Instrument Ground School

Over the last month or so I've seen some interest in Instrument Ratings. Because of this, I'm looking into convening an Instrument Ground School. The time and duration of meeting is pretty flexible, so any feedback I can get would be great. Historically the ground school has run 10-12 weeks and met for 3-4 hours per week in one or two sessions.

Please call or email to express your interest or to sign up.

Barry

Reading Material

And so the dreary days of November are upon us... The airplanes are very available for crosswind practice and, on the right days, actual instrument practice. We're getting reunited with our old morning friend, frost.

Just because it's cold doesn't mean you shouldn't fly! The airplanes perform much better in the dense, cold air, and availability is up. (Pop quiz...explain 3 reasons airplanes like cold air) I've even worked to make 733GL's heater a little more effective!

As a reminder I'd like to mention that we're keeping the airplanes plugged in. When you get back from a flight, please do the next guy a favor and plug it back in. Have you ever tried to start an airplane with molasses in the crankcase? ;)

So for on the days you can't come out to fly, I've found some reading material that may pique your interest: FAA Advisory Circulars.
Some recommendations:
AC-00-2.15 Appendix 3- Index of AC's
AC-00-6A Aviation Weather
AC-00-45F Aviation Weather Services
AC-61-9B Transition to Complex A/C
AC-61-65E Certification: Pilots and Flight and Ground Instructors
AC-61-67C Stall and Spin Awareness Training
AC-91-6A Water, Slush, and Snow on the Runway
AC-91-13C Cold Weather Operation of Aircraft

Notice that the AC's are numbered by FAR section they modify.

Barry

Happy Halloween!!!

Hey everyone!

As a few of you may already know, but many probably don't, is that there's a PARTY going on at Airlake!

This Saturday, October 25th, there will be a Halloween party going on in the Aircraft Resource Center hangar. We'll start the afternoon around 3PM with kid's events, including pumpkin bowling and a haunted house! Not wanting to leave out the adults, there will be a costume contest and creeper-race complete with cash and prizes! Then, from 7 to 10, there will be a Hangar Dance. Food will be served before the dance.

Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for kids. We're really looking forward to this event, which should be a LOT of fun! Airlake Flight Training, Aircraft Resource Center, and LSA North all appreciate you support and we hope to see you there! Please don't hesitate to call if you would like more information or would like to volunteer.

Barry Park
O: 952-985-0475
C: 612-849-9759

Flying Geek Meets Hurricane Geek

So who's been following hurricane Ike? He's gonna beat up southeast Texas pretty badly. Check out these TAF's! The first one is from an Air Force Base, so the format is a little different. The winds are the same, though! 80G95!!!
----------------------------------------
METAR KEFD 16:50Z 09/12/08
KEFD 121650Z 03013G23KT 8SM BKN030 OVC060
31/23 A2967 RMK HURRICANE WARNING IN EFFECT/

TAF HOUSTON/ELLINGTO, TX
KEFD 121212 04015G25KT 9999 VCSH SCT030 SCT100 BKN250 550009
550909 QNH2972INS
BECMG 1516 03020G30KT 8000 -SHRA SCT030 BKN100 BKN250
550009 550909 QNH2964INS
BECMG 1718 03035G50KT 6000 -SHRA VCTS BKN030 OVC150 590009
590909 QNH2952INS
BECMG 2122 02055G70KT 3200 TSRA OVC025 590009 590909
QNH2945INS
BECMG 0203 02065G75KT 3200 +RA OVC020 590009 590909
QNH2938INS
BECMG 0405 13075G85KT 1600 +RA OVC010 590009 590909
QNH2932INS
TEMPO 0509 13080G95KT 0800 +TSRA BR OVC009CB
BECMG 0809 18065G75KT 1600 +RA OVC010 590009 590909
QNH2928INS
TEMPO 0911 0800 +TSRA BR OVC009CB
BECMG 1011 21060G75KT 3200 +RA VCTS OVC009CB 590009 590909
QNH2925INS T31/21Z T25/12Z=


----------------------------------------
METAR KHOU 17:53Z 09/12/08
KHOU 121753Z 05019G26KT 10SM OVC040 31/21
A2961 RMK AO2 PK WND 04028/1728 SLP031 SHRA SW
8/5// T03060211 10306 20261 58017

