Champaign Cross Country

Recently, a member of my flying club (Leading Edge Flying Club - at KPWK) acquired a newly refurbished Piper Dakota (PA28-236 for you Piper junkies out there) and leased it to the club for member use.  It's been in the organization since mid summer, but I did not dive in due to my foray into aerobatic / tailwheel flying.  After watching this video that Al Waterloo of SimpleFlight.net posted to SparkReel, I knew it was Dakota time for me:

I talked to Al, who boasts a CFI rating as one of his many credentials, about the process for getting checked out and being a huge advocate of making every flying experience awesome, he laid out a great syllabus.  Here's how it all played out...

We met one night out at PWK and with the intention to climb around the aircraft to really get a good feel for all of the systems and how they interact to get you where you want to go.  After a little familiarization with the cockpit layout (steam gauges combined with some of Garmin's most recent innovations - touchscreen, baby!), we popped the cowling off to expose the engine and everything else forward of the firewall.  If I remember correctly, this was the first time I had ever done that with an aircraft.  I feel like it was such an effective teaching method as we walked through every aspect of the engine's operation and seeing while discussing the different components really helped me visualize the process so much better.  I'll write a separate piece at some point to differentiate the technical aspects of the the Dakota from previous aircraft I've flown, but to sum it up, it is a bit more complex and has a hell of a lot more power!!!

After spending a few hours learning the nuts and bolts, I was ready to take to the air.  For the flying portion of the training, Al suggested a long cross country flight (beyond the standard PWK-JVL-PWK or PWK-RFD-PWK routing I've enjoyed so many times).  As we are both University of Illinois alums, I thought that a trip down to Champaign's Willard Airport (KCMI) was a no-brainer.  We picked a day and planned on meeting at the airport around noon to wrap up some ground school, plan the flight and leave enough time to fly down, tour the campus, get some dinner and make it back before too late.  Sounds pretty sweet, right?  A pilot's license can really open up so many experiences you wouldn't otherwise consider.

I checked the weather religiously for many days in advance of our planned excursion and got increasingly excited as we were gifted with some severe clear sky conditions!  At PWK, Al and I walked through a quick overview of what we wanted to accomplish and then got down to the details.  About three years ago, the 'details' would have involved laying out a bunch of maps across the table while straining our eyes to ensure we get ourselves sufficiently prepared to execute the mission.  A shout out to the engineers at Apple and ForeFlight is well deserved at this point, as Al and I fired up our iPads loaded with the most recent version of ForeFlight and were able to map out our exact route while pulling the most current weather and airport information available.  ForeFlight is a game-changer, in my opinion.  Combining the highly interactive features of the iPad with all of the information a pilot needs (maps, weather, runway information [NOTAM's for you pilots]...etc.), ForeFlight offers pilots an opportunity to step into the cockpit so much more aware of what they will face during a flight than ever before.  With 3G/4G service or an aftermarket GPS, all of that information I just alluded to coupled with a zoomable moving map display opens up a limitless world of knowledge (which further enhances safety). 

Al asked me what route I wanted to take to get down to KCMI; I thought I would impress him with a pre-loaded route that would take us southwest to Dekalb (to stay clear of the O'Hare Class B airspace, of course) and direct to Champaign from there.  Yeah, I'm pretty conservative when it comes to flying and my first instinct is always to pick a route that offers about a 0% chance that I bust Class B airspace.  Al, as part of his constant quest to dispel aviation myths, asked me if I would rather 'hug the Bravo curtain' and fly over the top of Midway (KMDW).  Over the top of Midway?  That can't be permitted for VFR pilots, right?!  WRONG!!!  With our iPads / ForeFlight, Al and I virtually flew our intended route (which was substantially cooler and shorter than my suggestion), agreed that it was going to be awesome and went out to the airplane to kick some butt in the sky.

Taking off on PWK's rwy 16 in front of LEFC sister aircraft (Archer 3096B), we climbed to 1,600' MSL and made our way to our first waypoint, Arlington Park.  Class B airspace at that point starts at 1,900' MSL, so it is critical to keep an eye on your altimeter!  We followed Meacham Rd just to the west of Woodfield Mall, called Schaumburg Airport to announce our intentions to pass north-to-south to the west of the field and really just enjoyed the views that you cannot get except in a general aviation aircraft.  A few minutes later, my office in Oak Brook, IL came into view and I gave a little wave to all of my co-workers plodding away at their keyboards/monitors while we passed overhead to pick up I-88 / I-290 eastbound towards the city.  We dialed up Midway ATIS (repeating recording of current conditions at the airport for all of you non-pilots / aspiring pilots) and gave the tower a call to let them know we were about 10 miles to the northwest following I-290 eastbound.  After ATC verified they had radar contact, Al promped me to ask for clearance to pass overhead north-to-south.  I waited nervously after asking, sort of expecting a chorus of laughter over the frequency.  That did not happen, rather, ATC gave us clearance and told us to pass directly overhead at or above 1,200' MSL.

