To the Sky: PanzerCommanders PPL blog
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Flying Lesson 34: Cross Country Navigation 6. 15th of January 2016.
Wow, I couldn’t believe how nice the weather was today. It remained cloud free but chilly all day, with a light north easterly wind, that meant that I could get my dual long cross country done.
The day started with a cloudy and chilly Friday morning at Humberside. John went to move PJ onto the southern apron to be fuelled up ready for the flight, we would need the tanks filled to the brim to make sure we were carrying an adequate reserve and I got down to finishing my route plan. I say finishing because the map was already marked up from before Christmas when I had hoped to do this flight and I had already filled in my navigation plog with altitudes, headings and distances. First things first get the wind for the first flight; Humberside to Leicester so that I could calculate the on route times and the headings I’d need to steer to stay on course. The route start point is Brigg, from there we route to Gainsborough and from there south to Melton Mowbray and the final turn heading south west takes us unto Leicester. This route keeps us out of the CTA for Doncaster, East midlands and of course over to the right of Hibaldstow and to the left of Langar making sure we are clear of any parachute activities. I highlighted some of the taller obstacles (TV masts) with a red circle on the map.
We headed out to the aircraft after a brief chat, John took care of the fuel sampling and oil checks to speed the pre flight check process up, shortly after PJ was warming through ready for taxy and run up checks. With the run up checks complete it wasn’t long before we were lined up on runway two six cleared for takeoff I eased PJ into the crisp January air. Cool dense air is good for engine performance, the little Continental O-200 feels much stronger in air like this than it does in summer; today was a cracking day to go flying. I climbed straight out so that I would be just north of Brigg when I turned onto heading. It’s good to be back in the air again
On heading I started the stopwatch over Brigg town centre, the flight towards Gainsborough was uneventful; the cool winter air and cold ground below meant that warm air related turbulence was restricted to built up areas. The danger area at RAF Scampton was active today and from our lofty perch it was easy to see why. In the distance and slightly below us two trails of white smoke from a pair of Red Arrows Hawk jets practicing for the 2016 air show season. The leg took 9 minutes to complete and once overhead Gainsborough I turned the aircraft south to pick up the track towards Melton Mowbray. Humberside Radar being helpful handed me over to Waddington Radar, so no need to give all my details over the airwaves to Waddington, just change the transponder frequency and call them. The route south to the next turning point ran parallel with the river Trent as far as Newark, which conveniently also served as the half way point for this leg. I was advised of parachute activity at Langar and as the route took us on the fringe of their airspace I steered left a few degrees to make sure we were clear. The Waltham TV transmitter also to our left, though we were several miles clear of that.
Once overhead Melton Mowbray, the leg taking 22 minutes I turned the aircraft towards Leicester and moved onto the Leicester radio frequency to get the airfield details to facilitate our arrival. The wind direction meant that we were going to be using runway three-three, a shorter narrower runway than I was used to using, though not short enough to need full flap, 20 degrees would do.
The landing was uneventful and I touched down just past the numbers and taxyed to the parking area. After paying my landing fee we headed up to the club room and ordered a bacon and egg sarnie and a coffee apiece and sat down to discuss the flight and plan the next leg across to Peterborough Conington.
We departed Leicester for Peterborough Conington on runway three-three, the wind had not moved around at all and departed into the traffic pattern to the left, today helicopters were right hand circuits and fixed wing left hand circuits. As we swung back over the airfield at 1000ft AGL (Above Ground Level) I re-set the stop watch and continued climbing to the cruise altitude of 2000ft. The Eyebrook Resevoir in the distance provided a nice initial steer point for this leg, which would only take around 20 minutes at cruise altitude. RAF Wittering isn’t there as an active military airfield anymore so we didn’t need to call them for a basic service or any MATZ clearances (we would be just clipping the edge of the MATZ if it were still active), Rockingham Motor Speedway passed by on our right a handy point for the (roughly) half way point on this leg. It looks like nothing more than a go-kart track from this altitude. There are plenty of land marks on this leg to keep you on course, numerous wind farms in the distance for example. Oundle was our three quarter way point for this leg, and by this time Peterborough Conington was in sight. I put my call in on the radio so that they knew I was coming and that I could get the airfield information, a slight crosswind on this landing given the wind direction.
My landing was less than stellar, I managed to mess up the kick straight and I also managed to bounce her – oops. My downwind leg was also a little longer than it should have been which meant I was a little bit low. Bit of a cock up really and I felt like one to be honest. Anyway that would be discussed later. We headed into the bar/cafe at Peterborough Conington and paid the landing fee. We found a table, discussed the flight and planned the route back to Humberside.
The route to Humberside would take us overhead RAF Coningsby, as long as they grant us clearance through their MATZ that is. We departed Peterborough Conington and I turned right out of the end of the runway at 500ft MSL. It wasn’t long before we had reached 2000ft (four minutes to be exact) and I levelled off. With RAF Wittering not being there anymore we proceeded north, maintaining a listening watch on the zone frequency listed in Pooleys 2016 guide, no response to my initial call to I carried on. The Deeping Fen wind farm was a good steer point as it was just south of our halfway point which is abeam Spalding. Once at Spalding I got my radio call in to Coningsby so they knew who we were and that we wanted to fly over and on to Humberside. We cruised over the top of Coningsby, Typhoons and E3 Sentries parked on the pan below us, I changed heading and hit the stop watch, my last on route heading change for the day. The visibility today was excellent; John estimated it would be something like 25 nautical miles and it wasn’t long before the Brigg power station and the smoke/steam from the quarry near Humberside were visible.
I changed over to Humberside Radar abeam the Belmont TV transmitter who gave me the OK for a left base approach to runway two six. It wasn’t long before I was handed over to Humberside Tower, a quick check of the ATIS beforehand to double check the wind and information for the airport and we request left base entry onto runway two six. I start letting down, a little early, so I have to apply a bit of power to maintain a lower rate of descent until I can throttle back again. The pre-landing checks are carried out and I turn from base onto final, flaps 20, cleared to land, a fairly uneventful landing, and taxi back to parking. The amount of power and speed needed on the grass parking area was staggering, the amount of rain we have had in the area over the past month has made the ground rather soggy.
After a debrief over a brew, John has given me the all clear to do the flight on my own – so the next flight I do will be my qualifying cross country.
Wow, I couldn’t believe how nice the weather was today. It remained cloud free but chilly all day, with a light north easterly wind, that meant that I could get my dual long cross country done.
The day started with a cloudy and chilly Friday morning at Humberside. John went to move PJ onto the southern apron to be fuelled up ready for the flight, we would need the tanks filled to the brim to make sure we were carrying an adequate reserve and I got down to finishing my route plan. I say finishing because the map was already marked up from before Christmas when I had hoped to do this flight and I had already filled in my navigation plog with altitudes, headings and distances. First things first get the wind for the first flight; Humberside to Leicester so that I could calculate the on route times and the headings I’d need to steer to stay on course. The route start point is Brigg, from there we route to Gainsborough and from there south to Melton Mowbray and the final turn heading south west takes us unto Leicester. This route keeps us out of the CTA for Doncaster, East midlands and of course over to the right of Hibaldstow and to the left of Langar making sure we are clear of any parachute activities. I highlighted some of the taller obstacles (TV masts) with a red circle on the map.
We headed out to the aircraft after a brief chat, John took care of the fuel sampling and oil checks to speed the pre flight check process up, shortly after PJ was warming through ready for taxy and run up checks. With the run up checks complete it wasn’t long before we were lined up on runway two six cleared for takeoff I eased PJ into the crisp January air. Cool dense air is good for engine performance, the little Continental O-200 feels much stronger in air like this than it does in summer; today was a cracking day to go flying. I climbed straight out so that I would be just north of Brigg when I turned onto heading. It’s good to be back in the air again
On heading I started the stopwatch over Brigg town centre, the flight towards Gainsborough was uneventful; the cool winter air and cold ground below meant that warm air related turbulence was restricted to built up areas. The danger area at RAF Scampton was active today and from our lofty perch it was easy to see why. In the distance and slightly below us two trails of white smoke from a pair of Red Arrows Hawk jets practicing for the 2016 air show season. The leg took 9 minutes to complete and once overhead Gainsborough I turned the aircraft south to pick up the track towards Melton Mowbray. Humberside Radar being helpful handed me over to Waddington Radar, so no need to give all my details over the airwaves to Waddington, just change the transponder frequency and call them. The route south to the next turning point ran parallel with the river Trent as far as Newark, which conveniently also served as the half way point for this leg. I was advised of parachute activity at Langar and as the route took us on the fringe of their airspace I steered left a few degrees to make sure we were clear. The Waltham TV transmitter also to our left, though we were several miles clear of that.
Once overhead Melton Mowbray, the leg taking 22 minutes I turned the aircraft towards Leicester and moved onto the Leicester radio frequency to get the airfield details to facilitate our arrival. The wind direction meant that we were going to be using runway three-three, a shorter narrower runway than I was used to using, though not short enough to need full flap, 20 degrees would do.
The landing was uneventful and I touched down just past the numbers and taxyed to the parking area. After paying my landing fee we headed up to the club room and ordered a bacon and egg sarnie and a coffee apiece and sat down to discuss the flight and plan the next leg across to Peterborough Conington.
