2004 was a good year for West Valley Flying Club. There was the expansion to Hayward, the addition of advanced aircraft, the stabilization of the club financially, and upgrades to all three facilities. There was a lot of work and many details involved in accomplishing these tasks, and with that said, none of these things would have been accomplished without an extraordinary management team, rock solid employees, and what I consider to be the best flight instruction group anywhere.

The biggest change in 2005 will be the addition of new accounting software. This new system should allow us to streamline procedures, which in turn should allow us to grow without incurring proportionate gains in operational costs. The system will add to the member services that we already offer. Beyond that, there will be very little change. The mission for 2005 is to take what we have and continue to refine it. Continue on our mission to be the best flying club there is.

I would like to remind everyone that now through January 31 members have the opportunity to pre-pay their monthly dues and save $5 month. At the end of the year, this adds up to a $60 savings, essentially a month and a half of free membership. The pre-pay of dues also helps the club financially, as we get cash influx during a traditionally slow flying month. You will get the remainder of your pre-payment of dues refunded if you should quit the club prior to the end of the year (dues are calculated at the full rate of $50 per month if you quit the club on or before June 30 and $45 per month if you quit after June 30.) It is a good deal for you as a member, and good for the club to get much needed cash flow during the rainy season.

Also new for 2005 is the reduction in the Safety Incentive requirement. Starting January 1, a member only needs to fly two hours a month to qualify for the $10 per month Safety Incentive discount. If you combine this with the pre-payment of dues, you can lower your monthly dues to $35 per month. Now that is a really sweet deal.

Please remember to stay current even in the winter time; the flying hours help the club, and the flying will keep you quick behind the controls.

Stay current, stay safe, and thanks for your support.

We are all very excited to announce that the latest addition to the fleet is a 2004 182T with the G1000 panel. This aircraft is located at PAO. Yes, this is the full glass cockpit Cessna with the very impressive G1000 panel. If you are already checked out in 182s, there will be a separate avionics checkout for the G1000 panel. Ken Frank, our chief pilot, is working to put the final touches on this process. Please look at the aircraft section for rental rates.

Much needed fleet addition. WVFC is in need of a 172SP at the KSQL location and one for the KHWD location. 172SPs make a great investment opportunity, and the aircraft fly very well at all of our locations. If you have any questions, or would like some more information, please contact Josh Smith at jsmith@wvfc.org.

A special sale item. N37644, the Grumman Tiger AA5B, is for sale. The owner has purchased a different aircraft and would like to sell this plane ASAP. We would love to keep it online. These are spirited little aircraft, fast, with a true cruise speed over 130 KIAS. Please contact the owner Damani Norman for more information at damani@pacbell.net.

The year is coming to an end, and West Valley is still here. In no small part is that attributed to the members, the staff, the owners, and in particular the General Manager.

Behind the scenes, we saw a tightening of the proverbial belt, and we went from the red to the black.

This year, we opened Hayward, received nine Cirruses, became a Cirrus training and maintenance center, and grew to 1100 plus members.

We just put on line a C182 with the Garmin 1000, and we expect to have a Diamond 4 within a few months with the Garmin 1000.

It is wintertime, and the normal slowing down has occurred. It will give maintenance time to catch up. We are bringing on new CFIs for Hayward and looking for CFIs for the San Carlos and Palo Alto locations to start in April or May.

Life is good, and West Valley is on a roll. We are revising the Phase Check packets, the Instructor Handbook, and our process for bringing on new CFIs.

During the last part of 2004, we instituted a program whereby the CFI group selects members representing Training, Complex, Cirrus, Tailwheel and Multi-Engine Instruction to meet with the Chief's office to bring forward new ideas. To date, it has worked perfectly!

Mike Shiflett (a Designee and CFI) will be putting on a Commercial and Initial Certified Instructor class in February. See the Ground Schools section below for details.

From the Chief's office, we wish all of you a Happy and Safe Flying New Year. If at any time you have a question or need some advice, please call! 650-856-2030 ext.401.

