Category: FMA Solo 2020

Hello again everybody and welcome back to what will probably be my last blog post for a while. Before I start, I would just like to say thank you to everyone in FMA for all of the encouragement and to the board that selected me as a scholarship recipient in 2020. Since my last post, I have lots of exciting news to share, like earning my CFII, tailwheel endorsement, becoming a glider tow pilot,  flying a PC-12, and graduating from college. 

At the end of my last post, I mentioned that I was working on my CFII and tailwheel endorsement and I am proud to announce that I completed both of those. I completed my tailwheel endorsement on Sunday, March 12 in a Citabria at Bad Attitude located at Youngstown Elser Airport. Their tailwheel course consists of a 3 hour ground school and 5 hours of flight time with about a half an hour brief and debriefs after every flight. The first flight consisted of getting a feel for the plane by doing some maneuvers and we ended the flight by doing some low approaches to get the sight picture for landing. We spent the next 4 hours doing landings. I started out by doing 3 point landings and after doing that for about 2 hours, we started to move onto wheel landings. In order to earn my tailwheel endorsement, my instructor needed to see me perform a power-off 180, land in the touchdown zone, no-slip, wheel landing. Once I was able to do this my instructor gave me some more challenges; such as losing my engine right as I turned crosswind so we had to land opposite of the direction we took off from with a fill slip to land so that way we wouldn’t land long. Overall, receiving my tailwheel endorsement made me a much more confident and skilled pilot and has led me to opportunities I would have never imagined which I’ll touch on later in this post. 

Just over a week after earning my tailwheel endorsement I earned my Certified Flight Instructor Instrument Certificate. Overall, the CFII checkride was one of the easier ones I had taken over my career. For the oral, my DPE had me plan a cross country from Kent State (1G3) to Roanoake (ROA). I really should’ve made a write-up about the oral shortly after completing the checkride because I don’t remember too much about the oral. I know I was asked about the route that I chose and why I chose it. The route was very easy to pick because a Victor airway led from the Akron VOR (ACO) all the way to ROA. We then talked about some of the M altitudes along the route (MEA, MOCA, MCA, etc). As well as some lost communication procedures as well as the approach into ROA. I know there is so much I forgot about the oral, but I think it was one of the easier ones because I had prepared so much for it, plus instrument flying is very factual which makes it very easy for me to understand. We completed the flight the day after the oral due to the high crosswinds. The following day was still windy but the crosswind component was not as high so I decided to fly. We started off by getting some really weird vectors for the LOC 25 into Akron Fulton (AKR). During this approach, I failed my PFD to demonstrate partial panel. We flew the published miss from this approach and then turned north once instructed to do so. Once clear of Akron Canton’s class C airspace, we canceled IFR and proceeded to do the rest of the checkride. I was instructed to intercept the 289 radial from the Akron VOR (ACO) and fly a 16nm DME arc. Once I had completed the arc, I let my DPE have the flight controls for unusual attitudes. After I recovered from the unusual attitudes, my DPE gave me vectors for the RNAV 19 back into Kent. During the vectors, my DPE gave me the instructions to hold at KENWU which is an unpublished hold. I then entered the instructions for the hold into the G1000 to help with situational awareness and then made my procedure turn to enter the hold. Once I was established in the procedure turn, I activated the autopilot to demonstrate the use of it. I had the autopilot fly the hold and part of the approach until I was told to look up. We landed back in Kent and I was officially a CFII! Finishing CFII marked the end of my flight training for now at Kent State. There is a chance I get my MEI certificate later this year or next spring. I have been instructing at Kent since mid-March, and my student load has been increasing steadily. But, I currently have about 100 hours of dual given which should climb rapidly now that summer weather is here, and I will be getting a full schedule once the fall semester comes.

Back in February, the Cleveland Soaring Society (CSS) sent a flyer to Kent asking for Glider tow pilots who had their tailwheel endorsement. At the time of the message, I had started my training so I reached out. I talked to the president of the CSS multiple times and I started training in their Bellanca Scout. Going from a Citabria to a Scout was a very easy change especially since they are very similar planes. I took two training flights to work on landings, and some maneuvers without a glider and I took two flights in a Glider so I have some experience as a tow pilot. After doing the two glider flights, I think I might try and earn my commercial glider certificate. After I completed all my glider flights and my training flights in the Scout, I was ready to tow gliders with an instructor. After completing multiple tows with an instructor, I was endorsed and ready to tow solo! Glider towing is a new challenge that has taught me so much about energy management and being nice and smooth on the controls. In addition, flying tailwheel is a whole other challenge that I have learned so much from. 