After banking to the south from I-290, Al patiently helped me pick a point to cross over as well as a few landmarks on the ground to follow to ensure we did not stray off course,.  My arms were tired by the time we crossed the southern boundary of the airfield as I was so intent on holding my altitude, I think I squeezed the yoke with all of my strength.  I certainly did not want to embarrass myself by having the tower call me to tell me I couldn't hold an altitude.  Well, I think the result of all of this was amazing; check out this short clip of the experience...

I would say that we have successfully dispelled the aviation myth that you must fly all of the way out to DeKalb to fly anywhere south of Chicago (and had a great time doing so)!  Seriously, it was that easy.  The rest of our trip down was just as fun, we popped up to 3,500' once clear of MDW's Class C airspace and spent some good time getting used to the Garmin GTN650 / Garmin 560 touchscreen GPS' as well as the Dakota's autopilot.  During this experience, we flew through some light chop, which I found to be very helpful in developing techniques to fly the aircraft and add inputs to the Garmin devices while bouncing around a bit.

First ground stop was Rantoul (KTIP), a former USAF base that is used sparingly at best as a non-towered GA airport.  It's amazing how much older the airport looks as compared to the last time I passed through, which was about seven years ago. I found the Dakota to fly very similarly to the Archer in the pattern - extremely stable in the traffic pattern.  Al briefed me prior to our flight and once again as we entered the pattern that I would need more back pressure on the yoke / elevator trim than I was used to in the Archer to land smoothly. Al - correct.  After a few circuits in the pattern, and a few bounces on landing, we hopped over to KCMI - the winds and our position offered us the perfect opportunity to shoot our approach right over the top of campus.  I stole a few glances from my focus on the runway to take advantage of the view I had for so long been curious about while I was a student.

As VIP's, or rather, pilots who purchased fuel for our airplane, Flightstar, the on-field FBO, gave us the keys to a very nice Mazda 6 with no deadline to return.  Awesome?  You know it!  We cruised around the campus, exchanging a number of 'back in the day when I was here...' stories and determined that we would be remiss by not doing a little tour of the Quad on foot and grabbing dinner at a local establishment.  We both agreed numerous times that we missed the good ole' days of campus life.

Back at the airport after the sun went down, we got Dakota 55T ready to roll and made our way out to the active runway.  On climb out, the campus completely stood out among the pitch black cornfields that surround the Champaign/Urbana area for miles.  It was neat seeing everything once again from the air.   We did some stalls (my first time at night) on our way back north - the Dakota handles these with grace and the stall break (nose drop) is barely noticeable.  Stalls used to be a maneuver that I always dreaded practicing, and for no real good reason that I can point to.  However, after my experiences in aerobatic flying, everything seemed so much slower and controlled during the entire process.  Cheers to Piper for designing such great airplanes.

Landings in the Dakota finally clicked with me after some circuits in the pattern at KIKK (look it up if you are curious - you Illinois alunms will have driven by it countless times as it sits just to the east of I-57) and we made our way back home.  I don't recall the last time I've done pattern work at night at an airport in such a rural area and there were a few moments when my brain told me "dude, it is really freakin' dark out here!"  It is most critical to pay attention to your instruments in this type of situation as your eyes/brain have a more difficult time perceiving depth when there are fewer reference points.  You can find numerous stories about pilots touching down short of the runway at night at an airport surrounded by a dark landscape.

Heading back to PWK, we elected to reverse our course flown earlier in the day - over the top of KMDW, up to Oak Brook along I-290 / I-88 and north to Arlington Park to get one more experience under my belt of this incredible route.  A Southwest 737 passed directly above us on initial approach to KMDW and then directly underneath after landing - super awesome!

All in all, the day's events were a phenomenal set of experiences, hopefully to be repeated at numerous other destinations!

Chicago Air & Water Show

And so the 2012 air show season is in the books...  I think I did pretty well this year, Rockford, Oshkosh and the Chicago Air & Water Show.  Initially I planned for about five or six shows, but a few other distractions popped up and these were my 'must-go's'.  Rockford is always a fun time because they really put on a great show there and I generally get to fly there!  That's really the way to do an air show right, show up in an airplane, you get some VIP access before and after the show and then avoid all of the traffic as you rocket out above it all.  Oshkosh, no comment necessary.  As to the Chicago Air & Water Show, my thoughts...

This used to be a no doubt incredible show.  Obviously headlined by the Blue Angles or Thunderbirds, the show would get a ton of military support from the standard tactical demonstrations to flyby's from many different varieties of military aircraft that you couldn't see elsewhere.  Think S-3 Viking rare... I remember in the mid-2000's seeing a two-ship do a series of flyby's.  I only wish I had my current camera to capture that.  Anyway, back to the point I was trying to make; the hard economic times that Chicago and the greater economy have faced over the last several years have stripped away much of that stellar performer list.  Couple the notoriously low communication from the organizers in advance as to the list of participating aircraft with my knowledge of economic conditions and I really had no idea what would be here save for the Blue Angels and the F-4 Phantom West (for the Heritage Flight) - which in truth was enough to draw me in.

