Daily Archives: July 9, 2009

Learning to fly has a few frustrating moments, but it’s still a thrill

July 9, 20093:42 p.m.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m learning to fly. It’s a sometimes frustrating but always thrilling experience. The good news is, after a hiatus last winter, I’m getting close to earning my private pilot’s license.

Recently, I flew to Ponca City, 56 miles away, and back by myself.

This week, my instructor, Dave Dewhirst, and I did a little flying tour of a few Wichita-area airports.

With the flight, I practiced knowing how things look from the air and matching up what’s out the window with landmarks on a sectional map. (That will go a long way towards avoiding getting lost someday.) Things look different from up there.

The other benefit was to practice flying in to an unfamiliar airport, getting in the pattern and lining up to land properly.

So with Dave in the right seat, I took off from the Augusta Airport, flew to El Dorado, then to Jabara, on to Newton and back to Augusta.
Dave told me to forget that he was even in the plane.

The airports aren’t that far away. But you have to have the information you need handy — such as the radio frequencies, which way the runways are oriented, the airports’ altitudes and direction of the wind. And you have to make decisions about when to begin the descent and how to properly get into the pattern.

I made some mistakes along the way. One was not realizing that the airport I saw on the ground was indeed the Newton Airport. (Duh!) Another was not seeing the Augusta Airport on the way back until I was pretty close to it. Plus, my altitude was too high on the final approach. Ugh!

Needless to say, I’m a little frustrated with myself. But I’m told every student has similar experiences. And that putting it all together comes with practice. I can’t wait until the next lesson.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under airports, learnng to fly | Comments Off

NTSB releases final report on adventurer Steve Fossett’s fatal crash

July 9, 20093:33 p.m.

An encounter with downdrafts in the mountainous terrain near Mammoth Lakes, Calif., was the probable cause of the fatal crash of adventurer and record-setting aviator Steve Fossett, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. Read the entire report here.

In 2005, Fossett set a world record from Salina when he became the first person to fly solo 23,000 miles around the world without refueling, in a heavily-modified single-engine plane called the GlobalFlyer. Hundreds turned out for his take-off from the Salina Airport and his return nearly three days later.

I spoke with Fossett during that time. With his friendly manner, he easily could have been your next-door neighbor. Students he selected from Kansas State University in Salina for mission control spoke highly of him. He would call them up sometimes while he was in town and invite them out for pizza.

The NTSB determined at the time of the crash that Fossett’s plane, a Bellanca 8KCAB-180, struck mountainous terrain after he inadvertently encountered downdrafts that exceeded the plane’s capability to climb. The wreckage was discovered 300 feet below the crest of a ridge marked by steep terrain near a group of tall pine trees.

Fossett had taken off Sept. 3, 2007 in a flight described by his wife as a “Sunday drive,” the NTSB said.

A month-long search failed to locate the aircraft. But a year later, a hiker found some of Fossett’s belongings and an aerial search located the wreckage. DNA testing of bone fragments determined that Fossett died in the crash. the NTSB said.

It’s a true loss.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under aviation industry, general aviation | Comments Off