X-Virus-Scanned: clean according to Sophos on Logan.com Return-Path: Sender: To: lml@lancaironline.net Date: Wed, 01 May 2013 16:38:47 -0400 Message-ID: X-Original-Return-Path: Received: from nm33.bullet.mail.bf1.yahoo.com ([72.30.238.133] verified) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 6.0.4) with ESMTPS id 6238142 for lml@lancaironline.net; Wed, 01 May 2013 16:03:40 -0400 Received-SPF: none receiver=logan.com; client-ip=72.30.238.133; envelope-from=jcollins@snet.net Received: from [98.139.215.141] by nm33.bullet.mail.bf1.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 01 May 2013 20:03:04 -0000 Received: from [98.139.173.167] by tm12.bullet.mail.bf1.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 01 May 2013 20:03:03 -0000 Received: from [127.0.0.1] by smtp110-mob.biz.mail.bf1.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 01 May 2013 20:03:03 -0000 X-Yahoo-Newman-Id: 871434.48131.bm@smtp110-mob.biz.mail.bf1.yahoo.com X-Yahoo-Newman-Property: ymail-3 X-YMail-OSG: zuwpwwMVM1nSrHsdLmPDwpjI4Vbk7tfOpnTETaFTjhrHPTC 7RhY_eyy0oNHJYBgT6N.RgGjetfOLvtkQBgYh7gStHrT8_3p0LeMBC3wY4Fw wNjPrHwmJsgoG91JiD.4m8xrtOSvPbrfXbC2W4vhnsbxiZEziMCOuDrw8MF8 Y6m_77gH9_GQrpQLyBDO4HMqSB4EVkY_8kkn2s8wTBaW18ho5jbbZENjrhg1 t7YKdieAyzpbB_tmf.A0HktxRNetlJU9bZYLTlJpma21x71mNtgDvxYfqAii 7FVsxOgAc5sSdTp73ftzs.VP_aJvbocDMB6Rhx8b9onezdbFMgOGUnzu2aLY xf2GQ14rxrXDPxNssIwqKtw5_eevkSR347j1s1KPVpQeIcIy9HTmffGuSYbQ DqMnP3Rr4RPzVEo37Ru_bxebDa.Pd5I_o7XMCYFnsSwR5G5I8DcnrO9qSqL0 tKhtNzZZZeH.uTcY- X-Yahoo-SMTP: qnTdO.GswBBmTSEnihgJjkud0HhzkfkVAQ_9ldta X-Rocket-Received: from [192.168.43.236] (jcollins@166.147.118.58 with xymcookie) by smtp110-mob.biz.mail.bf1.yahoo.com with SMTP; 01 May 2013 13:03:03 -0700 PDT Subject: Re: [LML] Re: challenging flight with the LNC2 yesterday References: From: James Collins Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=Apple-Mail-9A47AF5F-05BB-4F3E-90C7-FC659C07DFAA X-Mailer: iPad Mail (10B329) In-Reply-To: X-Original-Message-Id: <04DFE1C4-049C-42E7-B522-6C1150922C1C@snet.net> X-Original-Date: Wed, 1 May 2013 16:02:56 -0400 X-Original-To: Lancair Mailing List Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mime-Version: 1.0 (1.0) --Apple-Mail-9A47AF5F-05BB-4F3E-90C7-FC659C07DFAA Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable What happened To your auto pilot. I know you had one. Nice report. I've also= seen some of your trips on YouTube always great. =46rom Jim Collins iPad=20 On May 1, 2013, at 10:19 AM, Robert R Pastusek wrote: > Keith, > Very nice report. Did you notice that with the weather conditions you expe= rienced, you normally pick up ice at/very near the cloud tops? I=E2=80=99ve n= oticed this to be true over a rather surprising range of OATs=E2=80=A6 Lesso= n for me has been, don=E2=80=99t dawdle in and out of the tops=E2=80=A6 > =20 > Bob > =20 > From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Kei= th Smith > Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 7:58 PM > To: lml@lancaironline.net > Subject: [LML] challenging flight with the LNC2 yesterday > =20 > Flew the LNC2 to Kentucky today for the condition inspection. This was a t= ricky flight. I briefed the weather in some detail the night before to get a= feel for tops (9-12k along the route of flight), convective activity (none)= , likelihood of icing (possible above 9k), winds (hairy at 30kt headwind ini= tially, then 5-10kt later on). >=20 > Verified the weather this morning, then set off from N07-K24. Cleared rout= e was "upon entering controlled airspace, direct Chatham NDB, vectors LANNA V= 30 ETX V39 MRB ESL V4 HVQ AZQ LOZ, direct." >=20 > Picked up the clearance via phone, told the controller I could depart VFR,= he was happy to hear it, so off I went. This complicated things slightly as= I now needed to talk to Caldwell tower (KCDW) immediately after departure s= ince my route of flight would take me through their airspace. The challenge w= ould be to talk to them and get a freq change to NY Approach before butting u= p against the next Delta, which was Morristown (KMMU). Caldwell cut me loose= as I was passing abeam the tower, so I checked in with NY Approach who quic= kly identified me, got me onto a 180 heading and climbed me to 7000. Once th= ey had me above the Newark arrival stream, they turned me west towards SBJ (= not on the original plan, but easily added to the flight plan and backed up w= ith the VOR receiver a few seconds after that). >=20 > I spent the next 2 hours or so not being able to see a darned thing, which= is pretty tiring when you're hand flying. The workload was absolutely relen= tless between wind shifts, updrafts and downdrafts, monitoring outside air t= emps, turning the ram air on and off when going in and out of precip, and mo= nitoring inlet air temperature (carb temp), employing carb