Post by mydogspa on Jul 29, 2015 14:59:07 GMT
In chapter 6 after Grey undresses and sleeps with the comatose Ana, he takes her via helicopter to Seattle from Portland in his helicopter N124CT. While I haven't read the book, this is what has to happen to make that flight 'successful' in the sense that the craft doesn't end up as a lawn dart:
(Oh, and I'm not a helicopter pilot, so some of these are my best guess based on the fixed-wing equivalent, so bear with me here)
Check weather and see if this will be an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) or VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flight. He has to be able to land on his own helipad at the apartment where there is no instrument approach, so it has to be VFR in Seattle, at least so he can land without hitting the building. something that is difficult to do if he can't see it. I think another reviewer made some comment that he didn't want to bother Ana with the 'details' of IFR flight, so let's assume we're IFR for this trip.
File IFR flight plan with expected route departure time, fuel on board, alternate landing airport, etc.
Arrive at the airport. Thoroughly preflight the aircraft and ensure there is sufficient fuel to reach original destination, alternate airport and 30 to 45 minutes of reserve. Get passenger(s) in the aircraft and belted. Start engine and let warm up.
Check ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) on frequency 128.35 and get wind, active runways for fixed-wing aircraft (don't want to run into those), altimeter setting, and other pertinent data.
Contact Clearance Delivery on frequency 120.135 to advise you've filed IFR, they will issue you your 'clearance,' i.e., your route of flight. In this case it's most likely the 'Portland One' departure via BattleGround (BTG) VORTAC (VHF Omni-Range/TACan) navigation station, Victor Airway 495, Direct Seattle (KSEA) at an altitude of 6000 feet, departure frequency 124.35. Squawk 4632 You read all that back, they say "Readback correct, Advise ready for release"
You program the needed waypoints into your GPS. (KPDX, BTG, KSEA) Garmin had just come out with the GTN 750/650 touchscreen series about 2 months before this date, so it's unknown if Grey is using this or the older GNS430W/530W which are a lot more involved in programming waypoints. You set your transponder to code 4632. (this number is unique for your flight, so when it shows up on the controller's radar screen he can positively differentiate you from your neighbor)
You dial in 121.9 on the radio and call the ground frequency (if you have to 'taxi' to another spot on the airfield to take off. sometimes you do, but most likely they will send you over direct to tower frequency and let you depart perpendicular to the flow of fixed wing aircraft)
You dial in 118.7 on the radio, wait for an open spot on the frequency, and tell tower you are "Helicopter November One Two Four Charlie Tango at (location on airfield) with ATIS (ID), IFR to Seattle, ready for release"
Tower will tell you to wait, contact the TRACON over the land line telling them you're ready to go, and they will advise the tower when you can take off. At the appropriate time, the tower will call you and tell you "Cleared for takeoff" and give you departure instructions to avoid fixed wing aircraft and get you to the BTG VORTAC and the departure frequency (124.35).
Pull up on the cyclic to increase engine speed, verify rotor speed is adequate for flight, and take off. Follow the procedures to avoid the fixed wing aircraft and climb to the initial altitude they told you. Tower will contact you just shortly after takeoff and advise you to go to approach frequency.
You call approach on 124.35 and advise 'climbing out of 1000 feet for (intermediate altitude in the initial instructions you got from the tower) .' They will reply with 'radar contact, proceed direct Battleground, cancel altitude restrictions' You repeat what they said and turn the craft to the BTG waypoint on the GPS navigator.
If Ana pesters you in all of this, you really have to tell her to shut up because you're busy.
