My friend, the two-axis auto pilot…
On March 20th, 2005 I embarked on a solo flight to Brenham Municipal Airport. This would be my first solo cross-country flight in almost two years (a fact I hadn’t realized until just now!). I was looking forward to earning some more actual instrument time and Mother Nature seemed up to the task.
Listening to ATIS information Hotel, I learned that a broken layer of clouds lie above at 1,700 feet with an overcast deck much higher at 25,000 feet. I called up San Antonio Clearance Delivery on 126.700 and received my IFR clearance which was a slight variation to what I’d filed.
“Skyhawk 810SA is cleared to the Brenham Airport via radar vectors to Victor 212, direct Industry VOR then as filed. Climb and mantain 5,000 feet.” This clearance was very close to my request for the Alamo Six Departure, Seeds Transition.
The takeoff roll was a jolt of power and Sierra Alpha was quick to climb to 5,000 feet through the broken layer of clouds with climb rates of just over 1,000 feet per minute (…one of those nice bonuses when flying alone).
At cruise altitude, I decided to take advantage of “all available equipment” at my disposal. This included a two-axis auto pilot which held the airplane dutifully at 5,000 feet while I shot some video of the view out the window. I’m still amazed watching a two-axis auto pilot at work. It is an amazing ally to the solo pilot and an incredible convenience.
Flying with clouds is almost always a beautiful experience. About 1,000 feet above the broken cloud deck, I watched as the clouds wizzed by below. The broken layer soon became an overcast layer. A beautiful sight that only an IFR pilot can truly enjoy. A reminder that the money and time invested in my Instrument Rating was well spent.
Houston Center cleared me for the GPS Runway 34 Approach and the descent to 3,000 feet put me in the thick of a broken cloud layer over the field. Again, the two-axis auto pilot was an incredible asset. I engaged it to hold 3,000 feet which had me in and out of IMC while letting me change frequencies and prepare for executing the approach. Like many of the newer GPS approaches, this one had the T-configuration which made flying the approach a matter of “following the lines” on the KLN-94 GPS.
A satisfying landing later, I tied down the aircraft and enjoyed a cheeseburger provided by a waitress in a poodle skirt. The place was a little crowded so I welcomed a seat outside where a light wind and cool temperature made for an enjoyable experience. I called Shannon on my cell phone to report in and wished that she’d been able to join me for the trip. A trip we’d made together a few months earlier.
I had had previously filed my IFR flight plan before I left San Antonio for the return trip home. I soon realized I had flown into an area served by a different Flight Service (Montgomery vs. San Angelo) and that dialing 1-800-WX-BRIEF on my cell phone wasn’t going to get me to the right folks. The San Angelo FSS did give me the direct 800 telephone number to call but I made a mental note to do a better job next time of looking this info up before my next flight.
So much of my flying is in Class C or Class D airspace that it’s always a little awkward when I have to open my IFR flight plan from an uncontrolled field. Oh yes. That’s right. After some initial confusion with the flight briefer I had on the phone he sooned reminded me that you don’t OPEN an IFR flight plan…you call to obtain your IFR CLEARANCE.
The flight home was more fun as I settled for a cruise altitude of 4,000 feet which left me in the middle of a scattered deck of clouds. Rushing through them at over 100 knots is an experience I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of.
With the completion of the Marcs 7 Arrival back to San Antonio, I penned another flight in the logbook and was happy to mark almost an hour of actual instrument flight time.
