What a great start to March; beautiful weather, clear days and fine flying weather. There has never been a better set of days to get up into the aircraft and get current, or to check out in a completely new breed of flying machine.

I would like to start by thanking everyone who has volunteered to help over the next couple of months to do some additional cosmetic work on the facilities. The plans for San Carlos are moving ahead at a nice pace. We have picked out the new carpet and paint scheme and are beginning to break ground over the next couple of weeks. Some of the changes we should see are new paint, carpet and dividers; a new look and feel to the office; more teaching space; and more classroom space. In addition, we have been working closely with the administration of SQL to continue to migrate the tie-down locations as close to the office as possible. This is a slow process, but something that Joel and I are continuing to focus on. After SQL we will be focusing efforts on minor cosmetic improvements to the PAO office.

The strategy over the next couple of years is to work to contain and possibly reduce costs. During the beginning of the fiscal year this was accomplished through a reduction of the initiation and associate membership fees, and a proposed reduction in the operating fees on some aircraft. We are containing the costs of maintenance to the ownership group by further refining the flat rates next year, and keeping the shop hourly rate at $70 per hour. In comparison, another nearby shop recently raised its rates to $115 per hour. In the end this helps to keep rental costs flat while we continue to maintain these aicraft to the highest possible standards. We are not currently considering any strategy that involves cost reductions through reduced member services - i.e. activities, facility use, computer access, variety of aircraft, etc.

Status on other projects:

1. The budget for the next fiscal year is near completion and will be sent to the board for the March executive meeting.
2. Strategic planning for the year is complete, so these two combined efforts should allow us to produce the Annual report to the membership ahead of schedule.
3. We are finishing up our recommendations for an accounting system software upgrade. We had a late comer that came into the mix and has really presented a nice piece of software that may end up greatly increasing functionality at a much reduced price. That presentation will be made at the March Executive meeting as well.
4. We finished up a first round of employee development and training by sending our Chief Pilots to CSIP training, and our Director of Maintenance and lead mechanic to Cirrus Service training. We also provided our front desk staff with the first in a planned series of quarterly trainings on Customer Service and Sales techniques.
5. The last large project is a proposed expansion to Hayward. This too is up for final vote by the BOD. I have copied the mission, vision and values statements of WVFC below to provide readers with some context as to how this proposed expansion relates to our goals at WVFC. As a note, the Mission Statement is taken from the club’s by-laws, and the Vision and Values Statements are under constant evolution.

January 2004 was unusually rich in special rate discrepancies. All pilots, please pay attention to the very first column of the aircraft “black book” log sheet. We have updated the log sheet form so that the leftmost column on it is now “Rate if Other than Rental.” If the flight qualifies as Member Checkout, Maintenance, or any other special rate, please make sure to enter that information in this column. Remember, the log sheet is the most important reference in case of discrepancy.

Also, please check your account online regularly by:

• logging in to CASSi,
• choosing User Profile on the menu bar, and
• scrolling down and clicking View My Account Detail.

I would like to say a few words about the changes in the works for our Cirrus aircraft, and how we will be focusing on the checkout for them.

First, there are two more coming to West Valley. The total then will be six. I have permission to use one of the SR 20’s for primary training. The doors on the new Cirrus have been changed, and there is no retrofit. One of the SR 20’s has been retrofitted with the new throttle.

The club’s phase checks have been changed to comply with what Don and I learned in Duluth. We have given a seminar to those wanting further information and are willing to continue with delivering that information as needed. Bill Stone from Cirrus will be here the 18th of March to look over our operation. It is our hope to become a Cirrus center. Two of our mechanics have gone to Duluth and received training for composite and general maintenance.

Dave Fry has made a checklist for both of the Cirrus and I can show them to you. You can either buy one from him or make a paper copy of mine.

One of the many variants on what I occasionally call Fry’s Law is that, “If something feels wrong, it probably is.” This is captured in Star Wars as, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” a comment muttered by Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and See Threepio just before the spaghetti hits the fan. A contemporary flying example comes from the “High Speed Corollary”: “If things seem to be happening too fast, they probably are.” There is usually plenty of time to slow things down and take them more deliberately, read the checklist, go around. Our feelings about how things are going on a flight should not be ignored. Rather, we should examine them, determine why we feel that way, and determine what to do about it.

