Hello to all and welcome to autumn and the onset of winter. As the big cheerleader of WVFC and flying in general, I will point out just how much fun it is to fly in all of the seasons. Autumn and winter are certainly no exceptions. Being a person who was basically born into flying, I find that I need very little justification to get myself up in the air; however, if you do need one for this month's newsletter, it is the airplane's great response to the induction of that cool, crisp morning air. Pay attention to cold start procedures, particularly priming the aircraft correctly.

This month has been a good month in terms of member feedback. Of course, in my position you get acclimatized to being the last recipient of the "how we can do things better" and "boy, your club screwed up this week" emails and calls. This last month has been a bit different. I was reminded of the importance of making time to be at the satellite facilities (SQL and HWD) to check in and get the pulse. It goes without saying that this is great interaction and a necessary function for identifying concerns, but it was also great to receive a good deal of positive feedback from members who are really enjoying the services that the club provides. And trust me, the positive feedback makes it back to everyone as quickly as the opportunities for improvement. When people say, "thanks for having a great club," this also goes a long way.

Speaking of feedback, it is time for the annual member survey. You will see it in two forms this year:

1. There will be an online document through which members may provide feedback. The url for the online survey is http://www.wvfc.org/mem/survey/survey.html.
2. There will be a man-on-the-street survey. This will be conducted randomly throughout the month and seeks to provide the membership's sentiments on club progress, activities and general satisfaction with the club directly to the Board of Directors.

I encourage participation as this is a member-owned club.

On another positive note, please view the following article written by a young man recently mentored by club CFI Dave Zittin. The club regularly sponsors these kinds of activities, and they sometimes seem to go unnoticed; it is great to see the effect such a relationship can have on a young person's life. I personally thank Dave Zittin for taking a lead on this. http://www.hawaii.edu/oceanic/rotuma/os/Youth/youth003.htm.

I would like to encourage everyone who flies out of KPAO to join the Palo Alto Airport Association. As everyone knows, power is in the numbers, and, in politics, it is in how many people are part of a particular group and/or club. The PAAA is going to be a critical component in the continued viability of Palo Alto Airport. As many of you have probably read, Santa Clara County has said it no longer wants to run the airport past 2017. Although this date seems far off, critical decisions will be made soon, and the PAAA will play an important role. Your role as a supporter of this airport is to support those who will lead the fight in preserving its long term health. For more information, please go to the PAAA web page http://www.paloaltoairport.org.

To more directly reflect the fluctuations in fuel prices, the fuel surcharge amounts will, starting November, be adjusted on the first and the fifteenth of the month. Up to this point they were only adjusted on the first of the month. As of November 1, surcharges are as follows:
        KPAO = $4/hr
        KSQL = $4/hr
        KHWD = $3/hr

Finally, I would like to acknowledge some important member participation in recent club projects and activities. Running this club is a team effort. Many thanks to them all, and if I have missed anyone, please accept my apologies!

• Steve Blonstein for writing the Cirrus Survey.
• Martin Michaud, Robert French, Scott Stauter, Richard Terrill, Don Styles and Dave Zittin for their work on the CFI handbook revision.
• Torea Rodriguez for developing and hosting the new member orientations.
• Torea Rodriguez, Patti Andrews, Kevin Donnelly and Gary Waldeck for their help in continuing to develop a better squawk communication process.
• Dave Zittin, Scott Stauter, Lennert Von Clemm and Peter DelVecchio for their work on the mountain checkout.
• Nick Ulman for his work on soft field checkouts for tailwheel aircraft.
• Lucy Geever for hosting the club's annual Night Currency Clinic this year.
• Erin Seidemann for doing an extra round of edits on the club's newsletter every month.
• If you'd like to get involved, we currently need volunteers to serve as Activities Committee Chair and Safety Seminar organizer.

Thanks for your continued support.
Stay current and stay safe.

Just in case you are wondering what the chief pilot's office is up to these days, let me tell you about a project we have just started that will most probably be of interest to you. In the next two months and with the help of the instructors, we will be working on improving the phase check packages. Most of you have gone through at least one phase check. For your private pilot certificate, you have gone through three of them and with each subsequent rating or airplane checkout, you have had to go through another one.