The other day, I was waiting for my student to arrive and overheard another CFI giving instruction about airspace in the Bay Area. I was impressed by the amount of knowledge the instructor demonstrated. He carefully described in detail the dimensions and requirements of the San Francisco "B," the Oakland and San Jose "C," the various "D" airports and the remaining "E" and "G."

I have long argued that the Bay Area has the most complex airspace in the world. No one has yet come up with a more complex terminal area to dispute my claim. New York's three major airports are all in "B," which simplifies that map. I believe Gatwick and Heathrow also share "B."

It is a tall order negotiating this Bay Area without violating someone's space. Yet we teach pre-solo pilots to do just that. No wonder it takes longer to solo here than in most other places.

Years ago, it was not uncommon to see a student go solo with less than 10 hours. That is almost impossible today, even at Podunk Montana Municipal. The FAA has given us multitudes of hoops for students to jump through before they are legal to fly sans CFI. We have the mandatory written test. Then we must satisfy the requirements of FAR 61.87. In addition, the WVFC has its own requirements. All of these hurdles are justified by safety and liability issues.

Add to that the high concentration of traffic, the radio procedures, and the complex airspace of this area. Conscientious instructors sometimes find they must give a large number of hours of instruction before their student is safe and ready for solo in the Bay Area.

Now let us return to our Flight Instructor lecturing the Student Pilot on the details of our airspace. His student was nodding her head at each new fact. And the facts were coming thick and fast. How much did she retain? She was taking no notes. Maybe she was afraid of missing something while she was writing.

Scenarios

In general, questions in both directions between student and CFI result in more useful learning than multitudes of facts orally dumped on the student.

The FAA tells its DPEs that they should present their questions and tasks as much as possible in scenario form. In other words, we should set up a hypothetical problem and have the applicant solve it. For example we might suppose that the weather is 900 broken, 1200 overcast and 5 miles visibility. Can we legally land at Hayward under normal VFR? Can we legally land there at all?

Sometimes this throws the applicant, because he/she has never been exposed to that type of question. However, it is a useful way of testing a pilot's knowledge. More useful, I think, than asking "what are the VFR minimums in 'D' airspace?"

If you are instructing, I think it is helpful to ask the scenario type of question. You can do this after you have given a lecture or after your student has completed a homework assignment. You are ensuring that the student understands and can correlate the required knowledge.

If you are learning, try the scenarios on yourself. Imagine yourself in various normal, abnormal, and emergency situations. Answer the what-if questions. If you are not sure, put the problem to your CFI. You may both learn something. My students often ask me questions that I am unable to answer on the spot. Sometimes it's a little embarrassing for me, because I probably should know the answer.

Where the ability to understand and correlate is vital, is in the air. If you have never tried to correlate your aviation knowledge to real situations, facing them in flight by yourself or with passengers may be too late. How many WVFC members violate airspace each year? Yet they probably all know what the weather minimums are for each class.

I think the most effective teaching involves the student solving realistic problems on the ground and later in the air. It is more helpful than reciting a list of facts about, say, Bay Area airspace.

One of the more interesting expressions that comes up during weather briefings this time of year is "VFR not recommended." This may be the FAA weather briefer's way of covering his empennage, since as PIC you have the authority to choose to fly in some pretty ridiculous weather. As long as you meet the visibility and cloud clearance requirements of Part 91, you're legal. Not necessarily bright, not necessarily safe, but legal. In Class G airspace (which in most cases means you're pretty close to rocks and other hard stuff) you can legally fly VFR with one mile visibility as long as you stay out of the clouds. When you consider that your turn radius is a significant part of that mile, there aren't a lot of options if you're flying at the weather minimums. Plus, we've seen the weather change really quickly around here, and those rapid changes are rarely for the better.

