btw DC ADIZ guard freq

btw, at JYO this morning i picked up a flyer on the DC ADIZ procedures. i'm very familiar with them (i thought) until i noticed that it said to monitor guard on 123.0. i have always used 121.5 and asked about the change. i was told that it was likely that 123.0 is now specifically for the DC ADIZ to reduce confusion on listening to 121.5 which i have to agree with. in the recent past i've noticed much more activity on 121.5 and it can be confusing. i'm assuming that 123.0 is only for ADIZ related comms. i'm not sure yet whether or not 123.0 is only for JYO or the other airports in the area but i'm going to find out.

Here's a follow-up on this. I've checked several sources (including the FAA) and all have said that you should still monitor guard on 121.5 (NOT the 123.0 in the flyer, that is apparently a typo).

i passed my faa check ride

i passed my faa check ride this morning. winds were high (close to my limit) and we had a DG (Directioanl Gyro) failure (frozen) on the way out (which was another learning experience). i almost didn't fly because of the winds but i had canceled yesterday for that reason and i figured it was time to "get off the pot".
passing this means that i now have a Private Pilot Single Engine Land (PPSEL) license.

some things i learned on my stage-3 check ride

here are some things i learned on my stage-3 check ride:

• I was challenged to find a small private grass strip NW of winchester VA called 'AL', i navigated to it perfectly using dead reckoning but we never could see it (which surprised me), before the flight i should have checked google earth so that i would be more familiar with what it looked like, this is a link to a view of it
• due to the DC ADIZ, at JYO you have to be careful about your transponder code for egress/ingress, i usually squawk the egress code code on the ramp after i start the engine just to be safe, however, the chief flight instructor doing my stage-3 pointed out that doing that might cause aircraft on final with TCAS or TIS equipment to get a warning about traffic close to them, it's probably preferable to squawk 1226 at the run-up or hold short line instead
• for my simulated engine out demonstration i picked a field that had some hills in it, as we got closer to it i realized it was much more "rolly" than i had thought and was not a good choice, now i know that if you can see hills at 2,500 feet they're going to be a lot higher at 600 feet
  

stage 3 check done, next stop is the faa test

stage 3 check done, next stop is the faa test. it was a long session and i'm beat.

(not) using a VOR radio to monitor comms

a while back i mentioned that it might be useful to monitor a comms freq using a VOR radio (in case of a comm radio failure). i asked my instructor about it and he said that VOR radios (at least the one i use) can only tune VOR freqs so it can't be used for that. just another little tidbit to file away.

got some catch up hood time and review yesterday and then a night flight

i needed some hood work (flying on instruments only) catch up time and some practice on several areas so i flew with my instructor yesterday. i did an hour of hood altogether and then practiced a number of different things. it went reasonably well and i think i'm ready for my stage 3 check with the owner of my flight school. assuming that he's satisfied with that then i'm ready for the FAA test. also, my instructor (my second) has found a job with a local contract airline service so he's moving on. i don't know how that impacts me yet (but i'm hoping not much).
on another note, last night i flew for the first time in the right seat. a friend that got his license a month ago wanted to stay night current (you have to do at least 3 landings at night, which is one hour after sunset, every 90 days) so i went with him while he stayed in the pattern. i haven't flown at night since last sept and it was neat. it was very calm and there was no traffic. a perfect evening to fly. so far, it doesn't sound like that many private pilots stay night current. i'm hoping that i will be able to.