Skip to main content

Doing my homework

I've owned my airplane for a week, but I haven't flown it yet.

As I noted earlier, my insurance company requires that I receive an hour of dual instruction in the plane before I fly it as pilot in command, either solo or with one or more passengers, and this is currently scheduled for this Friday afternoon. Weather permitting, of course. In the meantime, I've been doing some homework.

First thing is to go through the Pilot Operating Handbook for the plane. For those not familiar with pilot-speak, the POH is basically the user manual for the airplane, much like the one that comes with a new car. With a car, you can get in and drive it after some familiarization with its operation provided by the dealer or the person you bought it from. Or just sitting in it and noting where the controls are. With an airplane, doing that would be foolhardy if you've never flown that model of airplane before. Since I've flown only Cessnas, this is the situation I'm in.

In addition to the POH, there are a couple of upgraded components in the airplane that require going through the operation manual for. First is an Electronics International FP-5L Fuel Computer that was installed back in 2019. This is a fairly sophisticated instrument that provides a lot of functionality in a compact package. Because that package is compact, however, the user interface consists of two buttons and a small switch that you can push left or right from its center position. Its operation reminds me of my first digital watch or my current thermostat. In both cases, some functionality requires pushing or holding two buttons at once. I went through the manual and wrote down some notes for a quick reference that I plan to print out and carry in the plane.

The other is an Electronics International SC-5 Super Clock, also installed in 2019. It's a bit simpler than the Fuel Computer, but it's still a compact package with the same set of controls so its operation isn't exactly intuitive.

Both of these, the Fuel Computer especially, will be very useful. Because this airplane does not have a "Both" setting for the fuel valve, I need to switch between the left and right tanks as I fly in order to keep the plane balanced. The Fuel Computer is set to flash a notification after a certain amount of fuel has been consumed to remind me to switch tanks.

The Super Clock will become more useful once I start going on cross country flights. That'll be a while, though. To begin with, I plan to fly the plane mostly in the local area, practicing landings and becoming familiar with its handling characteristics. Maybe after a few such flights I'll head on over to another airport. Who knows, maybe by then I'll be able to do the traditional pilot thing and have an effectively expensive meal at the airport restaurant.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Approaching the annual

I know I haven't been posting much, but that's mainly because nothing much of note has been happening. I've been flying, but not really going anywhere in particular. The engine continues to run very well, and the plane is still solid. I was hoping to do more "destination" flying this year but, for whatever reason(s), it didn't really happen. Next year, hopefully.... On the horizon, though, is the annual inspection. It's already scheduled for mid-December, since the last annual is good to the end of that month. I've also arranged for it to be an owner-assisted annual. I'm told that every airplane owner should do this at least once and I can certainly understand why that is the case, even before I do it. I will be learning about my airplane in a way that nothing else will match and, incidentally, save some money at the same time. I'm looking forward to it. Leading up to the annual, I have been compiling a list of squawks that I want to take care ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Predicting the weather is hard

At least, it's hard for this region of the country. I like to say that predicting the weather for the Puget Sound region is far more an art than it is a science. Early last week, the weather forecast was for pretty much crappy weather for the foreseeable future. However, because of the chaotic nature of the atmosphere around here, especially at this time of year, the forecast is always subject to change. As it turns out, the weather was actually nice enough last Friday afternoon (December 17) that I was able to go up for about an hour and a half. One of the reasons I went up was because I had filled the tanks after the previous flight, and I wanted to burn off some fuel in case I was able to take my father flying while we visiting from Arizona. As I'm sure I've mentioned, the weight and balance of my plane is such that I'd be over maximum weight if I had a passenger in the front seat, the required ballast in the baggage compartment to stay within the forward CG limit, a...
1 comment
Read more

A digression, if I may...

The other night, after almost 50 years, the Saturn V was dethroned as the most powerful rocket ever successfully launched by humanity. I use the word "successfully" because the Soviet N1 rocket actually generated more thrust at liftoff, but all four launch attempts ended in failure. For the first time since Apollo 17, a true moon rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying a spacecraft capable of carrying humans back to the moon. This Artemis mission is a test flight, so no astronauts are on board the Orion spacecraft. Despite that, it was a spectacular launch. Because the SLS launch vehicle has a higher thrust-to-weight ratio than the Saturn V, it rose from the launch pad much more quickly than it's predecessor. I think it's a bit heavier than the Space Shuttle, but it has more thrust due to an additional RS-25 engine, and more powerful solid rocket boosters. Watching it rise into the night sky, I was excited, but also a bit melancholy. This was ...
1 comment
Read more