Proceed Direct HEDGE

April 16, 2009

With the airplane repaired with a new fuel drain I decided to take a short flight over to the Ridgely area. My route took me past Ridgely and over Denton before heading back. I used the HEDGE intersection as a GPS navigation point. Another hour of solo time for the log book.

Silence IS NOT golden

Sometimes...stuff happens.

Take Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge, for instance. Who's he? On September 17, 1908, just after 5 p.m. he was a 26 year old Army officer who had volunteered to be a passenger in a plane flown by Orville Wright. Orville was demonstrating the plane for the Army and was flying at Fort Myers, Virginia for a crowd of about 2000. Orville was keeping it very simple and had successfully flown three laps over the parade ground at an altitude of approximately 150 feet.

Then Orville heard light tapping. He turned and quickly looked behind him, but he didn't see anything wrong. Just to be safe, Orville thought he should turn off the engine and glide to the ground.

But before Orville could shut off the engine, he heard "two big thumps, which gave the machine a terrible shaking."

"The machine would not respond to the steering and lateral balancing levers, which produced a most peculiar feeling of helplessness."

Something flew off the airplane. (It was later discovered to be a propeller.) Then the airplane suddenly veered right. Orville couldn't get the machine to respond. He shut off the engine. Yet he kept trying to regain control of the airplane.

". . . I continued to push the levers, when the machine suddenly turned to the left. I reversed the levers to stop the turning and to bring the wings on a level. Quick as a flash, the machine turned down in front and started straight for the ground.^"

Throughout the flight, Lt. Selfridge had remained silent. A few times Lt. Selfridge had glanced at Orville to see Orville's reaction to the situation.

The airplane was about 75 feet in the air when it started a nose-dive to the ground. Lt. Selfridge let out a near inaudible "Oh! Oh!"

The airplane had crashed.

The two men were taken by stretcher to the nearby post hospital. Doctors operated on Lt. Selfridge, but at 8:10 p.m., Lt. Selfridge died from a fractured skull, without ever regaining consciousness. Orville suffered a broken left leg, several broken ribs, cuts on his head, and many bruises.

Lt. Thomas Selfridge was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. He was the first man to die in an airplane.

Orville Wright was released from the Army hospital on October 31. Though he would walk and fly again, Orville continued to suffer from fractures in his hip that had gone unnoticed at the time. Orville later determined that the crash was caused by a stress crack in the propeller. The Wrights soon redesigned the Flyer to eliminate the flaws that led to this accident.

A friend visiting Orville in the hospital asked, "Has it got your nerve?" "Nerve?" repeated Orville, slightly puzzled. "Oh, do you mean will I be afraid to fly again? The only thing I'm afraid of is that I can't get well soon enough to finish those tests next year."

Why do I share this bit of history? Because sometimes...stuff happens. I had an experience that was nothing like Orville's but never the less tested my nerve.

There is an old aviation joke that says that the propeller is just a cooling fan for the pilot. If the propeller stops turning you will see the pilot start to perspire. It's not a very good joke but unless you are flying a glider the sound of your engine is a comfort and as the title of this entry states, "silence is not golden."