By now, I am hoping that you can see the advantages of the phase checks: they give you the opportunity to fly with different instructors. This gives you a taste of your checkride and of your first passenger. It's also a good way to get used to being evaluated. In aviation, whether we like it or not, we spend a lot of our time being evaluated through diverse checkouts, authorizations to fly certain types of airplanes (endorsements, type ratings, etc.), and for good reasons, safety being the most important of them. On the financial side, the phase check process we have in place allows West Valley to have one of the best if not purely the best aircraft insurance rates on the market for instruction purposes. This in turn allows us to diversify the fleet and get some of the most up-to-date, fastest and most interesting airplanes around.

So, what will the improvement be about? We will keep the same type of phase checks, but we will take a close look at the contents: the questions will be revisited to be more in line with the current PTS and more practical rather than mostly theoretical. Also, through the years and with our experience, some of the questions can be perfected. Before we start on the private phase checks, we will create sound multi-engine and instructor phase checks and will revamp the Cirrus phase check package. Then, when all of these are taken care of, it will be time for the commercial, instrument and private phase checks to be revised. As you can see, this will be quite a busy month.

You, the members, are welcome to send your comments, suggestions, or even questions on this or any topic to the chief pilot's office either at dominm@wvfc.org or chiefpilot@wvfc.org. We would like to hear about your experiences during your phase checks and have your input on the improvements that you would like to see.

That's all folks. Happy flying!

The ATIS said 1200 overcast 6 mi in mist. Sean and I were flying a Citation into Santa Monica (SMO), and, as FO, among my duties was to chase down ATIS, compare that info to the chart and brief the approach. The next-to-last step-down was to 1120 at BEVEY, and the MDA was 680 following CULVE, so we're both thinking that this approach is a piece of cake. Shortly before the 1120 step-down at BEVEY, Socal approach turned us over to tower, who not only tells us we're number one, cleared to land, but also that the previous two planes had executed the missed approach. At this point, things are looking a bit less positive, but since Sean and I had briefed the missed approach along with the approach itself (and had set the FMS, navs, and radios for the miss), we were ready for whatever the actual weather turned out to be. Just before we got to 1200 feet, we started getting ground contact. (Actually, as anyone who's been there knows, there IS no ground in Los Angeles, just lots of buildings, cement, asphalt … but I digress.) Oddly, as we continued our descent past CULVE, the clouds came down, too. Sean was flying, and my job was to find the runway. After we got to 680 feet, we still couldn't see the runway, or much of anything else for that matter. When we finally saw the runway, we were nearly straight above the numbers - not a landable position.

Plan B

We executed the missed approach, got vectors for another approach, then thought better of it and asked for the ILS 24R into LAX. Let's go mix it up with the big dogs.

Shooting the approach to LAX is nothing compared to the ground part. You land on the runway at the farthest north part of the airfield, then taxi to the part that is the most southerly. Ground Control is a practicing auctioneer who isn't interested in hearing "say again" or "progressive." At this point, I should note one thing that even a lowly 152 has over a Citation: the prop blows all the rain off the windshield. On a jet, what you see is what you can't get rid of. It probably comes as no real surprise that for most other purposes I like the Citation better. I digress again.

We actually got to the FBO with no real problems, got our passengers on their way, scored a crew car and headed out to find breakfast. Since our takeoff was at 0630 and we'd been at the plane since 0530, we were ready. Unfortunately, LA traffic was ready for us as well. 405 (actually when you're in LA, it's THE 405) was a linear parking lot, and Sean wanted to head up to SMO to talk to the folks up there before we ate. We eventually got there and the ceiling, if anything, was worse than what we had flown through.

As Sean and I were talking with the FBO folks there, we heard a couple of planes call the miss. Then a guy in a Baron called in and said he was about 10 minutes out. One of the ladies behind the counter said, "He'll make it in. He ALWAYS gets through."

Sean and I looked at each other and shook our heads. The folks behind the counter are looking at this guy as a great pilot and (I suppose) by implication at us as lesser talents.

