Flight Journal: flight 31

[beaky]

Flight 31

03-30-96
1986 C-172P
TEB-N07-TEB


sky clear; vis 20 mi; 54F; wind 335/04


0.9 dual
3 landings

"Normal t.o/lndg, TP,emerg. proc."




 It's a beautiful day for flying. Another pilot gets off the bus at my stop on the north edge of the field- I can tell right away he is a pilot not only because of the bag he's carrying... I just would have taken him for a pilot in any case.
Despite my tired old gym bag, he decides that I look like a pilot too, so he mentions what a nice day it is for flying, and how rough the wind was the previous weekend.

I'm feeling pretty loose and relaxed despite what's about to happen, but a few questions are gnawing at the back of my mind.

I've been booked in a new (to me) airplane: a 172P, which indicates knots, not mph, and I've only glanced at the revised list of V-speeds. Will I remember them? I'm still sick, I think... much better, but my throat is dry and tight, and my sinuses are a little clogged. Will this affect my performance?
I shrug mentally and decide to forge ahead in search of the answers to those questions.

I meet J. in the parking lot- he's sitting on the tailgate of his pickup, eating lunch. I go inside to get headset and clipboard, and return to the lot where we hang out for a few minutes. I finish my lunch: a couple of Fig Newtons and a can of iced tea (thank goodness for the vending machines in the FSDO).

Six Fox Romeo looks good- I'd forgotten how much I like this bird, despite the funny ASI. It's the one with the overhead windows, a nicer interior, and a relatively new paint job. It is also the same airplane that lost its nosewheel (and a few other bits) during a botched student landing last fall. J. explains the work he did on it all winter, including replacing the engine. It's good to know that he did the work, as he will be flying with me today for a last-minute review before the stage check.

The PTT switch still doesn't work, however... but no cause for alarm; I can certainly manage without it. Soon we're ready to go, and J. gets us a clearance to take off on 24,even though all of the traffic on this busy spring afternoon is using 01 and 06.
Right crosswind correction and plenty of rudder on takeoff... and climbout is solid, with a good turn at 600 feet to head NW to N07. At about 1300 feet, the airplane suddenly jerks up, then down, about 20 feet each way, without pitching at all. J. and I are both lifted out of our seats and we both say "whoa!" simultaneously.
J. looks over the side and muses: "I think we just flew over a smokestack."
Whaddya know... that never had occurred to me: what would happen when you fly low enough over a smokestack to catch that hot column of air coming out of it. Down lower, in the pattern for example, that could be a very bad thing.

We cruise on unperturbed, fighting some lesser burbles which make us doubt the smokestack theory. The sky is up to something, and it has deceived us with clear skies and calm winds. Late-afternoon thermals are rapidly rising unchecked by wind, spiraling up from rooftops and parking lots.They're quite powerful.
 I don't see much traffic, but the controller is jabbering away. All of the types mentioned are small piston-powered aircraft.
Finally we are dismissed from the Class Delta, and I discover that N07's frequency is also really jammed! Whew! The last thing anyone would want on a busy day like this would be a stuck mic; cancelling all other calls... As I look for the airport, an amusing radio-play begins:

Male voice: "Let go of the yoke. Let go of the yoke and look at the chart."
Female voice: "Uhhhh... okay... uhhh.... I'm not sure if it's..."
Male: "Look at the chart. Let go of the yoke."
Obviously she is clutching the yoke with her thumb on the PTT... it is funny, but it is a problem.
 J. recognizes the man's voice, and tries to call him. No luck. That mic is still open. J. explains that his friend is giving his girlfriend a lesson. Now everyone flying in the northern half of the state can hear exactly how badly the lesson is going:

Her: "Now... where am I going??"
Him: "Let go of the yoke..."

We both chuckle, but J. seems terrible embarrassed for his friend.

Finally she releases the yoke or something and it stops... we're already on downwind for 01.
I do okay, but bobble a little directionally after clearing the trees, and land a bit long. Not bad...
I take off again for one more circuit and make a slightly better landing.

In these perfect VFR conditions I have no trouble finding my way back to TEB. I feel that my pilotage, formerly one of my weak areas, is improving lately.
The traffic is thickening as we approach the Class B overhang, and I see all of the "bogeys", none of which are a factor, although one ship comes right at us, climbing out of TEB. It's alright though- Tower warns me, I call contact, and we both avoid each other by a safe margin.
Again, I'm a bit squirrelly coming in, but touchdown is sweet. Yes, I can do it, and not always by accident!

As we taxi in, it becomes apparent that somehow, probably due in part to my watch being dead, I have misplaced an hour. For a moment it looks like my checkride will be postponed, but we locate T., the Assistant chief Pilot, and J. leaves me to his tender mercies with one bit of advice:
"Clearing turns. Don't forget the clearing turns."
I nod, thinking "Duh! how could I forget that?"

Next: Flight 32- First Stage Check Ride