Or should I say Mike Seager survived transition training me.
I just returned from Vernonia Oregon, home of the Douglas fur and the Seager Aerodrome. Well that might be overstated but basically Mike manages the airport and has it almost all to himself, must be nice.
All I can say it was an eye opening experience. I am a very low time pilot with most of my hours logged over 20 years ago. So I wasn?t really as current as I could have been prior to showing up on Mike?s hanger doorstep. I had scheduled three days with Mike to help get me up to speed, hoping to get 10 hours in.
There were several firsts for me on this adventure (keep in mind my previous flying experience is in C-150/152/172 Tucson AZ, 2600 ft, Summer temp 6:00 AM 85 degrees)
1. Flying an RV-9A
2. Taking off from a grass strip
3. Landing on a grass strip
4. Taking off from 650? MSL
5. Taking off from almost sea level
6. Taking off when 38 degree?s (F)
7. Steering with a castering nose gear
8. Flying over trees (real tall ones)
9. Coming close to hitting a flock of Ducks
10. Flying through holes in the fog
11. Using Bose headsets (fantastic)
12. Departing over water (Astoria)
13. Flying with a CS prop
14. Flying faster then 120 mph
The first day was definitely the most challenging. Starts off with ground school and then a flight. Early morning fog delayed things a bit but we still were able to get some flying in. That afternoon it warmed up and I made the mistake of wearing a long sleeve shirt and I rather hot and sweaty which wasn?t ideal while trying to master some new skills.
The second day didn?t work out as well due to early morning fog and we had to cancel the flight. The afternoon was clear and the flight went well, but I felt beat up when it was done. My air work was a bit rusty and it showed.
The last day was the best. Early morning fog looked like it was going to get the best of us but we saw a hole in the layer and we took off. It was wonderful to see the valleys filled with flog (low clouds I guess), it looked beautiful. Had some good landing at Astoria Oregon and headed back to Vernonia only to find the fog hadn?t burned off yet so we could not land. So we practiced more air work and I was getting much more proficient at it. After a while we headed back over the airport but the fog was till there, so we circled. Once again I was able to feel real comfortable doing 360?s to the left and right without loosing or gaining altitude while Mike stared down at the fog hoping to find a hole to set down through. After some time we could see the end of the runway and with Mike at the control we descended and landed. The afternoon flight was a bit challenging.
Here are some photos from my journey.
The RV-9A with a constant speed prop is a great airplane. I was hoping to transition in a RV-6/7A but the 9 was what was available.
All in all I logged 7.4 hours with Mike. Someday I hope I can fly as well as he does. When the time comes to fly my RV I will definitely remember what he has taught me and hopefully takeoff and land safely.
Thanks Mike.
I survived my transition training with Mike Seager
Linear Mode
