Page 34 - 208171_April19TFINAL

the autopilot with everything going along just fine. A mile or so before we reach the missed approach point, the runway lights and VASI are clearly visible, and I click off the autopilot. I am about four knots fast and reduce power to slow down, but in doing so fail to trim pitch up slightly.
As a result, the VASI lights which had previously shown a perfect two white and two red, now change to one white and three red. From my right, I hear the PM say, “Glide path... never want to see four red VASI lights at night.” He is exactly right, and I promptly pitch up slightly to get back
to two reds and two whites. At night on an instrument approach, that descent below the correct glide path is some- thing I should have caught and stopped earlier – another small mistake.
Sometimes, less than perfect per- formance also happens when I am not even flying the airplane.
We depart VFR in the Lear 35 out of Valdez, Alaska to the northwest and out over the water, planning on getting our IFR clearance in the air from Anchorage Center. In the clear air, the airplane is climbing at nearly 5,000 fpm. The PF is paying atten- tion to lateral navigation in order to stay clear of the snow-covered moun- tainous terrain on either side of us. As we had briefed, my job as the PM is to run the after-takeoff checklist, contact the center controller, get the clearance, watch for traffic and moni- tor the airplane’s altitude. I am work- ing my way through this list of things when we zip right through 18,000 feet without the required IFR clearance.
Online House
32 • TWIN & TURBINE / April 2019 Jet Journal