The President of the CSS had mentioned when I met him for the first time that he flies a PC-12 single pilot occasionally. I had made a little joke saying that if he ever wanted someone else to fly with to let me know and I would be happy to tag along. Well, he actually took me up on the offer not once but three times so far! I was invited to sit right seat with him and since he’s also a flight instructor, I have been able to log the time. I now have 9.7 hours of time in the PC-12 and having the opportunity to fly this plane has helped me learn so much about high-altitude flight, pressurization systems, as well as passenger care. I’m hoping in the near future, I can find other pilots that are looking for someone else to fly with to increase my experience and give me a leg up on my resume. 

The really big news for this blog post is that I graduated from college on May 12th! I graduated in 3 years with a GPA of 3.92 with Latin and academic honors. I was able to graduate in 3 years not only because I worked extremely hard, but because I transferred 47 credits from high school when I took AP and dual enrollment classes. This made it so I only had to take 1 gen ed class my whole college career and I could focus on my major-specific classes. I’m very grateful for all the opportunities I had in college like traveling to Idaho for the Potatoe Bowl with the marching band and traveling to Orlando and Dallas with Alpha Eta Rho for their national conventions. Even though the years went fast I am still very happy with how my college career went. I really enjoyed being a student at Kent and going through its flight program. I had many amazing instructors who pushed me through my courses and made me a very knowledgeable and skilled pilot. 

To end the post I would like the thank all of FMAs sponsors for sending me a care package that included some new merch, an aviation mechanics handbook as well as a new pair of Bose A20s! The ANR and Bluetooth makes it perfect for cross-country flights. I think I speak for everyone in FMA by saying how much we appreciate all the sponsors for everything they give to this amazing association. This will probably be my last blog post for a while as the new scholarship recipients start their flight training journeys over the next few years. Thank you everyone for all of the support over the last 3 years and I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog posts and updates from my flight training.

Flight Time Breakdown:

-Jacob Burdette

Hello again everyone! After a very busy semester of flying, work, and classes, I finally have time to update everyone about my various adventures. I passed my Commercial Multi-Engine checkride on December 4! I had hoped to finish multi earlier in the semester, but my instructor left for the airlines and it took me a few weeks to get a new MEI because a lot of our previous MEIs had also left for the airlines. After I got a new MEI, I had a couple of review flights and was in for the checkride. 

The oral was just over an hour long and was pretty straightforward. We first started going over some multi-definitions and then V speeds for the Piper Seminole. After that, we talked about multi-aerodynamics and the critical engine and why the left engine is the critical engine. We then moved onto systems, which made up most of the oral. Starting with the systems, we talked about the landing gear and it was pretty easy because it has the same landing gear as the Piper Arrow I had already been tested on. With the gear, I was given some scenarios about a hydraulic leak and where we would first see the indication. We then talked about what I would do if I only saw 2 gear-down indications which led to the microswitches on our aircraft.  After the gear, we moved to the propeller. I was asked what keeps the prop from feathering and how we can change the pitch from feathered. After the propeller, we discussed the fuel tank which was the longest part of the questioning of the system. My DPE asked me to draw out the fuel system for the Seminole, which I was able to do with no problems. He then asked me some scenario questions about cross-feeding and what the fuel selectors would look like if we shut an engine down. To finish up the systems, we talked about the heater in our aircraft and how to turn it on and off both on the ground and in the air. After we completed the oral, we decided not to fly because of low ceilings. I took the oral exam on November 16th, so it was a couple more weeks until I was able to do the flight.

Nearly 3 weeks later due to the poor Ohio weather, a beautiful Sunday afternoon presented amazing weather for a checkride. After we started up and completed the run-up, I did a short field takeoff and headed to our SE practice area. Once we were about to cross into the practice area, my DPE moved the right engine’s fuel selector to the off position, and from there we did a full engine shutdown. Once my DPE was satisfied with my control on one engine, we restarted the engine and entered our area. In the area we did power on and off stalls, steep turns, slow flight and a Vmc Demo. All of these maneuvers went pretty well, especially my steep turns. My steep turn to the left was so good, my examiner tapped the altimeter to make sure it was still working. We then did an emergency descent down to 3,500’ and my DPE took the controls for a minute while I put on my foggles and got everything set up for the approach. We elected to do the RNAV 27 into KPOV. When we were on the base leg to intercept the final approach course, my left engine was pulled to idle and we conducted a single-engine approach. The approach went fairly well, getting no more than a 1 dot deflection at any point. After we landed, we took off again, but on this takeoff my engine was pulled to idle to simulate an engine failure on takeoff. We then actually took off and did a short field back into KPOV, where I nailed my point. I was really happy with this landing. We then took off and headed back to Kent, and I was finally a multi-engine rated pilot! The flight itself was 1.6 hours and there was nothing I hadn’t trained for. 