We departed Leicester for Peterborough Conington on runway three-three, the wind had not moved around at all and departed into the traffic pattern to the left, today helicopters were right hand circuits and fixed wing left hand circuits. As we swung back over the airfield at 1000ft AGL (Above Ground Level) I re-set the stop watch and continued climbing to the cruise altitude of 2000ft. The Eyebrook Resevoir in the distance provided a nice initial steer point for this leg, which would only take around 20 minutes at cruise altitude. RAF Wittering isn’t there as an active military airfield anymore so we didn’t need to call them for a basic service or any MATZ clearances (we would be just clipping the edge of the MATZ if it were still active), Rockingham Motor Speedway passed by on our right a handy point for the (roughly) half way point on this leg. It looks like nothing more than a go-kart track from this altitude. There are plenty of land marks on this leg to keep you on course, numerous wind farms in the distance for example. Oundle was our three quarter way point for this leg, and by this time Peterborough Conington was in sight. I put my call in on the radio so that they knew I was coming and that I could get the airfield information, a slight crosswind on this landing given the wind direction.
My landing was less than stellar, I managed to mess up the kick straight and I also managed to bounce her – oops. My downwind leg was also a little longer than it should have been which meant I was a little bit low. Bit of a cock up really and I felt like one to be honest. Anyway that would be discussed later. We headed into the bar/cafe at Peterborough Conington and paid the landing fee. We found a table, discussed the flight and planned the route back to Humberside.
The route to Humberside would take us overhead RAF Coningsby, as long as they grant us clearance through their MATZ that is. We departed Peterborough Conington and I turned right out of the end of the runway at 500ft MSL. It wasn’t long before we had reached 2000ft (four minutes to be exact) and I levelled off. With RAF Wittering not being there anymore we proceeded north, maintaining a listening watch on the zone frequency listed in Pooleys 2016 guide, no response to my initial call to I carried on. The Deeping Fen wind farm was a good steer point as it was just south of our halfway point which is abeam Spalding. Once at Spalding I got my radio call in to Coningsby so they knew who we were and that we wanted to fly over and on to Humberside. We cruised over the top of Coningsby, Typhoons and E3 Sentries parked on the pan below us, I changed heading and hit the stop watch, my last on route heading change for the day. The visibility today was excellent; John estimated it would be something like 25 nautical miles and it wasn’t long before the Brigg power station and the smoke/steam from the quarry near Humberside were visible.
I changed over to Humberside Radar abeam the Belmont TV transmitter who gave me the OK for a left base approach to runway two six. It wasn’t long before I was handed over to Humberside Tower, a quick check of the ATIS beforehand to double check the wind and information for the airport and we request left base entry onto runway two six. I start letting down, a little early, so I have to apply a bit of power to maintain a lower rate of descent until I can throttle back again. The pre-landing checks are carried out and I turn from base onto final, flaps 20, cleared to land, a fairly uneventful landing, and taxi back to parking. The amount of power and speed needed on the grass parking area was staggering, the amount of rain we have had in the area over the past month has made the ground rather soggy.
After a debrief over a brew, John has given me the all clear to do the flight on my own – so the next flight I do will be my qualifying cross country.
Edited by PanzerCommander on Saturday 16th January 15:56
Another day, another cancelled qualifying cross country 
Feeling more deflated about it than usual, at the start of the week the weather was looking like it would be perfect today but by the time I get to Peterborough Conington the cross winds and associated gusts are going to be too high. I'm now booked in for next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to give me the best chance. If its cancelled next week I am going to have to think about going and doing a few circuits just to keep my hand in. The joys of learning to fly in the UK.
Feeling more deflated about it than usual, at the start of the week the weather was looking like it would be perfect today but by the time I get to Peterborough Conington the cross winds and associated gusts are going to be too high. I'm now booked in for next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to give me the best chance. If its cancelled next week I am going to have to think about going and doing a few circuits just to keep my hand in. The joys of learning to fly in the UK.
Edited by PanzerCommander on Thursday 28th January 14:49
Flying Lesson 35: Cross Country Navigation 7 – The Qualifying Cross Country. 10th of February 2016.
The weather today was much like my dual cross country, scarcely believable given the weather we have been having recently. That meant it was time for the final big hurdle to getting my PPL, excluding the final skills test of course; the Qualifying Cross Country (QXC). The route is exactly the same as that of lesson 34 except this time I’m going to be on my own.
The QXC Route drawn on Google maps
I got up at my normal time for work (05:35 if you are wondering) to check the weather, the theory being that if the weather was rubbish that I could just go to work rather than taking the day off. The TAFs (Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts) and METARs (Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Reports) all looked good so I got another hour and a half in bed before getting my backside moving and off to Humberside. My instructor John was going above and beyond the call today, Wednesday is his weekend but as the weather was good he wanted to get me away on my QXC, thanks John.
The first job was to get PJ fuelled up so after phoning Leicester and Peterborough Conington to make sure that they were operational, checking the checking the NOTAMs (NOTices To Air Men) and then the METARs and TAFs again before booking out with air traffic control.
Getting PJ off the grass parking area could have been entertaining due to the amount of rain we have had of late but once she was thoroughly warmed up and with the permission of air traffic plenty of power got her rolling and I was away, well to taxy around the airport to park on the GA apron for fuel, it was quite busy today (first good day in a while) so there was a queue for the fuel tanker, still my full A checks were done by the time the tanker driver got around to me so I could get on and go as soon as he had handed me the fuel receipt.
Internal checks completed and PJs Continental O-200 is purring away as always as the wind is westerly which means a runway two six departure, I complete my pre-departure checks at holding point alpha on the main runway (which I will use to taxy to runway two six that crosses the main runway) with clearance from air traffic control I taxyed PJ to the hold on runway two six, aligned the direction indicator (DI) with the compass and switched the transponder to ALT (mode Charlie; reports my altitude as well as the four digit squawk code).
“Golf-Papa-Juliet, cleared takeoff runway two six, wind two nine zero at nine”
“Golf-Papa-Juliet, roger, cleared takeoff”
With nothing else to check other than a cursory glance over the engine instruments to make sure I still had oil pressure (losing that would be bad – important safety tip) I opened the throttle and began my take off roll. Airspeed is alive, temps and pressures in the green, 55 knots, rotate, I’m airborne before the intersection and climbing away. Four weeks of climbing the walls wanting to get airborne melt away as I climb away from the runway at 500 feet per minute. No time to take in the sights though as the straight out climb means I am less than a mile away from my route start point; Brigg town centre. I turn onto my calculated heading, which conveniently points the nose at the West Burton power station which from my seat is directly behind Gainsborough; my first turning point. Hibaldstow parachute operations are active today (as per the NOTAM) but Humberside Radar ensures that I know, I’m well out of their zone anyway but it’s nice to have the information.
Humberside radar cautions me to slow moving traffic to my 12 o’clock ‘possibly a glider’. I confirm I have it in sight and that it is a glider, under aerotow.
Just after my turn south along the River Trent Humberside Radar tells me to Squawk 7000 (general conspicuity code) and free call Waddington Radar, they must be a bit busy today. With contact made and a new transponder code entered I continue south, on time at my halfway point, the northern edge of Newark a glance over my left shoulder and I can see Lincoln Cathedral almost glowing in the reflected sunlight. All along the route I am conducting regular FREDA checks (see previous posts) to ensure that all is good with the aircraft and the navigation. It isn’t long before I am passing the Waltham TV transmitter and Langar; they are also parachute dropping today so I make sure I am well clear of their airspace.
Once overhead Melton Mowbray, the leg taking 22 minutes I turned the aircraft towards Leicester and moved onto the Leicester radio frequency once I had reported to Waddington Radar that I was in visual contact with the airfield. They wanted me to join via the overhead and enter the traffic pattern rather than enter on right base as they were busy (lots of people taking advantage of the weather) What this means is overflying the airfield and descending on the dead side away from the circuit and flying around the airfield and entering cross wind on the pattern. This diagram I found on planeadventures explains it better than my words.
The Overhead join courtesy of planeadventures
I set the altimeter to the airfield QFE so that when my wheels touch the runway the altimeter will read 0ft, rather than around 470ft which is the airfields elevation above sea level.
I perform a normal right hand circuit and landing at Leicester and park up at the rear of the terminal building and push PJ backwards onto the grass next to another C150/152 to avoid blocking the taxyway. I head inside to pay my landing fee and get my QXC form signed and stamped. I then headed to the Leicestershire Aero Club for a coffee and a bacon and egg buttie, and a fine buttie it was too (what you think I am going to fly all that way and not have one – pfft).
I headed back out to the aircraft after working out the next leg of my route to Peterborough Conington using the wind from the TAF at Wittering (now active again). Unfortunately I seemed to have found the boggyest part of the grass and PJ had sunk into it – bugger. A couple of chaps that had just parked up in a PA-28 tried in vain to help me shift PJ but any attempt was going to see her sink further into the mud. On the advice of their chief flying instructor (who was also helping to try and shift PJ) I went and found the airport fireman who grabbed the towing vehicle and pulled PJ out without any trouble at all. Brilliant, I thanked him then got on with my external checks.
I completed my normal pre-start checks and PJ fired up on the button and settled into a smooth idle and once warmed up I contacted Leicester Radio for the departure information and taxyed PJ to the holding point for runway two eight and commenced my pre departure run up checks, I was soon airborne again and heading east.