My flight from Bay Bridge over to Cambridge on April 9th had been rather uneventful. The weather was decent and the sun was shining. The preflight had gone just fine and the landing was uneventful. When it came time to leave approximately 30 minutes later I climbed back on board, started up and taxied over to the far side of the field and runway 34. I got to the end and ran the checklist and the runup. Everything was fine and appeared normal.
Prior to getting on the centerline of 34 I performed the last three pretakeoff tasks; transponder set to altitude encoding, landing light on, electric boost fuel pump on.
Power was set to full, engine gauges were good and the airspeed indicator was "alive." I rotated off and started a straight out departure climb. I had slipped past the end of the runway at Vx and transitioned to Vy. Full climb engine power is about 5200RPM. BBRRMMMM....Ruuuurrrrr, the RPMs dropped, a lot, it felt like the engine was going to stop. I could see the blades of the prop turning. A moment later the engine RPM's came back up again, possibly to full power. A random thought crossed my mind. Had I shut off the fuel valves before I started the engine? I quickly looked down and confirmed that both fuel valves were in the ON position and the electric boost pump was still ON. The engine was still running. I had a brief moment of denial about actually having a problem. Apparently this is a normal reaction. Only a few seconds had passed since the engine had faltered. A glance at the altimeter showed I was only about 800 ft above the ground. I quickly realized that there was no guarantee that the engine would continue to run and that it may fail at any moment. I still did not know what was wrong with it and I reasoned that I should use any remaining engine time to turn around and land, the sooner the better. I keyed the mic, "Cambridge Traffic, Tecnam Six One Niner Bravo Victor is making a return to the field for a precautionary landing, Cambridge!" My voice was most likely higher and faster than my usual "airline captain voice." I realized that I didn't use the word emergency or even a Mayday or Pan-Pan call. As I banked left into the turn and looked over my shoulder at the runway below I knew I didn't have time to do anything other than what is required in an emergency. The mantra is "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate." That means that the first priority is to FLY THE AIRPLANE. A failure to maintain control of the aircraft this low to the ground would have dire consequences. The UNICOM never replied to my radio call. As I turned onto the downwind leg I could see two other aircraft near the opposite side of the runway. They were not moving and made no radio calls as I got to the midfield point. Things were going better. The engine was still running and I was able to climb to 1000ft to enter the downwind leg of the pattern. I was confident that if the engine quit at that moment I could make a landing on the runway. And I knew this because on March 22nd, just 18 days earlier, I took my instructor up with me and practiced engine out emergencies at Ridgely where I was able to pull the power at mid field and land without much of a problem. The Base and Final legs this time ended me up a little high on final. Once I got down on the runway I taxied back to the terminal and shut down the engine. I sat for a moment and took it all in. I opened up the canopy and heard the sound of liquid hitting the pavement. Curious as to what it was I got out of the airplane. My legs were a little wobbly as I looked around and found the source of the noise. There was fuel draining out from under the airplane. I got back into the cockpit and shut off both fuel valves. This stopped the leak. I pondered this for another minute and then decided to have a look under the airplane. My attention turned to the fuel drain. The drain sits at the bottom of the fuel system and allows you to take a sample. You use a small jar and drain the fuel during your preflight to check for water or debris in the fuel. Since water is 2lbs per gallon heavier than the fuel, it would drain to the bottom of the fuel system. On this particular airplane on this particular day, the fuel drain valve was a small screw in type that opened when you turned it counter clockwise. "Righty tighty, lefty loosy" The valve was...gone. This left a hole in the fuel system.
And so I began to realize what had happened. There is an engine driver fuel pump that supplies fuel pressure. Normal operating range is from 2.2 to 5.8 PSI. As a safety backup there is also an electric boost pump that is pilot controlled. The boost pump can supply adequate fuel pressure in the event of an engine driven pump failure. For safety on takeoffs, approaches, and landings, the electric boost pump is switched ON. During my climb out is when and where the fuel drain valve departed the airplane and opened up the hole in the, up to this point, pressurized fuel system. Fuel took the path of least resistance and began to squirt out of the bottom of the airplane. Fuel pressure dropped causing a loss of engine power. Both fuel pumps were running and were able to compensate for the leak and provide enough fuel pressure to run the engine.

In hindsight this led me to an important question: Would the engine have continued to run if the valve had failed with the electric boost pump turned OFF? Since the engine runs the normal pump and my RPM's had dropped so precipitously, I think the engine would have failed.

I knew that flying the airplane again was not an option. It was the first time I had ever landed anywhere and had not been able to get back. After a telephone call to the flight school manager explaining the situation and making sure that she knew the aircraft was undamaged, it was agreed that I would wait for her to pick me up by car. She said she knew an aircraft mechanic on the field and that we could either repair or hangar the airplane.
Fortunately the airport has a decent restaurant that was still open. I've learned that cheating death makes one a little peckish, so I set off to rectify the problem. The Reuben tasted especially good so I decided that a slice of cake was necessary to celebrate my aviation prowess.

