Today was more NDB intercept practice, but this time in a real airplane. At 1.0 hours on the hobbs it was a relatively short flight, but that’s OK I accomplished what I needed to do. Nick had be intercepting inbound and outbound tracks to Stockton NDB, some with full panel, others with partial panel (AI and HI covered). I did fine, but I still don’t like NDBs, and I could use a little more practice. While I may jump on FSX to work on the NDB stuff a bit more, Nick tells me that during our next few flights I will be putting it all together; working on my BAIF, Partial Panel, Timed Courses/Turns, and VOR and NDB skills. Then it’s time for a stage check with another instructor.
On the way home it was time once again for me to practice my localizer tracking skills, and I am happy to report that I did very well, with only very minor swings of the needle. When Nick told me to remove the hood, I once again found myself about a mile out on final, but this time I was right on centerline. Solid, right Nick? ;)
The one interesting, and slightly freaky, thing that did happen today was that we heard someone declare an emergency on the Approach frequency we were monitoring. The pilot of a C182 told the approach controller he was having engine trouble and was descending for an emergency landing. The last transmission we all heard from him was that he was at 800′ and would be landing on a road. I have to hand it to the pilot, from what we could hear he was surprising cool and collected and appeared to be handling the situation quite well. The approach controller was very helpful and directed another aircraft in the vicinity to circle overhead to survey the situation, as well as alerting local authorities. A minute later the other aircraft said that he had located him and that it looked like he had landed fine. Nick and I, who had been listening very intently, both let out a big sigh of relief as the Approach controller responded back that the pilot of the downed aircraft had just called from his cell phone and that all was OK. Shortly after, a CHP helicopter was on frequency and on his way to assist along with ground emergency units. Scary, but I am glad it ended well. Today I found mention of the incident on a local news web site. Kudos to you Mr. Pilot, whoever you are.
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