Once you get to the cruise altitude of 6000 feet, it's just a matter of maintaining altitude, heading, and all systems on the aircraft. The workload is lighter in this phase of flight, so you can have a little chitchat. I think one of the other reviewers says Ana asks "How do you know where you're going?" If there are no clouds outside, the answer is obvious: LOOK OUT THE WINDOW! You've flown an aircraft for long enough that you know where you're going based on visual cues from outside the craft. If you see nothing but clouds, however, there is this magical thing called a COMPASS that magically tells you which way you are going, and the new GPS navigators pretty much show you where you are on a moving map display (your active leg of the course you programmed in before shows up as a magenta line on the navigator. If your aircraft symbol is on that line, you're on course.) And you'd better be, because Victor Airway 495 is only a few miles from a Military Operations Area (MOA) airspace "Rainier 1,2,&3" and Restricted Airspace R6703 A, B, and C just south of Gray AAF field on the south edge of town. You don't want to drift into that airspace. Really.
As you get near Seattle you change frequency to Seattle Approach Control on 125.6 and they will tell you to expect the IFR approach to a specific runway at SEA and what the active KSEA ATIS information is at that time as it could have changed from when you left KPDX.
As another reviewer noted in their recap (https://alysbcohen.wordpress.com/2015/06/27/grey-chapter-6-sunday-may-21st-2011-part-3/ ) EL has it go dark at 8 PM, when in fact, it's still very much in daylight at that day of the year. Second, Seattle only lets approved news and fire/rescue helicopters land on helipads in Seattle. Even Bill Gates can't fly into downtown Seattle and land. So there's another EL-didn't-do-her-homework moment.
But if you could land on the helipad, you're in a bit of a pickle because there is no official instrument approach for that helipad. And Seattle Approach expects you to land at the main Seattle airport. So, to fix all that, you tell the approach controller "Four Charlie Tango, Cancel IFR" The approach controller will respond with "4CT, cancel IFR, squawk VFR, frequency change approved"
You dial 1200 into the transponder and fly direct to the helipad, land, and shut down the engine.
In the book, Grey 'cant take his eyes off Ana. Well, bub, you do that and you're going to wind up as a lawn dart somewhere. FLY THE HELICOPTER!!!!!!!! If it were cloudy conditions leaving KPDX there's this thing we real pilots call "Cumulo-granite" which is an interesting mixture of clouds and mountains that can't be seen. So you have to do what it takes to AVOID THAT.
Ugh. This guy. . . . . .
(Oh, and I'm not a helicopter pilot, so some of these are my best guess based on the fixed-wing equivalent, so bear with me here)
Check weather and see if this will be an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) or VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flight. He has to be able to land on his own helipad at the apartment where there is no instrument approach, so it has to be VFR in Seattle, at least so he can land without hitting the building. something that is difficult to do if he can't see it. I think another reviewer made some comment that he didn't want to bother Ana with the 'details' of IFR flight, so let's assume we're IFR for this trip.
File IFR flight plan with expected route departure time, fuel on board, alternate landing airport, etc.
Arrive at the airport. Thoroughly preflight the aircraft and ensure there is sufficient fuel to reach original destination, alternate airport and 30 to 45 minutes of reserve. Get passenger(s) in the aircraft and belted. Start engine and let warm up.
Check ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) on frequency 128.35 and get wind, active runways for fixed-wing aircraft (don't want to run into those), altimeter setting, and other pertinent data.
Contact Clearance Delivery on frequency 120.135 to advise you've filed IFR, they will issue you your 'clearance,' i.e., your route of flight. In this case it's most likely the 'Portland One' departure via BattleGround (BTG) VORTAC (VHF Omni-Range/TACan) navigation station, Victor Airway 495, Direct Seattle (KSEA) at an altitude of 6000 feet, departure frequency 124.35. Squawk 4632 You read all that back, they say "Readback correct, Advise ready for release"
You program the needed waypoints into your GPS. (KPDX, BTG, KSEA) Garmin had just come out with the GTN 750/650 touchscreen series about 2 months before this date, so it's unknown if Grey is using this or the older GNS430W/530W which are a lot more involved in programming waypoints. You set your transponder to code 4632. (this number is unique for your flight, so when it shows up on the controller's radar screen he can positively differentiate you from your neighbor)
You dial in 121.9 on the radio and call the ground frequency (if you have to 'taxi' to another spot on the airfield to take off. sometimes you do, but most likely they will send you over direct to tower frequency and let you depart perpendicular to the flow of fixed wing aircraft)
You dial in 118.7 on the radio, wait for an open spot on the frequency, and tell tower you are "Helicopter November One Two Four Charlie Tango at (location on airfield) with ATIS (ID), IFR to Seattle, ready for release"
Tower will tell you to wait, contact the TRACON over the land line telling them you're ready to go, and they will advise the tower when you can take off. At the appropriate time, the tower will call you and tell you "Cleared for takeoff" and give you departure instructions to avoid fixed wing aircraft and get you to the BTG VORTAC and the departure frequency (124.35).