A couple of years ago, while I was flying a Pilatus up the East Coast, I overheard a conversation between a pilot and ATC. The pilot had gotten himself on top of a cloud layer without an instrument clearance (it's legal if you're not a student pilot), and the airport he was going to didn't have an instrument approach. Weather at the time was 400 ft overcast, which you may remember means that there could be as much as 10% of the sky without clouds. Our intrepid aviator was trying to get ATC approval to fly down through the clouds, which had tops at about 1000 ft. The Minimum Enroute Altitude at that point was around 3000 ft, and ATC kept telling the pilot that he could only authorize him to descend to 3000. ATC wisely didn't remind the pilot that if he remained VFR the pilot could descend to 2000 ft (1000 ft clearance above the clouds) and possibly further if there happened to be a hole large enough to maintain the required 2000 ft horizontal clearance. After about ten minutes of this conversation, the pilot called ATC (put on your John Deere hat and your best Southern accent for this part). "Ah think Ah see the aiyerport! Kin Ah go fer it??" This, of course, was followed by a long pause. I was laughing so hard I couldn't have answered if I had been the ATC guy, so that may have been the cause. Or maybe ATC just couldn't think of a thing to say. I'm guessing the pilot made it in, because there was no accident report in from the NTSB. But it probably wasn't legal and almost certainly wasn't safe.

There is a graphical representation of the type of weather for which your local forecaster is likely to advise "VFR not recommended." This is the Low Level Significant Prog Chart. One of the features of this chart is that it shows areas of "marginal VFR" or MVFR. These are defined as areas that have ceilings between 1000 and 2000 ft and/or visibilities between 3 and 5 miles. So, you can be legal while flying MVFR, but you won't have a lot of safety margin, and if you combine it with the Sunol or Altamont passes you're into scud running, and your options drop even further.

A favorite maneuver of some San Carlos-based pilots before San Carlos had its own GPS approach was to fly the approach into Palo Alto, then follow 101 up to SQL and land. Let's follow that scenario from the instrument approach. While on the approach, the pilot clearly is legal and safe even after breaking out of the clouds at 1100 ft. If we have the typical 10 miles visibility under the clouds, the pilot may actually be able to see all the way to SQL. Let's assume the pilot is inside PAO's Class Delta airspace at the time, and cancels IFR. How, exactly, does he proceed to SQL? Along 101, the pilot is initially in Class Delta airspace, and over a congested area. Canceling IFR makes the pilot VFR and therefore either in violation of 91.119 (1000 ft above a congested area) or 91.155 (500 ft below clouds), or if the pilot does it right, he could be violating both of these regs. The pilot does have another option; he can request Special VFR. Now, what happens when the pilot leaves PAO's Class Delta? He is in Class Echo airspace, which doesn't have Special VFR. Since the Class Echo in question has a base of 700 ft, the only way to get closer than 500 ft below the clouds legally is to be below 700 ft (Class Golf airspace) and therefore violate the congested area rules. I suppose the pilot could stay legal by over-flying the PAO runway, executing the noise abatement 10 degree right turn, and then flying to the cement plant, dipping to less than 700 feet before entering Class Echo. In cases of limited visibility or loss of the horizon this wouldn't be the brightest of options, but it could be legal.

So, what's the simplest solution to all the "VFR not recommended" problems? Get an instrument rating, stay current, fly an instrument-equipped airplane, and land at airports with instrument approaches. All three West Valley airports have instrument approaches, and most of our cross-country airplanes have instruments capable of doing some or all of the approaches. More and more of our planes are equipped with approach certified GPSs, which leaves the instrument rating and instrument currency as the two variables over which you have the most control.

Become a better pilot. Expand your envelope. Fly more safely. Get an instrument rating. Stay current.

Great resolutions for the New Year.

