Woke up at 9:00 A.M. Knew I was goin' to be doin' a lot of flying this afternoon, so in order to "take a break" before even havin' my work, I went out for the town-wide garage sales. Little-known fact: I love garage sales. I was actually headin' out to one in particular that had a hand-held scanner that I wanted (I saw it yesterday, but they refused to sell anything until this morning at 7:00 A.M.). But by time I had arrived, it was long gone. Grr! I hit up several more, but there was just nothin' worth buyin'. Kinda disappointing. I toyed with a couple of home-made ice cream makers...but opted against 'em cuz they were hand-crank! Headed back to the airport around 11:00 to get ready for tomorrow.
My check-ride is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. up in Topeka, Kansas. It's now crunch-time! I'm down to less than a day before the BIG day. Really, I've been waiting nearly five years for this! I received my Private Pilot's license back in 2003, and flyin' in and through the clouds and havin' that freedom and extra ability has always been a desire. Just never feasible at the time. But it's finally here!
Once back at the airport, I planned a flight out west to Goodland, Kansas. The examiner wanted me to plan the flight there, so I figured out the weather, fuel requirements, alternate airport, etc. I won't be able to have the final details until tomorrow morning, but I at least made myself familiar with the route, the forecast weather, etc. Also threw some weight-and-balance stuff together based upon my examiner's weight.
Van and Venkat came back at noon from flying, and we were off soon thereafter. Van and I flew up to Miami County Airport for more BBQ at We-B-Smokin', and this place has quickly become my favorite! I'm sure there are other places like this across the United States, but I absolutely love the atmosphere, the experience, and especially the food! It's such a fun lil' place! Bein' Saturday afternoon, the place was absolutely packed. We had probably a dozen or so planes on the ramp (compared to the three or so usually there), and that just added to the fun! Everything from 152's to Tri-Pacers to a nice-lookin' Commander. Just like the three-year-old behind me, I could watch 'em take off and land all day long. That never gets old to me.
From there, we headed over to Topeka, Kansas, to practice for the check-ride tomorrow. We ran through just about everything that could be thrown my way...the ILS approach, the VOR Approach, the Localizer Backcourse Approach, the holding pattern after a missed approach, the timed compass turns with inoperative vacuum instruments, and the DME-arc on the VOR approach.
All in all, I was doin' fairly well. I wasn't nailin' everything, but I wasn't doin' terrible, either. My biggest problem was with the transition phase. In other words, after comin' down to land on Runway 13, for example, we would execute a missed approach and then enter right into the VOR approach for Runway 22. I would have to configure the airplane for the climb, perform the climb checklist, climb to the appropriate altitude, turn to the desired heading, continue the climb, set my radial into the VOR indicator to head to the missed approach, set up the GPS for the new course, flip through the approach plates for the new approach, and talk to the control tower to let 'em know my intentions.
It's pretty intense! The more I fly, the more I learn it's all about knowin' what to do beforehand. Bein' prepared. Knowin' what's next. Van put it pretty well when he said, "Bank on missin' the approach every time. If you get down and see the airport, then go, 'Oh, wow, an airport!' but never count on that. Plan on missed, then hope to find the airport...don't think the other way around.'" I thought that was a good way of puttin' it!
We landed at Topeka to discuss some of my weaknesses, and those were mostly the timed turns in the holding pattern (correctin' for wind) and talking! We've both discovered that when I talk on the radios, I usually let somethin' slip up. I go through several "T's" at various points in the approach (Turn, Twist, Tune, Time, Talk, Throttle), but I've learned that I need to fly the airplane first, then talk second. Get set up, get configured, get ready...then talk. It's when I think of what to say, how to say it, and all, that I usually get a lil' behind the airplane. But there are mandatory reporting points, and sometimes the tower will ask you where you are located, what your intentions are, etc. So it's never "cookie-cutter!"
And we had an interesting day on the radios. Everything from a Chinook helicopter 500 feet below us (I had to increase my altitude 1000 feet per the tower's instructions to avoid 'em) to other aircraft suddenly entering the airspace (it was dead for about 20 minutes before we arrived!) to a pilot bein' yelled at and told to leave the airspace for not obeyin' instructions. The radios were lit up! But that was a great experience within itself.
We wrapped up our lil' ground school, went through the Localizer Backcourse approach one more time (I botced it at first, totally forgetting that we were on the backcourse and that the needle was reverse-sensing! grr.), then loaded up and headed back for Chanute. We were doggin' most of the way back (around 70-85 knots). Nothin' too out of the ordinary there...just a Cessna passin' 800 feet overhead and some unwelcome birds on the way back. Van and I did our challenge again, and I'm happy to say that I buried him. Deep. haha. (All in love, sir!).
All in all had 4.3 hours of flight.
I had just a bit of downtime once I got back...then Van, Venkat, and I sat in the FBO and went through the Practical Test Standards (a book that tells what you are responsible for on the test). This was to help us both get prepared for the Oral Exam even more. With the Instrument part of training, there is just an absolute TON to be responsible for...and you really don't know what the examiner is goin' to ask for the most part. So you have to be prepared for everything...from weather to inoperative instruments to airspace to you name it! The written was out of the way, but that was just one part (and perhaps the easiest!) of the process. Anyone can choose the right answer on a test. Explaining it in person can be a whole different ballgame.
We went through the majority of the book, lookin' at the areas and seein' what leniency was goin' to be given (maybe 100 feet on an altitude, for example). Finally wrapped that up around 9:00 P.M. Just in time to see the Kansas team advance in the NCAA Tournament. (yeah, Kansas).
I headed out to Subway for a much-needed food and rest, and then came back to eat with Van. Little did I know, but I also had to fill out some government form on-line to register with them. That took about 30 minutes, and at one point, the computer timed out, so I had to do the hard part of adding up my logbook times again. I was more than frustrated. I was tired (that is an understatement), I was mentally exhausted, and my brain had shut off a couple hours ago.
Flight planning. 4.3 hours of flying. Oral test prep. Registration. I was spent.
As soon as I finished the application in the FBO, I told Van I was cashin' out. I was essentially worthless anyway at that point.
Went to bed at 11:00 P.M. We leave tomorrow morning at 7:00 A.M.
It's finally here...and I am pleasantly surprised to find out that I am not really overly anxious about tomorrow. Confident? Mostly! Nervous? Not in the negative way. Eager? Every bit of it! Scared? Every once in a while...but only in terms of the unknown. Not in the "I can't do this" way, but in the "Plenty of other pilots have tried and failed" way. I mean, even writing that, it's not somethin' that I dwell on, but the thought comes up every now and again. As with any pilot, I have strengths and weaknesses! I'm just hopin' my strengths come out tomorrow!
I have all the tools, I have the ability, and I know what I need to do.
As Van said earlier today, "Tomorrow we find out if you're a gamer."
