N291DR 1.2 Flight to KLVK with Jatin for transponder check

Our transponder was due for a check, so we set up an appointment with Precision Static Testing at KLVK. tl;dr -- they are awesome people and extremely friendly, and had us in and out of there in a jiffy. Carolina is a walking comedy show. They were very kind to me, being a new airplane owner, giving me everything I needed.

I took my co-worker Jatin along for the ride. He did like maybe 8h of PPL training 5 years ago or so, and was kind of on the fence. Of course this was my opportunity to sell him on finishing his training.

We were worried about the weather since there were forecast showers, but when we got to the airport in mid afternoon, the ceilings were in the high 3,000 to low 4,000 feet, and visibility was excellent. So we anticipated a bumpy ride but were okay for that short trip.

We took off from KRHV and went out towards the area South of the Calaveras reservoir then turned North. It was super bumpy, and over the reservoir, there was a rain shower. I started at 3,500' but descended to 3,000' or so to avoid the angry cloud above us. :) We bumped along until we came to the quarry near Sunol, and then things got more reasonable.

I gave Jatin the stick for a while, and he did very well, though of course he noticed this was way more sensitive than the C172 he flew before! Overall this was not a happy day for a new person to fly -- it required constant correction to fly straight and level, and there wasn't enough altitude under us to do any maneuvers or anything. But he got a taste of it.

We landed on Rwy 25L with a slightly bumpy but not horrible 3-pointer. I will allow myself the bump given the turbulence.

We got off and got progressive instructions to Precision Static and got our business done. We also walked around and looked at pretty planes.

We got Rwy 25R on departure. The wind was down the runway 10G20. By the time we lifted the tail, we were in the air. It was pretty amazing.

On the way back, we flew via the Sunol pass then down past Embassy Suites. The clouds were less angry. I cut power at 3,500' and mostly glided to a landing on Rwy 13R at KRHV.

My landing was passable but could have been better. I was too busy dealing with the bumps. At one point, the right crosswind seemed to slack off, and I leveled the wings to relax my slip. Then of course the crosswind picked up again and I was blown 2-3 feet to the left of centerline. Lesson for the wise: keep your slip in and err on the side of landing upwind of the centerline if necessary, rather than getting blown downwind. It was a wheel landing, but I also did not plant my mains as firmly as I should have. But in general, I think it was okay given the turbulence on short final.

Jatin did not run away screaming, so he must have had fun? :)

N291DR 1.9 Flight to Livermore with Aden

This was my first pax-carrying flight in N291DR, with my son Aden.

We took off from KRHV and flew towards Mount Diablo. Aden flew from the Calaveras reservoir onward, all around the mountain. I coordinated the rudder for him and changed power settings, but otherwise he flew around without any trouble and checked things out.

We then tried to go to Byron, but there were low clouds with haze under them, so I decided to abort and go to Livermore. I made an uneventful short approach and 3-point landing, a bit nose low but not horrible.

We took off uneventfully and landed in KRHV. There I was given a straight in to Rwy 13L, which for some reason threw off my landing (what? all that time to prepare? eek!). Since the air was a bit bumpy I elected to do a wheel landing, which went fine but a bit to the right of centerline.

Aden helped me refuel the plane -- we made a really good "pit crew" and got the plane tucked in quite efficiently!

N291DR 2.1 Solo

Completed my solo requirement for N291DR.

Flew KRHV C83 to deliver my friend's parachute to him.

Was hoping to do some pattern work at C83 but the pattern was full of traffic including people coming in at weird points (someone lower than everyone else in the pattern, puttering along happily, while people sort of negotiate what to do). Thus scared, I departed downwind.

I flew 5,500' towards New Jerusalem (1Q4) then did a simulated engine-out. I was coming from the North for runway 30, so I figured I would rather slip and fly directly to my "low key" point rather than try to circle around and fly a "high key" then do a full 360 to low key -> base key -> landing. This went well -- I did a passable 3-point landing.

I then tried another pattern with short approach and ended up too close to the runway and I could not make it, so I went around.

My 3rd pattern, I spaced myself out better and did another passable 3-pointer.

