Four weeks ago...

Four weeks ago I took the PPL skills test. The big day. Forty-five hours in the book preparing for this event. This can be described as two and a half hours of getting ragged about by an examiner, covering all the topics covered on the course. The weather was acceptable. The winds were not too strong, but it was a bit hazy with some light cloud at lower altitudes.

                After a quick brief in the clubhouse we set off, got airborne and got straight on with the navigation phase. I had a route planned heading south to the Isle of Wight, then a left turn towards Brighton. Pretty quickly we were above the cloud base, but it was thin enough to see through - see through clouds don’t count! Track keeping was going pretty well at this point. No dramas transiting the Shoreham ATZ, although quite a lot of mid-week traffic going on. At Brighton the “unplanned diversion” phase kicked in and I routed ad-hoc from Lewes to Petworth – a bit of long ‘un. To add to the atmosphere the vis dropped right off at this point, probably less than 5k but sometimes you just have to fly by the seat of your pants. The leg was not as precise as I would’ve preferred but the theory was sound.

Heading back west the weather cleared up in time for the skills section. I demonstrated some slow flight, stalls and steep turns, then a simulated engine failure. A couple of the manoeuvres I had not encountered but I just winged it. No dramas on any of those. After that lot we bombed back at a rate of knots and got stuck in with my favourite bit – some circuits. I bashed out a decent enough standard approach.  Then we did low level circuit at 650’, buzzing all the locals. Next on the list was a flapless. Now this instructor was keen to do it totally different to what I had been taught. Normally I would zoom in at 80kts, but this chap insisted that 60kts was plenty in the clean configuration. Stall horn a-twitchin’, we banged on the deck bouncy style. I think the tower counted it as one landing. Finally, we finished off with an elegant glide approach. Power off at 1000’ and swooping in silently and gracefully, like a soaring…. erm…. plane.

So why have I waited four and a half weeks to post this? Because I haven’t received my shagging licence back from the CAA, that’s why!!! That is until today when the FedEx man delivered me a package containing one shiny new EASA PPL. It thought it would never arrive. It comes clad in an oh so nice blue vinyl sleeve. What will they say down at the club?

A lot of excitement over a piece of paper

So there you have it blog fans. I have the liberty to fly pilot-in-command of single engine piston powered light aircraft. As long as it weighs less than 5,700kg. And I don’t receive financial reward for duration of the flight. And it is not rainy. Or too cloudy, or windy or if there is snow or killer bees. Or if the plane goes technical. Other than that I am free as a bird. I’d like to thank my Instructor Rich, for taking time out of his schedule and putting up with me for many hours in a confined space, and all the other people who have supported me.

King of the skies! Licensed to thrill! Sign up below for scenic flights.

Catch up

Catch up

 

Hello fellow Sky watchers!

Looking back over the blog page it appears my last post was in March. And at that stage I was at the point of beginning the navigation phase of training. Gosh, I am pleased to say a lot has happened since then. Study - I have now completed all the theory exams. Great to have that in the bag. I started taking them in pairs to expedite the process. The most challenging one to me was Meteorology. A bit like taking GCSE geography all over again. Having that lot sewn up meant I could focus all my attention to the fun part- up in the sky. After an evening navigation theory class I was set to go with Flight planning. My whizzy –wheel skills are now slick as! 

Navigation

So it is pretty simple in theory: Just a case of flying between two points in a straight line and bob’s your uncle. If you fly a heading for a set time period you will end up at a definite location. You do need to adjust for the wind which can blow you off course, but the calculations are done in advance on the ground in slow time. The end results are impressive - the accuracy of the flight path comes out rather well, in short – it works. photo of Nav route with straight legs.

Portsmouth

 This phase of the course was particularly enjoyable because it took me to different areas I had not flown over before. I even got in a couple of solo nav flights and became well acquainted with the south coast.  There’s plenty to see and lots of obvious features to keep you orientated. Getting lost is always a risk, which sounds silly, but is a very real possibility. There is always the option to get help from atc to confirm your location because they have you on radar.

Cross country qualifier

Lydd Airport

 One of the PPL licence requirements is to complete a cross country flight over 150 miles and landing at two different airports. This is really exciting because until this point I had onlytaken off or landed at Fairoaks. Back in July I went with Rich to do a dummy run of the flight first, leaving Fairoaks and flying south of Gatwick to Lydd airport. It is right next to Dungeness power station. This airport has a truly eerie atmosphere to it.  The airport has a massive runway. It is long enough to take a 747. After a can of coke we then jumped back into the plane and flew along the south coast, past Bognor and Brighton and then landed at Goodwood. This place is a world apart from the concrete paradise of Lydd. Goodwood was a Spitfire base during WW2 with the classic RAF X layout and grass runways.