Going back in history a bit, a perfect example comes to mind. The following scenario developed involving a friend of mine, one from whom I learned more than a little about flying. He was (and is) an instructor well known for being thorough, competent, and for those of us who consulted him, very insightful. Especially in the analysis of problems.

Before I go on, please understand that there is no finger-pointing or assignment of blame in any of the following, but there is an opportunity to learn from someone else’s mistakes (without a doubt, the safest way to learn). For those of us who are instructors, similar things have happened, and some of us have learned from them. There are lessons for the students and licensed pilots among us, as well.

On one occasion, he had been instructing in a tailwheel airplane and, on landing, the plane had started wandering all over the place. It wasn’t a tailwheel shimmy, but something of longer wavelength. The rudder controls felt very sloppy, and maybe even a bit random. In short, it just didn’t feel right. Rather than continuing the flight, he terminated, taxied to the tiedown spot, and inspected the tailwheel assembly. OOOPS!! The U-bolt that holds the leaf spring was broken! Pretty good application of the law – “If something feels wrong, it probably is.” So, he grounded the plane.

As it turned out, he and a student were the first to fly the plane after repair. Being cautious, both he and the student devoted particular attention to the U-bolt. That’s where the problem had been, after all. It was a fine looking U-bolt, appeared solid, was bolted firmly to the empennage, and seemed to hold the leaf springs in place properly.

The student was a pre-solo student with occasional directional control problems taxiing tail-draggers (don’t we all have them occasionally?) As the student pulled out of the parking space he had difficulty turning the plane, which the instructor attributed to the directional control problems he’d already seen. On the way to the runway, the student commented twice about the controls being “stiff.” Since the student had been having some directional control issues during takeoff, the instructor took the controls after the student had taxied onto the runway to demonstrate the technique. During the takeoff run, the instructor noticed the controls felt stiff, but once in the air, everything seemed fine. A thorough check of all the controls in the air showed nothing unusual. After the first landing, which featured some interesting directional control problems, the instructor terminated the flight and taxied back to the tiedown. A more thorough examination showed that the bottom of the rudder was binding on the leaf spring, causing the rudder to feel stiff, and the control inputs to be somewhat binary.

As I mentioned, the instructor was noted for his insight and, after a bit of examination, came to several conclusions which he gladly shared:

First, both he and his student failed to perform the normal preflight, which would have included moving the rudder full deflection to each side. That would have made the binding obvious. If neither of them had known anything about the broken U-bolt, they would have performed a normal preflight instead of focusing on the U-bolt.

Second, both he and his student failed to think of the U-bolt as part of an entire system. They examined the U-bolt, but didn’t look at what it was connected to, and what function it performed. If they had followed the leaf spring aft, they would have seen the rudder pressed against it. Why, you ask, didn’t the mechanic notice this during the assembly process? The repair is done with the weight off the tailwheel, so the leaf spring isn’t compressed, and it wouldn’t touch the rudder. This, of course, is why there was no binding or control problems while the plane was in the air.

Third, although the student felt something was wrong and actually said it felt “stiff,” the instructor only heard “I’m still having trouble with this thing during taxi.” At this point, both the student and the instructor dropped the ball. What if the student had said, “Dad gum it! I don’t like the way this crate feels. Could you take the controls a second and see what you think?” What if the instructor had thought, “That may be related to the part we just had repaired; maybe I’d better see if there is something else going on here,” or, “He’s had problems before, but never called the controls stiff; perhaps I should check this out”?

The student’s diffidence is actually a huge potential problem, and is very typical. When a more experienced pilot is in the plane, there is a tendency to assume that he or she has seen, felt or experienced the same thing we felt, has evaluated it, and has decided there really isn’t a problem. If you, as a student with an instructor aboard, experience something that makes you feel antsy, you MUST tell your instructor, and ask him or her to check it out. In an airplane it’s hard to be overly cautious. In a helicopter it’s impossible.