PJ After being towed off the grass external checks complete.
Wittering Zone must have been on lunch because nobody answered when I called them on their frequency. Because of the left circuit departure I was north of track on my way out, I used the Eye Brook reservoir which my desired track passed straight over to map read back onto course and then following a FREDA check set course. The scenery below nicely lit by the mid-day (well early afternoon) sun gave me plenty of visual reference points. The Harringworth viaduct passed to my left and Rockingham Motor Speedway to my right I could also clearly make out Rutland Water out to my left. I passed Oundle and soon Peterborough Conington came into view, on their instructions I entered via the overhead again and descended to circuit height on the dead side being careful to avoid directly overflying Holme as per the noise abatement sheets in my Pooleys Guide.
I was number two to another C150/C152 in the pattern so I extended my downwind a little to give me a better chance of not having to go around, thankfully he extended his landing run and pulled off at a holding point at the far end of the runway so that I could land and backtrack rather than having to perform a go-around - top man; thanks. I parked up on the grass as instructed and shut PJ down. Thankfully when I got out of the aircraft it felt much firmer than Leicester, I headed to the tower/clubhouse to pay my landing fee, get my form signed and plan the next leg of my route; the return to Humberside.
With a bru in hand I checked the high level wind charts and did my calculations. It double checked it but it was no good due to the 25kt wind at 2000ft I would be eating into my reserve on the way in to Humberside (by a maximum of 13 minutes if my calculations were correct). One of the most useless things in aviation is the fuel in the bowser so I requested 20 litres of 100LL which made sure I had enough plus a reserve to get back, fuel is one of those things that I’d rather have a bit more than I need so that when I arrive at Humberside I still have a minimum of one hours reserve, with an extra 20 litres of fuel on board PJ will have 1 hour 47 minutes of fuel endurance remaining (85 litres total capacity with 80 litres usable), the aircraft has a 2.5L sump in each wing tank. The sump is below the fuel outlet that feeds the engine and it is there to catch any water or contaminants that manage to get into the fuel tanks, this prevents it from getting into the fuel lines.
PJ parked at Peterborough Conington after refuelling
The view from the pilots seat over the apron at Peterborough Conington
Pre start checks complete I move to the holding point and begin my pre-departure checks. Everything looks good so I radio the tower and I am soon on my way. I depart via the overhead being careful to avoid Conington and later Holme as I climb out, though by the time I am crossing the airfield I am well over 1500ft anyway, still best to not annoy the neighbours unnecessarily. Once clear of the overhead departure I inform Conington radio that I am leaving the circuit to the north and switch over to Wittering Zones frequency, they talk to me this time and I am soon clear of the pan handle of their MATZ and well north of Peterborough. The controller asks me to report abeam Spalding, the Deeping Fen windfarm slips by on my left and Spalding which was on the horizon moments ago is now filling the lower right of the windscreen.
Once abeam Spalding I am told to squawk 7000 and free call Coningsby Radar; I was hoping he would hand me over, must have been busy. I switch frequencies and make contact with Coningsby Radar, I get my clearance to transit the MATZ (Military Air Traffic Zone) and carry on north, my next turning point being overhead RAF Coningsby. I’m warned of some traffic 1 mile to my left, which I catch sight of and confirm to radar, another light aircraft. RAF Coningsby is now in view and I track towards it as one of the longer navigation legs is nice to see that my distance time calculations are correct (2000ft wind on the Met office briefing form must have been correct) as I am on time for the distance markers placed on the track lines on the map. As I pass over the top of RAF Coningsby I see a pair of Typhoons landing; nice I’d never seen one from above before.
I perform a FREDA check before I re-set the stop watch and turn onto my new heading; back towards Humberside. Caistor Radar sticks out on the horizon so as well as keeping my heading it is a useful point to steer towards as it is under my track. Coningsby Radar is helpful and hand me over to Humberside Radar. A short time later I have passed by Market Raisen and I am handed over to Humberside Tower as I pass the Caistor Radar, following me reporting the field in sight. I position for left base on runway two six and complete my pre landing checks as I descended from 2000ft to the circuit height of 1000ft. I report to the tower as instructed when I am on left base and then again on final approach, a normal flaps 20 final approach and a nice smooth landing, not quite a greaser but never the less a good un, to be honest they all were. I taxy back to the grass parking area after waiting for a Cessna Citation business jet to depart and tie PJ down and debrief with John in the club cabin.
The weather today was much like my dual cross country, scarcely believable given the weather we have been having recently. That meant it was time for the final big hurdle to getting my PPL, excluding the final skills test of course; the Qualifying Cross Country (QXC). The route is exactly the same as that of lesson 34 except this time I’m going to be on my own.
The QXC Route drawn on Google maps
I got up at my normal time for work (05:35 if you are wondering) to check the weather, the theory being that if the weather was rubbish that I could just go to work rather than taking the day off. The TAFs (Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts) and METARs (Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Reports) all looked good so I got another hour and a half in bed before getting my backside moving and off to Humberside. My instructor John was going above and beyond the call today, Wednesday is his weekend but as the weather was good he wanted to get me away on my QXC, thanks John.
The first job was to get PJ fuelled up so after phoning Leicester and Peterborough Conington to make sure that they were operational, checking the checking the NOTAMs (NOTices To Air Men) and then the METARs and TAFs again before booking out with air traffic control.
Getting PJ off the grass parking area could have been entertaining due to the amount of rain we have had of late but once she was thoroughly warmed up and with the permission of air traffic plenty of power got her rolling and I was away, well to taxy around the airport to park on the GA apron for fuel, it was quite busy today (first good day in a while) so there was a queue for the fuel tanker, still my full A checks were done by the time the tanker driver got around to me so I could get on and go as soon as he had handed me the fuel receipt.
Internal checks completed and PJs Continental O-200 is purring away as always as the wind is westerly which means a runway two six departure, I complete my pre-departure checks at holding point alpha on the main runway (which I will use to taxy to runway two six that crosses the main runway) with clearance from air traffic control I taxyed PJ to the hold on runway two six, aligned the direction indicator (DI) with the compass and switched the transponder to ALT (mode Charlie; reports my altitude as well as the four digit squawk code).
“Golf-Papa-Juliet, cleared takeoff runway two six, wind two nine zero at nine”
“Golf-Papa-Juliet, roger, cleared takeoff”
With nothing else to check other than a cursory glance over the engine instruments to make sure I still had oil pressure (losing that would be bad – important safety tip) I opened the throttle and began my take off roll. Airspeed is alive, temps and pressures in the green, 55 knots, rotate, I’m airborne before the intersection and climbing away. Four weeks of climbing the walls wanting to get airborne melt away as I climb away from the runway at 500 feet per minute. No time to take in the sights though as the straight out climb means I am less than a mile away from my route start point; Brigg town centre. I turn onto my calculated heading, which conveniently points the nose at the West Burton power station which from my seat is directly behind Gainsborough; my first turning point. Hibaldstow parachute operations are active today (as per the NOTAM) but Humberside Radar ensures that I know, I’m well out of their zone anyway but it’s nice to have the information.
Humberside radar cautions me to slow moving traffic to my 12 o’clock ‘possibly a glider’. I confirm I have it in sight and that it is a glider, under aerotow.
Just after my turn south along the River Trent Humberside Radar tells me to Squawk 7000 (general conspicuity code) and free call Waddington Radar, they must be a bit busy today. With contact made and a new transponder code entered I continue south, on time at my halfway point, the northern edge of Newark a glance over my left shoulder and I can see Lincoln Cathedral almost glowing in the reflected sunlight. All along the route I am conducting regular FREDA checks (see previous posts) to ensure that all is good with the aircraft and the navigation. It isn’t long before I am passing the Waltham TV transmitter and Langar; they are also parachute dropping today so I make sure I am well clear of their airspace.
Once overhead Melton Mowbray, the leg taking 22 minutes I turned the aircraft towards Leicester and moved onto the Leicester radio frequency once I had reported to Waddington Radar that I was in visual contact with the airfield. They wanted me to join via the overhead and enter the traffic pattern rather than enter on right base as they were busy (lots of people taking advantage of the weather) What this means is overflying the airfield and descending on the dead side away from the circuit and flying around the airfield and entering cross wind on the pattern. This diagram I found on planeadventures explains it better than my words.
The Overhead join courtesy of planeadventures
I set the altimeter to the airfield QFE so that when my wheels touch the runway the altimeter will read 0ft, rather than around 470ft which is the airfields elevation above sea level.
I perform a normal right hand circuit and landing at Leicester and park up at the rear of the terminal building and push PJ backwards onto the grass next to another C150/152 to avoid blocking the taxyway. I head inside to pay my landing fee and get my QXC form signed and stamped. I then headed to the Leicestershire Aero Club for a coffee and a bacon and egg buttie, and a fine buttie it was too (what you think I am going to fly all that way and not have one – pfft).
I headed back out to the aircraft after working out the next leg of my route to Peterborough Conington using the wind from the TAF at Wittering (now active again). Unfortunately I seemed to have found the boggyest part of the grass and PJ had sunk into it – bugger. A couple of chaps that had just parked up in a PA-28 tried in vain to help me shift PJ but any attempt was going to see her sink further into the mud. On the advice of their chief flying instructor (who was also helping to try and shift PJ) I went and found the airport fireman who grabbed the towing vehicle and pulled PJ out without any trouble at all. Brilliant, I thanked him then got on with my external checks.