I need to gain more confidence at doing more maneuvers (e.g. forward slip to landing in a short approach; short field landing at full flaps with steep approach) when things are a bit bumpy, but as matters stand, I am very cautious and will take it really slowly.

I then flew back to KRHV at 5200 rpm and 100 knots over the ground, hoping to make it in time to give my son his first flight with me! But then at KRHV, the radio started acting up (we suspect there's a short in the PTT circuit) so I had to put the plane away for the day.

N291DR 3.5 Solo

Insurance requires 10 dual + 5 solo for N291DR. I finished my dual and got a TW signoff. Today was my first solo time.

I flew KRHV C83 (Byron) and, at Byron, spent a long time doing various takeoffs and landings. My co-owner and CFI Sergey Kataev was there, and he gave me encouraging remarks. I was mingling with the skydiving ops; the glider launches; and the normal folks, which made for a sometimes harrowing experience. At some point a Cherokee showed the frack up really low, barreling in a curving path for the runway, without announcing themselves on CTAF or joining the pattern. We were all aghast. When we asked what they were doing they said something about leaving the area, banked sharply, and buzzed away. Whack.

N291DR 2.6 Mary

Epic flight to do taildragger practice. 5 landings.

We took off from KRHV and went to E16 where we did a bunch of short field, soft field, and normal takeoffs and landings. We then went to KCVH and did one landing on Rwy 24, then a couple of low passes over Rwy 31 to feel what a strong crosswind is like. The gusting crosswind was strong enough that there was no way we would even think of trying to land -- the gusts were such that the plane simply did not have enough control authority to stay on centerline. Finally, we flew back towards KRHV. I got a couple of engine-out practice maneuvers; for one of these, I set us up over a random field and made a good approach; for the other I did a pattern over Frasier Lake and made a good approach into the grass runway, which was closed (waterlogged) so we went around. Back at KRHV, we tried a couple of wheel landings. These went okay, except that instead of "kissing" the ground I tend to "slap" the ground, and so I need to build up some experience with touching down super gently. I've done it well before -- it's just that I need more practice, I guess. Also it was the end of a long flight.

The good news is I got the CFI's endorsement for tailwheel, and I completed the insurance required 10 hours of dual to fly N291DR.

Next is an insurance required 5 hours of solo, which I will likely spend working more on my takeoffs and landings.

Exciting times!

N291DR 3.5 Mary

Flew out of KRHV to KCVH, and did extensive takeoff and landing practice, then flew back to KRHV and did a few more landings before shutting down. Total of maybe 5 landings.

We did mostly wheel landings today, fine tuning ground handling and learning about the energy needed to come in -- approach at 70, start rounding out and kiss the runway at maybe 50 or so, then plant the wheels and slow down. My directional control improved. My energy management is not perfect but it's getting better as I get more used to the airplane's glide characteristics.

I had a couple of bounces but I learned to recognize a bounce and go around. In this plane, going around is not difficult since the stall speed is so low; there is no long acceleration phase. Just push the power in, and by the time you glance down at the ASI you're doing 50 which is Vr and you can start climbing and push down to 60.

We did a couple of landings with full flaps to a 3-pointer, and yes indeed, the RANS comes down pretty nicely at full flaps. :)

We tried "impossible turn" exercises while KCVH was empty, going up Rwy 31 in one direction, cutting at 500' AGL or a bit more (which would happen right at the far end of the runway), looping back to touch and go and make it to 500' AGL by the time we got to the opposite end of the runway, and repeating the experience. I got a lot better at keeping the nose down when the power is cut, and maintaining speed and coordination to get back to the runway.

Back at KRHV, I was coming in high and hot. I need to become more aware of excess energy and do something about it earlier. The CFI noted that I was doing that previously in the SportStar too. In all cases these were "short approaches" or, at least, power-off to glide from abeam the threshold. I think I could probably do a long "stabilized" approach easily. But I should probably practice that sometime. It's much too much fun to do the power-off 180s in this plane though. :)

CFI said my next challenge is to do crosswind landings -- we plan to go to E83 next time and use the cross runway if possible.

Overall this was a great flying day, with lots and lots of flying and hard work and visible progress.