ismael chang ghalimi

First Trip to Lanai

Today, my good friend Arnold took me for a superb flight to Lanaʻi. We rented a Cessna 172 SP operated by Flight School Hawaii, and flew from Honolulu International Airport (PHNL) to Lanai Airport (PHNY). Once there, we got lunch at Four Seasons Resort Lana’i, The Lodge at Koele, of which I am adding a picture courtesy of Four Seasons:

The island is beautiful, and was chosen by Bill & Melinda Gates for their wedding on January 1, 1994. They actually got married at a sister Four Seasons property, the Four Seasons Resort Lana’i at Manele Bay, but the Lodge at Koele would have made for an even more intimate setting. Anyway, my friend Arnold performed nice landings at the end of both flights, and there could not have been a better way to start a vacation on the islands. Many thanks for the invitation!

Biennial Flight Review, Part 2

Today, I completed my biennial flight review. Good to have wings again!

Biennial Flight Review, Part 1

Today, I flew with Eliot on N53224 for the first part of my Biennial Flight Review. We practiced some stalls over the hills, then simulated emergency landings at San Jose International Airport (KSJC). After more than two months without flying the SR22, I was really happy to be back in the air, and this lesson was a great refresher for some of the emergencies that were taught during my VFR training, but not practiced much since then. We logged 1.4 hours, and agreed that we would meet again next week or the week after for completing the review.

VLJ Blues

The VLJ industry is currently going through its first major shake-up. ATG recently announced that it halted development of the Javelin, Adam Aircraft suspended operations last months, and Eclipse Aviation is rumored to be seeking additional funding, most likely to come from ETIRC, while many early buyers are selling their positions for the Eclipse 500. Building a new aircraft is extremely expensive, and most start-ups fail eventually. At this point, Cessna’s Mustang and Embraer’s Phenom 100 look like the safest bets, while Epic’s Elite became a very serious challenger since Aircraft Investor Resources LLC (Epic’s parent company) received significant funding from Indian billionaire Dr. Vijay Mallya. In the single engine category, the Cirrus Jet looks more and more attractive, even though a used Pilatus PC-12 or TBM-700 might be a better option overall.

First Turbine Experience

Today, I realized one of my dearest goals: flying a turbine-powered aircraft. While at work, I received a call from John, who flies Roger’s Pilatus PC-12, N451DM. He was about to leave San Carlos (KSQL) for Reno/Tahoe International Airport (KRNO), then fly back to San Carlos in the evening, and was wondering if I wanted to join as co-pilot on the outbound leg, then pilot in command on the inbound leg. It was an offer that I could not refuse, and I quickly wrapped my work up, then drove to the airport as fast as traffic and traffic regulation would let me to. John took me through a very thorough pre-flight inspection, describing the aircraft’s systems in details, and letting me appreciate the extreme quality of fabrication this Swiss firm is capable of. The Pilatus PC-12 is a general aviation aircraft, but it’s built like an airliner, or better yet, like a fighter plane. On the outbound leg, I got to familiarize myself with the instruments, and appreciate the aircraft’s awesome performance. And when time came for me to move to the left seat, I felt already at home. While the plane does not have the next-generation cockpit designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA, it features a set of instruments I am pretty familiar with, namely the Garmin GNS 430/530 and the Avidyne Entegra. Flying back from Reno to San Carlos, John handled radio communications, and I took care of the rest, including starting the engine, taxiing, taking off, flying the airplane using the flight director, doing some simple maneuvers at various speeds, extending and retracting the flaps and gears, and finally landing back in San Carlos. Once everything was said and done, I had logged my very first hour of turbine time, including 0.8 hours of night flying. Absolutely, positively amazing… Many thanks to Roger and John for letting me fly the airplane. I stand ready to serve as co-pilot at any time. You have my number…

First Flight to Las Vegas

Today, I completed my first flight to Las Vegas. Sonia, Wayne, and I flew N246BJ from Palo Alto [KPAO] to North Las Vegas [KVGT] on Saturday afternoon, then came back to Palo Alto on Sunday afternoon. We flew over Yosemite, Mono Lake, and Death Valley. The outbound flight took 2 hours and a half, and went flawlessly. Many thanks to Eliot (my instructor) for suggesting North Las Vegas over McCarran International, it made for a much easier approach to landing. After we checked in for the night, we had a wonderful dinner at Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay, followed by a crash course on craps. I’m not much of a gambler, and I wanted to get as much rest as possible for the flight back home, so I headed back to the hotel around 11PM. We left North Las Vegas around 11AM on Sunday, with fuel to the tabs. This made for an interesting flight, during which I had to manage a set of conflicting constraints: reducing fuel consumption to the bare minimum by flying slow and lean of peak, flying high enough to clear the mountain pass over Yosemite, yet remaining low enough not to cross 14,500’ so that we would not have to use any supplemental oxygen. Everything worked fine until we got back to the Bay Area around 1PM, when the METAR at KPAO showed a 400’ broken ceiling, so we decided to divert to Tracy [KTCY] in order to refuel and wait for the weather to improve. Unfortunately, no fuel was available there, so we headed to Livermore [KLVK], then finally made it back to Palo Alto, concluding a three hours and a half flight during which I got plenty of time to learn many of the advanced features of the Avidyne FlightMax Entegra. This long cross country flight was definitely one of the most interesting I ever did as pilot in command, and I very much look forward to the next one. Also on my schedule: Los Angeles, CA, San Diego, CA, and Seattle, WA.

