pilot update...

[F22trainer]

For those who want to know...

I passed my Multi-engine Commercial add-on a week ago last Monday - WHEW!

Didn't have any problems, until I got my initial clearance to fly the ILS approach into Williams Gateway...and my headset jack decided it wanted to keep popping out. Kind of funny now - I could see the DE out of the corner of my eye and his lips kept moving but I couldn't hear a thing. I thought he had sabotaged the comm's as I was just about to intercept the localizer...figured out what the #@$%# was going on just in time so save the approach. He had no idea what was up, Phoenix approach didn't either as I missed the first call for the hand off, but caught the next Tx just as the localizer came into view and he fails my left engine. I had to fly a single engine approach with one hand holding my headset jack in the socket...DE says "NOT MY PROBLEM, I HEAR JUST FINE!" when I tell him and Phoenix approach what was going on.

Had to play "catch up" as I had also forgot to tune Stanfield VOR as the back up for the final approach fix. But, all came together and he complimented my quick thinking and getting caught up quick, along with "you're a smooth pilot, Michael" I got a great laugh after I made my call to Williams at the final approach fix - I get out the checklist to back up all the procedures I had just done throughout the approach, engine failure, etc...(which I was going to have to really hurry though as I was on about a 4mile final) and he says to me "screw the checklist, just fly the damn approach"!

...and if anyone here works for Phoenix approach - thanks for the vectors!

Now I'm learning to fly all over again, now from the right seat...should be more strange tales to follow

Michael

[P51tj]

Way to go Mikey!!! Good to hear that you pulled "that" off and that your head wasn't up and locked!!!

CAVU tp ya!

[AZ Z51]

[3,503 lbs of trouble]

I love aviation tales! I'll have to tell you about the time I found myself in IFR conditions while solo as a student. Maybe I did tell you that one...

...or there was the time my instructor and I went gambling while on a cross country.

[F22trainer]

I love aviation tales! I'll have to tell you about the time I found myself in IFR conditions while solo as a student. Maybe I did tell you that one...

...or there was the time my instructor and I went gambling while on a cross country.

Hey I did that too!

went to Laughlin to do the 2hr day / 2hr nite VFR flights for my initial Commercial. Thought it would be a great idea to combine the requirements into one flight. It was in July, so the cooler flying weather was ideal.

Left here at 9 PM got to Laughlin at 11, gambled until 4 AM then took off at sunrise for the return flight...

'bout the time we got to Wickenburg I was so tired I had to fly instruments (even though it was CAVU) because I had a serious case of "the leans".

And as luck would have it, Phoenix approach was so busy (we had to hold outside Bravo airspace for what seemd forever) that we almost had to stop at Deer Valley for fuel...they cleared us into airspace just as I was about to turn. Laughlin didn't open for fuel until 7 AM, which was when we were due back at Gateway. We had our minumum fuel plus about 5 gals when we landed.

[anmracing2]

Sounds like you were having lots of fun on the approach to Gateway.

Conrats on passing.... We all need to have a get together to celebrate...

Andrew

[BSeery]

Congrats !!

[3,503 lbs of trouble]

...or there was the time my instructor and I went gambling while on a cross country.

Hey I did that too!

went to Laughlin to do the 2hr day / 2hr nite VFR flights for my initial Commercial. Thought it would be a great idea to combine the requirements into one flight. It was in July, so the cooler flying weather was ideal...

I believe we did it in July as well, but it was during the day Landed in Bullhead City and took a shuttle over to a casino in Laughlin. When we got back to my Cessna, the OAT was 124 degrees. It was HOT! As we prepared to depart my instructor looked around for the guy in the cart who collects the parking fee. He was nowhere in site, so my instructor said "GO, GO!!" and we took off for Blythe without paying Good thing 'cause I'd lost $40. playing Blackjack. After we reached altitude we took turns rolling the plane on it's side at close to minimum controllable airspeed and dropping pop bottles out the windows over the desert. We were kicking ourselves for forgetting to bring bags of flour to toss out. These are the kinds of adventures you have with a flight instructor nicknamed "Crash Gordon".

[Guest XLR8TNC5]

Wow, great job Mike. Everytime I hear these kind of stories, (yours and Dans) it makes me want to go get certified. Or at least get back into the idea of flying again. Way to think on your toes and good job on that with the DE.

I don't have any crazy stories about my Cessna 402 days with Bank One, but I remember one time, we were flying into Yuma to pick up some checks, credit cards, etc.. (you know back before everything was done electronically with the banks) and as we came up over this peak, there was a sky FULL of about 30 Apache Helicopters coming toward us. You want to talk about an ominous site. It was just turning dusk and the sky was orange and all you saw was the black outlines of all of these Apaches. It was truly a "movie" moment. They all got cleared to land before us, so my 1st (I was in the right side seat) and I decided to go fly low level passes over some of the mountains while we waited for ALL of those Apaches to land. That was a fun day....

Then of course, there was this one time when I did 1.5 G's on the runway in an F-16 with a rotate........But that's "old" news. lol

Mark could probably tell you some fun stories about his F-16 rides.

See ya later gators,

T