What’s next?

Spiffing

So all the theory side is complete. I only have two more hurdles before I can submit my licence application. There is a radio practical test which I am currently preparing for. It involves a simulated flight and making the necessary radio calls to the examiner. I don’t mind this hurdle because it is always helpful to have accurate RT skills. You are more likely to get taken seriously by ATC and they will not oblige your requests if you sound like an amateur. “Negative ghost rider, the pattern is full”.

The other obstacle to overcome is – you guessed it – the general flight test. The biggie! The first part of this covers handling skills – demonstrating you can safely recover from a stall and are able to handle an engine failure or two. Then there will be a navigation section; this should take up the bulk of the assessment. Finally, a few circuits around the airport to demonstrate the landing skills are up to scratch. If that goes well then I can send all the paperwork to the CAA and have it wrapped up. It all sounds simple on paper. Let’s see how we go.

Btw it is now a whole year since I started-time flies!!!

Hello blogfans!

Hope 2013 is going well for everyone out there. So I’ve been up to some more flying and also took the first of seven ground exams. Alongside all the practical training there is a lot of theory to cover in ground school.

January. Oh dear. Snow, then rain, then wind, then windy rain. Can anyone remember how poor the weather was throughout January? Very little was going on in the air. So I focused on getting more study done. It’s been a while since my Uni days and I realised I’ve not actually studied anything in a long while. It really took the old brain some cranking to get into gear and I found it hard to retain simple facts. Anyway, after much learning I had a bash at the first PPL theory exam – Air law. It is a bit like the highway code of the skies. Lots of rules and regulations to pigeon learn. I passed the exam and feel quite relieved. The subject matter is very dry and honestly I’m glad to see the back of it. The remaining six exams are more enjoyable (I hope) to study for. Now I’m reading for the next one and am mugging up on wing designs and aerodynamics features of airframe construction.

In February the weather cleared up a bit and I got many hours ‘in the circuit’. I must have scored well over 70 take offs and landings now. Sometimes they go smoothly, others are a bit heavy. Keeping the nose up is important. The nose wheel is weak and the back wheels must take the majority of the impact. One day I turned up for a ‘lesson’ and my instructor, Rich, just sent me up on my own for an hour. The plane was still intact by the end so top marks!

Last week I had an interesting lesson where Rich insisted on putting the aircraft into a spiralling dive and then hand over the controls. The aim is to recover from the corkscrew safely. It’s really cool how quickly the plane gets fast in a dive. We also practiced an engine failure and then did some more stall recoveries. Quite a varied lesson.

So what’s next?

The next chapter in this story covers cross country navigation. The whole point of flying is to travel from A to B safely without getting lost. I think there’s going to be a whole lot more theory coming up for this section. I’ve bought myself a shiny VFR map so that’s the first step covered.

CRP-5 Flight Computer

Also, I’ve acquired some other nick- nacks and aviation goodies including this rather nifty flight computer or ‘whizzy wheel’ as it is officially named. Hands up who’s seen a computer that doesn’t use electricity, or have a screen. Or keyboard. No, me neither. I think they’ve stretched use of the term computer.  It’s anyone’s guess how it to use it.

Stalling Practice, another student takes a ‘crash course’ and Solo Flight.

Hello plane spotters! Lots more flying has been happening over the last couple of months. I have just been poor at writing it up. Throughout December I got into a good rhythm going and got plenty more hours in.

I’ve had a couple of lessons on Stalling. Stalling an aircraft is something that can happen if you point the nose upwards without enough speed causing loss of lift. It’s worth practicing different stall scenarios and learning how to recover efficiently without losing too much height. The nose goes up, the wings buffet and the warning alarm goes off. Then the plane plummets like a stone! Recovery is achieved by pushing forwards on the controls and adding full power. Woosh!

  

Circuit training

Sorry- no burpees, squat thrusts or crunches. After getting stalls under wraps I was introduced to the traffic circuit. This is the pattern in which landing aircraft fly in order to safely navigate about the airport without crashing into each other. From a training perspective it is an opportunity to practice lots and lots of take offs and landings. Rather than coming to a halt after touch down you simply roll along, go full power and takeoff again for another lap. In an hour you can do 9 laps of the airport.

                

The traffic pattern

We practiced different types of approaches. With and without flaps, long ones, close in ones and also simulated engine failure approaches (the glide approach). The glide approach was particularly fun.

Crash Course

Going back to Friday before Christmas, I was having a routine lesson. Practicing the circuit as normal. After several laps we came in to land and then pulled up on the taxy way. My instructor was going through the usual debrief and then we heard a panicky voice on the radio. We turned around and saw this on the Runway!!