It actually doesn’t take long in an airplane to develop a pretty fine sense for what feels right and what feels wrong. During a run-up we can usually tell when a mag is running rough without looking at the tach. We can tell when we’re going too fast or too slow just from sound and control feel. The big question is, “What do we do about it?” Clearly we could go back to the DECIDE model of ADM, since the first D has already happened - we detected a change. But even without that level of formality we need to ask ourselves a bundle of questions. Something is different; does that mean something is WRONG? WHAT may be wrong? How serious is it? Should we cancel/terminate the flight?

Do you really want to fly when something doesn’t feel right? Trust your feelings. Check it out. If you can’t find the problem and it still feels wrong, you have enough to make the decision NOT to go. Only after you’ve found the problem and determined that it won’t affect the safety of flight, can you make a decision to go. Read that last sentence again.

“Trust your feelings, Luke.” - Obiwan Kenobi, CFI

This month’s rail was going to be about the oral portion of the Practical Test. However, before we do that, I’d like to address some recent problem areas that have turned up on checkrides.

SPINS
Both the Private and Commercial Practical Test Standards require that the applicant be able to explain:

1. Aerodynamic factors related to spins
2. Flight situations where unintentional spins may occur, and
3. Procedures for recovery from unintentional spins

This checkride experience was quite different from my private checkride. Even though I was taking it from my home airport, in the same flying club as before and from the same examiner (John Pyle), it was not the same experience at all. I find that checkride-itis is a new phenomenon that I am forced to study. I am perplexed that its symptoms vary in so many ways. This time around the nervousness of checkride-itis set in when I found myself trying to cram in the last few requirements of my rating within a short period of time. Just after finishing my long XC, I still had a phase check to complete. Life interfered, as usual. My best friend decided to get married on the same weekend as my phase check. Never mind the fact she informed me I was the matron of honor a least a year ahead of schedule. I "had" to complete it because my checkride was scheduled a mere 5 days following the wedding.

Weather proved to be bothersome. You would think that for the Instrument Rating, weather would be a welcome friend. Well, not exactly. Not in Northern California in February. We had several storms and cold fronts move through that gave us winds at 50 knots only a few thousand feet up, and freezing levels as low as 3000'. That is just a perfect recipe for creating a daiquiri: frozen, and very shaken. Luckily, my phase check instructor was flexible and willing to work with the conditions. We ended up doing some of the tasks in the airplane and some in the FTD, and completing everything over two days. This, of course, was all arranged around the wedding schedule for the weekend. Nonetheless, I still got great feedback and learned quite a bit on the phase check.

The final phase check for my Private Certificate left me in a state of panic as I tried to figure out how to develop PIC mindset within a week of the checkride. This time it was different. This time I found myself frozen after the phase check. Perhaps it was the weather systems we were facing at the time, but I couldn't jolt myself into feeling I was ready, or feeling like I wasn’t in a panic. It was as if I had stage fright and couldn't move. Those 5 days rushed by without much change and I was starting to feel like I would end up calling John the night before and canceling. I was quite relieved when he and I decided not to do the checkride on "the day" for fear of becoming popsicles. Once again we had a cold front upon us and the freezing levels were really low. Clouds were everywhere and there was no way we could do the ride that day without collecting ice. So we rescheduled.

This was the exact thing I needed. I needed a bit more time to brush up on the information so I wouldn't be fumbling around with lots of "uh..." and "well..." during the oral portion of the checkride. One more flight on the evil three-headed monster (SCK, TCY, LVK) just in case I was asked to do it. "The day" came, my stage fright disappeared, and I was up early. I printed out my weather briefing, finished my flight plan, finished my personal checklist (coffee - check, food - check, water - check, 8710 - check...) and headed out to the airport.

It was a typical beautiful VFR day so I knew I didn't have to worry about becoming a popsicle. John showed up and we started to go over the paperwork and began the oral. I’m not sure what happened at that point because it felt like a time-warp. John asked me to file the flight plan and whether I needed a break. As much as I wanted to argue that we hadn't started the oral, we had. I was pleased to know we could move on.