After what seemed like forever the flight school manager had arrived. We pushed and pulled the airplane about a half mile down the taxiway. So much for the glamour of aviation. We got it over to the shop and proceeded to try and figure out if we could fit something into the screw hole to keep the fuel from coming out. We searched through several batches of metric and imperial sized bolts but could not come up with anything that fit. We decided to move the airplane into his hanger and call it a day.
We were then offered a ride back to the terminal building and that's when things got a little silly. Our mechanic friend gestured over to our ride. A stretched Lincoln Town Car. A pink one.We piled in the car, I in the back and the other two about a mile ahead of me in the front. I commented that perhaps I could expect no more from my life. What, having cheated death and hitching a ride in a bubble gum pink limo all in one day.

All that was left was the long car ride back.

Earlier I wrote about Orville Wright being visited by his friend who asked him if he was afraid to fly again. I was certain that I would fly again. Would I be a little nervous on the next take off? Probably.

300 Landings

April 8th's weather was not inspiring by any means. It was windy with a high overcast layer and some scattered junk down below. It was well within VFR tolerances, it just wasn't pretty to look at. Having been no stranger to being weathered out and with the prospect of better weather the next day and a potential passenger, I overcame my inertia and proceeded to the airport to have a look at the conditions and decide whether to fly. The winds were "squirrely" and crossed. I decided that they were within my personal minimums and that I would fly the pattern for practice. Most people might scratch their heads and ask me why I would want to fly in a square "circle" like Nascar. It's a real workout to fly the pattern. You have all of the high workload items to do in rapid succession. It's a real challenge even on a calm day. Throw in some kooky crosswinds and you've got your hands full. I got almost a half hour of time and flew the pattern twice. On the second time around in the final approach it felt as though a giant hand reached out and pushed the airplane down from above. Not a great feeling when you are only 300 to 400 ft AGL. After two times around I didn't want to play anymore and called it a day. I checked my logbook later and discovered a strange coincidence. The last landing of the day worked out to be number 300, a nice milestone.

Airmet Tango

I had been looking forward to some solo time and a trip back into familiar territory. Monday, March 23rd was the time I planned on traveling west into the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) formerly known as the DC ADIZ. My flight would take me round trip over the Annapolis area and up to Tipton airport at Fort Meade. The flight requires a little more preparation than usual. A special flight plan needs to be filed and then you need to be in constant contact with air traffic control once you enter the SFRA, a ring of airspace 30 miles in diameter around Regan National Airport and 18000 feet high. That puts outer ring in the center of the Chesapeake Bay just west of the airport. I knew that I would be taking off to the west and would have to make a turn to the east and contact ATC once I was over Kent Narrows.
The weather was clear with good visibility and moderate winds. The only contrary indication I got from the weather briefer was the AIRMET Tango whose southeast corner was over my flight area. From NOAA:

"An AIRMET (AIRman's METeorological Information) advises of weather that maybe hazardous, other than convective activity, to single engine, other light aircraft, and Visual Flight Rule (VFR) pilots. However, operators of large aircraft may also be concerned with these phenomena. The items covered are:

AIRMET Sierra (IFR):

Ceilings less than 1000 feet and/or visibility less than 3 miles affecting over 50% of the area at one time.

Extensive mountain obscuration




AIRMET Tango (Turbulence):

Moderate turbulence

Sustained surface winds of 30 knots or more at the surface




AIRMET Zulu (Icing):

Moderate icing

Freezing levels"

My AIRMET was for the moderate turbulence and not the surface winds. I should not have been surprised by the bumpy ride after departure and all the way over to Tipton. To make matters worse there was no way to climb higher and try to get a smoother ride due to BWI's Class B airspace along the route. I got over to Tipton with out much of a problem and flew a very bumpy approach to runway 28. Once I got down and taxied, I saw a sad sight. A few of the airplanes I had spent my training time in were parked in an out of the way section of the airfield, silent and disused. They appeared to have been there for a while. The airport UNICOM came up on the frequency and asked if I was staying for the night. I told them that I was only staying a short while and was instructed to take a parking spot. They asked me if my aircraft was a "sport" type and complimented the plane on its good looks.
I filed a SFRA flight plan out of the area and proceeded to the east after this departure.


