ismael chang ghalimi

High Performance Endorsement Redux

I finally received my High Performance Endorsement on Cessna 182T Skylane today. I had completed the ground part back in April, but the practical test got delayed somehow. This allows me to fly single-engine airplanes that are rated over 200 BHP. Today’s lesson in Half Moon Bay (KHAF) was quite interesting, with 9 knots crosswinds gusting to 18 knots, and light to moderate turbulence. We practiced five emergency landings simulating an engine failure after take off. The Skylane is a pretty powerful airplane, rated at 230 BHP, and controls are quite heavy, especially if you do not make proper use of trim. Over two training sessions, I flew a total of 3 hours, 1.7 hours on a plane equipped with the now familiar Garmin G1000 glass cockpit, and 1.3 hours on a plane equipped with traditional instruments. This allows me to solo on both planes and plan some trips to Tahoe, where the less powerful Cessna 172SP cannot really go in safe conditions because of the altitude. Sweet…

Good for you… I flew to Half Moon Bay today for lunch, it was perfect! I’m glad I didn’t fly on Saturday, I heard it was bad! Glad to see you are blogging again!

-Matt

Matt,

Thanks! Saturday evening was a lot calmer than in the morning, when several pilots reported severe turbulence. It was quite a bit of work nonetheless, especially doing some pretty steep slips for teardrop landings after simulated engine failures. I had a lot of fun though.

Salut Ismael,

I’m impressed, how much time did it take you to get this far? I was thinking of starting training myself in April, but on an ultra-light aircraft called FK9. Any advice or suggestions?

Congratulations! You lucky bastard…

I need to change jobs so I can afford to upgrade from my bottom-dwelling 152 flights. I had my discovery flight 10 years ago in a 182T, and the idiot instructor took me to KHAF on a day pretty much identical to the one you described — “because it is so pretty there.” Predictably, I puked out of the window, and he hated me for having to clean his bird afterwards. Thanks to the higher powers that this episode didn’t keep me from getting my license!

Philippe,

I started two years ago, in December 2004.

The most important thing about learning how to fly is to make sure that you have no reason to stop your training along the way. So make sure that you have enough time to fly at least once a week, and that money won’t be the reason for you to stop. Putting a budget aside for it ahead of time might help.

Also, it’s not a bad idea to know why you want a license to begin with, and what type of mission you will use it for. If all you want to do is be in the air, the kind of ultra-light aircraft you mentioned might be plenty enough. But if you want to go somewhere, or take someone with you, you might want to consider going for the private pilot license from the get go, for what you’ll have to learn for it is quite different. Past the first couple hours of training, you’ll know how to handle the plane, and you will spend most of your training learning navigation and emergency handling, and these are quite different on an ultra-light aircraft compared to a regular plane.

Good luck for your training!

Best regards
 -Ismael