KHEF-KCHO-KHEF
It's been a while since I've flown. My home airport, Leesburg, VA (KJYO), has been rehabilitating their runway and my flying club decided it was best to move the plane to Manassas, VA (KHEF) for the duration. While KHEF is a short 15 minute flight from KJYO, it's about a 45-minute drive from my house. I live only about 4 miles from the Leesburg airport, so you can imagine how the utility of the plane has been affected by its temporary basing at KHEF.
Normally, I can schedule the plane for a couple hours in the evening during the week if I feel the need for currency. With the airport less than 10 minutes away, it's not inconvenient at all. However, that's not nearly as much of an option with the plane in Manassas. Add to that typical weekend bookings for summer usage and you end up with "wishing I was up there".
This weekend's bookings were cancelled, though, which allowed me to squeeze in a couple hours' flight time. I planned an IFR flight from KHEF to Charlottseville, VA (KCHO) - home of Monticello and the University of Virginia (not that I'd get to see any of that). This was the first flight I've made from Manassas since we moved the plane there.
The flight was great with smooth air and scattered to broken clouds all along the route of flight (total Hobbs time = 1.5 hours). Since the clouds were generally right at my altitude (6000 and 5000 feet, going and coming), I was left punching through a few of them. A couple of vectors put me right along side or between cumulus "mid-rises". This was one of those flights that reinvigorates the flying "bug".
Critiques:
- Carefully brief departure procedures. Taking off from KHEF, I was cleared for the Arsenal 1 departure via the WITTO transition then direct to KCHO. Not a problem. Now be sure to read the text page of the departure procedure. Notice the instruction "Climb runway heading to 800’, then climbing left turn to 2000’ to intercept CSN R-056 to CSN VORTAC". For reasons unknown, I read that as "Climb runway heading to 2000', left turn to intercept CSN R-056." Obviously, this was incorrect. Read your departure procedures carefully.
- Pay attention to runway headings. This one wasn't as big a deal as the departure procedure, but it bears mentioning. Approaching KCHO the controller asked if I wanted an instrument or visual approach. Conditions were well into the VMC category and I didn't have a safety pilot so I opted for the visual approach. A bit after that, he vectored me to a heading of 200 with "expect the visual". I punched through a cloud and found the airport about 10 miles off my 2 o'clock. It seems the controller was vectoring me to the east side of the field in case I needed/wanted the ILS 3. He switched me to tower and tower cleared me "straight in runway 21, cleared to land" and I proceeded to set up a visual approach to the airport. Mentally, I started planning a visual pattern and landing - to runway 3 (the only ILS approach available). I caught my error in plenty of time, but I should have caught it sooner. After all, the winds were clearly favoring runway 21, the ATIS said 21, the tower said 21 and I was heading 240 to the airport. It should have been obvious which end of the asphalt I should have been planning for.
- Know your equipment. Flying back to KHEF I asked for and was told to expect the GPS 34R approach. Again, VMC conditions prevailed (after ducking beneath the broken cloud layer). I had properly created a flight plan in our Garmin GNS-430 and it was correctly programmed for the GPS 34R approach with "vectors". The trouble began after the controller vectored me for the HANOK waypoint with "intercept final approach course". I should have been prepared for that, but I wasn't. I started figuring out how to reset the approach in the GNS for "approach without vectors" and ended up flying through the final approach course. The controller graciously guided me back on course and I was able to get the GNS working as expected shortly after that. Again, this wasn't much of an issue given the flight conditions, but I expect I'll be playing with the Garmin simulator for a bit to practice in-flight re-programming.
I've posted still photos here.
Departing Manassas, VA (KHEF) (5:37)
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Landing at Charlottesville, (KCHO) (8:09)
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Departing Charlottesville, VA (KCHO) (5:43)
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Landing at Manassas, (KHEF) (11:45)
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