In addition to receiving my Multi-Engine in December, I just earned my Certified Flight Instructor Certificate on January 15th! We did the oral on Saturday, January 14th, but had to discontinue due to low ceilings. We had originally planned on doing the flight on the following Wednesday because the weather over the next few days was forecasted to not be the best. On the 15th around noon, the examiner sent me a message asking if I wanted to do the flight at 2:30 since the weather was significantly better than forecasted. Of course I said yes, and quickly got ready to head to the airport. 

The oral was only three and a half hours long and was one big scenario. The scenario started with the examiner portraying a role of a 60-year-old person wanting to become a pilot with no knowledge of flying, and I had to take him through all the steps needed to obtain his private pilot certificate. We first started off with the TSA endorsement, medical classes, durations, where to find an AME, and how to obtain a student pilot certificate. With the medical certificates, I was asked about disqualifying conditions, what a SODA is and what it can be used for. Staying with the aeromedical factors, we talked about the 4 types of hypoxia and the causes of each kind. In addition to hypoxia, we talked a lot about the gas laws like Fick’s Law, Boyle’s Law, Henry’s Law, and Dalton’s Law, and how they all related to hypoxia and the other aeromedical factors. Sticking with Henry’s Law, we talked about the rate of diffusion and how it can be related to flying. The main concern with this law was related to scuba diving and how it can cause “Bends”. 

We then moved on to controlled field operations and runway safety. I had to walk my DPE through controlled field operations and how I would fly from Kent to Akron-Canton. We discussed runway sign markings, hotspots, and where to find more information about them in the chart supplement. In addition, we talked about Land and Hold Short Operations and who can accept them and LAHSO ops per Kent’s SOPs. Lastly, with controlled field ops, we talked about nonmovement areas and where we might find them.

Throughout the whole oral, I was asked about which endorsements I would give the student when they reach each milestone in their journey to become a private pilot. With that, we also talked about what endorsements I would need to give to a student if they were to fail the written or the practical exam. Regarding pilot certificates, we talked a little about category and class with respect to the airmen and the airplane. To end the logbook and endorsement section, we talked about who a CFI can endorse and what medical certificate a CFI needs to hold depending on who the CFI is instructing.

I was also asked some systems and aerodynamic questions. I was asked about the starter and the engine systems of our planes. I was asked to describe what happens when we turn the starter to “start” and describe the process with all of the solenoids, impulse coupler, etc. I was also asked some basic questions about the functionality of the engine, the components, and how everything was connected. With aerodynamics, I had to teach through the power curve and how we can use it in everyday flight. 

As I took the oral exam, the fundamentals of instruction were spread throughout, covering professionalism, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, laws of learning, defense mechanisms, and flight instructor responsibilities. Overall, I felt that the oral wasn’t that bad and was actually easier than my commercial and instrument checkride. 

On the day of the flight, the weather conditions were perfect. We had light winds and clear skies. One thing special about this flight is that the student is able to decide what we do and when we do it. Our examiner lets us make a plan of action which has to cover all of the tasks, but we can choose what maneuvers we do and when we do them. I started out the flight by teaching through the engine start, taxiing, and uncontrolled field operations. I did a soft field takeoff out of Kent and walked through the departure procedures and the corridors. During our climb to the practice area, I put on my foggles and did constant airspeed climbs. At our cruising altitude, I discussed some of the possible emergencies, and then I did my first simulated engine failure into Portage of the flight. Everything was going well until I was about 2800’ MSL. There were two planes in the pattern which were not an issue, but there were two other planes that were also joining the pattern, and my examiner and I decided to go around and do the sim engine failure later. In the practice area, I did chandelles, power-off stalls, accelerated stalls, steep spirals, and turns around a point. We then headed back to Portage to do the short field landing. We did a short field takeoff from Portage, and when we were 550’ AGL, my examiner pulled my engine so I had to make the impossible turn. Thankfully, the 172R that I was flying loves to float, so the impossible turn was very possible. We landed about 1⁄3 of the way down the runway, made a 180 on the runway and departed again. We then headed back to Kent, discussed a few more emergencies, and did a soft field landing, and then I was now officially a CFI! I have already started CFII and my goal is to have it done in the next two months. 

I’m still waiting to be hired by Kent as a CFI, but hopefully, that should happen within the next few weeks. I’m graduating in the spring and then from there, I will be instructing full-time until the Fall of 2024 when I will hopefully reach my 1,000 and be able to head to the airlines. I’m nervous to start teaching people how to fly, but at the same time, I’m excited to show new pilots just how amazing aviation is.

Hello again everyone! There have been many recent achievements in this community and I would congratulate each member again! On Tuesday, May 24th, 2022, I became a Commercial Pilot! It’s crazy to think that a year ago I hadn’t even taken my private pilot checkride and now I can fly for compensation or hire.

