Tempus Fugit

It's been about three weeks since I last posted - how remiss of me. I've had two lessons in that time. Alpha-November is back from her inspection which I'm happy about.

The first had perfect still hot weather and my flying reflected that. Everything was much improved and I managed several good landings. The airfield was quiet - we're still in Olympic mode and not many people are up and about. We did land and do a long taxi back to give a corporate jet space to land at one point.

The week after that had strong crosswinds that were out of limits for student pilots - the first time I've heard that!

This week I flew on a Wednesday and things were a bit rougher. I need a better picture of the runway in my head as I come in to land. I was having trouble judging height and keeping an eye on the numbers, so much so that Tony thought I was aiming at the trees before the runway. Tony also emphasised the use of rudder and gave me a rudder 101 refresh brief after the lesson. I really don't use enough especially noticeable in a crosswind. Also many gentle prods to complete the Air Law exam which I've started reading for. Olympic restrictions have been lifted and the circuit was noticeably busier.

At work the MD (who has been a pilot for many years) has taken an interest and has been giving me encouragement. He's lent me a copy of Alan Bramson's Make Better Landings which he highly recommended.

Sunday Morning

A bright and early start for me on Sunday morning. Tony had a spare slot at 9am which he called to offer so I jumped at the chance. I had a pretty good night's sleep unlike Friday and was feeling more on the ball. Once again we're in Tango-Echo - Islam picked up Alpha-November for her service while I was alpha checking. Hopefully she'll be back for next Friday.

This morning was a visually impressive day to fly. Black clouds with showers dotted around the landscape along with excellent visibility (London was clear on the horizon) meant a great morning to be up there. There was a 10-12kt wind blowing straight down the runway for the most part and the temperature was around 15ºC. All of which meant Tango-Echo was climbing very well, especially compared to Friday.

After two lessons in Tango-Echo I'm much more used to her ways. A 70kt descent matches 80mph on the air speed indicator and the left hand tank fuel gauge doesn't work.

The lesson itself felt pretty good. I feel very much in charge for 90% of the circuit with everything up to turning finals pretty smooth. I'm still having a few little problems keeping the speed up and judging the approach. Tony advised checking out some cockpit POV landings on YouTube. Judging the flare was a bit bad too - again probably one good landing. Tony was full of praise for my pre-landing checks and most of the handling and airmanship. I'm handling most of the radio work now which I'm pleased with and I'm also able to stumble through the pre-flight briefing. One of the YouTube videos I found was an airline pre-flight brief and I get a better idea of how this fits in.

This week's acronym is ATPL - the checks just before calling the tower at the runway holding point.

A - Approach (clear)
T - Transponder to ALT
P - Pitot heat (not always required)
L - Lights (recognition strobe)

I feel happier and increasingly confident now. I've been reading around and checking the flight manual for landing advice. Reading the instructions? Whatever next. The Thinking Pilot's Flight Manual by Rick Durden is a great read and in one of his examples about a PA28 pilot's landing problems I couldn't help but see the same symptoms I was having. I'll re-read before my lesson next time.

Up, Down, Flying Around

Today was quite an interesting day for a lesson. Firstly although it was hazy and sunny at home Blackbushe had no sun and visibility was down to 2-2.5km which was okay for circuits. Secondly the Olympic restrictions are bugging everyone at the club. Viv and Tony were pulling their hair out trying to submit flight plans on the internet when I arrived, which left Tony in an uncharacteristically quiet mood. It hadn't helped that he'd been flying earlier with a broken transponder and Atlas didn't want him to come back to Blackbushe but remain outside the Olympic restriction zone.  I wasn't totally on the ball - not as good as last week anyway which didn't help. Add to all of this the fact that Alpha-November is off for a service and we had to fly G-BPTE with it's airspeed indicator in MPH, lack of HSI and really heavy rudder. I need to overcome these little obstacles - frame of mind; changes in aircraft and weather; minor lack of sleep.

We flew circuits for an hour during which time I managed one landing I was praised for, two hefty balloons and one when I took so long to get down we ran out of runway and had to taxi back to the holding point to take off again. The airfield was quiet - not surprising given the conditions.