Stacked it

Another student pilot (different club) was doing some solo work and was a bit heavy handed with his landing. ‘Oops’ doesn’t quite cut it! He walked away uninjured which is more than can be said for his plane. Bit embarrassing. Bit of a crap thing to happen just before Christmas, poor guy. No one got hurt but the runway was shut for ages.

One Person on Board 

Two days ago I had another circuits session and also did some more back seating with another student. It’s always beneficial to watch someone else’s style and listen to their patter, how they handle the controls and the radios. 

The control tower invited me to come up and collect the progress strip of my flight. 

When I had my turn, I did a couple of circuits, and then my instructor bailed out (on the ground) and sent me off to do my first solo!!! I can remember my first ever ‘solo drive’ when I was seventeen. It is eerie to be flying in a plane all by yourself. The flight only lasted six minutes but it was quite a thrill. An awesome way to start 2013.

Watch the vid!!! Hope you enjoy. Apologies for the cheesy soundtrack.

Na Zdrovje!

I’m unsure why, but several Russians are reading my blog. Greetings. It’s been a while since the last post and I assure you I am still flying. Some stretches of poor weather have gotten in the way. I’ve another three lessons under my belt so things are coming along nicely.

  

My logbook so far. Many blank pages to fill.

Since previous lessons I have revised previous skills, rehearsed the landing procedure and flying with flaps. After flying the circuit I put in my first decent quality landing which felt really great. I’m doing some of the radio work now too.

Checking the oil. 

Also I’m doing the pre flight ‘walk around’ check. Making sure everything that should move moves, everything that shouldn’t move doesn’t.

It uses plenty of this (sorry tree huggers)

The following lesson was not so great. This was an introduction to slow flight. It is useful when following a slow plane or when visiting the drive thru. RPM back, nose up and just cruise along. Easy(ish)! However, the weather was really rough. Constantly being buffeted around can wear you down. By the end of the flight I was ready to redecorate the cockpit. Sick bags are available on this flight but not required today.

A few days later I got the opportunity to revisit skills learnt previously and get it right. Fine weather and a keen attitude saw me through nicely. Also some cracking new mnemonics learnt: HASELL and BUMFSLAM – oh yeah!!!

At home I’ve been learning the joys of Aviation law. There are some seven written exams on the PPL syllabus and an element of private study is required. The text book seems well written and, more importantly, has lots of pictures. There aren’t too many long words either.

Right – O. I’ve the next lesson booked for tomorrow. Weather pending. The unspoken caveat of all aviation matters. Tara for now.

Andy

The first four lessons

Lesson 1 – Gentle Handling

Intended as an easy going introduction to flying, the first lesson involved simply handling the aircraft and making some simple turns. My instructor monitored the radios, Navigation and performed takeoff/landing. The rest of the flying was down to me- yikes. After departing the airfield we turned south and gained some altitude. The aim was to keep the ‘plane pointing straight whilst holding the same altitude. It was far trickier than expected, but we didn’t crash into anything so I must’ve done okay.

It became apparent that there are many aspects to handling an aircraft that are not obvious to a non - pilot and I learnt that there are lots of things I don’t know (does that make any sense)?

 About half way through the lesson we flew past Dunsfold Airfield – made famous by Lord Clarkson, Captain slow, the hamster and his royal Stigness. Also seen was the Ockham VOR – a landmark of interest for other aviation geeks/spotters.

  

The most important lesson learnt today was that flying is damn good fun and I couldn’t wait until the next session.

Lesson 2 – The effects of the Controls

After a 20 min classroom briefing on some aerodynamics and lots of pointing at a wooden model I set off for my second fix. There was no rush today so I participated in the ground checks, ensuring the engine is running nicely, correct amount of fuel on board etc. This time I ‘sort of’ controlled the plane through takeoff.

Heading south again towards Top Gear world my instructor took over and demonstrated how each control has obvious immediate effects, but also unexpected secondary effects. We mucked about with flying fast, then slow. This highlighted more changes in control effects. On return to the airfield I observed how to fly ‘the circuit’ which is the traffic pattern used to safely approach and land.

Lesson 3 Climbing and Descent

It’s Sunday afternoon and the weather is just fine all over. In addition to the lesson today I am ‘Back seating’ another student and watching for their mistakes. In the briefing we learnt D-A-B-L-E which is a mnemonic (or is it an acronym?) for the things to check during a climb or descent. Pilots just love remembering things by mnemonics, and let’s face it, who doesn’t? I took the driving seat first while the other chap, Chris, sat in the back and watched.

Whilst on the gound you steer with your feet.