The flight back out of the SFRA was even more turbulent. I got bounced around a lot and it probably would not have been very comfortable for all but the most enthusiastic of passengers.
Once outside of the SFRA I set up for the pattern entry to Runway 29. It was a challenging flight, not the most enjoyable, but a good experience builder. I look forward to getting back to Tipton on a nicer day. Unfortunately it's one of those airports that doesn't really have anything to do once you land there. No restaurant or nearby attractions unless you count the cryptology museum at NSA.

Engine Out!...Simulated.

Looking at my logbook I discovered that I had not flown the Tecnam Sierra low wing since December 3, 2008, and that was only for a hour. I wanted to test my skill and become reacquainted with the airplane at the same time. I got my instructor and told him that I wanted to do engine out emergency procedures during our flight. We agreed to go over to Ridgely where we thought the traffic pattern would be much less crowded. The flight over was fun and uneventful. Once in the area of Ridgely we discovered that there were ultralights and hang gliders in the pattern. We set up for left traffic on runway 30. Once I was on the downwind leg my instructor said "pull the power." I throttled back to idle power and the airplane began to slow. The object of this game was simple: use the energy you have available to get the airplane from 1000 ft agl on the downwind leg to the runway threshold and a landing. At idle power the airplane will descend but not at a constant rate. There is a speed where the airplane will descend at the slowest rate and cover the most ground while it does it. That is called "best glide speed." While the aircraft engine is running you control your altitude with your throttle and your speed with your pitch. Yes, you are reading it correctly. Without getting into a long winded explanation about it, your pitch attitude will control your speed. At idle power the aircraft will be descending and you can control your forward airspeed by your pitch control. If you pitch the airplane down your forward speed will increase and so will your descent rate. Pitching back will decrease your forward airspeed and your descent rate until you get to best glide speed for the airplane. Pitching back for a speed slower that the best glide rate will increase you rate of descent until you reach your aerodynamic stall speed at which point you have slowed to the point where the wings will no longer produce enough lift to allow you to continue to fly.
A normal traffic landing pattern consists of 90 degree turns to the left on each phase of the pattern.
The emergency landing pattern is really just a long 180 degree turn from the downwind leg. Now the fun part is the timing. This changes depending on wind direction. You want to be able to time you turns and your distance from the runway so that once you are lined up on a final approach you can glide just over the numbers and land. When it works it's a thing of beauty. We performed about four of these and with the Sierra's ability to glide they turned out to be somewhat of a non-event. Nevertheless the experience was very valuable and confidence building.

Crabbin' 'n' Slippin' in an Echo Super

In an effort to expand my horizons I booked a flight with an instructor in a Tecnam Echo Super.
The photo above is what the airplane looks like, it's not the one I flew. It's a basic high wing design that resembles a small Cessna. It was cold at the airport and the wind was picking up. There would be crosswinds to deal with on our approaches. If not for the instructor on board I would have decided the winds were above my personal minimums. I did want to get checked out on the airplane so away we went. Once in the air we proceeded through slow flight, power off stalls and steep turns. The power off stall in the aircraft is sort of a non event. The airplane really does not break very hard and is easy to recover from if you keep it coordinated. That is different from stalling a Skyhawk. The steep turns were not my best but were acceptable. I also did some turns on slow flight. Our flight took us over the Chester River until we headed back toward the airport. The winds had picked up and there was a noticeable right crosswind on the runway.
It took me two go arounds before I could get lined up with the runway. Each of the previous approaches blew me left because I had turned onto final too soon. In addition I was trying to side slip the airplane all the way down on the final. I soon learned that while this might work for the Skyhawk, it wasn't the best method for the smaller plane.
I was well aware of the crab option on final that transitioned to a slip but had never needed it in the Skyhawk. Now it was time to try it out. I delayed me turn to final and then flew the airplane with its nose pointed to the right on the final approach. This crab allowed us to stay on the centerline track of the runway. Once we got to the short final I went into the side slip with the right wing low and the opposite rudder. The landings themselves were very smooth despite the crosswinds. The flight went well and I'll be finishing up my transition training in a subsequent flight.