The oral portion of the exam took place on Friday, May 20th, 2022, and lasted almost a hefty three hours. The first half an hour consisted of looking through the maintenance logbook to ensure all inspections were completed and to determine when they were next due. Once we were finished with the maintenance side of things, we dove into my pre-planned cross country. I was told to plan from 1G3-CYYZ, but the route I took was 1G3- (overflying) KBUF-CYYZ. I then explained why I chose this route, which was because flying over Lake Erie would put me out of power-off glide distance for about 20-25 miles. He then asked me to explain how I got my power-off glide distance, and I responded by showing chart in the information manual. We then talked about the altitude I picked and why I did. This then led to fuel burn, hypoxia, maximum elevation figures, and minimum altitudes as defined in 91.119. Since we were looking at the sectional for the route, he asked me some sectional symbology and airspace questions with the airspace weather minimums. I was then given a few scenarios using common/private carriage and wet/dry lease, and was asked if these scenarios would be legal as a commercial pilot. We then went into the power-off glide chart again and read the notes for it. Two of the notes for this specific chart were gear up and propeller fully decreased. This then led into the systems of the plane. I had to explain how the gear in the piper arrow worked and describe which way the hydraulic pump worked when the gear was brought up/down, what held the gear up, and a few more things about the gear. We then moved to the propeller and I explained the propeller governor and the flyweights, and what happened when the prop lever was moved back and pushed forward. We talked about aerodynamics a little and even some requirements for entering and landing in Canada. This then concluded the oral for the day.

We came back a few days later for the flight. When the day of the flight came, the weather was beautiful and ideal for the flight. Light winds out of the NE on the surface which became light and variable aloft. The air was smooth and there was a layer of clouds at 7500’ MSL. Thankfully, these stayed just far enough south that they didn’t interfere with the simulated xc. We departed from Kent, to the NE, to Buffalo, and did the first few legs of the xc. Once we were about 25nm from Kent, we entered our northeastern most practice area, where we spent most of the flight. We set up in the area, transitioned into slow flight, and then began the power on/off stall series. Once those were completed, my examiner was feeling “hypoxic” and only had 15 seconds of consciousness left, so we entered an emergency descent and leveled off at 4500’. From there we did steep turns and chandelles. Once we were leveled off from the chandelles, my engine was failed by the examiner, so I had to find my field and then circle to land. We ended up making the field and landing at 7G8 (Geauga County). We departed again, climbed to 2200’, did 8s on pylons, and then continued to KPOV (Portage County) to do the landings. We performed a short field landing and a power-off 180 at POV and then returned to Kent and did a no-flap landing. 2.0 hours after we took off, I was officially a commercial pilot.

Overall, there were no surprises on either the oral exam or the flight. Everything was right out of the ACS. Since I received my instrument rating on January 21, 2022, I have flown 56.4 hours, putting my total to 211.0 hours of flight time. This summer I hope to complete or at least start my multi-engine add-on, but I might have to wait a while for an instructor, since we currently have a shortage of MEI. I will be starting the CFI course in the fall semester, followed by the CFII course in the spring, and then graduating a year early in the Spring of 2023.

This semester was my busiest yet. I was taking 18 credits while working about 15 hours a week. Most days I would wake up at 5 am to work at 6, have classes all day, then I would finish my flight block at 6:15 pm. I wouldn’t get back to my apartment until nearly 7 some nights, then I had to cook dinner, leaving only an hour or two to do school work so I could be asleep at a decent hour to do it all again the next day. Even though it was my most hectic semester so far, I still got to do some really cool flying adventures. One of my friends from Kent knows a guy who has a Piper Navajo, so we flew up to PCW (Port Clinton) and had lunch at the on-field diner. Later in my flight course, I did a quick cross country to PCW, then I did a quick hop to 3W2 (Put-in-Bay), which is an island on Lake Erie. This was the most challenging airport I’ve landed at so far because of the “short” runway, 50’ trees near the runway, and gusty conditions due to being right next to the lake. Since I had some solo time to burn, I decided to fly down to Ohio State University to visit a couple of my high school friends and have lunch with them. Lastly, I did a flight in great IMC conditions. For this flight, I flew with my instrument instructor and we logged 1.4 of actual IMC. We did the ILS 7 into KLPR (Lorain County), and we broke out the clouds at about 400’ ALG and then reentered the clouds at above 200’ AGL on the departure end. That was my first time taking an approach that low in actual IMC and I can only imagine what it would have been like to take it down to minimums.

Here is a list as of 5/29/22 of my total times if anyone is interested

Total Time: 212.2

Solo: 60.1

Complex: 22.2

Technically Advanced Airplane: 70.4

XC: 61.5

Night: 18.1

IMC: 5.8

Simulated Instrument: 34.1

Dual Received: 148.7

PIC: 152.6

Flights: 163

Pictures from my checkride, then a few of me in action taken a backseater in a 172S and a PA-28R-201, and a picture of Put-In-Bay’s Runway