This actually IS a matter of who's a better pilot, and my money is on Sean and all the others like him who NEVER compromise on descent altitudes. Who NEVER use the sight of some building as an excuse to descend "just a little farther" to see if the runway can be seen. Who ALWAYS have the discipline to plan for and accept a go around and a missed approach when the conditions warrant.

Now, there is a possibility that the clouds may have parted just in time for this bloke to see the runway and to make a smooth descent to landing. But for this to happen EVERY time? If the guy's that lucky, he needs to buy some lottery tickets!

Some day in the future, there is a pretty good shot that this guy will encounter conditions that look better than they are, when he has an altimeter with a 75 foot error (max allowed by IFR rules) with a changing altimeter setting that results in being further below the published Minimum Descent Altitude. Now, add some turbulence or a down draft, wind shear, or some other problem and his epitaph will read, "He almost always got through."

When that happens, pilots like Sean will actually get there because they landed elsewhere and drove. They'll make it through because they're better pilots. Not more aggressive. Not braver. Better.

Last month I moaned about an Airman's Application that showed a Student Pilot Certificate number totally different from the one on the student pilot certificate form presented by the applicant. It turned out that the AME (the doctor) had made multiple errors in the process. I still wound up chastising the un-named CFI for not warning me prior to the test. We could have avoided several hours of wasted time if I had had prior warning.

But that is nothing. This month I encountered the mother of all paperwork snafus. An applicant for the instrument checkride presented with NO APPLICATION. In addition, the CFI was not immediately available to save the day. Of course, the checkride had to be re-scheduled. The time was lost.

The DPE (Designated Pilot Examiner) usually makes his/her living by giving pilot examinations. When the application or logbook endorsements are not correct and the CFI is not available to correct the problem, the examiner loses that revenue time. In order to partially soften the financial blow, the DPE usually retains the full charge ($350-$400) for the examination. When the re-scheduled test takes place, an additional fee of about $200 is charged. That is a net loss of around $175 for the examiner and around $200 for the applicant. It is a lose-lose situation. And the biggest loser, by far, is the applicant.

The recommending CFI, however, loses nothing except his/her reputation.

Well, faithful readers, the landmarks are getting a little more obscure and harder to research, but that just makes them all the more interesting! This month I'm going to talk about the "antenna farm," which from the air looks like a bunch of toothpicks stuck in the middle of the marsh just southeast of the PAO 31 runway near Highway 101. From the ground (the facility is a very short walk from East Bayshore Road), you realize just how many antennas there are and how tall they are.

On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse, the inventor of the telegraph and the code bearing his name, sent the first message by telegraph. "What hath God wrought" (from Numbers 23:23) was sent along 35 miles of steel wire from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. Since then, Morse Code has been used extensively for long distance communication - first by wire, and then by radio. Even when HF and VHF radios became ubiquitous in the early 1900s, Morse Code retained its usefulness.

Because the Morse Code signal is so much simpler than voice or data, it can be sent using very little bandwidth (using a technique called Continuous Wave, or "CW") and can be heard even through severe atmospheric interference. It can also be heard much further than voice using the same amount of power. These advantages together made Morse Code the standard for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communication for nearly 100 years.

In 1910, the Federal Telegraph Company was formed in San Francisco to build a large radio station on the beach near what is now the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. That station, call sign KFS, initially consisted of a single spark wireless transmitter for communication in Morse Code, although additional transmitters were added rapidly. After the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, all ships were required to have Morse Code equipment on board and a radio operator on duty 24 hours a day. Thus started an 80-year long era of ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communication. Federal Telegraph was one of many companies that provided commercial communication service, charging companies by the message.

KFS was taken over by the U.S. Navy during World War I to allow communication with U.S. battleships. The station was moved in 1921 to the marsh just east of Palo Alto (the current "antenna farm"), and the San Francisco station was closed in 1927. Around this time, the station was also sold to Mackay Cable & Wireless. In July, 1943, a new 50KW transmitter was activated at KFS under the callsign KROJ and provided a relay service for the Voice of America. This service was terminated in 1945 at the end of World War II.