heat, etc. I cann= ot stress the importance of having a carb temp gauge in non-fuel injected ai= rcraft that flies IFR. >=20 > The first 2/3 of the flight generally took place at around 8000ft, almost e= ntirely in stratus clouds with light to moderate precip and a smooth ride. I= t's hard to explain or recall the sights and sounds of the trip, but here ar= e the 3 most memorable parts: > 1) Keeping close track of temps at 8k, 9k and then 10k, eventually hitting= ice at 10k, dropping back down to 9k and watching the ice go "buh bye"....t= wice. >=20 > 2) Getting tired of being in IMC and in and out of performance-robbing clo= uds, I had a pretty good feeling that if I could get on top, life would be a= lot better. I was able to get the climb from 8-10k but the controller said i= t would be a few moments before he could get me higher. The OAT was dropping= , and I knew I had a very, very narrow window to get this climb done, or I w= as going to have to drop back down and try again later, or not at all). Just= as the first crystals of ice start forming on the canopy, I receive the cli= mb to 11k. By then, the speed has wound up a bit, and I have the ability to t= rade it for a quick zoom to 11k where I can sense by the change in lighting t= hat I should pretty much be on top. Sure enough, at about 10,800, with 115ki= as (ie, just about out of gas in the zoom), I pop out on top, the OAT immedi= ately shoots up to +6C and the ice quickly disappears. I have nothing but bl= ue skies above, and every cloud I can see out to the horizon is below me. Su= ccess. I let the speed wind up, carb heat off, ram air on and off we go in '= go fast' mode at last, free of the shackles of IMC. It was a calculated risk= , and it paid off. My workload went down to near 0 for the next hour as I en= joyed the view. As it happens, the tops eventually dropped down to around 7k= , but I stayed at 11k as the fuel burn was lower in any case and the winds w= ere pretty light by that point. >=20 > 3) best descent phase I think I've ever had...continuous descent from 11k d= own to 3600ft for the IAF, except for one level off at 6k to bleed off some s= peed prior to entering the tops again, in case the ride wasn't as smooth. Sh= ot RNAV RWY 17 approach at around 180kias because I knew it would be VMC bel= ow 3k and I was planning on doing a low approach to greet my friend at the f= ield anyway. Broke out, got 500ft below the clouds while remaining on the ap= proach, canceled IFR. Spotted what I thought was the field, but the angle di= dn't quite right. It was close, but not quite. I was on the final approach c= ourse, but the airport looked slightly off center and the runway was about 2= 0 degrees off. I double checked the plate to see how the final approach cour= se related to the runway orientation and noted it was straight in. I looked m= ore closely outside and noticed the airport dead ahead, about 1.5nm away. I l= eft the power where it was, pitched down a little more and savored the 215ki= as low approach that followed. Slow pullup at the end (actually, at that spe= ed, it was more a case of releasing some of the pressure on the stick, allow= ing the plane to do what it wanted to do which was climb). 700ft into the cl= imb (a few seconds later), start the crosswind turn, power to 12" and set my= self the challenge of not touching that again since the winds were practical= ly dead, making for a very predictable pattern. Gear...flaps, base, more fla= ps, what an amazing view. Turned a 1/4 mile final (tight pattern today), one= more GUMP check and a nice touchdown to end a truly interesting flight. >=20 > What struck me after landing was that this was a really challenging flight= , not because of stick & rudder, but because of the thought process and deci= sion making a long the way. I could've absolutely stayed at 4-6k the whole w= ay, been miserable, flown slowly and gotten there in one piece, but took a c= alculated risk to get on top and then reaped the rewards with a much reduced= workload. >=20 > It also occurred to me that flying by reference to instruments for 2 hours= straight was tiring, but not especially difficult. I can definitely credit t= he simulator with having helped with that task. I fly a couple of times a we= ek (enroute and approaches) and never feel rusty when getting in the airplan= e, even if I haven't flown in IMC for 4-5 months. >=20 > If you're thinking about getting an instrument rating but haven't done it.= ..you're missing out on whole new world of sights, sounds, utility, challeng= es and fun. Do it! >=20 > Keith Smith --Apple-Mail-9A47AF5F-05BB-4F3E-90C7-FC659C07DFAA Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
What happened To your auto pilot. I kn= ow you had one. Nice report. I've also seen some of your trips on YouTube al= ways great.