TAF HOUSTON/HOBBY, TX
KHOU 121736Z 121818 03020G35KT P6SM BKN035CB BKN100 BKN250
FM2200 03030G40KT P6SM VCSH BKN030CB BKN080 OVC150
FM0300 03045G60KT 5SM TSRA BKN025CB OVC060
FM0600 03050G70KT 3SM +TSRA BKN015CB OVC040
FM0900 03055G75KT 3SM +TSRA BKN015CB OVC040
FM1200 20055G75KT 3SM +TSRA BKN015CB OVC040
FM1500 22045G65KT 4SM TSRA BKN015CB OVC040=

New Medical Rules

The FAA has recently updated the duration of a Third Class Medical Certificate. See the official page here. In short, if your exam was completed before your 40th birthday, you retain third class privileges for 60 months. If you have a first class medical, it is good for 6 months (over 40) or 12 months (under 40) before it is downgraded to the next lower class. Second class medicals are still valid for 12 months.

Remember, it's still your responsibility to ground yourself should you develop a disqualifying medical condition. If you ever have any question, call up AOPA's Aeromedical division.

Free Charts!

The FBO has graciously donated their expired charts and approach plates to us. If anyone is interested in taking some for study or for Flight Simulator, please let me know. Just don't let me catch you using them in a real airplane!

Barry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Politics as Usual...

Ok, so if you're not aware that the Republican National Convention is taking place in St. Paul, you've been sleeping under a rock. Apparently protesters are going to shut down the freeway, the cops are going to be on strike, and the bars will be open until 4 AM. My guess is that this is to compensate for the fact that you'll spend so much extra time GETTING TO the bars in the urban chaos.

Seriously, though, there are some aeronautical considerations as well. A TFR has been announced that will affect all operations into and out of Airlake. Fortunately, we're not close enough to be shut down completely. Unfortunately, the only way into or out of LVN is via a VFR or IFR flight plan, with a discrete squawk code and ATC contact. Also, the TFR will only be active for certain periods throughout the day.

I intend to continue flight training operations during the 'hot' periods. All of our instructors will be IFR current and capable of filing IFR. If there is an interest, we could operate two student flights at a time out of FBL, with one lesson filing out of the TFR and the second filing back in. In fact, this may be a great opportunity to sit in the back seat and learn by watching another student!

If you have any questions regarding this TFR please give me a call. I'll do my best to answer them so that we all make it through the Convention without an F-16 escort.

Barry

New Solo!

After diligent work with instructor Jake Leine, Peggy Thornton successfully soloed this afternoon. Undeterred by the morning's thunderstorms, Peggy rescheduled with Jake and convinced him of her landing abilities. Congratulations!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

New Web Page

The last month has been busy for the flight school. After several months of all training and no checkrides, we have graduated several new pilots! Some are now officially post-solo, others are exercising their new private privelages, and a couple can try their hand at our sparse (and bumpy) summertime IMC.

As a result of all these milestones, I've put together a "Students" page, accessable from flyairlake.com. Check it out, and give these guys (and girl!) a high five if you see them out at the airport!

Emergency Airworthiness Directives

Every so often, a mechanical discrepancy is brought to the attention of the FAA that requires immediate grounding of certain aircraft. The way this is accomplished is via an Emergency AD. A couple months ago 380SP was the target of one of these groundings. Apparently the fuel injector servo regulator plug (try finding THAT under the cowl...) was manufactured with a faulty washer. The danger here was that the plug could vibrate loose, resulting in fuel starvation and engine failure, followed by insufficient aircraft-Earth separation.

It's easy to grumble about the inconvenience this caused. We had to cancel or move students, and the repairs cost a few hundred dollars. Since the AD was recurring every 50 hours, it also threw my oil change synchronization out of whack, but nobody but me really cares about that...

Yesterday the latest issue of AOPA Pilot Magazine came. I rarely read it cover-to-cover, but the Never Again segment is usually an interesting read. Often it contains several teaching points to file into memory for my future students to benefit from. This month's Never Again profiled a brand-new Piper 6X (basically a Cherokee 6) that lost it's engine and executed a forced landing. I'll give you one guess why the engine failed...

Never Again Link

New Updates Soon!

I realize it's been almost a month since I've updated! I apologize! Things have been getting pretty busy around here, and unfortunately (or fortunately...) my time has been spent scheduling intro flights, scheduling maintenance, and even flying airplanes! I promise some updates in the next couple days.