Farewell Seven Mike Echo

Unfortunately for me there are many reasons why I have not flown since January 22nd. It has been a combination of weather and personal issues that has kept me away. Once I can get my universe back into balance, no small feat I'm afraid, I hope to resume flying with all speed and haste.
I use a website called FlightAware. I have it set up to email me if certain aircraft are flying on an IFR flight plane. As I had mentioned previously, the flight school where I received my primary training had gone out of business. There aircraft, as far a I could tell, sat dormant on the ramp at Tipton. Two of these aircraft were "old friends" of mine. I soloed in N194SP and flew it for a total of 35 hours. The other was N317ME. I took my checkride in the aircraft and went on to fly it a total of 36.9 hours, the most of any other tail number. I enjoyed my time on both aircraft and was saddened to see that Seven Mike Echo recently flew IFR to Ohio. I can only assume the airplane has been sold to a new owner and I'll probably never get to fly it again. I'm not really surprised and I suppose it is best that someone should fly it rather than letting it sit on a ramp and be neglected. I'm going to try and keep track of where it ends up. I'm sure that soon Four Sierra Papa will meet the same fate.
Perhaps if I win the lottery one day I can buy one of the planes and restore it. Wouldn't that be nice.

X-C to O.C.

My last cross country flight, that's one with an airport over 50 miles away, had been September 2008. My goal today was to complete another one. From Bay Bridge to Ocean City, MD is 69.2NM. A summer trip with a stop on the beach would probably have been better, but I'll consider this a dress rehearsal before the summer season. To avoid the Easton and Salisbury Class D airspace and little piece of Restricted, I decided to make my route a little longer and traveled via Ridgely airport. Another first for me was today's altitude. Following VFR protocol I had to be at an altitude that was an odd thousand plus five hundred while travelling east and above 3000ft AGL. That meant my cruise altitude to Ocean City was 5500ft. For various reasons, I never really got above 3500 ft in the Cessna. 5500 ft is less than half of the Skyhawk's service ceiling and hardly an altitude record but it was fun being up there. The return trip would have me at 4500 ft. There was hardly anyone at O.C. and I almost thought that I was on the wrong frequency. The wind was perfectly aligned with runway 20 at 6 knots. The view of the approach was stunning. It took about 54 minutes from engine start to shutdown. Certainly not a record but it takes 131 minutes by car according to Google Maps. After arriving I stopped inside the FBO for a break. They were extremely nice inside. After about 30 minutes I climbed back in the plane and started to head back to Bay Bridge. The trip back was equally as fun. The winds were still favoring runway 11 and I made my approach over a partially frozen Chester River and Chesapeake Bay.

CamBRRRRidge

Another flight to Cambridge and back was in store for today. My last flight was the same route. This time I had a new passenger with me. Far from a first time flier, she was a former flight attendant. She had only flown in a GA aircraft as a child. The temperature was around freezing and the wind was blowing from off of the water. My passenger assisted me on the pre flight and then we were ready to go. We departed runway 29 and got out over the water before turning south. I climbed up to around 2800 ft but then had to descend a little for some puffy clouds that appeared to be in our way. The air was a little bumpy and we were happy to have some cabin heat as the OAT was -3C. As we approached the mouth of the Choptank River I saw another aircraft approaching from our right. It appeared slightly lower and faster and was headed up the Choptank. I made a gentle right turn and he passed us. I heard him call out as a Mooney and that he was in route to Cambridge. I made my inbound call as well and the Mooney pilot asked whether or not I was in front of him. I hope he actually saw me when he passed. I let him know we were behind him, the Mooney is known for its speed. With the Mooney in front and another Cessna behind me, I was number two for landing. I started my descent over the river and started to pick up some turbulence lower to the ground. It wasn't making my landing approach very fun and I was hoping that the bumps would smooth out on final. They did and I was able to get a smooth landing. We taxied to the terminal and got out in the cold again to get into the terminal. After a short break of about 20 minutes or so we went back out and prepared to make the trip back.The return trip took a little longer due to some moderate headwinds. The landing at Bay Bridge was also a good one despite some crosswinds. My passenger was pleased although we both agreed that it was a cold flight.

