IFR Flights of 13MIKE

by Fred J. Calfior and Douglas W. Miller

PREFLIGHT

note:	Set ZOOM to "1.0"
	Set TIME to "15:30"

"You're stuck on what to do for clearance procedures, huh? This is a great example of making use of the various resources which are available to you. If you look at an Airport Facility Directory, or any kind of an airport guide, you'll see that the Clearance Delivery listed is Whidbey on frequency one two four point one five. Taking off from an airport that has no tower does not automatically mean that no clearance delivery is used! No, no, nah - ah - ngah! In other words, for sure not! Got the point? Go ahead and visitate with Whidbey Clearance then!"

Departure Clearance:

1) Tune COM to "124.15" (Whidbey Clearance Delivery)

You:

"WHIDBEY CLEARANCE DELIVERY, CESSNA 9413MIKE WOULD LIKE TO ACTIVATE ITS IFR FLIGHT PLAN FROM PORT ANGELES TO SEATAC AT THIS TIME."

Whidbey Clearance Delivery:

"CESSNA 9413MIKE, WHIDBEY CLEARANCE DELIVERY, CLEARED TO SEATTLE TACOMA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AS FILED. MAINTAIN NINER THOUSAND. WHIDBEY DEPARTURE FREQUENCY WILL BE ONE ONE EIGHT POINT TWO, SQUAWK TWO TWO TWO SIX."

You:

"OKAY! CESSNA 13MIKE IS CLEARED AS FILED. MAINTAIN NINER THOUSAND. DEPARTURE ONE ONE EIGHT POINT TWO, SQUAWK TWO TWO TWO SIX."

Whidbey Clearance Delivery:

"CESSNA 13MIKE, READBACK CORRECT. ENJOY THE FLIGHT!"

"From what I see, as a result of your weather brief, this is the flight where you'll learn about an IFR arrival procedure called the visual approach. Many times, when the weather is good enough, instrument traffic can blow off the instrument approach procedures and execute a visual arrival to the destination. 'Blow off' may be a rather uncouth way to state that! ATC will assign it to you! Since SEATAC has the Mall Visual Approach to runway three four right, that will be our golden opportunity. UNICOM for info, right? "

Instruments:

1) Tune COM to "123.0" (Port Angeles UNICOM)

You:

"PORT ANGELES UNICOM, CESSNA 9413MIKE. COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE ME WINDS, ACTIVE RUNWAY, AND ALTIMETER SETTING?"

Port Angeles UNICOM:

"CESSNA 9413MIKE, WIND THREE ONE ZERO AT ONE THREE, TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS ARE ON RUNWAY THREE ONE, ALTIMETER SETTING TWO NINER EIGHT SEVEN."

"Just to ease their curiosity, tell them why we're situated where we are. Daresay, they wondereth!"

You:

"CESSNA 13MIKE, I'VE BEEN TESTING MY BRAKES, WHICH IS WHY I'M MIDWAY DOWN RUNWAY ONE THREE - THREE ONE ON THE EXIT. I'LL CALL WHEN I'M READY TO TAXI."

Port Angeles UNICOM:

"ROGER!"

"Why look at me?! I've got nothing to say! Get set up! What do you mean, 'Will surprises never end?'"

2) Set "Altimeter" and "Heading Indicator"

3) Set XPDR to "2226" (assigned IFR code)

4) Tune NAV 1 to "112.2" (TOU)

5) Set NAV 1 OBS to "080"

6) Tune NAV 2 to "116.8" (SEA)

7) Set NAV 2 OBS to "126"

8) Set the DME to "NAV 1" and "DIST"

9) Check CARB HEAT is "OFF"

10) Check GEAR "DOWN"

11) Turn STROBE "ON"

12) Check LIGHTS are "OFF"

"We're doing a standard instrument departure out of Fairchild, right? What kind is it? Well, there are only two kinds! There you go! A vector navigation, that's right! And the other kind is a pilot navigation. Look at the takeoff instructions from runway three one.
1) After takeoff, how soon do we start a turn?_______________(5pts)
2) What's the first heading to turn to?______________________(5 pts)
3) When will you leave your heading?
When given a________________________________(5 pts)
That's why it's called vector navigation! Witty, huh? In other words, you absolutely need vectors to get you going where you need to go. Whereas with a pilot navigation SID, vectors may be given, but you predominantly are able to fly the SID with no assistance other than what the graphical track shows. Well, let's go to a basketball game!"

You:

"PORT ANGELES UNICOM, CESSNA 13MIKE TAXIING TO RUNWAY THREE ONE FOR IFR DEPARTURE."

Port Angeles UNICOM:

"CESSNA 13MIKE, ROGER!"

TAXI -

"Let me tell you a little bit about my philosophy of flying. It's wonderful to learn mechanical procedures, but continuing to fly under the umbrella of mechanical procedures can be deadly. I'm an advocate of thinking! I'm an advocate of having many different ways to do the same job, like setting up for a landing - when to lower flaps. Or coming in on an ILS approach, when to lower gear. You need to be free in your judgmental thinking, so that any new experience which challenges your safety or togetherness can result in you getting out of trouble. As Winston Churchill used to say, 'Let's turn left and taxi down to the approach end!'"

RUN UP -

1) Set brake (hold down to prevent aircraft from moving)

2) Advance power to about "1700" RPM

** 3) Select CARB HEAT "ON", record RPM drop______(5 pts)

4) Select CARB HEAT "OFF"

** 5) Select "LEFT" Mag, record RPM drop____________(5 pts)

6) Select "BOTH" Mags

** 7) Select "RIGHT" Mag, record RPM drop__________(5 pts)

8) Select "BOTH" Mags

9) Reduce power to idle

10) Set FLAPS to first notch (10 degrees takeoff configuration)

"Now on this flight, I really want you to work on your scan techniques. You've been flying wonderfully, but for the next step, relax more without letting your scan flow deteriorate any. An instruction I received while in the Navy's flight school was to let my eyes flow over the displays. It took me a while to stop jerking my eyes from one instrument to another. But believe me, it's a relief to the eyes when you get the feel of it. I don't see any traffic, but always just in case, state our intentions and let's fly!"

You:

"PORT ANGELES TRAFFIC, CESSNA 13MIKE IS TAKING THE ACTIVE, RUNWAY THREE ONE, FOR A RIGHT CROSSWIND DEPARTURE, DEPARTING EASTBOUND."

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