Student Pilot In Big Trouble...

[skywolf2108]

MachFly: I'll have to get my ppl before I move up to the DA40 then DA42, don't worry my check will be with a Diamond 20 and it does not have a DME.

Have a good day

 

[MachFly]

MachFly: I'll have to get my ppl before I move up to the DA40 then DA42, don't worry my check will be with a Diamond 20 and it does not have a DME.

Have a good day

Okay that makes seance, when you said it's your last x-country in the 20 I figured your planning on doing your x-country for the checkride on the 40. So yeah makes seance now.


And I see you decided to stick with the Diamonds, that's the way to go!

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

like I said before I was always too eager to fly

"Need to get there" is probably the number one killer of pilots.

Turning back, divirting, or not flying at all are always options. And frequently the best option.

It can take a long time for some of us to learn that.

 

[dmspilot]

"Need to get there" is probably the number one killer of pilots.

That's an important point to be made.

I still am not sure what exactly what wrong. Was the weather really that bad? I checked the METARs for GBN and PHX for on and around the 26th and didn't see any visibility or clouds that would prevent a student pilot from doing an XC. It was windy at times though. So I am trying to figure out, was his preflight planning wrong? Did he not adhere to it close enough? Maybe the weather reports are wrong. It is hard to ascertain from the information given.

 

[Wingsofglass]

L.Adamson: Sir it's funny how you spoke out about the gps, I was gonna save up this month to buy a portable gps but decided not to in the end because this is my last xc before i move up to the diamond 40 where gps are installed.

Captain Ron: Would you mind shed some light on what is telephonic briefing? I was taught to either use DUATS or call briefer on flight service, on that particular day I filed my 3 flight plans and got briefed on the wx ahead, just 20 mins before my takeoff. Thank you very much. I now spend more time learning all that is said on the sectionals to avoid this ever happen again.

Skywolf I hope this turns out to be nothing more than a very valuable learning experience for you. You seem to be handling everything with the right attitude.

Back when I was a student pilot flying my school's beat up 172s,
I was on downwind and experienced a faulty airspeed indicator. I think at the time, I had about 3 hours solo time. I kept pulling back power and the airspeed would drop a little but not much. Finally on base I realized something was wrong and landed using RPM. That night I ordered a 496 and had it turned on and accesable for every flight thereafter. About a month later I bought a DA40 with glass and synthetic vision.

Now some 600 hours later and with an instrument rating, I still fly with my 496 on my glare shield in anything approaching IMC. Just las night flying from Oakland to Ogden on a moonless night it was on and ready to go. The point of this is to tell you your money will not be wasted on a portable GPS. Flying a DA40 with just a compass on the far side of the panel to save you if you lose your glass is so much harder than with a gps that has a nearest button and in the case of a 496, basic approaches as well. I love Foreflight but I trust my 496 more when it comes to using it as a primary means to fly the plane.

Also to this day I always get a phone briefing for every cross country flight. It is by no means my primary tool for flight planning but it I figure it is good insurance and a good check for me that if I feel too rushed to call, I need to reconsider the whole flight. I'm not saying this is what everyone should do, but it works for me.

 

[skywolf2108]

Wingsofglass: I hope so too but I don't think the FAA will take this lightly, 2 of my instructors are being pressured by the school and surely by the FAA in the very close future, I have been sitting at home, in pain and completey broken for what I have done and caused to the people I care about, the danger I put myself and everyone else in. I love flying so much but so horrified of what I could potentially do, sighs and I guess I this is the only place to confess.

I can only hope that the FAA will sympathise to some extent and my instructors will be fine. There will be several meetings I have to be at, I'll post the final conclusion once this is over.

 

[bobmrg]

Rangers Baseball: on my nasa form, I wrote that I have a lot of difficulty getting in touch with anybody (Flight Watch, Flight Following) the radio reception was the worst I have experienced, took me about 5 times to get my flight activated, after that I tried flight following and it was even harder, both sides couldn't understand at all what the other said...and then it took me 3 times just go get my call sign through to Luke App where I had my first flight transition.

Thinking back about that flight, when I climbed to cruise, my sight picture of the sky was so much different, clouds was on my windshield at low altitude and gray sky ahead. I shared this with my classmates who will start flying soon and suggested just to turn back, for some odd reasons, I went on, like I said before I was always too eager to fly

That's the only thing I would fault you on....continuing into deteriorating (or unexpected) weather. No matter how much you love to fly, this decision was not a good one.

Bob Gardner

 

[GCA319]

very good point

My flight school had a rule that a student pilot had to obtain a standard briefing on the phone before any flight - even a trip around the pattern.

