DME Arcs & Holds

Thursday night's lesson was a combination of something new (DME Arcs)
and something non-so-new (holds). As some folks suggested, DME arcs are
easy compared to holds.

I was blessed with fairly calm winds so was able to "twist 10, turn 10"
while on the arc and not have to make huge wind corrections. The first
arc was 8 miles from the Marysville VOR and I got to follow it around
from the 201 degree radial to the 280 degree radial before turning
inbound to the VOR for a hold. Having 8 miles to figure out the hold
helped and I figured out the entry (direct for this one) fairly easily.
It took me a minute to get the mental picture right.

Around the hold a few times and it was outbound for 10 miles to get
established on the 10 DME arc. Followed the 10 mile arc for quite some
time until heading inbound again and doing another random hold. This
one was a parallel entry and I managed not to turn the wrong direction
when paralleling the inbound course or when turning back inbound.
Never mind the fact that I didn't catch the radial until less than a
mile from the VOR...I managed to get it the second time we came inbound.
Ran this racetrack pattern for a bit and was given a 1000 ft. climb
just for something else to do.

Headed home via the 121 degree radial (same one as the VOR approach to
our home airport) and called it a night. It sure didn't feel like 2.0
hours of flying but according to Mr. Hobbs (and my credit card bill), it
was.

Next up: combining a DME arc with a VOR approach, and fly the missed to
the hold.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student-Arrow Shopping Student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Hmmm, if you've done your xc and stage checks, I think you're ahead of
me Don. Sounds like some areas we're working on do overlap though.
Next up for me is putting all the pieces together for VOR approaches and
flying the full missed procedure to a hold. I'd imagine that we'll
start on ILS approaches after this, not really sure. Having done a few
VOR approaches without flying the full missed approach procedure,
learning holds and DME arcs, it's kind of nice seeing some of the pieces
get put together.

I hear you re: wallet shrinkage. I'm bound to hit my AOPA 5% rebate
limit in a couple of months. Oh the price of fun, eh? :-)

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student-Arrow Shopping Student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)