Flying on Vacation

There is nothing cooler than renting an airplane while on vacation. I have had some amazing experiences while on vacation including being able to see the scenery from the air.

Sometimes people look at me funny when I tell them that "I flew on vacation." That comment will naturally get construed into something different like: "You mean, you flew commercially out to Phoenix?" or sometimes I will get "You flew YOUR plane to California?"
Nooooo - "I got checked out in an airplane and was able to rent it for a nice scenic flight."

Flying while on vacation can be a challenge. First of all, of the family members on vacation with you, its probably just you that wants to fly, and second, you will need to make time for the checkout and then the rental. This is a big commitment in time especially if your time is limited.

The other challenge is of personal nature. You are going to be flying in a strange airplane, in a strange area, with a map you probably looked over only moments before flying. When checking out in Phoenix, being able to fly amongst the mountainous areas was a treat and a challenge - From Chicago, the closest thing to a mountain is the 30 foot sand hill in the Indiana Dunes.


One of my most memorable experiences was in Maui, Hawaii. I got checked out in a Cessna 172sp. I think we logged .4 on the hobbs and did two take offs and landings. I took my sister-in-law and her husband up for a tour of some of the islands and then did the same with my wife. The sights were amazing.

Another memorable experience was in Arizona. Being that my wife has family in Phoenix, it only made sense to get checked out at one of the flight schools at Deer Valley Airport. I chose Westwind. Since it is a flight school, they follow very strict guidelines regarding aircraft checkouts, and basically made me do a Private Pilot Check ride. I had to take a written test, and do an hour of ground, followed by 1.5 in the air. I asked if we could do some commercial maneuvers instead of the routine private maneuvers, and he agreed. I think he was delighted that we were not following the same old syllabus he was grinding through hour after hour.

My two favorite experiences flying in a sectional other than my home area were my two most drastically different experiences. The laid back atmosphere of Hawaii and their instructors had me spending more time having fun flying myself than the Phoenix experience, but Phoenix was still really fun, and I am now checked out for life - I just have to show proof of currency, BFR, License, and medical.

Checking out in an aircraft while on vacation may be a commitment in time and a bit of a challenge, I guarantee it is worth it - Find the nearest airport next time you are on vacation and don't be intimidated by the checkout. Just think of it as a learning experience, because it really is!

Phrasology

Reading through the usual flying rags, I love reading articles on communications and talking on the radio - mentioning the need to be brief and deliberate with the phraseology. IFR Magazine comes to mind right now when I think of articles written on the subject with an emphasis on being super quick, concise and to the point with no extra pauses or chatter. It is generally understood that you should not waste any air time and that it is a precious commodity.

Flying regularly in the Chicago airspace, especially IFR, I totally understand the need to be brief and to the point, but sometimes I think there are some instances where adding a little "thanks for your help", or a "see ya later" after a hand off is nice. This is not appropriate for Chicago Approach (any time of day!), but hey, we are all human - adding that element to the drone of the day helps out everyone and I'm sure I speak for some of the lonely controllers over at KSBN on a not-so-busy labor day morning - apparent by the fact that we made a 20 mile straight in for Rwy 9R, taxi back and then departure to the north with no other aircraft in or outbound.

Thanks South Bend - you rock... Seeeee yaaaa.

AIM / FAR or FAR / AIM

There is nothing better than curling up with a good book late at night, in bed. Especially if it is the AIM / FAR! Nothing could put you to sleep faster.

Or possibly not?

The other night I dusted off my copy of the AIM / FAR to look up something in the AIM portion regarding flight plans. Boy, talk about getting re-acquainted with an old friend and to my surprise, I didn't fall asleep at all.

As I was thumbing through the various sections, I started to think - "this is probably the most forgotten book in aviation." There is so much information that I FORGOT was in there! Airport traffic pattern diagrams, Flight plan forms, communication phraseology, and the list goes on.

We as instructors take for granted the information we learn over the years and sometimes forget where we learned it. So much of this information is contained in the AIM and it begs our attention at least at BFR time. From now on, I think I am going to dedicate some time to reviewing some of the components of the AIM at BFR time. Im already getting my questions lined up...

"So, your IFR flight plan is automatically closed by the tower - How do you know for sure, and where does it say that?"

The 2010 edition comes out this month - I just ordered the new edition. As the title of this post questions - is it AIM/FAR or FAR/AIM - I don't have the answer to that one.