Good for keeping me safe and out of trouble as a student.

I guess my point to the OP was to show that there is no substitute for checking notams and tfr's over the phone. Its a good cover-your-ass move and occasionally there are notams critical to safety or navigation. Its hard to separate them by just glancing over the DUATS stuff..

Maybe they should amend that rule to say, "any flight beyond a 30 (or whatever number) mile radius of the airport. A full standard briefing seems kind of crazy just to do some pattern work. At a towered field, the ATIS tells me everything I need to know to safely fly in the pattern.

 

[gprellwitz]

Maybe they should amend that rule to say, "any flight beyond a 30 (or whatever number) mile radius of the airport. A full standard briefing seems kind of crazy just to do some pattern work. At a towered field, the ATIS tells me everything I need to know to safely fly in the pattern.

Well, the home base may not be a Delta. And, while a full briefing may be overkill for most trips in the pattern, the student is getting experience at receiving and interpreting a briefing, which can be valuable. And I'm aware of at least one instance in which a plane went up in the pattern after visually looking to the sky instead of getting a briefing, only to be brought down by a storm that they couldn't see because of some terrain or buildings.

 

[poadeleted20]

Maybe they should amend that rule to say, "any flight beyond a 30 (or whatever number) mile radius of the airport. A full standard briefing seems kind of crazy just to do some pattern work. At a towered field, the ATIS tells me everything I need to know to safely fly in the pattern.

I think that for Student Pilots, especially in a professional training program, I'd rather have them get used to the idea of a full standard briefing before every flight. If nothing else, it leaves them better prepared if someone else prangs in the middle of the only runway, and they are forced to divert, and yes, that does happen occasionally with solo students aloft.

 

[skywolf2108]

Heyyy guys,

I know this thread is probably dead (I'll delete it soon) by now but just wanted to let you know I just had a meeting with the FAA this morning, everything went better then I could have hoped, there were no warnings, no enforcements on ANYBODY just some counselings on the spot and that was it! The FAA inspector was sooo nice and understanding, she's a pilot and used to be an instructor.

Again thank you everyone, including the seniors who have given me words of encouragement and advices. I love you all

 

[poadeleted20]

Heyyy guys,

I know this thread is probably dead (I'll delete it soon) by now but just wanted to let you know I just had a meeting with the FAA this morning, everything went better then I could have hoped, there were no warnings, no enforcements on ANYBODY just some counselings on the spot and that was it! The FAA inspector was sooo nice and understanding, she's a pilot and used to be an instructor.

Again thank you everyone, including the seniors who have given me words of encouragement and advices. I love you all

Glad to hear it all worked out OK. Now go, and sin no more.

 

[kimberlyanne546]

Um. . . . we love you too?

 

[TMetzinger]

Heyyy guys,

I know this thread is probably dead (I'll delete it soon) by now but just wanted to let you know I just had a meeting with the FAA this morning, everything went better then I could have hoped, there were no warnings, no enforcements on ANYBODY just some counselings on the spot and that was it! The FAA inspector was sooo nice and understanding, she's a pilot and used to be an instructor.

Again thank you everyone, including the seniors who have given me words of encouragement and advices. I love you all

Good deal! You'll remember it on the inside, where it counts, and never make that error again. Now go out and make some more mistakes (but not violations please) and learn from them too.

Best wishes,

 

[poadeleted20]

JOOC, after your meeting with the Inspector, did she talk to your instructor without you in the room?

 

[MachFly]

Heyyy guys,

I know this thread is probably dead (I'll delete it soon) by now but just wanted to let you know I just had a meeting with the FAA this morning, everything went better then I could have hoped, there were no warnings, no enforcements on ANYBODY just some counselings on the spot and that was it! The FAA inspector was sooo nice and understanding, she's a pilot and used to be an instructor.

Again thank you everyone, including the seniors who have given me words of encouragement and advices. I love you all

That's good

 

[BrianR]

I know this thread is probably dead (I'll delete it soon) by now but just wanted to let you know I just had a meeting with the FAA this morning, everything went better then I could have hoped, there were no warnings, no enforcements on ANYBODY just some counselings on the spot and that was it! The FAA inspector was sooo nice and understanding, she's a pilot and used to be an instructor.

Glad to hear everything worked out ok. But may I suggest you do NOT delete the thread? Unless it's causing you issues at your school, leave it up. When I was a student, I went through every aviation forum I could find, and reading stories such as yours allowed me to put myself in your shoes and consider how I would have handled it. Hearing from someone who's "been there done that" is never a bad thing.