Airline Transport Pilot

As a kid, I wanted to be an airline pilot. Growing up, my career took a different path, and I ended up graduating as a software engineer and working as an executive in a software company. But it’s never too late to fulfill a child’s dream, and one of the reasons why I am training as a private pilot is to eventually get an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) rating. Not for the job (I like the one I have best), but for the challenge, and to make sure that I won’t have anything to regret down the road — Non, rien de rien… In order to get my ATP rating, I need the following, per FAR 61.159 requirements:

Amazingly, I have enough hours of actual or simulated instrument time. Since all my flying is done as Pilot In Command (PIC), getting to 250 Hours should not be a problem either. The real challenge will be in getting an extra 1,300 Hours on my logbook, including over 400 Hours cross country. About a third of my flights are made cross country now, so getting 400 Hours of cross country time while getting another 1,300 Hours of total time should be pretty straightforward. Over the past 3 years, I have been flying an average of 75 Hours a year. At this pace, it will take me 20 years to get my ATP rating. But if I manage to get 250 Hours a year, I could get there in 5, just before I turn 40. Let’s give it a shot!

No Bravo Transition

Today, I took Quang for a Bay tour, one that had been rescheduled many times. This flight was important, not only because I had to give a good impression to a future passenger (I might transport her back and forth to Los Angeles), but also because it was my first solo flight on Cirrus. After a very thorough flight preparation (an AIRMET was in effect for severe turbulence in the area), we took off with N246BJ from Palo Alto (KPAO). Ground control could not give us a transponder code for a Bravo transition over SFO International’s airspace, so we opted for a Left Dumbarton Bridge departure, flew over the mountains, and got in touch with NORCAL after we passed Half Moon Bay (KHAF). All this was made easy thanks to the detailed explanations provided by Rich Acuff regarding the procedures in place at the Palo Alto Airport. Many thanks to Matt for the tip. Once under NORCAL’s supervision, we flew over the coast line, made a 360 over Alcatraz, then flew back to Half Moon Bay. We considered making a landing for practice there, but there were too many planes in the area, and we started to feel some of the turbulence that had been forecast, so we opted for a direct flight back into Palo Alto instead. After a smooth landing and 1.1 hours on the tach, we went back home, ready for our next flight, this one down to LA.

Cirrus Transition

Today, I completed my Cirrus Transition and got checked out on Cirrus SR22-GTS. Eliot and I flew N53224 out of San Carlos (KSQL) for a 2 hour flight, bringing my total time on SR22 over 5 hours, the minimum requirement for insurance. I can now solo on both SR20 and SR22, making it a lot faster and safer to fly to Tahoe or Los Angeles. Next steps: G1000 IFR transition (about five hours on simulator), and multi-engine commercial training on the funky looking Diamond DA42 Twin Star at Advantage Aviation in Palo Alto (KPAO). In the meantime, I am now checked out on C172 SP, C172 SP NAV III, C182 SP, C182 SP NAV III, SR20, and SR22.

L-3 SmartDeck

L-3 Avionics Systems recently announced the release of the very promising SmartDeck Integrated Flight Controls and Display System. Being familiar with the Garmin G1000 and the Avidyne FlightMax Entegra, I was immediately seduced by L-3’s version of a glass cockpit. The center console is especially impressive, and looks much easier to use than the Garmin GNS 430 that is usually coupled with the Entegra. I cannot wait to try it out!

The Jet

Cirrus Design Corporation finally unveiled the design of its upcoming single engine jet aircraft, called The Jet. It’s a thing of beauty, capable of carrying seven people around, while remaining very easy to fly. Supposedly, it shares a lot of the flight characteristics of the Cirrus SR20 that I am flying today, which should make for an easier transition for me and the thousands of other Cirrus pilots when time comes to set foot in this personal jet. Delivery scheduled for 2009. Patience is a virtue…

Back in the Air

It’s been a month and a half since my IFR checkride, and I have not flown since then, at least not as pilot in command. I am back in the air today, for a quick refresher and some additional training required for my endorsement to fly solo on the Cirrus SR20. Eliot and I did two approaches, one in Half Moon Bay (KHAF) under actual instrument conditions, and one in Hayward (KHWD) so that we could check the Piper Seminole on which I am supposed to do half of my multi-engine commercial training. On one hand, the two approaches went surprisingly well, and I am really glad that six weeks on the back seat did not make me forget everything. On the other hand, I was not really impressed by the FBO operating the Piper Seminole we were planning to use, so we decided to do the entire training on the Diamond DA42 Twin Star. The systems on this aircraft are so complicated that I will need a couple of months of ground lessons in order to get familiar with them. Actual training should start toward the end of the Summer. In the meantime, just one more lesson before I can solo on the Cirrus. Awesome!