In the end Tony was happy I was making progress and once again urged me to take the Air Law exam.  Challenge: I feel I still need to get a handle on changing conditions like allowing for the wind. I have another lesson on Sunday 0900 - lets hope the weather improves a bit.

One Fine Day

Look - nice light winds

An excellent morning's flying was had today. I'd booked a lesson for 9am but things were delayed as Tony was stuck on the M25 so we didn't take off until 10:20. However this week I did a much better attempt at remembering how to fly. Farnborough's restrictions were gone so the circuit was a little less cramped and rushed than previous weeks, the weather was calm - a 4kt breeze from the North and I was in a much better frame of mind. I'd finished everything for my medical; had been practising the pre-landing checks all week and had been swatting for the Aviation Law exam.


I did one rough circuit and then began to shake off the previous few crappy weeks flying. I flew much more on the numbers as Tony asked - descent speed 70kts and runway 25 markings. I remembered all of the relevant actions at the right time and even managed  to fit in an attempt at pre-landing checks every circuit. The radio work was almost all mine and I felt much more in control. Tony had me aiming before the numbers this week. He's even keener for me to do the exam and I think a few more sessions like that and things will be awesome. Tony even said he was falling asleep at some points today.

Back at Blackbushe

Alpha-November after my lesson on 6th July

So back in the UK and the weather has been spectacularly bad. Wind, rain and low cloud for three weeks meant no flying. Despite awful weather forecasts I have managed to fly both last Friday and the previous one which was awesome.

Last Friday I felt on top of my game - my flying was so much better. The circuit being used was 25L which after Texas felt much smaller. Blackbushe has a 4400ft runway vs Spinks at 6002ft or 5697ft at Cleburne. If you add to that the Farnborough Airshow flying restrictions this meant we were keeping a tight circuit, turning as soon as we reached circuit height at 800ft.

Despite these little issues I had a pretty good lesson, feeling much more confident and flying with much better control. I had a few issues with landings, mostly flying too slow at the end of finals, but hopefully those would be ironed out in short order.

They lesson ended when the very dark clouds to the west finally reached the airfield and poured their contents on us.

Last Friday (13th!) I flew again. Once more the weather forecast was awful, but my 9am slot mean I got the best of the weather. There was a 12kt wind blowing straight down the runway and things looked good. For some reason I wasn't flying very well though. Once again my approaches were too slow and (we later discovered) I was steadily pulling back on the stick as I got closer to the ground - my airspeed was dropping far too low. I think I was fixating on the trees just before the runway, rather than looking at the numbers. We finished early so that I didn't develop that as a habit.

My other problem was that strangely on climb out and turn at 500ft my turns were far too sharp - 30º. Tony explained later that the stall speed at 45º was 80kts - the climb speed and that 30º was really too close. A few little gusts of wind were knocking us about an we could easily change by 15º.

On the plus side I did most of the radio work this week with initial calls, downwind and finals. I do need to learn the downwind checks though. BUMFFILCH

[carb heat on]
Brakes
Undercarriage
Mixture
Fuel - sufficient for alternate
Flaps
Instruments
Lights
Carb Heat
Hatches, harnesses (seats and door)

I've also been for my CAA medical and eye test this week which seem good - much to my relief. I've just posted the eye test results so hopefully will get my medical certificate this week. As part of this I now have my CAA reference number, which will become my license number when I qualify! Both medical and eye tests were much more in depth than in the States with an ECG and eye pressure tests as part of the process. I have done a little work on Aviation Law and plan to take that exam soon.

My birthday weekend this year was a flying treat - the Airshows at Waddington and Flying Legends at Duxford. Waddington was mostly an awesome display of jet power, but I think Duxford wins with it's nine Spitfires flying among countless other WWII aircraft. Lots of photos and afterwards I found myself buying a new camera - my old one doesn't do these displays justice.