The exact corporate history of the site after WWII is impossible to ascertain (at least by me), but during the next 30 years it was owned by ITT World Communications (which eventually called the site Palo Alto Radio) and then KFS World Communications. The site still contains an old, unused mailbox with the ITT name on it at the front gate.

For the engineers among us, the antennas include twelve full-wave dipoles, two inverted cones, and a loaded vertical. Seventeen transmitters were in use for CW. KFS built a separate receive site six miles south of Half Moon Bay. If you've ever been doing emergency landing practice in those fields south along the coast from HAF, and noticed a whole bunch of tall antennas near your favorite field, they are the KFS receive antennas. The receive antennas include three log-periodic dipole arrays, several wire V-beams, and several rhombics.

ITT had transferred much of the Palo Alto site to the city in 1977 and held an easement for their continued operation. In January 1994, Palo Alto bought the easement from KFS for $370,000, thus securing one of the last remaining large pieces of the baylands not under the city's control. There are currently no plans to renovate or demolish the site, although in 1994 there were some rumors about turning the large radio building into a youth hostel. Obviously this hasn't happened yet.

In 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard officially stopped listening for Morse Code distress calls. KFS sold the Half Moon Bay facility to Globe Wireless, a company specializing in maritime communications (including email and telefax) using satellite and HF communications. With the newly available communications technology, they decommissioned all Morse Code transmissions. The last commercial radiotelegraph transmission in North America was made from the Palo Alto site at 2359 UTC on July 12, 1999. The final words transmitted by KFS? "What hath God wrought?"

The squawks we've seen in maintenance have been more straightforward these past few weeks, with lots of good ones to choose from like this one, which is clear, detailed, and helped our MX staff to get right to the problem: "Xponder set to 0341. Norcal says they are receiving 1341."

Among the less clear candidates for this month's squawk of the month was "beacon light u/s." The MX staff had some fun trying to imagine what "u/s" might mean. After enlisting the support of the Front Desk staff, they discovered that "u/s" is apparently a standard abbreviation for "unserviceable" in the engineering world. Since our MX techs aren't engineers, they would not have known this. Much more straightforward would be to use the standard AVIATION abbreviation: inop.

Another one they had some fun with was "Nick on left prop." Hopefully, the problem with this one is fairly obvious, though you may have to think about it for a moment… the left "prop" is, after all, just a half a revolution away from being the right prop. Further complicating this poor prop's identity crisis was the fact that it had three, not two blades. And yes, it was on a single engine airplane. More effective in helping the mechanic find the offending nick would have been to note whether it was on the leading or (less likely) trailing edge of the prop's blade and how far away it was from either the hub or the tip. Simple enough… the leading edge is the one with all the bugs on it, and if you don't trust your ability to estimate in inches, use your plotter to measure it out, as in "Nick in prop, leading edge, 3 sm from the tip on a sectional scale."

David Dodd, Support Manager for the Northern California TRACON, has agreed to write an occasional column for the club's newsletter about ATC's areas of concern and what pilots can do to help controllers do their jobs better. Here is his first installment.

Class Bravo
Please remember, you must hear the words "Cleared into Class Bravo" prior to entering the airspace. Just establishing two way communications is not authorization for entrance. We stress to controllers to use the phrases "cleared into" or "remain clear of" Class Bravo so that you have clear, concise instructions. We need to work together to ensure positive control and a clear understanding of what you want to do. One thing you can do to help yourselves is to know where the Class Bravo is and where it is not, and to know where you are or are not.

Runway 30 Departure Procedure
I would recommend that everyone thoroughly review the SQL Runway 30 departure procedure. We have had some problems with high performance aircraft making a wide right turn and coming into conflict with the SFO final. Remember, it is safe to assume there will always be large aircraft on the SFO approach. Attention to detail when operating in or out of SQL requires the utmost attention to ensure a safe flight.

San Carlos GPS Approach
The GPS Approach at SQL is very work intensive for Norcal. We have to coordinate with Moffett, Palo Alto and San Carlos prior to someone making the approach. We are happy to provide services, but sometimes workload and coordination may lead to what we hope is only a slight delay prior to getting you on your way. If you make this approach on your own while flying VFR, keep in mind you must contact these towers prior to penetrating their area of control.