Got Instruments

After three aborted attempts, I finally passed my IFR checkride today. For the first attempt, I completed the oral examination, but there was too much wind for me to fly safely back into San Carlos (KSQL). For the second one, I had to cancel the checkride because of a scheduling conflict. And for the third one, the designated examiner got stuck in traffic for more than an hour and had to cancel. Everything felt right for this fourth attempt scheduled on a weekend, until my instructor told me that the autopilot on N824JA was inoperative. Flying one approach on a Cirrus SR20 without autopilot is challenging in a by itself, but flying an entire checkride with three approaches and a hold is a whole different story. Nevertheless, I felt ready for it, and tired of waiting for this ticket to fly in the clouds, so I decided to go for it. Mike (the designated examiner) and I flew the hold at SUNOL, then the Localizer DME Runway 28 Left (LOC/DME RWY 28L) in Hayward Executive (KHWD), followed by the quite familiar ILS Runway 32 Right (ILS OR LOC/DME RWY 32R) in Moffett Federal Airfield (KNUQ) and GPS Runway 31 (GPS RWY 31) in Palo Alto (KPAO). Everything went perfectly, until we came back to San Carlos, where my landing was one of the worst I ever made on the SR20. Nevertheless, we made it back to the ground safely, and I finally got my instrument rating, just about one year after having started my training. Next step: multi-engine commercial on Piper Seminole and Diamond DA42 Twin Star.

More Flying

Today, Eliot and I practiced for my upcoming checkride (May 1st) and flew the GPS Runway 29R (GPS RWY 29R) and the VOR Runway 29 Right (VOR RWY 29R) approaches in Stockton (KSNS), followed by the ILS Runway 25 Right (ILS RWY 25R) in Livermore (KLVK). The GPS approach was done with partial panel, simulating a failure of the Primary Flight Display (PFD), which has become a routine procedure by now. We logged 1.9 hours, including 1.7 hours of simulated instruments.

Back in the Air

After being grounded for two months for an engine replacement, N824JA is back on line, and I could resume my IFR training today. I practiced the GPS Runway 30 (RNAV RWY 30) in Byron (C83) and the ILS Runway 25 Right (ILS RWY 25R) in Livermore (KLVK). I logged 1.9 hours, including 1.7 hours of simulated instruments. After two months with no IFR flying, I was a little bit afraid that I would have a lot to catch up with, but everything came back together pretty nicely, and it sure feels good to be back in the air.

Tracy from Above

I did my first flight two years ago with my instructor on the right seat and my parents on the back seats. Today, I did the same again, but without instructor. My parents had been to Stockton and Tracy the day before in order to get a glimpse of the extensive agriculture practiced in California, and today we decided to make the same trip, from above. We rented N1361M and flew directly to Tracy (KTCY), for a 1.5 hour flight in perfect weather conditions. I could not think of a better way to spend an afternoon together.

Barrington Irving

Today, I first learned about Barrington Irving, a 23-year old senior majoring in aerospace at Florida Memorial University, and the first person of African descent and the youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe. Barrington started his 5-week flight around the globe on March 23, 2007, on a Columbia 400 entirely built from parts donated by sponsors. Humbling and inspiring all at once! Many thanks to my friend Arnold for sharing this story.

California Sky Patterns

My friend Dave and I are starting a new project: we will take pictures of Californian landscapes seen from the sky. He will be the photographer, using his Canon EOS 5D with a variety of lenses, and I will be the pilot, most likely flying a Cessna 172 Skyhawk NAV III, which is suitable for his high wing and low speed. Our first reconnaissance flight will focus on coastal areas, looking for a spot where braking waves make for interesting patterns on the surface of the ocean.

Ironman

Last week, someone asked me why I was on a diet, since I don’t really need to lose any weight. The answer is that I have set for myself the goal of competing in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, before I turn 45. As any Ironman, it’s a 2.4 miles swim, followed by a 112 miles bike ride, and completed by a 26.2 miles run (same as a marathon), but it’s also the most selective triathlon race in the world, with only 1,700 athletes participating every year. I am 33 today, so I am starting what could be a 12 year project, for no other reason than having a good challenge to get me out of bed every morning. Today, I was on my bike at 5:30 AM for a 17.3 miles ride under the rain. Now, my legs hurt…

New Workout Program

I am starting my eleventh week of daily workout, and decided to spice things up a bit. Instead of riding a stationary bike on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I will run for half an hour, following half an hour of upper body weight lifting. On Tuesday and Thursday, I will replace the lower body weight lifting and stationary bike ride by an hour and a half of outdoor cycling, riding a slightly longer loop than the one I did last Saturday. I started this program today, and ran 3.5 miles. It’s not that great, but the last time I ran must have been fifteen years ago, so I’m pretty happy about it. Let’s see where all this takes us…