ANE - GFK

Sunday, December 13
Well my time at home is over and it's time to get back to Grand Forks. I was planning on leaving around noon but the weather looks like it's getting worse later in the day. I was also going to fly the kbrew departure out of ANE but because of weather in Fargo I decided to file direct to KGFK.

10:00am: Wheels are off exactly at my schedule departure time(lucky!)
10:10am: Level at 6,000' and cleared direct to Grand Forks
10:15am: Center advises of opposite direction traffic at my 12 1,000' above me.
10:30am: My request for 8,000' is granted and I start my climb. Great weather so I have time to snap a few pictures and mess around with the G1000.
11:15am: I'm now in the clouds. Temp is -14C. I'm always paranoid about ice so about every minute I'm looking for ANY signs of ice. I have a plan to divert the instant I see ice. No ice forms so I press on.
11:30am: Flight Watch advises that I should be clear of IFR conditions in about 20 more miles. I'll keep pressing on, still constantly watching for ice.
11:40am: Flight Watch was right, about exactly 20 NM and I am back in VFR conditions. No more worries I'm home free to GFK
12:20pm: I'm cleared for the visual approach to runway 35L.
12:25pm: Touchdown at GFK

This was an awesome trip. I got to meet a bunch of awesome people at an AWESOME company. I was so impressed with Cessna and how they operate. It is definitely a first class company. It was fun to fly places that I haven't flown before and land at new airports. Being an instructor you forget what flying is actually about. It's about the freedom to fly from Independence Kansas all the way to Minneapolis, Minnesota in less than 5 hours!


Siouxpilot

IDP - OMA - ANE

Saturday, Dec 12
After a nice meal and good nights rest today is the day that we take delivery of the aircraft and start my flight back to Minneapolis. I want to say right away that the people at Cessna are all awesome people. They've treated us like royalty and are just normal people who you can have a conversation with.

8:00 am: Cessna picks us up at our hotel to take us to the factory
8:30 am: We begin to inspect our aircraft in the hanger, looking for anything that doesn't meet our expectations. Our aircraft our parked in a hanger with all the other
9:30am: Time for the acceptance flight with one of Cessna's delivery pilots. One more chance to make sure everything works right and nothing needs to be fixed before we leave IDP.
11:35am: We asked if we would be able to be given a tour of the factory and they said yes. So off we go through the factory. Very impressive. They have 2 production lines, one for the Mustang and the other for all the prop aircraft. The factory is cleaner than my room.
1:15pm: Wheels off. I'm IFR IDP direct to OMA. I'm filed for 8,000' with a time en route of around 2 hours 20 minutes.
1:45pm: Cessna 135XX is not hearing center so center asks if I can relay for him. It's a simple message just telling them to contact Kansas City center on 132.9
1:50pm: ATC must be bored. They keep asking me questions about UND and if we are picking up new aircraft. Their last question was they heard a rumor you get a free cake if you buy a new aircraft from Cessna(not true!)
2:20pm: Gotta love the mic input on the C172. I plug in my ipod and turn on a little music in the background. Sure makes time go by faster.
4:00pm: Arrival at OMA. Nice airport, I've never been there. A different UND aircraft arriving after me gets ramp checked by the FAA and passes(Whew).
4:30pm: After a quick fuel, cup of coffee, and bathroom brake I'm back rolling down the runway for departure to ANE.
4:50pm: I'm now level at 9,000 54NM from Fort Dodge VOR. I'm flying the twolf1 arrival into ANE. This takes me from oMA to FOD(fort dodge) then via VOR radials to anoka.
5:15pm: Getting dark!

6:25pm: MSP center vectors me over the top of the international airport. I'm enjoying flying around buildings again. I spot the Metrodome, then the new I35 bridge. I start thinking I must be close to the new TCF Stadium at the UofM and look directly below and there it is, all lit up with the screen on.
6:40pm: On the ground at ANE. Time to spend a little time with the family and friends.

I'm planning on staying until Sunday before I head back to Grand Forks.

Delay Day

The first of three posts about my trip to pick up a new C172 at their Independence, Kansas factory.

Delay Day(Friday, Dec 11)
4:50 am: All three alarms in my room go off and I drag myself out of bed. Have to be at the airport for a 6:00AM departure in the King Air.
6:00 am: Bad news. The main strut on the King Air is leaking and we have to wait till maintenance comes. Time to head home till I get the call to come back to the airport.
12:30 pm: Heading back to the airport after a nice little nap.
2:45 pm: Wheels off
3:45 pm: Level at FL250, GS 259 kts
4:00 pm: Center "405XX we have a flight of B1's off your 9 o clock block airspace 220 thru 240. I actually watch two B1's in formation pass about 1 mile behind us.
4:35 pm: Practice approach at Sioux City, Iowa. On to Independence.
6:20 pm: Arrival at Independence, Kansas.

Time for dinner (steak), a hot tub, and some sleep. Tomorrow takes looks nice and takes me from IDP to Omaha, Nebraska and then on to Anoka, Minnesota.

C172 Ferry Flight

Thursday morning at 6:00 am I will be jumping on a King Air for a ride down to Wichita, Kansas. The University of North Dakota has been accepting delivery of brand new Cessna 172's for over a year now as we replace our fleet of Piper Warriors.

Three of us are going down to take delivery of 3 new airplanes. We will be doing an acceptance flight and check and then it is our responsibility to get the aircraft back to Grand Forks, ND.

Instead of coming straight back to Grand Forks my route will take me to Anoka County airport in Minneapolis, where I will spend the night with family. The following day I will head back to Grand Forks.

I'm going to write a few posts about the trip and experience.

Siouxpilot

Upgrade

Not the type of upgrade you are accustomed to with the airlines but I have been given an upgrade in the organization at UND. Since I started instructing I've had a stretch of very good pilots come through seeking some help from me. I give the majority of my successes in teaching to the students ability/desire to learn difficult ideas. With the help of these students I've had a very impressive pass rate on stage checks. A stage check is basically a test, given by another instructor, to evaluate how a student is progressing through each course. Each course has at least one stage check and more then not two or three. The stage check consists of both an oral portion and a flight portion. To pass the stage check students need to perform to certain standards, usually the PTS standards for the given course they are enrolled in.

Because of the success my students have had I was selected to become a stage pilot. This is an awesome opportunity and something that I've wanted since I started flying here at UND. Becoming a stage pilot gives me an opportunity to also help other students. I will now be evaluating students directly, and their instructors indirectly.

During the stage check I will evaluate students knowledge and piloting ability through questions, mostly scenario based questions to prevent students from memorizing answers. During the flight I evaluate their mastery, smoothness and accuracy, and aeronautical decision making on the required maneuvers for that certain test.

I'm very happy to start doing this. I've already completed the extra required training and am just waiting approval from the FAA(hopefully this week!). I also have some great news about an adventure I get to take in December, more on that later.

Siouxpilot