On any given day, thousands of pilots take to the skies in a harmonious relationship between pilot control, airplane maneuverability, and Mother Nature. This is what happens when Mother Nature has her way with our beloveds (and this was all done on the ground).

Welcome to what's left of Lakefront Airport (KNEW) in New Orleans. This is where I took my first flight lesson before moving out to the Bay Area and joining West Valley. The picture below on the left is where my flight instructor's office and school used to be. I guess the property could be sold now as "open air," as could what was Million Air, as shown on the right. I only took about five hours of flying lessons before moving to San Francisco, so I can't say I have a strong attachment to Lakefront Airport, but it's definitely got sentimental value, and no pilot likes to see an airport looking like this. It was also a great little airport in the Northeastern part of the city, right on Lake Pontchartrain, and had cool practice areas over the bayous and swamps. Unfortunately, this unique spot meant that the airport took the first hit of Hurricane Katrina as it made landfall. The airport actually sits outside the protection of the levee walls (despite the levee wall breech that made history, there were still hundreds of miles of levee walls that protected other parts of the city), so there was literally nothing between it and the strongest winds of the storm, as is quite evident in the pictures. In the past, Lakefront Airport has suffered from flooding and wind damage from other hurricanes, but nothing has ever been this severe.

This airport is MUCH closer to the city than New Orleans International (KMSY) and would have been a great help to the rescue effort if it were functioning.

I know this has nothing to do with anything out here, but it's a great reminder that we should never take for granted what we have with the club, the airport, and our planes. The city of New Orleans was much worse even than the damage you see here, but that's another set of pictures and another story.

WOMEN IN AVIATION MEETING
Monday, November 14, 7:00 pm, PAO
The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Women in Aviation International meets monthly in the back classroom at West Valley's PAO location. WAI promotes women's involvement in all aspects of aviation. All are welcome - men as well as women, so please join us. For information, contact Sandra Clifford at sjclifford.clifford@gmail.com.

SAFETY SEMINAR: SAFARI FLYING
Wednesday, November 16, 7:00 pm, SQL
Presented by Edward Hunt
Ever thought about a flying safari? It's relatively simple. Go to South Africa, get a South African pilot's license, a 182 and head North. Actually, there are a few more details than that. My wife and I recently spent two weeks flying in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia visiting safari camps. This talk will go into some of the differences between flying in the States and Southern Africa and the things you run into on safari.

STEARMAN DAY
Saturday, November 18, PAO
Stearman Days give West Valley members a unique opportunity to get dual instruction in the club's nostalgic, open cockpit biplane. If you haven't flown it yet, treat yourself to a flight this month. Contact Tammy Tran to schedule, ttran@wvfc.org.

MEMBER STEERING COMMITTEE
Tuesday, November 22, 6:00 pm, PAO
The Member Steering Committee meets every other month to provide all members an additional / alternative venue to voice comments, concerns, commendations or criticisms. Have a great idea for the club? Bring it with you! For information, contact Patti Andrews at pandrews@wvfc.org.

HOLIDAY PARTY
Saturday, December 10
Mark your calendar and look for your invitation to the club's annual holiday party. This is one of the biggest events of the year at West Valley, so don't miss it! Contact Tammy Tran if you'd like to help with the party, ttran@wvfc.org.

SQL Private Pilot Ground School meets Tuesdays 6:30-9:00 pm with instructor Dan Dyer. The cost is a $200 one-time fee, after which you may re-attend as often as you like. The next cycle begins after Thanksgiving, on Tuesday, November 29. Students may start at any time. For information, contact Dan Dyer at dan@dkdyer.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 Thursday, November 3. Contact Kyp at lkypta@earthlink.net.

HWD Private Pilot Ground School meets Tuesday nights from 6:30-9:30 pm. The cost is $200 per student. Contact instructors Sandy Wiedemann at syzygy2002@mac.com, or Eric Jewell at eric@flywitheric.com.