***Watch in HIGH DEFINITION***

The above video is the second half of a previous post I wrote about – PA32 Landing at LWB 22May2011.

A dear friend of mine with a PA32, also known as the Piper 6X, lends me his airplane whenever I’m in need of a little flying fix. This flight was a return trip from Lewisburg, WV (KLWB) to Danville, VA (KDAN) after taking my special lady friend on her first $100 hamburger run.

This second video starts holding short of runway 22 at KLWB. You’ll hear me give my takeoff briefing explaining what actions I’ll be taking in the event of any emergency during departure including how I’ll fly if we lose the engine during climb out. My IFR flight plan was for 5,000ft direct from KLWB to KDAN, although my issued clearance was for a climb to 7,000ft, presumably due to the mountainous terrain and the minimum vectoring altitude for that area.

Tower clears me for takeoff from runway 22 on course. After takeoff, and at 700ft above ground level, I make a left turn direct to Danville, VA (KDAN). As we climb out and level off, I talk my passenger through choosing an emergency landing spot by looking for roads and fields below us and we decide the interstate below us is our only viable option. I also explain how I am searching for other aircraft traffic both visually outside and using the Avidyne traffic equipment.

In addition to air traffic control communication, you’ll hear me talk through my check list items, as well as verbalizing all of my actions and decisions so my passenger (not a pilot) understands everything that is going on. The video ends during cruise portion of the flight but captures about the first 13 minutes after takeoff and includes some nice visuals of flying over the Blue Ridge mountains.

Please pardon the following amateur video mistakes: I forgot to clean the windscreen and I forgot to turn off the camera’s built in image stabilization which caused some rolling on the screen.

If you enjoyed this video, do me a favor and click the “LIKE” button or leave a comment; I’d love to hear from you!

Clear Skies & Calm Winds,

Len Costa

***Watch in HIGH DEFINITION***

A dear friend of mine with a PA32, also known as the Piper 6X, lends me his airplane whenever I’m in need of a little flying fix. This flight was from Danville, VA (KDAN) to Lewisburg, WV (KLWB) for the obligatory $100 hamburger run, which coincidentally cost more like $212 in avgas and food, but I digress…

This particular flight was a couple of “firsts” – 1. It was my special lady friends first small plane ride, and 2. It was my first time playing around with video equipment in the cockpit.

You’ll notice I made a few amateur video mistakes. First being I forgot to clean the windscreen and you can see two huge bug splats during the whole video. Sorry in advance! Second, I was using a camcorder with a digital shutter instead of a higher quality video camera. That’s why you’ll see the prop arcing across the screen. Third, I forgot to turn off the camera’s built in image stabilization which is why you’ll sometimes note the image rolling on the screen. Live and learn!

Before taking my girl up for a ride that day I had to go out and get single engine day current first. After my 3 landings, I picked her up, and off we went. Since it was my lady’s first flight, and I’m a Flight Instructor, you’ll hear me talking her through everything that I’m doing. Which is why I’m actually publishing this video. Maybe someone will find it helpful.

The weather was nice, calm winds in both departure and destination airports, clouds about 6,000 ft MSL. I decided to file IFR for the flight back and forth which was a good decision with the cloud heights and flying over the mountains.

Upon arrival into the local LWB area the tower controller asked me to extend downwind so he could depart a jet off Runway 22 before our arrival. Naturally, I complied before turning about a 6 mile final.

Once we arrived in LWB we had lunch at the Dutch Haus restaurant on field and then flew back to DAN to put Tango Charlie back to bed.

Let me know what you think of this video. Sound off in the comments below!

OH and one more thing… If you enjoyed this video, do me a favor and click the “Like” button on the top or bottom of this post. Thanks!

The second video in this series is available here: PA32 Departure from KLWB 22May2011