I completed my normal pre-start checks and PJ fired up on the button and settled into a smooth idle and once warmed up I contacted Leicester Radio for the departure information and taxyed PJ to the holding point for runway two eight and commenced my pre departure run up checks, I was soon airborne again and heading east.
PJ After being towed off the grass external checks complete.
Wittering Zone must have been on lunch because nobody answered when I called them on their frequency. Because of the left circuit departure I was north of track on my way out, I used the Eye Brook reservoir which my desired track passed straight over to map read back onto course and then following a FREDA check set course. The scenery below nicely lit by the mid-day (well early afternoon) sun gave me plenty of visual reference points. The Harringworth viaduct passed to my left and Rockingham Motor Speedway to my right I could also clearly make out Rutland Water out to my left. I passed Oundle and soon Peterborough Conington came into view, on their instructions I entered via the overhead again and descended to circuit height on the dead side being careful to avoid directly overflying Holme as per the noise abatement sheets in my Pooleys Guide.
I was number two to another C150/C152 in the pattern so I extended my downwind a little to give me a better chance of not having to go around, thankfully he extended his landing run and pulled off at a holding point at the far end of the runway so that I could land and backtrack rather than having to perform a go-around - top man; thanks. I parked up on the grass as instructed and shut PJ down. Thankfully when I got out of the aircraft it felt much firmer than Leicester, I headed to the tower/clubhouse to pay my landing fee, get my form signed and plan the next leg of my route; the return to Humberside.
With a bru in hand I checked the high level wind charts and did my calculations. It double checked it but it was no good due to the 25kt wind at 2000ft I would be eating into my reserve on the way in to Humberside (by a maximum of 13 minutes if my calculations were correct). One of the most useless things in aviation is the fuel in the bowser so I requested 20 litres of 100LL which made sure I had enough plus a reserve to get back, fuel is one of those things that I’d rather have a bit more than I need so that when I arrive at Humberside I still have a minimum of one hours reserve, with an extra 20 litres of fuel on board PJ will have 1 hour 47 minutes of fuel endurance remaining (85 litres total capacity with 80 litres usable), the aircraft has a 2.5L sump in each wing tank. The sump is below the fuel outlet that feeds the engine and it is there to catch any water or contaminants that manage to get into the fuel tanks, this prevents it from getting into the fuel lines.
PJ parked at Peterborough Conington after refuelling
The view from the pilots seat over the apron at Peterborough Conington
Pre start checks complete I move to the holding point and begin my pre-departure checks. Everything looks good so I radio the tower and I am soon on my way. I depart via the overhead being careful to avoid Conington and later Holme as I climb out, though by the time I am crossing the airfield I am well over 1500ft anyway, still best to not annoy the neighbours unnecessarily. Once clear of the overhead departure I inform Conington radio that I am leaving the circuit to the north and switch over to Wittering Zones frequency, they talk to me this time and I am soon clear of the pan handle of their MATZ and well north of Peterborough. The controller asks me to report abeam Spalding, the Deeping Fen windfarm slips by on my left and Spalding which was on the horizon moments ago is now filling the lower right of the windscreen.
Once abeam Spalding I am told to squawk 7000 and free call Coningsby Radar; I was hoping he would hand me over, must have been busy. I switch frequencies and make contact with Coningsby Radar, I get my clearance to transit the MATZ (Military Air Traffic Zone) and carry on north, my next turning point being overhead RAF Coningsby. I’m warned of some traffic 1 mile to my left, which I catch sight of and confirm to radar, another light aircraft. RAF Coningsby is now in view and I track towards it as one of the longer navigation legs is nice to see that my distance time calculations are correct (2000ft wind on the Met office briefing form must have been correct) as I am on time for the distance markers placed on the track lines on the map. As I pass over the top of RAF Coningsby I see a pair of Typhoons landing; nice I’d never seen one from above before.
I perform a FREDA check before I re-set the stop watch and turn onto my new heading; back towards Humberside. Caistor Radar sticks out on the horizon so as well as keeping my heading it is a useful point to steer towards as it is under my track. Coningsby Radar is helpful and hand me over to Humberside Radar. A short time later I have passed by Market Raisen and I am handed over to Humberside Tower as I pass the Caistor Radar, following me reporting the field in sight. I position for left base on runway two six and complete my pre landing checks as I descended from 2000ft to the circuit height of 1000ft. I report to the tower as instructed when I am on left base and then again on final approach, a normal flaps 20 final approach and a nice smooth landing, not quite a greaser but never the less a good un, to be honest they all were. I taxy back to the grass parking area after waiting for a Cessna Citation business jet to depart and tie PJ down and debrief with John in the club cabin.
Flying Lesson 36: General Handling Revision 1 (Dual). 12th of February 2016.
Today was another good weather day, the odd cumulus cloud floating around below 3000ft but most of it was scattered / broken above 3000ft. The wind was only 6 knots and it was straight up and down runway zero eight.
On the cards today; steep turns (45 degree angle of bank), stalls, incipient spins (recovery), stalls with flaps and stalls with and without power. Finishing with a practice forced landing and a low level return to base.
After a pre-flight checks and warm up I taxyed PJ to runway 08 for the pre-departure checks. With the checks complete and clearance to take off given I accelerated down the runway and took off, PJ climbed into the cool afternoon air, a left turn departure and climb to 2500ft for the first set of exercises in the north west training area. It has been a while since I have been in this area because the last 15+ hours have been navigation training.
This lesson was all about brushing up on skills already learned through the early stages of flight training in order to get me up to test standard. The idea being that it is fresh in my mind and I shouldn't encounter anything in the test that I haven’t done in the training. You naturally become rusty at these sorts of thing as they are not something that you practice on every single flight but are important if you want to be a safe pilot.
By the end of the lesson the rust had been polished of the upper air manoeuvres and John instructed me to fly straight and level for a bit, I knew what was coming, it was just a matter of when. This was my first practiced forced landing in a while and I would have gotten in the selected field had and I quote “not pissed about waiting to get the flaps down” more practice required there I think. I climbed the aircraft to 600ft and throttled back to minimum safe cruise (2100rpm, flaps 10 degrees) for a low level RTB and crosswind landing on runway two zero.
My next lesson will be mostly practice forced landings and then general handling practice solo.
Today was another good weather day, the odd cumulus cloud floating around below 3000ft but most of it was scattered / broken above 3000ft. The wind was only 6 knots and it was straight up and down runway zero eight.
On the cards today; steep turns (45 degree angle of bank), stalls, incipient spins (recovery), stalls with flaps and stalls with and without power. Finishing with a practice forced landing and a low level return to base.
After a pre-flight checks and warm up I taxyed PJ to runway 08 for the pre-departure checks. With the checks complete and clearance to take off given I accelerated down the runway and took off, PJ climbed into the cool afternoon air, a left turn departure and climb to 2500ft for the first set of exercises in the north west training area. It has been a while since I have been in this area because the last 15+ hours have been navigation training.
This lesson was all about brushing up on skills already learned through the early stages of flight training in order to get me up to test standard. The idea being that it is fresh in my mind and I shouldn't encounter anything in the test that I haven’t done in the training. You naturally become rusty at these sorts of thing as they are not something that you practice on every single flight but are important if you want to be a safe pilot.
By the end of the lesson the rust had been polished of the upper air manoeuvres and John instructed me to fly straight and level for a bit, I knew what was coming, it was just a matter of when. This was my first practiced forced landing in a while and I would have gotten in the selected field had and I quote “not pissed about waiting to get the flaps down” more practice required there I think. I climbed the aircraft to 600ft and throttled back to minimum safe cruise (2100rpm, flaps 10 degrees) for a low level RTB and crosswind landing on runway two zero.
My next lesson will be mostly practice forced landings and then general handling practice solo.
Edited by PanzerCommander on Saturday 13th February 18:17
Flying Lesson 37: General Handling Revision 2 (Dual). 25th of February 2016.
Last Friday the weather was appalling so I didn't get to fly, this week the forecast was better so I booked the afternoon off work so I could grab a couple of flying lessons.
Up first, general handling revision part 2; this is a dual training session where we will be mostly practice forced landings (PFL). I say mostly because we have a full flap stall to do first.
I won’t go into the usual parts of the flight such as the A-checks, taxi and take off as that is done on every flight and I think I have covered it enough.
Once over the northwest training area the first bit of the lesson was the full flap stall, this is recovered at the stall warning horn rather than holding onto it until the aircraft decides it’s had enough, throttle back to 1,900 rpm, carb heat hot lower the flaps all the way to 40 degrees, throttle 1,500rpm carb heat cold (it has slowed down below 60 knots by this time) holding at 1,500rpm until eventually BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP the stall warner lets you know that you are being foolish, throttle up to full power, airspeed increasing, flaps up to 30, bit more airspeed, flaps 20, bit more airspeed, flaps 10, bit more airspeed, flaps up and recover into the climb.
No point dwelling on that so it’s onto the practice forced landing, its and old joke but one I had to get in:
Seriously though, being able to land an aircraft in a field if the engine does decide to stop is no laughing matter and something that as a pilot I have to take seriously and be able to do; it requires practice and I will have to do a practice forced landing on my General Flying Skills Test.
