Day 11: VORs and Visitors

     This morning Matt said it was time to learn how to do a diversion so when something happens that keeps us from making it to the destination, such as bad weather or a passenger having a medical emergency, I'll know what to do.
     We started off using the same flight plan we flew earlier down to Fleming Mason. Part way there, Matt told me I needed to divert to Wilmington. He showed me how to go through several steps to find the proper direction to the airport, make sure we had enough fuel, et cetera. After everything was under control, and we were established on course to Wilmington, the time was almost up for our flight, so we returned to Clermont County.
     The next flight was at 2 pm, and we started off with more hood time. After several turns, climbs, and descents, he had me track to a VOR at the same time, which added another instrument to watch. We tracked several different VORs, then Matt said, "Take off your foggles."
     When I did, he pulled the throttle to idle, and said, "You know what time it is."
     I began looking for a suitable emergency landing site. Matt gave me a hint, "Check your seven-o-clock."
     I did, and there was Brown County airport. Turning the plane around, I began going through the checklist to restart the engine. Since the engine "didn't start," I set up to land at Brown County. I tried to judge my descent so that I would glide right to the runway. I did not want to be too high, or we would go off the end of the runway, and I did not want to be too low, or we would end up in the trees just before the runway. Of course, Matt would push the throttle in if it appeared we were going to do something like that. I lined up with the runway and glided about 40 feet above the tree tops before the runway, and set the wheels on the ground about half way down the runway, which left plenty of room for stopping. We took off again and made three short field landings before returning to Clermont.
     I was hoping debriefing would not take too long, because Galen, Dad, and Alex were already in the air in Galen's Mooney, on their way down from Sturgis to have supper with me in Batavia. I executed a soft field landing on runway 22, and rolled clear of the runway.
     "Clermont traffic, Skyhawk seven echo sierra is clear of two two, Clermont," I announced on the radio.
     I continued taxiing toward the ramp, and I heard a familiar voice on the radio.
     "What are the winds like there at Clermont, Austin?" It was Galen.
     "Winds are calm," I replied.
     "Alright, we're diverting around this storm. We'll be there soon."
     "Roger."
     We parked and secured the aircraft and began debriefing, and I kept watching out the window. Soon I saw the gray and blue Mooney taxi up to the ramp. As soon as debriefing was over, I walked out on the ramp to meet them. The linemen parked the plane, and we hopped in my car and went to a restaurant for supper. They were not able to stay very long, because some storms were encroaching on their planned route home, but I really appreciated the visit while it lasted.

     Today's flying added 2.7 hours and 7 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 26.0 hours and 79 landings.