It is lovely to fly up the California coast; in fact, I can think of nothing more beautiful… well, other than flying over the Sierras, or flying over the foothills, or across the desert, or… well darn, don't we live in one of the coolest states to be a pilot? One great location is just about a training tank away in Arcata. The view on the flight up is really one of the best. I can absorb hours of coastline and never get bored. Arcata is an interesting field, an ex military base where they began many of the evolutions of IFR flying. In fact, be very careful if you arrive at night, turning the lights on high is a blinding experience, as they were designed to cut through dense fog. There is actually a restaurant called The Silver Lining on the field. It is located on the second floor of the terminal building and has both a full menu and bar for those who can afford the libations. Having eaten there multiple times, I have never been disappointed. Good atmosphere, great service, and the décor is a fusion of 70s and the best an airport crew can come up with. The Northern California town of Arcata that surrounds the airport is also very quaint and worth the visit. Arcata makes a great IFR long cross country, and if you fly northwards to Crescent City and then back down, it qualifies for your Commercial long solo cross country as well. Roger says check it out!

Roger Wilco over and out.

I don't know what I finally did to deserve agreeable weather after trying for months, but I was finally able to fly my first cross-country. Mind you, it took a lot of last minute planning when, on Friday, I called the weather briefer from work, told him where I was planning on going, and he said, "Forget it." Geez, I did NOT want to hear that again. There would be no difficult decision making with advice like that. So I just re-planned where I was going the night before my flight.

Have you ever noticed how different the weather briefers can be from each other? The first one that morning wanted to chat me up and was making jokes, a very pleasant guy to speak with. He said, "Now, I'm showing a NOTAM for San Carlos that says there is bird activity in the area and another one that says there's a 50 foot crane off the end of the runway. I think someone's trying to play a trick on us! If you see a 50 foot crane flying around, you give us a call back!" The next one I spoke to was about as succinct as the "forget it" guy, only this one made me feel like I had to shout "Sir, yes, Sir!" into the phone every time I said something.

Back to my subject. In the innocent and perfervid sierra papa's mind, a X-country flight seems so romantic, so free. The lyrics of "Come Fly with Me" kept creeping into my head: "Weather wise it's such a lovely day. You just say the words, and we'll beat the birds down to Acapulco Bay." Okay, so I wasn't really going to Acapulco Bay; more like the ever-romantic Auburn and Ells-Willits (I've flown there, and I still don't know where the latter is; it's that much in the middle of November Foxtrot Whiskey). The weather wasn't at all like the lyrics, either. So when you get down to it, this was just nothing at all like the song. There was cloud cover over the entire Central Valley, so I could only see my first few and last few checkpoints on each leg of the trip. However, despite the splitting headache I got on the first leg that only got worse from all the concentrating and calculating, the trip definitely had the carpe diem feeling of the song. And despite the pretty much five hour-long string of choice four letter words, I must admit I was actually having a good time. I just had no idea how overwhelming it was going to be and was not at all prepared for that. Since the majority of my route had a low cloud cover, all I could do was hope that the winds aloft forecast I got was correct and that my beloved new toy, my E6B whizwheel, would not let me down. I don't mean to turn this column into one exaggerated medium for bloviating, but once the clouds went away, I was right on course. Of course, this elation changed quickly when I called up my final weather briefer for the night to file my flight plan. There are those who sound so depressed and so upset that you're taking up his time that you feel the need to apologize for ever having the stupid notion of ever taking up flying in the first place. Sorry to bother you, sir, but I still need to file this flight plan.

Of course, that Monday at work, I had to brag to all my coworkers that I did my first X-country flight. I'm sure you've all had this problem when trying to describe your adventures to non-flyers. They'll say something like, "Wow, cross-country? Can you do that? You don't even have a license. Where did you go, like someplace on the East Coast?" Not exactly. "A cross-country, as defined by the FAA, is any flight that..." I soon lose the crowd I had gathered when I said "cross-country," everyone walking off with a disappointed "Oh." Don't you people understand? This is more than just a flight to two airports you've never heard of! This is a rite of passage! Is anyone listening to me?!? Don't walk away! I'm so misunderstood.