So there I am cruising along and John says “practice engine failure” pulls the carb heat to hot and the throttle back to idle. I trim out for a 65 knot (best glide speed) decent and then you investigate why it went wrong, is the fuel on, is the mixture rich, is the car heat on, pump the throttle, pump the primer; no dice its dead as a door nail. The propeller would continue to windmill (the compression ratio in these engines is very low) if it were anything other than the engine seizing up. At the same time as this I am looking for a field to land in, with one sorted it is a case of not putting the aircraft in a position where you can’t see it. If you can’t see one immediately you turn downwind (so you have a tail wind) and start looking for one. If you don’t know the wind direction it’s a case of looking for references, surface ripples on lakes, smoke/steam from power stations and the like. It’s always best to land into wind if you can.
Ohh and the best time of year for an engine failure (if there is a best time) is after the corn harvests as there are plenty of nice stubble fields to land in (depending where you are of course).
If the engine can’t be re-started then a mayday call has to be made to the controller you are talking to, if you get no response or aren't talking to anybody in particular you set the radio and transponder to the general emergency frequency and code and go from there. At this point all non essentials (navigation radios, lights you don’t need etc. are turned off). Now you have to get the aircraft in. You fly a normal glide approach to the field (might be a circuit, might be straight in) using the flaps to slow the aircraft as needed, if it is very windy you might not need them at all. On final approach you do your crash drills; brakes: off, fuel: off, mixture: lean, magnetos; off, electrical equipment: off (lights and radio), hatches: unlocked, harness: very tight, flaps: as required and when you know you are in and don’t need to move the flaps any more you switch the master power off.
Of course we just talk through those on a PFL as stopping the engine at low altitude without good reason would be a bad idea. I throttle up and climb out gradually retracting the flaps as I bring the aircraft into a full power climb.
After an hour of PFLs it was time to return to Humberside, the return was done low level. The landing was a crosswind (it was 90 degrees to the runway) on runway two zero which was a good one according to John, as the aircraft needed fuel I back tracked on runway two zero and parked on the southern apron so that P-J could be re-fuelled.
Last Friday the weather was appalling so I didn't get to fly, this week the forecast was better so I booked the afternoon off work so I could grab a couple of flying lessons.
Up first, general handling revision part 2; this is a dual training session where we will be mostly practice forced landings (PFL). I say mostly because we have a full flap stall to do first.
I won’t go into the usual parts of the flight such as the A-checks, taxi and take off as that is done on every flight and I think I have covered it enough.
Once over the northwest training area the first bit of the lesson was the full flap stall, this is recovered at the stall warning horn rather than holding onto it until the aircraft decides it’s had enough, throttle back to 1,900 rpm, carb heat hot lower the flaps all the way to 40 degrees, throttle 1,500rpm carb heat cold (it has slowed down below 60 knots by this time) holding at 1,500rpm until eventually BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP the stall warner lets you know that you are being foolish, throttle up to full power, airspeed increasing, flaps up to 30, bit more airspeed, flaps 20, bit more airspeed, flaps 10, bit more airspeed, flaps up and recover into the climb.
No point dwelling on that so it’s onto the practice forced landing, its and old joke but one I had to get in:
Seriously though, being able to land an aircraft in a field if the engine does decide to stop is no laughing matter and something that as a pilot I have to take seriously and be able to do; it requires practice and I will have to do a practice forced landing on my General Flying Skills Test.
So there I am cruising along and John says “practice engine failure” pulls the carb heat to hot and the throttle back to idle. I trim out for a 65 knot (best glide speed) decent and then you investigate why it went wrong, is the fuel on, is the mixture rich, is the car heat on, pump the throttle, pump the primer; no dice its dead as a door nail. The propeller would continue to windmill (the compression ratio in these engines is very low) if it were anything other than the engine seizing up. At the same time as this I am looking for a field to land in, with one sorted it is a case of not putting the aircraft in a position where you can’t see it. If you can’t see one immediately you turn downwind (so you have a tail wind) and start looking for one. If you don’t know the wind direction it’s a case of looking for references, surface ripples on lakes, smoke/steam from power stations and the like. It’s always best to land into wind if you can.
Ohh and the best time of year for an engine failure (if there is a best time) is after the corn harvests as there are plenty of nice stubble fields to land in (depending where you are of course).
If the engine can’t be re-started then a mayday call has to be made to the controller you are talking to, if you get no response or aren't talking to anybody in particular you set the radio and transponder to the general emergency frequency and code and go from there. At this point all non essentials (navigation radios, lights you don’t need etc. are turned off). Now you have to get the aircraft in. You fly a normal glide approach to the field (might be a circuit, might be straight in) using the flaps to slow the aircraft as needed, if it is very windy you might not need them at all. On final approach you do your crash drills; brakes: off, fuel: off, mixture: lean, magnetos; off, electrical equipment: off (lights and radio), hatches: unlocked, harness: very tight, flaps: as required and when you know you are in and don’t need to move the flaps any more you switch the master power off.
Of course we just talk through those on a PFL as stopping the engine at low altitude without good reason would be a bad idea. I throttle up and climb out gradually retracting the flaps as I bring the aircraft into a full power climb.
After an hour of PFLs it was time to return to Humberside, the return was done low level. The landing was a crosswind (it was 90 degrees to the runway) on runway two zero which was a good one according to John, as the aircraft needed fuel I back tracked on runway two zero and parked on the southern apron so that P-J could be re-fuelled.
Flying Lesson 38: General Handling Revision Solo. 25th of February 2016.
After heading back to the club cabin (the aircraft needed fuel) for a drink and a snack (banana if it matters) and a chat about the last flight it was my turn to go and do some PFL’s solo. After a transit check and run up checks the fully fuelled P-J was once again heading skywards with me on solo at the controls again; I love being up here on my own – did I mention that .
I initially climbed to 2500ft, I’d do subsequent ones from 2000ft; the time saved means I can get an extra one in at the end. I managed seven in total, the first three were questionable if I am honest the last two were pretty much spot on the fourth and fifth well, I would have gotten in but it’s likely the aircraft would have been parked in a hedge at the end of the landing run. That being said it’s better to roll into a hedge/fence at the end of a landing run than clip one with the undercarriage on the way in.
I won’t go into all the details again (I’d just be repeating myself over the previous blog entry) however a few points on selecting the right field, long and flat are the better options however there is more to consider. Firstly, obstacles; are there any power lines, telephone lines, trees hedges, ruts (some fields have elevated tracks running through the middle of them for example) or ditches. What is in the field, tall crops or short crops, no crops at all, is it fallow (long grass and crops can hide obstacles, are there patches of water (indicates the ground will be very soft). At this time of year following the rain we have had means the water table is very high many of the fields are very water logged. Many of the fields in the NW training area were full of huge patches of water, land in one of those and it is likely the aircraft will simply dig in and flip over no matter how soft the landing.
I returned to the Humberside low level the same as the previous lesson and managed to sneak in, in front of the KLM hopper, which was great as it meant I didn’t have to sit and fly in circles whilst the wake turbulence cleared.
A good couple of lessons today I feel far better about the PFLs which if I am honest are the only bit of the flight test I am remotely concerned about.
After heading back to the club cabin (the aircraft needed fuel) for a drink and a snack (banana if it matters) and a chat about the last flight it was my turn to go and do some PFL’s solo. After a transit check and run up checks the fully fuelled P-J was once again heading skywards with me on solo at the controls again; I love being up here on my own – did I mention that
.I initially climbed to 2500ft, I’d do subsequent ones from 2000ft; the time saved means I can get an extra one in at the end. I managed seven in total, the first three were questionable if I am honest the last two were pretty much spot on the fourth and fifth well, I would have gotten in but it’s likely the aircraft would have been parked in a hedge at the end of the landing run. That being said it’s better to roll into a hedge/fence at the end of a landing run than clip one with the undercarriage on the way in.
I won’t go into all the details again (I’d just be repeating myself over the previous blog entry) however a few points on selecting the right field, long and flat are the better options however there is more to consider. Firstly, obstacles; are there any power lines, telephone lines, trees hedges, ruts (some fields have elevated tracks running through the middle of them for example) or ditches. What is in the field, tall crops or short crops, no crops at all, is it fallow (long grass and crops can hide obstacles, are there patches of water (indicates the ground will be very soft). At this time of year following the rain we have had means the water table is very high many of the fields are very water logged. Many of the fields in the NW training area were full of huge patches of water, land in one of those and it is likely the aircraft will simply dig in and flip over no matter how soft the landing.
I returned to the Humberside low level the same as the previous lesson and managed to sneak in, in front of the KLM hopper, which was great as it meant I didn’t have to sit and fly in circles whilst the wake turbulence cleared.
A good couple of lessons today I feel far better about the PFLs which if I am honest are the only bit of the flight test I am remotely concerned about.
Flying Lessons 39 & 40: Circuit Revision Dual and Solo. 26th of February 2016.
Here we are, the last of the revision sessions before my mock test as the title says this part of the revision is circuit drills focussing on the landings that I don’t do that often, short field and glide approach (we have no need to do either at Humberside as the runways are long and there are no obstacles that require the steep glide approach to get over them. However, not all runways are like that, ohh and glide approaches are fun.