  

I did the takeoff all by myself this time. Going up in the world, eh? The whole flight comprised of climbing to a level, then descending to another level, up and down, up and down.

An unusual phenomenon that occurs to engines at altitude is ice forming in the carbs. This must be prevented by periodically introducing warm air into the intakes (there’s a lever on the dash) and melting it off.  Frozen carbs stop engines!

On return to the airfield I 'sort of’ landed. Well, I handled the controls but all the decisions were made by my instructor so I can’t take full credit. After the flight we had a cup of tea, switched places and I got to ride in the back. My hands were far from the controls and free to take some video. Roll VT!!

Going through a few pre- flight checks.

This is the takeoff roll from runway 24. Excuse shakey camera skills. I’m training to be a pilot, not a movie director.

… And safely back to Earth.

Lesson 4 Turning

An opportunity to backseat another student today, Howard. We did the pre flight briefing but unfortunately the turning mnemonic is disappointing. B-B-B. The weather was completely clear, however, there was a strong wind and this would make the flying bumpy. Howard is far more experienced than myself so I got to see the effect of having had more hours and witness some more advanced flying.

Then it was my turn. We got airborne and revised climbing and descent for the first half. Then we threw in a few turns. I found it hard to remember which heading to turn off at, or which altitude to climb to. For fun we did a climb & turn simultaneously. Again I sort of landed. Doesn’t really feel like I am controlling the aircraft as we land but I was making all the control inputs. Not a smooth touchdown. I’ll blame the strong winds.

                Whilst out and about in the Surrey area we are tuned to Farnborough ATC. For a brief period of todays flight they imposed a temporary airspace restriction around Farnborough airport. This means a VIP is landing and as it is near Windsor it was most likely the Queen. Probably.

               

So folks, that’s lessons one to four. I’m still enjoying myself and looking forward to the next one. No real wobbles or blips yet so I’m feeling positive. I will start putting in less detail in future blogs but aim to get more photos for you. I believe a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Keep watching the skies,

Andy

Welcome!

I have decided to make an attempt at becoming a private pilot and I thought it would be a good idea to share my progress with you. Learning to fly is a challenging and interesting experience, from which I hope to have plenty of stories and photos to share along the way. So far I have had three lessons over the past month, details of which I'll post separately.

Why flying?

Throughout the course of my life there has been some sort of connection and interest one way or another with the world of aviation. In recent years I have become even more closely connected and decided it was about time to get hands-on and have a go gaining the coveted Private Pilots Licence.Put simply, it is just something I want to do. At the end of it all you get to say "I'm a pilot"!!

What’s it like?

Flying a small aircraft is a fully immersive experience that stimulates all the senses intensely.  It is not enjoyable to all people and fragile or sensitive characters ought to remain earth-based. Actually, I took my first flight when I was quite young, at 18. I found the experience overwhelming and decided not to persue it. But 11 years later I have learnt to love the droning of the engine, the smell of the fuel and the background buzz of air traffic control chatter in the ears. The physical sensation is not easy to describe in words, but as the 'plane lifts off the runway an involuntary grin forms across ones gob.

Fairoaks Airport. The clubhouse is located by '06'

The Aircraft, the club, the licence.

I went to recce a few airfields to find out how it all works. Settling on my nearest airfield for convenience I chose LTFC http://www.ltfc.org.uk/ at Fairoaks airport as a place to fly from. It located about 10 miles SSW of Heathrow airport and the airspace is rather busy with several restrictions. The club there is friendly and has a no nonsense attitude that impressed me.  After an initial meeting with an instructor and an introductory flight I was set.

My aim is to train and reach a standard so that I can pass the practical test giving you licence to fly at your own leisure, much like the UK driving test. There are 7 theory exams and a practical test. If I pass this then I can fly on my own or with passengers, but only for fun. To earn money flying you require an expensive commercial pilots licence. Lets not go there!

The aircraft of choice is the Piper Warrior PA-28. It’s the Vauxhall Astra of the Skies! Built and designed in 1960s America , reliability,  ruggedness and simplicity are key principles making this 4-seater a popular choice for most trainee pilots. Another option is the lighter, smaller Cessna 152 but I looked at this and it looks too small!

So what’s next? 

Well, there will certainly be many more lessons to come. Whats not certain is how long it could take. Some people spend a couple of years learning before they accumulate the required 45 logbook hours to attempt the test. Hopefully I can keep updating this blog with photos and brief reports on a regular and predictable basis. I doubt there’ll be a shortage of things to say. I try to keep it short n’ sweet because I know your time is precious. But do try to stay watching this space. I’d like to encourage people to comment. All I ask is you refrain from spooky anonymous posting. Do enjoy and be in touch.

Bye for now,

Andy