The plan was the evil three-headed monster (thank goodness I had practiced it a few days earlier). I filed and studied the approaches while grabbing a snack. We went out for preflight and got our clearance and we were off! I had plenty of time to set up on the way out to SCK. I was setting up for the GPS 29 approach, followed by the VOR-A at TCY (partial panel and circle to land), published missed, two turn hold and the ILS at LVK. Then some steep turns and unusual attitudes and we would be done! Most everything went according to plan. I was even calm enough to blurt out somewhat sensible radio calls to the nonexistent traffic at Tracy.

Things got interesting about 4 miles out from the second fix at LVK. We heard, "Attention all aircraft, Norcal Approach, Radar Contact Lost." What? No, no, no, no... not now. Don't they know I'm on my checkride? I think the entire FARs flashed before my eyes trying to remember when I was supposed to report and what I was supposed to do. I quickly deduced that this was not a communications failure (though, it had a millisecond consideration in my head) and realized that I just needed to look at the approach plate to determine if I had a required reporting point or not. Moments later, we were asked to contact LVK early to try to get on their radar. No problem. Except for the fact that we were on the ILS for 25R and they wanted us to land on 07R and break off the approach early. Before I know it John keys the mic and asks, "Can we continue in a bit closer to circle minimums? We are on a checkride." NO! He didn't just announce to everyone within Class Delta airspace that I was on a checkride did he? He did. Well, I can do nothing but ignore it and try to do a decent circle to land on a runway with a slight tailwind.

The taxi back allowed me to switch mental gears. We headed over to Sunol to finish up the airwork and go home. Now, I have had days in which I know I did better steep turns than what John got to see. But the important thing was that I remembered to add the touch of power and kept it within the PTS. Nevermind the fact that I could have painted a squiggly circle around the sky!

When we got back, I got a congratulations from John and he went inside to start the paperwork. There it was. It was all over and I had passed another checkride! In hindsight, it was much easier than I had thought it would be. My type-A personality clicked with the instrument rating and it was a fun, fantastic experience. I also had wonderful mentors and instructors along the way. Now it’s about keeping the skills fresh and hunting for clouds and IMC. Meanwhile, I've already started wondering what symptoms will show for the Commercial variation of checkride-itis...

Torea Rodriguez
PP-ASEL (now Instrument Rated)

The club currently has three ground schools in process or starting soon. You may join any ground school mid-session. These courses are open to anyone. Membership at WVFC is not required, so feel free to invite along a non-member friend or acquaintance who is also interested in learning how to fly.

PAO Private Pilot Ground School meets Thursdays from 6:30 pm with instructor Kyp Kypta. The cost for the course is a once-only charge of $100, after which you may attend any and all sessions as often as you like. Current session began March 4. Contact Kyp by email at lkypta@earthlink.net.

SQL Private Pilot Ground School meets Tuesdays from 6:30 to 9:00 pm with instructors Molly Davis and Lindsay Hanson. The cost is $200. Current session runs January 20 through March 23, 2004. For information, contact Molly Davis at molly_s_davis@hotmail.com; or Lindsay Hanson at linsgrins@hotmail.com.

Instrument Ground School meets Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at PAO with instructor Linda Monahan. The cost is a $200, one-time fee; you may then re-attend this Instrument Ground School as often as you like. Current session just started March 9. Contact Linda at lindajmonahan@hotmail.com.

We have a few more activities planned that take advantage of the somewhat IFR weather we have been having of late, not to mention those gusty winds that have been keeping some of us on the ground. See below for the schedule for March.

Also, we are still looking for Activity Hosts and Skills Clinic Hosts for these events in the upcoming months. Being an Activity Host or Skills Clinic Host is really an easy job. Each comes with a handbook of documentation on how to host the particular event. If you are interested in hosting an event or helping out, please send an email to Torea Rodriguez (globug@mac.com).