Barry

Tips for Fuel Efficiency

I hate to join the rest of the world and continue to complain about gas prices, but since we don't fly gliders I feel I must. AOPA did an article recently about keeping your fuel burn low when operating an airplane, and if we can all adopt some of these habits it will make Airlake Flight Training's prices less volatile!

As a reminder, flight schools base their hourly rate on an average fuel burn for the aircraft. If your attitude is one of, "I rent the airplane wet, I can burn as much fuel as I want!", our margin shrinks and the prices you pay are more likely to rise. The N-models burn 6.5 gallons per hour when leaned out in cruise. Full rich they burn around 9.5. Those 3 extra gallons per hour cost us $15 dollars that are not figured into our rate. Ouch...

We track fuel consumption on a monthly basis and our airplanes actually do quite well. I only offer this post as a reminder that we're all in this together. We appreciate every flight by every customer!

Check out the article here...

Barry

Airlake in the News!!!

Recently I had the pleasure of flying with a columnist from ThisWeek Newspapers. Erin put together a fantastic article highlighting Airlake Flight Training and our goal of introducing new pilots to the world of aviation. It also mentions the $59 Introductory Flights we offer. Check it out here!

Barry

Spring wind!

In case you haven't noticed, it's windy... That's not such a bad thing, though. It just means it's time to hone your crosswind skills. If the wind's down the runway, you likely have a considerable headwind component. This means that your approach will change. If you fly a normal approach into a strong headwind, you'll end up consistently low throughout your approach. Try turning base earlier, so your final leg is shorter. Because your groundspeed is so slow, you'll spend the 'normal' amount of time on final, but cover less distance. Experiment with this; set up uncomfortably high (expecting a go-around) and see where you end up. You'll probably be surprised how steep you can descend!

Unfotunate News

Well, the Memorial Day event has been canceled. Unforeseen issues came up and the plug was pulled. I will look into planning a May cookout or some sort of gathering. Sorry, I don't have any P-51s, though.

Barry

Spend Memorial Day at the Airport

This Memorial Day is going to be a blast! The South St. Paul wing of the Commemorative Air Force will arrive to display several of their rare, restored warbirds. Among the historic aircraft will be a B-25 Mitchell, the aircraft used in Doolittle's famous Tokyo Raid in World War II. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, you can buy a RIDE in this spectacular aircraft!

The event is from 11AM to 6PM on Monday, May 26. Admission is free, so there's no excuse to not show up!

Link to the CAF Event Posting

I'll have more details in the next couple weeks!

Cirrus Event This Saturday

This Saturday there will be an event sponsored by Cirrus Design! They will arrive in several company demo aircraft, answering questions, and even giving demo flights! This is a great chance to sit in a great aircraft (I used to build them, they're quality) and play with all the whizz-bang toys.

The hours for the event will be 12PM to 6PM. Stop by the flight school and say 'Hi'.

I've been lazy!

Apologies to those of you waiting for the next post! I just realized it's been almost 2 weeks (and 2 spring storms) since I last posted. There are several exciting developments that I'll be talking about soon!

Barry

Here we go!

Well, winter's not giving up without a fight! Right now (Thursday afternoon) it's 06020G25, and it's supposed to get worse. Sleet has been pelting the windows since noon. The longer it stays liquid, the better.

On the upside, I'm hearing predictions of 60's, maybe even a 70 next week! Keep your fingers crossed!

Barry

Private Pilot Ground School

Well, we're in the final week of the Early-Spring ground school. That means it's time to think about the next one! The class is still pretty small, but I'd like to get it started by the end of April. If you or anybody you know is thinking about their Private Pilot License, let me know. The course is $150 + materials. The Private Pilot Kit we use is $209.95, full of everything you need except charts. We've got plenty of expired charts to practice on, too, and they're free. Call the office or my cell phone if you have questions.

Barry

Is it really (finally) spring?

Wow. Fifties... in Minnesota! Can you believe it's actually warmed up to where I could fly in short sleeves!?!? Tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous too.

With that in mind, remember that other pilots are thinking the same thing. That is, "Now that it's warm, I can finally schedule and fly!" Try to think a few days out so you can get the time slot you'd like. Right now the schedule is pretty open three or more days out, but that may change! If you're planning on stepping up your training schedule, grab those slots for several weeks out. You can schedule up to 60 days in advance, so if Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 3 PM is your time, snatch it up!

