Flight Journal: flight 36

[beaky]

Flight 36

05-19-96
1986 C-172P
TEB-N07-TEB
2.2 dual
7 landings

Warm, hazy- wind calm.

"Short-field to/lndg, norm TP"

The limited visibilty precludes any ground-ref work, so it's decided that we will head over to N07 for some short-field work.
I'm still stuck with a loaner headset, and my PTT switch does not seem to be to 6FR's liking... C. asks me if I still want to handle comm chores. Undaunted, I grab the hand mic and sling it over the yoke, old-school style.
Well, my radio work is still pretty good, even using the funky hand mic, even at Teterboro. C. still insists on setting my freqs and telling me what to say, even as I reach for the radio or open my mouth to speak to Control... he's starting to remind me more and more of M., who was similarly anxious.
But that's fine. I need to be challenged- it's all part of the game of avoiding distraction and learning to focus.

We're told at first to hold in position on the runway as "Snoopy One", the Met Life blimp, makes its dazzlingly slow approach to land on the east side of the field. But it's taking a looooong time... mercifully, the Almighty Controller finally says "Six Fox Romeo, at your discretion, be advised airship over runway 24 at 1500 feet; you are clear for takeoff."
No problem getting out from under that slowly descending gasbag- I'm still in ground effect as we pass under it.
turning NW, it's apparent that the horizon is lost in haze- the haze boundary itself provides the only horizontal reference. The air is smooth, though, and C. suggests a heading that (of course) takes us to the vicinity of N07.
Normal 45-degree entry to downwind... C. is once again annoying me with his damn reminders... I assume he must be trying to get me to say my intentions aloud, which I will later find is a wise habit for any pilot.

Seven landings follow: all short-field. I'm hazy now on the details, but I recall that the last four were interesting,and the final one, back at TEB, was very good indeed. I'm always less likely to come in high at TEB because of the lack of obstructions nearby. I come in shallow, flare just at the threshold, and manage to easily stop 6FR before Bravo intersection! Wow!

Then something weird happens, as we come to a stop there on the runway, still having not yet received any direction for exiting.

"Ask 'em if we can turn off on Bravo", C. tells me.

"Um..." I comply, but as I fumble for the mic, I realize we are sitting there, on the first third of the runway, at one of the busiest airports in the country! We're gonna get it, I think...
"SIX FOX ROMEO GET OFF THE RUNWAY!! TURN RIGHT ON 24 IMMEDIATELY!!"

Now I'm really pissed off at C. I'm waiting for him to say what he should, as I scoot 6FR briskly over to the runway intersection, where I will have to exit for the "scenic route" back across both runways to the school ramp.
As we taxi slowly down Lima, he finally apologizes. I'm not sure why the controller didn't just let us exit at Bravo, but no matter- sitting there for any length of time is a definite no-no, and rightly so.
the whole sordid affair teaches me another valuable lesson that I've never seen in a textbook or the AIM: sometimes it's not only acceptable to countermand the pilot in command, it's absolutely necessary, for safety's sake. "I thought for sure he'd clear us for Bravo right away" doesn't cut it.
C. is not contrite for long... he bombards me with the usual debrief re-reminders, and soon I'm the one feeling contrite.
but he offers some encouraging words, including "I'd like to see you solo again soon."
all in all it was a very productive 2.2 hours, and my longest lesson so far... even though way too much of it was spent taxiing after that last landing...

Next: Flight 37: Brake line trouble

[Brett_Henderson]

I pulled up the airport diagram for KTEB...  First of all,  GREAT short-field landing if you could have gotten off at  Bravo  8-)

But here's where I'm confused. I would have just turned off at Bravo and contacted the tower once clear of the hold-short line. Is that discouraged at KTEB ?

[beaky]

I pulled up the airport diagram for KTEB...  First of all,  GREAT short-field landing if you could have gotten off at  Bravo  8-)

But here's where I'm confused. I would have just turned off at Bravo and contacted the tower once clear of the hold-short line. Is that discouraged at KTEB ?

I'll tell you, once I started flying in and out of N07, I quickly developed some fairly good short-field chops. And I'd just finished a sequence of short landings that day, so I was in the groove for low-energy approaches.
Usding 19 or 24, stopping before Bravo was the Holy Grail for me, because Home Plate was the ramp just north of the tower (off Q taxiway), and it could be a loooong trip back, especially if I missed the 19/24 intersection...

As for why we wound up pausing on the runway: I don't recall precisely, but I think I hesitated A) because I was stunned I'd stopped there, LOL, and B) because I had no idea that what you describe was an option, and was waiting for my (somewhat authoritarian) instructor to direct me. Why C. asked me to call Tower to request that exit is beyond me; he should have told me to get off there, assuming it was clear.

"Assuming it was clear" is the operative phrase, here...the next time I found myself in this situation, I made a similar landing on 24, and remembering the other incident, let the plane roll straight for Romeo as I started braking; I was determined to just clear the runway. I figured Tower would not care that I'd not received a specific instruction from them.But I was so focused on this that I failed to notice another plane taxiing out on Romeo for 24! It was back a ways, but with nowhere to pass me or turn around... Tower hollered at me just before I made the turn, thank goodness!!

[krigl]

And they say flying is safe  ;D

Great read... and the best news for me is that there's another 35 before... sounds like something for the Xmas holidays  :)