Cold and Windy

Time, weather, and mechanical problems had conspired against me. I had a flight scheduled for January 1st but the airplane's starter had failed. The plane was still in maintenance on the 3rd. My flight for the 7th had to be canceled due to bad weather. I almost didn't make this flight today due to winds. The winds began to calm as the afternoon wore on. I got the airport around 1440 and started the preflight in the wind and cold. I was turning into a Popsicle despite the heavy coat and gloves. After startup I planned on using the ADF. I knew how to get to Cambridge but I wanted to try tracking the ADF for fun. The frequency switch confounded me and I couldn't get it to switch properly. The solo flight to Cambridge was quiet and I was able to start to relax a little. I got over the Choptank River and started my descent. I got down and made a moderately good landing and taxied back for takeoff. The airport appeared deserted as I got turned around.
Once I departed and got over the Choptank I shot some video.I made my way back over to Kent Island and flew along the western coastline to set up for the approach to Bay Bridge. Another good approach followed by a dubious landing. I was glad to knock some of the rust out of my technique.

2008 Recap

One year ago today was my private pilot checkride. After I passed it I wouldn't have the chance to fly again until January 4. Then on January 12 I took my bride up for a sightseeing flight. I also visited some new airports and took some friends and family up to fly. Here is a short recap.

Flight time

52.5 Hours Total of which 50.4 hours were PIC
17.7 Hours Solo Time
8.6 Hours X-C Time
2.1 Hours of Instruction
96 Landings

New Airports Visited
Martinsburg, WV
Gaithersburg, MD
Ocean City, MD
Cambridge, MD
Melfa, VA
Summit, DE

I hope I'll get to fly more in 2009.

Last Flight of 2008?

Today may have been my last flight for 2008. The weather and holiday commitments made it difficult to get into the air. I do have a flight scheduled for as early as New Year's Day.
I flew solo and decided on Ridgely as my destination. It's a straight short hop that allows my to get some practice in. You know it's short when your preflight takes longer than the flight time. Nevertheless I launched from runway 11 and turned left to follow Rt. 50 for the noise abatement procedure. The weather was high overcast and the air had a few little bumps. The solo flight was an opportunity to run the checklists and try for that "perfect" flight where you do everything exactly right. Once I got closer to RJD I was able to easily insert myself into the 45 degree approach to the downwind leg. I heard another aircraft behind me announce his position. He was entering the pattern as I began my final. As soon as I started my landing roll yet another aircraft called out that they were on an instrument approach for the same runway in the opposite direction. I continued to roll out so I could get off the runway and wondered what the aircraft in the opposite pattern was going to do. The winds were calm so there wasn't a favored runway. The aircraft on the instrument approach was most likely "dumped" their by ATC. ATC vectored him to the airport for the approach and told him to switch to advisory frequency. Instrument approaches are usually straight in affairs. The aircraft is on a straight in approach, switches to the airport CTAF, and then finds two visual approach aircraft set up to land on the opposite side of the runway. Had this been in actual IMC he would not have had the other airplanes to worry about.
It all worked out in the end. I turned off of the runway, the other aircraft extended his downwind and the instrument guy landed.
After a short break I fired it up and headed for the shore. Once again I got set up for the 45 degree entry for 11. While inbound I heard another aircraft call out for Bay Bridge. It used the call sign JetProp. Later research I did told me this is a Piper aircraft that has had its piston engine replaced with a turbine propeller engine. My JetProp called and said he was headed on a left base for the same runway. That meant that he was ahead of me in the pattern and we were converging at a 90 degree angle. I looked to my right to try and spot him and then called out to make sure he knew where I was. The preferred method for entering the traffic pattern is to make a 45 degree entry to the down wind leg. That puts you on the opposite runway heading. two more 90 degree turns, base and final, put on the the runway heading to land. There is no regulation about the traffic pattern at a non-towered airport. You can enter the pattern at any leg and even land straight in.
Technically Mr. JetProp had done nothing wrong be entering on the base leg, its just possible he didn't consider that I was making a "standard" pattern entry and he might be cutting me off. I looked for him and called out asking if he had me in sight. I also explained that I may need to go around because an extension of my downwind leg would put my into the DC ADIZ airspace. Fortunately, with a name like JetProp I assumed that he was faster than me. I finally spotted him below me on his base leg while I was still in the downwind. The approach to runway 11 is kind of thrilling. It involves descending while crossing the two spans of the Bay Bridge, then coming in low over the water to the runway threshold that's about 500 ft from the shore. As I crossed over the small patch of land between the water and the runway I saw a whole bunch of large birds sitting on the ground. I was really hoping that they all wouldn't decide that it was their runway and take flight. I would have been picking feathers out of my teeth. The birds decided to stay put and I brought it in for a smooth landing.