Solo Texas - Flying Texas Part II

It seems the weather in Texas isn't as stable as I'd hoped. The leftovers from the previous day's storm were still hanging around and I lost the fourth day of flying to some 900ft clouds, which since the pattern is at 1000ft isn't much use.


On the Friday my wife Theresa joined us for a site seeing tour over Fort Worth for my final lesson. Slow gentle turns around the Downtown area provided some fantastic views of the towering buildings we'd been looking at from the ground. Jake directed us away to the west where the airforce base he served at was located. I got to fly over the runway at 2000ft - it was a quiet day.

We returned to Spinks and did a few patterns with Theresa still on board and then Jake called the tower and asked for permission for the two of them to go up there. He gave me some last minute advice - Don't worry, they know what you're doing. They all hopped out and I was on my own. Three patterns was the plan and I was feeling pretty good. My radio work was a bit shabby - calling ground when I should should been calling the tower. That was quickly fixed with a quick Garmin button press. My first two circuits were below average, but I successfully perfomed the touch and goes without breaking anything. A few minutes of excitement came when the tower asked my to fly a right hand circuit rather than the left hand I'd been doing all day. That went surprisingly smoothly once I got over the initial shock - I hadn't heard that request before! My final approach and full stop were much better and before I knew it I was taxi-ing back to the tower to pick up my passengers.

Jake had his own special way of celebrating a new solo pilot - cutting the shirt tails. It seems to stem from his Air Force days. I hope that's a hundred dollar shirt he said! I've had a brilliant few days and Jake and his team have been fantastic teachers as well as excellent companions. I'll certainly have Texas on my mind for future US flying.

So that was it! My first solo. In the USA at least. I still need my UK medical and Air Law exam before I can do it over here, but the confidence and 8 hours practice in Texas have made the world of difference.

Flying Texas - Part I

So here we are on holiday in Texas. One of the reasons for choosing Texas was to get some flying lessons in in good conditions for five consecutive days. I'm learning at Fort Worth Spinks (KFWS) with Jake Huffman's Huffman Aviation in Burleson, TX. I had to jump through a number of legal hoops to be allowed to fly in the US - an application via the Alien Flight School Program from the Transport Security Administration which included fingerprinting and around £200 in fees.

All of that stuff seems worth it now. I've had three days of almost two hour lessons and while there is a lot of stuff that is different the circuit (pattern) fundamentals are the same. I'm learning in a much older PA28-180 N15BC which is in very nice shape, seems smoother than my home aircraft and is a delight to fly. The controls differ somewhat - she has choke style controls and the trim adjuster is on the cabin roof. I've really been getting into the circuit, 14 touch and goes this morning with Stephen. Jake has had me flying with trim and power, Stephen without trim at all.




The Americans are so much more relaxed about flying. We don't seem to do checks while in flight in these simple aircraft, there is a little more friendly banter with the tower and boy is this airfield quiet! In the three days so far I don't think I've shared the circuit with anyone for long. People are using their aircraft to do stuff and there aren't any other students at 7am. There is only one altitude measurement - Qfe so circuits are at 1700ft (1000ft above the airfield)





One of my favourite moments was landing for fuel at another airfield - Cleburne (KCPT). A biggish airfield with no tower or control and a very lonely by-way service station feel. While 5-Bravo-Charlie was refueled we had time for a friendly welcome chat and a look at the curiosity cabinet before heading back to Spinks.

I've just been for an FAA medical (another £50!) since both Jake and Stephen seem to think I will be able to solo by the end of the week. I'm now an official US Student Pilot!

I'm sitting in the hotel in Fort Worth at the moment looking at the rain lashing against the windows. The weather so far has been great - 10 miles visibility and low winds. Hope this clears for tomorrow!

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

More Practice Required

I had a lesson last Friday and today. Hoorah for the weather! Boo! for performance. On Friday after a month of no flying we were doing circuits using runway 07 - the reverse of the prevailing conditions which made life a little more difficult. Suffice to say that I wasn't really very good. Tony's advice was that I needed to walk through the circuit again. A quick practice at that and I'm back again.