After the usual brief, checking of the tech logs and booking out onto the circuit, A-checks etc. I took us up into the circuit. The first landing approach technique to do was a short field approach. Short field approaches are used for landing at an aerodrome where as you might imagine (and rather obviously) the runway is short, the idea is to drag the aircraft in on the prop and touch-down as slow as is safely possible (within the weight and performance limits of the aircraft).
It starts off following the same procedure of a normal 20 degree of flap approach except as the name of the technique suggests but you lower the flaps to 30 and then to 40 as you come in on final approach. More power is added to counter the increased drag of the 40 degrees of flap. The power is cut to idle later than normal as you have to fly the aircraft down onto the runway because once the power is off, the speed drops off quickly.
After two of those and a practice engine failure on take-off, we moved on to glide approaches, these are great fun because with 40 degrees of flap deployed on a glide approach the aircraft does a marvellous impersonation of a Ju-87 Stuka. The turn onto base is done earlier so that the turn onto final approach will be around half a mile rather than one mile and rather than reducing the power its cut to idle. The flaps are lowered to 10 degrees on base as normal, and the radio call for final approach is made on the end of the base leg rather than on the final approach because you simply wouldn’t have time to do that on such a short approach.
The drag I countered with extra power on the short field landings now becomes my best friend as it keeps the speed down on the steep descent and allows the aircraft to slow down quickly when you flare. After three of those Jon left and wandered back to the club cabin and I went off to repeat the exercise on my own.
So there we are then, 47 hours 10 minutes total of which 12 hours 35 minutes are solo. It has been just over a year since I took my trial flight.
Next will be a mock test that could cover anything that I have done in the training, I expect both it and the real test to cover it all then there are no surprises.
Here we are, the last of the revision sessions before my mock test as the title says this part of the revision is circuit drills focussing on the landings that I don’t do that often, short field and glide approach (we have no need to do either at Humberside as the runways are long and there are no obstacles that require the steep glide approach to get over them. However, not all runways are like that, ohh and glide approaches are fun.
After the usual brief, checking of the tech logs and booking out onto the circuit, A-checks etc. I took us up into the circuit. The first landing approach technique to do was a short field approach. Short field approaches are used for landing at an aerodrome where as you might imagine (and rather obviously) the runway is short, the idea is to drag the aircraft in on the prop and touch-down as slow as is safely possible (within the weight and performance limits of the aircraft).
It starts off following the same procedure of a normal 20 degree of flap approach except as the name of the technique suggests but you lower the flaps to 30 and then to 40 as you come in on final approach. More power is added to counter the increased drag of the 40 degrees of flap. The power is cut to idle later than normal as you have to fly the aircraft down onto the runway because once the power is off, the speed drops off quickly.
After two of those and a practice engine failure on take-off, we moved on to glide approaches, these are great fun because with 40 degrees of flap deployed on a glide approach the aircraft does a marvellous impersonation of a Ju-87 Stuka. The turn onto base is done earlier so that the turn onto final approach will be around half a mile rather than one mile and rather than reducing the power its cut to idle. The flaps are lowered to 10 degrees on base as normal, and the radio call for final approach is made on the end of the base leg rather than on the final approach because you simply wouldn’t have time to do that on such a short approach.
The drag I countered with extra power on the short field landings now becomes my best friend as it keeps the speed down on the steep descent and allows the aircraft to slow down quickly when you flare. After three of those Jon left and wandered back to the club cabin and I went off to repeat the exercise on my own.
So there we are then, 47 hours 10 minutes total of which 12 hours 35 minutes are solo. It has been just over a year since I took my trial flight.
Next will be a mock test that could cover anything that I have done in the training, I expect both it and the real test to cover it all then there are no surprises.
The weather over the past couple of weeks has buggered any attempt at getting the mock test done which is a real pain in the backside, if its not low cloud, rain and fog, its been so bloody hazy its untrue. I might actually get my licence some time this year; when, who knows 
Edited by PanzerCommander on Sunday 13th March 21:16
The weather is a cruel mistress it likes to poke both my hobbies with a big stick from time to time
Tomorrow would have been another attempt at getting my mock test done. However, the weather looks like it will be dreary and unpleasant, low cloud and drizzle (and its associated low visibility) is on the cards. In a cruel twist of weather related fate, on Saturday, also looking the same in terms of weather, another chap has just had to cancel his actual test. Which means that if tomorrow and Saturday were to be good weather I had the potential to have the paperwork in the post on Monday
Tomorrow would have been another attempt at getting my mock test done. However, the weather looks like it will be dreary and unpleasant, low cloud and drizzle (and its associated low visibility) is on the cards. In a cruel twist of weather related fate, on Saturday, also looking the same in terms of weather, another chap has just had to cancel his actual test. Which means that if tomorrow and Saturday were to be good weather I had the potential to have the paperwork in the post on Monday
foliedouce said:
Biggest frustration with aviation is weather that's for sure. I hope it pans out for you this week.
So do I it would be nice to get everything sorted so that I am ready for the test. I can keep my procedures sharp on X-Plane; check-lists, circuit drills, emergency drills, radio navigation etc. though its not much help for the actual flying part.Flying Lesson 41: Mock Test. 2nd of April 2016
After over a month of not flying I get a call from the flying club “We can do your mock test now if you want as we have just had a cancellation due to a car breakdown” naturally I high tailed it to the flying club.
The planning time was less that it would be for the actual test as the route was already marked out on my map, all I had to do was work out the appropriate heading to steer relative to the wind and ground speeds so that I could work out the time on route and how much fuel would be required and hence the weight and balance of the aircraft, I will have to do all of this on the day of the actual test because I won’t know the route until the examiner says where he wants me to go. Whilst I was doing my flight planning Jon moved PJ onto the GA Apron for fuel. By the time he had come back I had the weight and balance, performance calculations and the navigation plog ready, pre-flight briefing and documentation review complete it was off to the aircraft for the flying part.
I won’t go into the specifics of the test, nor will I reveal Jon’s mock test route (that just wouldn’t be sporting), needless to say that it covers everything that you have learned so far. Jon is thorough and teaches a lot of bits that aren’t actually tested as it makes for safer pilots in the long run. A few points of note where I messed up. Yes unfortunately I would have failed if it were a real test – but that is where the mock test comes in, to find these problems and address them before the actual test so that you don’t fail:
I was a bit pissed off with myself if I am honest, but the key is not to let it eat away at me and before the actual flight test I will be doing another hour of dual general handling to get the bugs ironed out, with that bit of extra training I should be in a very good position to do my general skills test, I just hope the weather holds.
After over a month of not flying I get a call from the flying club “We can do your mock test now if you want as we have just had a cancellation due to a car breakdown” naturally I high tailed it to the flying club.
The planning time was less that it would be for the actual test as the route was already marked out on my map, all I had to do was work out the appropriate heading to steer relative to the wind and ground speeds so that I could work out the time on route and how much fuel would be required and hence the weight and balance of the aircraft, I will have to do all of this on the day of the actual test because I won’t know the route until the examiner says where he wants me to go. Whilst I was doing my flight planning Jon moved PJ onto the GA Apron for fuel. By the time he had come back I had the weight and balance, performance calculations and the navigation plog ready, pre-flight briefing and documentation review complete it was off to the aircraft for the flying part.
I won’t go into the specifics of the test, nor will I reveal Jon’s mock test route (that just wouldn’t be sporting), needless to say that it covers everything that you have learned so far. Jon is thorough and teaches a lot of bits that aren’t actually tested as it makes for safer pilots in the long run. A few points of note where I messed up. Yes unfortunately I would have failed if it were a real test – but that is where the mock test comes in, to find these problems and address them before the actual test so that you don’t fail:
- My first steep turn resulted in 150ft altitude loss because I didn’t apply enough aft elevator movement on the Yoke.
- I managed to balls up my stall recovery (for instance on a stall in a shallow turn I began the recovery actions before the speed had increased after the power was put back on; a big no-no).
- I completely fluffed the crash drills on the practiced forced landing; Fuel off, mixture lean, throttle closed, all non-essential electrical items off, harnesses tight, hatches unlatched, flaps as required, master power off.
I was a bit pissed off with myself if I am honest, but the key is not to let it eat away at me and before the actual flight test I will be doing another hour of dual general handling to get the bugs ironed out, with that bit of extra training I should be in a very good position to do my general skills test, I just hope the weather holds.
Flying Lesson 42: General handling revision, Dual. 9th of April 2016
After a few issues were uncovered after last week’s mock test, I got a break in the weather today and I was able to do some General Handling revision to sort that out. PJ hadn’t been flown that day so after a discussion of what we needed to do it was out to do the checks, John as usual to speed things up handled the fuel and oil checks and I got on with the rest of them. With everything checking out and the normal run up and taxy checks done we were away, I climbed to 2500ft and headed to the training area.
First on the agenda was steep turns, I accomplished these without too much of an issue, last week’s error was not enough back pressure, next it was on to sorting out stalls and their recovery, first a couple of full stalls (going all the way through with the nose dropping) and then incipient stalls (correcting at the first sign of the stall) in the approach configuration, full flap and approach configuration in a slight turn. Again remembering last week’s error I managed to do these without any real difficulty. Next a bit of unusual attitude recovery, nose up and nose down. John also had me do a radio navigation fix.