=46rom Jim Collins iPad 

On May 1, 2013, at 10:19 AM, Robert R Pastusek <rpastusek@htii.com> wrote:

=

Keith,
Very nice report. Did you notice that with the weather conditions you experi= enced, you normally pick up ice at/very near the cloud tops? I=E2=80=99ve no= ticed this to be true over a rather surprising range of OATs=E2=80=A6 Lesson= for me has been, don=E2=80=99t dawdle in and out of the tops=E2=80=A6

 

Bob

 

From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancairon= line.net] On Behalf Of Keith Smith
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 7:58 PM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] challenging flight with the LNC2 yesterday<= /span>

 

Flew the LNC2 to Kentu= cky today for the condition inspection. This was a tricky flight. I briefed t= he weather in some detail the night before to get a feel for tops (9-12k alo= ng the route of flight), convective activity (none), likelihood of icing (possible above 9k), winds (hairy at 3= 0kt headwind initially, then 5-10kt later on).

Verified the weather this morning, then set off from N07-K24. Cleared route w= as "upon entering controlled airspace, direct Chatham NDB, vectors LANNA V30= ETX V39 MRB ESL V4 HVQ AZQ LOZ, direct."

Picked up the clearance via phone, told the controller I could depart VFR, h= e was happy to hear it, so off I went. This complicated things slightly as I= now needed to talk to Caldwell tower (KCDW) immediately after departure sin= ce my route of flight would take me through their airspace. The challenge would be to talk to them and get a= freq change to NY Approach before butting up against the next Delta, which w= as Morristown (KMMU). Caldwell cut me loose as I was passing abeam the tower= , so I checked in with NY Approach who quickly identified me, got me onto a 180 heading and climbed me to 7000= . Once they had me above the Newark arrival stream, they turned me west towa= rds SBJ (not on the original plan, but easily added to the flight plan and b= acked up with the VOR receiver a few seconds after that).

I spent the next 2 hours or so not being able to see a darned thing, which i= s pretty tiring when you're hand flying. The workload was absolutely relentl= ess between wind shifts, updrafts and downdrafts, monitoring outside air tem= ps, turning the ram air on and off when going in and out of precip, and monitoring inlet air temperature (= carb temp), employing carb heat, etc. I cannot stress the importance of havi= ng a carb temp gauge in non-fuel injected aircraft that flies IFR.