Achtung! Eine Kuh!

LONDON (AP) -- A British pilot said he ran into an unusual hazard while making an emergency landing -- a cow.

Rob Wotton said he was trying to land his World War II-era Tiger Moth after the engine stalled just after takeoff southwest of London on Sept. 14. He was about to touch down in a field when the animal wandered into his way.

Video of the event on YouTube shows the brown-and-white cow being knocked to the ground by the plane's lower left wing. The two-seater was damaged but landed safely.

An accident report said the cow was "apparently uninjured."

Wotton said he might paint a cow on the plane to mark the event.

He says: "I have to say it is the first cow I have ever hit in 22 years' flying."

Work that pattern!

105 years ago on December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers made the first powered flight. It's incredible how far flight has come in such a short time.Orville on the left, Wilbur on the right

Today I was feeling a little apprehensive about my flight. My last flight was Dec. 3rd in the Tecnam. Before that I flew the Skyhawk on Nov. 17th. I was feeling like I would be a little rusty with all the time that had passed. I really wanted to be a safe flyer because I am planning a long cross country down to Williamsburg, Va on January 2nd. My original intent was to make a cross country flight over to the area of Lewes, Delaware and then fly south down the coastline to land at Ocean City. The weather appeared like it wasn't going to cooperate due to the lowering ceilings that were forecast. I decided instead in Ridgely or Cambridge for a destination. I completed my preflight in the cold and then got ready to depart. My confidence was bolstered by the routine of a preflight and preparation for departure. When it came time to start the engine I was befuddled. I attempted a "normal" start with mixture at half and throttle at 1/4 inch. The engine didn't want to start. I tried mixture at idle and throttle at 1/4 inch and still could not get a start. One of the instructors took pity on me and hurried over. He stepped in from the right side and said that he would help. He confirmed that I was holding the brakes because neither of us, especially he, did not want to be run over by the airplane. He advanced the throttle to full and mixture to idle cutoff. I turned the started and after a few seconds the engine started and the instructor switched throttled back and advanced the mixture. I thanked him and continued my post startup routine. After taxi and runup it was time to depart. There was some right crosswind on Runway 29. After my takeoff I could see that the weather didn't look so good. I made the decision to stay put at the airport and decided instead to make due with some pattern work. To all you non fliers, pattern work is a lot like NASCAR. You take off and climb, then make a series of 90 degree turns, usually to the left. On your forth turn you area back to your runway heading and complete a landing in the same direction form which you took off. Lather, rinse, repeat. I had a non flying friend tell me that he thought it would be very boring just flying around in circles. I guess it would be, for a passenger. For the pilot it is exciting. The two parts of flight that provide the highest workload for a pilot are takeoffs and landings. Pattern work combines them to give you the equivalent of a high intensity workout.
I have never tried to let takeoffs lull my into a false sense of security. They are of course optional. You can decide not to take off. A great many accidents, especially those involving weather or darkness could have been avoided by exercising the option not to take off. I'll save the explanation of why takeoffs are more that what they seem for a later date. Once you do take off it makes the end of the flight, the landing, mandatory.
I flew the pattern five times. With the crosswind and the wacky pattern for runway 29 I had a rather long base leg at 70 knots with 20 degrees of flaps. It was extremely satisfying to get the sink rate just right and trim the aircraft out for 70 knots. It made the final approach a whole lot easier. I opted for 20 degrees of flaps on landing and a 70 knot final due to the crosswinds.
While I was on my 5th and last final approach one of the Tecnam Light Sport highwings was taking off to fly the pattern. I was concentrating on my final approach path but couldn't help but notice that after takeoff the plane turned abruptly to the right. I then heard the radio call that "Echo Sierra" was making an emergency landing. I was still on final and wanted to get off of the runway as soon as possible to allow the other airplane to land. I made the quickest landing I could and fast taxied clear of the runway. I turned 180 degrees to see the Tecnam coming down at a rather steep angle. The aircraft turned right. It was difficult to see it the plane was going to make the field. The prop was still turning as it made a hard left and a steep descent. It almost appeared as if it was going to land on the taxiway or the strip of grass to the left of the runway. I later found out that the pilot instructor was trying to manage the energy of the aircraft and get it down. The aircraft veered to the left and onto the runway heading. It flared and landed on runway 29. Afterward I spoke to the instructor. She said that she and her student experienced engine trouble just after takeoff. She thought that they may have thrown a cylinder valve. I asked her about the turns and she said that she was high coming in and wanted to make sure they had the right amount of energy to land safely. The Tecnam's don't have much less drag than something like a Cessna and that particular aircraft only has 30 degrees of flaps instead of 40 degrees on the Sierra. Nevertheless it was some skillful piloting. There were a few moments when I thought I was going to see a crash.