Finished off with a practice forced landing and a low level return to the airport. To complete two landings (one circuit); a short field landing first and then after the circuit a glide approach and it was back to the club cabin for a brew and a discussion of the flight.
John is now happy that I will be able to get through the test so all I have to do is wait for a date (sort out with my diary, the examiners diary and the flying clubs diary). Oh and good ‘ole mother nature, if the weather would play ball, that would be grand.
After a few issues were uncovered after last week’s mock test, I got a break in the weather today and I was able to do some General Handling revision to sort that out. PJ hadn’t been flown that day so after a discussion of what we needed to do it was out to do the checks, John as usual to speed things up handled the fuel and oil checks and I got on with the rest of them. With everything checking out and the normal run up and taxy checks done we were away, I climbed to 2500ft and headed to the training area.
First on the agenda was steep turns, I accomplished these without too much of an issue, last week’s error was not enough back pressure, next it was on to sorting out stalls and their recovery, first a couple of full stalls (going all the way through with the nose dropping) and then incipient stalls (correcting at the first sign of the stall) in the approach configuration, full flap and approach configuration in a slight turn. Again remembering last week’s error I managed to do these without any real difficulty. Next a bit of unusual attitude recovery, nose up and nose down. John also had me do a radio navigation fix.
Finished off with a practice forced landing and a low level return to the airport. To complete two landings (one circuit); a short field landing first and then after the circuit a glide approach and it was back to the club cabin for a brew and a discussion of the flight.
John is now happy that I will be able to get through the test so all I have to do is wait for a date (sort out with my diary, the examiners diary and the flying clubs diary). Oh and good ‘ole mother nature, if the weather would play ball, that would be grand.
Zeek said:
Big congrats. It was well over a year after I passed until I got used to the feeling of wandering to the airfield alone, pulling out the plane alone, and disappearing somewhere - alone. It always felt very naughty! Enjoy!
Thanks, I am hoping to enjoy it very soon. Race meeting this weekend coming after that I have a few weekends to build some solo P1 hours schuey said:
Congratulations chief,no better feeling. I'm really pleased for you after following the write ups. I had only come on here to say I had seen PJ doing power checks this morning as we started up and wondered if you were taking advantage of a mint day for flying,turns out you were! Mustang looked great as you were leaving too!
Thanks. Yes Sunday was an excellent day for it Thanks, I do try and keep it looking good.
Flying Lesson 43: PPL(A) Skills Test. 17th of April 2016
D-Day for me, thankfully without the FLAK, the flight lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes and I performed four landings. The paperwork took longer than the flight, including the pre-flight briefing, weight and balance calculations and the post flight paperwork.
The weather was the best it could have been today, crystal clear, almost flat calm. Given what it had been the day before, low cloud, rain, blustery wind it was amazing to be honest.
I’m not going to go through all the specifics, if you want to know about a specific manoeuvre there are lots of blog posts describing them all
The question and answer section of the test provided me with no problems.
The navigation section of the test couldn’t have gone any better, I managed to maintain the target altitude within 50ft most of the way, the odd thermal bump causing a slightly larger variances but nothing that made Roy my examiner unhappy. I was only one minute late to the destination, but I put that down to starting the route leg with 500ft still to climb.
Unplanned diversions didn’t cause me any issues, neither did the radio navigation section where I had to track a VOR beacon and of course describe how I would use the same beacons to get a radio navigation fix.
The upper air work provided me with no problems; I could have lowered the nose a little more during incipient stall recovery other than that no comments. Climbing, descending, climbing and descending turns, again no problems. I received no comments on my observation skills so I assume they were all fine too, the airborne emergency procedure Q&A went well too.
The ATIS and tower informed us that runway two zero was operational, and Roy instructed me to join via the overhead. He wanted me to perform a PFL from directly overhead the airfield. Sounds like it might be a bit easier than a real forced landing, only because it’s a runway I can assure you.
The wind provided me with an interesting situation; it was varying from the south west to north-west most of the morning and on my circuits (we have a mile and a half of runway to play with) gave me a crosswind, with a slight tailwind element, not something I have encountered before as you generally go for a headwind landing (reduces the ground speed for starters).
The first circuit was a glide approach, touch and go (part of the PFL) and the landing was a little heavy, safe but uncomfortable, and that set the tone for my landings which where my only serious criticism. As Roy said, you were caught off guard by the slight tail wind element. I did four circuits, Glide, short field, flapless and normal approach. The obligatory practice engine failure after takeoff and finishing with an aborted takeoff, the flight as a whole went well.
I was disappointed at myself with the heavy arrivals; they are unusual for me as I have generally judged the flare out pretty well in the past. Something to work on, I think my first few solo PPL flights will involve a couple of circuits to finish off.
So it wasn’t all plain sailing but I have reached the end of the PPL(A) course, that doesn’t mean that I will stop learning. Flying an aircraft is a learning experience each and every time you take off. I will be maintaining this blog for a while yet with my first forays into the world of aviation as a pilot in command rather than a pilot under training/supervision.
D-Day for me, thankfully without the FLAK, the flight lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes and I performed four landings. The paperwork took longer than the flight, including the pre-flight briefing, weight and balance calculations and the post flight paperwork.
The weather was the best it could have been today, crystal clear, almost flat calm. Given what it had been the day before, low cloud, rain, blustery wind it was amazing to be honest.
I’m not going to go through all the specifics, if you want to know about a specific manoeuvre there are lots of blog posts describing them all
The question and answer section of the test provided me with no problems.
The navigation section of the test couldn’t have gone any better, I managed to maintain the target altitude within 50ft most of the way, the odd thermal bump causing a slightly larger variances but nothing that made Roy my examiner unhappy. I was only one minute late to the destination, but I put that down to starting the route leg with 500ft still to climb.
Unplanned diversions didn’t cause me any issues, neither did the radio navigation section where I had to track a VOR beacon and of course describe how I would use the same beacons to get a radio navigation fix.
The upper air work provided me with no problems; I could have lowered the nose a little more during incipient stall recovery other than that no comments. Climbing, descending, climbing and descending turns, again no problems. I received no comments on my observation skills so I assume they were all fine too, the airborne emergency procedure Q&A went well too.
The ATIS and tower informed us that runway two zero was operational, and Roy instructed me to join via the overhead. He wanted me to perform a PFL from directly overhead the airfield. Sounds like it might be a bit easier than a real forced landing, only because it’s a runway I can assure you.
The wind provided me with an interesting situation; it was varying from the south west to north-west most of the morning and on my circuits (we have a mile and a half of runway to play with) gave me a crosswind, with a slight tailwind element, not something I have encountered before as you generally go for a headwind landing (reduces the ground speed for starters).
The first circuit was a glide approach, touch and go (part of the PFL) and the landing was a little heavy, safe but uncomfortable, and that set the tone for my landings which where my only serious criticism. As Roy said, you were caught off guard by the slight tail wind element. I did four circuits, Glide, short field, flapless and normal approach. The obligatory practice engine failure after takeoff and finishing with an aborted takeoff, the flight as a whole went well.
I was disappointed at myself with the heavy arrivals; they are unusual for me as I have generally judged the flare out pretty well in the past. Something to work on, I think my first few solo PPL flights will involve a couple of circuits to finish off.
So it wasn’t all plain sailing but I have reached the end of the PPL(A) course, that doesn’t mean that I will stop learning. Flying an aircraft is a learning experience each and every time you take off. I will be maintaining this blog for a while yet with my first forays into the world of aviation as a pilot in command rather than a pilot under training/supervision.
Thanks chaps
NM62; it’s nice to know that it has been helpful, even inspirational. Thanks. Remember if you can’t quite meet the full PPL medical standards you can always do the LAPL or a fixed wing microlight, which will get you into the air albeit with a few more restrictions than a full PPL
Mr Noble; I wouldn’t worry about things feeling a bit rusty, you should have some bits of general handling revision and circuit revision built into the syllabus, if not you can always ask your instructor for an additional lesson to brush these skills up.
No it is not an easy thing to attain but when you do – what a feeling. It’s another first solo moment, which is something you never forget.
Buying my own plane or buying a share of one is something I am considering for the future but what that will be and when that will be I don’t know. I want to avoid selling the Mustang if I can, which initially anyway is probably going to put me in the buying a share category. Obviously I am going to be limited on what types I can fly by insurance until I build up hours and no-claims (I assume it works similar to car insurance in that respect). However, working on the idea of buying my own I am realistically looking at something with:
• One engine (SEP)
• Fixed pitch prop
• Fixed undercarriage
• Two or more seats
• Night capable
• Good spares availability (no orphaned types for example)
I assume that sounds like a sensible set of requirements? I am aware that it does cover quite a few aircraft and a considerable price range. Though realistically due to purchase cost it is going to be something from the Cessna/Piper (or similar) line up. Being fairly mechanically minded I am more than happy to do as much of the basic maintenance as I possibly can (I do on my car, though I appreciate there are differences) and obviously only the parts that I am allowed to do by regulation.
NM62; it’s nice to know that it has been helpful, even inspirational. Thanks. Remember if you can’t quite meet the full PPL medical standards you can always do the LAPL or a fixed wing microlight, which will get you into the air albeit with a few more restrictions than a full PPL
Mr Noble; I wouldn’t worry about things feeling a bit rusty, you should have some bits of general handling revision and circuit revision built into the syllabus, if not you can always ask your instructor for an additional lesson to brush these skills up.
