The weather has been bunk lately so not much flying, but if you've been following along on the blog I've updated a few videos of our recent flights.
I wanted to drop send a quick update and let you guys know that we are currently planning our first "real" trip in the plane, just as soon as schedules and weather allow. The planned route is KEQY -> KFLO -> KMYR
The reason for this is that I really need more exposure to controlled
airspaces. I want to get more familiar with them particularly as I begin
to venture outside of my 'home turf'. One of my buddies who is also a
CFI and majors Pilot has started working with me on this and you can see
him in the last video as we took a late evening flight. He's really
pushing me (in a good way) to really expand on my flying and get more
comfortable with not only the plane but experiencing new things...such
as flying in late evening (dusk) and getting controlled work. As such he
organized a tour of the KCLT tower for me and a few friends from
Monroe.
While I know it's not really cherokee related but I
thought you guys might want to take a peek at what the guys on the other
end of the radio see...
This is the actual radar station that the controllers use. They have many of these stations and this one was tuned to Monroe. I was able to apologize in person to the guy I get flight following from to go 20nm in my 85mph airplane. LOL (KEQY->KUZA) I was finally able to visualize what the systems do when they hand you off between the different airspaces.
I'm sure there are some controllers reading this and I'm sure they can expand on what I saw or fill in the details that I got wrong but it was a great experience and I am truly grateful for the chance to visit. I was able to ask and get answers on several questions I had about flying in and around Charlotte, and it has helped ease some of my fears of speaking on the radio in controlled airspaces or wondering what I could and could not do...
This is the actual radar station that the controllers use. They have many of these stations and this one was tuned to Monroe. I was able to apologize in person to the guy I get flight following from to go 20nm in my 85mph airplane. LOL (KEQY->KUZA) I was finally able to visualize what the systems do when they hand you off between the different airspaces.
I'm sure there are some controllers reading this and I'm sure they can expand on what I saw or fill in the details that I got wrong but it was a great experience and I am truly grateful for the chance to visit. I was able to ask and get answers on several questions I had about flying in and around Charlotte, and it has helped ease some of my fears of speaking on the radio in controlled airspaces or wondering what I could and could not do...
Here is what the supervisor sees he will see all planes heading towards the airport (in this case KCLT) and can pull up any radar and any 'screen' he needs to fit all the guys in.