If you do schedule and can't keep the appointment, you can cancel no-questions-asked as long as it's 24 hours in advance. If you've got a good reason, we're pretty understanding. (Our absolute biggest pet peeve is a no-show...fortunately we don't have that problem.) Also, if we have to cancel due to weather, there is no penalty. None of us can influence the weather.

As a side note about the weather. Please assume you'll be flying unless you hear from your CFI. Sometimes what seems like unflyable weather to you is a great learning experience with an instructor. If you have any questions about if you'll be flying or what the lesson will include, just give us a call and we'd be glad to discuss.

Hope to see you all in the next few weeks!

Dubuque Fly-In Breakfast

Dubuque, Iowa. The Eighteenth Annual University of Dubuque Flight Team Fly-in/Drive-in Breakfast takes place April 6 at Dubuque Regional (DBQ).

It's 173 nm, so around 1:45 to 2 hours each way. This is a great excuse to grab a safety pilot and have breakfast! If anyone is interested, we could arrange for a CFI to go along and file IFR or do instrument, VFR Cross-country practice, or other training. It's great to sit in the back and watch someone else receive instruction, you learn a lot more than you would think!

Let me know if you're interested, I can organize groups and/or instructors.

Barry

Actual Instrument Opportunities

It seems that we're reliably hitting the upper 30's and even mid 40's for highs these days. Besides meaning the end of snow (and brushing off airplanes), it also means that we'll be able to fly in actual instrument conditions again without risking airframe icing. There is no substitute for getting experience in actual! No matter your skill or certificate level, you can benefit from sticking your head into the clouds.

When a nasty, cloudy day is forecast, schedule up! If it's a Saturday or Sunday and there don't appear to be instructors around, give us a call. I'm often on my way down to the Northfield area (or already there) on weekends and can schedule you in for an instrument lesson. The other instructors live near the airport and are often available if you call them! Keep in mind your CFI doesn't need to be an Instrument Instructor (Double-I) in order to conduct training in actual instrument conditions. That certification is only required for Instrument Rating practical test prep and Instrument Proficiency Checks.

So when it's 500 overcast, let's go fly!

Private Pilot Ground School

Time sure flies! Our winter Private Pilot Ground school is coming to a close. The students have all done a great job and are now looking forward to their reward. No, not a sign-off for the written exam (really, how exciting is that...), they're headed off on a tour of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Control Tower! Unfortunately, pictures aren't allowed, so I can't post any after the trip. However, if you're interested in ground school or know someone who would like to earn their pilot certificate, let them know of this super-cool field trip!

Contact Barry in the AFT office to enroll for the Spring session. I'd like to get it started in mid-late April.

Memorial Day Plans

Ok, so I realize that it's about 35 degrees out, and we're going to get another 5 inches of snow tonight, but it's time to start thinking about Memorial Day. This year there's going to be a party! The Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force will be hosting an event, complete with WWII Warbirds, airplane rides, and of course, food. Expect there to be lots of noise and airplanes!

Airlake Flight Training will be giving rides all day during the festivities. In addition, I'd like to sell T-shirts and other souvenirs. Maybe make root-beer-floats. If anyone has additional ideas, please send them my way!

On a similar note, I'd like to have a Spring Barbecue sometime in April. Maybe we could make it a monthly thing if enough people show up. Keep it in mind, and check back here often. This will continue to be my preferred method of keeping in touch with all of our pilots!

Barry

New ATC Frequency

Remember calling up MSP Approach on 125.0 kHz? Well, they changed that nice, easy to remember frequency on us. Effective immediately, MSP Approach south of the 12/30 centerlines has changed to 134.7 kHz. I have no idea why. Anyway, tell a friend.

Gas, gas, gas...

