Things I've learned

Over the past several months, I've tooled around the sky in a tiny little Cessna Skyhawk.  While this isn't my first choice of jobs, it pays the bills right now; and, it'll hopefully help me get a better one.  So, I've decided after almost a month of not posting to put up a list of things I've learned.  

1: I have a GREAT radio voice

After spending months talking to air traffic controllers, I've noticed that there are two kinds of pilot voices: the ones you cringe at due to their (insert undesirable trait: scratchy, anxious, stuttering, high pitched, broken english, overly drawn out, etc).  When I was doing my commercial time-building, I would envy the airline captains on our frequency because of their smooth, calm, deep and quick calls.  I often would try to emulate their sound but always felt my voice was scratchy and a tad high pitched.  I've determined that this high pitch and anxiety filled sound was due to my inexperience and nervousness.  Since then, I've become a lot more calm in the cockpit.  Don't get me wrong, I still am not half the pilot my USAFA friends are.  At least I feel a lot more confident behind the controls than I used to.  So, one of my friends and I were flying at the same uncontrolled airport and he was kind enough to capture a video of one of my radio calls (more on WHY to follow).  It is kind of jumbled because of the playback function of our overly complex avionics, but you'll hear me at the end clear as day

"Deland Traffic, Skyhawk 6185 Uniform is final for 23.  Deland Traffic." 

After hearing this brief clip, I said to my friend, "DAMN I have a great radio voice!"

2: A little humility goes a LONG way. 

After playing that clip for me, my friend says, "Oh yeah?  Do you notice anything strange about it?"  After replying no, he replayed it for me again.  "Oh, you mean how professional I sound on the radio?  Yeah.  That is strangely awesome."  He laughs at me again and says, "I knew you wouldn't believe me so I had to tape it.  What airplane were you in again today?"

After thinking about it for a second, I realized one important fact.  I was not in Skyhawk 6185U.  I was in 2302 Yankee.  He said he was taking off and flying away from the runway when he heard his airplane's call-sign on the radio and had to tape it for me because he knew I wouldn't believe him.  The pilots in the air over Deland would have been a little confused to hear the same airplane landing and taking-off at the same time.  I may have sounded great but I sounded great at saying the wrong thing. Touche good sir.  Touche.  

3: People are stupid and should not be trusted

I don't have enough fingers to express how many close calls I've had with jumpers and parachute jump planes.  Often times they take off on the wrong runway, climb circling straight up to 14000 feet, and come rocketing back to the ground.  Sometimes, I'm unlucky enough to have them cut me off and even once almost hit me.  "Jump plane, did you see me?"  "Oh, there was someone in the pattern?"  "Yes, you literally were 20 feet from hitting us."  So, lesson learned.  Keep your head on a swivel because when it comes to douche pilots, no one else exists but them.

4: Birds almost always lose when playing chicken with airplanes

Two months ago, a twin-engine Embry Riddle aircraft (made mostly of fiberglass) was flying around our airport when he had an encounter with one of the turkey vultures that likes to hang out right off the end of our runways.  The very large bird lost the battle with the airplane's wing, but not without leaving a mark.  When the pilot and his student landed, the damage was clearly seen by the basketball-sized hole it left in the leading edge of the wing.  The control surface push rods had been adequately protected by the frame of the wing but airplanes aren't designed to fly with holes in them where they normally aren't any.  

In the middle of April, I was out flying around with one of my private pilot students and she was lined up to land.  It was a long and stressful day for her preparing for her check ride.  She had been urgently scolded a few times for forgetting things she learned on day one and was looking a bit fatigued by the flight.  When we were about 600 feet above the ground, a bird came into view circling erratically above the airplane.  The most important thing to know about birds is that when they are spooked in the air, they dive.  As a pilot, this is useful because if we know they dive, we can pitch the nose up for a second right before the potential strike.  Most times the birds dive harmlessly below. 

I could tell right away that she didn't see the bird.  I quickly glanced at her eyes and she was intently locked in on the runway (something I'd warned her against).  With my eyes back on the bird, I saw it get spooked.  Unfortunately, it was still too far above the airplane for us to climb.  The dive would send it right into the prop.  As the yet undetermined-sized bird dove, I heard the girl let out a little shriek.  I put my hand on the yoke and pushed briskly forward.  I wanted to see if we could get below the bird, and most importantly, away from the prop, but I reacted a hair too late.  The bird dove straight at me and struck the windshield right at where my head was.  Having seen birds go through fiberglass in the past, I knew that if it was big enough, it could go through my windshield.  I ducked down behind my control panel as I saw it strike my windshield.  A loud thud and it was gone.

Deep breath.  The girl was visibly shaken up.  I calmly told her, "my controls."  She eagerly let them go.  I looked back at the windshield and saw a small red streak.  It's possible that the bird stayed intact during the collision.  I knew our communications antennas were directly above my seat so my first thought was to be sure we didn't lose our radios.  "Tower, Epic 555.  We just had a bird strike on final."  "Roger Epic 555, do you need assistance?"  Not really I thought.  I just wanted to test my radio and that was the only thing that came to mind.  Also, something else was weighing on my mind, the Embry-Riddle aircraft.  I didn't feel anything after the initial strike but I couldn't be sure it didn't strike my tail and damage my rudder or elevator.  I wasn't going to take any chances that close to the ground.  Again, I didn't think anything was wrong, but I'd rather play it safe.  "Negative, but we're going to keep our speed up and land long."

As the controller started informing the other airplanes in the pattern and ground stopped a few others waiting to take-off, I turned to my student and asked if she were okay.  Her eyes were a little watery and she still looked shaken up.  She asked if I would land the airplane.  I told her we would be fine and I knew the bird more than likely bounced off the windshield and fell behind us.  We came in a little fast and floated longer than normal.  As we touched down, the controller asked if we could make it off the runway.  "Affirmative.  Everything seems normal."  "Roger, right at alpha, contact ground."  

In hind sight, it wasn't that big of an incident.  Maintenance walked around the airplane and found a few spots of blood on the windshield and top of the wing.  As the bird was diving toward us, I could tell it wasn't the large turkey vultures and I was thankful.  Had it struck my prop, it could have damaged the prop and splattered the windshield with blood.  It's hard not being able to see.  Even worse, if it went through the windshield...