Seizing the opportunity presented by perfect weather, a couple of us rolled down to Gary (KGYY) for the Friday practice show to get a glimpse of what the weekend would offer.  I think KGYY is a perfect vantage point - we sat just to the east of the main terminal building, which was about 20 yards away from where the F/A-18F Super Hornet demo team parked one of their jets. Enough said! That jet flew twice while we were there and in both cases, the pilot/EWO took a bunch of time after their displays to talk with the numerous kids lined up for all of the action.  Note, said flying badasses carefully avoided the area we (two dudes in the 30-33 age range) were sitting in - I can't blame them!!!  That we got to see the Super Hornet fire up, take off, land and shut down twice was great.  The real highlights, though, were the F-4 Phantom II departure/arrival, the four-ship of A-10's departure/arrival, and the Blues of course.  There was plenty of other activity (we arrived just as the Air Force T-38's / T-6 Texan II's were finishing a series of low approaches), but those were the best.  The Phantom (how many more opportunities will we have to see one of these historic aircraft fly???) phlew with Vlado Lenoch in his Mustang and they took advantage of a little extra gas after their practice routine to do a series of low approaches (Vlado requested right traffic so that they could pull right over the top of the crowd on crosswind - that is an example of a pilot getting it).  The A-10's did a lot of the same and would have offered more but they flew a training mission after their time in the aerobatic box and did not get back until a few minutes prior to the Blues getting back (you know who gets the nod in that situation).  Creative way by them to get some good PR time at an airshow while putting training dollars to work.  No pictures, but I did take a few videos uploaded to (@SparkReel) - here's one:

Hopefully I inferred above that going down to KGYY is a really great experience of getting right up to the action and hearing a lot of noise.  For a different KGYY experience that I can only marvel at in jealousy, check out my fellow LEFC club member / flying comrade's experience at MyFlightBlog - Todd just happens to have the official blog for the Chicago Air & Water Show and so if you navigate through you are likely to find some incredible entries - here's one shared on (@SparkReel):

For the Saturday show, I finally got to do something that I have been nearly dying to do since we moved to our place (approximately 1 mile from the shoreline).  That's right, Christina and I climbed up on our roof for the Blue Angels' show.  I knew it would be sweet, but we were really blown away with the proximity to the jets our vantage point offered.  I tried getting some good shots with the camera, but only ended up with one I felt good enough about to post (Fat Albert in a holding pattern just to the west of the box)...

Next year, the goal for the roof experience is better pictures - there are just so many opportunities with the skyline and lake in the background.  Overall, though, except for the fact that we had to sit directly on the roof (rendering a full day up there impossible), it was really fun to take advantage of our location and get a unique take of all of the action.

For Sunday (that's right, I made a full weekend out of it), we got up early and drove down with all of the chairs to a side street just off of Fullerton east of Clark (great spot) and strolled directly east until we hit water.  I wanted to try something a bit different - we've sat at North Avenue Beach for many, many years now and I was inspired to sit north of show center by a video posted by @ahirsen:

- awesome for many reasons.  It seemed from his spot, the aircraft were going right over their heads and promised for lots of noise (and maybe a good photo op or two)!

We couldn't have been happier as evidenced by this low pass from one of the Blue Angel solo pilots, which was about as close to a jet operating at full military power that you can get - I'd estimate 100 feet - max:

We also had a great view for some Super Hornet noise!!!!

From where we sat, the crowd wasn't too bad and logistically we were close to anything you would need at an air show - bathroom / food and exit access to bug out quickly at the conclusion of the show!  See you in the same spot next year!

As far as the show itself, the morning was a bit slow after the Air Force trainer parade (sadly, one pass only) as the aerobatic acts became a bit repetitive.  I respect the heck out of those guys and their amazing piloting skills (Rob Holland - beast, Sean Tucker - beast, Aeroshell - consummate professionals... etc.) as a novice aerobatic pilot myself, but from an entertainment perspective, it felt like the show had a hard time developing any rhythm without all of the noise / metal that people go to witness.  Things picked up quickly, though, after the KC-135 made a series of passes (I don't think they lowered the refueling boom, which was quite surprising given that is pretty much the highlight of the aircraft).

The Phantom and the Super Hornet came in and ripped it up with a ton of ear-bursting afterburner action.  I heard several small children crying loudly after one near-Mach 1 Super Hornet pass - come on parents, what do you expect?!?!  Then the four A-10's discussed above, rolled on scene for a mock close air support mission which was followed by a previously unpublicized appearance by four F-16's from the Iowa Air National Guard that added another burst of burner noise before the Blue Angels took over.  Stellar performance, as expected, by them, and we all left happy.  As you can see, that is quite an afternoon!

I think the key takeaway from it all is that the organizers continue to put on a great show despite a much smaller pool of resources as compared to the good ole' days, but the schedule could have used a scrubbing or two. The airboss and his team do a fantastic job of minimizing the empty space between acts, but getting the Super Hornet or Phantom in earlier in the day would have really injected some well-needed excitement (and increased the appreciation for the difficult maneuvers performed by the acro pilots).  Noticeably absent were bomber appearances...  I know times are tough for the USAF, but I've really gotten used to some heart-pounding flybys from B-1's or an intimidating series of passes by a venerable B-52 or stealthy B-2.  Let's get those guys back next year!