Pull up on the cyclic to increase engine speed, verify rotor speed is adequate for flight, and take off. Follow the procedures to avoid the fixed wing aircraft and climb to the initial altitude they told you. Tower will contact you just shortly after takeoff and advise you to go to approach frequency.
You call approach on 124.35 and advise 'climbing out of 1000 feet for (intermediate altitude in the initial instructions you got from the tower) .' They will reply with 'radar contact, proceed direct Battleground, cancel altitude restrictions' You repeat what they said and turn the craft to the BTG waypoint on the GPS navigator.
If Ana pesters you in all of this, you really have to tell her to shut up because you're busy.
Once you get to the cruise altitude of 6000 feet, it's just a matter of maintaining altitude, heading, and all systems on the aircraft. The workload is lighter in this phase of flight, so you can have a little chitchat. I think one of the other reviewers says Ana asks "How do you know where you're going?" If there are no clouds outside, the answer is obvious: LOOK OUT THE WINDOW! You've flown an aircraft for long enough that you know where you're going based on visual cues from outside the craft. If you see nothing but clouds, however, there is this magical thing called a COMPASS that magically tells you which way you are going, and the new GPS navigators pretty much show you where you are on a moving map display (your active leg of the course you programmed in before shows up as a magenta line on the navigator. If your aircraft symbol is on that line, you're on course.) And you'd better be, because Victor Airway 495 is only a few miles from a Military Operations Area (MOA) airspace "Rainier 1,2,&3" and Restricted Airspace R6703 A, B, and C just south of Gray AAF field on the south edge of town. You don't want to drift into that airspace. Really.
As you get near Seattle you change frequency to Seattle Approach Control on 125.6 and they will tell you to expect the IFR approach to a specific runway at SEA and what the active KSEA ATIS information is at that time as it could have changed from when you left KPDX.
As another reviewer noted in their recap (https://alysbcohen.wordpress.com/2015/06/27/grey-chapter-6-sunday-may-21st-2011-part-3/ ) EL has it go dark at 8 PM, when in fact, it's still very much in daylight at that day of the year. Second, Seattle only lets approved news and fire/rescue helicopters land on helipads in Seattle. Even Bill Gates can't fly into downtown Seattle and land. So there's another EL-didn't-do-her-homework moment.
But if you could land on the helipad, you're in a bit of a pickle because there is no official instrument approach for that helipad. And Seattle Approach expects you to land at the main Seattle airport. So, to fix all that, you tell the approach controller "Four Charlie Tango, Cancel IFR" The approach controller will respond with "4CT, cancel IFR, squawk VFR, frequency change approved"
You dial 1200 into the transponder and fly direct to the helipad, land, and shut down the engine.
In the book, Grey 'cant take his eyes off Ana. Well, bub, you do that and you're going to wind up as a lawn dart somewhere. FLY THE HELICOPTER!!!!!!!! If it were cloudy conditions leaving KPDX there's this thing we real pilots call "Cumulo-granite" which is an interesting mixture of clouds and mountains that can't be seen. So you have to do what it takes to AVOID THAT.
Ugh. This guy. . . . . .