Flying a Cessna 182G

My friend and mentor, A.J. Hyatt did some wrangling with a friend and traded hanger space for the use of a very nice Cessna 182G. A.J. and I finished up his almond harvest last week and we decided we needed some air time. The smoke in the valley has been so bad that there just has not been days where we could fly VFR. The smoke finally cleared out somewhat on Wednesday and we set up a flight for Thursday. The plan was to fly the C182 instead of our usual C172G, also hangered at Sutter County Airport. I got to the hanger first and opened up. I took the opportunity to look at the data plate on the 182 and log the serial number and tail number in my Foreflight. I also was able to download the checklist to my iPad for the preflight inspection. The airplane is very similar to the C172G, but there are some differences. As I went through the checklist I noticed things like cowl flaps and different power management gauges. I performed the pre-flight inspection, making notes of the things I did not understand. A.J. soon arrived and we went over the new to me items and I went over the pre-flight again.

A.J. wanted to do this flight a bit different from our usual flights. He wanted to make the first takeoff and landing at Sutter County Airport from the left seat. I have never flown with A.J. from the right seat before. He always been the instructor and I have been the student. He went out to the run up area and went through the run up, talking me through it as he went. The only difference is that you run the power up on the manifold pressure gauge to about 16 inches, then cycle the constant speed propeller two times. He told me that you always cycle the prop twice during run up to make sure you change out the oil in the propeller diaphragm. The power to change the propeller pitch comes from engine oil pressure, and you are making sure there is fresh oil in the propeller actuator before take off. After a radio call saying the 2080 Romeo would be departing on runway one seven, he lined the plane up on the runway center line and pushed the throttle full forward. The airplane accelerated down the runway, being expertly guided down the centerline. At about 60 knots, we rotated and as A.J. puts it, "make her fly". We climbed out to about 600 ft. and turned to the west. We climbed to 1000 ft. and I took over the controls. A.J. asked me to make a standard rate left turn 360 degrees, keeping the same altitude. I completed that turn and he asked me to make a right standard rate turn to the right, same instructions. I completed that turn and he asked me to make a right 30 degree turn to the right and climb to 2000 ft. while making the turn. This is a little harder as the tighter turn creates more drag and you have to hold back on the yoke or put in some up trim to maintain the climb rate. After this instruction period,

A.J. said "take us where you want to go". I headed for Colusa County airport and set up an approach for landing. I wanted to watch A.J. make a landing before I tried one. I knew I would be doing a landing sometime in the flight. I set up a down wind approach at the specified pattern altitude of Colusa of 800 ft. He did a nice base leg and set up for final on runway one three. His landing was good, though I could tell he was a bit rusty in a 182. I took over and taxied back to one three and did the take off. Once airborne, I make a turn to the East and headed toward the Sutter Buttes. I kept the power up after takeoff and climbed to 3000 ft. We make a beautiful pass over the highest peak of the Sutter Buttes. I showed A.J. the road my father built up to the top of the buttes when they built the radio towers. I was about 12 years old when I went up there with my dad when he was building that road. Once across the Buttes, I had to loose altitude quick. Class C airspace for Beale AFB begins at about Hwy. 99. You have to be down to about 1000 ft. before you get east of Hwy 99. I pulled the power back and put the nose down and rapidly reduced our altitude to 1000 ft. I then turned North and headed toward the Oroville Afterbay. I wanted to circle around the Afterbay. The Oroville airport is very close to the North East side of the Afterbay. A.J. made the appropriate radio calls alerting other pilots that we were sightseeing in the area. I turned back to the West before crossing the centerline of the Oroville airport because another pilot radioed he was taking off to the west. He would be well below us, but I wanted to be safe. I got back to Hwy 99 and headed North. At about live Oak the railroad veers to the West of 99 and heads right for the Sutter County airport. I veered over to the railroad bridge over the Feather river and began to line up with the airport. A.J. made a radio call announcing we were on a short final for runway one seven. I reduced power and reset my elevator trim to hold an 80 knot airspeed and deployed about 15 deg. of flaps. I crossed the 10th street bridge and everything was lined up and the numbers on the runway were staying stable in the windscreen. I crossed the levee and added a bit of power as I felt that I was just a bit low. I found myself over the numbers and pulling all the way back on the yoke, but the airplane was still flying. It just didn't want to come down. A.J. caught my mistake and pushed the throttle in. I had added just a bit of power on final and forgot to take it out. Once the engine was back at Idle, the airplane settled down to the runway. Not a pretty landing, but certainly passable for my first landing in a more powerful, heaver airplane. I taxied the plane back to hanger and we pushed her back in to the hanger and sat down with a Diet Coke. We discussed the two landings and decided we were not proud of either one. It was a great flight on a beautiful California day.

Here is a link to veiw the flight at Foreflight View Here