Saturday - 10-Apr - Trinity Fly-In
Sunday - 30-May - Castle Open Cockpit Day/Fly-In
Saturday - 5-Jun - Acro Skills Clinic
Sunday - 20-Jun - Columbia Fly-In for Fathers Day

March Activities are as follows:

**Game Night (PAO) - 16 March 19:00**
"Hold Short" and "Squadron Scramble" are the games of choice this evening. Please join us for a fun night of gaming, hot cider, hot chocolate and snacks. The Hold Short game is a trivia based game where each player waits in sequence on the taxiway. The pilot in position holds for his release which is obtained by answering the question correctly. Departed traffic flies along the actual enroute chart game board toward their destination; circumnavigating thunderstorms, holding at fixes or climbing and descending to meet MEAs. Fly through controlled airspace and ATC issues traffic alerts and new clearances to you or one of your opponents. Caught not following the rules and the "inspector" may ramp check your knowledge. Whether you're a student or an ATP, appropriate knowledge and trivia is tested throughout your trip. 2-9 players. Squadron Scramble is a classic rummy-style game complete with wild cards. Players form complete sets of cards, which are comprised of the front, side and top view of a specific plane. But look out - sets of fighter planes can shoot down another opponent's set of bomber planes! Illustrated with authentic silhouette drawings of military planes and features aircraft of the USA, Britain, Germany and Japan. 2-4 players. RSVP to Torea Rodriguez (for snack counts) at globug@mac.com.

**Wings Seminar (SQL) The All Glass Cockpit - 17 March 19:00**
Presented By: Steve Blonstein, CFI, CFII
It was only a matter of time before the all-glass panel found itself installed in a general aviation aircraft. This seminar will focus on the Cirrus Design implementation, looking at the system architecture, the major features and components, and the benefits of this exciting advancement in GA. We'll also ponder some thought provoking questions about this interesting trend in cockpit instrumentation and avionics. Steve Blonstein is a CFI at West Valley Flying Club and has been instructing for more than 7 years. He owns one of the West Valley Cirrus aircraft and recently had the opportunity to fly this spectacular aircraft back from the factory.

**Breakfast Run - Willows - 21 March AM**
Join WVFC GM as he hosts a fly-in to a not so local pilot favorite Diner. Nancy's Diner at Willows comes with rave reviews on the food and the prices. We are hoping for the typical march weather "going out like a lamb" which will grace us with a nice VFR trip for breakfast and beautiful views of the valleys while they are green! To RSVP for this trip, please email Josh Smith at jsmith@wvfc.org.

**Going to Oshkosh this year?? - PAO - 27 March 12:00**
There's no place better to launch the next century of flight than EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the world's premier aviation event. It's the ultimate destination for any aviation enthusiast. Each year, hundreds of thousands of those who have the passion for flight come to Oshkosh and become part of this legendary gathering. This year, WVFC is making a presence at the field and hosting their own event for WVFC members who attend. Come to a seminar to learn about planning your trip, how WVFC can help your planning, and really how easy it is to make this a fun event and cross country adventure at the same time! Martin Michaud and Torea Rodriguez will share with you learnings from past attendance and ways in which WVFC can help make it easier to find accommodations and make arrangements for your trip. Presented in the back classroom at WVFC.

**Movie Night - PAO - 30 March 19:00**
Twelve O'clock High directed by Henry King and starting Gregory Peck and Hugh Marlowe. Some leaders are born. Others are made. Gregory Peck stars as Gen. Frank Savage, a World War II commander saddled with the difficult task of turning a disheartened group of American bomber pilots into heroes. Gritty and unflinching, Twelve O'Clock High boasts actual air combat footage and a winning ensemble cast. Supporting actor Dean Jagger picked up an Oscar for his role as Peck's loyal adjutant. Popcorn, snacks and sodas will be available. To RSVP or for further information, please contact Torea Rodriguez (globug@mac.com)

**Aircraft Tax Seminar - PAO - 3 April 09:00**
Learn from the best. Mel Steiner, former Board Chair and current IRS trainer will be at the Palo Alto facility April 3 from 9AM to Noon to give anyone interested - and there will be many - his famous aircraft ownership tax seminar. Anyone who either owns an aircraft or is considering it should attend this event. Please arrive early. In addition, post Mel’s talk, Josh will give a brief synopsis of having aircraft on line at WVFC, and several aircraft manufacturers and financial people will be on hand to discuss the purchase process.