The first 2/3 of the flight generally took place at around 8000ft, almost en= tirely in stratus clouds with light to moderate precip and a smooth ride. It= 's hard to explain or recall the sights and sounds of the trip, but here are= the 3 most memorable parts:
1) Keeping close track of temps at 8k, 9k and then 10k, eventually hitting i= ce at 10k, dropping back down to 9k and watching the ice go "buh bye"....twi= ce.

2) Getting tired of being in IMC and in and out of performance-robbing cloud= s, I had a pretty good feeling that if I could get on top, life would be a l= ot better. I was able to get the climb from 8-10k but the controller said it= would be a few moments before he could get me higher. The OAT was dropping, and I knew I had a very, very= narrow window to get this climb done, or I was going to have to drop back d= own and try again later, or not at all). Just as the first crystals of ice s= tart forming on the canopy, I receive the climb to 11k. By then, the speed has wound up a bit, and I have= the ability to trade it for a quick zoom to 11k where I can sense by the ch= ange in lighting that I should pretty much be on top. Sure enough, at about 1= 0,800, with 115kias (ie, just about out of gas in the zoom), I pop out on top, the OAT immediately shoots= up to +6C and the ice quickly disappears. I have nothing but blue skies abo= ve, and every cloud I can see out to the horizon is below me. Success. I let= the speed wind up, carb heat off, ram air on and off we go in 'go fast' mode at last, free of the shackl= es of IMC. It was a calculated risk, and it paid off. My workload went down t= o near 0 for the next hour as I enjoyed the view. As it happens, the tops ev= entually dropped down to around 7k, but I stayed at 11k as the fuel burn was lower in any case and the wind= s were pretty light by that point.

3) best descent phase I think I've ever had...continuous descent from 11k do= wn to 3600ft for the IAF, except for one level off at 6k to bleed off some s= peed prior to entering the tops again, in case the ride wasn't as smooth. Sh= ot RNAV RWY 17 approach at around 180kias because I knew it would be VMC below 3k and I was planning on doing= a low approach to greet my friend at the field anyway. Broke out, got 500ft= below the clouds while remaining on the approach, canceled IFR. Spotted wha= t I thought was the field, but the angle didn't quite right. It was close, but not quite. I was on the fin= al approach course, but the airport looked slightly off center and the runwa= y was about 20 degrees off. I double checked the plate to see how the final a= pproach course related to the runway orientation and noted it was straight in. I looked more closely outs= ide and noticed the airport dead ahead, about 1.5nm away. I left the power w= here it was, pitched down a little more and savored the 215kias low approach= that followed. Slow pullup at the end (actually, at that speed, it was more a case of releasing some of t= he pressure on the stick, allowing the plane to do what it wanted to do whic= h was climb). 700ft into the climb (a few seconds later), start the crosswin= d turn, power to 12" and set myself the challenge of not touching that again since the winds were practi= cally dead, making for a very predictable pattern. Gear...flaps, base, more f= laps, what an amazing view. Turned a 1/4 mile final (tight pattern today), o= ne more GUMP check and a nice touchdown to end a truly interesting flight.

What struck me after landing was that this was a really challenging flight, n= ot because of stick & rudder, but because of the thought process and dec= ision making a long the way. I could've absolutely stayed at 4-6k the whole w= ay, been miserable, flown slowly and gotten there in one piece, but took a calculated risk to get on top and= then reaped the rewards with a much reduced workload.

It also occurred to me that flying by reference to instruments for 2 hours s= traight was tiring, but not especially difficult. I can definitely credit th= e simulator with having helped with that task. I fly a couple of times a wee= k (enroute and approaches) and never feel rusty when getting in the airplane, even if I haven't flown in I= MC for 4-5 months.

If you're thinking about getting an instrument rating but haven't done it...= you're missing out on whole new world of sights, sounds, utility, challenges= and fun. Do it!

Keith Smith

= --Apple-Mail-9A47AF5F-05BB-4F3E-90C7-FC659C07DFAA--