Just short of a Six Pack!

DrBenny

DrBenny

New Member
Today's lesson was much better than Tuesday's Sim Session. We went into an "overcast" (courtesy of Jeppshades) at about 300' AGL, and began climbing away from the busy homefront of BWI towards the more bucolic Easton. Though I was in a mood for a six pack after last Tuesday's sim session, I would be down a bit today. Those instruments which seemed to work so well as a primary student, well, they just keep "failing" these days!

This time I tried to look at the situation the way my CFI-IA described it: you have fewer instruments to scan, so you can relax. Good times! So I got my butt over to Easton where it was time to do some partial-panel precision approaches. First one was vectors, followed by a missed. Now I was asked to hold. The trick (as is especially and always true with IFR) is to make sure you don't mess around. "Smooth," and "stable" are the bywords. Everything went fine. I turned in the direction of the hold, I timed, etc.

Then I was re-cleared for the ILS. This time I got some good distractions from my CFI, but I just tuned him out. Hey--and he didn't ever need to punch my right arm! Bonus! Landing was good, but I let the nose come down a bit sooner than I would have liked. (Shut up, Ben--this is Instrument time, OK?)

Then we landed to fill the tanks, and drain other things. I got us back over to BWI for a partial panel VOR RWY28, Circle-to-Land 33R (HEY STACEY!). Now it was also becoming night. Took off the Jeppshades, turned to my runway, went FULL FLAPS--because I CAN!--and did my first night landing in a long time. This one was a bit too nose-high in the flare so--OK, FINE! I'll stop talking about the landings!

All in all, I am feeling good about "me 'n instruments" again. Next lesson: more partial panel NPAs. Oh, it won't be too long, now, before I can change my tag line!
 
Congrats. See, told ya there are good days in there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

My CFII had me do a whole lesson partial panel right before my checkride. I hated him for it at the time, but on the checkride, partial panel was nothing compared to what he put me through. I think we did partial panel DME arc into a hold, then a teardrop into another hold (partial panel), then a DME arc into a VOR-A (partial panel), then vectors and an ILS (partial panel). By the time it was over I wanted to kill him and break the stopwatch.
 
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Congrats. See, told ya there are good days in there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

My CFII had me do a whole lesson partial panel right before my checkride. I hated him for it at the time, but on the checkride, partial panel was nothing compared to what he put me through. I think we did partial panel DME arc into a hold, then a teardrop into another hold (partial panel), then a DME arc into a VOR-A (partial panel), then vectors and an ILS (partial panel). By the time it was over I wanted to kill him and break the stopwatch.

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Funny! Yeah, the past few lessons have been partial panel for almost all of the time in the air.
 
ummm not that I don't know most of the lingo by now, but what's partial panel?

glad your feeling good in the seat again!!
 
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ummm not that I don't know most of the lingo by now, but what's partial panel?


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That's where you're flying by instruments with one or more of them "failed". Lot's of...ummm...fun. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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ummm not that I don't know most of the lingo by now, but what's partial panel?


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That's where you're flying by instruments with one or more of them "failed". Lot's of...ummm...fun. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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more fun when you're playing offense /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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ummm not that I don't know most of the lingo by now, but what's partial panel?

glad your feeling good in the seat again!!

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Thanks, Kristie. (I see mtsu_av8er answered the bit about partial panel.)
 
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sounds like pretty intense training! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

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It is, but I think I'm beginning to get into the "zen of minimal instruments."
 
Try holding on a DME arc......."cleared to hold on the 17-19 DME arc between the 270 and 340 radials."
 
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Try holding on a DME arc......."cleared to hold on the 17-19 DME arc between the 270 and 340 radials."

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That's just nasty.

'Round these parts (BWI) the approach we dread getting is:

http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0410/05222VDTZ15.PDF

The ARC itself IS the approach, all the way to the runway. Apparently ATC will never assign this one to you, but of course it is fair game with CFIIs and DPEs!
 
Looks fun! I love it! Arc is the approach, missed to an inbound radial back to an arc to a hold.

Sweet!
 
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Looks fun! I love it! Arc is the approach, missed to an inbound radial back to an arc to a hold.

Sweet!

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Yeah, yeah; real nice! This one approach has probably cost me $300 in sim / flight time! [In reality, I love flying it--it is a fun approach, and a challenge, too!]
 
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That's where you're flying by instruments with one or more of them "failed". Lot's of...ummm...fun.

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Normally the vacuum instruments: attitude indicator and heading indicator (directional gyro, whatever they call it). You have to rely on the compass and timing, both of which have their issues....
 
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That's where you're flying by instruments with one or more of them "failed". Lot's of...ummm...fun.

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Normally the vacuum instruments: attitude indicator and heading indicator (directional gyro, whatever they call it). You have to rely on the compass and timing, both of which have their issues....

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Sometimes, when partial panel gets to the point where you're left with a hobbs meter and an oil pressure gauge, you've just gotta know when to roll inverted and pull.......it's your last option anyway, may as well go out with a bang.
 
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Sometimes, when partial panel gets to the point where you're left with a hobbs meter and an oil pressure gauge, you've just gotta know when to roll inverted and pull.......it's your last option anyway, may as well go out with a bang.

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At least you'll ka the front page...
 
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Looks fun! I love it! Arc is the approach, missed to an inbound radial back to an arc to a hold.

Sweet!

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The other thing I have found with this approach is that I always end up too high for a straight in (without doing doing something dramatic). The MDA is pretty high, but if you fly it once, you'll understand why!
 
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Looks fun! I love it! Arc is the approach, missed to an inbound radial back to an arc to a hold.

Sweet!

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The other thing I have found with this approach is that I always end up too high for a straight in (without doing doing something dramatic). The MDA is pretty high, but if you fly it once, you'll understand why!

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Do you compute an appropriate VDP for your desired descent angle?
 
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Do you compute an appropriate VDP for your desired descent angle?

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Actually, if I fly the approach at that 3.03 angle (similar rate to a glideslope descent rate) it should work out fine. I did this approach first a few months ago. I bet I could do it much better now!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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Do you compute an appropriate VDP for your desired descent angle?

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Actually, if I fly the approach at that 3.03 angle (similar rate to a glideslope descent rate) it should work out fine. I did this approach first a few months ago. I bet I could do it much better now!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Where would your VDP be if you computed one?
 
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