i felt like doing a little KJYO (leesburg airport) and the weather was perfect today so i left work early and did some pattern work. work is being done on the taxiways so the NOTAMs say this:
08/010 - TWY CLSD ACFT BACK TAXI ALLOWED TO CENTER
MID FIELD RWY 17/35. 18 AUG 10:00 2008 UNTIL UFN. CREATED: 16 AUG 18:41 2008
08/009 - TWY SOUTH CLSD FM CENTER RWY 17/35 TO RWY 35 RUN UP
PAD. 18 AUG 10:00 2008 UNTIL UFN. CREATED: 16 AUG 18:26 2008
what this boils down to is that to take off you have to taxi on the runway to the end and then turn around and take off (which is called back taxi). you have to careful about this to ensure that you do not taxi back while someone is about to takeoff/land.
winds were calm so i was using runway 17. the 17 runup area is available now so you can back taxi and then move off the runway. the first couple of pattern loops went ok and i was planning on 2 more. however, while on the downwind of the 3rd loop someone was doing a back taxi and someone was waiting for them so they could back taxi as well. the first one made it off but the second was just starting his taxiback when i was ready to turn downwind to base. he asked me to extend my downwind (which meant the guy coming in on the 45 for the 17 downwind also had to extend). i probably set a record for a downwind extension before turning base. when i turned to final a helicopter (not the usual medevac but i think a military aircraft) was transiting the area and was maybe 1,000 feet in front of me passing right to left at the same altitude. we were talking (and seeing) each so it wasn't a problem but it looked pretty close to me. my landing left something to be desired but i walked away and they can use the airplane again. after hearing 2 more planes coming in i figured that i was done the day so i parked it. the 3rd landing would have been better but i think the situation was on my mind so i floated a bit more.
i'm glad that i did the pattern work today because it exposed me to a few things that i hadn't had to deal with before. the only back taxi i've done before were on pretty much desolate/empty airports so having to do it in a busier situation was a useful experience (i don't think i made anyone else cry while doing it). it was also useful to read and experience the NOTAMs for the closed taxiways. it seems to cement better in my mind when i experience something rather than just reading about it.
one thing that i'd like to do is setup a multiplayer KJYO FSX online game and try the same situation at some point.
2 comments:
we also had fun with the new situation yesterday... though we just took off from the intersection. i once had to extend my downwind for 17 so far that i had watch the MFD like a hawk to make sure i didn't hit the edge of the ADIZ manuevering area.
Great web page and congrats on your PPL. Good luck with the instrument Rating, it's worth the work!
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