rapids and it was about an hour and a half drive to Cadillac which is south of Traverse City. I arrived in Cadillac on Friday and weather was miserable with snow and rain. However looking at the forecasts, the weather was supposed to clear up by Friday night/Saturday early morning. I went to the local Walmart and got some food for the weekend and went to the hotel to relax and study. On Saturday I met Tom at CAD around 830-845 and we discussed what the plan of action was, went over systems, what the check ride was like, and a brief overview of the cock put layout. We went outside to his 1955 Piper Apache, fueled it up a bit and we did the pre flight together. Then we got into the plane and he showed where all the switches were, gauges, etc. I was chair flying quite a bit before I got there so I was pretty familiar where everything was. We got out to the practice area and it was very quiet. We did a short field takeoff and he briefed me before he was going to simulate an engine failure before rotation. Pretty simple maneuver and straight forward. After we did another short field and we climbed and did some maneuvers. Steep turns, slow flight, power off/on stalls, accelerated stalls, and emergency descent. He then showed me a Vmc demonstration and an engine shutdown. I was surprised at how benign it was and it was really a non issue. We then went through the procedures of shutting down the engine and he explained he didn't like to do it every time because of the stress it puts on the engine. We came back in and did the single engine ILS 7 circle to 25 without the foggles and practice a single engine landing, normal landing, and short field. I struggled with the landings a bit and I tended to chop the power way too early and we just pancaked it in. The Apache has a really fat wing and isn't that aerodynamic so I had to keep reminding myself not to yank the power out. We went for a lunch break, talked a little more about systems and then did flight 2 which consisted of the same thing as the first flight except I put the foggles on when we did the approach. We finished up around 4pm and I was exhausted. I got some food, went back to the hotel, studied and watched some tv and went to bed.
Day 3: I met Tom at 845 and we got out to the plane and did the same thing. This flight was more or less like the check ride and we just polished up a few things. Second flight was a lot shorter and Tom said I was ready although my landings were still not great. They were passable but not great. Now for the check ride! Kevin met us around 1pm and we exchanged pleasantries and went through IACRA. He's a retired NWA pilot and now does some part time Part 91 flying in a TBM. We dove right into the oral and talked a bout weight and balance, accelerate stop distance, accelerate go distance, would I take off with the current weight in Denver in 90 degrees, single engine and two engine climb rate differences, and lots of scenario based performance questions. Asked about Vmc and how different factors affect it. Very in depth with systems, electrical, hydraulic, props, how I would handle various emergencies. A lot of the emergency scenarios were not in the POH so I needed to have a good understanding of systems. Overall oral was straight forward and he told me he have me a hard oral but I have a very good understanding of systems. On to the flying part. I pre flight end the plane and started up. We did a short field takeoff and on the roll, he cut one of the engines as expected. We stopped and he told me I had the engine back and continue. We climbed out and at 500ft I was ready for him to cut an engine but he didn't. We got out to the practice area and did all the maneuvers. Nailed all the maneuvers and the engine shutdown. He just mentioned that he wanted me to recover from Vmc a little earlier but it was within PTS. He gave me vectors for the ILS 7 and due to the winds we had to do a circle to land. Flew the ILS fine and we did a single engine landing. We got both engines back and we did a short field landing. A little form but it was alright. My single engine landing was a lot better. Then we did a normal landing to a full stop. As we taxied off the runway he congratulated me and told me I passed as long as I don't hit anything on the way to the hangar! He gave me some pointers and we finished up the paper work inside. Tom was already starting with his next student and he congratulated me. It was exhausting two days but well worth it! I have 7 hours of multi. Only 43 more!
Day 1/2: I hopped on a commercial flight to Grand Rapids and it was about an hour and a half drive to Cadillac which is south of Traverse City. I arrived in Cadillac on Friday and weather was miserable with snow and rain. However looking at the forecasts, the weather was supposed to clear up by Friday night/Saturday early morning. I went to the local Walmart and got some food for the weekend and went to the hotel to relax and study. On Saturday I met Tom at CAD around 830-845 and we discussed what the plan of action was, went over systems, what the check ride was like, and a brief overview of the cock put layout. We went outside to his 1955 Piper Apache, fueled it up a bit and we did the pre flight together. Then we got into the plane and he showed where all the switches were, gauges, etc. I was chair flying quite a bit before I got there so I was pretty familiar where everything was. We got out to the practice area and it was very quiet. We did a short field takeoff and he briefed me before he was going to simulate an engine failure before rotation. Pretty simple maneuver and straight forward. After we did another short field and we climbed and did some maneuvers. Steep turns, slow flight, power off/on stalls, accelerated stalls, and emergency descent. He then showed me a Vmc demonstration and an engine shutdown. I was surprised at how benign it was and it was really a non issue. We then went through the procedures of shutting down the engine and he explained he didn't like to do it every time because of the stress it puts on the engine. We came back in and did the single engine ILS 7 circle to 25 without the foggles and practice a single engine landing, normal landing, and short field. I struggled with the landings a bit and I tended to chop the power way too early and we just pancaked it in. The Apache has a really fat wing and isn't that aerodynamic so I had to keep reminding myself not to yank the power out. We went for a lunch break, talked a little more about systems and then did flight 2 which consisted of the same thing as the first flight except I put the foggles on when we did the approach. We finished up around 4pm and I was exhausted. I got some food, went back to the hotel, studied and watched some tv and went to bed.
Day 3: I met Tom at 845 and we got out to the plane and did the same thing. This flight was more or less like the check ride and we just polished up a few things. Second flight was a lot shorter and Tom said I was ready although my landings were still not great. They were passable but not great. Now for the check ride! Kevin met us around 1pm and we exchanged pleasantries and went through IACRA. He's a retired NWA pilot and now does some part time Part 91 flying in a TBM. We dove right into the oral and talked a bout weight and balance, accelerate stop distance, accelerate go distance, would I take off with the current weight in Denver in 90 degrees, single engine and two engine climb rate differences, and lots of scenario based performance questions. Asked about Vmc and how different factors affect it. Very in depth with systems, electrical, hydraulic, props, how I would handle various emergencies. A lot of the emergency scenarios were not in the POH so I needed to have a good understanding of systems. Overall oral was straight forward and he told me he have me a hard oral but I have a very good understanding of systems. On to the flying part. I pre flight end the plane and started up. We did a short field takeoff and on the roll, he cut one of the engines as expected. We stopped and he told me I had the engine back and continue. We climbed out and at 500ft I was ready for him to cut an engine but he didn't. We got out to the practice area and did all the maneuvers. Nailed all the maneuvers and the engine shutdown. He just mentioned that he wanted me to recover from Vmc a little earlier but it was within PTS. He gave me vectors for the ILS 7 and due to the winds we had to do a circle to land. Flew the ILS fine and we did a single engine landing. We got both engines back and we did a short field landing. A little form but it was alright. My single engine landing was a lot better. Then we did a normal landing to a full stop. As we taxied off the runway he congratulated me and told me I passed as long as I don't hit anything on the way to the hangar! He gave me some pointers and we finished up the paper work inside. Tom was already starting with his next student and he congratulated me. It was exhausting two days but well worth it! I have 7 hours of multi. Only 43 more!