Frosty flight in Lima Mike

Cold weather flying can be a lot of fun. The air is smooth, dense, and generally clear. The only problems besides the potential for bad weather and dreaded ice is preflighting in the cold. The temperature was around freezing when I got to the airport. It was expected to warm up later in the day. The aircraft was hangered so I could do a lot of the preflight inside. The pattern was very busy and the wind was all but calm. Runway 11 was in use. Approaches were made over the water and crossed over the Bay Bridge perpendicularly.
My aircraft for today was the low wing Sierra. I normally fly the red one, but today I flew its "twin", a sharp looking blue one. This one has a few more amenities such as an autopilot, dual glass panels, and some map pockets. The second glass panel displays the engine instruments and systems status. It took some getting used to but I found it was pretty cool.
I made my first takeoff from runway 11 and headed south along Kent Island. I really didn't have a particular destination as I climbed to 3000ft. I headed south as far a Poplar Island before turning around and heading back to the airport. The approach to runway 11 is not especially tricky. I'm just not used to coming in over water. Flight instructors talk about students being "ground shy." I guess I was water shy because on my first approach I was high on final and had to go around. It was just as well because it was good practice. You have to juggle several things at once during a good around, it's very high workload. My second approach was much better although it is weird to be coming in so "low" over the water. Just to make sure the last landing wasn't just luck, I taxied back and flew another time around the pattern. Another decent landing. With only a hour in the blue Sierra it's hard to pick my favorite. I think that the hanger and the extra glass panel give the blue one a bit of an edge. I've already scheduled my next flight in it.

Crosswinds can be fun!

November 17th. My last flight was on Halloween. I decided to take a Skyhawk up and make a short trip for breakfast. The plan was to depart Bay Bridge and head to Cambridge for breakfast at the airport restaurant. It was a cold preflight as I loaded up one of my frequent flyers. We got up into somewhat bumpy air and headed south. As we approached the pattern and overflew the airport I could tell that I was in for a crosswind landing. It wasn't severe but I remember that any crosswind situation used to make me very nervous. Nowadays I really enjoy the practice and the finesse involved in getting the airplane down. For those pilot types that may be reading this I prefer the slip method all the way down. My instructor never taught me the crab. Maybe I would have preferred that over the slip. I like to ride the slip all the way down because it gives me time to adjust and feel what the winds are doing. The landing at Cambridge was one of my better ones. Instead of being nervous about it, I've found out how much fun and exciting it is.
We taxied over to what looked like a closed terminal. Fortunately it was open and so was the restaurant. I've given the restaurant enough tries now and I will give it six runway lights out of ten. The service can be slow and the food varies. They do have a large dessert menu that I have not yet explored. That may raise their score.
The flight back was just as pleasant but without the crosswind landing, just a bit of an embarrassing bounce that was quickly corrected. My passenger said that the landing was great despite the bounce.
Little did I know that weather, schedules, and the Thanksgiving Holiday would make this my one and only flight in November.