Well, it was bound to happen. After remaining stable for about three months, Avgas prices have risen $0.25 to keep pace with the Twin Cities market. As a result, we've had to raise our rental prices $1.50 (~7 gallons/hr X $0.25) to absorb the additional cost.
N733GL----> $99.50
N734HZ----> $99.50
N380SP----> $120.50

Since instructors don't burn gas, their rates remain at $45/hr. I'd also like to remind everyone that since we rent 'wet', it is up to you as pilot in command to lean when appropriate. That is, in cruise and under 75% power. Our rental rates are computed for a fleet average of 7 gallons/hour. Full-rich in cruise burns 1.5-2 gallons/hr extra, which throws off your cross-country fuel planning and costs the school $6-$9 extra to operate! To further increase our fuel efficiency and keep rental rates down, consider cruising at 65% (or even 55%) power, even back-and-forth to the practice area. On a one hour flight it takes over 1 gallon/hr of fuel to fly an extra 5 knots. Is it worth $5 to get there 5 minutes sooner?

We really appreciate your help in keeping Airlake a great place to train and rent. Our conscientious pilot/customers are a huge part of keeping costs (and therefore rates) low!

Barry

Crosswinds, Anyone?

Looking at the weather this morning we're supposed to have a high pressure center move over us. That means sunny weather, but it is ALSO bringing light to moderate direct crosswinds. Get on that schedule, get 90-day current with 3 (or more) landings perfecting your crosswind technique!

Weather Dorks, UNITE!!!

Ok, if any of you know me you probably also know that I'm a huge weather dork. I check the METARs, TAFs, and radar several times each day, whether I'm flying or not. This is a great habit for pilots of all experience levels to get into, and you'd be surprised the "feel" you get for the local weather patterns. By reading the forecast (more than weather.com's "partly cloudy" forecast) you know what to expect, and can see how accurately things turn out. It also makes reading the coded METARs and TAFs easier than reading the decoded versions!

I've attached a link to one of my favorite features of the National Weather Service's website, which is a huge mosaic of the national radar picture. Click on the link in the upper left to loop it. Check it out when we are forecast to have a major snow or thunderstorm event. It gives you a better intuition of mesoscale systems. (meso- Greek, "middle")

NWS Radar Mosaic

Barry

Space...

NASA does some really cool things. The clarity of some of these pictures is amazing, nothing like the grainy pictures we're used to seeing. I just ran across this link and though others would enjoy!

Shuttle Endeavour pics

Barry

Who Needs Flying Stuff?

Hey everyone!
I'd like to make an order for ground materials soon (Monday or so...) Please call or email admin@flyairlake.com if there's anything you've been wanting/needing and I'll get it in for you next week. I know you can order through other sources, but we really appreciate your business and would like to be your outlet for flying materials!

So, if you'd like:
-Written exam guides -Oral exam guides
-Textbooks -FAR/AIMs
-Handheld raidos -Headsets
-Flashlights -Kneeboards
-Weather books -Flight Bags

Let me know!

Remember 733GL?

How many of you have flown in N733GL? She's been a trainer in the Twin Cities for many years, has seen several flight schools, and trained dozens (if not hundreds) of pilots. Being a trainer, the avionics package installed in the panel is top-of-the-line. IFR GPS, dual NAV/COMS, even an ADF. But sitting on the ramp for so many years takes its toll. At least until this winter! Check out the new look for Airlake's original aircraft!


Believe it or not, this is the same airplane! We sent Golf Lima up to the paint shop in Park Rapids last fall, and they did a great job. It is the same paint scheme as 734HZ received a little over a year ago, and the color is a little greener-blue. You'd be proud to take your friends and family up in these new-looking birds!

First Private Pilot of '08

Congratulations to Technical Sergeant John Brown, who passed his Private checkride Friday, February 1! John began flying in the summer of 2006, and is now eying a pilot slot in the USAF. He is a great stick-and-rudder pilot who has never had a satisfactory landing (in his eyes) due to his consistent self-critique. Apparently the landings were good enough for Examiner John Roberts! John will be a great candidate for the Air Force.

Now, why he timed his private training to end in January/February is beyond me...

Welcome!

Hello Airlake pilots! On the suggestion of one of our pilots, I've launched Airlake Flight Training into the world of the blog. I'm still working on setting up a newsletter of some kind, but this format is more easily updated.

I've put some useful links on the right side of the screen. Our homepage (on my list of near-future updates), the schedule log-in screen, NWS weather, AOPA, and SkyVector. If you have ideas for others you think fellow pilots would enjoy, please let me know.

Bookmark us up and check back often! The airport may seem pretty slow at times, but there's still plenty going on as we gear up for spring!

Barry Park
Airlake Flight Training
952-985-0475