Today was a CAVOK day, the hottest since last summer I suspect, at 26º. That didn't help much. Too slow, too fast, too high and too low. All over the sky. I'll admit there was some interesting turbulence from the heat. Once again I was often behind the aircraft, not being ready for the next step. What made things worse was, say, missing the 500ft mark which mean't I went on to miss the 800ft mark and then also the turn onto downwind.

I have another lesson on Friday. The forecast for the week looks good, I must concentrate and do better. I also need to learn the downwind checks properly along with the take-off brief.

Finally - A Break in the Weather

Last Friday finally saw a suitable day for a lesson. I've had lessons missed because of bad visibility, turbulence, fog, snow and holidays.

This week's lesson started very shakily - awful circuits scarcely controlling a slightly different aircraft (G-BPTE), using runway 07 and a right hand circuit. However once the wind changed and we switched to runway 25 and a left hand circuit, it all seemed to pick up.

Tony said he was impressed with the improvement. I personally think he was just relieved to be back in one piece. There was a lot of rust to be removed and I think that was a good start - I just hope we don't leave it that long next time.

Happy Landings

Last Friday's lesson was the most positive lesson I've had for ages. I'd been watching the METAR all morning from the office. I saw the cloud rising, the weather clearing up and the wind picking up. By 3pm there was blue sky, broken cloud around 2000 feet and a 14 knot almost directly down runway 25.

We took off and flew towards Reading to get me into handling the aircraft and then returned to Blackbushe to do some circuits. For the first time I felt in control of the aircraft through the whole circuit. I even did most of the radio calls. My turns onto base and final legs were much more under control (except the last one where I think I was getting carried away)

Most importantly I landed the plane a couple of times without hands on assistance from Tony. A lot still to learn - there was a couple of ballooned landings, one go around but I finally feel I can see what I should be doing.

Snow Stops Play

No flying last week - Blackbushe is closed due to snow on the runway. Ah well, more time to prepare!

Here's a photo from 2010 showing Alpha-November with a bit of snow on her. This is Iceman's pic - hope he doesn't mind too much!

Cold, Cold Flying

Another blue sky winter Friday presented excellent flying opportunities today. It was barely above freezing on the ground and this week's lesson featured much use of carb heat. Tony said it was around minus 10 at 3000ft.

I was a few minutes earlt and saw the end of Tony's previous lesson in  Alpha-November, a spot of touch and go:

 

This week was more getting back into flying with a little climbing, descending, turning and slow flight. Air pressure was high - Qnh 1040 so Alpha-November positively leapt into the air. Maintaining and 80 knot climb was a bit of a fight! For a change we're using runway 07 so things are a little backwards.

Another fairly pleasing set up for finals ended up in another reasonable landing, with a great deal of Tony's input I should say.

Tony wants to do a few circuits next week so its back to walking the circuit for me!

Winter Flight

So that was a long break, five months this time. I really mustn't do that. To that end I've decided to run for a while with 1/2 day holidays on a Friday to get some regular practice in. I also really, really need to memorise some of the well know pilot acronyms and checks.

So after such a long break I was somewhat nervous. Tony chose a simple flight with some stalling and turning exercises. The mic on my headset wasn't working so I didn't even do the radio work. Thank goodness because I also need to learn that. It had been a nice clear CAVOK morning and was still bright and clear as we took off to the west, but huge stormy cumulus clouds were visible in the distance as we gained altitude. The manoeuvres went pretty well, hearing the stall warning, feeling the light buffeting and finally the heavy bumping before pushing the stick forward and going to full power to recover. A few turns as well, some to 'clear' before stalling. Light nervousness means I don't stay at 30°, easing off by a few degrees as the turn progresses.

It seemed like a surprisingly short flight and we turned and headed for Blackbushe. Traffic had been quite heavy and lookout seemed more important than ever. Approaching deadside "over the numbers at the end of the runway" to join the circuit at 800ft. By some fluke I had the aircraft set up and trimmed at 70 knots which after a bit of Tony's input we were down. Tony said it was my best landing yet - I'm pretty sure he says that kind of thing to inspire confidence for next time.