No it is not an easy thing to attain but when you do – what a feeling. It’s another first solo moment, which is something you never forget.
Buying my own plane or buying a share of one is something I am considering for the future but what that will be and when that will be I don’t know. I want to avoid selling the Mustang if I can, which initially anyway is probably going to put me in the buying a share category. Obviously I am going to be limited on what types I can fly by insurance until I build up hours and no-claims (I assume it works similar to car insurance in that respect). However, working on the idea of buying my own I am realistically looking at something with:
• One engine (SEP)
• Fixed pitch prop
• Fixed undercarriage
• Two or more seats
• Night capable
• Good spares availability (no orphaned types for example)
I assume that sounds like a sensible set of requirements? I am aware that it does cover quite a few aircraft and a considerable price range. Though realistically due to purchase cost it is going to be something from the Cessna/Piper (or similar) line up. Being fairly mechanically minded I am more than happy to do as much of the basic maintenance as I possibly can (I do on my car, though I appreciate there are differences) and obviously only the parts that I am allowed to do by regulation.
Slipping the Bonds of the Earth: 03/05/2016
After a few weekends away, a cold and bad weather I have finally been able to go flying again, though it felt more like autumn rather than spring. The wind was a little blustery but thankfully it was straight down runway two six (give or take a few degrees), the cloud base was nice and high and the sky gin clear; almost perfect conditions. Though as John says “If you wait for a perfect day, you’d only fly for three days in June”.
I prepared myself a short route to fly before I headed to the flying club; Humberside -> Melbourne -> Elvington -> Beverly -> Humberside, a grand total of 65 Nautical Miles that would take me an hour to complete including taxi, takeoff & landing.
After booking out I headed out to PJ, she had been flown earlier in the day so a transit check was all that was needed before I was ready to fire her up and go flying. I methodically completed all the items on the checklists before calling the tower to Taxy to the threshold of runway two six to complete my power and pre takeoff checks. Thankfully I had my checks done just as a Germania Airbus was back tracking on two zero and I would be able to get airborne before that aircraft otherwise I’d be waiting for wake turbulence to clear, it was time to go.
P-J accelerated down the runway with the enthusiasm I have become accustomed to I was quickly airborne and climbing towards my 2000ft cruising altitude, the turbulence from the ground (other than thermal activity) disappeared as I passed through 1000ft. Over Elsham I turned towards my first waypoint, Melbourne.
The former RAF Melbourne passes underneath me, no longer a full time airfield the non concrete areas have been returned to farmland. The main runway is still there though it now serves as a drag strip; York Raceway. It is nice to see it from the air, my usual views of the track its self either as a spectator or through the visor of my race helmet, having put in a large number of passes at York myself.
I turned onto my next waypoint, Elvington, which is still in use as an airfield so pilots wanting to visit the quite excellent Yorkshire Air Museum can fly in, and as a motorsport and track day venue. I have visited there for air show purposes and for the museum on a number of occasions; I look forward to visiting the museum but going by air instead of road in the future.
I almost reverse track to turn towards Beverly, the wind is behind me and the 21 nautical miles pass very quickly, 12 minutes to be exact. Pocklington is to my left as I head away from Elvington, a few gliders on the ground but none flying in the local area (they often don’t have radios so you need to keep your eyes peeled), Beverly and Leconfield clearly visible in the distance I keep my nose on the centre of Beverly as I pass over the Yorkshire Wolds I make my turn back towards Humberside (I have to land at some point) and overfly a good friends house before overflying my own home as I pass over Hull.
I begin my descent to circuit altitude (1000ft) over the Humber and begin positioning for a right base entry to Runway two six for a flapless approach and landing and a nice landing it was too, not smack on the centreline but on the numbers. I parked PJ up on the grass parking area.
My first flight post PPL couldn’t have gone better and I am still smiling now several hours later. I will add some photos to this blog from the air as soon as somebody comes with me to take them on my behalf.
I think in the end it will be a share as it makes the most financial sense and allows me to get into something a bit “nicer” as it were than I would be able to afford on my own.
After a few weekends away, a cold and bad weather I have finally been able to go flying again, though it felt more like autumn rather than spring. The wind was a little blustery but thankfully it was straight down runway two six (give or take a few degrees), the cloud base was nice and high and the sky gin clear; almost perfect conditions. Though as John says “If you wait for a perfect day, you’d only fly for three days in June”.
I prepared myself a short route to fly before I headed to the flying club; Humberside -> Melbourne -> Elvington -> Beverly -> Humberside, a grand total of 65 Nautical Miles that would take me an hour to complete including taxi, takeoff & landing.
After booking out I headed out to PJ, she had been flown earlier in the day so a transit check was all that was needed before I was ready to fire her up and go flying. I methodically completed all the items on the checklists before calling the tower to Taxy to the threshold of runway two six to complete my power and pre takeoff checks. Thankfully I had my checks done just as a Germania Airbus was back tracking on two zero and I would be able to get airborne before that aircraft otherwise I’d be waiting for wake turbulence to clear, it was time to go.
P-J accelerated down the runway with the enthusiasm I have become accustomed to I was quickly airborne and climbing towards my 2000ft cruising altitude, the turbulence from the ground (other than thermal activity) disappeared as I passed through 1000ft. Over Elsham I turned towards my first waypoint, Melbourne.
The former RAF Melbourne passes underneath me, no longer a full time airfield the non concrete areas have been returned to farmland. The main runway is still there though it now serves as a drag strip; York Raceway. It is nice to see it from the air, my usual views of the track its self either as a spectator or through the visor of my race helmet, having put in a large number of passes at York myself.
I turned onto my next waypoint, Elvington, which is still in use as an airfield so pilots wanting to visit the quite excellent Yorkshire Air Museum can fly in, and as a motorsport and track day venue. I have visited there for air show purposes and for the museum on a number of occasions; I look forward to visiting the museum but going by air instead of road in the future.
I almost reverse track to turn towards Beverly, the wind is behind me and the 21 nautical miles pass very quickly, 12 minutes to be exact. Pocklington is to my left as I head away from Elvington, a few gliders on the ground but none flying in the local area (they often don’t have radios so you need to keep your eyes peeled), Beverly and Leconfield clearly visible in the distance I keep my nose on the centre of Beverly as I pass over the Yorkshire Wolds I make my turn back towards Humberside (I have to land at some point) and overfly a good friends house before overflying my own home as I pass over Hull.
I begin my descent to circuit altitude (1000ft) over the Humber and begin positioning for a right base entry to Runway two six for a flapless approach and landing and a nice landing it was too, not smack on the centreline but on the numbers. I parked PJ up on the grass parking area.
My first flight post PPL couldn’t have gone better and I am still smiling now several hours later. I will add some photos to this blog from the air as soon as somebody comes with me to take them on my behalf.
foliedouce said:
Your criteria sounds good, just think about your 'mission' profile - where are you likely to go and how much weight do you need to carry then make sure the aircraft meets this. eg check the useful load in the PoH and do some calculations that if you want to take the Mrs / 2 friends, full fuel, can it be done? You doubt want to shell out your hard earned only to find the plane doesn't do what you need.
Also, are you planning an IMC rating (or IR (R) as they call it now) in the future? if so, get an aircraft that is equipped for it. In my opinion the IMC rating is much more useful than the night rating (very few UK airfields open late).
The GA market for older aircraft is not great right now so you could pick up a bargain. Groups may have a minimum hour restrictions but as people are often desperate to sell, there's always room for negotiation (maybe pay the extra on the insurance until you have x hours for example). At WAP last year someone was selling a 1/6th share in a Turbo Arrow for £1k! Just because they had moved and wanted to stop the commitment.
Have a look here to get an idea:-
http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=3
Good luck and have fun
At some point in the future an IR(R) is something I will be doing, one because it gives me a little extra flexibility (I wouldn’t deliberately set out to fly in cloud, I like to be able to see the scenery below) but knowing that I am qualified to perform an instrument approach if needed to get home safely if the weather closes in and because I think it will make me a better pilot in the end too. To that end I think swapping the Night Capable requirement to an IMC capable requirement is a good shout, saves the expense of fitting new equipment or swapping to another aircraft (both expensive options).Also, are you planning an IMC rating (or IR (R) as they call it now) in the future? if so, get an aircraft that is equipped for it. In my opinion the IMC rating is much more useful than the night rating (very few UK airfields open late).
The GA market for older aircraft is not great right now so you could pick up a bargain. Groups may have a minimum hour restrictions but as people are often desperate to sell, there's always room for negotiation (maybe pay the extra on the insurance until you have x hours for example). At WAP last year someone was selling a 1/6th share in a Turbo Arrow for £1k! Just because they had moved and wanted to stop the commitment.
Have a look here to get an idea:-
http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=3
Good luck and have fun
I think in the end it will be a share as it makes the most financial sense and allows me to get into something a bit “nicer” as it were than I would be able to afford on my own.
Kempus said:
Congratulations! It's been a while since my skills test and I can't remember doing half the stuff you did. If you fancy swapping flying machinery for the day let me know!
Fly safe!
Thanks, I will keep that in mind Fly safe!
Edited by PanzerCommander on Sunday 8th May 22:45
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