One Adventure After Another: Adventures Flying a Small Airplane

ONE ADVENTURE

AFTER ANOTHER

ADVENTURES FLYING A SMALL AIRPLANE

John and Edna Lewis

AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Phone: 1-800-839-8640

© 2013 John and Edna Lewis. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 4/29/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-3040-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-3041-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-3042-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013904888

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the FAA for the use of aeronautical maps provided for us throughout the 33 years of our experiences flying small airplanes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Prologue

By Edna Lewis: Skyward Bound

A Special Acknowledgment

Terms, Definitions And Abbreviations

Chapter 1

Adventure No. 1: The Beginning

Chapter 2

Adventure No. 2: A Trip Down South To Crowley, Louisiana

Chapter 3

Adventure No. 3: A Trip To Cairo, Illinois

Chapter 4

Training For A Pilot’s License

Chapter 5

A Trip Along Lake Michigan: Too Close To O’Hare

Chapter 6

Adventure No. 4: A Trip To New Orleans

Chapter 7

Instrument Training

Chapter 8

Adventure No. 5: A Trip To Savannah, Georgia And The Discovery Of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Chapter 9

Adventure No. 6: First Trip To Oshkosh

Chapter 10

Observations And Judgements On Flying

Chapter 11

Adventure No. 7: A Fishing Trip To Flagg Island, Minnesota

Chapter 12

Adventure No. 8: A Trip To The Bahamas

Chapter 13

Decision To Buy A Twin

Chapter 14

Training In The Twin

Chapter 15

Adventure No. 9: A Trip To California

Chapter 16

Adventure No. 10: A Trip From Hilton Island To Chicago And Icing In The Twin

Chapter 17

Adventure No. 11: Taking The Twin To Oshkosh

Chapter 18

Adventure No. 12: An Emergency Landing Near Forsythe, Georgia

Chapter 19

Adventure No. 13: A Trip To Dwight, Illinois And Funny Weather

Chapter 20

Adventure No. 14: The Final Adventure

INTRODUCTION

This is a book about flying and learning to fly small airplanes. It is not intended for other pilots because most of them have experienced many of the same things that this book is about and probably can add much more to it. It is intended for the many people who have never flown in a small airplane but who are interested in flying or who might be considering learning to fly. Existing pilots will understand these stories and could easily write their own book but just have not taken the time to do so. This is not a technical book, so when you read these stories, don’t get technical on me. Some of the dates may have gotten mixed but telling these stories is my attempt to be entertaining and to tingle the imagination a bit.

Flying without any doubt is one of the greatest adventures of life. It is full of fun and it explores the mysteries of life; the atmosphere and clouds above us, the expansive terrain below us and the mountain tops before us; and it explores close and foreign places. It challenges every fiber in your body to stay aloft and run with the birds.

You might wonder about my motivation to write these pages. That too is hard to explain. Maybe because flying is such an exciting experience that you are compelled to share it with others, but maybe it’s just that I feel so lucky to have experienced something that I never dreamed my qualifications would permit. When first embarking upon the adventure of flying, I was like a man possessed. This aviation thing had burned itself into my brain. But when talking to other pilots you find that they express the same feelings. Pilots are not the only people who show interest in aviation and especially small aircraft. Over the years, in conversation with others, individuals would gather around to hear me relate these experiences and they would ask questions with great enthusiasm. So I thought that perhaps others might also enjoy these adventures.

Surely flying a small plane is as close as man can get to a bird at this time. Flying a helicopter which does not have wings or flying a big jet that depends on the power of its engines to stay aloft is for the professionals. As a matter of fact, flying a small plane is better than being a bird. True enough a bird soars like a small plane; a bird lands with a stall with its nose up, but have you ever seen a bird do a side slip or a deliberate stall and recovery, or even spin? Navigation is instinctive in a bird. A bird cannot chart the winds, set a course, set an air speed, fly 1000 miles and not deviate more than 100 feet from the selected altitude, plan an ETA and presto look out of the windshield and see the airport; then set up for a landing and set gently down on the runway and have your passengers applaud and call you Capt’n. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Come put yourself in my shoes; come sit in the cockpit with Edna and me and experience one adventure after another flying around in the open skies. Come along with us and reflect on your own experiences that provide you also with one adventure after another.

PROLOGUE

BY EDNA LEWIS:

SKYWARD BOUND

Looking up to the sky for many of us is a way of aiming high for our life’s journey. How many hot summer evenings did I sit in a lawn chair in the front yard of my Mississippi Delta home and dream of my plans for finishing high school, attending college and pursuing a professional career. For hours at a time, I would count the stars, stare at the shape of the moon and estimate on cloudy days when the rains would come. At each solar observance I would think of how events in the sky were connected to both my day to day plans and my future.

Having met my husband some years later and listening to his dreams from childhood, I realized that the foundation for the adventures he pursued began during his summer vacations in a small resort called Idlewild, Michigan. From his elementary education years through high school, he sailed on Lake Idlewild always looking around him and upwards for inspiration. At no time during the formative years did he dream of becoming a private pilot. But what he constantly dreamed was pursuing exciting adventures that resulted in increasing his knowledge of the world around him. From summer sailing to experimental radio building, to structural engineering, to acquiring abandoned property on the South side of Chicago and developing it to city code standards, to acquiring a hobby of flying, John attributes his dreams to an inherited inquisitiveness that he traces back several generations culminating in flying experiences beyond his imagination.

As you read the pages ahead, put yourself in the place of the author and recall and reflect on your multitude of experiences. How many were adventures for you and how these adventures were motivational toward higher possibilities. Enjoy this book but find the greatest pleasure in recapturing your life’s experiences and arriving at the realization that adventures along the way have played a significant role in your life.

A SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This book would not be complete without acknowledging the encouragement and confidence extended to me over the years from family members and friends. There are those who joined us on flights and others who were ardent listeners to my conversational reports of my flying adventures.

Looking back, I realize that I owe all of them a debt of gratitude for their interest in and support of the greatest adventures of my lifetime. Some of the friends and family are listed below.

Family members who have joined me on flights:

Friends who have joined me on flights:

TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Before we get started telling about these adventures an understanding of a few terms and definitions and abbreviations will be helpful so that they will not have to be explained later in the stories. These are a very small fraction of the terms and definitions used in aviation.

VFR: Means Visual Flight Rules and is a set of rules governing how a plane is flown when you can see out of the windshield and is determined by a definite set of weather conditions and other appropriate criteria.

IFR: Means Instrument Flight Rules and is a set of rules governing how a plane is flown when you cannot see out of the windshield and is determined by a definite set of weather conditions and other appropriate criteria e.g. a special flight plan and adherence to clearances provided by Air Traffic Control. The pilot is expected to still see and avoid other airplanes visually when possible.

Marginal: Weather conditions just above those conditions that would require flying by Instrument Flight Rules.

Solid: A term used by pilots to indicate that they are completely surrounded by clouds and cannot see anything.

Altitude: Generally the height above sea level but can mean the height above the ground. The height above the ground is found by subtracting the height of terrain above sea level from the altitude above sea level.

Ceiling: The height above the ground of the lowest layer of clouds or obscuring phenomena that is reported as broken or overcast.

Bearing: The horizontal direction to or from any point measured clockwise from True North, Magnetic North or some reference point through 360 degrees.

Azimuth: A magnetic bearing extending from a navigational facility and is generally used in map reading.

Radial: A magnetic bearing extending from a VOR type navigational facility.

VOR: A ground-based electronic navigation aid transmitting very high frequency navigation signals, 360 degrees in azimuth, orientated from magnetic north and is used throughout the US in the National Airspace System. It is identified with assigned call symbols and is identified in morse code. With the proper receiving equipment, it is an extremely dependable system. They can be identified all over the maps used for aviation.

Radar: A radio detection device which provides information on a monitor screen at an Air Traffic Control Facility providing information on range, azimuth and elevation of an aircraft flying or on the ground. The information appears as a blip on the screen. The term Radar is commonly use by itself to identify the Air Traffic Control facility.

Transponder: A device used in the airplane to generate a spot on the radar screen to be seen by the Air Traffic Controller. The equipment may or may not be required depending on the classification of the airspace but is always a useful piece of equipment; it is on the same level with the two way radio.

Ident: A request for a pilot to push a button on the transponder to identify the signal on the Air Traffic Controller’s radar screen. The signal lights up so that the Controller can clearly identify the aircraft.

Ground Person: (My definition) One who prefers having his or her feet on the ground and looks up to see the world.

Air Person: (My definition) One who prefers to float in the air like a bird and looks down to see the world.

Air Traffic Control: A service generally provided by the Federal Government to promote the safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic. The controller is the individual providing this service.

Controller: Short for Air Traffic Controller

Route Control: That part of Air Traffic Control that provides guidance along the way as opposed to around the airports. This service is mostly for IFR traffic but VFR traffic can request their services.

Approach Control/ Departure Control: Air Traffic Control services provided for arriving or departing aircraft to airports. In low volume airport traffic it might be the same person.

Clearance: This is short for Air Traffic Clearance, which is an authorization by Air Traffic Control to prevent collision between known aircraft and to proceed under specified conditions in controlled airspace.

Airport Traffic Area: The area around an airport that has a tower and generally encompasses a five mile radius from the airport to an elevation of 3000 feet above the airport.

Tower: An airport facility that uses air/ground communications to provide air traffic control. It is generally located in an elevated structure resembling a tower. Most airports do not have a tower and are described as Uncontrolled.

Flight Service/ Flight Service Station: The most basic Federal Government facility providing information and many, many other services to pilots. This is generally where flight plans are submitted and where weather information and briefings are obtained. The best friend a Private Pilot has.

Flight Watch: A term used by pilots to request a part of Flight Service’s weather information section used to obtain current weather while en route. Only certain Flight Service Stations provide this service and they are identified by proximity to the en route path e.g. Chicago Flight Watch or Cleveland Flight Watch, etc. There is a chart depicting these locations.

ADIZ: Means Coastal Air Identification Zone and occurs over coastal waters and international borders of the USA.

GADO: Means General Aviation District Office. This is where the action is when you get your license.

FAA: Means Federal Aviation Administration. A part of the United States Department of Transportation and oversees and regulates civil aviation. It’s goal is to cultivate and promote aviation and it does a very good job of it. It is also the police of the skies and it is best not to get on the wrong side of this agency by deliberately doing the wrong thing. You will regret it.

EAA: Means Experimental Aircraft Association. The goal of this organization is to promote recreational aviation and it also does a very good job of it. The private pilot can learn a great deal about aviation by attending the yearly EAA conventions. Also, aviation is advanced by airplane builders all over the country operating in small hangers and garages experimenting in airplane construction.

AOPA: Means Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. This organization is not mentioned in the text but is an extremely important organization disseminating information to pilots about aviation and by representing the interests of pilots in governmental legislation and in other policies of other agencies affecting pilots. I have been a continuous member of this organization from the time that I was a student.

FBO: Means Fixed Base Operator. A facility usually privately owned that provides the hangers and other essential services on an airport. Large airports have many FBO’s and small