The Activities Committee is putting together its agenda for the first half of the year. Starting in February, we'll have a series of tower tours at the three club airports, and Kevin Pinger will once again host his famous Hangar Talks. In addition, throughout the year, members of the committee will be coordinating ski trips, air show trips, and dinner flights. Training Clinics will continue with the perennial favorites - Class B Transition Clinic, Soft Field Landing Clinic, Acro Clinic - as well as some new additions. Skydiving and a campout at the Columbia Airport are in the works for early summer. Finally, with the help of Martin Michaud, we will be attempting our first ever Spring Fling in May… a day of picnic food and airplane games sure to tempt your competitive spirit. If you're interested in helping out with any of these upcoming activities, please contact Patti Andrews at whatsup@wvfc.org. Your volunteerism is appreciated!

Precision Landings (and Other Secrets)
Wednesday, January 12, 7:00pm, Palo Alto
Presented by Joshua Smith, CFI, CFII (and WVFC General Manager)
Learn how to make perfect spot, short, and soft field landings. This seminar will also include numerous tips on how to improve your overall aircraft control. Mr. Smith is the General Manager of West Valley Flying Club and was previously the Chief Pilot.

Maneuvers that will save your life
Wednesday, January 19th, 7:00pm, San Carlos
Presented by Dave Fry, ATP, CFI, CFII, Aviation Safety Counselor
We learn lifesaving maneuvers during our private and commercial training, but without practice proficiency rapidly fades. Rediscover the techniques for recovering from unusual attitudes, steep spirals, spins and more, and learn what can happen if these techniques are misapplied. Dave Fry is a flight instructor at West Valley Flying Club. He holds CFI, CFII, MEI, CFIG, and ATP certificates. He also has a Citation Type Rating and over 7000 hours of flight experience, including 700 hours in the Pilatus PC-12.

Internet Weather Sources
Wednesday, January 26, 7:00pm, Hayward
Presented by Cassandra Wiedemann, CFI
Modern PC and web-based software makes getting weather information fast and convenient. In this seminar, we will look at the broad range of internet-based weather sources and help you build your toolbox of sites and pages that will get you the information you need to safely plan your flight. Cassandra Wiedemann works at West Valley Flying Club. She holds a CFI certificate and has been teaching students in the Bay Area since 2000.

HWD Private Pilot Ground School will meet Tuesday nights from 6:30-9:30pm, starting on January 11 and running 10 weeks. Cost is $200 per student. Contact instructors Sandy Wiedemann at syzygy2002@mac.com or Eric Jewell at eric@flywitheric.com.

SQL Private Pilot Ground School meets Tuesdays 6:30-9:00 pm with instructors Justin Warren and Peter Long. The cost is a $200 one-time fee, after which you may re-attend as often as you like. The next session will commence January 11, 2005. For information, contact Justin Warren at justinwarren@sbcglobal.net or Peter Long at plong@outback-aviation.com.

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 January 6. Contact Kyp by email at lkypta@earthlink.net.

Initial CFI & Commercial Pilot Airplane Course
February 14 to 25, Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm
This course is in two sections: The first week is attended by both Initial CFI Students and Commercial Pilot Students. The second week is attended by Initial CFI Students ONLY. This course prepares you with the core knowledge for teaching people how to fly, and for the commercial pilots, it covers all aeronautical knowledge areas for certification.

Week one covers Principles of Flight, Navigation, Weather Theory, Practical Weather, FAR 61, 91, AIM, Systems, Aeronautical Decision Making, Cockpit Resourse Management and more. Week two covers The Fundamentals of Instructing - Theory and Practice, a systematic way to teach flying (a method to teach a student from 0 to Private Pilot), developing lesson plans, and presenting material in a class room setting as well as a one to one setting.

The course was designed by Mike Shiflett, DPE, and has been run for over nine years with a first time pass rate of about 85% for initial CFI. About 60% of the course is multi media. At the end of the course you will have covered all required aeronautical knowledge areas for both Commercial and Flight Instructor and may begin your flight training!

The course includes all books, handouts, reprints, etc. This is NOT a written prep course for the knowledge test. It IS a course for the practical aspects of flying. Call Mike Shiflett at 408-666-3133 for more information, or you can log on to http://www.checkrides.com and check out the complete syllabus under Ground Schools.